John A Forrester

Reading Colossians And Philemon Over A Glass Of Turkish Tea John A Forrester

A glass of Turkish tea, the quintessential expression of Turkish hospitality! Not Turkish coffee, as we westerners might think, as good as that it, but tea, gently brewed, never with milk, usually very sweet. A glass of tea (or two or three) with breakfast, lunch and dinner, and anytime in-between. Get into a conversation with the shop-keeper, and before you know it you hear, "Çay ister misin?" "Would you like some tea?" And you know you are welcomed and accepted. In Turkey we encountered first hand the legendary hospitality of the Middle East-a hospitality we had, in fact, met first in the Bible (Abraham and Sarah welcoming their three visitors, in Genesis 15, for example, or in the ministry and parables of Jesus.) We often call the country of Turkey, "The Other Holy Land," so much of the Bible story takes place there. Living among the Turkish people we find ourselves immersed in a culture much closer to Bible culture than back home in our Western world. As we try to listen with a "Turkish ear," the Word of God comes to life in a fresh way. Recently my wife and I returned to visit this land we have come to love, and this book is partly a journal of that trip. But alongside the travel notes is a series of 25 meditations from Colossians and Philemon. How moving it is to read these letters on location-walking over the ruins of Colossae, wondering where Philemon might have lived, and how he got along with Onesimus his run-away slave, after Paul sent him back now a brother in Christ! Or better-to read these letters in fellowship with the young Turkish church of today. So pour yourself a glass of Turkish tea, sit back, and join us in our pilgrimage through Colossians and Philemon, and across the modern face the Other Holy Land.