January 17th was the last day of an almost five-year adventure for me and my family. We boarded our plane and left Israel, our home for the past five years. Moving always brings mixed feelings: all the excitement and anxiety about the unknown future mixed with the good memories but also sorrows about the things […]
Many years ago, when my new life with the Bible in my hands had just started, I wanted to immediately learn and understand everything written in this book. I even remember my passionate prayers about that. Back then it seemed like attaining a complete and perfect understanding was quite possible – after all, this is […]
That the Jewish people need to hear the Good News is, thankfully, clear to many supporters of Israel. The question, then, is how they will hear. Or, rather: How do we present the gospel in such a way that our audience will actually take it to heart? The above question is important for any communicator, […]
Many of us are focused on our own generation and our congregational needs. But is the next generation really on the hearts of those living in the Western world? If we really care for the people of tomorrow, we should do something about it now. In post-Christian Europe, especially, it is getting more and more […]
It’s diverse. God is at work. And there are a variety of fringe characters clouding the edges of the picture. A person might use words like these if you asked him or her to paint a verbal portrait of Jewish believers at the end of the first century. Nineteen centuries later, I find myself reaching […]
Walking down the main streets of Jerusalem to frolicsome music, surrounded by children playing and families greeting each other under shelters constructed from wood and foliage, is a strange experience for an English believer living in Israel. These structures and the light-hearted festival atmosphere appear in time for Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles. This […]
In June Hege and I and our two boys, Jonatan and Joel, packed our things, left Jerusalem behind, and moved back “home” to Norway. After six and a half years in Israel, during which time both our boys were born, it was sad to have to say goodbye (lehitra’ot) to friends, colleagues, and a lan […]
“The French philosopher and writer Blaise Pascal once said, ‘A servant can do two things: He can go behind, carrying the suitcases, or he can go in front, carrying the lamp.’ My hope and dream is that the Caspari Center will do both. We are in the land to serve the Messianic communities and the […]
For children’s ministers, summer is a hot season in every sense of the word. The Sea of Galilee is like a hot bath that neither refreshes nor energizes. The heat of the mid-July Mediterranean Sea welcomes not only humans but also jellyfish that mercilessly bite anyone who dares to disturb their calm and peace. The […]
A regular working day at Caspari begins at 8:30 a.m. with half an hour of devotions. We read from the Bible; share our understanding of the Scriptures, our experiences, and our needs; and pray for each other, for the ministry and our nations, and for other matters. This wonderful tradition was established years ago by […]