Day 5 - Wandering in the Wilderness

Our first morning in Jerusalem didn't start with the sites locally but an hour and a half ride southeast. This route led us out of the City and bisected the areas of Samaria and Judea, what is known today as the Palestinian West Bank.

Our first stop: Masada. For those of you who are too young to remember Peter O'Toole in the epic movie (which by the way was extremely accurate according to Jewish archeologists, except for a fabricated love scene) this was King Herod's mountain top fortress that 900 Zealots took over in the rebellion against Rome after the destruction of the Temple in AD 70. Two years later, a rebel named Eleazar was defeated, as the 10th Roman legion, 15,000 strong, penetrated the citidel, using captured Jewish prisoners to build a ramp.

After an aerial tram to the top, I saw that so much of this has been restored and preserved. Herod built an elaborate palace, complete with food and water reserves, a state-of-the-art sauna (the dude was nuts...it's the desert! It's already hot!) and a water-collection system -- the ultimate bomb shelter because he knew it was just a matter of time before chaos broke out against him and Rome! Speaking of hot, getting there before 8AM ensured the heat wouldn't get the best of us! Jews today honor the sacrifices made here and vow this land won't be lost again.

We then did get hot, taking a 1 mile hike into an area known as Wadi David, the place believed to be the cave where David ran from King Saul to hide from him. It's an oasis in the scortching desert, complete with a natural spring and beautiful waterfall! Gorgeous!

Here, I reflected on just how good God is! He is my Oasis on the Desert! How would you describe Him? Then we journeyed to a place w for lunch where many in the past described Him in writing...the caves of Qumran, where one shepherd found the Dead Sea Scrolls!

We then headed off to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on the earth at 1200 ft. below sea level. What a contrast to Jerusalem at 3000+ above sea level. That's why no matter where you are in this land, you are always going UP to the City!

While there, we had a chance to float in the water - 33% salt - and rub the mineral rich mud all over my skin. I may be a bit sunburned, but my feel baby smooth! The highlight was going out into the deeper parts, not touching the bottom and still floating like a cork in water...an amazing feeling. Since salt would harm my phone, we had a designated photographer, so pix later!

After that, we headed back and had a good cultural lesson on the various minority groups here in the region.

Tonight we began the Sabbath at sundown, after dinner. Elevators  automatically stop at each floor so that an orthodox person doesn't operate an electronic device, a violation of Sabbath law. We wished others "Shabbat shalom" as we sang praises to the Lord on the 4th floor outdoor balcony. We honored a holy God in His city for His power and majesty revealed in His creation today. How will you praise Him tonight and what for?

Shabbat shalom!

Oh, and I rode a camel!  :-)

Day 4 - IAF Base, Megiddo... En-route to Jerusalem

Today, more than any other so far, did more to open my eyes to what everyday Israeli people feel and think.  This evening, we were honored to hear a special advisor to the government and the last 4 prime ministers.  He spoke about the complex relationships here in the Middle East and how, much to the disagreement of many of your closest friends at home, CNN, and our government in particular, the Israeli people do, in fact, seek peace.

He explained that we as Westerners must put on the shoes of all people in this region and try to understand them from their own perspectives.  And, for that matter, peace is not the kind of peace we value and seek here in the States, where we achieve a lasting peace based on mutual respect.  No, they hope for just one more day without conflict, without one more attempt by terrorists to take out their children at school or, as just happened a block from here recently, a man who wanted to kill Jews ran into two people at a bus stop.

I heard from a handful of different people that peace is desired, and that they don't want to fight, but are forced to defend themselves.  But peace is possible.  Look no further than Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.  All have active peace treaties with Israel.  And peace is desired with the Palestinian people, many of whom are tragic victims in the pawn game played here.  When leaders force a resident to store weapons in their home, and if refused, shoot them out in the middle of the street.  And we were given proof.

We had a very rare privilege to see selected parts of an Israeli Air Force base and speak with a squadron F-16 navigator, an articulate young man who was candid with his personal thoughts of life and his mission, while being careful, of course, not to reveal any classified info!  He, too, expressed his desire for peace and the Israeli protocol not to harm innocent people whenever possible, and how that saddens him when cowardice uses human shields - children sent to either find mines or block attacks.  And the enemy knows they won't shoot.  He told us the lengths they go to in ensuring as far as possible to not harm civilians, giving ample warning and using sophisticated technology to find out who is in a building.  We saw actual footage of missions done recently (back in August) to back up his words.

And yet when innocents are hurt, he grieves.  I do, too.  I met a young girl (OK, 20 year old young woman!) who is now an Air Force Lieutenant and her proud parents who toured the base with her today.  And I saw the fear in them as they said goodbye, knowing at any moment, her life may be demanded of them.  (For those who may not know, every citizen must serve 2 years in the military.  I saw a young woman in a wheelchair, who only had use of one hand and part of an arm, in uniform, carrying material to the reception area!  Everyone takes part.  Would that happen here?)

I spoke with several people on our tour today of Megiddo (more in a moment) as well, and how glad they were that the US, despite recent events in support of Iran, still cares enough to come and see for themselves.  I have been thinking about these interactions tonight, and I have a LOT to process, especially from our guest speaker this evening - the many implications raised and cultural awareness that he brought to the table.  Expect more on this in the days to come, I think!

Our historic site we visited: Armageddon in Revelation 16 where the final battle will be fought in the End Days.  Here, overlooking the Jezreel Valley, the most famous battlefield in the world, stands the ancient royal Caananite citadel, the king of which was slain by Joshua in Jos. 12:21.  Here, Solomon rebuilt a fortified defense post in his kingdom, 1 Kings 10:26, with stables capable of taking care of 450 horses and 150 chariots - the tank battalions of that day!

We toured the ruins - built 25 times, one on top of the other, as was common in that day - to build on the old foundations after conquests or earthquakes destroyed a town or fortress.  Archaeologists have uncovered down to the 17th layer, Solomon's era, because it is the most significant in history.  Here you can pick up fragments of 3000 year old pottery and touch the past in his day.  And the overlook of this important region stimulated my thirst to know more of God's Word and the history we have as heirs - grafted into this Vine!

What provokes your interest?  Is it foreign relations?  Global crises?  Or might it be historical facts that reveal the future.  Can you see how all of these topics are intertwined together?  I am beginning to, myself... I hope you do, as well.

And, since it's 11PM and we made the long trek to Jerusalem, good night from the Holy City.  I am grateful you are on this journey with me.  Tomorrow the Dead Sea and Masada await us!

Day 3 Continued - Golan Heights, Part Deux!

I must admit, I wasn't quite sure what to think about the region I visited today...an area hotly contested on the global stage, front and center in national politics: the Golan Heights. In my own mind, this was a chunk of barren plateau, without much vegetation besides brown grass, good-for-nothing, that served no real purpose. And it was, until...

In 1973, on Yom Kippur, when all the nation observed this holy day, Israel was attacked, and war with Syria broke out.  I knew little of the fight, or what it was really about.  We visited a kibbutz and learned through film and from an Israeli veteran about the odds they faced - tanks outnumbering them 10 to 1.  He believed their success was a miracle from God - to reclaim the land God promised to the half-tribe of Manassah in the Bible.

We toured military bunkers overlooking the Syrian border, about a mile away, and saw the conflict raging in Syria firsthand.  Three (at least) groups are waging civil war there: the government forces of Assad, the local rebel fighters connected to Al-Qaeda, and the strongholds of ISIS.  I was blessed to meet 4 UN peacekeepers from 4 separate European nations (I won't reveal their nationalities or pictures for their protection) - and asked them about the perspective.  What I heard made me pause and reconsider my opinions of this region.  What would it look like if someone asked you to give up your own land that you sweated to make prosperous and hand it over to another person who wanted nothing more than to kill you?  Hmm...

Yesterday, I left you with the word "until."  Yes, this actually was a barren land 50 years ago, but now things are drastically different.  This area has been developed with settlements, schools, hospitals (that treat all patients, frankly, without regard to nationality), and stores.  The more amazing thing: the land has been cleared down to usable soil and now is the "fruit basket" for all of Israel!  Figs, pomegranates, bananas, dates, apples, olives, and cherries, to name a few, besides wheat and cotton, are grown there.  We toured an olive oil farm that not only produces some fantastic oil (that has sadly been boycotted here) but revolutionary cosmetics that don't harm the environment (oh, but those you can get in the states!)

I talked with real people - those who gave up a comfortable lifestyle in Tel Aviv, for example, to scrape a living from the earth - why?  Because they believed their efforts would honor God and their people who have come home.  I saw evidence of rockets fired over the border into these areas and the determination of a people who want the best for the region.

I did a lot of thinking yesterday.  But it also wasn't for the political implications, but the geographical and biblical ones that made me see the validity of this area remaining in control of Israel.  The terrain is unique.  A plateau that holds the headwaters of three major springs that flow into the Jordan River, and provide all the water for the entire nation, by the way, from Mt. Hermon, the place many believe Jesus was transfigured.

We toured the old remains of Caesarea Philippi - a place built by Herod to honor Caesar (like he did with the other Caesarea from Day 1 with his palace.)  Here, he honored his son, Philip, as well, by building a temple to the fertility god, Pan (half man, half horse, with dancing, flute-playing goats, if you remember your Greek & Roman mythology) and a separate one honoring Zeus.  Here it was believed, where the spring flowed from the mountain, was the opening "Gates of Hades" - the literal entrance to hell itself.

It was here that Jesus took his disciples (a 30+mile journey, by the way) to teach them an object lesson in Matthew 16:13-23.  No good rabbi would EVER go there, to defile himself at such a pagan and unclean place!  Jesus asked them who people thought He was.  Remember the answer Peter gave?  "You are the Christ, the son of the Living God!"  And that foundational statement, and that of the Church itself, the gates of hell will never prevail against!

I was left with two questions that challenged me... will they challenge you?  1) What about this region of the earth?  Our country is involved in a persuasion to have Israel hand over this territory, to a severely unstable nation.  Is that the right course of action, to go back to 1967 border lines as if this area is a chunk of rock with no usable purpose? 2) What about Jesus?  Is He who He really says He is?  What do you believe about Him?

That provoked in me a familiar quote by C.S. Lewis that Mat Staver shared last night: 

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about him, “I am ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.”  That is the one thing we must not say.  A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher.  He would either be a lunatic - on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell.  You must make your choice.  Either this man was and is the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse.  You can shut him up as a fool, you can spit at Him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.  But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher.  He has not left that open to us.  He did not intend to.”

What about you?  Will you consider these with me?

Day 3 - Golan Heights

I must admit, I wasn't quite sure what to think about the region I visited today...an area hotly contested on the global stage, front and center in national politics: the Golan Heights. In my own mind, this was a chunk of barren plateau, without much vegetation besides brown grass, good-for-nothing, that served no real purpose. And it was, until...

(Well, I lost all the balance of this post, that I just spent the last hour writing on my phone, and it's nearly midnight. So I will bid you a good night and post it all (again) tomorrow. So much to share, and thanks for your patience!)

Day 2 - Capernaum, Mt. of Beatitudes, Sea of Galilee, and the Jordan River

The end of a wonderful day...albeit hotter than yesterday at 113°F and 90-some % humidity! They are riding a heat wave here that shouldn't start til July. This fact, and today's travel, does, however, give me a greater appreciation for Jesus' ministry.

Capernaum, a city where more miracles were done by Jesus than any place else, moved me. I touched the foundation and ruins of the synagogue where Jesus taught. Made of basalt, a volcanic rock (which as a geology fan, I delighted in) echoed 2000 years of history.

In a shady area (thankfully!) we sat under sycamore trees and were taught by Dr. Mat Staver from the Liberty Council. Many disciples were called here: Peter, Andrew, James and even Matthew, the local tax dude! And I felt more like a disciple must have felt back then... learning more about the Kingdom of God arriving in a Person. (Lord, thank You for this opportunity!)

I realized it wasn't just those early disciples that saw miracles, but that I had, too... even just today. It IS a miracle that a state of Israel even exists, and most agree on that! It is a miracle an ancient language like Hebrew survives and is spoken, rather than Akkadian or some other pagan language group that dominated.

And is also a miracle this city of thousands no longer exists! No one built upon this site, as was so common to do... but it should have been, given it's strategic location for trade and the robust fishing economy. Here we saw the fulfillment of Matt. 11:20-24. (Yeah, I want you to read it!)

Several hundred years later, an 8+ magnitude earthquake hit, leveling the town, and it has remained deserted until a site preservation started in the 18th century by a Catholic order for the ruins including Peter's house.

Many sites, like the Mt. of Beatitudes, are kept up this way. At this traditional site (and that is said, I learned, when people don't know the exact place) Jesus is said to have given his Matthew 5 Sermon on the Mount. The topography is such that thousands could hear Jesus from his position in that theater-like setting above the Sea of Galilee. Reread vs. 38-48 as I did and see if you are not convicted - especially visiting in a land where the opposite of what Jesus taught is the norm. How will we love our enemies?

From here we journeyed to the Sea itself...for a boat ride to the middle of the lake. Even though it was daylight and the water like glass, it wasn't hard to imagine it pitch-black and waves 6-8 ft high as is prone to happen! Here Jesus, after hearing his cousin John was beheaded (think ISIS, here, literally) in Matt. 14, He sent the disciples off so He could mourn. Right after, the crowds came, 5000 strong, and he fed them with a fisherman's lunch. No rest for Him, and He again sent the disciples away that night to pray.

But that night, a storm came up, 3AM-ish, and the men were alarmed. Wouldn't you be? I would! I was out there...it wouldn't be a picnic!

He came to them, walking on water, and as Peter's faith began to falter, Jesus rescued him and them!

His next words, vs. 31, rang true for me. "Why did you doubt Me?" How often do I doubt Him? Probably more often than I care to admit. And you?

My faith became richer as I stepped foot into the Jordan River, and like so many pilgrims, was immersed in baptism there. I struggled with this for weeks... whether I would somehow nullify or degrade or cheapen my own baptism 40 years ago. And as I prayed, my experience at the Sea and at Capernaum rushed into my mind concurrently with the words at Jesus' own baptism, done not because he HAD to religiously, but "to fulfill all righteousness." (Mt. 3:15)

No, I didn't have to, nor did I compare myself to Jesus, but I prayed, "Lord let me be evermore Yours, a learner who desperately wants to follow You, my Master... so that Your righteousness is seen, and not me.

At dinner tonight, that prayer was answered, as our table discussion focused on how we might reveal more of His righteousness to others for His glory and not our own...how we can allow Him to work in us to produce Kingdom changes so desperately needed in our churches. I was able to share how I see Jesus in my Valley Family, how He had brought about a culture change... where Christ-likeness is the norm, not the exception.

Does the Man from Galilee deserve anything less than our full devotion?

Thanks for sharing this pilgrimage with me. I miss and love you!

Day 1 - Tel Aviv, Caesarea Maritima & Mt. Carmel

After a very long and bumpy flight, with no sleep we landed safely in Tel Aviv...a thoroughly modern metropolis and home to as many tech companies as in the U.S. (betcha didn't know that! I didnt!) Without stopping, since we had several of our group delayed in customs, we began our travel to Caesarea Maritima.

It's the ruins of King Herod's palace and city built  on the Mediterranean coast halfway between Tel Aviv and Haifa to the north. Today, this city is the Beverly Hills of Israel, with one of only 2 golf courses in the country. Posh or is, but it hearkens back to the time of Jesus' birth and Herod's opulence dedicated to the Emperor.

Here he built a palace, theater, and hippodrome (Kentucky Derby-like only with chariots!) In the Bible, this is where Cornelius followed Jesus and was baptized and where Agrippa died (Acts 10-11) but also where Paul in Acts 21-25 made his famous appeal to Caesar.

That's the history, but the feeling of standing where Paul stood, giving a reason for his faith, preaching...powerful! To touch the stones and the original mortar on an ancient aqueduct originally 6 miles long with a slope of only 2 degrees - without any modern GPS equipment - makes me marvel!

But then, my faith was boosted by an archeological fact. A stone was found with an inscription from Pontius Pilate...here...proving this leader existed, when no other evidence existed and was the basis of skeptics doubting the crucifixion account! Friends, you can be confident in your faith that rests on facts not feelings! 

Oh, but then, after a traditional Druze lunch, we headed to Mt. Carmel, site of the Carmelite Catholic order for centuries. Atop this mountain, Elijah confronted the pagan prophets of Baal, and God displayed His mighty power...and where, at the brook Lisbon just below, Elijah slew all of them (1st Kings 18).

Oh yes, this mountain figured prominently there, but from it's heights, you can see the entire Vally of Jezreel, My. Hermon to the north, Mt. Tabor to the east, and Harm-Meggida (Armageddon). This is where Revelation describes the last battle...right here! And yes, there is an active military base here with F-16s overhead as well! Besides these implications, I have to say, the view, even on a hot, windy and hazy day (at 103°F) is spectacular!

It gives me a sense of history that is wrapped all together...a story interwoven through all of time... here, in this place. As our guide, an Israeli archeologist, pointed all this out, my goosebumps ran wild.

I guess I never stopped to consider the global implications of this until now, precisely because, I think, we in the West can prefer to be ignorant. "It's their problem, so why should I care?"

Family, think of this. From this mountain you can see the northern, western and eastern borders of this nation, a mere 85K square miles, and all the world wants it. I can see why. The resources here are precious, but this is worth it! I feel.very at home here...safe...yet strangely uneasy. Why? Because we know what happens here. The final showdown...but our hope is in the Lord who has ultimate victory!

I realize it may be the jet-lag catching up to me and no sleep for 2 days (!!) but what is on your heart as you read this? Let me challenge you as I am challenged this week. Thanks for going on this journey with.me. And as always, I enjoy walking it with you!

Beginnings

Anticipation... Sitting in the Ontario terminal awaiting my group number to be called, I know I am only traveling to the East Coast today, but the journey begins. And there is anticipation...only of what God wants to do.

I am excited... I slept little, yet feel so refreshed. And I realized just now that I love to people-watch! A break last year taught me that!

I marvel at God's hand at creating such diverse and complex individuals! He is so brilliant, not just in glory, but in design.

I'm reminded, as a baby hasn't stopped crying for about 15 minutes just how precious that little life is. Others may be annoyed, but to me, now, it's music. (I'm sure halfway into the flight, I may feel differently, but that's what headphones are for!)

What are you anticipating today? Will you see others, even though they may be annoying, as His handiwork? And what do you expect Him to do?

Thanks for coming on this journey with me. I'm anticipating some wonderful awareness of Him...will you?