Have you ever gone to places that friends warned you were dangerous, but you went anyway?
Well, I just returned a few weeks ago from Poland and Israel.
Why did I do it? Stand by and I’ll tell you.
Right now, I’d like to challenge you to join me on my next trip to Israel. (I’ll unpack that shortly, too.)
Here’s a little background:
Although I’ve visited Israel and Egypt several times in the past, it was still a surprise to be invited as a guest of Christians United For Israel to visit Poland and Israel, so close to Christmas and so close to the cease fire of the Hamas War.
I’ve been leading tours to Israel since 1995. During those thirty years Israel has been defending itself on all fronts, successfully fighting a collection of terrorists, foreign armies and thugs from neighboring countries. Israel has had 8 different individuals serve as Prime Minister during those 30 years, with Benjamin Netanyahu serving three separate terms. It’s a land of change and yet a people intent on protecting their status as a democratic state via a parliamentary republic. The people hold the power. And they fight bitterly to keep it, because they know what it's like to have it taken from them.
Poland’s history underscores that point. The people HAD their power taken from them… by Adolf Hitler. Its history is replete with conflict, chaos and change. On September 1st, 1939 Poland was overrun by the Nazis, in the opening salvo of WWII. The Nazis systematically murdered the many Jews of Poland.
The two countries hold the distinction of being where the VAST majority of Jews congregated and flourished on the two sides of WWII. Poland, pre-WWII – and Israel, post-WWII.
So, allow me to unpack why I accepted the invitation to visit these two countries:
First, I wanted to see with my own eyes what the Nazis did to Poland and to the Jews of that country. I wanted to walk the narrow lanes of Auschwitz concentration camp and imagine the 1.1 million men, women and children that were murdered there. I wanted to feel their pain to my very bones. I succeeded.
Rather than avoid and compartmentalize black and white photos of “old, unfortunate people” sent to die just two hours after they arrived in Auschwitz, I looked at the photos of young families, newly-weds and grandparents being unknowingly shuttled to the showers of death, certainly with concern in their eyes, yet totally unaware they were about to be murdered.
Second, in Israel I wanted to see how the Jews recovered, not only after WWII was over but also after other Israeli wars ended, even up to the recent Hamas War; and how they continue to live their daily, productive lives in Israel. I walked the streets of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and The Galilee. I felt vibrant life springing out of every street, village, city and…. every Jew. Families are growing in Israel in amazing numbers. Take a minute and read this brief piece.
And… I wanted to share with you what I learned on my visit to the land of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Three things stand out:
- We know the media lies to us about events that happen in our own nation and state, yet many Americans consume incorrect information about Israel and never give it a second thought. I’d like to have you consider an alternative.
- Those who are readers of the Bible tend often to gloss over the Old Testament with the excuse that “There’s so much blood…” Relegating the Word of God to only the New Testament pages… and often times only to the red-letter portions of the Gospels because the portions written by Paul the Apostle about gluttony, divorce and sex seem awkward and somehow out of place in today’s culture. Allow me to encourage you on this type of hesitation.
- We have the opportunity to visit Israel and we purposely choose NOT to go there, because “we are scared, it’s too expensive, I don’t speak Hebrew…” What if you could visit the Holy Land and have experienced guides help you overcome those concerns currently keeping you back from visiting the very land you have studied about for decades?
Let’s get started overcoming those concerns:
The Media Lies
Think about a swath of land no bigger than the state of New Jersey. Think about the amount of international news reporters in New Jersey. (There are very few headquarters of global news in NJ). Now, superimpose the land mass of Israel over New Jersey and include the number of global media there. (There are over 2,800 international journalists in Israel.)
Each journalist is responsible for delivering something, anything to their editors each day about Israel. Local neighborhood problems are forced to become international problems by journalists jockeying for position, upward career paths and awards. United Nations failures are often overlooked (or over-inflated) to support the narrative that Israel “invaded” Palestine and the Jews are committing genocide. Chants of “From the River to the Sea” spring up by those who refuse to remember that the United Nations championed the statehood of Israel in 1948.
Israel fights opponents inside and outside of its national borders. Often times, the media attacks the country from both positions.
Good sources for news on Israel? Here ya go…
Glossing over the Old Testament
Now consider your personal study of the Bible. Are you a reader who spends most of your time in the New Testament, at the expense of being a bit ignorant of the Old Testament?
You’re not alone. A man named Brewer Ames recently posted a piece on this very issue and his overall point was this: “When (he) divorced the OT from the NT, he (intellectually) divorced the Trinity itself.” Just think of THAT!
Author C.S. Lewis put it this way:
“As to the fabulous element in the Old Testament, I very much doubt if you would be wise to chuck it out. What you get is something coming gradually into focus. First you get, scattered through the heathen religions all over the world – but still quite vague and mythical – the idea of a god who is killed and broken and then comes to life again. No one knows where he is supposed to have lived and died; he’s not historical. Then you get the Old Testament. Religious ideas get a bit more focused. Everything is now connected with a particular nation. And it comes still more into focus as it goes on. Jonah and the Whale, Noah and his Ark, are fabulous; but the Court history of King David is probably as reliable as the Court history of Louis XIV. Then, in the New Testament the thing really happens. The dying god really appears – as a historical Person, living in a definite place and time. If we could sort out all the fabulous elements in the earlier stages and separate them from the historical ones, I think we might lose an essential part of the whole process."
The Old Testament is the “essential part” of the house that God built. On it stands all truth. From it comes the “focus” that Lewis speaks of – the walls, the interior, the person, the hope and the door to eternity.
We’re scared to actually GO to Israel
We understand. So were Susan and I. Things changed because we said YES to our first tour of Israel in 1995. And we applied a little Nike Theology to our situation to “Just Do It.”
In late Autumn of 2026 Susan and I will be “Doing it Again!” We’ll be leading our next tour to Israel. It appears at this point that we will be doing a “Footsteps of Paul Cruise” where the Apostle Paul travelled during his journeys on the Mediterranean Sea. I have secured a wonderful Boise travel agency and will be getting specifics ironed out, including costs per person. Want to go? You have a year to save up funds and prepare for this incredible event.
Think of Greece, Ephesus, Corinth, Turkey, many other places and finally, Israel. We’ll be visiting Jerusalem, have Baptisms in the Jordan River, float the Dead Sea, and visit other ancient sights of Israel.
Now, “just do it.”
Disregard the media, embrace the Old Testament and make the decision to join us as we head to Israel in 2026.
You’ve been reading about Israel your whole life.
Now, make the decision to come see it with us.
More to come,
Den
PS: Email me back and I will put your name on an “interested” list. As we move closer to the final details, we’ll be in contact with you!!
PPS: Since it’s near the end of the NFL football season AND if this idea of visiting Israel and supporting the Israelis seems like it’s a field-goal too far to kick, allow this video piece on Cam Little to be a bit of an inspiration for you as you decide.
