HOUSE OF CAIAPHAS & THE FLOOR OF THE FLAGELLATION IN JERUSALEM

House of Caiaphas at the Church of
Saint Peter in Gallicantu & THE FLOOR OF THE FLAGELLATION ALONG THE VIA DOLOROSA in Jerusalem'S OLD CITY

           During each Holy Land Pilgrimage our Lakes Church Lead Pastor Dr. Aaron D. Burgner shared from Psalm 88 as he explained the biblical and historical significance of the House of Caiaphas. 

           This church, known as the Church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu (cock's crow in Latin), marks the place of the House of Caiaphas. It's here that Jesus would be tried before Caiaphas, the High Priest. It's here that Jesus would spend the night before His crucifixion in a cold, dark dungeon. It's also here that Peter would deny Christ three times. We experienced the prison cell where Jesus was likely beaten, and the dungeon where Jesus spent the night before being crucified. It has rings in the walls where prisoners would be tied up and beaten. This is likely where Jesus was beaten before being thrown in the dungeon below it. We could see the path Jesus would have walked, going to Gethsemane from the Upper Room and returning under arrest from Gethsemane to here, including the steps beside the church that was used for ascending and descending from Mount Zion to the Kidron Valley. Jesus and His disciples most likely used them as they traveled from the Upper Room, where they had celebrated the Passover meal, to the Garden of Gethsemane. Later, Christ would use these same steps as He was brought from Gethsemane, which led through the Kidron Valley, to the House of Caiaphas. In the Courtyard of the church is a statue that recalls the events of Peter’s denial of Jesus. It shows Peter, the rooster that crowed, a maid, a servant, and a Roman soldier.

          Some people refer to a visit to the Holy Land as the fifth gospel. I guess it’s because everything you read about in the Bible comes to life when you walk where Jesus walked. Visiting the Holy Land engages not only one’s thoughts and emotions, but also the senses. Seeing the cities and towns where narratives in Scripture took place, hearing the bleating sheep on the hills outside Jerusalem, sitting on the same hillside where Jesus preached, and smelling the sea where he calmed the storm, makes those passages you’ve read countless times come to life. After his arrest, Jesus was taken to the home of Caiaphas, the high priest. Caiaphas was one of those behind the plot to have Jesus killed (John 18:14, Matthew 26:3-4). Peter stood out in the courtyard and waited to see what would happen. We went to that courtyard where a statue of a rooster now stands. We then went to an underground prison beneath Caiaphas’ home where Jesus was likely held the night of his arrest. It was a deep, dark pit. There was one light dimly illuminating the room for us, but I could easily imagine what it would have been like turned off. With our Lakes Church members crowded inside, our Lead Pastor Aaron Burgner read Psalm 88 and prayed. Reading the psalm in the place where Jesus spent his final night before going to the cross, struck me in a way it hadn’t before. “You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep. Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves” (Psalm 88:6-7).
          Psalm 88 is the darkest of the psalms in the Psalter. Unlike other laments, it doesn’t end with words of praise. Despite its darkness, the psalm has brought me hope over the years when I’ve found myself in my own place of darkness. The mere fact that the psalm is in included in the Bible, and in the songbook of God’s people no less, tells me how compassionate our God is. He knows how fallen our world is. He knows our pain and invites us to share it with him. Our grief and sorrow isn’t neat and tidy. Sometimes we can’t even put our thoughts and emotions into words. But no matter how dark our emotions, we need to cry out to the God who hears us, for he alone is our salvation. As Pastor Matthew Henry commented, “before he begins his complaint, he calls God the God of his salvation, which intimates both that he looked for salvation, bad as things were, and that he looked up to God for the salvation and depended upon him to be the author of it.” Like all of Scripture, each psalm has a here and now meaning for the author who wrote it. Psalm 88 was written by Heman, one of Israel’s worship leaders. As a worship leader, he wrote songs to help God’s people sing to God during all of life’s circumstances, both in the joys and in the sorrows. In Psalm 88, we can see that the psalmist obviously endured a significant trial in his life. He was in despair. He cried out to God day and night. He felt the weight of God’s judgement and the abandonment of his friends. God seemed far away—so far, darkness had become his only friend (v. 18).

            When we left the House of Caiaphas, we walkd to the “floor of the flagellation” which refers to the “Lithostrotos”—an ancient stone-paved Roman courtyard uncovered beneath the Sanctuary of the Flagellation and the Convent of Ecce Homo along the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem's Old City, where Pastor Aaron Burgner shared the details of what Christ suffered there. 

These stones bear ancient markings that may include games played by Roman soldiers, lending credence to the Gospel accounts of the soldiers mocking Jesus before his crucifixion.

           When we left the House of Caiaphas, we walkd to the “floor of the flagellation” which refers to the “Lithostrotos”—an ancient stone-paved Roman courtyard uncovered beneath the Sanctuary of the Flagellation and the Convent of Ecce Homo along the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem's Old City, where Pastor Aaron Burgner shared the details of what Christ suffered there. Christian tradition associates these stone floors with the pavement where Jesus was tried and scourged. This location places visitors at the traditional Second Station of the Cross, where tradition holds that two pivotal events of the Passion occurred: Jesus’ flagellation by Roman soldiers and his formal condemnation to death by crucifixion. The monastery sits atop what archaeologists believe may be remnants of the ancient Antonia Fortress, the Roman military barracks that once housed Pontius Pilate’s tribunal. Access to the church requires walking through the narrow stone streets of the Old City. The Church of the Flagellation commemorates the biblical account of Jesus’ scourging as described in all four Gospels, though with varying degrees of detail. According to Matthew 27:26, Mark 15:15, and John 19:1, Pontius Pilate ordered Jesus to be flogged before his crucifixion, a standard Roman practice that typically preceded execution. The Greek term “phragellōo” used in the Gospels refers specifically to the brutal Roman scourging with a flagrum, a whip embedded with metal balls and bone fragments designed to tear flesh. Archaeological excavations conducted beneath the nearby Church of the Condemnation have uncovered an extensive area of Roman flagstones, identified by some researchers as the “Lithostrotos” or stone pavement mentioned in John 19:13. These stones bear ancient markings that may include games played by Roman soldiers, lending credence to the Gospel accounts of the soldiers mocking Jesus before his crucifixion. The discovery of first-century pottery sherds and coins in the area provides additional context for understanding the site’s occupation during the time of Christ. 

          But also like all of Scripture, Jesus fulfills Psalm 88. As Luke 24:27 tells us, when Jesus walked on the road to Emmaus with some of the disciples following his resurrection, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” In Psalm 88, we hear Jesus with his friends in the Garden before his arrest echoing the psalmist, “For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol” (v. 3). Jesus stepped into the darkness on our behalf. The night he spent in the pit was only the beginning of all that he would endure for us. He felt the full weight of God’s wrath at the cross in our stead. “Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves” (Psalm 88:7). He too was abandoned by his closest friends (v.8). Christ took on the curse of death, the darkest of all pits. After my visit to that underground pit beneath the home of Caiaphas, I now read Psalm 88 with greater joy than ever before. I still rejoice that I can come to the Father and voice my sorrows, no matter how dark. I still turn to him in lament and ask for his help and rescue, trusting in him as my salvation. But I also rejoice, knowing that my Savior endured greater darkness—God’s wrath for sin—on my behalf. When it seems as though I’m stuck in a pit of despair, I remember Jesus and the lengths he went to for my redemption. He went to dark places I will never have to go. And for that I rejoice.
          God offers a kind of rest that is different from what our own minds would conceive. God offers us rest in the midst of our distress. It is the only true rest—an inner rest that comes from abandoning ourselves to the Lord and entrusting to him whatever troubles or problems are overwhelming us. Instead of flying away, run straight into the arms of God, and rest in his care and love for you today. God’s promises in the Bible gives us assurance that we are not alone in this fearful place. God has promised to be with you in every situation and to never leave you, so you can put your trust in him. He is the source of our courage and security. He can turn your fear into faith.

          OH, LORD, I do want my problems solved and my troubles removed, but from the crushing weight of my burdens, I turn my eyes to you. I entrust this perplexity to you. Enable me to find my rest in you, to discover a place of deeper abandonment and security in your everlasting love. You are my only rock. You are my only rest. Lord, you have said that when I’m afraid, at the very point of my anxiety, I can put my trust in you and experience your protection. I thank you for your Word that promises your presence with me. You are my heavenly Father, so please hold my hand in dark and frightening circumstances, and help me to trust you and walk close to you today. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

          Look Up—meditate on Psalm 88 …pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.
          Look In—as you meditate on Psalm 88 …pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________."
          Look Out—as you meditate on Psalm 88 …pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.

* If you liked this post, you will LOVE this new book: "Memorable Moments in the Holy Land," available on Amazon at this link:  https://a.co/d/06G79jQm

 

TEMPLE MOUNT, MOUNT MORIAH, & THE THRESHING FLOOR IN JERUSALEM

 

Temple Mount, Mount Moriah, & the Threshing Floor in Jerusalem’s Old City       

          During each Holy Land Pilgrimage our Lakes Church Lead Pastor Dr. Aaron D. Burgner shared with us the biblical and historical significance of The Temple Mount, Mount Moriah, & the Threshing Floor, which are deeply intertwined sites in Jerusalem’s Old City, representing the same sacred hilltop. The Dome of the Rock Islamic shrine sits directly atop this rocky summit, which holds foundational significance in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The connection between these locations unfolds through history. According to the Bible, Mount Moriah is the mountain where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac (Genesis 22). It is the geographic peak where the First and Second Jewish Temples were later built. Centuries after Abraham, King David purchased this Threshing Floor, an elevated bedrock from Araunah the Jebusite to build an altar and halt a plague (2 Samuel 24). Threshing floors were historically positioned on high, exposed surfaces so natural winds could separate grain from chaff. Abraham saw the acreage. David bought the lot. Solomon built the house. Nebuchadnezzar tore it town. Zerubbabel rebuilt it. Herod the Great expanded it. Titus flattened it. Before these temples stood on Mount Moriah, it was nothing but a hill used for threshing wheat. Hardly worth noticing. But today, the Temple Mount remains the most precious piece of real estate in the world. And the golden shrine that graces its crest has become the icon for the Holy City of Jerusalem itself.
          How did this ordinary hill become holy? Not through battles or land bartering or by popular vote. God chose it. It’s the same with us. The site of the Temple Mount first appeared on the scene when God told Abraham to go to the land of Moriah and sacrifice Isaac there (Genesis 22:2). The “Binding of Isaac” climaxed with the Lord providing a ram for Abraham to sacrifice in the place of his only son. “In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.” One millennium after Abraham, King David purchased the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite as a site to offer sacrifices after David’s sin with the census (2 Samuel 24:18-25). In the same area where Abraham came to offer Isaac, and on the very hill where David offered burnt offerings for his sin, Solomon began to build the First Temple on Mount Moriah in 966 BC (1 Kings 6:1; 2 Chronicles 3:1). Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. —2 Chronicles 3:1 The original size of the Temple Mount was smaller than the outline we see today, which is Herodian. The Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar tore down the First Temple on in 586 BC. It had stood for 380 years. The exiled Jews returned to their land after 70 years when Cyrus the Great allowed them to rebuild the Temple. The structure Zerubbabel erected seemed modest in comparison to Solomon’s magnificent edifice. Following the first Maccabean triumphs, the Jews improved it even more. 
             The most elaborate reconstruction and renovation occurred when Herod the Great began his extensive building project that would crown the Second Temple. This was the Temple Jesus knew, whose destruction He predicted (Matthew 24:1-2). The Southern Steps of the Temple Mount where pilgrims walk today would have felt Jesus’ sandals too. In AD 70 Titus rolled in his Roman legions and destroyed in a matter of days what had taken decades to construct (see Daniel 9:26). Stones from the Second Temple still lay in the first-century street where archaeologists found them. The Muslim ruler Abd el-Malik built the shrine called the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount between AD 688-691. Its golden veneer is a 20^th-century addition. The Holy Land and the Holy City owe their designations to a hill where the Holy of Holies resided for centuries. The Temple Mount remains the most photographed spot in Jerusalem and the goal of many pilgrimages. It’s amazing that the most important religious site in the world was for centuries a mere elevated hill north of Jebus where farmers threshed wheat.

          The ordinary was made holy because God chose it. Just like all who follow Him. Solomon understood that the Temple he would construct could not house the Lord. Even the great Solomon understood that the best he could offer God was worship. When Jesus told the Samaritan woman that worship would no longer be confined to the Jerusalem Temple, He taught her “the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers” (John 4:23–24). Because of God’s holiness and grace through offering His only Son, what can we really offer Him in return but absolute worship? That is what He seeks. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty. I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God.—Psalm 84:1-2. Only the high priest goes into the Most Holy Place, and only once a year, and always with blood, which he offers to God to cover his own sins and the sins the people have committed in ignorance. By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the Most Holy Place was not open to the people.—Hebrews 9:7-8. Because we can worship God anyplace and anytime, we might fail to understand the psalmist’s longing. 
            In Old Testament times a person made a pilgrimage to worship God. It was a yearly event and often involved a lengthy journey. That is why the psalmist sang of a dwelling place where he could be in the presence of the Lord. It’s why he expressed a desire to be even a lowly gatekeeper in God’s house (v. 10) so that he could worship God every single day! We have available to us what the psalmist could only hope for. When Christ hung on the cross, the heavy veil separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple ripped from top to bottom. This symbolic act shouted to the world that believers were no longer required to stand at a distance. We can walk into God’s presence and commune with him by name. Today many religions continue to require a pilgrimage to worship their gods. Christ made a way for you by making a pilgrimage of his own—the long, lonely walk to the cross—so that you could praise him wherever you are. In the Old Testament, people couldn’t just walk into the Holy Place to ask for God’s help or mercy. The priests ministered there daily, but only the High Priest—and only on the Day of Atonement—could go into God’s presence in the Most Holy Place, to offer a blood sacrifice for his own sins and the people’s sins and intercede for them. Even then, he had a rope tied around his foot so that if God struck him dead, the other priests could pull his body out.
          When Jesus was crucified, he entered the Most Holy Place once and for all by shedding his own blood as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. When he died, the thick veil separating the people from the Most Holy Place was torn. Think of it! Because of Jesus, we have unlimited access to the Lord. We don’t have to wait for a once-a-year meeting with God. We don’t have to ask someone else to go to the Lord on our behalf. We can enter his throne room anytime night or day. Go freely into God’s presence and thank him for his great gift of Jesus and this wonderful accessibility through prayer.

          JESUS, I am thankful that I can worship you right where I am. I will enter your courts with thanksgiving. I will kneel at the mercy seat and find forgiveness. I will call out your name in praise. Lord, I pray for those who do not have intimacy with the living God. You have already made the pilgrimage for them. Open their eyes to see that they can find you right here, right now. With all my heart I thank you, Jesus, for being the perfect sacrifice for my sins and the sins of the whole world. When your blood was presented on the heavenly mercy seat and you offered up your Spirit, the veil of the temple was forever rent, providing me access into the very presence of the Father. How I thank you, Lord. In Your Precious Name we pray, amen.
          Look Up—meditate on Hebrews 9:7-8…pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.
          Look In—as you meditate on Hebrews 9:7-8…pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________."
          Look Out—as you meditate on Hebrews 9:7-8…pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.

* If you liked this post, you will LOVE this new book: "Memorable Moments in the Holy Land," available on Amazon at this link:  https://a.co/d/06G79jQm

THE GARDEN TOMB IN JERUSALEM

 

Pastor Aaron Burgner sharing The Lord's Supper at The Garden Tomb

Inside the Empty Garden Tomb in 2000

Inside the Empty Garden Tomb in 2000

Inside the Empty Garden Tomb in 2022

The Garden Tomb in Jerusalem

          It is always such a moving experience to visit The Garden Tomb in Jerusalem. Pastor Aaron Burgner shared The Lord’s Supper with the members of Lakes Church while we were there on our visit. This beautiful watercolor painting of The Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, Israel, reminds us of the mighty power and majesty of the resurrection of Christ, as explored in a word study of Ephesians 1:19-20 and the four different Greek words used in this Scripture for the resurrection power with which God raised Jesus Christ from the dead and toward us who believe. Ephesians 1:19-20 NASB “What is the surpassing greatness of His ‘power’ toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the ‘working’ of the ‘strength’ of His ‘might’ which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.”
          Power (dunamis)—dynamic—it refers to intrinsic power. The gospel is dynamic, God’s dynamic, and so is powerful in the transformation of human lives. Dunamis is the same power that resides in believers because we are in Christ and He is in us.
          Working (energeia)—describes effectual working, efficiency or active, effective power. In this passage, energeia describes the active, energetic, productive power of God at work. Energeia describes God’s power in raising Christ, Paul instructs us that we have it.
          Strength (kratos)—refers to manifested power or power that is released, put forth in action. It is power to overcome what stands in the way. It is power which is able to overcome resistance. Kratos means strength or might, the power to rule or control, supreme authority, sovereignty.
          Might (ischus)—inherent power or force. A muscular man’s big muscles display his might, even if he doesn’t use them. It is the reserve of strength. Ischus conveys the sense of endowed power or ability. The idea is that it is the active efficacy of the might that is inherent in God, His indwelling strength. He is able!.
          As a believer, I know this is the same resurrection power that dwells in the innermost part of me, giving me strength to face every day’s challenges. This is encouraging to me, because it’s not my power, but the power of the Spirit of Christ Who dwells in the innermost part of me, the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead…Praise His Holy Name…the Lamb has overcome!
          The most powerful evangelism doesn’t take place within the four walls of a church building. It occurs as we share with others in our neighborhood and workplace the good news of what God has done for us individually and for the whole world in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Ask God to bring people across your path today who need to hear the good news that God saves and that he loves them. And then ask him for the compassion and courage to share the reason for your hope and to pray for those people. Nothing happens apart from the resurrection power of Jesus. Only Christ working in us by the indwelling Holy Spirit and the Word of God can produce a life that pleases the Lord. So let this prayer be the cry of your heart.
          Heavenly Father, strengthen and equip me with every good thing so that I can do your will. Prepare me for what you’re preparing for me. And open my heart wider to the working of your Spirit so that my life—inside and outside—will honor you. Produce in me, through the power of Jesus Christ, all that is pleasing to you. I rejoice over the resurrection of your precious Son! I won’t forget what He has done for me. You sent Him to earth and He was dishonored, but I pray that I will honor Him by remembering the cross. I will acknowledge His sacrifice and celebrate His resurrection. Thank you that He burst from the tomb to live inside us. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen..

          Look Up—meditate on Ephesians 1:19-20 … pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.
          Look In—as you meditate on Ephesians 1:19-20 … pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________."
          Look Out—as you meditate on Ephesians 1:19-20 …pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.

 * If you liked this post, you will LOVE this new book: "Memorable Moments in the Holy Land," available on Amazon at this link:  https://a.co/d/06G79jQm

the empty tomb

watercolor of the garden tomb in Jerusalem, Israel

"After all, when do we most need comforting? When we are on a mountaintop, or when we are in the pits? Without question, God knows full well when we need him most. How could we ever forget that our Savior Himself was buried in a quarry? 

When Joseph of Arimethea had taken Jesus' body down from the cross, he wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a "tomb cut in the rock." Had the story ended there, of course, there would be no comfort in Christ. The quarry of death would have held captive its prey...but the psalmist's words have meaning for us precisely because they had meaning for Jesus: "From the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. You will increase my honor and comfort me once again." By the ropes of his divine power, God lifted up "a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation" of his temple. By those same ropes of grace, God lifts us up from the bosom of his heart and give us new life, new hope, new vision for what he has called us to be. The prophet Isaiah changes the metaphor so that not just Christ is hewn out and lifted up as the chief cornerstone, but we ourselves become hewn from him who is the Rock of Ages. "Listen to me," says Isaiah, "you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn." Is there a greater expression of hope and expectancy? "The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singling."

Comfort. Compassion. Joy. Gladness. Thanksgiving. Singing. All from the depths of a heaven-like quarry. All from the immeasurable depth and breadth of the heart of an ineffable God." --excerpt from "Meeting God in Holy Places," by F. LaGard Smith

Jesus Christ wins, He conquers death, He walks out of the empty tomb...

He knows the end from the beginning...

He began with the end in mind...

"From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us." (Acts 17:26-27) 
"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me...Because I live, you also will live." (John 14:6, 19)

the empty tomb

the empty tomb

entrance to the empty tomb--March 2000

garden tomb in Jerusalem, Israel

path leading to the garden tomb

What does the empty tomb mean to you?

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."

The Western Wall of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem

Walking up to the Western Wall of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem on March 16, 2000, I am struck with the reality of the exact location of where I am...


When Herod renovated the second temple at the end of the first century before Christ, he shored up the temple plaza on all sides by massive walls, up to six stories high. 


Although only half that height is visible above ground level today, the Western Wall is still impressive, particularly the 165-foot portion known as the Wailing Wall. 


I approach the Western Wall, reach out my hand and touch the unusually smooth surface of these formerly rough stones, made so smooth by so many people touching them over the centuries. 


This wall would have been just on the other side of the Holy-of-Holies in the Tabernacle...I wrote my prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ, give us a heart and mind which worships You as the One and Only Holy God..." 


I signed my name and the names of my closest family members, folded the paper and placed it in the small cracks between the smooth stones of the Western Wall, the Wailing Wall, along with thousands of other small pieces of paper placed there each day.

Out of all the world, the Jews had been God's chosen people. To the Jews alone had God miraculously appeared in the cloud and in the sea. 


When the Glory of the Lord filled the temple, God was literally present in the midst of His people! "Destroy this temple," Jesus said, "and I will raise it again in three days." 


But the temple of which Jesus had spoken was His own crucified body. One day it was as dead as the stone covering His tomb, three days later it was brought back to life again by the incomparable power of His Resurrection! And here lies our hope. "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?"

As I walk away from the Western Wall...I have not taken even the first step away from God's Presence...the Spirit of Christ Who dwells in the innermost part of me, taking Authority over my soul--the seat of my emotions, and my body--my fleshly desires and appetities. All Praise, Honor, and Glory to You, my Lord and my Savior Jesus Christ, the One and Only Son of the Living God.