Getting into Israel

I've had a few discussions with a friend about why Israel restricts/hassles some people (who only bring good to Israel) with residency or visa issues but then grants others (who bring bad to Israel) access. If you can understand Hebrew (even if you can't, you can still get the gist), you will enjoy this video called "Welcome to Israel!"

End of Week One...

Yesterday I completed the first week of teaching at Teoloska Bibljiska Akademija (TBA) here in Krapina, Croatia. I am teaching two courses: The Geography of the Holy Land, and New Testament Survey I (The Gospels and Acts). It was exciting to see students exposed to how understanding the land of the Bible (the geography and topography) upon which God worked in history to accomplish His will and make Himself known as the God who is unlike the gods of the nations, impacts their own sudy of the Bible and personal walk with the Lord. This week we covered the major geographical locations, basic topography of the land, important routes of travel, the city of Jerusalem throughout the Biblical era and also the routes people used to approach Jerusalem, and also showed some pictures of Jerusalem's progress over the last century including modern views (taken this summer). I was able to use many of of the pictures I took this summer to illustrate and also exposed the students to the Pictoral Library of Bible Lands (produced by Todd Bolen, cf. BiblePlaces.com) which the school has in its library but which the students had never personally seen the wealth of its resource.

Here is a picture of the Geogrpahy of the Holy Land class (left to right: Elizabeta (married to Mario), Mario, Momir, Abel, Joshua, Marko, Daniel):

I also have the opportunity to teach the first year students a course on New Testament survey. We are currently using the gospel of Luke as a platform for a study of the life of Jesus Christ, which we will follow with the other gospel accounts and a study of the book of Acts (also including a focus on the life of the apostles and life and ministry of Paul). On Friday, I gave my students their first quiz. Here is a picture (left to right: Sasha, Trojko):

Personally, I am enjoying the time of study for the courses and time to read as well. Teaching the courses has also given me insight into the life of a professor including some of the challenges (for example, your voice is not the same after teaching for 5 hours as it was when you started).

Croatia

I arrived safely back in Croatia on Saturday morning. The last couple weeks have been especially challenging. The Lord used them to teach me about Himself and His working. Perhaps I will share some details in a later post but maybe a good verse for you to meditate on is found in Psalm 40:4, "How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood."

In the next few days, I will be finishing preparations for teaching next week at the Teoloska Bibljiska Akademija, a Biblical/ministererial training school in Krapina, Croatia. Next week will be challenging with 24 hours of scheduled teaching. I am looking forward to seeing how God may use me in this opportunity.

Please pray for His strengthening me and giving guidance for this task and for much fruit the lives and ministries of the students.

Here is a picture of class.


2Tim. 2:2 The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.