When a man kneels before you it’s hard to remain standing. It feels weird to look down at someone when they’re kneeling before you in abject humility. In a Jerusalem conference I found myself in this position before a highly respected veteran Korean church leader. He was repenting for his country’s callousness toward Jewish suffering,… Read more »

During a recent stretch of emotional stress, overwhelmed by the demands, opportunities, and life assignments too big for me, I cried out to the Lord. Searching for a way to cope with/get out of that trapped, stuck feeling – a word came to me from an unlikely source. I remembered the technique Connie and I… Read more »

When we arrived in Israel as brand new immigrants, our children were 22, 19, and 4 years old. Connie was pregnant with our “sabra” (native born) Israeli, who was born 23 years ago, in February 1993. The truth is we never expected to “found” any ministry. Our hope was to get the family sufficiently established… Read more »

In Leviticus 23:42 the generations of Israel are commanded to dwell or “sit” in temporary shelters (“tabernacles”) for one week of the autumn season to identify with the existence of the children of Israel when they lived in temporary shelters (“sukkot”) in the wilderness. I like God’s experiential approach to things. He knows that memory… Read more »

Though Passover passed by several months ago, we can always ask questions. The classic Passover Seder formula serves our purposes well. When the “four questions” are chanted by the youngest child at the table (the Sephardic tradition is for all assembled to ask the questions as a chorus), it opens the door to the wonder-filled… Read more »

Messianic expectation has been with the Jewish people nearly as long as we have existed. Throughout Israel there are still posters and banners with a photo of Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, proclaiming him as the Messiah. The caption boldly declares, “Baruch HaBa Melech HaMashiach” (Blessed is He Who Comes, King Messiah). The Brooklyn rabbi, whose aim… Read more »

“Then God said ‘Let there be light’ and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.” (Genesis 1:3,4) One look at the nebulae swirling in outer space and our mind expands from the majesty of light in the vast darkness. Light is good stuff…. Read more »

The New Mexico State Penitentiary was an intimidating place. Each time I entered the facility the huge steel gate clanged shut behind me. Then, with each further penetration of the highly secured prison, another heavy door closed, as I was taken deeper and deeper into the institution. Finally I arrived at the chapel where I… Read more »

My dad has a folder on the desktop of his computer. In it are instructions, in the form of a chart, addressed to my sister and me about what to do when he or Mom or both of them pass off the scene. He began working on this chart years ago and insisted that we… Read more »

AWAKENING The Hebrew word for revival is “awakening.” As a community, we recently set aside five days to fast and pray for spiritual awakening. Sensing a dryness of routine, longing for more of Messiah’s resurrection life, feeling too distant from our fellow Israelis – the Tents of Mercy elders decided it was time take action…. Read more »