Elevator Speech

"Elevator Speech" a term I got introduced to during my days in Amsterdam. Working in the head office, you could, by chance, have an elevator ride with one of the "BIG bosses" of this big multinational. Basically, In few words, you need to explain to these super busy directors who you are, what you do and what value you are bringing to this place. It should be done in a simple clear and brief way taking no longer than an elevator ride from ground floor to the 5th floor (it would be your lucky day if they go with you to 7th floor-you ll have few words more). Since you might not meet them often, you'd better impress and get your point through in these few seconds rather than talk about the rainy bla bla weather (which was always a topic that pops up as a default!). Believe me, it helps a lot...work on it I propose, it can be your work, your passion, your faith..whatever it is, you should be ready to passionately share your elevator speech to any one at any time!

Seems that John the Evangelist knew exactly, through the Holy Spirit, what an elevator speech should look like. He did summarize it all in one verse, exactly the size of a tweet تويتة, just 140 characters. It is one of the most famous verses that I would like to share again with you dear friends in these Easter times:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NIV)

لأنَّهُ هكذا أحَبَّ اللهُ العالَمَ حتَّى بَذَلَ ابنَهُ الوَحيدَ، لكَيْ لا يَهلِكَ كُلُّ مَنْ يؤمِنُ بهِ، بل تكونُ لهُ الحياةُ الأبديَّةُ. (يوحَنا 3:16 AVDDV)

No better Elevator speech can summarize the Love of God to the WHOLE world, a love given for free to you and me as a gift on the cross...a mission statement of a love that broke the chains of sin and gave a totally new meaning to death, a Passover from temporary life to Eternal Life through the Power and Glory of the Resurrection of His only Son.

Christ is Risen..Indeed He is Risen.

المسيح قام....حقاً قام.

I don't know that man!

What starts small, can grow bigger than your control.
On that special Holy Thursday, allow me to take you through an eye opening personal experience. It was on a rainy Saturday morning, stuck at home with the kids, i decided to fetch for my notebook to scribble down some thoughts. And the long searching started, going from my room up to the kitchen drawers...only to stop at the end by an innocent voice pointing me out to the balcony...! Here was my notebook, soaking up all the rain it could get like a thirsty camel! Angry me, got my notebook in and was waiting for some explanation...looking at these shameful eyes and trembling voice. Leila realized, after first drawing throughout few pages in my notebook, that she has done something i asked her not to do. Afraid of facing me with such an act, she decided to hide it out of my sight...may be i ll forget all about this notebook anyhow...and yes, that's where the balcony pops up again in the story..and you know the rest. I explained to her firmly yet in my arms that what started with "coloring" ended up in an "all wet" bigger problem..."two wrongs don't make it a right". All the Big wrongs have a small innocent beginning..yet allowed to grow.

Can't help not think about Peter on that tough Thursday night of trial:

But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!” Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. (Matthew 26:70, 72, 74 NIV)

فأنكَرَ قُدّامَ الجميعِ قائلًا: «لستُ أدري ما تقولينَ!». فأنكَرَ أيضًا بقَسَمٍ: «إنّي لستُ أعرِفُ الرَّجُلَ!». فابتَدأَ حينَئذٍ يَلعَنُ ويَحلِفُ: «إنّي لا أعرِفُ الرَّجُلَ!». وللوقتِ صاحَ الدّيكُ. (مَتَّى 26:70, 72, 74)

It's been shocking to me seeing how a small denying lie was growing into swearing..then brutally transformed into cursing and insulting, yes, a disciple insulting. What? But how? This is Peter, the Rock..even a disciple as solid and bold as Peter was falling into the swirling growing sin effect. We always talk about Peter denying, but rarely think of him reaching a level of swearing and cursing. Oh God, how many times i have accepted a small drop of lie to end up in a pool of mud...yes, the flood always starts with a drop!

But that same Peter, experiencing the love of Christ, the forgiveness of His Heart, received the Holy Spirit who took him to a whole new level of authority. Not only he declared his faith but taught it to the multitude openly and got 3000 on his first big public speech! Wow...this is a Turn-Around as defined. From denying You in front of a slave to fishing 3000 souls.

Dear Jesus, i thank you for praying strength over the faith of Peter, for knowing that he will go through tough times, but yet you saw him growing out of it triumphant and leading “Satan has asked to test you men like a farmer tests his wheat. O Simon, Simon (Peter), I have prayed that you will not lose your faith!” (Luke 22:31, 32 ERV) I thank you that when times of trial hit us, we know that you sent us strength to fight this drop of sin through the power of your Holy Spirit in us. Amen!

Enjoy His loving forgiveness on that day and everyday!

Of Dinner and Scents!

Inviting friends over for dinner is quite a pleasure yet a challenging task sometimes, specially if they don't share your culture! Being abroad for the past years, we did invite some dutch, french, Italian, and Spanish over to experience the wonders of our Lebano-Egyptian cuisine (which they all love by the way). On our first dinner, we prepared, among other dishes, our famous Fattah. Obviously the Fattah is what I call a dish with "Charisma"...you can not skip knowing it is around...its imposing fragrance covers the place. Here come the invitees, we open the doors, with a big smile..Suddenly a series of sneezing broke into the welcoming moments! It seems one of the invitees was allergic to Garlic smell! That's what I call a culture shock followed with lots of "tissues" and "bless yous". Since then, scented candles made their way in our home as the final touch before welcoming our invitees!

Talking about dinners! Last Palm Sunday, I went back in the bible to see what happened on the night before. Jesus was invited for dinner at His friend Lazarus, a big feast, a dinner with similar fragrances of Fattah i can imagine. A Lately resurrected man (Lazarus) was surely attracting people to come over, celebrating Jesus and this miracle. What did Martha and Mary do to prepare the house for the arrival of THE King..i could see a big setting with amazing smell of cooking and spices known to our middle eastern cuisine...lots of invitees and noise.

And here comes what caught my breath in reading in the midst of this feast:

Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nardine, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. (John 12:3 NLT)

فأخَذَتْ مَريَمُ مَنًا مِنْ طيبِ نارِدينٍ خالِصٍ كثيرِ الثَّمَنِ، ودَهَنَتْ قَدَمَيْ يَسوعَ، ومَسَحَتْ قَدَمَيهِ بشَعرِها، فامتَلأَ البَيتُ مِنْ رائحَةِ الطّيبِ. (يوحَنا 12:3

It is not only the pure act of love, humility, repentance that Mary did, but the last part of this verse was totally new to me "The house was filled with the fragrance"! (Amazing how we read the passages so many times, and we still keep discovering). No matter what was cooked, or what ever smell the people had around in this house, only one act of true humble love covered it all. Despite all the cooking, and preparations, nothing was mentioned about the house except this fragrance taking over the whole place. And yes, this is exactly what touched the heart of Jesus. None of the human efforts and preparation, none of the cooking could hold the fragrance to fill the house. This act covered it all!

So welcoming Jesus in our House, in our own Jerusalem saying Hosanna like in Palm Sunday, requires one act above all, an act David knew quite well after He committed his sin. He wrote it through the Spirit in the most famous psalm 51:
The sacrifice that God wants is a humble spirit. God, you will not turn away someone who comes with a humble heart and is willing to obey you. (Psalms 51:17)

ذَبائحُ اللهِ هي روحٌ مُنكَسِرَةٌ. القَلبُ المُنكَسِرُ والمُنسَحِقُ يا اللهُ لا تحتَقِرُهُ. (المَزاميرُ. 51:17

Before the cooking of good deeds, The fragrance of a humble heart at His Feet is what your house needs...it will fill your house and heart and as i told you before, this fragrance will also be enjoyed by many around you, and might stick on them as well!

Have a blessed Holy week my friends!

مع قرب العيد ونهاية فترة الصيام، بيوت كتير بتتحضر تستقبل كل أفراد العيلة على وليمة العيد...وليمة الكل مستنيها! العيد بالنسبة لي يعني بيت أهلي وطبيخ أمي. الأكل في يوم زي دة ريحته بتكون واصلة لباب العمارة...وأحلى نفس الواحد بيستنشقه في اليوم هو النفس الكبير مع دخلة المطبخ اللي بيكون عامل زي خلية نحل...الكل بيشتغل ويساعد عشان الوليمة العائلية دي...وبالأخص لو الموضوع فيه "فتة"...دة طبق ذو كاريزما خاصة، استحالة ما تاخدش بالك انه موجود معاك في البيت

اللَمّة الحلوة دي فكرتني بوليمة تانية...وليمة كانت في نفس اليلة دي، ليلة أحد السعف (الشعانين). يسوع كان مدعو مع صديقه لعازر (اللي أقامه من الأموات). أنا متخيل أن العشاء دة كان مالي البيت بريحة الأكل اللي طبخته مرثا...ممكن تكون ريحة شبه اللي كانت مالية بيت أمي. أنا كمان متخيل أن البيت كان مليان مدعوين و ناس فضوليين جايين يشوفوا لعازر اللي قام من الاموات. ناس، زحمة، أكل، احتفال بيسوع و لعازر...
كل دة رائع بس اللي ادهشني هو دقة تعبيرالكتاب في الحدث دة:
 “فأخَذَتْ مَريَمُ مَنًا مِنْ طيبِ نارِدينٍ خالِصٍ كثيرِ الثَّمَنِ، ودَهَنَتْ قَدَمَيْ يَسوعَ، ومَسَحَتْ قَدَمَيهِ بشَعرِها، فامتَلأَ البَيتُ مِنْ رائحَةِ الطّيبِ.”
‮‮يوحَنا‬ ‭12:3‬  ‭
 الانكسار، التواضع والمحبة الخالصة اللي قدمتهم مريم يفوق كل توقعات في جلسة زي دي...لكن اللي شد انتباهي أكتر هو آخر جملة في الآية: "امتلأ البيت من رائحة الطيب". كام مرة قريت القطعة دي وعديت على الجملة دي مرور الكرام.
 تقدمة واحدة حقيقية من قلب خاشع محب غَطِت على كل الاكل والروايح اللي كانت مالية البيت. برغم التعب المبذول في التحضير للعشاء دة، الكتاب ماذكرش أي تأثير أو مظاهر له...
 لكن عطر الناردين من مريم...كان هو المستحق يذكر أينما يكرز بهذا الانجيل.

واحنا داخلين على أسبوع الآلام...بأصلي اننا نتمثل بمريم ونيجي نقدم نفسنا-قبل عبادتنا-عند رجليه بكل انكسار...نرحب بيه في قلوبنا بتواضع عشان دخوله أورشليم وسط السعف يكون دخول ملك الملوك على قلبي وقلبك!

داوود كان عارف قلب الآب لما كتب بالروح:
“ذَبائحُ اللهِ هي روحٌ مُنكَسِرَةٌ. القَلبُ المُنكَسِرُ والمُنسَحِقُ يا اللهُ لا تحتَقِرُهُ.”
‮‮المَزاميرُ‬ ‭51:17‬  ‭

!خلونا السنة دي نقدم قلب منكسر تائب مش مجرد ترديد شفاه ومراسم سنوية
 أسبوع مبارك للجميع...أوصّنا، مبارك الآتي بإسم الرب.

!خلينا منورين

A week at the "Granja"

Last week Leila, my 6 years old daughter, had her first camping experience for a whole week away from home! If you are worrying about her being away at this age...then you are worrying about the wrong person...she had great fun (as expected)! In fact, the ones to be worried about their coping are Aline and Farida who was never in her life been separated that long from her twin sister! What made it worse was the fact that parents were not allowed to call and check on their kids, no contacts nor news except the website of the school on which the camp director would post everyday few words and may be a couple of photos to keep the parents updated!

You guessed it right, this website was our life for a week...checking it every few hours, opening it before stepping out of bed..and when some words or photos were posted, it just lifted up the whole mood...but NOTHING compares to the moment of the real encounter when Leila came back..The Running Hug, the warming tears, the long chats, and the smiling joy back again.

All this in incident reminds me of our personal encounter with God. A lot of times, we are content and satisfied living on the stories about God told to us through a multitude of media. In this era of communication, the Word reaches us all day, we watch sermons, we get verses, hymns, stories about Him. We attend services and meetings, but might not have the time to sit one to one..seeking this personal heart melting encounter.

This opened my eyes to a new part of the famous Samaritan woman encounter in John 4. I just got jealous seeing the way the Samaritans in her village did not feel content solely by the stories she told them about The Messiah..but decided to go and experience Him directly..to find a whole new living faith!

"Now numerous Samaritans from that town believed in and trusted in Him because of what the woman said when she declared and testified...So when the Samaritans arrived, they asked Him to remain with them, and He did stay there two days. Then many more believed in and adhered to and relied on Him because of His personal message [what He Himself said]. And they told the woman, Now we no longer believe (trust, have faith) just because of what you said; for we have heard Him ourselves [personally], and we know that He truly is the Savior of the world, the Christ. (John 4:39-42 AMP)

فآمَنَ بهِ مِنْ تِلكَ المدينةِ كثيرونَ مِنَ السّامِريّينَ بسَبَبِ كلامِ المَرأةِ الّتي كانتْ تشهَدُ أنَّهُ: «قالَ لي كُلَّ ما فعَلتُ». فلَمّا جاءَ إليهِ السّامِريّونَ سألوهُ أنْ يَمكُثَ عِندَهُمْ، فمَكَثَ هناكَ يومَينِ. فآمَنَ بهِ أكثَرُ جِدًّا بسَبَبِ كلامِهِ. وقالوا للمَرأةِ: «إنَّنا لَسنا بَعدُ بسَبَبِ كلامِكِ نؤمِنُ، لأنَّنا نَحنُ قد سمِعنا ونَعلَمُ أنَّ هذا هو بالحَقيقَةِ المَسيحُ مُخَلِّصُ العالَمِ». (يوحَنا 4:39-42 AVDDV)

Dear Father, i long for this encounter..that would take me to a whole new level of Knowing You..Experiencing Your Love. I don't want to get to only hear about you..but I want to know You directly as The Savior and Christ. Amen!

Be Hungry for more my friends!