My Friday began at 5:45 am Israel time on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee where I was reminded that our Lord — right here, at this very time of day — told the weary fishermen to put out into deep water and then provided more fish than they could handle and then followed that sign of his divine provision with a call to follow him. I was reminded this morning that he, too, has called me. He provides for me and takes care of everything for me while I do my best to answer his call and follow him. I was reminded that in John 15, when Jesus is sending his disciples out to turn the world upside down, to change everything in the name of his eternal Kingdom, he tells them, “Remember, you didn’t choose me; I chose you!”

He chose me. He chose you. He believes in you. And me. And he gives us the power to follow him.

We followed Jesus all over the Galilee and northern Israel regions today. And, like yesterday, this post is mainly intended for the display of a few pictures.

At Chorazin this morning, our guide Anton showed us several locusts trees and claimed that John the Baptist was renowned for eating the seed-heavy fruit from this tree, not the large menacing grasshoppers we’ve always imagined. I’m not sure I agree with him on that. But I do know a lot of us spent that hour in the ruins of the site picking and eating those little berries. Not much taste, mostly seed. I think grasshoppers would have provided the prophet with more protein. Plus, it’s more fun to believe he ate grasshoppers.

Almost as much fun as watching Steve and Elaine and others take down St. Peter’s fish at lunch today — head and all! Elaine went so far as to scrape out the inside of the poor fish’s head and eat every last bit of it, including the eyeballs! Sorry, not me. I went for the filet and French fries.

Our favorite site was probably the “rock” at Caesarea Philippi, where Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ. Anton and I both explained as best we could, without going into too much detail about the goats, the evil nature of what was going on in this center of pagan religious ritual at the time of Jesus and his apostles. When he said, “Upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it,” he was talking about all the evil in that place — all the evil in the world, I suppose, that men and women are capable of — and that through his disciples, he would conquer and destroy all of it. Powerful. What an impressive site that brings all new meaning and appreciation to this pivotal point in the ministry and mission of our Lord.

Sabbath began at sundown today and the hotel dining room prepared a very special white tablecloth dinner for all of us this evening. After the delicious meal, we twenty gathered in a downstairs conference room for about an hour to process the past two days, to reflect on what we’re experiencing, and to discern how God is acting to shape us and transform us through these experiences. And then we prayed together for peace. We thanked God for the opportunity to be here, for the salvation we enjoy in our Lord Jesus, and for one another. And then we prayed for his promised peace: shalom for the land, for the people of this troubled region, for all the men and women and children who grow up and live in the uncertainty and turmoil of this place.

Shalom,

Allan

Day One of the sight seeing in Israel is in the books for our little group from Central and it couldn’t have been more perfect. We began the morning at Herod’s magnificent palace and royal grounds at Caesarea on the Sea and ended it tonight on the Sea of Galilee. I won’t bore you with very many details — mainly I just want to post a few pictures here and let people who care know that we’re all doing OK and having a great time in Israel. Plus, It’s almost 10:00 Thursday night and I’ve got to get to bed.

Most of our morning was spent walking around Herod’s masterpiece palace and theater on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. We marveled at the architectural genius of the Roman appointed King of Judah; David Carver found a full quarter of a clay jar in the dirt behind one of the ancient storehouses, complete with half a handle and nearly a full rim; and we probably all had a little too much fun with the word “vomitorium.” After that, we took in the breathtaking views of all the Promised Land from high atop Mount Carmel. And then we finished the day climbing all over the ancient ruins of Megiddo.

The weather has been absolutely wonderful — in fact, a few of us might have gotten a little too much sun today. The food has been better and more than anybody expected. It’s a true honor to be learning so much about God’s holy land from Anton Farrah, Bill Humble’s guide for nearly 20 of his trips to Israel (Yes, Nathaniel, something very good can come out of Nazareth). And the company I’m with is a true blessing. So far, David is the front runner for the “Best Pottery Find” award and the “Most Likely to Singlehandedly Spark an International Incident” award. Ted and Elaine are both making impressive runs at the “I’ll Eat Anything on the Buffet No Matter What It Looks Like” recognition. And Steve is in the early lead for “Comeback Tourist” after throwing his back out walking down to breakfast and then climbing up and down all 183 steps into and out of Ahab’s water supply well at Megiddo this afternoon (Salon Pas gets the assist).

Shalom,

Allan

“I lift my eyes to the hills — where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

Good morning from Houston where our group of twenty from Central is at the front end of a long five-hour layover on our way to Israel. There’s a long line of people trying to teach David Carver how to work his camera, Dick Archer has already run into a dozen people he knows, Elaine has spotted the Cinnabon and the Pappadeaux, and, yes, we still have Gail!

“He will not let your foot slip — he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”

We’re stuck here until our early afternoon flight to Newark, where we’ll wait another five hours before boarding our overnight flight to Tel Aviv. Once we arrive in Israel tomorrow afternoon, it’s ten straight days of sight-seeing and once-in-a-lifetime experiences for which we’ve been planning and praying for several months.

“The Lord watches over you — the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.”

We’re concentrating our time today on Psalm 121, one of the ascent Psalms that God’s children sang on their pilgrimages to Jerusalem. The psalm speaks of God’s promised protection and provision while his people are on their way to meet in his holy presence in his holy city. That’s us! And we’re so looking forward to it.

During our last planning meeting together last week, we talked and prayed through our expectations for this trip in the area of personal transformation. What do we think God is going to do with us and for us during this trip to Israel? How do we think we’re going to be changed? Here’s the list we prayed over that night; I would humbly ask you to pray these things for us, too:

~ a much better understanding of Scripture
~ a much closer connection to Christ Jesus
~ a renewal of our faith in God
~ a better grasp of the big picture of what God is doing in this world
~ a dramatic experience of the real presence of God
~ that God would reveal himself to us in surprising and powerful ways
~ a new level of healing for a few of our group experiencing deep grief

“The Lord will keep you from all harm — he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”
~Psalm 121

Shalom!

Allan