Zion's Messenger

Volume 11 Issue 5
May 2006




After Easter, May Flowers and the Promise of a New Summer


    1Ki 2:11 - The period that David reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years.

    Mt 16:21 - From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

    Heb 12:22 - But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels.

    Re 21:2 - Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

    2Co 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

    Re 21:5 - Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

     May Is a Time of Renewal. We like Spring and we like to be reminded that things can begin again, like flowers and such. We in the church like to think about Pentecost and the birthday of the church, the start of something new. We invite people to join us in membership at Zion for Pentecost and we celebrate God's new ventures for us in His plans for the church.

     Perspective. As many of you know, Cindi and I are in Israel along with our two sons, Michael and Matthew. We have come to Israel with Pastor Barnhart and his tour group. We are, no doubt, seeing many of the places mentioned in the Bible as you are reading this. We may even be in Jerusalem. Perhaps you have wondered, is Jerusalem any more than a dot on the map of the world?

     The Bible's View of Jerusalem. There is more than one Jerusalem. The perfect model for Jerusalem is in heaven with poor replicas on earth. Here's an explanation in a nutshell. The Bible uses the same word "Jerusalem" for several different places. There is Jerusalem with its city itself and its people in the historical sense (1Ki 2:11). There is the institutional Jerusalem of the past with its religious institutions and Temple (Mt 16:21). Then there is the real Jerusalem which is in heaven--it is the model or the pattern on which the earthly Jerusalem was supposed to be built (Heb 12:22). The heavenly Jerusalem, of course, is more than a model because it is the heavenly abode of God, Christ, the angels, and the saints of the Old and New Testament.

     A Future and a Hope. The church year has carried us along from Advent to Christmas to Lent and now to the Easter Season. We talk about death and resurrection and ascension. We understand that God works through change, but our understanding of Jerusalem helps us understand what God is up to. Jesus Christ is going to return. There will be a time of judgment, a time when Satan will exit this place and the world will be restored. That is, our place with God will again be ours. No separation because of sin! Only togetherness with our Heavenly Father! The Bible explains that the heavenly Jerusalem will be physically moved and come to rest right where the present city lies. It will come down from heaven to earth. We even get some dimensions of this city in the Scriptures. Most remarkable, it will be like a bride coming to her husband (Re 21:2).

     Renewal in Christ. So where does Jesus Christ fit in? Judge? Yes, but much more! Would you believe that He is the One to make revisions, to make new. He is the One to take our old natures and make us totally new and able to live with Him without the intervention of sin from our heart or from Satan. He will truly make things new (2Co 5:17).

     Look to Jesus. When all is said and done, when this present Jerusalem is only a fading memory, when the new Jerusalem is established in this land Cindi and I are visiting right now, there is Jesus, the One Who makes all things new (Re 21:5). We can have confidence in Him. May flowers bring the promise of summer just as Jesus Christ and Easter bring the promise of renewal in Him.

~Pastor Dave




“I am the good shepherd.”

~John 10:14




Grandma's Hands

     Grandma, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench. She didn't move, just sat with her head down staring at her hands. When I sat down beside her she didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I wondered if she was OK.

     Finally, not really wanting to disturb her but wanting to check on her at the same time, I asked her if she was OK. She raised her head and looked at me and smiled. Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking, she said in a clear strong voice.

     “I didn't mean to disturb you, grandma, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK,” I explained to her.

     Have you ever looked at your hands she asked. I mean really looked at your hands?

     I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point she was making.

     Grandma smiled and related this story:

     Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years. These hands, though wrinkled, shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life.

     They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor. They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back.  As a child my mother taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled  on my boots.

     They dried the tears of my children and caressed the love of my life. They wiped my tears when my husband went off to war. They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent. They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold our newborn daughter.

     Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special. They wrote the letters home and trembled and shook when I buried my parents and spouse.

     They have held children, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand. They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer. These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of my life.

     But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of Christ.

     I will never look at my hands the same again. But I remember God reached out and took my grandma's hands and led her home. When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my children and husband I think of grandma. I know she has been stroked and caressed and held by the hands of God.

     I, too, want to touch the face of God and feel his hands upon my face.

     ~Unknown