Sunday 6/27:
Today was the beginning of our Galilee trip. We started out at Caesarea, right on the Mediterranean. It is truly amazing, all the place Herod built. Caesarea is yet another huge masterpiece constructed by him during his reign as King. Caesarea is where Paul was imprisoned and eventually appealed to Caesar for his release. We read this passage while at Caesarea and took time to think about all that Paul went through and the extreme faith it took him to get through it all. It's incredible that after Paul was unjustly imprisoned for two years, he was still able to testify in Rome. I think we are so quick to doubt God's goodness in times of trouble, but the reality is that God is always good, no matter how hard things get. It's simply that when we're in the midst of the storm, we can't see the good that God will bring from it. This is where we are called to cling to the truth that God is good, and Paul very clearly understood this. He was so sure of God's goodness that he was able to stay strong through his hard life. How much different we wound be if we truly believed that God is good!
From Caesarea we moved on to Mount Carmel, where Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal. Here onh Mount Carmel, Elijah asked the people to choose who their God was, instead of shallowly wavering between two. He goes on the challenge them by building an alter and having them do the same. Then, both Elijah and the prophets of Baal called on their respective God to set fire to their alter. Nothing happens to the alter of Baal, but Elijah's alter to God bursts into flames which proclaims God's glory. (this is all in 1 Kings 18) A woman on our trip, Bev, talked about how we are presented with Elijah's question every day. "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him." Do we choose God, or do we choose to follow our own ambitions and successes? God calls us to give up everything, our vaery selves, to follow Him completely. How often do we only give up half? How long will we waver between two opinions?
After this we stopped at a rolling tomb that looked similar to what Jesus' tomb would have looked like. Then we went on to Megiddo, where the final battle will take place at the end of days. For this trip we are staying at a hotel resort type place run by a kibbutz right on the Sea of Galilee. It is so amazing here! We went for a swim in the lake before dinner, ate AMAZING food, and watched the sunset over the lake. It's definitely different than what we are used to in Jerusalem!
Monday 6/28:
We started off today at Hazor, then stopped at Bar'am on our way to Tel Dan. Dan is mentioned numerous times in the Bible and is home to the Canaanite "Gate of the Three Arches" which is remarkably still intact, preserving it's full height of 7 meters. We moved on from Dan to Caesarea Philipi (Banias). Here we took a hike to some beautiful waterfalls where we got to relax a bit and take tons of pictures. Once back at the hotel, we went for a refreshing swim in the Sea of Galilee before eating another fantastic dinner.
In the evening I just spent time sitting on the beach watching the sunset and, eventually, watching the stars. The Sea of Galilee is basically gorgeous all the time. It was amazing to look across the lake at the huge city of Tiberias all lit up, but to be sitting alone on a quiet beach. I got to thinking about how huge the world really is and how small we each are. But the beauty is that even when we are in the midst of thousands of people and we seem so small and insignificant, God sees us just as clearly as if we were sitting alo0ne on a quiet beach. Out God is a personal God that knows us and loves us all so deeply. I am not simply part of the masses, I am this precious child that God knows and loves. (ps, psalm 139 is all about this...)
And this idea of being God's child is awesome in itself. A child is fully reliant on it's parents for everything. It doesn't know anything about the world and it doesn't have a clue what to expect. It simply grows up unknowing of all it is learning and all it is being prepared for. Yet it is constantly growing and being made ready to face the world. As God's children, we aren't supposed to know everything or be able to figure it all out, we are asked to simply follow and trust that God is preparing us for what is to come. How much rest this gives us! Children don't worry about their future and what steps to take next, they just go where their parents take them, and trust it is the right way to go. What a great relief it is to stop worrying and just follow!
Our God is so amazing! With faith like a child we can follow a beautifully good God that loves us and we can be certain that He is leading us, teaching us, and growing us every second of every day.
Tuesday 6/29:
Today we visited a bunch of churches that have biblical significance. First was Kursi, which commemorates the place where Jesus healed the demoniac, sending the demons into the swine that then ran into the sea. Then we went to Korazim, which isn't a church, but contains some amazing ruins of a synagogue built in the centuries after Christ. From here we went to the Church of the Beatitudes, where Jesus preached these words. We took some time here to read the passage and process it a bit before moving on to the Church of Heptapegon. This is where Jesus fed the 5000 with the bread and fish. Soon after, we went to the Church of the Primacy of St. Peter, which commemorates when Jesus appeared to Peter after His resurrection. Our final stop was at Capernaum, where Peter lived and where Jesus spent a lot of His adult life. Jesus performed many miracles here, including healing the paralytic.
We ended the trip with a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee from Tiberias over to the other side where we have been staying. It was awesome to see how big the lake actually is and get a feel for what it is like out there. At one point we stopped the boat and got to experience how still and calm it was on the lake. It was so quiet, it gives an amazing picture of what it would have been like after Jesus calmed the storm.
We finished the day with yet another phenomenal dinner and a great time swimming and goofing off (which included a chicken fight and an epic game of nighttime monkey in the middle). Our stay at Galilee has been incredible! I can honestly say this is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.
Wednesday 6/30:
Today we packed up to go back to Jerusalem. We began the journey with a walk up to the Arbel Cliffs to overlook the Sea of Galilee (picture to the left). Then we moved on to Zippori, which was a major Jewish center following the destruction of the second temple. Along with some ruins, there is some incredible tile work that has been preserved here at Zippori which really shows the souls of the people that lived here long ago. Our final stop before our long drive home was at Beth Shean. I'll admit that I wasn't too excited due to the heat and the numerous other cities we have seen already, however, the city turned out to be very cool. It was huge and the structures would have been so remarkable back in their prime. It would have been a major hub of commotion as it sits right at a major crossroads (picture below).
After we got back, we topped off the day with an adventure to the German Colony in Jerusalem, which is basically just a hip area with restaurants and shops and whatnot. It was a nice walk despite the roundabout way we took to get there (which probably added a solid hour to our trip). All in all, today was long and tiring, but it feels good to be back at JUC. The trip as a whole was absolutely amazing and filled with so much incredible stuff.
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