Here we are a number of years ago in Odessa, Ukraine, the birth place of the Messianic Jewish Bible Institute. “For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this,” (Isaiah 37:32). The above scripture was part of my…
Joy’s Dilemma
My treasured keepsakes bulge in pockets of time—rather moments—that are tucked hard against the bones of my heart. They remain as fresh and life-giving as the first-offerings of spring rosesbuds, tight with fragrance and bleeding of crimson that smears across my fingers as I pull them out one petal at a time. The edges are…
The Frayed Hem
Earth’s latitude and longitude run as high as humankind’s intelligence and as long and wide as our strength and life span. Here we live caged. We run the circled courses of these by the second—up and down and around—our machinations are profound. We are curing cancer and changing sexes, flying beyond the moon and putting steak sauce…
Scottish Revival 1923
You can’t visit Scotland and not drink from the deep spiritual wells there, dug by stalwart Scottish Christians proclaiming salvation with changed lives. Right where I am standing here in Portsoy on the Banffshire coast, in front of the Shore Inn, a revival broke out in 1923. Here is an excerpt from, “Floods upon Dry…
Ineffable
Remember when we watched—mesmerized by majestic deer on the distant highlands, feeding at noon? And our friends exclaimed, “How intriguing for this time of day!” The ground shook; and the sun, moon, and stars broke to pause and peer for a lifetime of five seconds. It was the cry of the seagulls and arcs of…
Weeping Skies
While in Scotland, I wept the sound of rain in unison with the heavens’ downpour upon an ancient land. The first drops sparkled as they mingled with soil and salt and sand. Their song is eternal—a melody of old, known to fishermen and warriors, whose deepest joy is bound to Him. The world grows black,…
Unveiled
During our stay in Scotland at the Blairmore House in Huntly, owned and operated by Ellel Ministries as a healing and restoration place for senior Christian leaders, I relished waking up each morning in the beautifully restored and refurbished castle in the highlands. Gray clouds and drizzling rain overtook the skies almost daily, still my…
For Freedom
As sure as first light, the silvery mist rises from Scotland’s moors and mountains and lingers all the day, past midnight blue. It is a perfumed haze, a glimpse of the Son of Man himself, Jesus, Warrior and King—who walks in thin air across the land. His footprints drip in the mist with fragrance as…
First Rain
Sometimes the rain carries me to the eternal God Himself whose shadow He deigned to shimmer within a fading fragment— like a raindrop. When heaven and earth blend, the atmosphere grows redolent with eternity. One small picture of that mix is rain and earth. First rain mingled with soil takes on an irresistible scent. Before…
Yes
Yes, I’ll journey with you to Skull Hill in springtime, the hyacinths dripping of perfume and the lily blazing purity in the flooding sunshine of noonday. I’m frail and naked and ashamed— beaten and exposed to my bone’s marrow, but I will go with you. I’ll fall upon you in the river of crimson that…