Summary: For the last two weeks, I've had the great privilege of traveling through Israel/Palestine. It is truly one of the most remarkable places on earth, full of incredible history, breathtaking vistas, and beautiful people. It is also an enormous mess. If you've followed the recent news from the region, you've seen that the frequency of violent encounters between Israelis and Palestinians has dramatically increased during the last month. While we were there, we heard reports almost daily of killings, reprisals, and homes being bulldozed. In fact, things got so bad after a failed assassination attempt against an activist rabbi that the Israelis closed down access to the Temple Mount for only the second time since 1967, resulting in riots and clashes between Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews. As several Jewish friends said during the trip, "Jerusalem is burning." As we traveled, I spent a lot of time thinking and praying about this seemingly hopeless situation. But this conflict is just one example of the complex and often overwhelming circumstances we often face in our own places and lives. In such times, how does God call us to respond? What should we do when we face the facts, and the facts are awful? As I pondered these questions, I was incredibly grateful to be reading the the book of Micah, for his prophetic words brought me great hope. I look forward to sharing them together. Downloads
