The Hope

In a single file line that would make any kindergarten teacher proud, we wound our way through the narrow streets of Nazareth. Right here in the middle of souvenir shops, shoe stores and “super-pharms”, we arrived at a most extraordinary place. She has not seen many visitors in her few years of being discovered, but we come appreciative all the same.

We are standing (… on holy ground… one of Meir’s favorite songs)… yes… holy. And ancient. We have found ourselves in a first century synagogue in the hometown of Jesus. This room to me, brims to overflowing with the possibilities, ancient, current, and for the future. But it also holds a great sadness. Jesus revealed more to them about who He was than to any other community, yet when it came down to it, they moved to kill Him. He simply passed through them, shaking the dust of this place from His feet, never returning.

I stood and sang the song of Mary. For this would have been the town the angel, Gabriel, came to visit her.

“My soul magnifies the Lord
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior
For my soul magnifies the Lord.”

Pastor then had two very unusual requests. First, he asked me to sing, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” (He hasn’t asked me to sing this in over ten years).
After that, he asked if I would sing, “Castle on a Cloud” from Les Miserable. Obedient but confused, we were amazed at how the words fit right into that morning. Pastor figured Jesus made some people mad here, why couldn’t we? (but I don’t think anyone was mad.)

Pastor stood and spoke to us from Luke 4:17:

You can know for sure that He was in this room. Jesus was a man of the Book. He was handed the scroll of Isaiah and read.

“ The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,[j]
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”

Is there any better news! It’s that rainbow... That castle! What every heart hungers for!

The eyes of all were upon Him. And then He says,

“Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” This is the day the rainbow met the ground. The day the castle came to the ground. When the power really comes, we will reject it. No prophet is accepted in his own country.


“So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath...” They tried to kill Him for His claims, but “passing through the midst” He went His way.

I know the earth is speaking of it: The time of fruitfulness is here. There are more people alive today than all of the people who ever lived added together. We are bursting! Like the grapes we saw in Safed yesterday, the vine is heavy. We are approaching the second harvest, Sukkot.
This was His hometown. What could be found fault in Jesus said? Except in the person. He never has looked to the religious, proud and prosperous. Look through the fog and hear what he's saying.

After this, He never came back. He never got to come home. We'd like to think we are different. The same thing will happen to us. We will be offended. To keep from this: love thy law. Keep yourselves low. So much religion is consumed in pride. That very concept takes us from the heart of God.

Who is the most evil person in this city? This mercy is ready for them! Yet, they may never receive it. What do you have that you haven't received? And what do you do that is not for the glory of God?

You are only offended when you think you are too good. It wasn't the right time, He walked through them. We will have to walk through rejection, the feeling of not good enough, the sense of being a failure. I don't feel I am the same person because I have stepped into the year of the Lord’s favor.

It doesn't matter what you feel, it matters that you are with Him. Thrown out of Capernaum, we’ll go to Jerusalem... We’ll stay with him. May the Lord help our hearts to be “un-offendable”!

He is true, everyone else is a liar. As your leader, I will probably be the one to offend you. Together, we walk and knock the rough edges off of each other. There is no move of God done without a human personality. I will not lose sight of revelation. I will not forget. If we are going to walk together, we have to stay together.

Instead of blaming God, what if we cooperated with him? Two spiritual ways to learn: by affliction or by the fire of His presence as you wait upon Him. I am sensing the fire of His presence I am waiting... As fiery as this way is, it is preferred over the pressing of circumstances.

An injury is different than surgical cut. The healing is different between a ripping and a surgical cut. Hold still and allow God to perform what is necessary.

We returned to the bus and went to our next stop: Nazareth Village. When you drive around Nazareth it is a fairly modern city. I read somewhere that it is considered the Arab capital of Israel. Next to this hustle and bustle, is a small plot of land where a group of dedicated people have established a moment frozen in time. Through research and hard work, they have recreated Nazareth as it was in the time of Jesus. Their goal is to give an accurate perspective to many of the references made in the Scripture.

Our guide, Mahj, introduced himself.
He had a very clear American accent, so, of course, we had more questions. He is from Israel but has been studying as a college student in Arizona. From his first words, I leaned over to my grandmother, and told her he reminded me so much of my cousin, her grandson, Andrew. The way he spoke, his gestures… even the way he looked. Crazy!


We walked through the different sites in the village. Jesus had to have been with us walking around outside in 105 degree weather! Of course, we ran into our old friend, the shepherd with the clear blue eyes. So of course several of the young ladies got their picture taken.


Of course, when we got to the winepress, Will jumped up to give us his best Gideon impression. Our guide was thoroughly surprised when we all started shouting calling out to Will, “O Mighty Man of Valor!”.

We walked up to the watch tower and laughed watching as the “shepherds” yelled at each other. The ones up the hill had been throwing rocks and the shepherd at the bottom yelled at them to stop because they were stirring the sheep up! It was probably more like the times of Jesus than even Nazareth Village had planned!

We stepped into one of the homes and met a beautiful young lady that was weaving a beautiful cloth. When she, Rebekah, asked, “Where are ya’ll from?” Will laughed and said, “Well, we can guess where you are from!” And she was from the South, from Virginia. On a brake from college she had come to volunteer here at Nazareth Village for the summer. She said she had learned so much. She was happy to talk to some people from home.

We stepped into the synagogue, very thankful… it was dark and cool. Maj shared with us about the scriptural references to Nazareth. He walked throughout the room as if he were preaching it to us.

Pastor spoke up and asked, if we could have prayer for Maj. He had mentioned earlier that he had felt a call to the ministry. So the men gathered around him in the synagogue and prayed for him. It was a beautiful moment. Maj received it and said, “Wow, I wasn’t expecting this.”


Heather and Elizabeth sang the priestly blessing here and for him. “The Lord bless you and keep you and may His face shine upon you and give you peace.”

We had a little bit of a drive from Nazareth to Akko. The traffic was pretty heavy. We got our chance to see an Israeli policeman in action. Many of you may not know that Meir’s other profession is law enforcement. So if we could have we would have added the blue light special to our bus, when he jumped out in traffic and schooled
a frightened driver on the rules of the road. Flashing his badge in their window. Apparently, (now we all know) it is illegal for a single driver in a compact car to use the car pooling/ public transportation lane. I asked Meir when he got back on the bus, if he had them with him would he have written a ticket and he said, “Of course!”

We pulled into the city of Akko, Acre, Acco, Akre, Ake, Antiochia Ptolemais… Why does it have so many names? Akko is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in Israel. Many battles were fought for control of Akko because of its strategic coastal placement. Some of the familiar names who ruled or attempted to rule include, but are not limited to: Solomon, Alexander the Great, Cleopatra, Saladin, Richard I of England, and Napoleon. We have Ottomans, English, Egyptians, Grecians, Romans, Phillistines, Hebrews, British, French, Arab, Israeli… the list goes on.

In the 12th century, the Crusaders built quite the fortress and hospital here. The battles in Jerusalem were gruesome and they established this place as a headquarters and port. A castle of sorts was built here… including moats. In 1775, Jezzar Pasha of the Ottoman Empire reinforced the walls the Crusaders had built. He did this just in time and was able to defeat Napoleon’s attempt to capture the city. In 1923, when the British came to rule in this area, they used the same structures for their prisons and ultimately executions.

This city of so much history became one of the greatest testaments to the sacrifices made for the establishment of the state of Israel. During the British Mandate, it was illegal for the Jewish people in the country to carry weapons. This did not include their Arab neighbors. How were they to defend themselves? Several young men, who dared to defend their families and their right for a homeland were arrested under this law. Many of them were sentenced to death… right here. In these rooms, we were now walking through. They looked out of these windows from their cells. They could see the ocean. It was a beautiful view… minus the barbed wire and the bars. They saw the freedom that was at hand, freedom they would pay the ultimate price for, yet never know.

One of the prisoners condemned to die wrote this to his commanding officers of the Irgun:

“When political negotiations prove futile, one must be prepared to fight for our homeland and our freedom. Without them the very existence of our nation is jeopardized, so fight we must with all possible means. This is the only way left to our people in their hour of decision: to stand on our rights, to be ready to fight, even if for some of us this way leads to the gallows. For it is a law of history that only with blood shall a country be redeemed.

I am writing this while awaiting the hangman. This is not a moment at which I can lie, and I swear that if I had to begin my life anew I would have chosen the exact same path, regardless of the consequences for myself

Your faithful soldier, Dov.”

Meir stood at the entrance and solemnly spoke to us about the importance of this place for him personally and for Israel. He told us that the British offered a chance for these prisoners to sign written confessions that would afford them life in prison rather than death by hanging. But as part of their confession they would have had to deny the thing their heart longed for the most- a Jewish homeland. They refused to sign. These young men in their teens and twenties, approached the gallows singing:

“As Shlomo Ben-Yosef approached the gallows, he began to sing the HaTikvah. The Jewish prisoners of Acre, including his two companions from the attack, arose and joined in the singing. After the hangman’s rope cut off the youth’s voice, the prisoners finished their national anthem without him. Shlomo Ben-Yosef was the first Hebrew executed by a foreign regime in the Land of Israel since the Roman occupation nearly two thousand years prior. On the wall of his cell was found a third message. “You cannot conquer the mountain without leaving graves behind.”.


When Meir brought Pastor and Barbara to Akko on their last trip, Meir had asked if we would sing the “Hatikvah”. We stepped into the room of the gallows and did our best to sing out in honor of those who died singing in this very room.

Hatikvah “The Hope”:

As long as the Jewish spirit is yearning deep in the heart,
With eyes turned toward the East, looking toward Zion,
Then our hope - the two-thousand-year-old hope - will not be lost:
To be a free people in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.

Unforgettable

We are in a season of God answering prayer. This day was no exception. Last year, when mom and dad did this same day of touring the temperatures were unbearable! This morning, Pastor asked the Lord if He would send us a breeze. Later, Pastor had to repent because he did not believe it was possible, but it the Lord was faithful. A day, he was dreading because of the heat was delightful and ... haha... a breeze. Praise the Lord for His mercies endure forever!


This morning's first stop was truly insightful in so many ways. We walked through the streets of the ancient city of Korazim.This was one of the three villages Jesus visited often during His time in Galilee.

We approached the synagogue. Ascending steep steps, we walked in a saw Meir sitting on a very high chair with is feet dangling.

"This is the Moses seat," he explained. Even in synagogues today there is a seat where the rabbi sits, teaches and shares. But he also uses this spot to keep a close eye on the congregation. If people are getting too noisy in worship, he simply claps hishands and all falls silence.


He told us that this village was definitely here in the time of Jesus. How do they know? The way the original walls have been built appears over and over in the architecture of that day. The "grout" lines of the larger stones are filled with many smaller ones. So, this city was undoubtedly one Jesus visited.

We gathered around as Pastor shared:

Matthew 11:20-24

"Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent:
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”

He gives the power to be the sons of God. We have been blessed with difficulties and the wilderness, but there has been a constant speaking of the Holy Spirit over our lives. That is because of His presence. His presence comes because we are in theright alignment.

He is looking at what is being done with what He is sending. It is easy to minimize what is being poured in our direction.

At home, a lake like this would be covered in recreational activities and hotels.

The cities that He said woe to.... Ended. Why aren't they being rebuilt? It is prime resort land. The reality is He said these cities would be no more. We often take grace for granted. Wake up and recognize who you are and who you are with.
Are you allowing Him to change your path?

Don't take His work in you life for granted. They had five thousand fed on this hillside. Can you imagine a little village like this where everyone was healed? But it didn't change the way they lived. Is the reality of His presence enough to change yourposition?

It always struck me when Rev. Helm would sit before a room of thousands of people and say, "if only I had ten people really with me..." A loneliness would come across His face, "if there were only three really listening."
I would look around that room at all of the wonderful people and say wow I must really be at the back of that line! Lord, help me to get it! It was hard for us, the crowd to hear. We couldn't fathom that so few really heard, but it was evident that after this precious man of God passed away. The people walking with him dispersed out of convenience and hurt, forgetting who they were called to be.

We are blessed and we are being blessed! Don't let this blessing be taken for granted but we must turn our hearts in His direction!

Heather prays:

Thank you for this time we've had with You. I feel like we've been in a waiting... All of these words... Don't let us just take a word in one place and leave it there. This is something so deep... Help us to get it. Help us not treat this as sight-seeing. Helpus treasure this word. We ask that you would Resist the enemy on our behalf, give us strength.

Pastor
Get past... Waiting to be called on... If you liked doing it, it would't be a leading. Who cares if it wasn't right?
James Miles

This word hit me hard. Knowing I have been taking things too much for granted.

I blew it off a warning to appreciate a blessing I had been given. And now it is gone. I want to take every moment and thank God for all He has done for me and the familyHe has placed me in.

Mrs Barbara:
Woe to you... If the things done in you are forgotten or unappreciated! What was done here? If even Christ recognized these things as wonderful things, how wonderful were they really! Heathers prayer, James.... What wonderful things does have planned for us? He has been in the small things.
A reminder: there is a lesson to be learned

Pastor

Jesus walked here. He tabernacled here. But because the response was not right, there is no one living here any longer. Guard your heart with ALL diligence... Few seek with all their heart.

We meander. The prophet is supposed to do all of the remembering and appreciating. No we all are..
This has been one of the most delightful trips ever. Our hearts have been together, yet I do not want us to walk by these blessings without being thankful!
Heidi

There is such a deep working God has done in me. He's been good to us! This doesn't happen everywhere. Don't take it for granted. There is no where else in this world I would rather be.

Lord where am I with you? Are you just going through your day? You are in a place where He walked and encouraged. He walked through those doors.

I am so thankful any time He works with me. God I want you to keep working in me! He is doing that with all of us today! May He do this today as we walk.

We need to praise Him. I want everything He has for me, not just one thing! He is great today! Many times, I asked God to just take me. This life is to hard! One of those times was in January. BUT! He has brought me through!

I'm glad you are here. We are here. There is no other day like today. To be together in unity,... How pleasant! May He lift all weariness. Each of us could spend hours sharing what He's done. He has delivered me of heartache... Loneliness.

God wants to do something special today. Birth, root.. Water something! May we not just look at rocks, it is so much more than that! May we wrap our arms around each other and take in the beauty of the day to be apart of what He's doing. May we obey today.


We spent the next couple of minutes simply praising Him for all He has done, is doing and is yet to do!

Pastor

The Lord just revealed something to me in this time of praise:

He gives mankind what they want.

What do you want? These folks wanted a normal life. They got it but lost their significance and there place in this world. If you want to be led, He will lead you.

This is a little bit of a warning. We need to m!e sure that we don't walk the way of Korazim.

Michelle shared.
We have felt very loved by this group of people. Stephen and I appreciate it. I just wanted to hand you this report card with an "A+" on it!

We walked over to another part of the village. Meir pointed out one of the homes of the village. The homes here were called insulas. A family would have a common courtyard and their rooms would be built off to the sides.

Pastor shared that when the fathers of a young man and woman decided upon the marriage details. The bride and groom would be brought together. The young man would take a sip from his cup and offer it to the bride, Saying this is my life, I offer to you. She would consider him and the offer and if she accepted she would take and drink. This is the same ceremony Christinserted in the Passover feast.

The next thing to happen after the engagement process was that the young man and his father would come back to their village and begin to build on the new addition to the family house for the newlyweds. The groom did not decide when the room was finished. It must be completed to the fathers satisfaction. So the bride nor the bridegroom knew when the father would say it was finally time to go. That is why the virgins kept their lamps ready. They didn't know what hour the bridegroom would come for his bride, but there would be much celebrating!

Jesus said, "Behold I go to prepare a place for you."
Rick told me in passing not to forget it was father's day. What a day to think about the Father, remembering that it is to His satisfaction we are waiting upon!

Kathy shared: It's so intimate... I was thinking Beverly hills in our mansions of heaven. So lonely... But here I can step out of my room into the living room to be with my family and God the Father himself.

I had a most unusual experience walking down one of the streets of Korazin. Meir had encouraged us to imagine what a day would have been like here. Children playing in the streets. Laughing, talking, walking, etc. I had warn a scarf today to protect me from the sun. As I was walking, my head covering slipped a little. I reached up to place it back over my head and I had one
of those eerie time-transporting moments. Where I knew that same action had been performed by a young lady walking the very street I was walking. The Lord gave me this little gift of connecting. (Maybe this is apart of the gift of expression, He shared with me yesterday.)

We drove in to our next destination, Safed. It is the most beautiful artist colony placed on top of a mountain. It offers unparalleled views of the Sea of galilee and surrounding areas.

We had a great time wandering through the small streets. Pastor headed straight for his favorite spot and we all agreed that it was the most beautiful cafe we had ever seen! A covered porch draped in grape vines overlooked the vista. The breeze was cool
and delightful. The only sound we heard was the clicking and clacking of the weaving loom. Right next door was the shop where the most luxurious tallits are woven by hand. They are extraordinary (and mega expensive)!

Our drive to lunch was most interesting. It was like Comedy Hour on the Galilee. We were passing the jokes back and forth. Meirtold his favorite. Pastor said, "Meir! You only have two jokes!"

"This is not true!" he responded, "I have three!" we all were holding our sides in laughter!

Lunch was wonderful! Thank you Roby! Many enjoyed eating and playing with their food, gotta love St. Peter's fish!



Because of the heat of the day, we simply pulled over to the side of the road (staying on the air conditioned bus) and viewed theplace as Meir called it the "miracle of the swine"

Mark 5

1 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. 2 And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. 5 And always, night and day, he was inthe mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.
6 When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. 7 And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”
8 For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” 9 Then He asked him, “What is your name?”
And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” 10 Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.
11 Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. 12 So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.” 13 And at once Jesus[c] gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.
14 So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. 15 Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 16 And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. 17 Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.
18 And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. 19 However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” 20 And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.

This is the country of the Gadarenes. The demons asked for the pigs and Jesus gave them permission. And of course Swineflew... And committed soo-ee cide

Many from the area came to see what happened. How much does a pig cost? 250 dollars? That would be 500,000 dollars. That was someone's livelihood.

The other day in the Garden of Gethsemane we were speaking that when true revival comes 90 percent of the people, the church would try to kill it.

The people wanted Jesus to leave. The ex-possessed wanted to go with Him, but Jesus did not permit him.

He was found in his right mind and with clothes on. Where did the clothes come from? The disciples had to have brought it with them.

Here was the worst sinner you can imagine. No one lower than this man and yet
he was found sitting at the feet of Jesus... Jesus brought him clothes. The prodigal son... There was provision for him. Make sure you have provisions for the ones the Lord is bringing in. Make room in your hearts!
The hearts of the church are warmed for the lost. Understand we are in a season of prayers are being released!

Take a lesson from this story of redemption. We need to have something ready for redemption. Clothes, etc. We are in a different season. Let your request be known to God. You don't work up a burden for the lost, but you can ask for a hunger to see someone saved.


It is natural to want to share this kingdom, make room. I'd like to have a place in my heart for my friends I haven't met yet

True revival may not look the way you think. We must defeat the elder brother spirit. When God begins to move it tears things up!
That's why you have to deal with offense and know where you stand.

Losing half a million dollars over this cliff doesn't look like revival. Few laymen are ready for the upheaval revival creates. Don't be surprised at what the devil throws up to get us off. Sowing spiritually, you don't receive a great response. I don't know howbad a sinner you are or know.... There is a provision for you!

After dinner, we gathered outside by the sea. I just began to sing a couple of songs. Several young girls came and sat with us for a few moments just to listen, they were very sweet.

I sang, "I will lift my eyes" heather shared that she heard something different in the song than she had ever heard before. "I will ,fit my eyes to the make of the mountains I can't climb" She said, I always thought that was talking about the creator of the mountains, but no. It goes right along with the messages of this week. That He creates mountains I cannot climb simply for my sake, so I will trust in Him. I was never meant to stand on the top, but I was meant to go as far as he needed me to, to learn my lesson.

Without thinking through all of the words, I started sing the next song and we all laughed when I got to the chorus:

Sometimes that mountain you've been climbing
Is just a grain of sand
And what you've been out there searching for forever
Is in your hands

And when you figure out
Love is all that matters after all
It sure makes everything else
Seem so small

Healing in His Wings

There is no other place in the world where the sunrise is as beautiful, or meaningful. When I sit on this shore and look upon this light rising from the mountains, knowing that my Savior had watched these very same moments. Walked on the shore during these times, praying and offering himself to the Lord. It definitely stirs something deep down. Yes, the Lord granted me favor in several of the pictures, but they pale in comparison to the beauty that is Galilee. I hope I never to take it for granted.

(Side note: Some of the most beautiful pictures… the birds and such. I had been sitting still on the rocks for so long that I surprised more than one bird! They were going about their morning peacefully having breakfast and the fluttered in surprise. It still make me chuckle.)

Throughout the evening before even till getting on the bus, I was heavy and restless in my spirit. I went to bed early just trying to keep still. Of course, if you go to sleep early, you wake even earlier, so I was up at 2 am working on the blog and loading pictures. Then my quiet time by the seashore was very pleasant, but there was still this heaviness. I approached my dad about it. He prayed for me. His prayer was for blessing. (Which as many of you know has been the theme of God’s “prayer requests” this last week.) The Lord helped him to pray for something he had never prayed for before. The gift of expression. I quietly received it and offered thanks to God, lifting my heaviness and He took it!! Praise the Lord.

We were on our way, driving along the seashore to the Mount of Beatitudes. David (Dah-VEED, our driver) and I were having a very interesting conversation… who knows why, but I asked him if he’d ever hit any animals with the bus. The answer was no, but it led to some interesting topics… anyway. I was in the middle of telling him about the black bears that live in our area (he was very interested in the bears) when all of a sudden, I casually look to the side of the road and said… “Oh, look a snake.” He exclaimed, “THAT WAS A SNAKE!” at which point I do not want to say He slammed on the brakes, but from the speed we were going to our stopping point took a little less time than it should. Haha. We were in the middle of a curve and he proceeds to back the bus up. Everyone in the back of the bus was very curious.

It was a large snake. Both he and Meir said it was poisonous. The funniest part was watching David poke it with a very, very long stick (he told us he was deathly afraid.) It was dead of course. From the bus we were laughing that if the snake moved even a little David and James would run back on the bus screaming like little girls. Meir jumped up and honked the horn, laughing as he startled the boys. Haha. This just proves no matter where you are in the world… we all have a little redneck in us! We moved on, and in the next curve there was a man jogging. Pastor wanted to turn the bus around just to watch when the jogger met that snake in the road!

*sigh* The Mount of Beatitudes! This is where I go in my mind! When I need to relax… when the doctor is taking blood, when the plane is taking off… when I am the least bit afraid, I use my divine imagination to return to this mountain. It offers the most spectacular view of the place the Son of God chose to spend his time. It is beautiful!

Meir shared with us in front of the octagonal church that has a side for each Beatitude:


Why would Jesus choose here to share the Beatitudes with us? Because just like each of you He must have sighed and said, “Wow… this is so beautiful!” He said these poetic words because He wanted to express what He felt when He saw what God had made here.

1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying

3 “ Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Meir taught us a new Hebrew word: “Ashre” (AhSH-Ray) It means “Happy will be” This is the word Jesus used instead of Blessed. This is future tense. (it reminds me of a prescription).

We walked down to a small garden of stones under tall trees and gathered for sharing and a time of prayer. Mrs. Barbara was experiencing a similar heaviness to mine earlier. So several of the ladies gathered around her. Pastor explained that God was placing a different kind of burden upon us in these days. More than burden, they are spiritual seeds God is longing to see planted, watered, and to see grow.

He asked Heidi to pray. He believe the seed to be planted was to be one of healing. He said specifically that God was longing to accomplish life-giving healing… The Lord was wanting to extend some lives through this prayer! He said it was for you! Yes, you reading this blog right now sitting at home in your bathrobe… and to you at lunch checking the computer, or having it read to you over the phone. This prayer is for at least nine churches that are looking over our shoulders as we make this pilgrimage. He shared that God has been watching how you have received what He is doing for us here and wants to give you more!

Heidi prayed:

“Lord, you want to accomplish this healing! Lord send revival all over. We pray it up for others! Water these seeds, NOW! For the people yet to come.”

He had the power to heal them all!

Pastor shared. Look at this view. This is where the disciples gathered and heard, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

In one translation it says, “Blessed are they that recognize their spiritual need.”

In Exodus, God led His people through the Wilderness, I could not have even began to imagine the path God has had me on in my life. How did I arrive at the place I am at right now! The Lord could have led by a direct route, but the warfare would be too strong. The enemy would know exactly how and when to hit me. All of our hearts would faint in such a battle. You wouldn’t be able to get anywhere in life.

In Genesis, the Lord said, “Cursed is the ground for your sake.” This bumps and dead ends on our road cause us to have to move one. We’d like to stay in this shaded spot on the mountain forever, but we must press on that’s what these thorns are for.

We must look at the difference between “Cursed is the ground for your sake” and “blessed are they that recognize their spiritual need.” They are both causing us to recognize our need. The difference comes in your attitude to such adjustmensts. (Just like in Sunday school, the “Be” Attitudes!)My aunt always said you can learn by listening or you can learn by feeling. It really is your choice.

The cares and situations of life come to get our attention, but what if we give it to Him to begin with? This tranforms the thorns into a crown and He becomes king over your thorns. He gives a peace that is given in the middle of the storm. Lord, don’t you care? Can’t you just help me a little?

These thorns are helping us. The key is to trust Him in the storm. He wants you to learn to be
happy no matter what. Many of you may think I am standing here saying… life is going to be horrible, just suck it up. But what I am telling you is that He will be with you, if you let Him.

Real revival and revelations come in small ways. It is in the quiet ways he really transforms us. When life is terrible, DON”T GET USED TO IT! He is doing His best to get us to the character we are supposed to have. The weeds that choke out life are our attempts to save ourselves, when He is telling us to let things go. Let them die. God is waiting for good seed. Live in reference to Him.

We went from there to the Primacy of Peter. The Lord was true to His word, He really helped me to express myself about this place:

Would you have ever thought someone would have built a church over a breakfast table? We have all had a place like this in our lives…. Where we have shown how gifted we are in really just messing everything up. This is where Peter was. Peter throughout His time with Jesus talked about how he would defend him, and how he believed. Jesus told him that he was going to deny Him, but he couldn’t hear it… who could? When the time came all of Peter’s proclamations meant nothing. He denied. Then Christ died. His last moments with Him, he denied him totally. That would be pretty bad… what could be worse… Well, maybe… Jesus coming back to life. What could Peter say or do to make up for what he did. I mean, Jesus knew before Peter did. There was no wiggling out of this one.

Pastor always shares with us that when you walk away from the path God has you on, you don’t simply get to start back with Him right where you are, you must retrace your steps. This is what Jesus did for Peter… “Do you love me?” He asked three times to replace the three times he denied. Peter had taked the elevator down three floors and Jesus brought him back up those three floors.

Ealier Pastor shared that the “thorns are for our sakes.” This process was for Peter’s sake. Can you imagine this man leading the infant church while still dealing with some of the issues he was facing. Jesus needed him ready. Poor Peter had to do a crash course. He had only moments for a process that takes many of our lifetime to walk through. Yield to the Lord. Remember how gracious He is. Have breakfast with him on this seashore. Be reminded of the real truth… “yes, Lord, you know I love you.”

Capernahum…. Can someone say HOT? 105 degrees outside, but for the one that stepped off the bus, they had a wonderful time. ;)

We stepped into the Jesus Boat Facilities. We had a great time of singing. Unfortunately, Alex an Tova were not in today, but we had a great time with the lovely young men and women there.

A Beautiful young lady shared with us about the Tallit (or prayer shawl) and how it is used. Some of the highlights were that the Tallit is considered the “prayer closet or prayer tent”. A mini-tabernacle of sorts where one can have a private moment with God in a pblic place. Heidi became our model. The young lady went on to texplain that there was one not for every commandment in the law… 163! The weight of 163 laws to keep. Heidi said… “Wow that’s heavy!!”

The length of the garment joined in the hands was called the wings. Then it was explained that

the ‘hem’ of the garment was the tassle hanging from the garment. This is where the woman with the issue of blood reached out for… “If I could but touch the hem of His garment.” The “wings” and the “hem” are in the same place fulfilling the scripture: “But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.” Malachi 4:2

Beautiful… especially in reference to the prayer made for each of you! Touch the hem today!

I believe the Boat we come to see here was the boat that Jesus was sleeping in, when His disciples asked, “Lord, don’t you care, we are perishing?” After two thousand years, the boat they were afraid was going to sink, was still intact! It even sailed! Jesus said, “Peace, be still.” And it is still in effect!

Ok… this is so cool! We were watching the video explaining how they found the 2000 yeard old boat and how they had such an interesting time extracting it. The wood was so wet that to much movement and it disintegrated, but they only had a few days before the water level rose again. So, they finally decided to cover the boat in foam and float it to a place where they could lift it out of the water safely. Pastor’s eyes widened when he realized that the polyeurothane they were using was developed in the hometown of several people on our trip. Union Carbide in WV. Then it hit mom, that Debbie’s father was an engineer that had worked there. He has over twenty patents for his accomplishments. Dad told mom, she ran and shared this with her… Debbie smiled and said… he did work in foams! So Debbie, James and David smiled for a picture in front of their family’s handiwork that made this restoration possible!!

We had a wonderful time of worship on the boat ride. Singing about the goodness and faithfulness of God. “The House Where Your Live”, “All things Are Possible”, “Praise to the Lord the Almighty.” When we sang “Healer” the atmosphere was so sweet. Many lifted their hands in prayer and thanksgiving!

You hold my every moment
You calm my raging seas
You walk with me through fire
And heal all my disease

I trust in You, I trust in You

I believe You're my Healer
I believe You are all I need
I believe You're my Portion
I believe You're more than enough for me
Jesus You're all I need

Nothing is impossible for You
You hold my world in Your hands

Blessing of the Wilderness

The Western Wall is so beautiful lit up at night. There is prayer made in this place consistently all hours of the day and night. It is truly beautiful.

It was after 10 pm when we entered the Western Wall Tunnels. This tunnel runs along the ancient wall. We walked far enough to see where the blocks end and the actual bedrock, the mountain herself begins. This is the mountain where Abraham attempted to sacrifice Isaac, but God provided a Lamb. This is also the ground of the Temple, the Mercy Seat of God. Sacrifice was made here for atonement for sins. And finally it was this mountain where the atonement sacrifice was made for all of us through Jesus. When we hear that God is the author and the finisher of our faith, it is in the juxtaposition of these stories that we see His theme. He retells the same story with different characters to drive home how His divine economy works. When there is sin, a sacrifice must be made. Yet in Jesus, God, Himself, became our sacrifice and he requires of us is to believe that He has become our covering. Amazing isn’t it.

We reached a very special place located along the Western Wall. Meir shared with us that standing here makes his heart beat faster. If one could walk through walls, we could walk in a straight line to the Holy of Holies. Meir said that people come to this place to offer special prayer requests. I spoke up and all I got out was the electricity I felt standing here. He took my hand and said, “Come, make your request known.” So I place my hand on the wall and lifted the cry of my heart. Before I knew it, my eyes were wet and tears trickled down my face. I know He heard my prayer! God filled my heart with joy!

We continued on for quite awhile down the narrow, low passageway. We came to a room… probably another cistern. And watched a video on how the blocks were taken from the quarry, transported, and then set into place. This was a very intricate process. Each of the stones from the time of Herod, we had seen did not have mortar between them. They were carved so perfectly that each stone fit exactly next to and on top of each other without wobbling.

You may have read James Doss’ testimony from a couple of nights ago. He said, “I feel like there is this wedge being driven in me. To open me up, God is wanting to remove so much and yet put so much in me. If I spend too much time thinking about this work, I begin to weep.”

Mrs. Barbara pointed out later that without knowing it, he testified that the work God was doing in him was exactly the same process used in hewing the stones to fit the Temple Wall.

They would drive a wedge into the bedrock. Then pour water into it. The wedge would expand and split the rock from the mountain and then transport it to the site and chisel out the details. The rock must be broken to be useful. Awesome!



The next morning we got up early to get our day of traveling started. Mrs. Kathy shared on the bus. She reviewed how God was revealing to us the heart of Israel. She spoke of our time on Castel and how we could learn so much from the courage of these men. The song that came to her was “The Impossible Dream”. She shared the words with us interspersing their correlation to the fight for the establishment of the modern State of Israel and the battle for independence!


To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go

To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star

This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause

And I know if I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest

And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star

We traveled on to En Gedi. They have added a new waterfall at the base of the park which is really exciting. So many times we have had to skip stopping by David’s oasis because we simply did not have the one to two hours it takes to
hike to the waterfall, but with only a 15 minute walk to this new one we had the chance to take our time, enjoying the spring of living water in a dry and thirsty desert.
I sat by the falls, and played my ocarina. Then David stood and played his harmonica. This wadi (valley) was made for music, specifically worship.
Many of you know that this is the area where King David wrote many of the psalms that have come to mean so much to us:
“As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after thee…”
“You are my hiding place; you always fill my heart with songs of deliverance.”
“You are my light and salvation, whom shall I fear?”
We found a nice shaded spot and Pastor shared:
David used humbling experiences to find God. You will be humbled. David was just happy with God. He learned courage. He learned this without anyone watching. Many get in to the ministry too early and must go through their lessons publicly. Thankfully many of my most difficult life lessons were experienced when I did not have the responsibility of a congregation, just the eyes of my family. We must be broken to be useful. A horse cannot be ridden until it has been broken.
David’s character was developed in the lonely place. Many resist the lonely place, but God must have His way in us. Because David embraced his lonely places and allowed God to use his places of brokenness to draw him closer rather than further from Him, he never faced the enemy in his own strength, but in the name and authority of God. David started by himself in the wilderness, learning how to fight, how to defend, and how to worship
He learned how to be a king by defeating the lion and the bear, defending his sheep and always remembering that it all was only by God’s grace.
When David approached Goliath, there was no question or ounce of give in him. He could not stand by as his God was being cursed and his people needed a defender from this roaring “lion”. He did what he knew how to do and that was to stand in the authority of the name of the Lord. God did the rest.
David returned to this wilderness of En Gedi after having spears thrown at him by the king he loved. Being knocked down can be hard. It is like someone who makes $8/hr getting a new job that pays twice that. And then through circumstances is knocked back down to their previous salary. It is humbling and humiliating, but what do you do in those places?
God took David for another lap in the Wilderness. Brokenness was his stronghold. Understand that circumstances will come to all of us in various seasons. David was brought back to the wilderness at third time by his son, Absalom. We may have to run to brokenness. If you fight the brokenness you’ll be fighting a fight you will never win.
We need to check ourselves by David’s attitude here in this last trek into the land of brokenness. Maybe God is done with me.
When I work with puppies, I do my best to help them know what their place is. I do this by taking their food away from them at various times during their eating process. They learn to be appreciative and to wait. God does this to us. He takes things from us, so we will learn to trust, but then He also gives so we learn how to be appreciative. We can’t live our lives barking and growling at the hand that feeds us.
If you would have known what made for your peace…
Why review this?
“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.” 1 Peter 4:12
We have been given promises, but the process takes us to brokenness first. God is God and I am not. David was cheered on by thousands and yet hiding in a cave alone. He feasted with kings… and beasts. There was only one constant in it all. He kept his heart before God. Exalted or broken keep your hunger for God. He’ll never leave you, nor forsake you! Believe that He is close!


Of course, we stopped to get our shop on at the Ahava Factory Kibbutz. Meir had arranged for us to shop here and then proceed down to the spa to swim and eat. It was fun watching some of the


newbies and old-bies floating around. James Miles said he loves it because it is the only time he is able to float in the water! Haha. But let me tell you… hot desert, hot water, and ah yeah did I mention the chemical burn of the salt water on any cut! Ummm…. Ouch! Lunch was very yummy and refreshing, so was the iced coffee. Of course Pastor found a nice shade tree and some free wireless internet. So fun was had by all!
We traveled north along the Israeli-Jordanian Border. A good part of this journey is in the West Bank. As we were crossing the checkpoint back into Israel. Meir informed us that an armed Israeli guard may board the bus to do a security check. Well, two of them did. They were very kind and smiling. The young lady was beautiful. As she exited the bus in the back, we discussed amongst ourselves that if we were soldiers on a 105 degree day in the desert we would board every bus with air conditioning too!
Our next stop… sigh… I wish we had had more time and cooler temperatures so we could have explored just a little more! Bet She’a

An. Geographically located at the junction of the Jordan River and the Jezreel Valley. This is near where the Philistines displayed the bodies of Saul and Jonathan. “How the mighty have fallen!” Men of the tribe of Benjamin (Saul and Jonathan’s tribe) snuck in at night and retrieved their bodies offering them a proper burial on the mountains of Gilboa.
The most interesting part about Bet She’ An is that the Roman ruins have remained mostly intact. These ruins date back to the time of Jesus. You really get a concept of the opulence of the Empire. Walking through the coliseum and down the cardo offers an insight into ancient, city life.
The heat caught up with us though and we only took 15 minutes to explore. You know you are hot when you start getting cold chills!
We made it to Galilee in the afternoon and spent the a couple hours resting. James and I were talking on our way to pool about what a wonderful life we have to be able to come here and be apart of this. Many people never leave their hometown or state and yet here we were halfway around the world, lounging under an umbrella overlooking the Sea of Galilee.
Tonight at dinner, we had an unexpected treat. We shared the dining hall with a Jewish family celebrating Shabbat. They sang before their meal and seemed to really enjoy each other. Then the fathers went to their children, whether they were still toddlers or grown adults, and held each of their heads speaking a prayer over them. Each father then kissed them on the forehead. They went around to each child and did this. It was so beautiful, intimate and sincere!
“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” 1 John 3:1

Trade Up

This morning we took a new route into Bethlehem. Entering by the Northern Checkpoint made it a much simpler experience. I guess having a smaller group has its perks. All we had to do was to get on the other bus. Very nice.

We were able to meet up with our guide from the last time, Nadar. He remembered our group.. Well he remembers when he walked Mari, James, Scott and I back to the Three Arches from our
lunch at Mundo Pizza. We laughed. We passed “Star and Bucks Coffee”. Will and I had a good laugh over that one.

Nadar spoke to us about Bethlehem. She is the city of kings. King David was born here, as was Jesus. He said that the name Bethlehem has different meanings in Hebrew and Arabic. In Hebrew, it is “House of Bread” and in Arabic “House of Meat”. He said, “so together… we make a good hamburger, yes?” ha-ha.

We entered Shepherd’s Field and Nadar led us to a beautiful vista of fields of Bethlehem. He shared with us that not only was this where the angels visited the shepherds, but this was also where Boaz and Ruth had fallen in love.

Early this morning, the Lord told Pastor that Michelle would be sharing here. And she did so beautifully:

“Brokenness”

Jesus was born in this House of Bread. He was meant to be broken. I love the fragrance of fresh bread, but it is of no real use until it is broken.

Michelle said that she was overwhelmed when Nadar shared that these were the fields of Ruth and Boaz. Ruth and Naomi were so broken. We cannot comprehend the destitution of these widows. Naomi was coming back to Israel, hoping to find some relative that would provide for her because she had no one else. Ruth looked to her and said, “I am not going back to my homeland. I am going to cling to you, Naomi, and to God. Your people will be my people.”

I am not sure if you have had or are going through the process of having your heart’s desires crushed. You ask God, “What are you doing to me? None of this makes sense!”

Ruth clung to her source of God, which happened to be her mother-in-law. She didn’t go back and she couldn’t stay where she was. Ruth clung to God and went in the direction He led. And out of her brokenness God brought her to Boaz, but she wouldn’t have gotten their without clinging to Him in her brokenness.

Cling to Him and eventually He will bring out His purpose. God is with us… in trial… in disappointment. He will fulfill His plan.

Out of her brokenness came the line of kings and our savior.

Jesus was born to be broken and die. Be encouraged. God never leaves us, nor forsakes us.

After Michelle’s sharing we had a quiet time to take in the view and the message. As we were looking over the fields, we saw different groups of shepherds and sheep. We enjoyed watching as one sheep wandered away from her fold and the shepherds were trying to get her back to where she needed to be. She wouldn’t have it! She kept trying to run to the other sheep that weren’t her family. Finally, she turned and went in the right direction a
nd then she ran ahead of the shepherd. Daddy said isn’t that the way it is. We won’t go where we need to go and when Jesus finally rescues us, we don’t wait for Him, we try to do the leading.

We walked over to the caves and had a wonderful mini-service. I sang, “Infant Holy, Infant Lowly”, one of my favorite Christmas songs. Pastor shared that Jesus could have chosen to be born in Herodian or some place nicer, but He chose the most humble route. Over and over again he has chosen and chooses the lowly route. The God that says, “Do not murmur and complain, isn’t over in the corner murmuring and complaining about you.”

Will spoke up and said that many times the shepherds would lie at the entrance of the cave
to keep the sheep in and the predators out. In the same way, God is our defender and is always looking to and for our best.

We stepped up to the church of angels and a small Italian group was having Mass. We entered as they were finishing. Daddy said they were having a time of prescribed confession. Nothing to personal just an acknowledgement of the grace they had been given.

After they finished and were headed out the door, I sang Ave Maria. Heather said she saw two of their group weeping. One of the priests was a fairly young man. James said he saw him just smiling. Later, Daddy and I were speaking of him. We both were struck by the same thing. This young man has chosen to dedicate himself, his life and his talents to God. “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things.”

We proceeded on to the Three Arches to get our shop on. We had a great time with Michael’s brother Maher, whom we met on our last trip. He was so funny! He said that they sold Judaica and they had such things like the mini Ark of the Covenant. He asked us what was in the ark. We replied Aaron’s staff, a jar of manna from heaven and the tablets to the Ten Commandments were etched on. He said, “No, I am sorry that is incorrect. This ark is empty” and he
opened the box and it was empty. “But for a small price,” he laughed, “you can purchase these miniaturized items, sold seperately!” He showed us a package with a three small golden items that would fit in the ark. We all laughed along with him.

Daddy and Maher had a wonderful time together. They talked technology and business. Daddy is good friends with Maher’s brother, Michael, but has never really had a chance to spend time with him. They had a wonderful time.

After a fabulous lunch, we went to visit the church of St. John the Baptist. Daddy had wanted us to come here because this morning God gave him a word to share about it:

The last time I was here was in 1983. When we approached the church there was a man laying on the ground begging for money. His legs were in very bad shape. There just so happened to be a doctor on our trip who recognized the condition this man was suffering from. This doctor just so happened to have connections at Hadassah Hospital and arranged for treatment for this man at no cost to him. When the doctor returned to tell him the good news, the man laughed and said, “Why would I want to be healed? I make more money as a broken man than I could ever work a lifetime for.” The doctor was shocked. He shared with the man that if he didn’t take care of himself and soon, he would no longer be alive. The man waved him off. Pastor asked Meir about this man because he was always there at that church. Meir said, “I haven’t seen him in a very long time.”

Pastor shared this word with us: God has been healing and offering to heal in this season. It is so important that we do not hold on to our way of doing things simply because they are familiar, easy and provide immediate satisfaction. We cannot assume that anything will be the same. There may be ideas, modes of operation, responses, etc that God is wanting us to let go of, so He can do a greater healing.

There are things in our lives that we are holding on to that are killing us. We don’t want to give them up, but what He has for us is far greater than what we are holding on to. We can’t even comprehend what He wants to share with us. We don’t give up what we are holding in order to receive, we give it because we love and trust Him. What do you have that you are not willing to let go of? Finances? Career? Relationships? In the end, retaining these things instead of going through God’s process will cost you. When the time comes, are you ready to yield?