Land of the Patriarchs, Land of the Promise, Land of the Covenants (old and new). What a blessed time it is to be in Israel. Israel in the Spring in particular. All of the fields, hills and mountains of Galilee are alive with the multitude of colors that declare springtime. The wild life is active and visible every day. The Sea of Galilee can be beautiful and calm in the morning and raging in the afternoon, as a Spring storm comes rushing in from the Mediterranean Sea.
In the mornings we are wearing layers and in the afternoon the layers are coming off. We visit sights such as Capernaum, Caesarea Maritima, Mt. Carmel. We open the Bible and teach at the locations that the events took place 2-3000 years ago. It is so amazing. We are in the land where Jesus walked.
Sharing teachings with pastors Mark Martin (Calvary Community Church, Phoenix) and Ken Merrihew (Calvary Chapel Oklahoma City, OK) has been a delight. These two brothers have opened the Word of God and their hearts as we minister together on this trip.
After five days in the Galilee region we spent a day in the Dead Sea area, spending one night in Eilat -- the southern most point of the Dead Sea. During our time there we visited En Gedi, where David hid in the caves from Saul as he sought David's life; Qumran, where the Dead Sea scrolls were found -- proving the accuracy of the Old Testament with scrolls over 2000 years old; and Masada, the Roman fortress on a mountain top in this arrid region. It was here that large group of Jews over-took the fortress following the fall of Jerusalem and were able to hold on to their occupation for three years before taking their own lives rather than become the slaves of the Romans and face the perverseness of the Roman society and forced into their idol worship.
Today we began our visit in the city of Jerusalem: so much to write and so little time. More on the blog and this tour later.
