Today is packing day for me and last minute meetings for Dwayne. We leave for Israel tomorrow! I can’t wait to see Jerusalem and Bethlehem and Cana and Nazareth and imagine our Lord Jesus living in those places.
This morning I read Psalm 27 and thought not only about what it meant to its author, David, or how it applies to me today, but also what it meant to Jesus. It’s thrilling for me to think that Jesus had the same Psalm. Reading it through His eyes gives it an entirely new perspective. For instance, verse 8: “My heart has heard you say, ‘Come and talk with me.’ And my heart responds, ‘Lord, I am coming.’” He often walked to a remote place to talk with His Father. I will think about this while we traverse the Holy Land, looking for quiet places where He might have hidden in prayer. For the next two weeks I hope to write to you from Israel, if technology cooperates.
Dwayne made a quick trip south last week to the Carolinas, connecting with many friends who are involved with Kingdom Air Corps. He is currently at the hangar at Rock Top Airport in Chamberburg, PA where he will meet with a family today about serving with us. Other volunteers are there, as well, maintaining airplanes, renovating housing for missionary flight students, and enjoying the sight of airplanes taking off in the cool fall air. This will continue while we are away.
As I go through today, I’ll be thinking more about Jesus as He might have meditated on David’s words in Psalm 27:11-13: “Teach me how to live, O Lord. Lead me along the path of honesty, for my enemies are waiting for me to fall. Do not let me fall into their hands. For they accuse me of things I’ve never done and breathe out violence against me. Yet I am confident that I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.” See what I mean! These Holy Spirit inspired words spoke of Jesus’s life and struggles as well as our own.