Israel Day #4

PICTURES... Attempt to follow along throughout the day...






Today… WOW… How many days have I begun my post like that? Don’t answer that question please!! If I could give one word that describes today…. INDESCRIBABLE!! Talk about experiencing the greatness of Christ, and encountering the joy of walking where Jesus walked… None will compare with today. I stand my ground on that fact. There was NOTHING LIKE IT. Let me begin…

First stop, Capernaum… Home of Jesus for a significant period of time, and Peter’s mother in law. I will refer to some extremely familiar passages where you can envision what I speak of. As I share, try to follow along with the pictures so that you can attempt to visualize. Read John 1:21-28. This synagogue in which he preached… we stood in the back and read this passage and another about this exact synagogue. I pictured Christ standing there preaching to these men, (as he did in John 6). I could just imagine everyone being in an uproar of Jesus claiming to be the Bread of Life. Then he began to heal… everyone in need. People followed, he could not get away. His next stop, Peter’s Mother in Law’s house, John 1:19-36, we stood outside the door of this house. This is also assumed to be the house where the men dug a hole in the ceiling, and lowered the paralyzed man. This is noted in Mark 2:1-12. It was a delight to see.

Capernaum was phenomenal, but believe it or not, it was NOT the most memorable place we stood today. This place would have to be a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee... If I could have a moment of silence after writing, “a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee,” then I would, it was that surreal. (Forgive me, writing prevents me from having a moment of silence…) As I started this post, I said today was “Indescribable”, this is what comes to mind when I think of that word. It is the only word to express the overwhelming emotion that swept through my mind and body. As we took off from the dock, and began to truly gather the fact that we were riding on the sea where Jesus calmed the storm (Matthew 8:23-27), Jesus healed a demon possessed man, sending the swine into the sea (Matt 8:28-32), He called the first disciples (Mark 1:16-20), He preached parables just off the shore in a boat because the crowd was vast (Mark 4:1-3), and several, several other events took place right around this massive lake, music begin to play over the speakers… I recognized the song. As the artist began to strum his guitar, and the rhythm kicked in, I realized it was “How Great is Our God”, by Chris Tomlin. How fitting. How perfect. How much better of an example can be depicted through song on the Sea of Galilee?? I could not help it, tears welled up, and it was, as stated prior… INDESCRIBABLE!!!!

We then saw a boat from the first century that was a good replica of the boats the disciples used for fishing. You think that would be a good enough conclusion for the day, but not quite. THIS WAS ALL BEFORE LUNCH!!! We had lunch right on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, right where Jesus had conversations with the disciples, and probably spent hours praying to His Father. We laughed, skipped rocks, and just imagined Him possibly doing the same thing with 12 other men just like us.

After lunch, we embarked up a large mountain. This was called Mt Beatitudes. Yes, you guessed it, the mountain where Jesus preached the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. There was a Catholic church on the top. I stood on the top videotaping and shooting pictures envisioning the crowds looking up at him while he preached, Blessed are those who are pour in spirit… What made the image even more beautiful,… around the church and gardens, I heard the Beatitudes being read in several different languages. If that does not entirely bring praises to our King, then I don’t know what does. It was glimpse of heaven.

Last stop, Caesarea Philippi. At this location, Jesus begged the disciples, “Who do people say I am (Matthew 16:13-20)?” We also saw previous sites of pagan worship temples. Then we walked along a path of God’s creation down a stream ,which fed into the Jordan River, and saw a beautiful waterfall. On this walk, we saw every aspect of God’s wonderful artistic design, from snow-capped mountains, to gorgeous flowers, various animals, and even a gathering of cacti. It was quite the hour and half trip. The day ended by visiting a war bunker used in the early 1960’s by the Syrians. We overlooked Syria as this was on top of a mountain.

Holy Schnickies!! That was a full day, worth every second of exhaustion and fatigue. Tomorrow will be much more relaxing as we are visiting the Dead Sea, and several other places… IT DOESN’T STOP, and WE LOVE every second of it!!! Praise the Lord for allowing us to experience this incredible journey. Have a FANTASTIC Day!!