The Greatest Life Ever

God is looking for?

I have spent the day in prayer for the church I pastor, it's leadership, staff and my family.  It has been very rewarding.  One of the most grabbing moments of the day was when read from one of my favorite authors, E.M. Bounds and his book "Power through Prayer".  I have quoted him directly.  Since he lived in the 1800's the language will reflect that.  It's interesting to hear him speak of the problems of and the solutions needed in the 1800's and how they most certainly apply today.

E.M. Bounds wrote, "We are constantly on a stretch, if not on a strain, to devise new methods, new plans, new organizations to advance the Church and secure enlargement and efficiency for the gospel. This trend of the day has a tendency to lose sight of the man or sink the man in the plan or organization.  God's plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than of anything else.  Men are God's method.  The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men...The glory and efficiency of the gospel is staked on the men who proclaim it...What the Church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use- men of prayer, men mighty in prayer.  The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men.  He does not come on machinery, but on men.  He does not anoint plans, but men-men of prayer."

I kneel convicted.  Pray.  Pray.  Pray.

This Can Change Your Life Forever

 I can’t believe it, in just about seven months I’ll be landing in Tel Aviv, Israel followed by a quick tour bus ride to the holiest spot in all of creation, Jerusalem.  Jerusalem is where the Divine and the human connect.  Jerusalem is where heaven and earth intersect.  It’s where Jesus spent much of his life.  It is where Jesus worshiped and provided sacrifices in the Temple.  It’s where Jesus was separated from his family at the age of twelve and they found him studying with the great Rabbi’s.  It’s where Jesus healed many people and taught many crowds.  Jerusalem is where Jesus and his disciples gathered in an olive orchard to rest, teach and pray (see photo at left).  Jerusalem is where Jesus was tried and crucified and where he ascended into heaven. 

If there was one place I could I wish I could take all my friends and their friends it would be to Israel.  I know that going to Israel is not on many top ten lists, but it should be because it's the surprise of a life time.  After making three trips to Israel I can assure everyone that nothing can renew, revive, and refresh a life like walking where Jesus walked.  The smell the Sea of Galilee, the crunch of the rock under your feet at Jericho, and seeing the ancient city gates of Jerusalem do something to one’s spirit.  When I stand on the traditional site of the Sermon on the Mount and see the wild flowers dotting the landscape I understand better than ever what Jesus meant when he told the crowd that not “even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these” (Matthew 6.29).  Walking where Jesus walked has transformed my life.  And I believe it can for you too.  

A passage of scripture that captures the essence of a trip to Israel is in the book of Luke chapter 24. Two unknown disciples are walking from Jerusalem to a town called Emmaus trying to make sense out of Jesus' crucifixion several days earlier.  Along the way a stranger joins up with them and is invited to walk with them.  The unknown man asks them what they're discussing and why they're so downcast.  They tell him about Jesus and the crucifixion.  Once in Emmaus they ask their new friend to join them for dinner.  He accepts.  And out of courtesy he asks for the privilege of blessing the meal.  Read what the bible says happens next.

"He took the bread, made the blessing, broke it and handed it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.  But he became invisible to them.  They said to each other, Didn't our hearts burn inside us as he spoke to us on the road, opening up the Scriptures to us?"  They got up at once, returned to Jerusalem and found the other disciples gathered together with their friends, saying, "It's true!  The Lord has risen!  Peter saw him. Then the two told what had happened on the road and how he had become known to them in the breaking of the bread."  (The gospel of Luke, chapter 24 verses 30-35)

This is what happens to people who walk where Jesus walked.  Come walk with me and others on the roads in Israel.  And don't be surprised if on one of those roads God becomes very real to you and transforms your life.

Anyone and everyone is welcome to travel with me.  There is more information about the pilgrimage on this site.  Just go the left side of the page and click on Register for Pilgrimage to the Holy Land 2011.   

If you have any questions please contact me at bryan@asbury-lr.org or bryanwfink@gmail.com or on Facebook.  

It May Have Begun on these very Steps

Never the same again.

There have been many God moments in my life.  God moments are those episodes in time where for some reason I have felt the presence of God in my life.  But none more frequent and more powerful than the days I spent in Isra'el in 2006.

I can not begin to explain what it is like to step foot on the Mount of Olives or to have my knees touch the rock in the Garden of Gethsemane in prayer.  I remember being so overcome in the Garden that I couldn't get back up from praying.  It was as if the rock was a giant magnet pulling my soul towards it.  And once there, I found it difficult to get back up.

The last time I prayed there all I could say was, "Lord, not my will but thine."  Even though I tried to say other things, that's all that was allowed to be spoken.  To pray where the Messiah, my Lord, God in the flesh prayed is more than any one can imagine.

One thing is for sure.  The bible and my understanding of it is much different.  When I read about Jesus praying in the garden, I know what it looked like.  I touched an olive tree, I saw it's branches, I saw how rocky the so called garden was, which by the way was really an olive orchard.  I know what orchard smelled like and I could see the old city walls of Jerusalem just across the little valley.  Amazing.  Life changing.  Spiritually uplifting. 

It is my desire to take as many people as I can to the Holy Land so that they can experience what the disciples experienced.  I want to take people to Isra'el so that when they read the Scriptures they know about what they read.  Those who have traveled with me say that when they read the bible now, that it is no longer a flat book, but it's like a pop up story book with the sights and sounds coming to life.

I'd love to take you to Isra'el sometime.  You'll never be the same again.  If you would ever be interested in traveling to Israel with me please contact me or take a look at the Holy Land page on the left of my homepage for more information.