15 posts from February 2008

Yea... so I am on the MacBook Air at the Apple Store in Atlanta. Are you kidding...this thing is sick. I want one...can't have one...but on one right now.

It is extremely late and I just arrived in Atlanta, GA for the NAMB Church Planting Missionary Forum. I was at Anderson University the past 3 days working with potential church planters, which was amazing...especially TONIGHT.  College students are going to change this country through the power of Jesus, for real. They are so creative and are NOT just called to plant churches but are called to specific cities. I love it....GREAT NIGHT! 37 future planters were discovered this week.

On to customer service. My long time friend and fellow pastor at Midtown is traveling with me this week and I am going to copy Lee's description of what took place once we arrived here in Atlanta around 1am. 

I hope everyone is doing well. I am in Anderson, SC today sitting in my sister and brother-in-laws house getting some busy work done and getting ready to meet my Dad for some bbq. I will be honest the bbq in the upstate of S.C. is better than anywhere else on the planet. I know you have your opinions about this but you're wrong. Anyways, I spoke last night and Anderson University's FCA. I spoke on the subject of SIN, which is always fun and really makes you one of those popular speakers...not at all. Overall it went well though. Wednesday I speak at chapel on church planting, which is going to be a good time. My friend Brett Younker out of Northpoint in Atlanta, GA is coming down with his band to lead worship for it, which I am pumped about. Brett is an incredible leader and if you ever need someone for a conference, weekend, or a Sunday...Brett is the man.

Speaking - I am currently changing the way I prepare messages and it has been a good thing for me. I am by no means Tiger Woods and do NOT claim to be even close but there is something I have learned from him. When Tiger was on top of his game guess what he did? He restructured his swing totally. He has now done this twice in His career and both times he did it while on top of the game. Then he would struggle (not making the top 5 in his case) for a couple months and then as his new swing took hold you would find him back raising trophies over his head week after week. If it ain't broke...break it and then rebuild it all over again and make it better. It is a healthy thing in ministry, especially if you are a communicator.

Reading - I just got finished reading Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanley. Great Book...simple, but Good. Read it if you are communicator. After you finish that read Made to Stick. Best book ever written on communicating a message. (business book) And I along with our staff just started reading The Divine Mentor but Wayne Cordeiro. He is brilliant. He pushes you more than anyone to spend time with the Savior. Good stuff. Read it! Let me know what you think.

I have my journal from Israel with me so be looking out for some thoughts from the city of Jerusalem this week. I am looking forward to a home cooked meal tonight...thanks Wendy (that's my sister).

I have been here in Dallas, TX hanging out with the folks at The Leadership Network here in Dallas, TX. I am out here with my good friends Dino, Neal, Chris, and Ryan. These guys are smart and passionate. And I believe with all my heart NOT only will hundreds of churches be planted across the Carolina's, but cities will be change and statistics will be different as a result of what God is doing in and through these revolutionaries.  It is pretty awesome to get to tag along with them in this venture. As I learn more and grow I hope that I will be able to add to the effectiveness of this project. For now I am a student of these modern day Rabbi's.

It was my hope this week to blog a few more stories from my last 2 days that I spent in Jerusalem, Israel, but due to 2 facts I am NOT able to do that.

1. I forgot my journal from my time in Israel. All the details from all the stories are in there so...
2. I have NOT had much time what so ever since hitting the ground here in Dallas.

Couple thoughts on the Leadership Network before I hit the pillow because I need some rest for sure.

• They know food (fajitas, full-breakfast...I'm talking biscuits and gravy, steak, shrimp, lobster)
• They treat you like royalty
• They understand hospitality
• They are creative
• They are different (in a good way)
• They play whirly ball (google it) fun game we played last night (it involves bumper cars, lacrosse, and goals)
• They give NO BREAKS (I am serious...if you need a break, then leave the room and take one)
• GREAT PEOPLE - I look forward to working with them down the road for sure.
  
• They aren't here to spoon feed you, but rather to make you think.

Again, I promise to give some Jerusalem stuff as soon as I can get back to my journal.

Looking forward to spending less time on the mode of transportation below...it has felt like a second home recently. I love Columbia, SC and look forward to NOT traveling after next weeks travels and being with the great family of Midtown.

Well, I made it back to the great city of Columbia yesterday at NOON.  And hen left at 8:30pm for Myrtle Beach, where I interviewed for a scholarship to Liberty Theological Seminary. To say the least I am pretty dang tired. I already miss the time I had while in Israel and look forward to going back. My time was amazing and I plan on blogging about my last 2 days there in Jerusalem over the next 2 weeks or so. There are so many stories and truths to communicate from my time in Jerusalem.

A couple of updates before the weekend:

• Today I turned 28 years old
• Tonight I will be having Valentines Dinner with my bride of 4.5 years
• I got a full-ride through my Doctorate Degree to Liberty (huge answer to prayer)
  
• I am going to Turkey later this year to study through the journeys of the Apostle Paul with my good friend and mentor Pastor Don Brock
• I cannot wait to teach the next 3 weeks through some of the things God taught me while in Israel.
  
• If you go to Midtown...cannot wait to see you guys Sunday....I have been gone too long and missed it like crazy.

Have a great weekend and I will post again on Monday!

I apologize to those of you who have been following along each day throughout my journey here in Israel. Yesterday I just did NOT have it in me emotionally, physically, or spiritually. I was crazy to think that today I would some how regain the strength to be able communicate in words all that is taking place here in the city of Jerusalem. Today, I saw where Jesus spent his last hours before the cross. From there I saw the place he was crucified, the place he was buried, and the tomb door he walked out of after conquering death. There I shared in communion with my wife Renie. Our guide bought us small olive wood cups to take the juice in. That was very special for him to do that for us.

To sit in the dungeon where Jesus was spit on and punched in the face was the most humbling five minutes of my life. There I read the scripture to our group from that place in the gospel that recounts the story and then I prayed over the area a prayer of thanksgiving. Is there really anything else we can pray? There was no shortage of tears today. Jesus' self-denial is unthinkable. I now feel like I have a true picture of Philippians 2. Those are just a few words to describe today's experiences...but really no words can describe... (that's why I am NOT going into any details for now)

I will probably NOT blog again until Wednesday Night when I am back in South Carolina. I fly out from Tel Aviv tomorrow night! I am going to take the next couple of weeks and blog by blog do my best to communicate all that I have seen and all that God has done in my life in the last 2 days I have been here in Jerusalem. It will take atleast 2 weeks to explain the last 2 days.

Have you ever run a marathon...have you ever tried to take a drink of water from a fire hydrant...have you ever been completely spent emotionally, spiritually, and physically to the point you feel like you cannot function at all. I am absolutely at that point. Today was our first of 3 days in the Holy City of Jerusalem. It was incredible and right now I just do not have the words to express it all. There were tears a number times today. I have been moved and changed forever. I am not the same man I was a day ago.  Hopefully, through the brokeness I am experiencing; God will begin to rebuild me into the man He desires me to be.

It is my hope to be back tomorrow here on the blog with some of my experiences from today and tomorrow. I am going to think about nothing because I got nothing left. It is actually a GREAT FEELING!

Today we were in the desert region next to the Dead Sea for the entire day. I learned so much history today and honestly feel like I need to go back to school and start all over again. My hunger to know more is greater than it ever has been. I wish I could come here and study here for a while...I really do and there is a place here that would be a perfect fit.  Only thing is this...God has called me to the incredible place of Columbia, SC and that is where my heart is for sure. The whole time I am learning I am simply thinking all the time..."How do I teach this to Midtown?" I cannot wait to come back and pour out some of what God has been pouring into me.

Masada

This is an unbelievable plateau that overlooks the Dead Sea in the middle of the desert. Long story short and believe me it is a long story. King Herod built a palace on top of the mountain and later left it and then the Jewish Zealots/Rebels, 1,000 of them took residency here on top of the desert plateau (very high...we took a cable car with a capacity of 80 people). During there time here was the same time the Romans were conquering everything. There were 10,000 Roman Soldiers who were at the bottom of the mountain in 8 different camps surrounding the mountain. They also build a wall around the entire mountain. The Romans were very deligent in their work especially if it meant conquering something.  You would think 10,000 Romans againts 1,000 Jewish Zealots would be no problems. Why would it take 3 years to conquer. The landscape was from bottom to top was bascially straight up. And the Jewish Zealots would throw stones from the top easily killing the Romans. About a year and half into this cyclical event Josephus Flavius, the Roman Commander, decided to bring in thousands of Jewish Slaves to build a ramp from the bottom to the top of the mountain. You have to understand a Jew would NOT kill another Jew. Interestingly enough Joshephus Flavius was originally the son of a Jewish Priest and actually practiced a lot of the Pharisee ways. He changed over to the Roman side after a battle with the Romans. Josephus (the trader) later became a historian. He has recorded many of the books that we still use today when explaining some of the things that happened biblically. After building the ramp the Jews knew they would be captured and turned into to slaves, so they killed each other and the last one standing fell on His own sword. The reason they did it this way was because a Jew killing themselves was NOT looked upon well at all. They would NOT even bury them in the same places as the rest of society. Anyways, when the Romans arrived to the top they over took the the plateau building their own fortress equipped with steam rooms (seriously). The Romans lived well. Lastly, the Jews (before they died of course) had a place where they kept all the pigeons. They would send the pigeons out with messages to take back to their cities. How did they know where to go? They would raise the pigeons in the synagogues in the different cities and then bring them there and "cage" them.  They would then tie a message to their leg and let them go. The pigeons would naturally fly back to their home, the synagogue of the town they were raised. The original air mail. Crazy!  There were also a couple of biblical events that they think may have taken place here...you can read them below.

Biblical References:

Psalm 18:2, 31, Psalm 62:1-2, 71:3, 144:2 - Masada may have provided David with a picture of God as his fortress and refuge. 

 

Qumran

This is the place that the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. A young shepard boy was trying to get one of his sheep out of a cave and threw a stone in. He heard something crack and went in to find some leather scrolls. He took them to his father and his father took them to a man who made shoes. His father was going to take the leather and have it made into a pair of shoes for himself. The shoe maker saw the writing and took it to a professor. They ended up selling them to someone in the United States. Eventually, a Professor from Jerusalem purchased most of them back, some are still in the U.S. today. They ended up searching the whole area of Ein Gedi and found of 40,000 pieces of scroll material. Within that they found record of every old testament book except the book of Esther.  They actually found the entire book of Isaiah, which matches word for word with todays Hebrew bible. UNBELIEVABLE!  Also, at this location they found a synagogue, which I stood on the floor of today and they believe it to be one of the oldest if NOT the oldest synagogues in the world.  Synagogue means "the place of gathering". Here at the synagogue the people would learn together, pray together, worship together, share together, and eat together. Yes, they would eat inside of the synagogue. It was a communial deal. What an incredible thing. The temple always faced Jerusalem.

 

Ein Gedi

In Ein Gedi there are many caves. This is the place where David of the Old Testament hid in the caves as King Saul was searching to try to kill him. During the journey King Saul had to "relieve himself" go use the bathroom. So he went into the edge of the cave to go to the bathroom. The cave he entered was the cave David was hiding in. David quietly took his knife/dagger and cut King Sauls robe without King Saul knowing. He then stepped out of the cave behind King Saul and showed that he could have killed him if he wanted to. He did NOT because it was NOT God's timing. It is an incredible story of how God is in control and we must go with what His will is and NOT our own. AMAZING.  I look into that cave today.

Biblical Reference:

Genesis 14:7 - Kedorlaomer's army defeated the Amorites living in Hazazon Tamar ( later called Ein Gedi), Joshua 15:62 - Six towns in the Judean desert were assigned to the tribe of Judah - among them was Ein Gedi. 1 Samuel 23:29 - David hid from Saul in the strongholds of Ein Gedi, 1 Samuel 24:1-22 - Instead of taking Saul's, David cut off the corner of King Saul's robe, 2 Chronicles 20:2, 16 - the combined Ammonite, Moabite, and Meunite amry passed through Ein Gedi on their way to attack Judah. Song of Solomon 1:14 - Solomon uses the beauty of Ein Gedi to describe his lover, Ezekiel 47:10 - Exekeil had a vision that depicts Ein Gedi as a place where fishermen will spread their nets.

 

Conclusion:

Today was incredible and their is no doubt Israel, our guide, is incredibly smart. I will do a whole post on him at some point. He is an extremely fascinating man. If there was a book about his life I would bye it...no doubt. Ok, I am in Jerusalem now and looking forward to our visit to the sites over the next 3 days. Good Night or Good Day!  

So today was a great, yet interesting day. Today we traveled from the Sea of Galilee down towards the Dead Sea. We went through the edge of the area which is known as Samaria. Samaria it mostly noted in John 4 when Jesus is at the well with the Samaritan woman. Also, in Acts 1:8 we see Jesus giving an outline for taking the gospel (Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth). We basically followed the Jordan from Galilee to Jericho and then on to the Dead Sea. Today was the first time I felt a bit unsafe...but I must admit the adrenaline rush was pretty awesome. You have to undestand our guide, Israel, was a Spy for the Israeli army and is on a "kidnap" list with the Palestinian people. Well today we traveled to Jericho. The region in and around Jericho is under the control and power of Palestine NOT the country of Israel. We went through 2 check points along the way where there were many Palestinian Soldiers with high powered m-16's. Our guide changed his hat to a hat with American writing on it and moved to the middle of the bus, rather than the front seat with the mic. Our driver then took the mic and pretended as if he were doing the tour, while our guide blended in with the rest of us Americans. You see they would love to kidnap someone of his stature and use him as ransom for more land and/or regions. Our guide, Israel was very big in the Israeli Army before retiring. He was a part of many of the peace talks and actually signed some of the agreements. If you have seen the move, Munich. He was one of the spies who found the terrorist and had them killed one by one. Our guide in unbelievable, but his past put us in a sticky situation today that I will never forget. It was pretty dang awesome.

I will try my best to summarize the rest of the events from today, as I realize my blogs are long, but so are the days here. I mean that in a good way. I wish the days were longer. There is sooooo much more I have to learn. That is the main thing I have been learning...that I have so much to learn.

 

Beth Shan (place where King Sal and Jonathan bodies were hung on a wall)

Here we saw incredible ruins. There were 21 different settlements in this region that continued building on top of each other. You have to understand when one place is destroyed they would just come back over it and build again right on top. This happened 21 times here at Beth Shan. This is the place where King Sal and Jonathan after there death were hung on the side of the wall. There is currently a 7,000 seat amphitheatre standing that was built in the 2nd century. 

Biblical Reference:

1 Samuel 31:8-13

 

Gideon Chooses His Army @ Spring of Herod 

I had the chance to go the Spring of Herod today, which is the location where Gideon chose his army of 300 men to fight againts the Midianites. Gideon had 20,000 men, but God had a different plan so Gideon narrowed his army down to 300, but how did he get to that point. Well he had them all get a drink. Most men lapped up the water like a dog while 300 of them kept their sword in one and dipped the water out with the other hand.  Those men were chosen because they kept their weapon ready for battle no matter the situation. In a valley NOT far from their they later defeated the Midianites in the most unique way. Go look it up in Judges 7...read it for yourself it is awesome and once again shows us that God knows exactly what He is doing even when it does NOT make sense at all. Seriously, go read it now. Well, anyways I scooped out water from the same spot those men did as Gideon chose them to as those who would fight this unique and historical battle. I was there today at the same exact spot. I cannot believe this stuff.

Biblical References:

Judges 6 & 7

 

The Mount of Temptation (the place Jesus was tempted by Satan)

While in a Palestinian controlled region we were able to stop off the side of the road for about 2 minutes to view the side of the hill and mountain where Jesus was tempted by Satan while he was fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. One of the things Satan asked Jesus to do was to turn the rocks into bread. What is interesting is that here in this desert region there are an endless amount of rocks everywhere there are white in color. Most of them about the size of a white loaf of bread from your local grocery store. Really interesting site to see even though we had to hurry because of the region we were in.

Biblical Reference:

Matthew 4

 

"Old Jericho" (this was the Jericho that is referenced in the Old Testament)

As you may know Jericho in the Old Testament is famous for the fact that its wall fell to the ground after 7 days. Joshua sent his people as God commanded him to walk around the walls each day for 7 days and then on the final day 7 times and then the big finale was them blowing there horns. Upon the blowing of the horns the city walls fell to the ground. Well, the wall are stil there today and they have only clear just a small portion of it for the public eye to see. Archeologist have studied it and are definite that the walls that are on the ground are in fact from the time period that the bible references it. The people have stopped the clearing of the land in fear that their children may die. Joshua said the children would die if anyone tried to rebuild and you can see that came true for one man in scripture (1 Kings 16:34), therefore the people today will NOT touch the wall.  Wild story!

Biblical References:

Deut. 34:1-4 - a point of reference when Moses is shown the promise land. (which I saw the Mt. of Moab today where Moses stood and looked at the promise land but was NOT allowed to come in. It overlooks Jericho and the Dead Sea...Yes I saw it) Joshua 2, 5:13 - 6:27 - The conquest of Jericho, Joshua 18:21 - Jericho was assigned to the tribe of Benjamin, Judges 3:12-30 - Eglon, king of Moab, took possession of the City of Palms, and oppressed Israel for 18 years. Eventually he was killed by Ehud. 2 Samuel 10:1-5 - David's men, humiliated by Ammonites, recuperate at Jericho, 1 Kings 16:34 - Jericho was rebuilt by Hiel, who lost 2 of his sons according to Joshua's curse, 2 Kings 2:15-18 - Elisha takes up residence in Jericho, 2 Kings 2:19-22 - Elisha heals the water at the spring later given his name, 2 Kings 25:1-7, Jeremiah 39:5, 52:1-11 - Zedekiah flees from Jerusalem to Jericho and is captured by the Babylonians. Hebrews 11:30 - By faith the walls fell to the ground.

 

"New Jericho" (this is the new testament Jericho - they are about 3 minutes apart geographically speaking)

Not only did I eat lunch here today and by a few gifts but I saw a 3,000 year old Sycamore Tree. This tree is the tree that the "small man", Zacchaeus climbed up so that he could see Jesus. Not long after telling Zacchaeus to come down from the tree, we find Jesus eating lunch at his house. King of cool how it worked out for me to eat lunch just a few minutes after seeing the tree with my own eyes. As you may know he gives his life to Jesus the Christ that day as well as giving half of everything he as away along with paying everyone he ever cheated back 4 X the amount he owed them. You do crazy illogical things when Jesus grabs a hold of your heart. Awesome to see the tree...it is the only place so far that I have seen that appeared exactly as I had always imagined it. As soon as I saw the tree I knew.

Biblical References:

Matt. 20:29-34, Mark 10:46-52, Luke18:35-43 - Jesus heals 2 blind men, Luke 19:1-9 - Jesus encounters Zacchaeus

 

The Dead Sea

I went to the dead sea and floated on top of the water. I have never felt anything like it. I was floating on water as if I were laying on a blown up raft. NOT like floating in a pool...your body is on top of the water. It was a unique experience. I was proud of Renie she got in as well. Only 3 people, including me and Renie, got into the water. There are a number of events that too place here biblically, but the battery on Pastor Don's computer is dying so I must go for now. But just so you know I am sitting looking out of the hotel lobby right now at the Dead Sea. Pretty amazing view. I cannot wait to watch the sun peak it's head over Mt. Moab in the morning.

 

 

 

 

Today we covered a lot of ground and a lot of scripture, especially in the gospels as you will see below. I first want to briefly tell you about our "Land Mines" experience. As you may know Israel has been in war since the Old Testament and still experiences some tension from its neighboring countries today. Two of those countries are Syria and Lebanon. Well, I happened to come with in a few hundred yards of both borders where there are fields full of live land mines. That was kind of crazy. At one point I could see Israel's war missiles on a hillside and in between that was a United Nations base and then on the other side Syria. You tell me why the United Nations is located conveniently between the two.  From this point I could see Damascus in the near distance. I saw bunkers and buildings with the sides of them blown out along with scatterd bullet holes throughout its warn down walls. Israel will never have true peace until the Prince of Peace makes his return.  I was a little nervous, but more excited than anything. By the way our guide, Israel (that's his name) has fought in 6 wars here in Israel and has been shot twice.  He had some unbelievable war stories for us today.  Ok, let's move on from war and move to the gospels.

Caesarea Philippi - (my favorite place we have visited to date)

The city of Casesarea Philippi is located about 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee. This was probably the most northern point of Jesus' journey in Israel. God absolutely spoke to my heart at this place. Honestly, I had to seperate myself from the group because I was choked up at what took place in this cliff side city. You have to understand this is the place that Jesus told Peter "On this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not overcome it." I saw the rock wall that Jesus was looking at as he spoke this vision of the church into Peter. It struck me in so many ways. This is the place Jesus expressed to Peter that a church would be established that would carry on His message to the rest of the world. This is where we see the intial vision of church planting. And once again the master teacher is using the imagery that nature presents. Understand this there are rocks every where. If you familar with S.C. you have seen table rock. Very similar site but the rock is right infront of you NOT as high as table rock. But here Jesus uses the imagery of the rock and His church.  You can look in Acts and watch what happens with Peter and how he leads the church. It is incredible to watch.  On top of that at this same location was the place where we see Jesus asking His disciples "Who do they say that I am?" and then later asking them "Who do you say that I am?" By the way I have all of this on video with explanation of each site, which I hope to be able to have edited and posted here after I return home to Columbia, SC.

Biblical References:

Joshua 11:17 - Baal Gad is part of the northernmost conquest of Joshua.  Joshua 3:1-4 - Baal Hermon is part of the land of Hivites.  1 Chronicles 5:23 - Baal Hermon is the home of the half-tribe of Manasseh. Matthew 16:13-28, Mark 8:27-29 - Peter's confession of who Jesus was along with "on this rock I will build my church."

 

The Sermon on the Mount - Beatitudes (beautiful overlook of the Sea of Galilee)

This is the place where the greatest sermon by the greatest teacher was ever given. I cannot tell you how amazing it was to stand there on this hillside looking at the Sea of Galilee as one of the folks from our group read out loud the very words of Jesus from his great sermon 2,000 years ago where He covered a number issues that still awaken my heart today. Just so you know from this hillside you can see the entire Sea of Galilee, the beach where Jesus cooked the disciples breakfast in John 21, the area where Jesus fed the 5,000 men plus the women and children (probably closer to 18,000 to 20,000 total people),and The Fishing Village of Capernaum (where Jesus did a TON of His ministry). It is mind blowing to see how close all of these sites are to each other. Also, note after feeding the people fish and bread...only a few minutes down the road did Jesus claim he was and is "the bread of life."  He was a master teach who took the simple to explain something that is so incredibly deep.

Biblical References:

Matthew 5-7 - Jesus teaches the Sermon on the Mount

 

Jesus Feeds the 5,000 plus (only miracle that appears in all 4 gospels)

This was a location just below the Mount towards the Sea of Galilee where Jesus preached the Beatitudes. Just when the disciples were ready to send the people back to their villages for dinner, Jesus said that they could feed them. He took 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish and from their he feed everyone and had left overs for later if need be. I cannot tell you how amazing it is to read these scriptures while sitting on the plots of land where Jesus actually stood and peformed the acts we read about it in the Gospels. I cannot explain how much more real it makes things for me. It puts skin around the ideas I have placed my hope and faith in for the last 17 years I have had a personal relationship with Jesus the Christ. If you can afford it...come here, if you can't raise the money and get over here and see this stuff.

Biblical References:

Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:32-44, Luke 9:10-17, John 6:1-3 - Jesus feeds the five thousand plus.

 

Capernaum - (fishing village that Jesus did a lot of His ministry in and the home town of many of the disciples)

There are way to many things that took place in this village for me to actually think that you will continue reading if I type everything here. I will do my best to hit some of the things that struck me while I was there today. Here I saw Peter's mother-in-laws house. The importance of this house is that Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law in the house. I saw the foundation and partial walls that are left here. It is very likely that Jesus and his disciples spent many nights in this house. Most of the experts here believe that this house served as a "ministry center" for Jesus, since he did a lot of His ministry within miles of the home. Immediately next door to the home was the foundation of the synagoguge where we find Jesus teaching with authority and casting out a demon in Mark 1:21-27 and Luke 4:31-37. On top of the 1st Century foundation of the synagogue are the beautiful ornate remains of a 4th Century Church. I was able to see a "Holy Arch Way" the entrance into the "Holy of Holys", the place where the High Priest would enter once a year behind the curtain/vail. But as we know Jesus took care of that whole deal at the cross. We can now approach him with confidence and NOT through a Priest.  I cannot believe I stood in two places today where Jesus preached the truth about Himself...are you kidding me. Again, so many things happened in the small fishing village of Capernaum. Below you can see all of the biblical references to this place.

Biblical References:

Matthew 4:12-14 - Jesus leaves Nazareth to live in Capernaum, Matthew 8:5-13, Luke 7:1-10 - Jesus heals the Roman centurion's servant, Matthew 8:14-15, Mark 1:29-34 - Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law, Matthew 9:2-8, Mark 2:1-12, Luke 5:18-20 - Jesus heals a paralyzed man, Matthew 9:9-13, Mark 2:1, 13-17, Luke 5:27-32 - Jesus calls Matthew to be a disciple, matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:21-43, Luke 8:40-56 - Jesus heals a bleeding woman and raises a dead daughter, Matthew 11:20-24 - Jesus rebukes the cities that had witnessed his miracles and NOT repented, Matthew 17:24-27 - Jesus pays the temple tax, Mark 1:21-27, Luke 4:31-37 - Jesus teaches in the synagogue and casts out a demon, John 4:46-54 - Jesus heals a royal official's son in Capernaum, John 6:25-29 - Jesus teaches and claims to be the "Bread of Life." 

 

John 21 (Jesus cooks breakfast after the big catch of fish) 

This story takes place after the resurrection of Jesus the Christ. Jesus has already appeared to His disciples twice since He conquered death. This stroy is the third meeting. Today i stood on the rocky beach where Jesus was walking when He called out to some of His disciples who had gone back to fishing. The disciples did NOT know that it was Jesus who was calling out to them. Jesus asked them if they had caught anything throughout the night, as they were only approximately 100 yards off the the rough coast line. The hadn't caught a single fish. Jesus yelled to them to throw their nets to the right side of the boat, which would have a proposterous idea since they would have never fished on that side of the boat. Jesus is always calling us to do things that do NOT make since and yet we must be obedient. The fellas in the boat heeded the advice and ended up catching 153 fish and could hardly bring their nets to the shore.  John (probably the youngest disciple) pointed out to everyone that it must be "Our Lord". When hearing this Peter (probably the oldest disciple) put his tunic on (fishermen would fish nude on occasion) and swam to the rocky shore where Jesus had a fire blazing on some of the larger rocks. There Jesus grilled fish for the guys for breakfast after their long night on the Sea. It was here after serving them a full breakfast that Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him. Three times was significant due to the previous three denials of Peter during the trial of Jesus his Rabbi and Lord. At this point Peter was broken and Jesus told him to "feed my sheep" and then said the very words He said to him the first time he spoke to him..."Follow me." This was an amazing picture of grace and empowerment. Not long after this brokeness we find Peter leading the first church and seeing thousands becoming followers of Jesus day after day. It is amazing where true brokeness can lead us when we are a part of the Kingdom of God and the mission of Jesus the Christ. Standing on that shore reminded me down to my bones of the forgiveness of Jesus.

Biblical Reference:

John 21

 

The Jesus Boat (not sure if it was one Jesus sailed in)

We went and saw a boat that dates back to the time of Jesus. 2,000 years ago. It was made of 12 different types of wood with cedar making up the majority of the boat. The boat was found in 1986 and took forever to actually get out of the sand under some shallow water. It is the only boat they have found that actually dates back to the time of Jesus. This was a huge discovery. Today, we had an extremely special treat. We met the man who discovered the boat. he went by UV.  He was a very humble small man. I bought the book that tells the whole story of the boat and He signed it for me today. He was an ordinary unschooled fisherman who grew up on the shores of the Sea of Galilee in a small fishing village, much like the disciples who followed Jesus. He is now obviously very famous because of His discovery, yet extremely humble. He just happens to be good friends with our guide, Israel. 

 

Conclusion:

I honestly could come home now and the trip would be worth it. I have experienced so much already and yet I have still NOT been to Jerusalem. Tomorrow we head towards the Dead Sea, while leaving the Sea of Galilee behind as we move south. My computer is NOT working (power cord is messed up) so I am having to borrow one from Don Brock so hopefully I will be able to continue to update you each day. By the way the food is pretty good but interesting at times. Good Night...I am off to the bed!