Well, last week I was in Texas and today I'm in Israel--at least in my blog and on the Back to the Bible program. Let me explain. Every year Dr. Kroll takes a tour group to Israel (BTW he's been doing this for 44 straight years now). This year, my husband and I went and we recorded the BttB radio and television program on location (thus my video blog for today and the BttB programs all this week). It was quite an adventure. We had about 160 people with us, and we traveled by tour bus to numerous locations each day. The neatest and most emotional thing about the trip for me was knowing that I was walking/standing in some of the same places Jesus and the disciples were. It was eerie--particularly when we toured Pilate's and Caiaphas' courtyards and the Garden of Gethsemane.
Being in Israel, taking it in first hand, highlighted the realness of the Bible. So many people today want to dismiss the Bible as outdated, irrelevant or simply a compilation of stories for children. They are so wrong!! The Bible is God's communication directly to us. God didn't create us and then send us on our own merry way. He gave us His Word, and it's full of direction and guidance. When we read God's Word, we can know His mind, understand His plans for us and, most importantly, feel His love for us. Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now. :-)
So, how have you been doing in your reading? Great? Good? Struggling? Or maybe you've slipped? Well no matter where you're at, remember this--you can't change yesterday, but you can start fresh today. And here's the cool thing--all of us here are reading with you and pulling for you. Let us pray for you, encourage you, whatever. Just tell us. We'd love to hear from you. Hang in there and keep reading!!! Tami W.
P.S. Thanks to everyone who blogged last week while I was at the MOPS convention. Good, encouraging stuff!!
Hi Tami,
Hey, how cool is it that you got to film while in Israel :) My husband and I visited Israel last year for our first time, but my experience wasn't a life-changing overly spiritual experience, like I hear so many Christians talk about. It could be that the tour we took was more having to do with women and sex trafficking and then how the Jews have been persecuted...actually that was part of it. But the day that I toured with Kay Arthur was great. It was only one day, but it was worth it for the whole tour. I hope the next time I get to go to Israel, it will be on a tour like the one we are seeing on the show. In fact, I was thinking today that it would be cool if I won the contest :) Even if I don't though, I now know to go to Israel for more than one week, because that's just ridiculous. It will have to be at a minimum 2 weeks for me to go again.
Just thought I'd share :)
Hi everyone.
How exiting is that. Tami thank you for your video blog, I love it. I always believe, that what you said, when you are really standing on the same exact spot, where Jesus used to stand, or walk, that that must be a very deep feeling, a wonderful feeling. Praise the Lord for that you could share this with us.
Now, I want to share something with you too. Our 9 year old son, Bradley, he saw me the other day, when I was on P4, He ask me. What is that? I said, what do you mean? Well he said, there, the matches with the fire on top of it, what does it mean? Does it mean that all the matches representing lots of people, and the fire on top, how they recieve the Holy Spirit?
son, I think you are right. That is exactly what we could use it for. If that looks to you that way, then that way it is. Halleluja. I got chill all over my body, I thought, WOW, how amazing is that, a 9 year old. Praise God. Amen.
And for my Bible reading, it is fantastic. Love it.
God Bless you all.
I have always loved Hannah. Her story is still fresh and excited as it was years ago. She really acted out her trust in God. Then I think of the verse that says "Obedience is better the sacrifice". I love that verse in Job - "though He slay me yet will I trust him". "He gave them the desires of their hearts but sent leaness to their soul" That is my prayer. " Lord - I do not want a lean soul I want a fat one. Send to me whatever you deem best for me." This story always moves my heart and causes me to look to the Lord with fresh dedication.
Tami,
I'm so glad you're able to have this incredible experience in Israel. I'm looking forward to your future comments on it. I also hope you can find some time to rest, because you will certainly need it after the MOPS conference and then the travel and experiences in Israel.
In the meanwhile, I'm wondering if somebody on staff can help me resolve some questions I'm having about today's reading?
In 1Sam 2:30 it says, "30Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: 'I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,' but now the LORD declares: 'Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. " I don't blame God for taking away the privilege of serving in His house. But aren't we taught (and don't we teach) that God keeps his promises? If this was a conditional promise (that this family would serve forever) I can't find it. And also, it seems so unfair that the remaining lineage of Eli would all die young (at least the men) (vs 31), and that they would be beggers for food (vs 36). It seems that many are being punished for the sins of 2 sons. Can you help me here?
Thanks!
Hi Tami-How great you are all in Israel! I know exactly what you mean by inserting my own name especially for the name "Israel." There are many spots in my Bible where I have written in "Diana" because I want to personalize God's Word to me and hear the way he would speak the words to me. I am thankful to be back here at my kitchen table reading God's Word after a successful, busy, wonderful MOPS Convention. Thanks for blogging from the Convention!
I sure hope moms are encouraged to take a few minutes each day and commit to Powered by 4.
Deb:
Thank you for contacting us at Back to the Bible. Tami has read your e-mail and asked if I would reply to your questions. I'm glad to do that.
Deb, all promises of blessings/privileges are conditional even if they're expressed in what appears to be unconditional language. God made that clear to Israel in Deuteronomy 30:15-19 where He says: "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live" (underlining mine). This applied to individuals/families as well as the nation as a whole.
The same is true today. If we want God's blessings and the privilege of serving Him, we must be obedient (now, please note that I'm not including in this either the promise of salvation or God's promise of certain events transpiring--this is a different type of promise).
A second issue which concerned you was the consequences of sin on the descendants of the ones who sinned (in this case, the descendants of Hophni and Phinehas). In part, this is simply the observation of what typically happens: the sinful attitudes/actions of the parents are passed on to their children who then experiences the consequences of acting out these attitudes/actions in their own lives. But remember, as well, that God's curses are as conditional as His blessings. Look, for example, at the city of Nineveh. They were headed for destruction but, when they repented and changed their behavior, God relented. As Jonah 4:2 says: "So he prayed to the LORD, and said, 'Ah, LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm'" (underlining mine). So if the descendants of Hophni and Phinehas sinned in the way these men did, they reaped the consequences. If they lived righteously, then I'm sure that God relented "from doing harm."
Hope that helps, Deb. God bless.
In Him
Allen Bean
Biblical Correspondent
Hi Tami,
I love the story of Hannah. Imagine giving away one's first born at such a tender, young age. I am touched by the words, "Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him ..." I love to sew. When I'm making someone something whether it be a piece of clothing or a warm quilt, I spend time praying over them. Imagine making a little robe to take to the child you "gave away" even if it be to the Lord. What wonderful love, faith and obedience she displayed.
In 1 Sam 2:2 "...there is no one besides you", I became challenged by these few words. Is there no one besides the Lord in my life that has become a priority before Him? I am a recovering compulsive overeater - where do I place food? Is my body a temple for the Lord that shows I offer my body as a "living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God?" What about money/spending, where do I place that? Can I say honestly "there is no one besides [the Lord]" in first place in my life? This is challenging me to look at my will amid all the struggles of life along side of what I know God's will is for me. I pray that I am doing better at placing God and His will before mine more often than not.
The other thing I am looking at is "obedience." Am I hearing God's voice, am I being quiet after I pray to hear His voice? I have a little plaque on my wall in my study/prayer corner. It says, "Let us be silent that we may hear the whisper of God" by Ralph Waldo Emerson. The prophets of the Bible must have been quiet a long time and must have had great memories to recall and tell all that God had revealed to them. They had to be in obedience as Eli taught Samuel, by revealing ALL that God had to say to His people, no matter how bad it was or how it was received. Hannah, was obedient beyond what I can imagine, asking God to give her a child and promising she would give the child back to Him, literally, not just promising to raise him at home in God's ways. Then as Samuel grew he became obedient to God; Hannah and Samuel in complete contrast to the life of Eli and his sons. God teaches us much through comparisons in his Word.
I do see obedience in my life and I do hear God as he tells me I can step-out in His will with courage and strength. Recently, I have stretched my faith and offered my service for three new things in my church and one out-reach program in the community that my church supports. All these things have turned out to be blessings I couldn't have imagined a few months ago. Praise God! Listen when you think God is nudging you! Then act, and see what wondrous things begin happen!