Jesus, the One and Only

Beth Moore opened our "Jesus, the One and Only" Bible study by sharing the Scripture Luke 24:45-48, "Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His Name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." 

Beth Moore prayed, "Open our minds, beginning at Jerusalem, to receive a fresh anointing, to receive power, to be clothed in power for the rest of our lives."

Excerpt from the book, "Meeting God in Holy Places," by F. LaGard Smith: "We will walk together in the land of Israel, rediscovering the holy places where God interacted with his chosen people in a special way. I say, "holy places," knowing that it is not the places themselves that are holy, but the recorded presence of God in those places that has made them so. We will walk up the Mount of Olives and stop to meditate in the quiet of the Garden of Gethsemane. You can almost see Jesus weeping over it, crying once again, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often have I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing." 


Jerusalem was always special to God. It was Jerusalem where God chose to have Solomon build the temple. Jerusalem, where Jesus made his triumphal entry on the foal of a donkey. Jerusalem, where the Good News would first be preached by the apostles. No wonder we look forward to the heavenly Jerusalem! Somewhere in that lowly village of Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem, God surprised us by coming into our world so that we might enter into His. 


This is the incredible impact of a visit to Israel. As you walk away from Bethlehem, or Gethsemane, or the Jordan River, your life will never again be the same. You've walked on "Holy Ground." You've touched and been touched. You've seen the face of God more clearly than ever before. This is the land where God chose to reveal Himself to us. Something deep within myself is prompted by what I see: a new thought, a different perspective; a grander vision of who I can be as a servant of God."