MARANATHA MESSENGER Weekly Newsletter of Private Circulation Only MARANATHA -PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 16 December 2012 “Present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (Colossians 1:28) Address: 63 Cranwell Road, Singapore 509851 Tel: (65) 6545 8627 Fax: (65) 6546 7422 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.maranatha-bpc.com Sunday School: 9.45 am Sunday English Worship Service: 10.45 am Sunday Chinese Worship Service: 6.30 pm Wednesday Prayer Meeting: 8.00 pm Pastor: Rev. Dr. Jack Sin (HP: 9116 0948)

Doubters Become Believers (John 20: 24-29)

Having doubts is common. We have all had doubts concerning God and faith. Having doubts is not a sin. But allowing doubts to develop into continual unbelief is. The story of Thomas is of help. Thomas had doubts but he was restored. Doubters can become believers through an encounter with the living Lord.

It is important that believers testify to non believers of their living faith in a living Christ. This is what the disciples did. They told doubting Thomas “We have seen the Lord.” How shall doubters come to faith unless believers talk to them about the living Lord? Then again, do believers truly have an experiential faith or is their faith merely intellectual?

Note Thomas’ initial unbelief. Unless he saw the print of the nails and put his finger into the print, and put his hands into the side of Jesus he would not believe. He was swayed by sight, not faith. The fact is, even if people saw signs from God they would not repent of their evil works (Rev. 9:20,21).

Note the response of Thomas. Eight days later he was with the rest of the disciples. Despite his earlier doubts Thomas at least was now present with the other disciples. If you are having doubts the place to be is with believers not doubters. Going to other doubters will not help you. Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together (Heb 10:24). When in doubt, join believers, not doubters.

As the disciples assembled Jesus passed through closed doors to be with them. His resurrection body is a mystery to us. Jesus can go through closed doors. Just as he penetrated closed doors so he can penetrate closed hearts and minds. Jesus had nothing against his disciples even though there was one in their midst who had doubts. Significantly, Jesus said, “Peace to you”, that is, peace to the entire group. The disciples were chosen of God. There can be no condemnation upon such people. Before the Lord even confronted doubting Thomas he bade all the disciples, including doubting Thomas, peace.

Jesus now confronts Thomas. Thomas is chastised for his unbelief. But chastisement is not condemnation. It is correction. Jesus chastises and restores. The devil accuses and condemns.

Jesus invites Thomas to reach forth with his finger and his hands and touch him, the very things Thomas said he wanted to do before he would believe. Jesus knew what Thomas had said. Jesus hears all that people say. Jesus now holds Thomas to his words and challenges him.

Thomas has no answers. He breaks down and says “my Lord and my God.” What is there to say when Jesus confronts us? We are full of words but when Christ draws near our words are shallow, indeed, we are silenced.

Thomas is convinced. The doubter is now a believer. According to tradition Thomas travelled as far as India preaching the gospel. Among the disciples, the one who doubted the most travelled the most for the Lord.

Let us be encouraged. Doubters can become believers through an encounter with the risen Lord. How do we encounter Jesus today? It is not through meeting him physically in his resurrection body. It is through reading the Bible and experiencing the who has been sent to bring us to faith in Christ.

Jesus told Thomas because he had seen he had believed but blessed are the ones who do not see but 1 who have believed in him. You are blessed indeed if you have come to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Be like Thomas. Serve him all the days of your life.

Get rid of all doubts this day. Jesus is a living Lord and Saviour. He proved this to his disciples. He will prove this to you also. Believe in him.

Rev. David Yan Emmanuel Church Auckland, New Zealand

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Yoong Moke Kam Life BP Church

When we departed on the night from Singapore, my wife asked me whether I was able to go through with this pilgrimage but I was certain that with the Lord's help and with all our brothers and sisters in Christ we would be able to achieve.

We reached safely at Amman Airport early that morning and proceeded to the 2000 years old ancient city of Petra. According to the Arab guide, immigrants who came to this hilly city of desert sandstone were able to survive because they were able to find water. When we were midway to this valley, Pastor Sin shared the devotion to our group of pilgrims. At last we reach the Treasury, a magnificent stone structure I looked at the Treasury built in the 14 century where the people were able to crave this huge storey building It is considered quite an achievement in spite of the lack of machinery tools to carry out the works at that time.

At that time we had trouble walking back so Calvin Chan and I sought the Lord's help to supply transport for us. Otherwise without the Lord's help, we can do nothing.

TO ISRAEL After we crossed the southern border to Israel and at the Checkpoint, one of our brothers in Christ was held up and we all prayed for him. He managed to join us and together we proceeded to Timnath National Park in the Negev.

TABERNACLE At the desert site, they erected an actual model of the tabernacle of the Lord according to the measurement as stated in the bible where different types of furniture were put inside the Tabernacle for the burnt offerings to the Lord (Exo 36-40).

After that we watched a film show of the ancient Egyptian Empire exporting, the slaves from Egypt to excavate deep into the desert soil to extract copper ore and to refine to copper metal. The finished products were shipped back to Egypt in the ancient time. Sand stone sculpture of Solomon appeared all over the desert.

KFARHA-NORDIN When we arrived at this place, our group had a ride on the camels but because most of us had no experience, the ride was rather uncomfortable. We stayed here in the Bedouin tents under the starry sky in the desert just as Abraham did a few thousand years ago. Pastor Frank Low and Pastor Sin shared with us from the bible from Hebrews 11:23-28 regarding a stranger on a pilgrimage and he thanked the Lord that our Singapore group enjoyed the stay till the next morning.

MASADA This ruined mountain top fortress built by the Herod the Great was where Jewish people protected themselves against the Roman soldiers but in AD 73, after a period of 3 years they all killed themselves when the Romans soldiers finally overcame them. 2

QUMRAN CAVES The famous were found in 1947 by a shepherd in the caves. How it was well preserved in caves was quite a mystery in Qumran. This ancient manuscripts (all books of the except Esther) which the Bible manuscripts dating back to about 1000 years ago is now restored and preserved in the Shrine in Jerusalem.

DEAD SEA Our group of the pilgrims managed to float in the Dead Sea but I was afraid to do so. Hence, I immersed myself near the edge of the sea (stated 400 m below sea level).

JERICHO We reached this place late in the evening and we did not see much of the sites mentioned in the bible except the ruined old stones within the surrounding area. We also saw the Sycamore tree where Zachaeus climbed up to look at Christ as he passed on the way through the city.

JERUSALEM That morning we went to the top of Mount Olives where Christ ascended to heaven. From here we looked far across to the Old City of Jerusalem. We walked along the road to the Golden gate of Via Dolorosa where Christ walked through the 14 stations carrying the cross in his final journey in Jerusalem passing through so many gates such as the Golden gate, Zion gate etc. Our last stop was to the church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is here that one of our brothers in Christ got lost in the huge crowded place. We managed to find him later in one of the entrances of the gate in the Jewish and Arab quarters. The cross is one of my highlights that traced the footsteps of Christ who suffered so much at the hands of the Jews, beaten by Roman soldiers and condemned by Pontius Pilate of the Roman government. Christ suffered and died on the cross (Mt 27:11-24; Mk 15:1-15; Lk 23: 1-25)

GARDEN TOMB Pastor Sin shared the devotion and the served the Lord’s Supper after we visited this empty tomb where Christ was buried and rose on the third day witnessed by more than 500 disciples. He lives, Christ lives today (Jn 11:25-26).

DOME OF THE ROCK We visited the Temple Mount where the Dome of the Rock was restored by the Arab under the Islamic administration. Our bible recorded that at the Temple Mount, Abraham offered Isaac his son as a sacrifice here.

GALILLEE AND THE NORTH We visited the ruins of the temple and theatre of Herod the Great at Caseares which was built during the Roman Empire for more then 2000 years ago, before Christ. The structure was built near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

According to the bible Paul spent time here when he was arrested by Pilate when he appealed to be tried by Casar (Acts 21-23). Our small bus went up to visit Mt Carmel on a high mountain at the hill top. Over looking the Jezreel valley where Elijah slaughtered of the 400 prophets of Baal with the help of God.

THE SEA OF GALILLEE Our group boarded the ship and sailed on the Lake Kinneret, the only fresh water lake in Israel It was stated in the bible that Christ helped the fishermen like Peter to catch fish here. We had lunch there of fresh St. Peter's fish. When we were there the water was calm unlike during the time of Christ where the sea was stormy. So many people came here to view the Sea of Galilee from different countries.

NAZARETH TO CAPERNAUM The Lord stayed for a few years and preached from here to Judea. We retraced the footsteps of our Lord from Cana and Nazareth. CHURCH OF MULTIPLICATION We viewed the church of 5 loaves and 2 fishes within this compound near the shore of the sea of Galilee. 3

This modern church was erected during the time of the 4th and 5th century. Inside the church some portion of the Christ mosaic during ancient time was laid in this church showing to us that Jesus did walk around this vicinity

MOUNT TABOR During the period of the Israelites the judge Barak and prophetess Deborah attacked the enemy Sisera in the time of the Judges.

CAESAREA PHILIPPI We visited this site where Jesus asked his disciples who they thought he was? This is the furthest north Jesus ever went.

RIVER DAN We stopped at this place of Nature Reserve from the Golan Heights next to the border of Syria where the battle was fought between Israel and Syria in 1973. This huge land is now occupied by Israel.

MT Nebo We returned safely to Jordan on our way to Mt Nebo where Moses was allowed to see the Promised Land of Canaan.

When Moses led the Jewish people out of Egypt into the wilderness the children murmured against Moses for not having any water to drink. The Lord told Moses to speak to the rock but instead he struck it twice due to his anger and that the water gush out from the rock. Moses had committed a sin against God and was not permitted to enter the Promised Land.

Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people and many Israelites were bitten and died. So the Lord told Moses to make a cross with a brazen snake and put it on a pole, so that anyone who was bitten could look at it and be healed (Num 21: 7-9).

After coming to this Holy Land, I learnt that this dry warm desert climate where water is scarce but in our country the warmed and humid climate, water is abundance through the whole year due to the rainy season.

Conclusion We are blessed with the help of the Lord and our group arrived home safely. It was indeed a memorable time for all the 34 of us travelling 2 weeks with only minor problems on the way to this country. Some of the land had steep terrain and we managed to return home safe and sound. Thank the Lord's help for without Him we can do nothing.

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Arine Tham Grace Baptist Church

First and foremost, I would like to thank our Almighty God for making this Holy Land trip possible for me. I had the desire to trace the footsteps of Jesus four years ago and have been praying for a pilgrim journey of learning fellowship. Trusting that the Lord has His timing in all things, I was so delighted when He unfolded each step along the way and enabled the trip to proceed without hindrance.

I especially thank God for Pastor Jack and sister Angelina who have put in much effort in preparing the historical and geographical notes, all the planning and coordinating from the start till the day we arrived back, with heartfelt thanks and gratefulness to both of them. I am very thankful that Pastor Jack gave exhortations and referenced to the Bible at almost every site we visited, and commenced the day with brothers-in-Christ to share His word and led in the singing of hymns. Indeed the Lord’s hand is in everything – thanking Him for His grace, mercy, protection and safety throughout the pilgrim journey. 4

It was a journey through barren mountains and deserts from the south and east, to the patches of verdant greenery that dot the landscape towards the west and the north. The first site we visited on 07.11.12 was Petra, the land of Edom and Esau (Gen 36). The multicoloured sandstone is beautiful and the ingenious idea of constructing aqueducts and cisterns to conserve water is amazing. We had our first group photo taken at this spectacular site, with the Treasury as the background.

We crossed the Arava border on 08.11.12 to Timna National Park where we were given a detailed explanation of the Tabernacle model and saw the life-sized reconstruction of the Wilderness Tabernacle. We visited King Solomon's Pillars and the ancient mines. At dusk of the day, we had the experience of riding a camel and staying overnight in the Bedouin tents in the wilderness. On 09.11.12, we visited the Judean fortress, Masada, followed by the ancient oasis settlement, Ein Gedi, where David took refuge when he fled from King Saul (1 Sam 23:29). We proceeded to the Qumran Caves where jars filled with ancient scrolls from the Second Temple period were discovered in 1947. We took a quick float in the Dead Sea (the lowest point on earth, i.e. 400 m below sea level) and self- spa at the mud pool. The mineral found in and around the Dead Sea have proven useful for commercial, agricultural and industrial purposes. We had a glimpse of Jericho, one of the oldest cities in the world, before we proceeded to Mount Scopus which offers a beautiful view of the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem.

We arrived in the Holy City of Jerusalem on 10.11.12, a prominent place with a rich biblical history. We visited the Mount of Olives where Jesus ascended to heaven after His resurrection (Acts 1 : 9–12), and also believe that when the Messiah returns, will descend here and enter Jerusalem. We proceeded to visit a small church here, Dominus Flevit, followed by the Garden of Gethsemane, Church of All Nations and The Pool of Bethesda. We travelled along the path known as the Via Dolorosa which marked the path Jesus travelled as He carried the cross from the place He was sentenced to the place of His crucifixion. We walked through the Muslim Quarter and the Christian Quarter where The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is situated. Thereafter, we arrived at the Jaffa Gate, the only gate on the western side of the Old City of Jerusalem. We visited the Upper Room where Jesus shared His Last Passover with His disciples.

We arrived at Bethlehem on the Lord’s Day (11.11.12), and I looked forward to worship the Lord at Baraka BPC. Pastor Jack preached and Rev George Awad conducted the Holy Communion. 34 of us presented “O Little Town of Bethlehem” in 4 parts acapella during the worship service. We visited their education centre in the Shepherd Fields. Next, we visited Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum that honours the victims of the Holocaust, with exhibits of authentic objects from the ghettoes and concentration camps and a research center into the Holocaust. We visited the Holy Land Model where we were briefed on the Ancient Jerusalem at the time of the Second Temple in the grounds of the Israel Museum.

We were at the Old City of Jerusalem on 12.11.12. There was a long queue to visit The Temple Mount (the site of the First and Second Temples) with tight security check. We had a short stop at The Dome of the Rock before we proceeded to The Western Wall, followed by the Jerusalem Archaelogical Park. We walked through the alleys in the Jewish Quarter and saw the ruins of the ancient “Cardo Maximus”. The serenity at the Garden Tomb coupled with the partaking of the Lord’s Supper conducted by Pastor Jack made the visit to the Garden Tomb memorable and meaningful.

We started the day 13.11.2012 to the Temple Mount Salvage Operations where we had the hands-on experience of discovering useful artifacts from the archaeological excavations. We arrived at Caesarea National Park, a magnificent site on the coast of the Holy Land. Caesarea’s walls encompassed a theatre, a hippodrome, a royal palace and a temple. We had a breathtaking view from Mt Carmel, overseeing Mount Tabor and Mount Gilboa from afar. We visited Tel Megiddo where numerous battles were fought there and we believe that it is the site of the final battle recorded in Revelation 16:12-16.

Our first site of visit on 14.11.12 was the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. On the mount there is an incredible vantage point overlooking the Sea of Galilee, and surrounded by well-manicured gardens. We visited Tabgha (“seven springs”) where the Church of the Multiplication (Church of the 5 Loaves and 2 fishes) is located. The Sea of Galilee is the main source of fresh water for Israel. We went on a boat ride on the sea where we had Pastor Jack to share God’s 5 word on board. One of the oldest wooden boat in Israel was discovered on the shore of Sea of Galilee, displayed in the Ancient Boat Museum. At Capernaum, we visited the archaeological site of St. Peter’s House. We proceeded to visit the ruins of the ancient Capernaum Synagogue, made of large carved limestone blocks. We had delicious pan fried fresh fish (St Peter’s fish) from the Sea of Galilee for lunch. Mount Tabor, with its beautiful and peculiar dome shape, rises majestically in Galilee, offers a breathtaking view of the surrounding area. We visited the modern Church of the Transfiguration at Mount Tabor.

Our first stop on 15.11.12 was at the Church of St. Peter’s Primacy, built on the waterfront, next to ancient steps leading down to the sea. The day before we heard news of the Hama military chief of staff being assassinated resulting in unrest at the Gaza Strip, and as we travelled along, we saw tanks and military camps. I was praying earnestly for God’s grace and mercy to be upon us as we continued our journey along Golan Heights. We arrived at the spectacular River Dan, the largest and most important tributary of the Jordan River. The next site we visited was the Nazareth Biblical Village. We set off in the morning of 16.11.12, cleared the Jordan Customs, and visited Mount Nebo. From Mount Nebo, we are able to have a panoramic view of the Holy Land of Israel and the Jordan River. There is the Brazen Serpent Monument (brazen serpent on the cross, Num 21 : 7-9) outside the present-day shrine.

I thank God for a meaningful and fulfilling educational pilgrim trip, His Word truly came alive! The journey of tracing the footsteps of Jesus with biblical reference and the warm fellowship of pilgrims is indelible. The whole pilgrim journey could only be made possible because of His gracious providence and blessings, all thanks and glory be unto Him!

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Christina Tan A friend of Arine Tham

I did not have any expectations when I signed up and joined the tour. However, this has been an eye opening tour for me. Through this trip, I learned to better appreciate the events and places mentioned in the Bible, particularly those recorded in the Old Testament.

Among all the places visited that have left deep impressions on me, I would like to mention the tour in Timna National Park, where we visited the reconstructed Tabernacle and the sites of King Solomon’s Pillars. The guided tour of the Tabernacle provided an in depth insight and understanding of the significance of the Tabernacle which God had instructed to build, e.g. the significance of the colours of the curtains, etc. Having born the heat, we climbed up to higher ground at the King Solomon’s Pillars and looking at the barren wilderness, I could not help to ask how Moses and the Israelites survived in such barren wilderness for forty years. Maybe the weather then was not as hot and dry as we experienced now. But to me, this demonstrated how merciful and faithful our God is. Despite the fact that the Israelites did not trust and disobeyed God at times, God did not abandon them but was with them and saw them through during their stay in the wilderness even though ultimately, Moses and the generation of Israelites who distrusted and disobeyed God did not enter the Promised Land.

God is gracious, merciful and faithful and this should not be an excuse for us to continue in disobedience if we have strayed from Him. But rather we should turn back and look to God and continue to seek to obey Him, magnify and glorify Him in our everyday living.

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Calvin Chan Philadelphia BPC

This was my second time to Israel and first time to Jordan. We started our journey from Amman and travelled down to Petra. As we reached Petra, I was amazed by the magnificent sight of solid and bright rocky hill on both sides of the ravine on our way to the treasury and these reminded me of the first line of the hymn Rock of Ages -"Rock of ages, cleft me, Let me hide myself in Thee" and the chorus of The Solid Rock - "On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand- All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand." We continued to travel south along the 'King Highway' and we could only see the beautiful sunset - both sides of the road are sandy ground with no vegetation in sight. Is my Christian life barren or fruitful?

We crossed over to Israel and experienced the extensive immigration process, one of our members was being held up, we were all praying to God in the bus for him to be released and after about an hour we saw him came out. Praise God.

We continued our journey from the south of Israel to Timna National Park in the Negev, where we saw a life-sized model of the Tabernacle with all its furniture. I thank God that through Christ's atonement we do not need to go through the sacrificial process of the Israelites at that time. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, ’Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? f any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.’

Spending the night staying in the Judean wilderness, in Bedouin tents at Kfar Ha-Nokdim cum Camel ride was an experience for me. I was worried about the cold and it was indeed very cold in the early hour of the night and I have to walk briskly to the toilet. I thank God that I did not get a chill.

We journeyed on in the southern wilderness to : Ein Gedi meaning "The Spring of the Kid." This was David's strong hold where he hid from King Saul. He came very close to David but he did not kill him instead he cut a small piece of his robe. 1 Samue23:29 & 1 Samuel 24 - Romans 12:19, ‘ Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.’

Qumran is where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered in the cave by Bedouin shepherd chasing the stray sheep. Truly, it was by the providence of God that these scrolls were found and today we have the complete Bible.1 Peter 1:25, ’ But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.’

At night fall, our bus entered Jerusalem, the driver played a song with the chorus "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! ...... but my heart was humming the chorus. We’re marching to Zion, Beautiful, beautiful Zion; We're marching upward to Zion, The beautiful city of God." Longing for that day when we enter the city of God. Hebrews 12:22, ’But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels.’

Jerusalem, King David's mountaintop capital is holy to the world's three monotheistic religious groups - Jew, Christian and Moslem. We visited the Wailing/ Western Wall - the only remaining wall of the Old City, which Israel had reclaimed it during the Six Day War. We experienced the spectacular view of the city from Mt Olives, memorial walk down to the city and squeezing our way through the alley of The Via Dolorosa (The Way of Suffering)-where Jesus walked on the way to His crucifixion. We also visited to the Garden Tomb outside the walls of Jerusalem, which is believed to be where Christ was buried and resurrected. John 20. On Sunday, we worshipped at Baraka Bible Presbyterian Church in Bethlehem. We continued to visit a few more site and by evening, we arrived further north to Tiberias, Sea of Galilee.

At Tiberias, we visited the places where Jesus conducted His ministry. To name some : 1) Mount of Beatitudes - The Sermon on the Mount. (Matthew 5 – 7 and Luke6) 2) Tabgha - Jesus called Peter and Andrew to follow Him to be "fishers of men" (Matthew 4:18-19) and the feeding of the 5000, took place (Mark 6:35-44). 7

3) Church of St Peter's Primacy - The resurrected Jesus showed Himself to His disciples and restored Peter (John 21). We took a boat ride and the water was calmed. As recorded in the Gospel of Matthew 8:23-27—Jesus rebuked the winds and the sea and Mark 6:45-52 - where He walked on water.

We visited Mount Carmel , which is in the north-west of Israel, where Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal (1 King 18). We had a beautiful view of the various hills beyond the plain of Jezreel below. One of which is Mount Tabor (we had to change to a smaller bus to drive up) and Christians have identified a rock atop here as the place of the Transfiguration of Christ since the 4 th century AD.

Mount Nebo, we visited on our return to Jordan, where Moses was given a view of the promised land - Deuteronomy 32:49, ’Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession:’

All these and many other venues had made the Bible come to life and have given me the assurance of my faith in God through the Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour. John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

I praise and thank God for providing all my needs and giving me good health and protection throughout the trip. Even (the timing), when the clash began between Israel's southern border and Gaza in the south, we were all in the north. Truly, God was with us throughout this journey.

Psalms 27:1-2 A Psalm of David.

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.

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Lilian New Life BPC

There are so many things on my heart as I uploaded the photos I have taken unto my Facebook timeline. I recalled many lessons I learned and I shall just share a few here!

The desert wilderness is immense. The coach took us miles far between destinations – and this makes me wonder : what must have been like for the Israelites to wander in such desert wilderness? Surely it is the Lord’s training programme for more patience and faith. Yet right in the desert, the Lord in His sovereignty brought into being such wonderful things! Petra was really spectacular: A desert city that was entranced by a dark deep narrow gorge that is a natural geological feature: At the end of the siq was the splendid Treasury hewn into the sandstone cliff! En Gedi was another marvel! Right in the desert, there is this spring and the rushing water must have brought respite to man and animals for it is here that we see many ibex and the hyrax too. Psalm 63 which Song Xi Hai read for us in Chinese reminded us of God’s faithfulness. In life’s adversity, God will find a way out for us and while we go through the hardship, He will sustain us in the same way that He did for His servant David.

I was so excited when our coach drove into Jerusalem – the rush of emotions heightened by the driver playing for us the hymn Jerusalem, the Holy City! So many things happened in this place and I wanted to see everything and walk where Jesus walked – or at least near where He walked! In reality, I soon realised that I have to keep focused because a lot of the places are so much enshrined by other faiths and they are very crowded and very touristy. It really helped that Rev Jack Sin and Rev Frank Low read the Bible to us and exhorted from these appropriate passages.

There are a few places that I really love. The Garden of Gethsemane was not a beautiful garden but the 8 olive trees we saw there had a lot of character. Their huge twisted trunks testify to their age and they may well be the ones that witnessed the agony of our Lord Jesus as He approached Calvary. The other garden was the Garden Tomb. It was very beautiful and serene in keeping with our heart’s quiet satisfaction that the Lord died so as to redeem us and he was buried and he rose again the third day! We felt so close to Him when we partook of the Holy Communion in this Garden. Another memorable place is the Mount of Olives. It was a very cold and windy morning when we were there but our hearts warmed when Pastor Jack read Zechariah 14. For this place is not just of historical importance – the Lord ascended from this mount! The Bible tells us He will return and descend on this same mount. I could not believe the incredible number of graves that are near the mount – there are so many who await the Messiah’s return!

The Lord’s Day brought us into Bethlehem – the birth place of our Lord. The high point for me in this city is the Baraka Bible Presbyterian Church where I was so blessed. The worship began with prayers and the prayers were in English and Arabic and Song Xi Hai was asked to pray also in Chinese. It was also the first time that we sang in Arabic. I was very moved to see the Arabic script which I have always admired but now these words are praising the Lord! Please we must remember to pray for our brethren and for the Arab Christians which are very few!

The Jews have a difficult past and this is evident in the Holocaust Museum – it was very painful to see and hear the testimonies of the survivors of the Holocaust. Yet God’s favour upon this land and her people is obvious too. In the Israel Museum, there is a wing called the Shrine of the Book which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls. When we visited Qumran, we marvelled that it was a very rough place and there were so many caves – how did the shepherd boy who was looking for his lost goats just happen upon the cave with the Dead Sea Scrolls?! The Jews themselves when asked what they find most amazing about the finds of the Scrolls said that they were intrigued that the Hebrew language remained the same after all these years. Indeed this is the divine preservation of our precious Word. Towards the end of our journey, when we were in Tiberias, we learned of a conflict in the Gaza Strip. This again helped me see the kind of tension Israel has to live with in this modern world – it is as if their existence is an affront to Satan. May the Lord enable His people to come out of the darkness into His marvellous Light.

Of course, there is the bonus of making new friends! Israel was always a place that I would like to visit and I am grateful to the Lord for granting me this opportunity. In fact I was very apprehensive about this trip because of my physical condition and I told all my friends to pray for my legs! But thank God, not only did I survived the whole journey, my legs held up well too! All praise to the Lord!

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Vivien Lee Sydney Anglican Church

Thank you for organising such an amazing journey for us, and I am grateful that Peng Ha thought of me while looking for someone to twin share with her.

I spent a fair bit of time going through what I saw during the trip, so that I could share with the ladies at my Chinese bible group this morning in church. This has helped me to learn more through Google and the bible. What I could cover was very limited today and I will see if there will be opportunity some other time.

Now that I have travelled to Israel, reading the bible and relating to past events and or places will never be the same again.

Thank you again for the opportunity to meet all these nice friends.

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The Lord was gracious to bring 30 kids to the CCG 2012.

Hong Che Hwee teaching the upper primary class and Chan Kim Siu teaching the lower primary class.

Julia Chen teaching the nursery class

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Games led by Shaun and Scott Ng.

Hannah Tan and Grace Tau leading in the singspiration

Refreshment time by Dn. Ng Thiam Koon and Chwei Ling.

Theme for the Quarter : Developing Christian Disciplines In The Lord Dn. Lee Hock Chin Discipline Of The Christian Family (Deuteronomy 6:1-25)

[End of MM]

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