Connections - A Deep Love for Scripture

It's a well known fact that Jim is a very gifted and talented preacher, BUT he gives all the glory and the praise to God for his gifting of conveying truth in a very accessible manner. This week he has not proven any different and has delivered the truths of Scripture to us in astounding ways! Coupled with God's handiwork in the landscapes around us, God's plans through Jim's teachings have had a profound effect on each of our lives; causing all of us to take a step back and deeply reflect on many areas of our lives. Scripture has come alive and, in a way, feels brand new to many of us. The precision, the detail, and the jaw-dropping way that God puts the pieces of Scripture into one cohesive and powerful book is magnificent. On more than one occasion we've all sat stunned in the presence of the Lord after Jim delivered connections and cross references in Scripture that could only come from the Holy Spirit. The teachings and stories that we have all grown up with have been reshaped and more accurately depicted through the seeing of many Biblical sites as well as in the  rich proof of the text.

This entire week has shown us that God wastes not a single word in His Scriptures. He spares no detail and if He does, even that is intentional!

Today we were reminded of all of these things through the teachings at the Dead Sea - where God links passages in Joshua with that of prophesy in Zechariah and Revelation made known in the death and life of Jesus Christ.

We connected David's story of submission to Saul at En Gedi in 1 Samuel with Old Testament practices of submission before the Lord, and with specific instruction from 1 Peter 2 regarding the task of submission to difficult leaders applicable for us today.

And then there was Jericho. Jim connected the dots in scripture spanning from Joshua to Deuteronomy and Judges, from 2 Samuel to 1 and 2 Kings and Luke, and the parallelism that happens between Joshua and Rahab, Elijah and Elisha, and Jesus. It's incredible to see how intricately connected and woven together all of these books and people of the Bible really are!

We finished up with the most beautiful of views that overlooked the Old Jericho Road which connected the book of Luke with the book of James.

You COULD NOT make any of this up. God is faithful to Jim to reveal and convey the words that WE all need to hear and He does so with such creative connections, placing together every book, every verse, and every word. And this does not have to be just for Jim! The Spirit is able and willing to open every eye to Scripture in this way, we just need to be faithful to ask and obey as He leads. This is the most beautiful part of it all. Scripture can come alive to each and every one of us!

Besides those incredible teachings and connections, our group took a little time to tour around Masada and to go eat lunch and shop at Qumran.

Our fourth day of touring was truly a blessed one. We are thankful and excited for what God is going to teach us in the days to come!! 

Here are some pictures recapping this fantastic day!

At the base of the cliff of Masada 

This is the mountain we climbed....first thing in the morning. We were pretttty proud of ourselves. 

Still climbing....

Kim and Emily looking out across the desert atop Masada! 

Down in a water (dried up) cistern 

Such a view spanning across the desert to the Dead Sea 

Listening to our guide Boaz describe the synagogue we were sitting in 

In a steam room at Herod's palace high up on Masada 

Ann walking along a path at En Gedi 

Our group on the rocks at En Gedi waiting for our lesson 

At En Gedi, David was hiding from Saul in one of these caves in the mountain (not necessarily THESE caves, but you know) 

A sycamore tree in Jericho. Name that Bible story!!! 

In the West Bank at Jericho! 

Gathered, listening to our guide talk about the archeological finds at Jericho

Gondolas above Jericho 

Pottery and artifacts embedded in the stone layers at Jericho 

This is the old Jericho road where the parable of the Good Samaritan would have happened! What a trek and it could be a very scary journey as well! 

Again another amazing view made from God's creative hands!

What a full, tiring, and beautiful day! 

 

God is Knitting Us Together

God is here; present with us in Israel. We have seen signs of this day after day, moment after moment.

On our third day of touring God has shown us some amazing places, opened our hearts to hear and receive amazing truths, but one of the most notable parts about the day were the long bus rides. But more on that to come.

We took off from our first hotel in Ein Gev by the Sea of Galilee and headed due west for the Mediterranean Sea. After an hour and a half of driving, we made it to Caesarea By the Sea. The elaborate and picturesque complex sat against the most beautiful backdrop of waves and sunshine.

We loaded up to head onto Mount Carmel (another 40 minute drive) and WOW, did God have an impressive view for us there and an excellent teaching to go along with it! It became a completely surreal experience as Pastor Jim spoke of what happened on Mount Carmel and in the surrounding region as we perched high above, feet dangling over jagged rocks and views that stretched miles and miles in our amazed eyes.

After prying us away we loaded the bus and took another 40-ish minute drive to Nazareth where we experienced a restored far like there may have been in Nazareth during Jesus' childhood. We also ate the most authentic and best meal of the trip thus far! Wood-fired pita, hummus, za'tar dipping sauce, and lentil soup...delicious.

With a full stomach we headed back to the bus for a 2 hour trek to our hotel on the Dead Sea. When we made it we all rushed off the bus, bolted for the bathrooms to change into our bathing suits as to enjoy and experience the wonder of what 33% salt in a body of water will do! We bobbed, froze, and laughed in the sea bringing an end to our day three tour.

So if you haven't noticed we had extensive time on the bus, but we made it count. The Lord has been using down times such as these to build our relationships, share our stories, and to provide true refreshment and renewal to our souls, both individually and collectively. We have been blessed by each other and know God has been carefully and quickly knitting us together as a group in a very unique manner. It is evidenced by the love we have as a group in a very incredible shared experience. This is precisely where God wants all of us, at this time, and that is a beautiful, affirming, and valuable thing to realize.

Thank for following along today! We love you!

Here are the pictures of day three:

Entering into the Roman Theatre at Caesarea By The Sea

The beautiful Mediterranean! 

Our lovely group of gals

Such beauty

Mt. Carmel 

Stunning view of the Megiddo Valley 

Perched high above it all! 

Nazareth and a recreated tomb

Katie, Shelly, and Sheri about to enjoy an incredible meal 

Watching the carpenter hard at work 

The desert, the Dead Sea, and that sky! 

We have arrived in the desert

Bobbing in the Dead Sea. What a crazy experience! 

Entering the freezing cold water 

The beauty through our windows 

God Bless You All!! 

Jesus Is LORD!

Jesus is LORD! 

This is the central truth to the GOSPEL, He brings peace and calm and LIFE in the midst of sacrifice and suffering. 

He has provided a way from death to life. 

There are no shortcuts or easy routes. 

It'd be foolish to go the opposite way from Him. 

We experience this the most uniquely when in the assembled community of church and in that assembly we are filled and readied for the spread of the Gospel outside of it.

These are just a few of the fantastic and interconnected points about the Gospel that God has taught us today in our studies and in our communion with Him through Jim's teachings and the sites we've seen. What an incredible day (will we ever think it's not incredible? No)!! Teachings paired with the seeing of sites with our eyes have made Scripture come alive in a new and brilliant way. 

We started on the road to Caesarea Philippi where Christ asks us to hear the full story of the Gospel before we bring it to others which includes suffering and sacrifice, not just some miracles and a fantastic cosmic problem solver, and realizing that JESUS IS LORD - first and foremost. We arrived in Caesarea Philippi to see how Jesus establishes our relationship with Him, the power that He has over the gates of Hell, the importance of what this all means in assembly, and the way we take Him to the World!

After Caesarea Philippi we went to the Old Testament site of Dan. Dan was a reminder of how we must come face to face with allowing Jesus to BE Lord...NOT us. Satan calls us away from true gathering and realization that God is God by causing us to think of God as someone we can control or by causing us to choose comfort and convenience over God's true design. We must not let anything get in the way of God's absolute control.

Post-lunch we took a rocky, beautiful, and slightly tiring hike on the road to Damascus...yes, THE road that Paul walked when he came face to face with our risen SAVIOR. Through Paul's Gospel presentation in Galatians we see that we are united with Christ through His death and resurrection and He has gone before and conquered death to give us life! We finished in Gergesa/Kursi to hear of more examples where Jesus brings LIFE from death through sacrifice. The site where He exorcises Legion from a man and sends thousands of pigs rushing into the Sea of Galilee. Jesus' power is real and the extent of it, immeasurable! JESUS IS LORD. 

Thank you for following along today with us. You are all a great, great blessing to us. We will be moving hotels tomorrow and have a big day ahead, your continued prayers are appreciated!! 

Here are some more pictures from today: 

On the way to Caesarea Philippi

Listening to Pastor Jim at Caesarea Philippi 

The cave of the Temple of Pan in Caesarea Philippi. This is where Jesus brought His disciples and declared Peter as the rock and that He will prevail over the gates of Hell - it is believed that this temple is where, mythologically, one could access the River Styx - literally the gates of Hades. 

Our group on the steps of the high place at Dan

Pastor Jim consuming tuna pizza!! It's kosher!! 

On the road to Damascus

Shelly and Liz at Omrit (on the road to Damascus) a temple believed to be a tribute to Caesar Augustus 

Angela, Cindy, Katie, Carla, and Arika at Gergesa/Kursi - near the spot where Legion is driven from the man and put into swine 

Tonight is our last night to see the beautiful Sea of Galilee! What a blessing it has been! 

We are the Benevolent Offering

God has made a way for each one of us to come on this trip. He's provided the resources, He's proven faithful in the sacrifices, He's worked out our work/school schedules, and He's called us to be here.

This was something that Jim said (paraphrased) as we sat at Capernaum and took communion as a group. CAPERNAUM; where Jesus performed many miracles, where He lived for his public ministry, where Peter triumphantly asked "where else would we go?" And all this while sitting and looking out across the Sea of Galilee under a big, beautiful, lush tree. This moment provided life-giving and powerful truth in each of our lives.

It has truly been a blessing beyond words to be in the presence of the Lord here in Israel. Many of us need time to process all that we've learned and it's only been one day of touring!

We started on the Sea of Galilee, traveled next to the Primacy of Peter - where God established Peter as a true follower of him, and then climbed the mountain where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. We took a fun lunch break at a local restaurant where they served delicious fish straight from the Sea of Galilee that stared back at us and kabob made from a lamb and beef mixture. We then went to Peter, Andrew, and Phillip's birth place of Bethsaida and site of the feeding of the 5000, followed by the Jordan River, and ending in Capernaum. It has been a whirlwind of a day, all while fighting a little bit of jet lag, but God has gotten the glory.

The richness of every single one of these sites is overwhelming and incredible. The connections and themes in Scripture that God has shown Pastor Jim have been invaluable as we study, learn, and experience Him in this place.

Blessings to all of you back home. We love you and, again, we can't thank you enough for your prayers!

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

On the Sea of Galilee - tour by boat 

The beautiful sunshine and the wake of the boat

Studying the primacy of Peter and just starting the connections and how God has a bigger and more beautiful plan than any of us could ever imagine! 

Susan, Emily, Shelly, Katie, Patti, Joyce, and Susan on the Mt of Beatitudes

Where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount

Tom - playing with his food 

One of the excavated houses from Bethsaida 

This is the Jordan River! 

Studying and listening to Pastor Jim sitting in the remains of a synagogue in Capernaum 

Peter's (and Jesus') house in Capernaum 

Waiting for communion to begin 

A beautiful sunset after an amazing day!!