23rd November

I do feel tired. I mean really tired, it’s the M.E. problem I guess as I wake up each morning feeling totally exhausted, and everything aches. But I can’t give up living. So apart from the normal household chores I had a second attempt at washing my motorhome. It’s not the sort of thing you can just take to a carwash and I’m not so sure about my pressure washer causing damage to trims and even paintwork. That leaves me with a sponge and extendable brush which is rather hard work when you’re already worn out. Yesterday I managed the cab area and today I went climbing, perched rather precariously on the top of my step ladder trying to clean the roof without breaking anything! At this rate it’ll take all week to complete, but there you go, this is my life at the moment. Bathroom decorating doesn’t seem to get a look in. Maybe next week.

My retired friend stopped by at lunchtime and that made me feel a little better. Taking my eyes off my own problems has to be good, at least as an engaging distraction. I always enjoy a vigorous discussion about the work of God in our lives, our local community and the church. And although we barely touched on the subject today, the nation of Israel and the Middle East is always of major interest when trying to work out what’s happening in the world. It seems that the UN has passed more resolutions relating to Israel than any other nation and perhaps even all other nations combined. Strange really when you consider the size of the place… a little larger than the Canary Islands, a similar size to Wales and they don’t make the news very often do they? So why is the place in the news almost every single day? Surely that country, with all it’s failings, cannot be compared with the monstrous inhumanity, manifestly prevalent in so many other countries, which attracts no more than passing attention. Although I am by instinct pro-Israel I don’t feel qualified to defend the behaviour of the country as I don’t know enough about it. And for sure I don’t see it as a Christian nation nor from what I’ve heard are the majority particularly Godly in morality. So in one sense the people are just people and not much different from any other population group, apart from one simple fact… the Lord has chosen them to be his people. Not their choosing but his. That’s what my Bible says anyway, and it’s good that so many individuals are responding to his call upon their lives. But you’ll find no other people group written about so extensively in Scripture where over and over again the nation of Israel are called God’s chosen people. And over and over again as they rebel against God they suffer the consequences, even being scattered without a homeland for a couple of thousand years. All bar a small remnant anyway. But when they yield to his will and align themselves with his intentions they are blessed and gifted more than any other nation. To deny that, surely, is to deny the truth of Scripture being the Word of God. I can’t do that. For me, attacking Israel‘s right to exist in the Biblical land of their forefathers is on a par with attacking God himself. That’s foolish and ultimately pointless. And Jesus is Jewish isn’t he…

Romans 11:25-26 ‘I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved.’ (NLT)