Greece Revisited...

So I skipped a month in posting here. I think I may hit this a couple of times in the next couple of weeks. I wanted to share a bit more about the trip to Greece before I moved on to inform you about the future happenings towards Brussels.
While we were in Greece, not only did we have the opportunity to serve and to share the gospel in many ways, but we also were able to experience much in the way of Biblical culture.



While in Athens we were able to visit many of the historic ruins. There were many many temples and sacred places for the Greek gods. (Read Acts 17: 16-34 for context) We were camped about a 5-10 minute walk from the Acropylis. Right near the Acropylis is the infamous Mars Hill (Ares Hill). We trod upon the very place that Paul defended the one true God in a land of many gods to a people in fear of these gods. Oh, may we be so inflamed as Paul was here. (Did you read Acts 17 yet? If not, what are you waiting for?)


Recognize this stone artifact on the left? Well it wasn't this one exactly but there was one like it in a famous blockbuster movie... One day we had the opportunity to go to Corinth and take a tour of the ruins there. We had the priviedge of having a Christian archeoligist for a guide. He provided great Biblical insight and referenced the scriptures often as we toured bringing new perspectives to these scriptures. Ok. So I'll address this picture above now. You may have seen this in "The Passion of the Christ" movie. Remember when Jesus was flogged? He was bound to a stone like this. However, the movie had it wrong. It was placed in a courtyard that was somewhat isolated. It was much more likely that this stone would have been in the public marketplace where such judgements would have taken place. As we stood in the middle of the market, we saw this stone. It was very public. Now remember what you saw in the movie but place that in the middle of a crowd of onlookers... Thank you Jesus!
There were many other very interesting things we saw that day. Many things giving added insight. We were shown something by our guide that was outside the protected area in the ruins. It is very significant for Christians but disregarded by others. We saw a road that had the name of Epaphras etched on it as the one who paid for the road to be made. Without going into the details, this one discovery is one of the strongest proofs of the accuracy of the Bible. Epaphras was argued to be the weakest link until this discovery and then the issue was just dropped. It was pretty cool to see this evidence first hand. One last thing I'll mention is the common passage in 1 Corinthians 13:12. We saw an artifact of a mirror. It is much different than our mirrors we have today. Read this verse. Now imagine looking into polished brass as oppose to the clear mirrors we have today. Doesn't this verse make even more sense now. It also makes the contrast between looking at a mirror and seeing face to face greater. Oh, to see our loving and merciful Savior face to face!
Thanks again for your prayers and support. May we be blessed as we stand in God's grace... for His glory!


The bathroom is on the right. Public restrooms were very public!
PS: Don't shake their left hand! ;o)