He was, He is, He is to come ...

I’ve been praying about how to summarize our trip to Israel, without just using the word ‘amazing’ over and over ... I think I’ve had a revelation that the reason I’m having such a hard time ‘summarizing’ is because to summarize implies a finished event and I believe that what I experienced in Israel is far from being completed within me.

He was ...

How do you describe the experience of walking where Jesus walked ... overlooking the same seas and the same mountains that Jesus looked over ... sitting on the very Temple steps where Jesus taught ... praying in the Garden where Jesus prayed ... standing in the tomb where Jesus stood on that third and glorious day ... Where do you start? So many things were so different than what I expected ... I really thought His presence would feel ‘victorious’, ‘majestic’ or ‘holy’ ... I’ve been at some pretty incredible sights in my life and I’m thankful that I’m not a stranger to the presence of the Lord that feels ‘victorious’ ... in the Galilee region, where 90% of Jesus’ ministry took place, the Spirit wasn’t victorious at all, but sweet! So, so sweet ... As we took a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee, it was peaceful and calm and so sweet ... It even smelled ‘sweet’ (except for that whole fish we were served for lunch that day! ... Literally head, eyeballs, fins, scales and all!). When we took communion near the Garden Tomb, it wasn’t sad or heavy at all, but actually very light and peaceful ... almost ‘joyful’, if you can imagine ... But then again, He is risen!! Standing on the Mt. of Beatitudes (where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount), we had a incredible view of the whole area and it was easy to see the Bible come to life! When it was written ‘He said to His disciples, ‘Let us go to the other side (of the Sea)’, we could see the ‘other side’ ... when Jesus went up on a mountainside to pray and watched the disciples boat be tossed by the waves before walking out to them, we stood on a mountainside overlooking the sea and it was so easy to imagine how easy it would have been for Him to see from that vantage point ... Or to imagine how the crowds would be able to see Jesus get on a boat at one side and make their way to meet Him at the other side ... that mountainside was also filled with mustard seed plants, making it very easy to imagine how Jesus might have simply reached out to gather a handful of mustard seeds in His hand as He encouraged our little faith. Each site was filled with confirmations of scenes from the Bible that I had only read (and many that I had not quite gotten to yet :) Every site had an incredible story of God’s love and provision for His people ... how do you put into words what it was like to see and experience first hand that He indeed was ...

He is ...

Every day, we heard the most amazing stories of miracles in the Land ... whether it was passing the creek where David picked up those five smooth stones that defeated Goliath ... or overlooking a valley where God brought victory to modern day Israel whose tanks were outnumbered 4 to 1 in the Yom Kippur War ... or meeting a gal near Gaza who had experienced the horror of Hamas rockets, and yet God was teaching English to her in her dreams ... There is no question that miracles are abundant in the Land! I will even go as far as claiming one for myself, as my computer turned up missing when we transferred from our Tel Aviv hotel to the one in Galilee ... it took three days, but God did return it to me safe and sound, PRAISE THE LORD ... there must be something special about 'three days' in the Land :)

Much of every day referenced the Bible in some way ... just amazing to be immersed in the Word like that! You would think so much reference to the Word would cause us to grow tired of it, but in fact the exact opposite happened as it was like pouring water on parched ground ... We sucked it up as quickly as it could be given to us and thirsted for more ... We didn’t realize how thirsty we really were as we found ourselves in awe and amazement of how much of the Bible refers to His love for His Land and for His people!

One of our very first days included a worship service with a congregation of fellow ‘followers of Jesus’ at the top of Mt. Carmel, where God answered Elijah’s prayer for fire from heaven to defeat the prophets of Baal ... It was a Hebrew service and where we first learned the Hebrew name for Jesus, which is Yeshua (Yu-shoe-wa) ... As we sang His name over and over, someone commented about how for a while in the land, Jesus' name was actually CHANGED and it wasn't until recently that His name was restored to the region ... how pleased Jesus must be to hear His name, in His native tongue, after waiting so long to hear it called out in His land ... All we have to do is call on His name, friends ... Yeshua ... Yeshua ... Yeshua! How do I explain what it was like to praise His name a top such a place, asking for His return to the Land while IN the Land! His presence was overwhelming and emotional and too much to take in, let alone put into words. Somewhere between the Biblical sites and stories and the miraculous testimonies from people in our group and from the Land, I was reminded again that He indeed is ...

He is to come ...

One of my initial draws to going to Israel with this particular tour was that it was being lead by Joel Rosenberg, who is a Bible teacher of End Times prophecy. If you don’t know who he is, I could go on and on about him, especially after meeting him and his family and getting to know his heart behind his love for Israel and her neighbors. I encourage you to check into his books at your local library, or drop me an email and I’d be happy to expound further on who he is, what he believes and why I believe in what he’s doing.

The question we must first ask ourselves is do we believe that any of this is true? Elijah calling down fire from the top of Mt. Carmel ... Moses being saved in a basket sent downstream .. David killing a giant with a slingshot and a stone ... God parting the Red Sea ... a Virgin giving birth to a baby boy ... Jesus walking on water, feeding 5000 people with a couple loaves of bread and fishes, or casting out demons into a herd of pigs and casting them into the sea (I saw that mountain slope) ... Do we believe any of it? The question is do we believe the Bible for what it is, the very breath of God, sent to instruct and encourage us with truth? Do we believe Jesus to be God’s one and only son, sent to fulfill the original law, for which the wage of sin was death ... Do we believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sin, even before we were sinners ... Do we believe He was innocent of all charges, yet brutally crucified on a cross and buried ... Do we believe He arose from the dead and joined our Father in heaven ... Do we actually believe that? Do we believe Jesus went away to prepare a place for us in Heaven and intends to return one day so that we can join Him in His reign forever ... Do we believe it? Some of it? Any of it?

I just finished another great book by David Jeremiah, called ‘What in the World is Going On’ ... In it, he states an amazing fact ... did you know that Scripture references the Second Coming of Jesus Christ EIGHT TIMES MORE than it refers to His First Coming? EIGHT TIMES MORE! If we believe any of what I’ve been sharing about these amazing sites throughout Israel, and truly believe them to be accurately represented in the Bible and true to world history ... true to our heritage ... How much more should we believe and expect that Jesus is coming again, especially if His Second Coming is taught EIGHT TIMES MORE in the Bible than any other reference!?! Think about that.

Friends, He is coming ... and I’m not the only one who believes that He’s coming very soon ... in the Land, it was encouraging and overwhelming to talk to so many who believe He’s coming soon ... How do I put into words the experience of hearing a teaching on End Times prophecy as we looked out upon the Mt. of Olives (where Jesus is believed to return) and imagine His triumphant entrance into the city ... Or while looking out upon the hills of Syria and Lebanon, which Joel taught is the direction that enemies are prophesied to come during the prophetic war detailed in Ezekiel 38-39 ... Or sitting a top Mt Megiddo (Armageddon) looking over the Jezreel Valley where Scripture prophesizes the final battle between good and evil will take place, when satan will finally receive his destiny in the lake of fire. It all seems so ‘out there’ ... until you see actual signs of other prophecy already fulfilled, and then it’s not so crazy.

Many may not know that when Israel became it’s own state in 1948, that was a fulfillment of prophecy in Ezekiel 37 ... I had no idea how much of a miracle becoming its own state was until we visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum and saw the degree to which the Jews had been scattered and persecuted throughout the world, or when hearing the history of the Land of how many different people have possessed the Land from the time of Jesus, until now. Some archeological sites show 27-some different types of settlements of the Land over the last 2000 years! Why so much argument over the Land? I was joking that the real reason for so much tension in the Middle East was obvious to me as soon as I stepped foot in the Land ... No Mt. Dew!! Seriously. No wonder they’re cranky!!!! But most likely it has to do with 2 Chronicles 6:6 when God declares 'I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name might be there'. And what God declares for Himself, satan wants.

More evidence of prophecy fulfilled ... when we went to the Gaza area to do our outreach project, we passed through deserts that were literally blooming with crops of all kinds (fulfillment of Isaiah 35). Desserts blooming! This is in stark contrast to Mark Twain’s infamous synopsis of the Land when he called it ‘desolate country’ in the 1800s. Ezekiel 47 also refers to the Dead Sea being ‘healed and made fresh’ from a river that flows into it, which many think is either ‘symbolic prophecy’, or just plain ‘crazy’ ... while we were at the Dead Sea we heard plans about bringing water up from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea because so much evaporation has taken place and they are concerned about it drying up ‘unless something is done’. Maybe the remnant of people who have joked about opening up bass shops on the shores of the Dead Sea should take that prompting from the Holy Spirit a little more seriously :) With regard to that prophecy in Ezekiel 38-39, which refers to a war against Israel in the End times, no one comes to her aid, except God ... the enemy named is a coalition of forces which include Iran, Russia, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and more ... If you follow any geopolitical news, you have heard that such a coalition is already forming. Right before we left on the trip, a resolution was passed within the UN to file war crime charges against Israel for their recent fighting in Gaza ... Just a reminder, the only reason Israel went into Gaza was to defend themselves against some 4000 Hamas rockets that were being fired upon them and before entering, Israel warned Hamas numerous times to stop or face military action ... That resolution to press charges against Israel passed with a vote of 118 to 14 ... Only 14 countries supported Israel’s right to defend itself (thank God, the US was one of them!) ... Only 14 ... most of which were very tiny countries ... France and Britain abstained from the vote altogether ... the US was the only one with any kind of ‘weight’, and it’s no secret how the US’s support of Israel isn’t as definite as it used to be ... Less than 4% of Israelis even consider the current administration favorable to Israel! Less than 4%! ... Does that sound like ‘no allies to defend Israel, except God Himself’? When we discussed ANY of these injustices with Israelis, their overwhelming consistent response was ‘it does not surprise us ... it is written.’

Something else is also written ... Genesis 12:2-3, God says this of Israel ... "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." While Israel’s political allies may be dwindling and we may feel as if we have little to no control over that, we CAN step up as their spiritual and financial allies ... we can continue to pray for peace and blessing upon Israel and their neighbors and ask God what He wants us to do to bless His people and His Land.

Whew ... apparently I DID have a lot to share and I haven't even broke out my pictures and videos yet!!! Can you see now why it is taking me some time to process all that we saw, and heard, and learned, and experienced ... There are so many layers to it ... Historical (both Biblical and modern day history), social, geopolitical, spiritual, emotional ... I think I got a little sense of what God is talking about in Habakkuk when He says ‘for I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.’ I certainly KNOW now that I don’t have the capacity to get it all ... so I praise Him for calling me to go ... for meeting us while we were there ... for showing us His love for His people and His Land ... for bringing us home safely ... and for allowing me to just marinate in all of it, trusting that He will continue to show me what He wants me to see, when it is time to see it.

So, how was the trip?
Amazing ...



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Shalom!

A quick update to let you know that we are safe and having a great time in Israel ... We’ve had quite the adventure thus far, but God has been gracious in so many ways ... We can not wait until we get a chance to share with you all that we have experienced ... Just today, we had an End Times teaching while at the top of one of highest mountains in the Golan Heights ... From that military vantage point, we could see the Lebanon border, the Syrian border and while looking over those valleys, we read and discussed the War of Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 38-39) and how that very prophecy will be fulfilled right there ... RIGHT THERE!!! ... I just can’t describe to you how incredible it is to be in the Land ... One of the most incredible experiences thus far! (I can’t believe we’ve only been here 3 days!) Another overwhelming experience was a chance to worship with a Messianic Jewish congregation (Jews who believe in Jesus) at the very top of Mt. Carmel ... Mt. Carmel is where Elijah called fire down from heaven to prove the prophets of Baal to be false ... We were there ... Praising the Lord ... singing in Hebrew ... Calling out for our Saviour, Yeshua to come! In the Land that He WILL COME! ... I don’t know what to say or how to put that experience into words ... humbling ... emotional ... overwhelming ... incredible.

Tomorrow, we make our ‘ascent’ to Jerusalem ... We will enter the city by walking down the Mount of Olives, just as Jesus is expected to return. KEEP PRAYING! Specifically, thank you to those who are praying for all of the ‘little distractions’ that have popped up on the trip (broken camera, missing computer) ... I am thankful for a prayer-hearing, prayer-answering God! Keep praying for us and for all that God has!

Just one more quick note to settle your concerns ... Until today, we had not seen ONE soldier or even security guard!! We were shocked to walk into the airport with no security AT ALL! Even the customs was so relaxed, it was unreal. Today, as drove through the countryside, we did see several who were doing military maneuvers in the fields, but other than that there has been no security issues at all, or even concern for safety. It is a beautiful, peaceful land, despite the news and despite the threats just over the mountain ridges ... I can not explain the sweet, sweet presence of the Lord. I’ve been to many places that make me want to just shout His name at the top of my lungs at the sight of His majesty ... But here ... The emotion is more of just sweet peace ... Complete love ... I just feel held.

It’s a wonderful Land.

More stories and details later ... Keep praying ... GOD IS ON THE MOVE, Friends! He IS coming! PRAY FOR ISRAEL!



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More . . .

Hi Friends ... I’m going to try to keep this post short, as it’s late AGAIN and I really need to get to bed ... I want to ask if you would remember to pray for our trip to Israel ... We leave today (Thurs)! Our flight leaves at 1pm EST and lands around 2:30am EST (9:30am next day, their time). We return very late on 11/17. I’m hoping to get the chance to update this blog while over there, but I have no idea what to expect in the way of free time. Thank you for praying as God prompts you!!! The kids are doing really well and even tonight as I was tucking Emma into bed she said, 'Mama, I am REALLY excited for you ... I really am! It will be wonderful for you to walk where Jesus walked ... can you bring us back a camel?' ... Do you think God's heart swells like ours? If it does, there's no doubt that it did tonight!

This week has been at the top of the crazy meter with arranging last minute details for the kids, their school, my work, packing ... In it all, I’ve been really trying to take time each night to listen to what God wants me to hear about the trip. It’s amazing the noise that satan can create when you’re trying to make room for God to speak! I’ve been reading lots of literature, looking at many maps, researching many Bible stories, trying to soak in as much as I can, as quickly as I can ... Nothing like trying to absorb 3500 years of history into just a few short weeks! I’ve often resorted to laying my head down on the books, praying for some kind of spiritual osmosis, asking God for help in retaining it all. As I’ve prayed over the trip, I keep getting an overwhelming feeling that He has something special He wants me to see ... The word ‘Home’ brings me to tears and the thought of eating the food of His Land and seeing things that Jesus saw is just overwhelming ... my prayer is that I don’t miss what God wants me to see because I’m too busy trying to see what I want to see. My prayer is that INSPITE OF MYSELF, His presence refreshes me ... that His Land inspires me and His voice restores me ... I know He is able ... and more.

SHALOM!



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