Day 4 and Day 5

Again, we've seen so much and done so much it is hard to explain it all. With no further ado here is what we did on March 15th and March 16th.

March 15

Places Visited

• Jordan River - We were baptized in the Jordan River. Sonny baptized me and then I got to baptize Allie. It was very cool to think about that this was the river that John the Baptist baptized people seeking repentance and the very river that Jesus Himself was baptized in. It was VERY cold. Water temperature was probably close to 55 degrees. We'll have pictures when we get back.
  
• Bet Sayan - This is the site of some of the most exciting excavations going on in Israel today. It is also the site of Saul's final stand and death. They have uncovered a Tel, which is an unnatural hill. The hill is made by different civilizations building upon one another. At the top of Bet Sayan is Saul's civilization. There are 16 civilizations below that one! Unbelievable! We walked through the Roman City which was pretty beautiful as well.
  
• Qumran - The caves are the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Among these scrolls was a complete version of Isaiah (all 66 chapters). This Isaiah scroll is over 2000 years old. The text matches exactly with the versions that we've had passed down through the centuries. There are some different spellings, but the defintions of those words have never changed. God will preserve His word. He does preserve His word and we were in the place that some of it was preserved.
  

March 16

• Massada - This is a plateau that is 1300 ft high. I climbed it with 9 of our other pilgrims. It was a hard climb to the top on a 2.5 mile trail. I did it in right around 40 minutes. I'm so out of shape. I remember in college making climbs higher than that in 30 minutes. Got to get in shape when we get back to the States. Anyway this is the plateau where before Roman takeover Jews decided to not allow them to take them alive. There were 900 Jews here. The children were killed first. Then the women. Then the men. Then there were 10 elders left. They threw lots to figure out who would be the last one. That last one killed the other 9 and then fell on his own sword. Suicide was a curse in the OT and this way only one person had to commit it . The Jews said that they would never be taken as slaves and seen their children abused and their women ravaged. Instead they would die on their own terms.
  
• Ein Gedi - This is the place where many of David's Psalms were written. David would escape here from Saul and then from Absalom. In the Scripture it says that David cut off the hem of Saul's garment. This is not the bottom of the garment, but his prayer shawl which is actually very close to him. It is much more near his waist. Amazing!
  
• Mt. Olives - This is the place where Jesus will return it is right across from the Eastern Gate and overlooking the site of the future Temple (the 3rd). IT is the current site of the Dome of the Rock.
  
• All Saints Church - Church next to the Garden of Gethsamane
  
• Garden of Gethsemane - This is the place where Jesus walked and prayed before He was betrayed. This is in the shadow of the Temple probably. Allie and I got to pray in the garden that Jesus prayed in and sweat drops of blood. There are many Olive Trees there over 2000 years old. This was the place. AMAZING!
  

Day 2 and Day 3

For those faithful readers out there I'm sorry I haven't written in a few days. It has been so busy and full and we haven't had an internet connection.

3/13/07
Places Visited:

• Caesarea by the Sea - This was the Herod the Great's capitol city. This was also the place that we read about in Acts 10 where Cornelius, the first gentile convert, lived and believed in Christ. Most likely it is also the place where Paul would have started on his missionary journies. This place was amazing and huge. Herod was a great builder. He built this entire city from the ground up complete with a 3000 seat amphitheater, an enormous palace on the Mediterranean Sea, and a port of over 200 ships. Included in his palace is a fresh water pool. This pool was connected to the ocean, but not fed by it (obviously, right?). This place was big and old and quite the feat for that day, or any day for that matter. It is also here that archaeologists have uncovered the proof that Pilate was the ruler at the time of Jesus.
• Mt. Carmel - This is the sight of Elijah's challenge to the prophets of Baal. This is a large hill and from it you can see the Jezreel Valley. This is the place of the final battle of Armeggedon. The valley is enormous, the view is spectacular, and the wind was swirling, so we didn't spend that much time up there. This was my favorite sight and will definitely use my experience in subsequent sermons.
• Nazareth - Here we visited a potential site for where Jesus may have opened the scrolls and read in Luke 4. It was after this that he was rejected in this city, having said that "this day this prophesy has been fulfilled in your hearing."
• Mt. Arbel - Nothing imparticular happened here, but from this mountain you can see many of the places that Jesus ministered in the Galilee region. Jesus stayed mostly on the north side of the galilee. This was the place that had the greatest number of people in that day. Today it is not the case. But then, in this great fishing community that side tends to be 2-3 degrees warmer due to hot springs that feed it. That's where the people were, so that's where Jesus was.

3/14/2007

I woke up today watching the sunrise on the Sea of Galilee. I couldn't help but think that this is the SAME sun and the SAME sea (it's actually more of a lake). That Jesus saw rise and set. It was beautiful.

Places Visited:

• Sea of Galilee - This is the sea where Jesus spent most of his ministry around. It is not very large, only 17 miles by 8 miles (give or take). It is positioned in a valley and in a very odd spot. It is very low, some 200 meters below sea level. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides that are set back some varying number of meters. This causes great storms to arise their quickly. Many times in the New Testament it talks about the storms arising quickly. It's easy to see how it could happen. Jesus calmed storms here, he walked on water here, and taught people from boat here. This is the place where Peter jumped out of the boat and started walking. We were there, it is an overwhelming experience.
• Gennesaret - Here they found a boat that they have discovered to be over 2000 years old. It is the type of boat that Peter, James, John, and Andrew would have had.
• Capernaum - This was the place of Jesus' base of operations. The home town of Peter's mother-in-law and the place where Jesus did miracles and healings, left and right. It is also one of the places that Jesus curses because of its unbelief. To this day Capernaum has not been rebuilt. It stands in ruins.
• Mt. of Beattitudes - This is the place where Jesus spoke the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). The place where he most likely spoke forms a natural amphitheater. Today it is home to an order of nuns who are not very personable. They've yelled at groups in the past for singing too loud.
• Peter's Primacy - This is the spot on the Galilee where after Jesus' resurrection he appeared to the disciples who had gone back to their former way of life. You can read about it in John 21. It is also the place where Peter was questioned about his love for Jesus and he told him 3 times that he loved him. There is more to this story, but I want to preach on it, so I'll refrain.
• Caesarea Phillipi - This is the place of Peter's great confession of who Jesus is. Jesus would never have gone inside of this city, it was pagan, but they were in the "region surrounding it". In this region there are tons (literally) of ruins to the Greek god Pan. This was thought to be the "Gates of Hell" by the religious people of the day. So after Peter's confession when Jesus says, "I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it." He was standing right in front of this spot. Pretty incredible, do you have goose bumps, I do, and I did all day long.

This trip has been nothing short of amazing. To quote Ferris Bueller, "if you have the funds I highly suggest it." Seriously, this has been enriching and fulfilling. God has used it in a big way in my life already.

Forgive me if I misspelled things it is 3:30 AM here and my brain is not quite functioning up to snuff.

Holy Land - The Arrival

Yesterday afternoon (Israeli time, morning if you are in the states) we landed at Ben Guiren airport in Tel Aviv. The flight was LONG, but actually pretty good. I hate flying, but it really wasn't that bad, although I got next to zero sleep and watched "Stranger Than Fiction" with Will Ferrel 3 or 4 times. We got off the plane and proceeded to Customs. We had our passports stamped and got our luggage. it was a little surprising how much the airport there was like one in the States. We got our luggage just fine and headed out.

We were then met by our tour guide, Irit. She is a 'Sabin". That is someone who has been born in Israel since the re-formation of Israel in 1948. We drove to the hotel and felt very at home as we were stuck in traffic. It felt like being on I-45 during rush hour. Directly before we got on the tour bus we met up with Christian Friends of Israel. Many of us brought clothes to donate to them as there are thousands of immigrants coming back to the land monthly and are generally in need of clothing. They were very thankful.

We got to the hotel and in our rooms and then had the opportunity to go out on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea. We got to see the sunset on the Mediterranean, it was From the beach you can see Joppa. Today it is a modern city, but Joppa is the place where Jonah ran to, boarding a boat after running from God's will. It is amazing to be here. We are surrounded by Biblical history everywhere. These are places that we've read about and learned about. Allie and I are so thankful to be here and see all that God has for us.

Last night we had a devotion on the beach with Pastor Sonny. He highlighted our connection to Israel and our place and purpose here. That we have been grafted into the tree as it says in Romans 11 and now it is our purpose as believers in Christ to make the Jews jealous through our love and grace. May God bless this purpose in our pilgrimage here.

After our devotion we went right to bed. We were tired so tired. We then woke up today at 3:30 AM Israeli time. I think there is still some adjustment to make in the time change.

Blessings!