EGYPT-ISRAEL-PALESTINE

Hi Everyone,

Since Gayla and I will be out of the country for 10 days I will not be updating my "Refresco" for two weeks.

I have included our schedule so that you can use it as a prayer guide while we travel.

 

Middle East Mission Trip

Daily Prayer Guide

Pray for Pastor Ruben and Gayla to experience God’s constant presence, protection, provision, peace and power as ambassadors of Jesus Christ.

Monday, October 18

• Traveling to Dallas; Dallas to London

Tuesday, October 19

• Traveling from London to Cairo, Egypt

Wednesday, October 20

• Acclimating to time & culture changes
• Orientation and overview
• Local sightseeing/prayer walks

Thursday, October 21

• Meet with local pastors
• Ministering at Shams El Birr (Orphanage for disabled children)

Friday, October 22 (=Islamic Holy Day)

• “Coptic Cairo”-oldest inhabited Christian area & church in Egypt. (Al-Muallaqa)
• Ministering at boy’s orphanage

Saturday, October 23

• Ministering at “Garbage City”
• Meet w/President of Protestant Churches of Egypt and the President of the Middle East Council of Christian Churches
• Ministering at girl’s orphanage

Sunday, October 24

• Traveling to Amman, Jordan; Amman, Jordan to Tel Aviv, Israel
• Attend local Worship service

Monday, October 25

• Loocal sightseeing/prayer walks
• Meet w/Jewish & Christian leaders

Tuesday, October 26

• Ministering to local pastors
• Ministering to displaced war victim

Wednesday, October 27

• Visit historical and religious sites
• Attend local Worship service

Thursday, October 28

• Traveling Tel Avia, Israel to London; London to Dallas; Dallas to El Paso

Scripture(s):
“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
(Hebrews 4:16) [NASB] Read vs. 14-16

“... my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” (Isaiah 56:7b) [ESV]


Open:
What images/memories come to your mind when you hear the word pray? Why?

Back ground comments:

(Hebrews 4:14-16)

    

(v. 14) Christ is superior to any priest, and his priesthood is superior to their priesthood. To the Jews, the high priest was the highest religious authority in the land. He alone entered in the Holy of Holies in the temple once a year to make atonement for the sins of the whole nation. See (Leviticus 16) Like the high priest, Jesus mediates between God and us. As humanity’s representative, He intercedes for us before God. As God’s representative, he assures us of God’s forgiveness. Jesus has more authority than the Jewish high priests because he is truly God and truly man. Unlike the high priest who could go before God only once a year, Christ is always at God’s right hand, interceding for us. He is always available to hear us when we pray.
     

(v. 15) Jesus is like us because He experienced a full range of temptations throughout His life as a human being. We can be comforted knowing that Jesus faced temptation - He can sympathize with us. We can be encouraged knowing that Jesus faced temptation without giving in to sin. He shows us that we do not have to sin when facing the seductive lure of temptation. Jesus is the only perfect human being who has ever lived.
     

(v. 16) Prayer is our approach to God, and we are to come “with confidence.” Some Christians approach God meekly with heads hung low, afraid to ask him to meet their needs. Other pray flippantly, giving little thought to what they say. Come with reverence because He is your King. But also come with bold assurance because He is your Friend and Counselor.

(Isaiah 56:7)

     

Jesus quoted from this verse when he threw the money changers out of the temple: (Mark 11:15-17) [NASB] “Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. And He began to teach and say to them, "Is it not written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS'? But you have made it a ROBBERS' DEN.”

(Mark 11:15-17)

     

Jesus became angry, but he did not sin. There is a place for righteous indignation. Christians are right to be upset about sin and injustice and should take a stand against them. Unfortunately, believers are often passive about these important issues and instead get angry over personal insults and petty irritations. Make sure your anger is directed toward the right issues.
    

Money changers and merchants did big business during Passover. Those who came from foreign countries had to have their money changed into temple currency because this was the only money accepted for the temple tax and for the purchase of sacrificial animals. Often the inflated exchange rate enriched the money changers, and the exorbitant prices of animals made the merchants wealthy.

Explore:
Do you approach God with confidence/boldness or with timidity when you pray? Why?
In your opinion, have are our modern day churches “houses of prayer” or houses of “other things”? What are the “other things”?
How does it make you feel and mean to you to know that you have a mediator in Jesus?

Get it:
When was the last time you spent quality time talking to God in prayer?
If Christ is our friend and counselor why is it that we don’t treat the relationship as such?

Apply:
In what way have our modern day churches become like the temple referred to in Mark 11?
If we truly believe that prayer is talking to God, why then do we spend so little time praying?
How can you strengthen your prayer life?

Background comments excerpted from: Life Application Study Bible, NIV, Tyndale House Publishers Inc.

Blessings, Pastor Ruben

"LIVING OUT MY BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW"

Scripture(s): "Anyone who says he’s a Christian should live as Christ did." (1 John 2:6) [LB] Read (1 John 2:1-10)

Open:
Who, as a person do you most admire? What character qualities do they have that are worth emulating?

 

Back ground comments:
(2:1) John uses the address “dear children” in a warm fatherly way. He is not talking down to his readers but is showing affection for them. At this writing, John was a very old man. He had spent almost all his life in ministry, and many of his readers were without a doubt his spiritual children.

(2:2) To people who are feeling guilty and condemned, John offers reassurance. They know they have sinned, and Satan, (called) “the accuser” in (Rev. 12:10), is demanding the death penalty. When you feel this way, don't give up hope – the best defense attorney in the universe is pleading your case. Jesus Christ, your advocate, your defender, is the Judge's Son. He has already suffered your penalty in your place. You can't be tried for a case that is no longer on the docket. United with Christ, you are as safe as He is. Don't be afraid to ask Christ to plead your case – he has already won it (see Romans 8:33; Hebrews 7:24, 25).

Jesus Christ is the atoning sacrifice for our sins (see also 4:10). He is our defense attorney. He can stand before God as our mediator because His death satisfied the wrath of God against sin and paid the death penalty for our sin. Thus Christ both satisfies God's requirement and removes sin. In Him, we are forgiven and purified.

Sometimes it's difficult to forgive those who wrong us. Imagine how hard it would be to forgive all people, no matter what they had done! This is what God has done in Jesus. No one, no matter what sin has been committed, is beyond forgiveness. All a person has to do is turn from sin, receive Christ's forgiveness, and commit his or her life to Christ.

(2:3-5) How can you be sure that you belong to Christ? This passage gives two ways to know: if you do what Christ says and live as Christ wants. What does Christ tell us to do? John answers in 3:23: “to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another.” True Christian faith results in loving behavior; that is why John says that the way we act can give us assurance that we belong to Christ.

(2:6) To “walk as Jesus did” doesn't mean choosing 12 disciples, performing great miracles, and being crucified. We cannot copy Christ’s life – much of what Jesus did had to do with His identity as God's Son, the fulfillment of His special role in dying for sin, and the cultural context of the first century Roman world. To walk today as Christ did, we must obey His teachings and follow His example of complete obedience to God in loving service to people.

Excerpted from Life Application Study Bible, New International Version, Tyndale House Publishers Inc.

Explore:   
What does it mean “to live as Christ”?
What are the things we look for to gauge if we are succeeding?

Get it:
How does it make you feel to know that Jesus speaks to God in our defense? (v. 1)
What is the relationship between God's love and our obedience?

Apply:
What are the two tests given in this passage for determining whether one really knows God (2:3, 10)?
How are you doing in each of these areas? What changes need to take place?

Questions Excerpted from NIV Serendipity Bible, Zondervan

Blessings, Pastor Ruben