Today took a different turn.
We began our day in the middle of the Sea of Galilee on a simple boat worshipping our LORD and Savior!
We had to walk through the huge gift shop to get to the boat and I was a little leery, but pleasantly surprised. The boat is run by a messianic Jew with a wonderful singing voice. Sigh....
As I looked around I was overwhelmed as I envisioned Jesus on a similar boat, or walking on the sea itself. I could have stayed right there all day.....
So blessed!
Across the sea you see the Golan Heights and I imagine that it looked very similar two thousand years ago. This aids one's imaginings.
The Mount where Jesus delivered His Sermon on the Mount needs much more help picturing the scene, as it has been adopted by the church to protect it, yet the protecting came in the form of an ornate church and other buildings, such as a convent.
It definitely didn't look anything like what it must have when Jesus physically climbed to the top of that mount to teach His disciples.
There was a gift shop to finish off the scene.
Another highlight was planting trees in memory of a loved as a blessing on Israel. I planted a cypress tree in my niece, Sara's memory. A sweet time of remembrance. A blessing to be sure!
Capernum was no more impressive. Much development interspersed with the old.
Yes, there was the synagogue dating from the fourth century, which was built on top of the one Jesus would have spent time in , but you had to pay for the privilege of seeing it. Peter lived in this town, and Jesus made it His home quite often, but it was hard to imagine with all the modern buildings.
But all that quickly faded away as I waded into the Jordan to be baptized.
Tears came to my eyes as I reflected upon the fact that my previous Savior also had been baptized in this same river. What a Savior!!
The teaching today focused on The Beatitudes.
Jesus taught what it meant to be blessed.
The first blessed was....
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"
Poor in spirit...
Recognizing and mourning our sin...
Turning away from it...
And turning to Him.
We began our day in the middle of the Sea of Galilee on a simple boat worshipping our LORD and Savior!
We had to walk through the huge gift shop to get to the boat and I was a little leery, but pleasantly surprised. The boat is run by a messianic Jew with a wonderful singing voice. Sigh....
As I looked around I was overwhelmed as I envisioned Jesus on a similar boat, or walking on the sea itself. I could have stayed right there all day.....
So blessed!
Across the sea you see the Golan Heights and I imagine that it looked very similar two thousand years ago. This aids one's imaginings.
The Mount where Jesus delivered His Sermon on the Mount needs much more help picturing the scene, as it has been adopted by the church to protect it, yet the protecting came in the form of an ornate church and other buildings, such as a convent.
It definitely didn't look anything like what it must have when Jesus physically climbed to the top of that mount to teach His disciples.
There was a gift shop to finish off the scene.
Another highlight was planting trees in memory of a loved as a blessing on Israel. I planted a cypress tree in my niece, Sara's memory. A sweet time of remembrance. A blessing to be sure!
Capernum was no more impressive. Much development interspersed with the old.
Yes, there was the synagogue dating from the fourth century, which was built on top of the one Jesus would have spent time in , but you had to pay for the privilege of seeing it. Peter lived in this town, and Jesus made it His home quite often, but it was hard to imagine with all the modern buildings.
But all that quickly faded away as I waded into the Jordan to be baptized.
Tears came to my eyes as I reflected upon the fact that my previous Savior also had been baptized in this same river. What a Savior!!
The teaching today focused on The Beatitudes.
Jesus taught what it meant to be blessed.
The first blessed was....
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"
Poor in spirit...
Recognizing and mourning our sin...
Turning away from it...
And turning to Him.
What could be more blessed?!
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