Adventures in Israel: The Final Chapter

So I have been home about a week and a half now and many people have asked me to blog about my trip since I've been home. When people have asked me about my trip I can usually only think of one word that adequately describes how I felt about this trip - Awesome!
Several have asked the question, "What one thing about the trip stands out to you?" Or, "What was your favorite thing about Israel?" The answer to these questions is not easy to come by. The entire trip was almost like a dream, as we literally walked in the places where the Bible actually happened!
One day standing on top of Mount Carmel and seeing the place where Elijah prayed and the fire of God fell on the sacrifice! The next day sailing in a boat on the Sea of Galilee, imagining Jesus standing up on the bow of the boat and commanding the wind to cease! Then walking in the city of Jerusalem and the City of David, the Upper Room, the Garden Tomb! What word would you use to describe all of these events and places? Awesome? I thought so! Me too!
But if I had to pick one place that really impacted me while I was in Israel, it would have to be the Garden of Gethsemane. In Gethsemane Jesus prayed and began to sweat great drops of blood. It was there he was betrayed by Judas with a kiss, it was there his disciples deserted him, and left him alone.
We were given the opportunity to get alone and spend time in prayer. I chose a tree and I knelt in prayer. I thought of the night Jesus would have prayed here. It seemed to be such a special place. I guess for me it represents the ultimate love of the Savior for me. Because it was there that he could have changed his mind! Do you realize that Jesus GAVE his life for you and me? No one took it from him. If he had wanted to he could have ended it there! It was in Gethsemane that Jesus spoke these words after Peter had cut off the servant of the High Priest's ear...

Matthew 26:53 (NKJV) ⁵³ Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?

Jesus could have ended it all in Gethsemane but he didn't! He went through with the whole crucifixion for me. Gethsemane represents so much about the love of Jesus for me, and I wasn't expecting that from this place. I expected much more from the Garden Tomb, or from Golgotha! But the road to Golgotha, and the victory of the Garden Tomb went right through the Garden of Gethsemane! Think about it, So much happened in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was there that Jesus prayed, "Father let this cup pass from me! Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done!" What was Jesus saying? He was saying, Father if there is any other way then save me from this awful fate! But there was no other way, and so Jesus submitted to the will of the Father, and it happened in Gethsemane.

That's my perspective on my Adventures in Israel! But ultimately we need to realize that God is with us! We don't have to travel to Israel to be close to him. It is as simple and getting on your knees right where you are and talking with him! It as easy to take your Bible and open its pages and hear his still small voice whispering to you!

As a matter of fact, as you talk with him and draw close to him, you may find that you have begun your very own adventure!

Adventures in Israel: Day 10

Well it is official! We have finished our ten day tour of the Holy Land! I can't even begin to put into words the joy that I feel. One word that comes to my mind is "grace!" Grace is unmerited favor. God giving you something that you really don't deserve. This last twelve days has been a feast of God's grace in my life!
I have been trying to give you a report of what I have seen and heard this week so that I can share with you the experience that I am having. I can tell you that my life has been changed. My heart is overflowing with God's love, joy, and peace!
This morning we went to the house of Caiaphas the high priest. This is the place where Jesus was taken after he was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. It is also the place where Peter denies Jesus three times! The Bible tells us that Peter followed Jesus from afar. I wonder how many of us are really following Jesus from afar? If we are following from afar, it won't be long until we begin to deny Jesus!
We were also in the place where they probably held Jesus until they were able to try him. It was an old water cistern. We were in this cistern and we were singing Above All! As we sang I just began to weep! I wept as I thought about Jesus taking my place! Listen to the words of the song,
"Crucified, laid behind a stone, he lived to die, rejected and alone, like a rose trampled on the ground, he took the fall, and thought of me, Above all!"
What a powerful reminder of what Jesus has done for us! Everything that he did, he did for us! Everything that he suffered, he suffered for us! I was just overwhelmed being in this place where Jesus gave it all. I also put a picture of the road outside where very likely they brought Jesus up to Caiaphas' house.
I added a picture that shows where we were. You can see the hole at the top. This is where they lowered Jesus through and lifted him out again. The thought that came to my mind was, "he brought me up out of a horrible pit, and set my feet upon a rock!"Jesus was put in a pit so that I could get out. So as I stood there in that pit, I was reminded of my own sin and how Jesus loved me so much that he died that I might live!
We also went to Bethlehem to the Church of the Nativity! This is the place where it is believed Jesus was born. Most of the places like this in Israel have churches built over them. The reason for that is that if they didn't build a church, the Muslims would build a mosque. On this site of the nativity there are three churches, Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and Roman Catholic. And when I say there are three churches, I mean they are under the same roof! I thought that was a little weird, but apparently it works for them.
We went downstairs where they had a star on the floor in the very spot where they believe Jesus was born and where he was laid in the manger.
This week I have been from Galilee to Bethlehem, from The Mount of Olives to the Garden of Getsemane. I have been from Caiaphas' house to the Garden Tomb. I have literally walked where our Lord walked! I don't understand why people do not surrender everything to Christ and follow him. He is real, he is alive, and he is coming again!
We leave early in the morning to head back to the states. I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog as much as I have enjoyed writing it! May The Lord richly bless you and keep you! I will see you Sunday!

Adventures in Israel: Day 9

Today we started out with the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. It was very emotional and very moving to hear how 6 million Jews were murdered for no other reason than being a Jew. They took us to a children's memorial and outside of the memorial they had a slab of rock with rebar sticking up out of it. The reason is that rebar is used in a foundation, but when the children were destroyed there was no foundation!
I see the United States doing almost the same thing with the murder of millions of unborn babies! We are destroying the foundation and heritage that God has blessed us with!
Something interesting is that we are here during the Feast of Weeks in Israel! Many of you might recognize that as the Feast of Pentecost. I thought it was exciting because we were able to go this afternoon to the upper room where Jesus and his disciples ate the last supper, and where the Holy Spirit fell on the Day of Pentecost!
Our day ended today at the Garden Tomb with communion! What a sense of humility and love that I felt as I stood in the place where Jesus rose from the dead!
This has been the most significant experience in my Christian life this far! I don't know what God has in store for my life, but my desire is to follow him for the rest of it!

Blessings,
Pastor Jason

Adventures in Israel: Day 8

Today is our eighth day on the tour and today was probably one of the best.
First we went to the Mount of Olives where Jesus ascended. This mountain overlooks the city of Jerusalem.
From there you can see the Eastern Gate of the city through which the Messiah is going to come when he returns! However, the Muslims have covered it up, as you can see in the picture, and put a graveyard in front of it. The reason for the graveyard is so that a Jew will not pass through that way because of the law which forbids them to touch the dead nor they will be unclean. But we know from Zechariah that when Jesus comes back his feet will touch the Mount of Olives, it will split and move from north to south. This will open the Eastern Gate of the city!
Our day was truly filled with a sense of prayer and focusing on spiritual things!
We went to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed before his betrayal and crucifixion!
We were able to go off by ourselves and spend some time in prayer! This was an awesome time to pray for God's will to be done in my life and family and ministry! Just as Jesus prayed, "not my will but yours!"
Our day ended at the Western Wall or what most people call the Wailing Wall. Here again we were able to pray. I spent my time there in worship to God for what he has done, and that he sent Jesus to be my Savior and Redeemer!
I looked inside the crevasses of the wall and saw where people had put thousands of prayer requests! It was amazing to see the papers that were stuffed in the wall! I am glad that we can take our petitions before a living God. I don't have to go to a certain place to pray or worship, but God is with us at all times!
Take your needs to him today, let him move in a way that only he can!

Blessings,
Pastor Jason

Adventures in Israel: Day 7

Today was an awesome day! We started out early from the Dead Sea and headed up to Masada! This was a fortress built by King Herod. It is amazing how people even got up there? We rode in a cable car up to the top of the mountain. Once we were there we saw all of the storehouses and cisterns where they could store water and food.
The most famous story about Masada was the siege of it by the Romans in 73 or 74 A.D. There were 960 Jewish people who were in Masada! The Roman siege lasted for three months. They built a ramp going up Masada out of earth and wooden supports.
The night before the Romans break through the walls, all of the people commit suicide to keep from becoming slaves of the Romans or being killed by them. They would rather die than become a slave of Rome!
The next place that we went was called Tel Arad. This is a place where a 3000 year old altar stood, where sacrifice was made. Mike ask me to pray a prayer of rededication as the students that I am with laid their hands on the altar!
As I prayed for the students I became overwhelmed by the presence of The Lord and began to weep, and I fell to my knees right before the altar where sacrifices were made over 3000 years ago! I was just overwhelmed because I am actually here in the place where scripture happened! I am not worthy of God's grace and the sacrifice that was made for me in Christ! What an awesome time of prayer!
Now people hold your seats, the next place we went was the Valley of Elah! This is the place where David killed Goliath! I was there! As I stood in the valley and our guide read the story all I could think about was the word victory! God has given us victory over the enemy!
Samuel had already anointed David as king and now David was going to step on the scene as the victorious leader of his people!
Victory is not a one time event, victory is something that you walk in! Victory is something that you fight from, not for! What an amazing day for me today and yesterday, being in some of the places that David was!
But tomorrow we are going to be in Jerusalem and we are going to the Mount of Olives!
Folks, please pray for me! I don't know how much more of these blessings that I can stand!

Blessings,
Pastor Jason

Adventures in Israel: Day 6

It is my sixth day here in Israel. I am a little tired because we have been going nonstop since we arrived. I am excited about what God is doing in my heart.
We are actually on our way from Tiberias to the Dead Sea today.
On our way our first stop was a Crusader fortress from around 1200-1300 A.D. I am amazed at what people were able to do without all the wonders of modern technology!
My favorite stop of the day was at En Gedi! This was the place that David cut off a piece of Saul's garment while he was in a cave. This is the place where David was hiding. It is filled with caves all around. They really don't know which cave that this happened but we know from scripture that this is the place where it took place!
Next we came to the Dead Sea which is 10 times more salty than the ocean. Because of that nothing can live in the water! I always used to think the Dead Sea was black, but I was wrong! It is a deep blue color with salt deposits all around it! It is very beautiful, but the water is lifeless!
Today, thankfully, they allowed us some time to rest and relax! Tomorrow we are traveling to the Valley of Elah where David killed Goliath!

Blessings,
Pastor Jason

Adventures in Israel: Day 5

Today is my fifth day in Israel and I am learning a lot about the Jews and Jewish tradition.
We went to a mall today where our guide showed us a synagogue inside the mall. Every mall has a synagogue. The reason is, if it is time to pray you have to pray, so the Jews must have a place to pray!
Not only was there a synagogue but there was also a bomb shelter. Every home must have a bomb shelter!
Today (Friday) is Shabat (sabbath), it begins at around 7pm and the whole country is shutting down, literally!
I think of the United States and how we treat our day of rest! Sunday is just another day in the States. People are doing whatever comes to their heart to do. In Israel it is a time when parents sit down and read the scriptures to their sons and daughters! They spend time together as a family on purpose on the Sabbath. I just wonder how much different not only our lives, and marriages would be, but how much different would our country be if we purposely took time once a week for God and our family? Just something to think about?
At this very moment I am sitting on top of a mountain under a tree that overlooks the Sea of Galilee and the Golan Heights. I have a picture below of my view.
As I sit here my mind is flooded with praise for The Lord, and a freshness in my spirit that I have not known before now! I am truly overwhelmed by the reality of God and His Word!
We need a fresh revelation of God and His Word! That is the only thing that will change our families, change our churches, and change our nation!
Our guide just brought me some hot coffee! No wonder this is called the land of promise, a good situation just got even better! LOL!
I know some of you have been following me as I have traveled this week, and I have been trying to report and comment on each place that I have traveled. But the truth is that, God is everywhere! This place is where the Bible happened and it has been a blessing and honor to be here and see things that I may never see again in this life. I only wish Granny could see the pictures and hear the stories that I have to tell!
God is with us! We have a work to do and the time is now! Jesus lives and has anointed us and called us to this work! All of you who are in our church I beg you, find a work to do and do it! We are leaving now I am getting off this mountain! May God richly bless you all until I see you again!

Adventures in Israel: Day 4

We are in our fourth day of touring and I am still not running out of things that have amazed me and strengthened my faith.
Our first stop today was the Mount of Transfiguration. We went up the mountain known as Mount Tabor. This is the mountain where Deborah would sit under a tree and judge Israel. This is also considered to be one of the places where Jesus was transfigured.
Dr. Effler shared the passage (Matthew 17:1-8) where Jesus was transfigured. He made mention of people who were chasing only an experience. We must have an experience but we must also have a lifestyle that is produced from that experience.
Mike Odonell then shared about a man who was saved on the very mountain during one of their trips. We then offered prayer to anyone who wanted God to work in their lives. Only one person came up for prayer. At that moment I felt that I should say something. I told the group not to leave without praying. Don't go off this mountain disappointed! Let God work in you. Several more people came forward and we enjoyed a time of prayer together!
What an amazing place! As Jesus was transfigured I hope that God would transform our lives to make us more like him!

Our second stop took us to Beth Shan. This was the city that the Philistines brought the body of King Saul and hung it on the wall. On the way to Bet She'an (modern spelling), we passed by Mount Gilboa. This was the place where Saul and Jonathan were killed. David, after this, cursed Mount Gilboa and said that nothing would grow on it forever. There is one mountain where there is nothing growing and it is called Mount Saul.
We also saw the new city of Beth Shan that the Romans built. We stood inside of the amphitheater and heard Mike speak from the stage and we could hear him perfectly.
We also walked to the main shopping center of the city.
As I reflect I understand that time is quickly passing, one generation passes and is replaced by another generation. We only have one generation to reach one generation.
In Saul, one kingdom passed to another - David. Beth Shan became Bet She'an. We are charged with going into all the world and preaching the gospel to every creature. The church must wake up to the reality that time is not waiting for us to do what we have been commissioned to do!
Our next stop led us to Megiddo. This was a city that was inhabited by 25 different civilizations. Israel was in Megiddo in the time of Solomon all the way to Ahab. It is a very strategic place. From Megiddo you can look into the Valley of Armageddon. This is the place where the last battle is going to take place in Revelation where the blood will flow for two miles up to the horses bridles.
We also traveled underneath the city of Megiddo where the people had dug a tunnel so that they would have access to water during a siege and could get water without leaving the city. We saw altars of worship from different time periods. At Megiddo I can see man's constant search and longing to find God and worship him. And because many will not find God and many will reject him, on this very spot the bloodiest battle to end all battles will be fought.
Our guide mentioned a British soldier who led the troops in Israel in World War I. He was knighted and given the title "Lord of Armageddon". But Jesus will come with a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords!
Our last stop took us to Nazareth,the home town of Jesus. We went up to the Church of the Annunciation. This is the place where it is believed the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce that she would have a Son. The church is a beautiful structure with Mosaics and decorations that are truly unbelievable. It is built right over what is believed to be Mary's house. It is still there below the main sanctuary.
This is significant because Mary was a virgin. She found favor with God, and obeyed in everything that he tells her. We too have experienced the favor of God through Christ. We are also called to serve The Lord in obedience and truth!

Adventures in Israel: Day 3

Tonight I sit and reflect on what I have seen so far this week. I will never be able to describe to you the deep closeness that I feel to The Lord being in this Holy Land. Today we went to some amazing places.
Our first stop took us up into the Golan Heights. This is the territory that Israel took from Syria during the 6 Day War. In the Bible you will recognize this area as Bashan. We went to the ancient city of Gamla. This city was destroyed by the Romans in 67A.D. The story says that the citizens of the city, men, women, and children, rather than live their lives as servants to the Romans, went up to the top of the hill that the city is on and committed suicide by jumping off.
After this we went over to the Hermon Stream. This is the river Banias. One of three rivers that join together forming the Jordan River. We saw several ancient ruins. The ruins of a church, an olive press, and houses were among the things that we saw. It is hard to imagine something being over 2,000 years old and I am standing here beside it.
Next we journey to the territory of Dan. This is where Jeroboam erected an altar with golden calves when the kingdom of Israel was divided to replace the one in Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:29-30). It was awesome to see the very places that are mentioned in the Word of God. These are not made up stories from Pixar or Disney! The Word of God is truth, it is alive and powerful! Can anybody tell that I am pumped? God is gracious and full of mercy and truth.
But the place that really stuck with me today was when we went to Caesarea Phillipi. This is a different place from the Caesarea when went to on Monday. This is the place where Jesus asked his disciples, who do men say that I am? Peter spoke up and said you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:13-19).
Jesus took his disciples to this place because it was a cess pool of idol worship. The temple of Pan was there. We visited this temple today. Now listen to this, behind one of the temples of worship it was believed that the gate to the underworld existed. In other words, the gates of hell! And that is not the most exciting part. The best part is that I got to read the story from God's Word on the very spot where it happened. And as I read the words of Jesus when he said the gates of hell shall not prevail against my church, I saw this scripture in a whole new light. Jesus was telling them, you need to understand that even the gates of hades (hell) is not going to stop my church!
I do not have words to describe how I feel as I am typing this blog! God is good! That is all I can say, God is good!

Adventures in Israel: Day 1

Today I think about a word that we use a lot, perspective! Everyone has a perspective. One person thinks about politics this way, and another thinks about politics in another, it all has to do with one's perspective.
As we took off from Atlanta my perspective change very quickly from what it had been before. Before it was raining and messy outside, but as the plane rose above the clouds, I could see the sun was shining and there was no rain. It was all a matter of perspective.
Today we traveled to the city of Caesarea. This is the place where Paul was sent out by the brethren to preach the Gospel (Acts 9:30). Our perspective changed because from the very place we were standing the Gospel traveled to Europe, and then to the United States. We are believers because of the Gospel coming from this very spot, and now we have come full circle, we have returned to where it all began! What a perspective changer!
And if you want to talk about perspective then sit back and let me tell you about where we went next! We traveled north to Mt. Carmel. You remember this is the place where Elijah fought the prophets of Baal. As I got to the top of Mt. Carmel you could see the whole Jezreel Valley. The guide showed us the Kishon Brook where he chased the prophets of Baal and killed them.
If you read the story, which I encourage you to do, you will see that Elijah comes back on to Carmel and get on his knees with his face to the ground. He told his servant to go and look toward the sea which is the Mediterranean Sea. I saw the same view as Elijah's servant as he looked and saw the cloud about the size of a man's hand.
Something changed on the mountain that day for the people of Israel, they realized that Jehovah was the true God!
What will it take to change your perspective about the things God is doing in your life?

Next we traveled to a village in Galilee, Kfar Kadem, there a man named Manahem (sp.?). He was teaching us about the Land that God had given to Israel. We actually got to pick wheat from the field and get the grain from the wheat. He then taught us how to make unleavened bread. We cooked it and ate it there.
Something he said has stuck with me. He picked up a clod of dirt and said this is the land that God has given to His people! What an awesome thought! God has given Israel an inheritance of land, but what is more awesome is that God has given us an eternal inheritance through his son Jesus Christ!
After that we rode on donkeys. An animal that represents peace. Something you may not know is that horses represent war, donkeys represent peace, that is why Jesus came to Jerusalem riding on a donkey! Yeah, I got to do that!
I apologize that the blog has not been up quicker, we are staying in Tiberias and they charge for Internet here, so I am using it to talk to my wife! Sorry, she is much more important than a blog😁!
I am so overwhelmed by everything that I am hearing and seeing. The Bible is literally coming to life before my very eyes! Please continue to pray for us as we travel! Shalom!

Pastor Jason

Adventures in Israel: Day 2

Ok, brace yourself! Today we began the day riding on a boat on the Sea of Galilee! The very waters Jesus sailed on, the very waters he calmed, the very waters he walked upon! Somebody pinch me, I think I am dreaming!
We stopped in the middle of the lake (yes it is actually a lake not a sea by the way) and we read the accounts of Jesus walking on the water and Jesus calming the storm! What a thought of Jesus being in control of our circumstances, he can either walk above your circumstances or he can just remove their threat! As I looked down into the deep green water I wondered if Jesus was in this very spot at one time?
Our boat driver actually got a net and cast it into the water! We fished 5 minutes and caught nothing! I don't think he tried hard enough if you ask me.
We came to the place called Gadarenes, the same place Jesus cast the demons out of the man. There we saw a boat that was over 2,000 years old. It is called the "Jesus Boat!"even though it wasn't his boat! It was a boat from around the same time period.
From there we went to the Mount of Beatitudes. This is the spot where it is believed that Jesus stood and taught the multitudes and healed the sick. It's very mountain side people gatheredo to hear the Son of God proclaim the kingdom of God! It was also here that Mike Odonell, the man who gave me this trip, reminded me that God chose me to be here today, out of all the people at General Assembly, God selected me!
I am not worthy of this great blessing, but I am trying to make the most of this adventure!
Next we went down to the shore of Galilee, the spot where it is believed that Jesus actually cooked the fish for his disciples after his resurrection (John 21). I stood in that spot. In the picture I was standing in that spot, the Sea of Galilee is behind me.
Next we journeyed to Capernaum there we saw a synagogue from the 4th century A.D. We also saw Peter's house. The place where Jesus healed Peter's mother in law of a fever.
Our adventure didn't stop there. We then traveled down to the Jordan River and were baptized! This was the highlight of my day today. Baptized in the same river as my Lord! I will never forget this experience. And not only did I get baptized, I also helped in all of the other baptisms. God is so gracious!
After we left the Jordan River, we went to a small store and bought ice cream! Yeah, getting baptized in the Jordan was still better! Shalom!

Pastor Jason

Heading to Israel

I am starting this blog for those interested in reading it while I am in Israel. This has always been a dream of mine, to go to the place where Jesus walked among us! I hope to continue blogging after I get back from Israel, not because I think I have all the answers but because I know who the answer is!
I will post some thoughts each day while I am gone. Hopefully I will put some pictures up as well! God bless! That is all for now!

Pastor Jason