Israel Touring Day 3

Today was a slightly slower paced day which was a nice break.  Our minds had taken in so much in only the prior two days!

We started out by visiting a museum where they have "the Jesus boat."  This boat was found about a decade ago sunk down in to the Sea of Galilee.  It has a fascinating removal story, and is now in this museum.  Lots of scientific testing has been conducted on it, and it dates to the time of Christ.  While we of course have no idea if Jesus was in this actual boat, it gives a good idea of what fishing boats in that time would have looked like.  No wonder the disciples would have been scared when they were in this and a sudden storm came up on the sea.

 I walked out to the back of the museum instead of going through the gift shop, and I was rewarded with this beautiful view.  Gorgeous.

Near this is the Church of the Multiplication.  It was built in honor of the miracle of the fish and loaves multiplication.  We only spent a few minutes here, but it was a lovely place to visit.

Just having fun in the back of the bus with the Foxes.  😄

We drove a short ways down the road to then visit the Church of the Primacy.  While we did look in the church, most of our time was spent down on the bank of the Sea of Galilee.  Bryant taught on John 21 which is believed to have happened right here.  Jesus appeared to Peter (and a few others) after His resurrection.  Can you imagine Peter at this point?  He has just denied Jesus three times before His crucifixion.  He was understandably upset and confused; he returned to what he knew...fishing.  Then, three days later, a man on the shore tells them to cast their nets to the other side, and their nets overflow with fish.  Peter has been in this position before, and he recognizes this is Christ.  Can you imagine the hope that fills Peter?  This passage shows us that Jesus forgives Peter and restores their relationship.  He charges Peter to take charge of His sheep.  In this we can see that we too can be restored and used for good by God.  What an amazing hope we have in Jesus!

 After hearing Bryant's message, we had the chance to enjoy the sea for a little bit.  Ryan waded out a little ways.  We picked up stones to bring home with us to remember this area. 

We had about an hour drive from the Sea to Caesaria Philippi.  Here we stopped at "the gates of Hell."  It's where ancients believed the god Pan lived, and that these were the gates to Hades.

 Here, Bryant taught on Matthew 16:13-20, and he focused on verse 18.  We can see throughout history that the mindset of man has not really changed; we are still very much self-focused today just like in history.  In these verses though, Jesus asks Peter who he believes He is.  It reminds us that every individual must decide for themselves who Jesus is.  Peter correctly responds that He is the Christ, and we see in verse 18 Christ tell Peter "I tell you, you are peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."  There are a few thoughts from this that Bryant discussed that I had not considered before.

The name Peter actually means "pebble," so maybe it is as most Catholics believe that Christ meant the church would be built by Peter which is why they call him their first pope.  However the original word for "rock" is better translated as 'boulder," so maybe it means that the church will be built on Peter's statement that Jesus is the Christ, God's son.  At this point in time, the disciples didn't know what "church" was; that didn't occur until the first Pentacost. 

This is typically read to sound as if it's in a defensive position meaning "don't let the gates of hell stop this from happening."  What if instead it's an offensive position?  One that means "we should storm the gates of Hades to win back the souls of those dead in sin.  The gates of Hell should not stop an offensive attack."

We continued on to the Upper Golan Heights area which overlooks the Israeli-Syrian border.  Moshe taught us more about the geo-political issues of the Middle East...wow, they are complicated.  This memorial is erected here at the "Valley of Tears" to commemorate a large battle in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

 The view into Syria which starts just past the valley in this picture.  We took time to pray for both countries.  Even though the Jews are God's chosen people, both countries are filled with people whom God created and loves.  His son died for both of these people groups.  We pray for them to know this and accept this.

We were supposed to continue on from here to the city of Dan, but bad weather moved in quickly which made the roads there too dangerous.  We spent a little time in a chocolate shop and then started the long journey back to Tiberius.  When we got back, we had the chance to go for a long walk with Brian and Katherine around the city, and I think it did all of hearts good.  We are so thankful for this friendship.

Israel Touring Day 2

What a beautiful morning!  This was the view from our room.  What a gorgeous sunrise over the Sea of Galilee.

 After breakfast, we drove to the Mount of Beatitudes.  We went to a reserved pavilion, and this was our view looking out over the Sea.

 Bryant simply read Matthew 5-7 as Jesus would have delivered it.  It took about 16 minutes.  He reminded us that Jesus did not slacken the Jewish laws, but this shows us how short we fall of the standard.  Thankfully, God shows us great grace.  We were reminded of that as, after Bryant's reading, we sang Holy, Holy, Holy and We Are Standing (on Holy Ground).  This was the most wonderful way to start this day.

 The Catholic church built on the Mount of Beatitudes.

 So many beautiful flowers here!

 We continued driving around the Sea to Capernaum.  This is the city that Jesus chose as His home as He got older.  He called Matthew the tax collector to be a disciple here.  He spent time with Matthew and other sinners (Mark 2:13-17).  The Bible documents many miracles that were performed here such as exorcism and healings (Mark 1:21-34).  We see in Mark 2:1-12 the paralytic man who was brought by his friends to Jesus, and Jesus healed him.  John 6 recounts many stories that happened in and around Capernaum as well, such as Jesus feeding the 5,000, walking on water, and declaring Himself to be the bread of life.  In Matthew 11:20-24, Jesus condemns Capernaum. 

One of the places to see in Capernaum today are the ruins of the synagogue.  These columns are from a synagogue built upon the ruins of the synagogue from when Jesus would have taught there.

 In the background, you can see a (gaudy, crazy spaceship-looking) Catholic church that was built over what is believed to be Peter's house.  It is believed that Jesus would have stayed at Peter's house while in Capernaum.

 Statue of Peter in his hometown.

As we left Capernaum, we stopped in Magdala which was discovered and started excavations only a few years ago.  It is believed Mary Magdalene was from here.  It is also possible (though not a certainty) that the two fish the young boy was carrying that helped feed 5,000 came from Magdala as they have discovered a man-made path from the sea to an area where fish would have been cleaned, dried, and sold.

 We went into a small chapel here, and Bryant taught from Mark 5:25-34.  This beautiful painting on the wall depicts the scene, of a woman reaching through the throng of people around Jesus just to touch the hem of His garment, believing that would be enough to heal her.  Jesus "perceives power had gone out from him" and He confronts the woman then rewards her faith and heals her.  Oh to have faith like her!  

 We went back to our hotel where we were treated to a "Saint Peter's lunch."  This is a whole tilapia as that's the most common fish in that area.  Green beans and rice were on the side but I think that's a modern day side.  It was really quite delicious, but watch out for the little bones!

After lunch we went the Yardenit area of the Jordan River.  Bryant read of Jesus being baptized by John in the Jordan River.  It's believed that He was baptized further south, closer to the Dead Sea.

 After hearing of Jesus' baptismal, we each had the opportunity to be baptized if we wanted to.  Ryan and I (along with most of the group) took this opportunity to be baptized by Bryant.  Even though this was not a baptism after a first profession of faith for either of us, it was a wonderful experience that we will both treasure.  What an amazing way to celebrate and recommit our faith and trust in Jesus as Savior.

We finished the day with a sunset boat trip on the Sea of Galilee.  Though it was a beautiful day for us, we read Matthew 14:22-36.  We could imagine the fear the disciples may have felt when a storm rose up on this sea.  It's actually so much bigger than I realized!  I imagine they were in a much smaller boat than we were too.  During this storm, Jesus walked out on water to them, commanded Peter to walk out on the water to Him, and then calmed the storm.  Jesus shows incredible power over nature at that time.

As the sun set, we could see the light of little towns and villages popping up all around the sea.  It made it easy to understand what the disciples saw when Jesus told them "a city on a hill cannot be hidden" (Matthew 5:14).

It was another day where we were in awe of what we were seeing.  We couldn't believe that we were actually walking in the same places that we know with absolute certainty Jesus walked and taught.  We saw scenery that looked the same as it would have 2,000 years ago.  What an incredible day.

Israel Touring Day 1

On Tuesday morning, we were ready to get the touring adventure started!  We ate breakfast at the hotel where we started meeting lots of new people.  We really didn't know many people at all as we started out on this, but we grew to adore lots of them!  After breakfast, we loaded up on the buses and starting driving north from Netanya until we ended up at Caesaria-by-the-Sea.  This was an important port city for the Romans, so our Jewish guide, Moshe, filled us in on how the city was laid out and how it fits into the Roman design.  This city was built up by Herod the Great and Pilate (yes, that Pilate) would have lived here.  Pilate would only have gone to Jerusalem for major events as a political move.

From there, we walked over and took our seats in the amphitheater, and Bryant delivered his first sermon to the group.  He taught on Acts 10 and Acts 23, both of which pertain to this city.  In Acts 10, we see the Holy Spirit moving in two places at once.  First, he's moving in Cornelius, a Roman soldier stationed at Caesaria-by-the Sea, to go and get Peter.  The Spirit is also moving in Peter, letting him know to go with the men sent by Cornelius, after giving a vision teaching Peter about clean and unclean animals and showing him that God loves the Jew and the Gentile.  This led to Peter coming to Caesaria-by-the-Sea to speak with Cornelius; Cornelius then became the first Gentile convert.  We, as non-Jews, are blessed from this.  Later in Acts 23, Paul is brought to Caesaria-by-the-Sea as a prisoner, and he presents his testimony to King Agrippa and the governors.  It is quite possible that he would have given this testimony as a speech in the amphitheater where we sat.

 After the sermon, we walked around a bit.  I always love Roman architecture.

 The ruins of Herod's personal palace, sitting right on the sea.

 From the palace ruins, looking over to the hippodrome ruins.  The hippodrome is where they would have run chariot races.

 This sign was excavated at Caesaria-by-the-Sea, and it states that Pontius Pilate built this road in honor of Emperor Tiberius.  The cool part about this is it gives historical evidence of Pilate, who otherwise is only mentioned in the Bible.  With this timing, it corroborates the timing of the Bible.

 We were so glad to be on this trip with Brian and Katherine!

 When we left Caesaria-by-the-Sea, we drove a little bit up the road where we saw up close the beautiful Roman aqueduct that carried water from the Mount Carmel mountain range to the city which helped them make their port area.

 We continued our drive, and soon stopped for lunch.  We were invited to eat with Bryant and Anne at that meal.  Each person would be invited to sit with them, the Foxes, and the Taylors for a meal during the trip.  This was a great time to talk with the Wrights more to hear their perspective on how things have changed over their many trips and ask any questions we had about the trip or our Bible study leading up to the trip.

After lunch, we drove to the top of Mount Carmel overlooking the Kishon Valley.  Here, Bryant taught from 1 Kings 18:17-46 which is where the prophet Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal, and God demonstrates his majesty.  From this passage, we see several things taking place.  First, Elijah spoke truth to King Ahab even though that would have been extremely difficult.  Second, even the false prophets of Baal recognized the need for a blood sacrifice to be made.  Third, after God reigns over Baal, the Baal prophets are killed in the Kishon Valley which is a foreshadowing of the final battle of good and evil that will happen there.  Lastly, Elijah calls on the Jewish people to choose who the will serve.  We too must make that choice.

  It was a smoggy day, but this is from the top of Mount Carmel looking over the valley.

As we continued our drive, Bryant taught on our bus about the prophecy of the ingathering of the Jewish people leading up to the second coming of Jesus.  He quoted much Scripture including Psalm 106:47, Isaiah 11:12, Jeremiah 23:2 and 29:10-14 (10 being the first ingathering, 14 being prophecy).  He noted how until 1948, there seemed no way for this to happen, but then the Jewish state was reformed.  He then went on to quote Jeremiah 30:2-9 and 31:8-12, and many verses in Ezekiel...36:8-12, 36:21-28, 39:25-28, 11:16-20, 28:25-26 and chapter 37.  I don't have any pictures as we were simply driving along, but I want note these verses so when I look back on this post in future years, I will have these verses together to remember what we studied.

Soon, we stopped at a view overlooking the Bahai Gardens in Haifa.  This is one of the most holy sites for those who follow the Bahai faith.  To be honest, I know very little about this faith, but it's a beautiful place to stop and look around.  From this area, you can also look to the distance and see Lebanon.

 As we left the Gardens, we drove through Nazareth which is what Moshe called "Jesus' playground" because it's where He grew up.  Here, we went to the top of Mount Precipice.  We read Luke 4:14-30 where a mob tried to throw Jesus from this mountain top after he spoke in the synagogue here.  Brian pointed out that the people weren't mad at this point that Jesus claimed to be the son of God.  Instead, they were mad when He talked about going to tell the Syrians and Phoenicians (currently, the Lebanese).  They were okay with their "holy huddle" but didn't want to share with those from another culture that they despised.  I guess some things never change.

 As we left Mount Precipice and Nazareth, we drove through Cana where Jesus performed His first miracle of turning water into wine at a wedding.  We didn't stop here, but we kept driving until we reached Tiberius which sits on the Sea of Galilee.  We checked in to the Scot's Hotel, ate a delicious dinner, and then turned in for the night.  What a great first day of touring!

Israel Trip

Ryan and I were very fortunate to have a trip of a lifetime experience recently.  We joined 90 other people on a trip with our senior pastor, Bryant Wright, to Israel.  We have never done a group tour before, but we were willing to try it for this.  This trip was nothing short of amazing!  I have made an entry for each one of our days.  I'm going to try and put in as much detail as possible, so I'll have this to look back on in future years.  So, here we go...

We left late on Sunday evening.  We flew Turkish Air with 3 other couples; everyone else flew on Delta.  Ryan and I were actually able to fly first class on these trips which was awesome.  When we walked on to the plane, we were given wireless headphones and wonderful freshly-made fruit drinks; they were delicious.

Not long after leaving Atlanta, our chef came by to introduce himself and show us the menu.  We were kind of blown away.

  The food was quite tasty and was freshly made.  The olive oil for the caprese salad made me so excited to get to the Middle East and enjoy lots of great food!  

When we flew in to Istanbul, we could see some great views of the city.  I wish we'd had more time to actually get out and explore!  However, we pretty much walked over to our next gate and boarded for Tel Aviv.  When we landed, it was already late and the sun had set.  Unfortunately, one of the couples traveling with us had a bag that didn't make it, so we all waited together to get that search process settled; they received it two days later, thank goodness.  We left the airport and drove about an hour or so north to Netanya.  It was really too late to see anything.  Imagine our surprise when we woke up the next morning and saw this view of the Mediterranean Sea was our room view!

 Our hotel was so cool looking too!  We had no idea from the night before.

From here, we boarded Bus #2 and settled in to seats that we'd claim for the rest of the trip.  We went to the second to last row.  We were right behind the back exit stairs so we were able to make quick entries and exits each time.  Across the aisle from us was Paul Trotti, Sr and behind us was Mike Anderson.  We are friends with both of their sons, so we already knew we would enjoy having them there.  We then got to know others who sat around us too.  We loved our "back of the bus gang!"  We were ready to get this adventure on the road!