For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16





Welcome To My Christian Blog: The Upper Room


As I departed from the plane and walked down the steps of the aircraft to the tarmac, I experienced a "rush" unlike any feeling I have ever had in my life. I knew that I was in a very special place, but little did I know that this experience would change my life forever. It was Tel Aviv, Israel in 1989, and I was beginning to embark on an adventure that I would hold near and dear to me for the rest of my life. Destination Jerusalem!

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: THEY SHALL PROSPER THAT LOVE THEE. Psalms 122:6

I will endeavor to share many reflections and highlights of my journeys to the Holy Land in the 1980's and 1990's on this Blog while at the same time, sharing and conveying some inspirational stories, quotes, biblical verses, and insights from my Christian vantage point. I am a Born Again Christian, although I do not espouse to, or embrace any one particular Christian denomination, nor do I oppose any particlular Christian denomination. I believe in The Father, The Son, Jesus Christ, and The Holy Spirit, and have always accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. I recognize the Jewishness of Jesus (Yeshua, the Jewish name for Jesus), and as a Christian I cherish my Jewish heritage. I pray that others will be blessed by reading this Christian Blog, and with the hopes that many will come to accept Yeshua as their personal Lord and Savior.

What Is The Upper Room Exactly?


Traditionally Cenacle (from Latin cenaculum) is the term for the Upper Room, or the site of The Last Supper. This word is a derivative of the Latin word "cena," which means dinner. Some Christians believe it lies in the second floor of a building on Mount Zion, in Jerusalem, just outside the Dormition Church behind the Franciscan house on Sion, and south of the Zion Gate in the Old City walls. In the basement of the building is what is supposed by Jewish leaders as King David's Tomb, although the Bible says David was buried in the city of David, which is south of Mount Moriah. In Christian tradition, this was the site where the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples of Jesus on the day of Pentecost. The building was spared during the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus (AD 70) and became the site of the first Christian church. It was later destroyed by Persian invaders and rebuilt by a monk called Modestus. During the Crusades, the building was razed to the ground by Muslims and replaced by the Crusaders with a basilica. Franciscan monks cared for the Cenacle from 1333 to 1552 when the Turks captured Jerusalem and banished all Christians. After the Franciscan friars' eviction, this room was transformed into a mosque, as evidenced by the mihrab in the direction of Mecca and an Arabic inscription prohibiting public prayer at the site. Christians were not allowed to return until the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.

I have decided to call this Blog "The Upper Room", as my personal and spiritual experiences and enlightenments in Jerusalem's Upper Room have inspired me to finally commence writing a Christian Blog. I hope and pray that you will find some peace and solice here.

Peace To All Who Enter The Upper Room

Patricia

The Upper Room In Jerusalem

The Upper Room In Jerusalem

Friday, July 18, 2008

The Light Of The World



Sue and her mother were visiting Grandma. Sue had learned a new song — at least it was new to her. Over and over again she sang:
"This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine."
"I like that little song, Sue," Grandma said, "Where did you learn it?"
"At Sunday school," answered Sue.
"Well, well," said Grandma, "now I'll sing a song for you that I learned in Sunday school when I was a little girl."
And Grandma sang just as lovely a song as Sue did. This was her song:
"Jesus bids us shine with a pure, clear light, Like a little candle burning in the night;In this world of darkness, so we must shine—You in your small corner, and I in mine."
"Do you know what that reminds me of ?" asked Sue's mother. "I'm remembering a little candle that was burning one night a long time ago that saved our lives. Do you remember that candle?" she asked Grandma.
Grandma would never forget! It happened when Sue's mother (whose name was Jeanne) was a little girl. Jeanne and her parents lived in an area called "Florida Beach." Florida Beach was a stretch of sand along the east coast of Florida with water on both sides. During severe storms and hurricanes with high tides and high waves, the ocean waves would wash over this narrow strip of sand.
One day the path of a hurricane passed near where they lived. The winds had become very strong and the waves very high. Jeanne and her mother watched the water swirling higher and higher. It felt as if their house were going to collapse and they were afraid. "I wish Daddy were home!" Jeanne could remember thinking: "He would know what to do."
Finally she and her mother decided to go to Aunt Mary and Uncle Jim's house which was just up the beach. Although they got soaking wet from the high water and the wind-driven rain, they were able to reach Uncle Jim's safely.
The four were glad to be together. Soon the high water would be swirling around Uncle Jim's house, too. They would have to try to get to the mainland!
All four got into Uncle Jim's car. The waters swirled against it, but they decided they had to try to reach the mainland anyway. They would have to take the road to the bridge which crossed the Intercoastal Waterway to the mainland. But there was so much water swirling around that they couldn't see the road; they could only guess where it was. They had made that short trip so many times in good weather; now it seemed to take forever. As the water rose higher and higher Uncle Jim drove slower and slower. They began to wonder if they had made a mistake in leaving home. Maybe they couldn't make it to the mainland!
They were almost to the bridge when they drove off the road into a ditch. The car got stuck and water started to pour in. It didn't take long for them to see that if they stayed in the car they would drown. There was only one choice left — leave the car behind and start walking.
The wind tore at them. Palm trees had been blown down everywhere. They waded through water that was nearly two feet deep. They were wet and cold and it was getting dark. They hardly knew where to go.
It was then that one of them spotted a little glimmer of light. It was only a candle, but that candle showed them the way to a house that was still safe. The people who lived there had placed the candle in the window for that very reason — to guide people to their home. Inside there was protection and warmth.
The two songs that Sue and her grandmother had sung were both about a candle. They tell us that those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour should be a light shining out to others. Our light doesn't have to be a big one. The light shining in the window that saved four people from the hurricane was just one small candle. Even just a small light looks bright when all around it is dark. The Lord Jesus said, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12). If we let even a little of His light shine out in our lives, it will be bright in this dark, sinful world around us. Won't you let your light shine for Him?
Jesus bids us shine first of all for Him;Well He sees and knows it if our light grows dim: He looks down from heaven, to see us shine —You in your small corner, and I in mine, Jesus bids us shine next for all around; Many kinds of darkness in this world abound, Sin and want and sorrow; so we must shine —You in your small corner, and I in mine.
"I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on Me should not abide in darkness"

(John 12:46).

Peace

Patricia

No comments:

Post a Comment