I made it downright impossible last week for those who read this on the internet to have access to my “Day 1″ Israel report. I forgot to add the link. If that is the bad news, here is the good news—”Day 1″ is now available! here. I wasn’t trying to make it difficult, honest. However, to make it up to you, “Day 2″ is also ready for your enjoyment here. Just click on the links. Those who receive the paper bulletin, a copy of “Day 2″ is included in your mailing.

There are a couple of updates in the prayer requests that you might want to know. Pam Ozmon did not have her surgery yet. It will be this Friday, February 15. Loren and Shirley Fryer (Pam’s mom) went four days without electricity after the tornado blew through Tennessee. [Chuck and] Claudia Umlor had a scheduled birth of their baby this coming Thursday, February 14. However, Chuck called this (Monday) morning to say that they were at the hospital and birth would be in a couple of hours (February 11).

As I was leaving the church Saturday for a graveside funeral at Park Lawn Cemetery, Pastor Yoon, the Korean pastor, stopped me. One of their members died late Thursday evening. He needed bypass surgery and the operation was already underway when trouble set in. The surgeons stopped and enacted emergency procedures, which would mean a waiting period of a couple of days before proceeding with the surgery. Mr. Jun died during that waiting period (and was welcomed “home” by his Savior). He was 48 years old. I have known this family nearly 20 years. Their two children grew up at the church here and are now in their 20′s. The funeral is Tuesday, February 12.

Saturday afternoon, we were off to the desert to celebrate a birthday. It was a surprise and we did just make it before Danite, my (favorite) sister-in-law, arrived. We were surprised to make it before the big “surprise.” It was a nice afternoon visiting with some of their friends we have come to know, Danite’s parents Dan and Annitte Hester, as well as Mark and Nidia Sheets and their two girls, Melissa and Amy (their son Garrett was working). Mark looks good for all he has been through with surgery and chemotherapy. Nidia is as charming as ever.

In our Bible reading, I finished Leviticus last week. As I started the book of Numbers, one verse caught my attention that encouraged me to connect the Biblical “links,” so to speak. In Numbers 4, Moses is giving instructions on how the Tabernacle was to be packed before it was moved. Verse 5 says that Aaron and his sons were to take down the curtain that was used to separate the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. When the Tabernacle was assembled and functioning, this curtain hid the Ark of the Covenant not only from public view but also from the priest’s who entered into the Holy Place. Aaron and his sons were to drape that same curtain over the Ark when the Hebrew people were preparing to move to the next location God would lead them. There were additional curtains added to cover the Ark and the Mercy Seat, but it was this curtain that was first. A similar curtain had the same purpose in the Temple. You remember that at Jesus Christ’s death it was torn in two from top to bottom. This symbolic “barrier” which once kept Israel at a distance from God through a (temporary) mediator was now removed. The coverings that once shielded the symbol of God’s presence among His people had been cast aside revealing what had long been a “mystery.” James instructed his Jewish readers that they could now “draw nigh to God” for themselves. Instead of fearing judgment and death for even mistakenly entering God’s presence, the first century believers read a word of consolation, “Éand He will draw nigh to you.” The author of Hebrews concluded in a similar way, “Let us [not just the Aaronic priests but each believer-priest] then with confidence [that He died to save us and that He lives to keep us and that He told us to come] draw near to the throne of grace [the Mercy Seat served as the lid to the Ark of the Covenant], that we may receive mercy [not getting what I deserve] and find grace [receiving what I certainly don't deserve] to help in time of need [the phrase is 'in the nick of time,' just when and where I need it].”

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