(You may have noticed, I am a bit behind in my blogging, so
today I have a special guest co-blogger… Mrs. (soon-to-be Dr.) Heather Stowe
has graciously lent me all of her notes so I can provide you a more accurate
picture of what was shared. Thank you so much my dear! You have saved my bacon…
ummm… my shwarma!)
Ever since Pastor Thomas knew Pastor Joe Nance was coming on
this trip, the Lord had impressed on him that Pastor Joe was to speak on this
day. Some have jokingly called this the “Rejection tour of Jesus.” This Monday
we were to visit the three places cursed by Jesus: Chorazin, Bethsaida and
Capernaum. Pastor Joe was to preach a progressive message, sharing a little at
all three.
“Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His
mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: 21 “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. 22 But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and
Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 23 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.
24 But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom
in the day of judgment than for you.” Matthew 11:20-24
As we prepared to head to Capernaum, the closest of the
three, Pastor Thomas felt like we were to head to the Primacy of Peter,
instead. This is the only site we have found that has direct access to the
beach of the Sea of Galilee. We found a shaded spot to begin.
Pastor Thomas began:
“God is here with us today. Such a cool breeze and the
stillness of this lovely morning.”
Heather got so excited because she had just been reviewing
that scripture yesterday! Pastor asked her to read it. He said that reviewing
those moments where God moves, it widens the door to move into that moment.
This is the part that really spoke to her:
The Lord upholds all who fall,
And raises up all who are
bowed down.
The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
And You give them
their food in due season.
You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living
thing.
The Lord is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His
works.
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call
upon Him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He also
will hear their cry and save them.
The Lord preserves all who love Him,
But all the wicked He
will destroy.
My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord,
And all flesh
shall bless His holy name
Forever and ever.
Psalm 145:14-21
Pastor Joe stood:
I didn’t know what to expect when we came here, but as soon
as we set foot on the property, I knew we were in the right place for what is
on my heart this morning.
Any time God moves, He expects a response; He demands a
response.
Luke 7:1-8 tells us this story about Capernaum:
Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the
people, He entered Capernaum. 2 And a certain centurion’s servant, who was
dear to him, was sick and ready to die. 3 So when he heard about Jesus, he
sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant.
4 And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the
one for whom He should do this was deserving, 5 “for he loves our nation,
and has built us a synagogue.”
6 Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already
not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him,
“Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under
my roof. 7 Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But
say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I also am a man placed
under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes;
and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does
it.”
Here is one of the greatest truths if we can grasp it:
All authority comes from whom we’re placed under, not who we
are placed above.
All authority is derived from those you are under. Jesus
stayed under authority during His time here on earth. It was always His
Father’s will, He was doing. Our authority is not based on who we are, but who
we are under.
In verse nine:
When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and
turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have
not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” 10 And those who were
sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.
You see in verse 9 that Jesus didn’t turn to the Jews, he
turned to his own followers and told them that He hadn’t seen such great faith.
Not even in Israel? What about the men that had been with Him constantly? What
if Pastor Thomas turned to the people that had been faithfully with him in
Travelers Rest these 20 years and said to them that the man that just got saved
coming off the streets had greater faith? Joe, would you be stunned? Elizabeth,
that includes you… It had to sting a little…
Jesus saw something in the heart of this centurion that He
wasn’t expecting. He saw the same understanding of authority He had employed.
Authority is Jesus’ currency.
Faith works by love. He knew who had the authority to heal.
Pastor Joe turned to Pastor Jerry. “It’s time to catch a
wave.” We are believing for an increase in their congregation.
Do not ever fear or hold back anyone’s blessing. As soon as
you do, you are clipping your own blessing.
Pastor Joe asked Pastor Thomas to pray over Pastor Jerry as
we all gathered around. Doug and Meg had captured some Galilee water from the
beach and it was poured over the clasped hands of Pastor Jerry and Mrs. Susan.
(Doug and Meg were able to secure more, being that we were still only a hundred
feet from the source.) The prayer was one of power and holiness. A commission,
a launching point into the days ahead. It was amazing!!!
Pastor Joe: Sanctify this prayer… In your heart sanctify
this prayer. Pastor Jerry, you have the authority to command things be
different. This is one of the reasons we came to Israel. I thought we were
going to pray at the Western Wall, but the Lord said in my heart, “Today.”
Doug shared: When Jesus told his disciples to get in the
boat, He always knew what it would take to get to the other side. Whether
walking on water or calming a storm. Jesus always knows what it takes to get
there. Different things have happened for this prayed to happen here.
After the amen, Mrs. Barbara reviewed with us that this was
the place after Pastor Jerry’s walk in the rain, broken-hearted, and then
lifted by God “I’m not finished with you.” This is the place where Roby picked
up a very different man. And here in this place, prayer of commissioning was
made over him. Pastor Jerry and Mrs. Susan said this was her new favorite
Galilee moment… Without you taking that walk, this moment wouldn’t have happen.
Pastor Joe said that without changing the first stop this
morning we would have missed this. It would have been so easy to miss, some
things are like that. Like a turn of you hand and it is gone…
In the order of how things were scheduled, our next stop was
to be Chorazin, but as we approached the bus, Pastor became heavy with the
burden that we needed to be very careful about getting to the right place at
the right time. All pastors were mid-bus praying over the next stop. They felt
like we to go to Bethsaida first, but it would have been more logical to go to
Chorazin first because then we would not have to backtrack. The bus had already
started moving to Chorazin, but I walked up to Meir and said, “Would it be
possible to go to Bethsaida first?” “Possible? Everything is possible! Do not
worry.” So I went back and informed them plans were already changed with no
worries. ;) Peace fell on Daddy immediately.
The meeting moved on to Bethsaida… as led by the Holy
Spirit.
Five of the apostles were called from Bethsaida. Peter,
James, John, Phillip, and Andrew. It was more common than not for boys of the
age of 13 to be called by a rabbi to follow him. So when Jesus turned to this
man of 30 years or more, he was surprised. I believe Peter thought he would
spend his whole life in this village. He had so far. He was married and had
built a business and a life of his own. But when the Rabbi calls you go. I
walked on the streets wondering how often these apostles had walked down them.
Did they know that was their last day… that they would probably never return to
the only place they had known?
We sang, “Come away with Me… it’s never too late… it’s gonna
be a wild, gonna be great… gonna be full of me.
Pastor Thomas shared: it’s time. He is believing that God is
going to bring forth, and raise up a re-launch of what had been, what was dried
up.
Pastor Joe began sermon number two…
43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and
He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from
Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and
said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the
prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come
out of Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of
him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” Luke 1:43-47
When Jesus chooses us, we are called to change and to be
change agents.
Jesus called these men to follow. Our problems start
following us, when we don’t start following when we’ve been called, and we hang
back with where we stand. Being chosen… that is step one. The second part is to
stay in divine order. This allows the kingdom to come, and people are lifted.
Most of what is supposed to happen in your life will be
fought and may not all happen, but if you will obey things could be different.
Just as we walk in the spirit, we can also walk in carnality, but we can get
clear and walk out of that.
Stay in divine order! There are three areas of anointing for
a song: on the song, on the singer, and on the timing. Right before one of her
concerts, I had spoken to a friend of mine who was a relatively famous singer
in our area. I shared this word with her about praying over the right song for
the right moment. She basically said thanks but no thanks. I said you won’t
even consider it? Reluctantly she finally agreed. We got to two songs on her
list that she had neither practiced very much nor had sung in a while. When she
got up to sing, the power of God hit the congregation and her. She came off the
platform crying and overwhelmed.
People will stop before they even get started. You are not
going to ask him or listen, but you still expect to hear? This is where most of
the church world is.
Jesus said, “where I am, my servants will be.” Jesus doesn’t
show up where we are, we must show up where He is. People that never should’ve
messed up, still mess up. But God can and will still work with them. Be careful
to cross off your list, because you’ll soon run out of names and will find
yourself by yourself. Help us respond by following you.
We been sang, “You Won’t Relent” by Jesus Culture
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
I'll set You as a seal upon my heart
as a seal upon my arm
For there is love that is as strong as death
Jealousy, demanding as the grave
And many waters cannot quench this love
Come be the fire inside of me
Come be the flame upon my heart
Come be the fire inside of me
Until You and I are One
I don't want to talk about You
Like You're not in the room
I want to look right at You
I want to sing right to You
We spent a few minutes of meditation.
Meg spoke up and shared that this was a city that Jesus had
come into and had worked and healed, but was intense over their responses.
Their lack of response determines their destiny. She felt that a response was
needed.
It was on my heart for us to pray for Joseph, Meredith, and
Makayla, Pastor Joe’s children.
As we were leaving Bethsaida, my sister, Mari, who has always
been fascinated by everything archaeological, wanted to get her picture taken
with a real archaeologist. There are several dig sites there. We couldn’t get
to the one where we saw people from where we were in the group had already
moved on without us. We passed a couple on the side of this ancient street and
walked on by them. Mary stopped to look
at something on the other side of the street. She was wondering what it was and
moved in for a closer look. As she did
this she slipped down the small embankment, and scuffed her knee. “Ow… this is
so cool… but ow…! Wonder what it is?”
Below her embankment was a small cave
that went deep into the ground. The man we had passed came over. He asked if she was okay… and then said would
you like to know what it is? She asked do you work here. “Yes,” he said, “I am
one of the archaeologists. My wife and I have been coming to Israel for 22
years to dig.” He went on to tell Mari, the cave that caught her attention and
that she almost fell into was an ancient wine cellar. He went on for a moment
about that.. ;) She asked him what were some of their greatest discoveries
there. He said his wife found a little praying statue. He had found some coins.
But their biggest find as the group was when they found the gates to the city.
Mary said that she had always wanted to come to Israel and dig. It was one of
her dreams. In fact, she had been talking to Daddy about it the day
before. It’s been look at her and
explained that they were always looking for volunteers. He gave her the website
and his name. She was ecstatic. As he walked away, she said, “I guess sometimes
you have to fall into an ancient wine cellar to find someone who can make your
dreams a reality.” James and I laughed.
We went on to Chorazim, (Korazim… remember all of these are
phonetic spellings, lol.) Pastor Thomas shared that God had been working with
him since he got up that morning that we would get to the right place.
He also showed him that he wanted to establish covenant and calling in this
place. Establish a covenant for those in this group have what we need to get
what you calling us to do. “I will dwell in them and walk among them, I will be
their God and they will be my people.”
Daddy reviewed the story of Mari falling into the wine
cellar. We must believe God for the provision to get to what He’s calling.
Pastor Joe began message number three:
In the kingdom walk, there are constant adjustments. It
starts with authority. To get to the right place of authority (under it). Many
are called, but few put themselves in a place to be chosen. Jesus spoke over
these three cities. “The one who rejects you, rejects Me… and the One who sent
Me.” Luke 10
Rejection takes many forms and fashions. It didn’t end with
Jesus. If you are under the authority, have responded to your call, are in
divine order… It is very dangerous for people to walk away and lie down. In our
going and following, there will be projection, but we must try very hard not to
be a stumbling block. Do everything you can to stay loving so the door stays
open for us to continue receiving from God. We stop God’s provision more than
the devil does by trying to save ourselves. Just do what he says. You never
know when you will be the instrument to change someone’s life forever.
Meir had gathered what we needed for communion and set it on
this stone table in Chorazin.
As they were preparing the elements, the song was sung “Carried
to the Table” by Leeland.
“Wounded and forsaken
I was shattered by the fall
Broken and forgotten
Feeling lost and all alone
Summoned by the King
Into the Master's courts
Lifted by the Savior
And cradled in His arms
I was carried to the table
Seated where I don't belong
Carried to the table
Swept away by His love
And I don't see my brokenness anymore
When I'm seated at the table of the Lord
I'm carried to the table
The table of the Lord
Fighting thoughts of fear
And wondering why He called my name
Am I good enough to share this cup
This world has left me lame
Even in my weakness
The Savior called my name
In His Holy presence
I'm healed and unashamed
You carried me, my God
You carried me”
Communion today is about covenant. It is about the body receiving
communion. Take the attention off yourself. Believe for one another, for the deliverance
of one another. God is doing a covenant thing here. There is risk in covenant.
As Pastor Thomas was praying for us at the Primacy of Peter, I physically got
stronger. The latter will be greater than the former. Communion:
Take a piece and give it to someone else, proclaiming blessing/a
word over them. Pass the cups to one another. Receive communion with your eyes
open, looking at one another, receiving one another. “May Abrahamic blessing
descend upon each one at the table.” – Pastor Thomas.
Receiving one another is the opposite of rejection. This is
why we need to take communion together in this manner. There was a song “Still
believe.” Right now the blood transforms my mind.
Sickness has no place, disease has no place, fear has no
place, depression has no place in His presence.
Pastor felt lead by God to tell us that. As we are going to Tsfat
this afternoon, we can have what we want, God will fit the bill. Further, He is
going to provide and bless all that you’ve sacrificed to come on this trip. He
will bless and bring back in ways you don’t’ expect. Jobs, they are coming. You
don’t have to wait until they get here. Two covenants. 1. For spiritual calling.
2. For provision to get to that calling.
We then went and had dinner in a beautiful spot on the Sea of Galilee to enjoy St. Peter's fish... (pasta or pizza)... lol
We went to Tsfat which is a beautiful artist colony on top of a mountain range. This is where the most expensive taliths are handwoven... thousands of dollars. Such a lovely afternoon.
Thank you all for reading... Your comments are so inspiring to keep going! Be blessed.
It was on the agenda this morning to get up and travel to
Masada, but got had something different plan. That he felt like we were
supposed to sleep in. Of course I was awake before sunrise, out watching and
blogging. We’ve been traveling for about an hour now down the eastern side
Israel. Looking across the Dead Sea at Jordan. Usually we stay to the outermost
road, and just drive by all the Palestinian settlements, but there was an
unusual occurrence for us today. Many on the trip has been in Jericho over 20
years ago… but not since. To put this in perspective… my sister was 13 and that
was the last time daddy has been in Jericho was when he brought her. Mari said
she remembers this place. There was nothing. Now there’s up full city, complete
with a high-rise hotel. We stopped by a little oasis that was directly beside
the ancient ruins of Jericho. We went inside and to do some shopping. So many
of us wanted a piece of Jericho to take home. There is a glass and pottery
factory here; they produce the most beautiful vessels. The store clerk walked
around banging them together saying they won’t break. Apparently they have
silver in them. (And James says I couldn’t help but think they also said the
walls of Jericho couldn’t fall.) 
We reached the top of this amazing view of the valley. We were overlooking Jericho and the beginning
of the Dead Sea. Part of the side of
this cliff had caves that were converted into restaurants and shops. We each
got a cold drink and took in the view. For Mari and Meg, this meant the back
cave of a cave where they found treasures, according to the owner “ancient”
treasures, in an ancient treasure box or reliquary. We didn’t have a whole lot
of time up there, so Mari didn’t have time to bargain him down from the astronomical
charge.
Pastor Joe wanted to go over and see the monastery, The
Monastery of Temptation. The earliest monastery on the site was built in the
sixth century. The one we saw today was built in 1895. It is there to
commemorate the place in the Wilderness where Jesus was led to be tempted by
satan. The monks come here and spend extended stays for the same reason. 
We came back down the mountain and joined the rest of the
group who were waiting for us at a fountain. It just so happens this fountain
is the traditional place where Elisha turned the bitter water to sweet for the
people of Jericho. (Check it out in 2 Kings 2:19-22) This scripture from Exodus
was written over the well…
25 “So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He
will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the
midst of you. 26 No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in
your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.” Exodus 23:25-26
Pastor Jerry had stepped over to take a drink, when Pastor
Joe stepped up and asked very quietly if I would walk over to the fountain with
him. He poured water over my feet and prayed that fruitfulness be mine and that
this kind of suffering would never be James’ or mine. After he finished
praying, Daddy was walking toward me he too scooped up some water and began to
bless me. Pasto Joe and I looked at each other, like, there’s no way he could
have heard the prayer. Daddy called for Mari to come over. He prayed that any
bitter water would become sweet. He then asked for Heather, Heidi, and Hannah
to come forward and he prayed for them and their children that were to come.
They hugged one another as they finished.
I asked if I could anoint Mrs. Susan and Pastor Jerry with
the water and pray for Taylor and Kindra in this place. We love them and pray
for their best, often.
We returned to the bus, realizing that our stop had altered
our plans once again. There could be no Masada… Most likely no En Gedi… There
were no regrets among the people, no one would have wanted to miss Jericho or
our prayer meeting just outside the ancient walls. But there still needed to be lunch. So on to the Ahava factory.
Ahava is a kibbutz that produces skin care products from the minerals found in
the Dead Sea. It wouldn’t be the Holy Land without a stop here for some of the
ladies, one being my own mother… They have a beach front area that you can only
gain access to if you endure a sales presentation. Pastor Jerry found a nice
secluded row for a siesta during the video. 
We got down to the shore of the Dead Sea and found a
beautifully shaded cabana where we enjoyed halloumi sandwiches (salt cheese)
with fresh veggies and a lemon mint icee. Yum! Several of the group tested out
the mud and the mysterious water where one cannot sink. Mom even floated for
the first time. She has never been a big fan of swimming. Wading she doesn’t
mind, but Mari was so gentle with her as she leaned back and allowed the water
to pick her up. Doug and Meg seemed to enjoy their first experience with these
exotic waters.
All was good when we got back on the bus and headed to
Jerusalem. Everyone on the bus snoozed until Meir used his ringtone on his
phone and said in a lovely voice a message we have heard every morning at
6:30am, “Good morning, this is your wake up call. Boker tov!” We all stirred up
as he played, “The Holy City” and we got our first glimpse of her ancient
walls. Yerushalayim…
