Dave Dishman

Guidance from Overlooked Men and Women of the Bible

Category: Travel (Page 4 of 23)

Our Terrible Anniversary

September 11, 2019 / / 0 Comments
One World Trade Center in New York City as it stands today.

9/11. Death of the innocent. Death of the brave. The culmination of years of hatred and crystal clear planning. The end of one era of how we viewed the world and the beginning of another. Still fighting that war.

On that terrible morning I was working in the Campus Crusade for Christ office in Louisville, Colorado, putting together two new desks we purchased recently. I planned to fly to Nebraska the next day to visit our team in Lincoln, a trip that eventually happened a year later.

Recently I visited the 9/11 museum in New York City. Sobering and stunning, while there you feel the tragedy anew, in gut-wrenching ways. We feel it anew on each anniversary of that catastrophe.

Lord, give us your heart as we remember. Protect us from attack. Comfort the families left behind, remind the survivors of your presence and goodness today. Heal our world. May your spirit of peace cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea.

Easter Morning

April 22, 2019 / / 0 Comments
Mañana de Pascua (Easter Morning) by Caspar David Friedrich c. 1828-1835

Caspar David Friedrich often sought communion with nature as a means of expressing his feelings, ideas, hopes and yearnings, much like many of us do today. I was struck by his painting as I stood before it in Madrid, Spain, at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza.

This painting is permeated with a rich religious symbolism that seeks to carry his message to the viewer. Everything in it has meaning: the moon and the dawn are symbolic of death and the hope of eternal life, and the season chosen—late winter giving way to early spring—is linked to the Resurrection.

It is Easter morning. The women in the picture are walking slowly to the tomb. They don’t know that Jesus is alive. They are focused on death, but as they go, they walk under trees where new leaves have begun burst from their buds.

Soon these same women will run the other way. “He is alive!” will be heard for the first time, now repeated billions of times over the centuries since that day. New life springs eternal, as it did for these women, as it did for Casper David Friedrich, and as it does for us today, this day after Easter morning.

Estonia!

April 18, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Several dozen students gathered in anticipation for the start of the event. It was Board Game Night at Agape Kohvik, the coffee house run by the staff of the Cru movement in Tartu, Estonia. I was there last week with around 50 students, from Estonia and all over Europe, who attended to play games, drink coffee, enjoy iced tea and chocolate chips cookies (in a nod to their guests, the evening offered an American theme).

Estonia, one of the Baltic republics and a former member of the Soviet Union, is the most secular country in Europe. After years of Soviet indoctrination, little remains of the former Christian heritage of the nation. Faithful churches and groups like Cru continue to reach out with hopes to bring a new generation to an active and living faith.

I was impressed by the warmth of the Agape (Cru) staff and their rapport with the crowd of primarily non-believing students. This is truly a place the student’s enjoy coming. From this event and others, the staff introduce students to programs where they can investigate biblical Christianity, also offering Alpha courses and Bible studies. They continue to see a steady number of young people grow curious about God, investigate further and then come to faith. It was encouraging to see their work!

Even the coffee cups at Agape Kohvik hold a message. The Four is a simple gospel conversation tool useful in conversations the world over.

Massacre of the Innocents

February 25, 2019 / / 0 Comments
The Massacre of the Innocents
Lucas van Valckenborch I (1586)

Few stories in the Bible are as terrible as the story of Herod murdering all the infants around Bethlehem following the visit by the Magi. When told of the newborn king, Herod sent troops to kill every boy 2 years old and younger. The Bible is unvarnished in its depiction of the evil found in the heart of mankind.

I saw this painting in a museum in Spain recently. The artist set the biblical story in a more modern setting, in the low countries of Europe in the late 1500s. A close view reveals the callous horror of the crime. I stood for several long minutes, soaking in the pain and loss. Visit the website of the museum, enlarge this painting and take a long look.

Here’s a reminder of what the spiritual forces in this world will do to keep Jesus from those he came to save. I’m reminded that although we “battle not against flesh and blood,” we certainly do battle. Sometimes our faith is challenging, and sometimes our faith involves life and death. Sometimes evil murders innocents. Understand the gravity of our faith. Gratefully, this is not how the story ends, but these stories are hard to deal with while we wait.

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