Travel Biography - Week 64.

A Source of Joy in the Basement.

Unless specified, all photos are my own, taken in 1995.

Having arrived in San Diego for the first time in 1995, I have rated this city the best I had ever visited in the North American Continent. I was impressed with the aesthetics, especially in its shopping mall and Balboa Park. Furthermore, its location on the Pacific Coast at the southern end of California, just north of the Mexican border, allows for the semi-tropical climate with its array of palm trees to enhance its vista.

The YMCA building housing our hostel. Stock photo.

The HI-AYH-affiliated hostel was on a single floor in a ninety-year-old former military base which was either owned or rented out to the YMCA, which in turn, had sublet its third floor to the hostel owners. For me, this was the hostel I had enjoyed staying at more than any other, and memories of it lingered for years afterwards. There was no mandatory duty or nighttime curfew, as with all British hostels. Here, I actually felt more like a proper adult, despite that the 'Y' in AYH stands for 'Youth'. For example, if I wanted a taste of nightlife and returned at 2:30 AM, having access 24/7 was made possible by having my own bedroom key, like any hotel. Also, the kitchen had round-the-clock access. One night, at two in the morning, I couldn't sleep. So, scantily dressed, I went to the kitchen to warm some milk. Both of these occasions would have been out of the question at any YHA in the United Kingdom.

I shared the bedroom with one other hosteller, an Aussie. One night, he, along with two brothers from Scotland, and I went on a bit of a rampage in the streets of the city, although that, for me, was something out of character. The following evening, the three of them went out again, but this time, I wanted to remain indoors and enjoy a quiet evening. It was during these small hours, with my roommate not having yet returned, that I needed to go to the kitchen.

However, the social atmosphere, particularly in the combined kitchen and dining room, was excellent. That is what made the hostel so memorable. One guest has spoken to me about a gym, a swimming pool, a jacuzzi and a sauna - all in the basement. Therefore, the descent down a few flights of stairs to the sauna from our bedroom forever held the record for the shortest journey I ever had to make to reach a spa suite from home!

Entrance to SeaWorld.

During my stay in San Diego, I made two trips downstairs for a swim and sauna. Indeed, there was a fee to pay at the basement reception, but as a resident, I had a discount, thus the fee was quite cheap. A towel was also loaned to me at the desk. I saw that the basement of the YMCA had a gym with its own running track within its perimeter, an unusual setting. The lower basement where the indoor swimming pool was located, and a male staff member reminded me that my long hair needed to be ponytailed. Furthermore, he actually tied my hair himself.

Within the same room as the pool, a warm water jacuzzi blew tiny bubbles into a square masonry tub, thus, tickling rather than massaging my back, and at one end, a sauna cabin with its upper section built almost entirely of glass kept the air within at a constant 100 degrees Celcius.

I rate that Californian sauna top-class! Other than the two in my home town of Bracknell - Coral Reef Waterworld and the Leisure Centre - and also aside from San Diego, I have visited four others, two in the UK and two others overseas. Two were very good - the sauna at a holiday camp in Shanklin, Isle of Wight, and at the Technion, Haifa, in Israel. The other two were rubbish, unable to maintain a proper temperature, the sauna complex at one of the Center-Parcs, and the rooftop sauna in Sydney.

I had a good swim in the pool before trying out both the jacuzzi and sauna, taking up most of the afternoon.

Visiting Sea World - A Taste of Child Psychology.

During my six-day stay, I didn't confine myself to the city. There were four venues I called, all outside town and all recommended by other hostellers. One was SeaWorld, a bus ride north of the city, Mission Beach is next to SeaWorld, the Old Town, also a bus ride north of town, and Tijuana in Mexico, reached by the trolley tram, a light railway linking San Diego to the borderline terminus of San Ysidro. 

View of the Dolphin Theatre from the Skytower.

Soon after breakfast, I boarded a bus for SeaWorld, an oceanarium separated from the ocean by a narrow strip of a peninsula, Mission Beach, almost enclosing a lagoon entirely, except for a narrow entrance harbour. This lagoon is Mission Bay, and SeaWorld is built on a stub of land jutting into it.

In a way, I could rate SeaWorld as a marine version of Disneyland. At least the two parks share the same entrance fee, in 1995 both were $30 per person for a day. Since 1995, the theme park has grown more like Disneyland as new fun rides were apparently added after my time there. According to Google Maps, at least three roller coasters have been installed since my second visit in 1997. They are Journey to Atlantis (a water chute), the Emperor, and the Electric Eel.

During my two visits, the theme park was already graced with the Skytower, a rotating observation capsule that is boarded at ground level before rising to 98 metres to give a magnificent view of the park. I took advantage of the ride while I was visiting. But what with the roller coasters?

Dolphin tricks. It splashes, I was splashed.

Back home, I recall a day trip with Ascot Baptist Church to Thorpe Park in Surrey during my bachelor days. Once just a quarry lake, since then, it has grown into a fully-fledged fairground with a variety of different rides. After we had all boarded the coach parked in front of the church entrance, one of the elders who organised the trip announced to us all,

After some fun on the rides, we can go and see some farm animals.

He was referring to the Celtic farm that was, in the early 1990s, still included in the park's attractions. However, immediately, his own eight-year-old son suddenly cried out loud and clear:

Oh! How boring!

Thankfully, his father didn't reprimand him in public! But this could be one of the reasons why the need for roller coasters in a park that was meant to exhibit marine life. That youngster in the coach seemed to reflect the attitude of many children who see such venues as 'too schooly' when, especially on a Saturday, they want to disassociate from anything educational and instead, enjoy some fun. Hence, Thorpe's sister park, Chessington Zoo, of my boyhood days, had grown into the Chessington World of Adventures with a large variety of fun rides. Therefore, in a State like California, an excellent opportunity was opened to usher in further, more exciting and dramatic entertainment and attract more customers.

The Orca Whale. It gave me a thorough soaking!

A Paradox in Paradise?

But on my first visit to Sea World, I was solely interested in the marine life. But far from being dull and 'schooly', paradoxically, I had both a wonderful and troubled time, yet learned a lot. And I was appropriately dressed in a vest and shorts in the warm sunshine. At the dolphin display theatre, I found myself sitting in the splash zone. I was thinking that a drop or two of water on my singlet wouldn't harm me whatsoever. But after the show got started, indeed, I ended up wet through to the skin! The splash zone? Maybe the dolphin was having an off day. But I didn't mind. The seawater was acting as a coolant in the warm sunshine. After the show ended, I was free to buy a bag of chopped raw fish and hand-feed the dolphins. It was a unique experience, but I had to watch for the birds which were too eager to swoop down and snatch away the fish.

From the Orca, also putting on a show for the audience, along with the screaming seals, the peaceful aquarium housing moray eels was indeed a moment of tranquillity, with just the right soothing music playing non-stop from the speakers installed nearby.

Tranquil. Moray Eels.

Another marine life I found inspiring was the shark aquarium, the manta rays, the giant starfish, the penguins, the turtle pen, and even the flamingos. However, as already mentioned, I felt both joy and trouble, a paradox that was a surprise coming from a resort such as SeaWorld. So, what was troubling me?

The lives of the orca, the sea lions and the dolphins were all egged on to perform for the watching public. On the same day I received a soaking from the dolphins, I was again thoroughly soaked to the skin by the performing orca, even more so than by the dolphin. I couldn't help but think that this was their way of getting back to us, who kept them in captivity to entertain a gleeful public, instead of having the liberty to swim freely and without restriction in the open ocean, for which they were created, travelling vast distances, feeding when they need to and pairing up to mate and raise their young. And not for performing unnatural acts, maybe even unwillingly, but still encouraged by the rewards of constant feeding. In short, I felt sorry for these animals.

However, my interest in how the park functioned was fulfilled when I came across a couple of female staff members out on a break. This gave me a chance to speak to them and find out the ins and outs of the theme park. They were willing to talk to me. It looked to me that they appreciated an inquisitive customer like me with a journalistic bent.

At SeaWorld, 1995.

By asking them, I learned how the tanks operate to keep their stock alive and healthy. Their explanation was that it was no accident that Sea World was built on a strip of land jutting into the lagoon. Here, filtration pumps send the seawater into special tanks, hidden from the public, where it is cleansed from any natural impurities found in the ocean, along with the regulation of water temperature. The water is then pumped into the aquarium, they said, and then sucked out to be returned to the sea, taking all the waste the organism produces with it, hence the health of the organism is maintained. Also, divers periodically clean the inside of the aquarium to prevent any build-up of algae.

It was beginning to get dark, and people were streaming out of the exit. While most of them rejoined their parked cars, I headed for the local bus stop. 

Back at the hostel, my groceries awaited cooking before I settled down for a nice meal.

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Next Week: Mission Beach, the Old Town.

Our Unchangeable English God

We are into late March, Easter is just a week away and Spring Equinox is already behind us. That is, here in the Northern Hemisphere, the days are already longer than the nights, and therefore by this time we should be enjoying milder, if not warmer weather. Yet it has so far been a very cold month, compared with March last year, when temperatures hit a high of eighteen degrees Celsius. This year temperatures struggle to get past four degrees, way below average for this time of the year. A chilly blast from the North-East keeps the air bitingly cold, day in, day out while much of the country is under a layer of snow, disrupting communications and other public services as we all gasp in surprise at the unseasonal weather. After all, 2012 had an extremely wet summer which ruined many crops across the UK, pushing up the price for the weekly groceries. In a domino-effect, a large number of High Street retail businesses went into administration as consumers tighten their budget belts. The resulting fall in our Economy transferred our once bustling High Streets into near ghost towns, with a large number of outlets boarded up.

Then on top of this, the Media, both on television and in our newspapers, warn us that the Apocalypse is just around the corner for the UK, as the persistent cold weather has caused households right across the land to turn up their heating. Our gas supplies are running out, and our reliance on foreign imports are pushing up fuel prices, where those with lower incomes will be hit the hardest. This is the result of poor foresight by previous Governments in the last four or five decades to ensure that we have adequate storage to meet a long, harsh winter. Gas and even electricity rationing looks to be on the cards, unlike the rest of Europe and the United States where their politicians had far better foresight, and at present, a more adequate storage facilities.

The news of the threat of shortages in fuel storage came less than a week after England was thrashed by Wales in the final of the Six Nations Rugby Tournament. (For the record, the six nations were England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, France and Italy.) As for Football (i.e. Soccer) England had only won the World Cup once, in 1966, and since then the team had never lifted the trophy since, while Brazil had lifted it five times in the tournament's history while the much-maligned Italians lifted it four times. In the early 1980s a game between an English side (Liverpool) and an Italian team (Juventus) was aborted after a crowd of English fans ran amok and caused violence, street battles and wreckage of property in the host country, Belgium, if I recall. So severe was the disruption that the Prime Minister at the time, Margaret Thatcher, ordered troops to be flown in to repatriate the troublemakers. Since then, or at least, up to recently, English football fans carried a bad reputation wherever an international match was staged. This goes to show how high patriotic emotions international sport can generate - exuberance and joy - or anger, frustration and tears. Sport plays a very big role in English life, a chance to show the world how patriotic and loyal to our country we can be. Despite our inability to win, at least we can take comfort that the organising of the London Olympics and Paralympics in 2012 were a flying success, despite predictions of a disaster levelled by the critics.

All this detailed above has got me thinking about our nation being "God's Country." Am I being silly or even prejudiced here? Rather, I know at least three Christians of my generation who heartily believe that England has a special place in God's heart, with one of them insisted that the British Empire's invasion into foreign soil was ordained and overseen by the Almighty. Two of these guys used to attend our church in Ascot, while the third attended a nearby parish church before moving to the West Country.

This is nothing new. The idea that England is God's country goes back generations. It is even believed that World War II was won by the Allies against Hitler's Nazi Party, which was the result of a day of national prayer undertaken by the entire nation, when it was thought that Hitler's armies was close to all-out victory, and Britain was about to be taken over by the Nazis.

But the idea of England being God's country goes back at least to the beginning of the nineteenth Century. One of England's most popular hymns is Jerusalem, originating from a poem written by William Blake, and printed in 1808. Then in 1916, during the Great War, Sir Hubert Parry put the poem to music, and created one of the nation's most famous hymns, still sung today at Women's Institutions, some sport events - particular Rugby League, the wedding of Prince William to Catherine in 2011, and other special occasions. These are the lyrics of the first verse:

And did those feet of ancient times
Walk upon England's mountains green?
And was the Holy Lamb of God,
On England's pleasant pastures seen?

It seems ironic to read that Blake was not impressed with the Church of England, or any other organised religion during his lifetime, due to their repressive attitude towards sexual desires and other pleasures and in support of the Industrial Revolution. Rather, there is a speculation that Blake was a follower of Emanuel Swedenborg, an academic who had weird ideas that the Last Judgement towards all churches had already occurred in 1757, as a result of occult visions which he experienced, with the result that Swedenborg's followers founded the New Church, an offshoot from the Lutherian churches.

William Blake

The rather crazy idea that the young Jesus Christ arrived at Glastonbury with Joseph of Arimathea seems very appealing, even though they were both Jews. Certainly, to have Almighty God walk along England's green mountains and pleasant pastures makes this country unique and close enough to God's heart to support the Empire and to look down on foreigners with a degree of disdain.  However, not only that there is not a shred of evidence that Jesus had ever set foot on these isles, but the development of Darwinism brought in ideas that the English were racially superior to those of other nations, particularly over non-whites.

And such of my experience as a British-born Italian who lived in England all my life. As an adolescent in the 1960s I was called "Spaghetti Face" many times by my fellowmen, along with seeing National Front offensive messages addressed to blacks and Asians to "go home" along with other hostile responses. As for the three Christians who were also patriotic, throughout the early to mid nineties, two were in the church I still attend at Ascot, and I wondered just how often Jesus himself must have shook his head sadly as he watched divisions arise in his church. No matter how hard they tried to hide their feelings towards this Italian, I could instinctly feel the division. The atmosphere between us was tense. I was even teased, and I had this awful dread whenever England played Italy at any international friendly or qualifier. I knew full well that if England had won, then it would have been much wiser to stay at home on the following Sunday than to face a group of gloating smirks.

Around 1994 or 1995 these two ran a midweek youth club with the blessing of the church elders. When the club broke for the summer, a series of slides were shown to the whole congregation. One set of slides showed the youth group outside on a field, playing a version of It's A Knockout, which was an obstacle race where a number of tasks had to be completed to get to the finishing line. Nearby was a giant Union Jack flag, erected on a frame to make it clearly obvious. I was shocked, and I believe, so were the rest of the congregation. When these two appealed for support for the start of the Autumn term, none were offered. Eventually the club was dissolved and both left Ascot for other churches not long afterwards. If only these two had set out to glorify God instead of England! They might have had a much more positive outcome.

The idea that our God is the God of England is not only a lie, but it brought hostility even among church members, if my experience had anything to go by. With it came arrogance and a sense of national superiority. To add to this, our salvation cannot be certain if our God is the God of England.

Yet the Bible informs us that our God is the God of Israel. This is very assuring. It means that God never changes and if he makes a covenant of grace, it is set to stand for eternity. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit made a covenant within the Godhead itself concerning man's salvation, according to John 17. He also made a covenant of grace with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that their descendants will always be God's people. God has provided witnesses to this covenant with Israel. First, a clue can be found in the name Israel itself. The proper name of this country is Erech Yisrael. The name Erech means "Land of." But Yisrael is actually an acronym of initials of three couples who were literally the founders of the nation of Israel. By unscrambling the code, we get this:

Yacob
Isaac
Sarah
Rebekah
Abraham
Elohim
Leah

Elohim is the name of God himself, and is here seen in the midst of his people, rather than at the front or back. The other names are of men and women, with poor Leah, the least loved by her husband Yacob (renamed Israel) therefore becomes part of the name of God himself. Even in the name itself, God shows his special grace for the weak and the unloved, as well as having seven letters - seven being the number for God. Maybe it is interesting to add that the letters EL making the last two letters of the name Yisrael may indicate that God is the founder and finisher of the nation, just as Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. Just a hunch.

All six of these people were buried together in the Cave of Machpelah which Abraham bought with the field it was at from the Hittites soon after Sarah's death, according to the record of Genesis. By 6 BC, Herod the Great completed a fortress surrounding the entrance of the cave, and it stands intact to this day.

The fortress seem to me to be a kind of sentinel, as if reminding the rest of the world that this land on which it stands belongs to the Jews, the direct descendants of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Yacob (renamed Israel) and Leah. It had survived the destruction of the nation and its capital, Jerusalem, when the Romans launched an attack under General Titus in AD70. After the Temple was razed to the ground, the fortress at Hebron remains standing to this day, even if that portion of the world remains troubled by war and unrest for decades, even centuries. Our God is the God of Israel and he will always be. He is forever unchangeable.

If God was the God of Israel, then became the God of Rome, then of England because both Israel and Rome were unfaithful, then what is stopping the Lord from withdrawing our salvation whenever we become unfaithful or not live up to his requirements? Furthermore, there has been a wide departure of the nation as a whole from faith in God. Our academics, who the nation holds in high regard and reverential respect almost to the point of worship, keep on denying the existence and the power of God by constantly pushing Darwinism. The truth of the Bible, particularly Genesis, is now become something of a laughing stock and a fading book of myths. England now trust in science and in themselves and God is consigned to empty, archaic Gothic church buildings, lost in bygone days of medieval history.

No wonder we in the UK are facing adverse weather, the threat of fuel shortage, skyrocketing prices and a failing economy. Maybe, just maybe, if the English really believe that they are God's people and his particular nation, then this advice would be beneficial to the whole of the UK, not just England:

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven,and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14.

National prayer of repentance could well lead to the solution to major problems our Government is unable to solve. And this includes repentance from national and ethical superiority.  

Where Do We Go From Here?

So Democrat Barak Obama won a second term of office as President of the USA. According to statistics, 59% of white Americans voted for his opponent, Republican Mitt Romney. So I suppose that Obama won by the remaining 41% of white Americans who voted, which in no doubt included the LGTB population, together with the Afro-Caribbeans and Hispanics, many of those arriving into the States from neighbouring Mexico.

President Barak Obama

According to one You-Tube video posted, one female Republican lashed out at those who voted for Obama, blaming them for the slow economic and moral destruction of what was once a great country. The 24-minute speech was so filled with the f-word and cursing, it was difficult to see the forest for the trees, if you see what I mean. Really!

Then not to be left out, our Conservative supporting journalists of the Daily Mail newspaper kept up the tirade, but without the swearing, no doubt keeping their invectives under their breaths for the sake of public decency. But the message from the whinging crowd is basically the same, whether in America or the UK - that is, if you are white, well educated, have a professional career and work hard to save and invest, you'll consider yourself a pillar of the nation and you will have no regard for those who are ignorant, a school or college drop-out, unemployed and scrounging on benefits. No wonder the Republicans are angry. Their opponents expect to be fed spoon and mouth by the State rather than find a job to support themselves and their families, which to them, would have brought national health to the economy. Sounds so sensible, doesn't it?

Then there are the Christians of all denominations who would have sided with the Republican party. It did not matter if Romney was a Mormon, a member of a sect regarded as heresy according to mainstream evangelicals. As long as he kept his religion within closed doors, he was free to deal with the political issues of the nation, had he won the Presidency. Much of this, I believe has to do with the LGTB population, who played a significant role in voting Obama back in. It would have been natural for them to want a Government to have a sympathetic ear towards their cause, rather than the  judgemental attitude of say, Fred Phelps, leader of Westboro Baptist Church in the Kansas city of Topeka, who violently protests against Gays with the God Hates Fags placards which, according to the LGTB, a good personification of the Republican Party, and if any homosexual voting for them would be considered a traitor.

And a child shall lead them...the distressing image of American "Christianity"

Members of Wesboro Baptist Church also consider Obama to be the Antichrist, which seems a good indication that only if the likes of Romney had been voted in, then there was that slim chance that God just might have turned his wrath away from America as a nation, especially if  the Gay community was finally brought to justice.

Readers of this blog would probably think that if I was an American, then I would be for the Democratic Party. In fact, my emotions would not be at all explosive whichever party won the election. This is because of my firm belief that God is sovereign, which means by the end of the day, it was God himself who had opened the door for Obama to serve a second term. If only those who protested realised this, it would have saved a lot of spilled emotions!

And we need to consider Romans 13, in the Bible which Phelps and his ilk would consider the only source of God's word written under divine inspiration:

Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. (verses 1, 2)

God is Sovereign. Nothing more bring peace of mind than to be sure that God is in control. But although knowing that God is in charge brings peace of mind, he also created us with an inquisitive mentality. For example, both the UK and America, along with Holland and Germany, have the Protestant Faith as the bedrock for their constitution (although I believe many Americans may disagree with me on this.) This means that the Gospel of Jesus Christ and salvation through faith in him is easily heard or is available on the Media, particular the Internet. But the country where I originated from, which is Italy, Roman Catholicism holds the Constitution. Catholicism insists that faith in Jesus Christ alone is not enough for salvation, human effort needs to play a role. Then there are the Asian countries, including the Middle East, where Islam holds power, along with Buddhism, Hindu and others which are none-Christian. Paul the apostle, in his letter to the Romans, felt a deep sadness over his own brethren the Jews, establishing their own righteousness under the Law of Moses (chaps 9-11).

I imagine an infant just born into a Muslim or non-Christian country, and I imagine the wail for its mother's milk, my heart drops at the thought of growing up not ever knowing Christ. It does look to me that salvation in Jesus Christ is in a form of lottery - depending where you was born heightens or lower the chances of entering Heaven after death.

Is the location of birth a lottery concerning salvation?

For one who has a heart for children, this can be a crushing burden. And as this article was written on Armistice Day, we stood in silence for two minutes at 11.00 am to remember the lives taken for the liberation of our country. But this does not stop the irritating thought that many who died in battle, despite their bravery and courage, were unbelievers, who as newborns also nourished on their mothers milk. Indeed, I might find peace of mind to know that God is Sovereign, but I remember one night, just after Christmas last year. While I was in bed at about three or four in the morning, I asked the Lord quite frankly, Lord, why did you create us? Why did you bring us to existence if all there is after death is a lost eternity? Job in the Old Testament had a very similar thought. He lamented over the fact that he survived gestation and birth, and wished that he never saw the sun, and had he died at birth, he would rest peacefully in his grave, never having experienced all the troubles on earth, let alone a lost eternity.

Our church at Ascot is keen on evangelism. We as a corporate body have a desire for the lost around us to come to Christ and be saved, yet I feel an enormous sense of powerlessness to do anything. Whether is fear of rejection or fear of dishonouring God for our profession in Him not matched by my attitude, it seemed the Enemy has scored a hit here. I don't like the idea of saying that Jesus is my Lord and Saviour and that I find joy in Him - only to be bogged down by midweek morning blues, irritation, impatience, frustration, or any other stumbling block which would call my testimony to question.

Obama has won the election, emotion from both sides rise and spill, yet the world turns, we are born, we shall one day die, people are born into different religions, many are in poverty, a few are rich, some are well educated while others are unemployed and are on state benefits, some are even homeless. I have enjoyed world travel, I write blogs, I discuss bits of Scripture with other bloggers, while some are illiterate and some cannot cross the road from their house without careful supervision. I watch those who are mentally disabled laugh and cheer in their own world while in the office nearby an executive pour over the tax forms with deep furrows across his forehead and wishing he could walk out the door and head for the airport.

Where do we go from here?

God is sovereign. He has the whole world in his hands. Every single day of our lives were pre-determined by God before we were ever born. He even had the set number of days we would ever live. And he foreknew if we would trust in his Son or not. God is Sovereign. Here I rest my case.

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My page had just scored 10,000 hits. True, a few were my own, before I activated the Don't track my own pageviews on the Stats section early in the history of this page.

So may I take this opportunity to say A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL MY READERS whether they be committed followers or just someone dropping by. My hope is that you enjoy reading my blogs and that you find them edifying. I also thank you for all your comments. I find it a sheer joy to read and publish them. Yes, I have the comment monitoring system set in place. It is only there to weed out unscrupulous advertisers who is only interested in pushing their own products. Otherwise I openly welcome any discussions, and I will answer any comment which merits a reply.
Once again I say THANK YOU and encourage you to keeeeeeeeeeeeeeep reeeeeeeeaaading!!!!


 

Hats Off To Jesus - That's It For Another Year

December at last! After thirty days of November, here in the UK, which I think was the dreariest month of the year, with dark evenings drawing in and the weather getting cooler and wetter, I feel a better mood comes in with December. Winter Solstice, the end of the year, Christmas holidays, the world of snow, Christmas trees, tinsel, baubles, giant illuminated plastic Santa and coloured lights ablaze over city streets, knowing that children are getting excited for their presents, wallets are getting slimmer by the day as bank accounts diminish and the credit card goes into overdrive. Meanwhile, stockists of socks and neck-ties feel their eyes sparkle as wives and girlfriends enter their shops to keep their tills ringing.

And oh yes, people who had little time for anything spiritual throughout the rest of the year begin to turn "churchy". As Christmas carols begins to be sang, the pews begin to fill. The BBC's Christmas broadcast of Songs of Praise each year brings views of packed cathedrals, beautiful traditional carols and a wide TV audience.

There is something nice about a helpless baby in the crib. He does not pose a threat to the way we like to live our lives. An adult Jesus will be too demanding. A baby, on the other hand, is so cute. Everyone would like to hold the baby Jesus and cuddle him. He does not make any demands on anybody, doesn't he?

And the Christmas carols. Surely we all have our favourites. Although I like quite a number of traditional carols, my favourite is Come all ye Faithful. This song contain the verse which just about embrace the whole of the Christian creed in a nutshell. Here it is:

God of God
Light of Light
Lo he abhors not the virgin's womb
Very God
Begotten, not created;
O come let us adore him,
O come let us adore him,
O come let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.

This is such a beautiful song, the lyrics always touches my heart whenever the song is sung. But this is because the carol teaches the incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity, specifically to die a cruel death on the cross to atone for our sins. As someone once said, Christmas is all about Easter. But it seems to me that a much greater percent of the British population either do not fully link the birth of Jesus Christ to his death and resurrection or do not wish to, and how much less one's daily commitment to him? And statistics seem to bear this out, even if surveys cannot be made absolute cut-and-dry, they do give a fairly approximate guide with allowance for some variations.

In the UK, according to the Christian charity Tear Fund, with 10% of British people attending church on a weekly basis, only 7% of the total population say they are practicing Christians. In turn, 32,200,000, or 66% of the population say they have no connection with church at all throughout the year. The remaining 24% have a nominal connection with the church but don't attend regularly. All this is quite a contrast to the 43% of the British population who attended Christmas services in 2005, compared to the 45.7% who said they had no religion at all.

Furthermore, a graph shows that church attendance in the UK is constantly declining. By examining the chart representing those who profess the faith to those who don't, in 1983 those who called themselves Christian were the majority with 66% professing the faith, until recently, in June 2008 the number of non-believers overtook to become the new majority, by 2009 the number of non-believers stood at 51% to the professing 44%. The remaining 5% probably were not sure. The orange line represents the people of other faiths, such as Muslim, which stayed practically level throughout the 26 years the survey covered. (To study the illustration, you may have to bring the zoom to 200%.)

In the USA, statistics seem to indicate that 26% of the population attend church every week or more. States such a Louisiana, Alabama and South Carolina top the bill with a staggering 58% of the state's population attending church regularly. In turn, New Hampshire and Vermont, in the New England area, has a lowest attendance of 24%. But by looking at the comparisons, it becomes immediately obvious that the Americans are much more keen on regular church attendance than the British. And yet, a recent news report says that the UK is one of the most generous countries in Europe, if not the world when it comes to giving to charities. Charity TV shows, such as the BBC annual Comic Relief and Children in Need entertainment shows has always raised millions of pounds from the viewing audience, in addition to private giving, the greater number of donations going to medical charities.

So here in the UK we see ourselves as a Christian country. We make a great festival of Christmas, so much so, that the image of a baby lying in a cattle feeding trough somehow gets lost in all the bright lights and tinsel glitter. We all love to celebrate Christmas. And I would dare to say that die-hard atheists such as Professor Richard Dawkins had every year pulled and snapped a Christmas cracker with his family members over a table laid with a succulent roast turkey with all its trimmings, followed by Christmas pudding set alight with Brandy and served with lashings of cream. Not to mention nuts, chocolates and all other festive niceties to add to the excitement in his children's eyes as they tore away the gaily-coloured wrapping to reveal their presents. Indeed, thanks to the Christian faith, even atheists can, and do enjoy the holiday.

And this is the point of this article. Although we love Christmas, we still want to keep the baby in the crib. In the crib is where we want the child to stay, because if we take him out of the crib, he'll start to grow up. And as he grows, he'll begin to say things we would not want to hear. Real horrible things like as; to be his disciple, we must take up the cross and follow him. And to add to this, the preference to him over everything we have, including our family and even our own lives. And the gritty discomfort we feel when he quotes from the Law of Moses. And whenever he quotes from the Law, we become aware of our own sins, and that is not nice. And those statements he comes out such as selling all that we have and give the proceeds to the poor and come follow me. Okay, we might be rich in Heaven one day but does this mean I have to wonder homeless through the cold, wet streets? After all, he did say that foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head, and that the servant is not greater than his master. Challenging stuff!!!

Yes, he did say also, on this very issue, that what's impossible with men is possible with God. Then that bit which really puncture our righteous pride. That is to trust in him brings eternal life, and this life is in the Son of God, and not of ourselves. So what are we left with? Nothing. For the Cross of Christ slays the old man stone dead. In other words, to live is Christ, and not of us. Little wonder that we want to keep the child in the crib, even to celebrate his birth every year. But stay in the crib he must.

But would Jesus Christ really want every follower to catch rheumatism, arthritis and a host of other ailments by tramping through the cold, wet, wind-blown streets? Well, there is absolutely no record of this ever happening, but history is filled with records of imprisonment, torture and death of saints who has answered his call. But with all of these martyrs, it would have been impossible for a single case to have happened unless God himself gives him the power. Because our self-preservation is the strongest instinct every person has, only the power of the Holy Spirit in the person would make his love and commitment to Christ even stronger than his natural instinct. So the central message for every true believer is this: Be filled with the Holy Spirit and let him both guide you and be rich in the knowledge of his word, which is gotten by reading the Bible with a believing heart. Only then would it become possible for your love for God and his Kingdom to dominate your life to the point of death.

After all, in Heaven one's joy is so full, so satisfying that it can be likened to a child's excitement on a Christmas morning, except that the excitement is eternal. There will be no unwanted presents, no burnt turkey, no family rows, no hangover from excess drinking, most important of all, no post-holiday blues to endure on the first day back at work.

Merry Christmas.

David and the Giant - Worry.

You have been out for the evening and you are now walking back home alone late one Friday night. Your route passes through a narrow alleyway, which cuts the walk short by several hundred metres. Then about halfway through the alley, a gang of youths, about four or five of them in all, enter the alley where you are due to exit. They were high on alcohol, one of them picks up a stone and throws it at a semi-derelict window, cracking the glass, while laughing and guffawing at their misdeed.

You feel your heart beat faster to force oxygenated blood into every muscles of your body, your skin crawl and your hair as if standing on end. Your breathing becomes heavy, and within the bloodstream, extra platelets are produced in readiness of a possible wound, within the blood coagulates faster, saving on blood loss. And sitting on top of each kidney, your Adrenal gland pumps an endorphin, Adrenaline, which alert you to either fight or take flight.

Even if you run, they get exactly what they wanted and start chasing you, nevertheless you run, and run fast! Because you know that by confronting them, you would have been the loser, ending up in hospital with a smashed face or as with these days, a stab wound, possibly fatal. This little drama is the result of fright, a magnificent mechanism in ensuring self preservation. This reaction to an emergency is caused by a rush of adrenaline into the bloodstream, a direct result of the warning message passed to the brain from the eyes and ears. Afterwards, the spent endorphin will then be disposed of by the kidneys after the threat is past. I guess it is of no coincidence that the Adrenal glands happen to be located sitting on the kidneys themselves.

The Kidneys and Adrenal Glands

The same when a domestic cat is confronted by a dog. The cat arches its back, hisses, its heart races to pump adrenaline-rich blood to all the muscles in its body and the cat flees, usually up a tree or over a nearby wall. Fright had taken its course again.

Fright reaction is caused by a massive injection of adrenaline into the bloodstream, and it is for self-preservation in the face of a potential, life-threatening situation. But fear is something very different. Another term for fear is worry, and I think that there is no real difference between the two words, except that fear is to do with a potential physical uncertainty, while worry has more to do with uncertainty of the future.

For example, if you are fearful, then you will look down the alleyway and hesitate to take the short cut, and despite that all is still and quiet, you decide to avoid it, and take the longer but more safer route. During that moment, adrenaline is pumping into your bloodstream, even if there was no cause for concern. In fact the fear could quite well continue, even once you're safe in bed. It's just the thought of what could have happened that keeps the fear alive, and doing so, the Adrenal glands continue to pump the endorphin into the bloodstream, and if prolonged, can cause lasting harm to your health.

Worry is related to fear, and it means uncertainty of the future. One of the biggest causes of worry is money. Do we have sufficient funds to pay our creditors? In my younger days, before Direct Debit, anxiety over the quarterly power bill always preceded the arrival of the bill itself. Back then I had no real idea of the total the bill will display at the bottom of the column. The worry was, would the figure be so high that I didn't have enough to meet it? I had ideas of facing a Court hearing, possibly a jail term - such stirring of imagination caused by an uncertainty had a detrimental power over my health, particularly to one who was a natural-born worrier. Thank goodness for the arrival of the Direct Debit system. This arrangement in regular payments had lifted a very heavy burden of worry.

Payment of bills was one cause of worry, another was in preparation for travel. If you check my profile, or click on to one of my previous articles, Vagabond! (8th May, 2011), you will see that I have traveled a good part of the world. But it was the weeks leading up to the day of take-off. Would I fall ill? Would I be faced with a sudden, unexpected expense? And this was the big one - would there be a strike grounding the airplane? A threat of a strike had always been a worry when preparing to travel. When I flew to New York in 1978, take-off was right in the midst of the French Traffic Control dispute. That meant all flights to the Continent were delayed or postponed. While I was boarding the Transatlantic flight, right on time as well, a group of people at the next gate were told to return to the lounge. Their flight to Spain postponed yet again after a night stay at the departure lounge. A young man, about my age, rolled on the floor in hysterics, his screams of frustration echoed the length of the corridor. That scared me. No wonder that, just a year later, in 1979, the Labour Prime Minister Jim Callaghan was soundly defeated by Tory Margaret Thatcher in that year's General Election.

It is unfortunate that 33 years later I still have areas of worry. And here I want to be honest and avoid the idea of portraying myself as a "super-saint". As a committed Christian and a self-employed window cleaner, a loss of a client brings fears of the future. As with bill payments back in the 1970s and 80's, I try to imagine what it would be like being without a job, leading to homelessness with my wife Alex and I begging off the streets. Or to move across to the other side of the country just to engage in a dead-end job I wouldn't enjoy, or to have a cruel boss who takes delight in condescending upon and feeding on my personal weaknesses. And with many of my present clientele aging and drawing their pensions, along with a large proportion of the younger generation believing that we window cleaners are a waste of time and money, indeed there is much ground for worry and fear for the future.

Walking hand-in-hand with fear is anger, mainly at unfairness of life. Last week I lost a client who informed me that he now has his own ladders, and now prefers to clean his own windows.
"After all," he concludes, "during this economic crisis I must save on my expenses as much as possible."

Then only yesterday I read in the Daily Mail an excellent article by columnist Max Hastings, titled Looters in Suits. In it, he tells of our personal and economic hardship was primarily caused by the ferocious greed and incompetence of the City bankers. Starting with the collapse of the Lehman Brothers in New York during 2008, their greed caused our banks in the City of London to the brink of collapse, had it not been the bailout rescue from the tax-payer. Then after that the bankers continue to reap incredible high incomes and bonuses despite the rest of us tightening our own belts to stay out of debt. Little wonder I get angry at times!

Worry, fear and anger. The three most powerful emotions that are detrimental to our health. I have a book written by Dr. McMillen. Although the updated publication was in 1980, it is very much up to date as the first copyright in 1963. Dr. McMillen wrote that many physical illnesses, such as vomiting, diarrhea, asthma, diabetes, arthritis, along with bleeding ulcers, kidney disease, heart attacks, high blood pressure, backache, tiredness, fatigue, colitis, strokes, goiter, arteriosclerosis (a hardening of the arteries) and many other ailments are caused by these and other similar emotions.

Yet it was Jesus Christ who, during his ministry, gave a straightforward piece of advice. He said:

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds in the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

So do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:25-34.

This Scripture, when mixed with faith, can be the David who defeated the giant Goliath. No doubt, when Jesus was teaching this, he did not have just our spiritual well-being. He was thinking of both our emotional and physical health as well. What he was actually doing was providing the key to happiness guaranteed to keep the doctor away if this advice was perfectly followed. This can only be done through the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.

Instead, to most people, this piece of Scripture is as far away from reality as it can get. The question here is trusting God, or faith in him. It can be very difficult to have faith in that which is invisible and intangible.

Yet these verses apply to everything I have mentioned above. Trusting in Jesus Christ and his goodness. Should this deliver me from worry and anxiety, fear of the future? It should do!

Let me go back to the things I have mentioned. Starting with bill payments - the fact is, since I flew the nest in 1976, then aged 23, I have never known to miss a bill payment. In 1980 I went through a period, just over a year in duration, when I had no job and hardly any money. I existed on a low benefit, which I had to sign for every week. One day I called at a house of a fellow church member for something, and I saw their table spread with such succulent dishes, that my eyes for a moment was transfixed. Then I walked home to my meager supplies, literally weeping tears. But then, I never went hungry. God knew what my needs were even then. Then a red-letter phone final reminder bill arrived, and I spread it on the kitchen worktop and prayed over it. Soon afterwards an anonymous envelope dropped through the door, containing enough to pay the bill. This happened a couple of times.

It was then I started my window cleaning business and became self-employed, signing myself off the benefit payroll. I have been working for more than thirty years and I have never felt in need. So if I lose a customer from time to time, I should not panic. After all, if God had taken care of me for all this time, why should he dump me in it now?

But sometimes he does. Job in the Old Testament, a very wealthy but a good man, lost everything including his health and just barely clung to life. Yet his faith in his God actually confounded the arguments of his three closest friends who tried to blame him and his sins for his losses and sorrowful state. Yet his faith triumphed. How would I react?

In travel, so far I had never been delayed by an industrial dispute. And I started traveling as early as 1972, when as still a teenager, flew to Spain with a college mate (and we are still close friends to this day). The only delay I suffered was in 1993, when a fault in the 'plane's hydraulic system delayed us for six hours at Gatwick.

Sydney, Australia - one of many places visited as a "vagabond".

Trusting in an invisible intangible God is often very difficult. He doesn't talk back audibly like a friend does. That is why prayer is essential. I have found that nothing is a better tonic than when faced with a crisis, is to bow the head in prayer, spilling out my fears and anxieties to my Heavenly Father and asking for the filling of the Holy Spirit.

But alongside prayer, we have the church. Church is not the building with a spire, it's the people in it. It is said that Jesus Christ had two bodies after his Resurrection. He took one with him to Heaven, leaving the other behind. And it wasn't on a whim or by forgetfulness! His body was left behind for a purpose.

Worry is a debilitating emotion. When a Christian finds it difficult to handle it, the members of the church are there to encourage and build up faith. At last week's loss of a client, I attended a prayer meeting that same evening. I shared my plight with one of the elders who happens to be a very good friend, and one whose spiritual life I look up to. The outward situation didn't change but I felt an inner strength to handle it better.

My encouragement to all Christian believers is to be involved with your church. The church is a group of fellow believers in Jesus. As such, it is the visible, tangible body of Christ with whom God can speak to you audibly. And together we can defeat the giant.

Tender Mercy and Goodness of God - a Testimony

William Shakespeare is famed for his writings of theatre plays, for example, Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice and many others. This is a fact which is accepted by the vast majority of the population. But on one BBC television programme, The One Show, a general discussion forum where diverse topics are covered in every region of the UK, the presenters focused on the opinion of several academics who deny that Shakespeare was the writer of these plays. They even attempted the use archaeology within the writer's home town of Stratford-Upon-Avon to add proof that their opinions were correct.

William Shakespeare

Personally, I didn't buy any of those academic opinions. The reason is rather straightforward. William's father, John Shakespeare, was a glove maker. In other words, what we would call a factory worker today, working class, blue-collar. How could his son have developed such a literacy talent?

According to these academics, he couldn't have done. Plays such as Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Winters Tale and Romeo and Juliet were, to them, all written by some other person whose parents were a lot more cleverer. And a few very unconvincing bits of relics were found in the archaeological pits to substantiate the opinion of the skeptical academics.

On a somewhat different story but based on the same principle, according to a Daily Mail newspaper report, two female contestants on the University Challenge BBC2 quiz were mocked and severely criticized by mostly male viewers using the Facebook page on the Internet. Having not watched the programme myself, I cannot tell whether the two academic women were on the same team or whether they were even on the same programme. But that is not the point. Rather the point being that they were both harassed on the Internet for being snobby, intelligent and too full of self-confidence, according to their critics. Reflections of inferior complex or lack of self-esteem?

But to be fair, the Reader's Comments which appeared under the main article mostly defended the harassed females. Only a small minority upheld the critic's messages posted online, and they were red-arrowed with disapproval.

And then, looking back, I also recall the murder of Stephen Lawrence one evening at a South London suburb. Lawrence was black, and going by his images, he had that look of intelligence and promising of a good education. The images proved correct. He was studying to be an architect. Then, while waiting for a bus at a stop on the evening of 22nd April 1993, five white English men first threw verbal abuse, then they crossed the road to stab him to death. A clearly racist murder. Personally, I'm not fully convinced that colour alone was the one and only motive. Rather, the victim oozed high intelligence, and the five white men having sensed this all felt their self confidence were under threat. Really, there was no real difference between this case and those of the two females on University Challenge where motives were concerned, the only difference was that one case led to a serious crime, the other two were not considered to be criminal victims.

My own belief that the secondary reason for the Stephen Lawrence murder might have been motivated by a sense of inferior complex, seem to be endorsed by the case of one of the killers, Gary Dobson, who was jailed for five years in July 2010 for drug dealing. The other four, I think, were either jobless or held manual occupations, a good indication of low level of education or low academic abilities. So the very thought of a well educated black man was anathema to them.

But where is the connection between this information and the title of this article? Well, I hope to demonstrate how good and merciful God has been to me over the years, despite the prejudices I had to go through, and to show that what God has done for me he can do for you, if only you will diligently search and ask for his wisdom.

The pinnacle of God's mercy: The Crucifixion

If you read my Blogger profile, you will see that I don't give my nature of occupation. That is because I am a Domestic Window Cleaner, who goes about dressed in casuals, as my profile pic indicates, and not of an elderly gentleman dressed in a suit, wears glasses and sport thinning hair! Among those who know me well, they may think, So what? You love writing, keep up the good work. And yes, I have actually received such encouragement! This shows the value of true friendship.

But others may think: A window Cleaner? How can such a person know anything, let alone writing these articles? Unreasonable? Not what I know of.

And my answer: I allowed the Lord Jesus Christ to work in my life.

Here I begin by stating that at school I received the annual report which stated, Frank tries hard; Standard below average. This was an indication that my poor performance at the classroom desk was not my fault, therefore the report I handed personally to my parents did not merit any form of punishment.

And that applied to every subject, including the subject of General Science, with which at the end of the 2nd academic year, I've literally received 100/100 marks on the exam papers and became the talk of the school.

But I remained in the slowest learning class, in which I was constantly teased by one annoying pupil who was one grade above me: Who is in the dunce's class for science?

After leaving school in 1968 with no qualifications to show, my working life has always been manual. Nothing wrong with that in itself, but I feel that it's a crying shame that here in England, the general mentality is that if one had failed at school, nobody expects or even desires for him to work himself upwards. A manual worker not only stays a manual worker (again, nothing wrong in that) but any thought of self-improvement of his mental capabilities seem to be frowned upon. Could this be because it poses a threat?

Here are a couple of classic examples. The first example being back in 1992, the elders of Ascot Baptist Church, where I attend to this day, gave me an opportunity to give a talk on what Heaven might be like, based on the description found in Revelation chapters 21 and 22. Now at the front row sat Keith, a "devout Englishman" who always condescended on my Italian origins. His sense of national superiority was not unique. I have came across this sort of thing many, many times - among my clientele and fellow church members alike.

After the talk was over and as such, the service as well, Keith went around literally bragging that he had not heard a single thing I was saying at the front. Instead, he said he was deliberately diverting his thoughts away by indulging in some other subject, most likely in his case, football and particularly England's hopes in the next World Cup contest.

The second example took place in 1997 and it was in a very much the same environment, giving a talk about my travels, and bringing up the idea on why in California in particular, there seem to be an obsession with alien life from other planets. Toys, ornaments and inflatable models and balloons of these life forms were on sale just at about every second shop along the street. I then theorised that there might be a connection between this obsession with alien life forms and end-times Biblical prophecy. The issue here was not whether I was right in this matter or not, but rather one man in the congregation, also with the name Frank, suddenly standing up and declared aloud for all to hear, that he too had seen these model life forms on sale where he was, and my description of them was spot on. He then declared that my possible interpretation was worth thinking about.

Afterwards, I asked him why he stood up and made such a public announcement.
He replied that during the talk, he overheard a couple of people sitting behind him mutter words to the effect,
What does he know about the Bible or prophecy? He's just a window cleaner!

And oh yes, I have just remembered another incident which took place in 1989, which I think is worth recording here. It concerned something which occurred at Bracknell Baptist Church. What the incident itself was, I can't recall, but one of the elders asked me to write a report on it, because of my involvement.

When I presented my written work to him, he plainly asked me who wrote it. It took some convincing that I was the author. Meaning: The standard of the written document was above my standing for me to be the author.

God's mercy. In 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 Paul the Apostle specifically states that God chooses the foolish in this world to confound the wise. On similar lines, James instructs not to pay higher honour to the rich man on the expense of the poor man dressed in rags (James 2).

I became a true believer early in 1973. I am convinced that there has been a change in my I.Q. at this turning point in my life. I was immediately interested in the Bible and what it had to say on everything.

I went to a Christian bookshop next to St. Paul's Cathedral in London to stock up books which will help me understand the Bible better. But in the Bible itself, particularly in the Old Testament, I noticed that God was referring to Jerusalem more than any other city in the ancient world. I also noticed that Jerusalem was the place Jesus Christ was crucified, then he rose again near the city, and the first Church began in Jerusalem. I also noticed that this same city played a major role in future prophecy, namely, that Christ is to reign from there in the future.

So in 1976 I decided to visit the place for myself, to see it first hand. I went as a sole backpacker. The details are recorded in one of my former blogs, Jerusalem, City of Peace which was published here on Sunday 13th February, 2011.

Visiting Israel in 1976 was a wonderful experience which added strength to my faith. Then in October 1992, a friend and I had a massive row one weekday morning while I was at his home. The worst thing about it was that I knew that I was in the wrong. So I started window cleaning at a nearby street feeling very dejected. It was at this low point when I had what could be called a vision. I was to go to Jerusalem to pray for the city.

But was this from God? First, the vision came suddenly, quite unexpectingly. Then up to this time I always made enough to live on reasonably well, but I was never able to save up for a proper holiday. From that very week onwards, I found myself saving up quite steadily, allowing me the ability to pay for the entire holiday plus all the other expenses without any difficulty. Then I took off from Gatwick Airport early August, 1993.

What I found amazing was that it should have been my friend who should have received the vision, not me. He was in the right, I was in the wrong. But while I was in Jerusalem, I felt God speaking to me about why the Islamic Dome of the Rock stood where the Temple once was. Alongside this, I watched the crowd of Jewish people celebrate the start of their Sabbath. It was such a thrilling experience. I just felt the pulsating presence of God in the enclosure, which fronts the Western Wall. These Jews were God's ancient people. Their presence in Jerusalem showed me how faithful God was to his people. And if God was so faithful to the Jews, how much more will he be to us? Also I found myself sharing my faith in Jesus at the hostel I was staying at, after being asked by one backpacker why I was in Israel. By the time I had finished talking, I found myself the centre of attention among the other backpackers.

Damascus Gate, Jerusalem

Reading the Bible and books to help me understand the Bible also not only helped in my faith, but by reading both books and the newspaper, I slowly learned how other authors composed their articles, so when it comes to writing myself, I can use some of their techniques. But on top of this, I felt that God himself was teaching things direct to me without human intercession. That means I had answers in my thoughts concerning things I was asking especially in the book of the prophet Daniel, which contains visions the prophet had about the bigger picture of God's revelation to mankind.

This was because for a long time I had a desire to know what is the bigger picture was about. In other words, how did it all begin, why we are here, how would it all end, and why will it end in the way the Bible says. And why does Jerusalem play such a large role, and my visits to this city made such a massive impact on my life, especially on the spiritual.

But on the day-to-day practical side, when things are up, I can thank and praise God for. But when thing become trying, God is there I can trust, and run to. I have suffered some trying moments in my life, and a close friend of mine, who already knew much of what I went through, exclaimed,
I am surprised you have not committed suicide! I would have done!

He got distracted before I could explain that I know of the sovereignity of God in my life and with a degree of peace in my heart, I can ride over all things. God is not only my Saviour, he is my Rock, my Strength and Shelter.
Although this has not happen so far in my life, but it could: Suppose I was to lose everything I had, would I still trust in him? Would I still be thanking him for eternal life and for all the goodness, I have received from him? I hope I will be able, then again, it would not be of my own effort, but the infilling of the Holy Spirit in my life.

And this is the key to everything. I'm writing here to all true believers in Christ who is reading this. Be filled with the Holy Spirit and let the love of Christ flow in you richly.
May God bless you richly.