Wailing Wall of the Temple

The ninth of this month was a very special day. We went to the Wailing Wall of the Temple Mount. This is a part of the wall that has been left from the time of the first temple area. It is a sacred and powerful place in Jerusalem.
On this day, we (the pilgrims) put over 3,000 names in the wall. We took the time to pray and feel God working immediately in answer to the needs of everyone there. It did not matter that every day Jews come there and read the Torah and pray for hours, and we took just a few minutes. It was as though God had this time only for Him and His children.
After we returned home, we found miracles that occurred the very moment we touched the wall. Surgery questions were given answers that were miraculous in themselves. And to other prayers, another challenge to have patience and faith that God will be revealed.
The prayers could only be answered in the way that God would be revealed, not the way that we wanted God to become. That was one of the most powerful lessons from this Holy land.
When you pray, expect something from God! Don’t wait with your expectation, but with His.

Mid-week Prayer

Holy God, You give us life every day. Sometimes we live in the fullness of its presence and at other times we rush away to do other “necessary” things. Keep our hearts and minds in the fullness of Your power and truly touch and change our faith with every breath. We pray this in the blessed name of Jesus Christ.

This has been Rev. Jim Massey. I am glad to be the Sojourner in the Holy Land that brings you a touch of His presence. During this Holy Week and Easter Sunday, lift high the power of His Resurrection. This is the desperate need of the entire world.

The End or the Beginning of the Journey

We have been to the Holy Land. We have walked where the prophets of old have walked, witnessed the destruction and creativity of generations that followed their steps. We have felt the winds of the desert and smelled the salt of the Sea, and we were blessed to have been in the very Temple Mount of Jerusalem.

It was wonderful, exhausting, tiring and refreshing all at the same time. No day was like another and every day began with devotions on the bus. The devotion would begin with a Psalm reading, then a song, and they a prayer. Next our tour guide would begin telling us the history of civilizations that existed before the time of Christ and even before the time of Abraham. He told us of the lowest place on the earth called Jericho that was over 4,000 years old and a column that was discovered there that was possibly 9.000 years old.

At the end of every day we would be amazed by God’s glory, filled with desire for rest, and anxious for a new beginning tomorrow.

I begin to realize that every day of my life should be on a pattern like this. One filled with going back to the very basic of my faith and life and realizing that no day has ever been or life lived that God did not have a special desire in. No prayer has ever been prayed or affirmation given to a loved one that should not be filled with the promise and power of the Holy Spirit.

Mid-week Prayer

Yahweh, God of all Creation, we come before You this day and know that only You can make our life have meaning. We offer to You every possibility that we have and desire Your presence to fill it and then touch others with the glory of Your love shining through us. We pray this in the blessed name of your Son, Jesus, the Christ of Lent who suffered death for us and the Christ of Salvation who conquered sin. Amen


This has been Rev. Jim Massey. The Holy land carries power beyond our dreams. I lifted your name in the “Wailing Wall” of the Temple. I know that God has blessed you by His promise. See you next week in the Mid-week Epistle.

How will we return?

Every time I prepare for a trip to the Holy Land, I am filled with a unique question. How will we return? I do not mean, by train, boat or plane, but how will we show God’s presence in our life? Will it be different than when we left just a few days before?

I love the words of Isaiah 55:10-11: ”As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

We experience many things in our journey of life, and this group of people will actually stand on the ground where God changed mankind forever. Israel is one of those “seasons” of our life that causes us to go from the desert of doubt to the joy of salvation with the passing of Jesus in our life.

I have witnessed so many times the way the “word of God” has returned to the church after a pilgrimage. It is filled with joy and new hope for redemption because of walking on this sacred land.

Many people will never go to the Holy Land. But when the Holy Land comes to you in the form of a friend or loved one, it will accomplish all that God desires when we witness with our voices the glory that we have seen revealed.

Mid-week Prayer

Almighty God: As we prepare for this journey with You, let Your Word begin to grow deeper in our hearts. Let Your Holy Spirit change all that we say and do and bring a new power to the places we call home. We pray this in the blessed name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

This has been Rev. Jim Massey. I know we are a day early with the Mid-week Epistle, but tomorrow at this time we will be leaving New York on our way to Tiberius. I hope to send another epistle while in Jerusalem. Keep us in your prayers. Oh yes, we have gathered over 2,000 names to put in the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.