So, What is the Significance of Hanukkah Anyway?

The Jewish festival of Hanukkah began yesterday at sundown and I shared some memories of being in Israel for Hanukkah several years ago. Oh what a blessing that was! But what is so significant about a Jewish festival, and why should believers in Jesus care about it? In Hebrew, Hanukkah means "dedication," and the celebration …

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“Who Do You Say I Am?”

Later this month our tour group will visit Caesarea Philippi, known to be the place where Jesus asked His followers a very important question: 13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, …

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Yom Kippur: Israel’s Most Solemn Day

Last night at sundown Yom Kippur began and Jews in Israel flocked to the Western Wall. The 25-hour day of fasting and praying is a time observant Jews strive to have their names written in the book of life, at least for the next year. To "balance the scale" of sin means striving for righteousness. …

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Route 60: The Biblical Highway

Honestly, I'm a "one-movie-per-year" kinda girl! But, after seeing Golda, the docu-drama about Israel's first and only female Prime Minister who guided Israel through the Yom Kippur War in 1973, I'm headed back to the theater for another Israel-centric movie next week. Former US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman (who I very much admire), has …

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