ISRAEL PILGRIMAGE 11/16-25/2017
ISRAEL – TUESDAY – 11/14/17
Today was going to be our rest day before our group comes on Friday 11/17 but instead we had to take the van back to the airport and swap for a van that worked. It was a nice drive from Jerusalem to Ben Gurion. We had to hunt all over the airport for the El Dan car return and finally found it and after 30 minutes had the replacement van.
Here we were on the coast and needed to do something interesting, so we drove over to Ashdod and had lunch at one of my favorite restaurants- Idi’s -a superb seafood restaurant. Great lunch.
Our next stop would be the Mamilla where we parked. This too was exciting because the spaces are so small and the van so big, but we worked it out.
The afternoon was dedicated to the Old City of Jerusalem. Lovely time visiting our moneychanger, the Holy Sepulcher, walking through the Christian Quarter then over to see Moshe and Dov at Shorashim in the Jewish Quarter.
A relaxing low stress day. Beautiful.
Tomorrow we will run up to the Galilee. More on that tomorrow.
WEDNESDAY IN THE VALLEY
November 15, 2017
Today we traveled from Jerusalem to Galilee and back again. It was dusty in the Jordan Valley.
We drove 250kms to Gamla Nature Reserve and about 150 of those kms were in the dusty Jordan Valley.
I enjoyed the drive noting that they same drivers in New Orleans had followed me to Israel-like the person that waits until you are almost on them and they slowly pull out while you are desperately slamming on your brakes and they are oblivious to your presence or the young lady texting and coming to almost a complete stop in the middle of your lanes of which there are two and she is holding both of them hostage. Yikes. That will elevate your blood pressure. But it really was fine and I do enjoy driving this Renault Traffic. It’s a good 9 passenger van.
Aroma Espresso was our first stop. It is located at the south end of the Sea of Galilee. It’s about 1 mile from Maagan on the Southern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Very good coffee.
We left the Aroma and continued our trip to Gamla.
The Gamla Nature Reserve, set high in the Golan Heights of Northern Israel is a magical place where eagles nest, archaeological ruins lie, and the quaint and stunning setting, including the breathtaking view down towards the Sea of Galilee are inspirational! Near the bottom of the Gamla Reserve is the remains of 1st century Synagogue.
We were permitted to drive down to the bottom of the Reserve. It is always a good experience.
The drive north took 2 1/2 hours. Two lane roads and lots of traffic.
The return journey was about the same driving time plus a return to our Aroma at the junction for a late lunch.
We drove back into Jerusalem about 5:30 pm. It was a 9 hour day and worth every minute. I love Israel and the Holy Land. This was a great day. Thank you Lord.
THE OLD CITY
THURSDAY – NOV 16, 2017
Walking 15,000 steps covering nearly 3,000 years as we walked around the Old City of Jerusalem.
I love the Suk (market), the narrow streets overrun by people, the up and down of the streets and the chaotic noise and hum of Jerusalem.
We just moseyed thru the Christian Quarter, Jewish Quarter, the Moslem Quarter and more. I visited with more friends including Moshe and Dov. Oh and we had coffee at Aroma morning and afternoon, mint tea at Ali Baba’s and lunch at the Quarter View. A really good time.
In the afternoon we walked up the Bab Al Wad to the Damascus Gate and out into East Jerusalem. I love that part of the city too!
We visited with our merchant friends outside the Garden Tomb and had a special time meditating and praying together at the Garden Tomb.
The day could not have been more beautiful. An outstanding day! Thank you Lord.
FRIDAY MORNING – Nov 17, 2017– JERUSALEM
Ezekiel speaks of different people groups that are at war with God. God was their enemy. It is a desperate situation for mankind to be at war with God and yet we see that all around the world. Bloodshed, evil, destruction and on and on. It is the plight of mankind on their own. I’ll do it my way!
God reminds the reader that he hears every contemptuous word that people speak. He sees every act done in anger, pride and hate. He reminds them that He, God knows everything.
God cautions us to hear His Word.
I must confess that I am so often hard headed and deaf when it comes to listening to the Lord. Jesus wants to spend time with us, to guide us in the right way and enable us to deal with daily life.
When I am here in Jerusalem and all of Israel I am reminded that Jesus was a physical human being like me and yet was the divine Son of God. He is God. He lived a sinless life and willingly went to the Cross and died for my sin and was raised from the dead by the power of God.
That is a powerful message to each one of us. We can build a strong friendship with God in Christ. Jesus knows the desperate situation I often find myself caught up in and willingly comes and walks with me as He guides me back to wholeness. Lord I need your guidance for every area of my life. Manage me Lord. Let Jesus manage your life.
Please continue with us as we travel the Holy Land. I’m going to breakfast, pack the van, checkout of the Dan Panorama and drive to Tel Aviv to pick up our pilgrimage group at the airport. It has been a great week. We finished out the day yesterday at the Garden Tomb. Pray for us. We love each one of and pray for you.
Keep the Son in your eyes.
Friday night 11/17/2017
Thoughts on the Journey of LIfe
God by a decision of his will decided before the throwing down of the world
Jesus didn’t do anything accidentally die. He himself provides that redemption on the cross
Jn 1:1 the Word was being God. Jesus was eyeball to eyeball to the FATHER. The Word was being God.
This one was being in the beginning with God.
3-all things came into being thru Him. Wasn’t there before and now was. Everything was created by Him. By the Word of God these things came to be.
That which came to be in him was life. Not just physical existence. But a new quality of life.
Jn uses a word in Jn 3/16. Ever lasting. A new quality of life. The kind of life we will experience in Heaven. In him was life and the life was the light of man. The light shines into the darkness.
11 into his own things he came-his own creation. We belong to him. His own didn’t recognize Him.
13-14. Not out of blood, the will of the flesh. Out of God. AND THE WORD FLESH CAME TO BE. GOD IN CHRIST HAS BECOME A MAN. SO THAT WE MIGHT HAVE THAT LIFE AND LIVE WITH HIM.
HE PITCHED HIS TENT AMONG US.
JESUS HAS ENCOUNTERED HIS CREATION FOR HE CREATED ALL THINGS.
ISRAEL PILGRIMAGE
SATURDAY MORNING EARLY-NOVEMBER 18, 2017
It’s Saturday morning and we are at Maagan at the Southern end of the Sea of Galilee, Israel.
Our pilgrimage group arrived at the Ben Gurion Airport about 9:30am on Friday and they finally walked into the reception hall about 11am.
We collected all and headed for Caesarea about 1 hour and 1/4 away. Lunch first at a small mall in Or Akiva then at 1.30 we toured Caesarea. This is an outstanding Roman/Christian era Archaeological site. It is a good walk to go thru along the Mediterranean and thru the fortresses. As we left the site we passed by the ancient Roman aqueduct. It carried water to the city from the nearby Carmel Mountains.
Our drive to Mt Carmel, the site where Elijah slew the prophets of Baal took about 40 minutes. When we completed visiting Mt Carmel (Muhraqa) we turned towards Maagan on the Southern end of the Sea of Galilee and arrived about 5:30pm. Dr Dukes led in Bible Study.
Friday was a very quick day!
It’s 6:35am on Saturday morning. Sunrise was at 6:09. We will be traveling around the Sea of Galilee and up to the Golan today. Many miles to travel.
I hope your day goes well.
I’ve been thinking about the power of God today. Our Lord Jesus offers us the help we need. Help that exactly fits us. Jesus calls us in James 1 to remember what we read in His Word. When we remember we have power. When we have power we can stand against our tendency to sin. It’s our choice. Remember the Word and claim victory. Forget the Word and get run over by the world, the flesh and the evil one.
Remember it is your choice. Choose to remember God’s Word today and claim your victory-His power.
ISRAEL PILGRIMAGE
NOVEMBER 18-19, 2017 – SATURDAY-SUNDAY
Let me recap Saturday:
We left Maagan at 7:45a. Our first stop was Capernaum. We were the first group there so we were able to do our devotional in the White Synagogue. Then quick stops at Peter’s house and the rest of the city.
2nd stop was the Primacy of Peter where Jesus fed the disciples on the seashore.
Next up to the Mount of the Beatitudes where we ran into some friends. We were on the western side of the site for our devotional.
Chorazin was our final stop before leaving the Sea of Galilee.
We drove up into the Golan to Tel Dan. We were so pressed for time that we only stopped at the Abraham Gate at Tel Dan and then drove across to Caesarea Philippi where Peter declared the divinity of Jesus. This is the site where the god Pan was worshipped (Banias-Arabs of the area used B for P). It is at the base of Mt Hermon and was a cultic worship center at the time of Jesus.
Lunch in the Druze village of Mesada was next on our itinerary. Excellent lunch. We finished about 1:45pm and went straight-way to Merom Golan and met Ilan Shulman for our Jeep Trip thru the wilderness of the Golan. We completed our trip at 4:30 and began our 1 hour drive back to Maagan for overnight.
Today is Sunday. Dr Cornelius Tilton led our music and Dr Nelson Price gave our devotional. We arrived at the Galilee Boat ride at 8am and enjoyed a very calm and beautiful time on the Sea of Galilee sailing from downtown Tiberius to Nof Ginosar. We saw the ancient boat at Nof Ginosar and then loaded our bus for our journey across the Galilee to Megiddo. We ate lunch and toured the site then we drove to Jezreel and saw where Ahab had his Palace and somewhere nearby was Naboth’s Vineyard.
Next stop was En Harod (Gideon Springs)-the location of Gideon testing his army at the springs. Such a beautiful site at the foot of Gilboa. It reminds us that where we see defeat God sees victory. Our God is a gracious God. The Lord is good.
Beit Alpha is next. This is a Synagogue from 530AD built under the Emperor Justinian. It has a beautiful mosaic which gives us insight into the syncretism of that time.
Next, we complete our drive across the Jezreel Valley and visit Beit Shean which was in Roman Times Scythopolis. Excellent site visit. About 32 of our 45 folks climbed to the top of the Tel where the Old Testament was located. No didn’t walk up with the young folks. Many steps to the top.
Back to Maagan, Bible Study, dinner, coffee and off to bed.
EARLY MONDAY MORNING- NOV 20, 2017
It’s early Monday morning and most of you in the USA are asleep. We will be touring the Northern Galilee today and over to the Lebanon border and Acco or Acre. It will be exciting.
I was reminded in Psalm 118 this morning to give thanks to the Lord for His faithful love endures forever. I must constantly remind myself that love isn’t a thought it is an action. Our Lord is in a position of aggressively and constantly acting towards us with His love. He cares. He knows. He is concerned. The Lord God Almighty loves me in a way that always seeks my best good. That makes me want to shout with joy.
As we traverse the Holy Land pray with us and for us. The Lord Jesus is great and mighty, He is our victory and He loves me and you.
Thank you, Lord, that you do. Today I am grateful for Jesus and wanting to become more like Him.
ISRAEL PILGRIMAGE – Mon/Tue – Nov 20-21, 2017
The Fifth Gospel- The Holy Land
Monday as we traveled thru the land of Israel we came face to face with the Fifth Gospel- this land that God chose to reveal himself in human form. We are putting together those events and locations that span the Old Testament and New Testament and even until today. Jesus is alive and he is alive in us.
Our travel program Monday took us to the Israel coastal border with Lebanon, and then down to the ancient city of Acre. We walked all thru Acre, the ramparts, the harbor, thru it’s intricate pattern of tiny zigzagging streets, the Crusader underground city and finally lunch in a really neat little sandwich shop. Great food. Good service.
Sepphoris was our next stop. It is a recreated Roman capital of the Galilee. In it is a gorgeous mosaic- The Mona Lisa of the Galilee. It also has many other mosaics and a cardo and cross-street. It is a healthy walk. On the way out we stopped and looked at the Moskau Institute For Archaeology’s work on the cisterns the Romans had built.
Last two stops were Tamar Bakfar near the Sea of Galilee and Aroma Tsamah at the junction. Tamar Bakfar is a dried fruit, nuts of all kinds, dates, herbal teas and a host of related items. Great little shop to wander thru. The Aroma where Manny is the GM is great. They got us in and out with our coffee.
Back to Maagan, Bible Study, dinner and overnight.
TUESDAY – NOV 21, 2017
Tuesday morning begins our transition to Jerusalem. Today we visited Bēthabará where John was baptizing on the Jordan River. This is the crossing where Israel entered the Promised Land. There were many pilgrims being baptized while we were there but we had to move on after a devotional and short stay.
Qumran was our next site. We viewed the film. Dr Parker shared with us about The Qumran community, we visited the site and had lunch.
Most of our pilgrims wanted to swim in the Dead Sea. We went to Kalia Beach and let them experience the Dead Sea.
It was about an hour from Kalia Beach south to our next site visit; Masada, the wilderness fortress of Herod the Great. It was overcast and cool and we had a very good site visit.
Now we turned our focus to Jerusalem and drove straightway to the Dan Panorama. We unloaded the bus and got everyone checked in and had Bible Study and dinner and off to rest for the night.
ISRAEL PILGRIMAGE
WEDNESDAY-NOV 22, 2017
Rained most of the day. Trekked thru the rain and made some headway. Began the day on the Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, then the Western Wall, the Kotel Tunnel, the Church of St Anne and the Pools of Bethesda. We walked out of the Lions Gate and connected with Tobi our bus driver who drove us to Bethlehem for lunch, a visit to the Church of the Nativity and short time shopping in Bethlehem. We did all of our site devotionals on the bus except for Bethesda and our final site of the day, the Upper Room.
Back to the Dan Panorama for Bible Study, dinner and overnight.
Our Nov Pilgrimage is winding down. We will all be back home by Saturday-night.
STRONG. (Psalm 89:17)
The world the flesh and the devil attack us
It pleases God to make us strong
Do not believe the lie, It can not control us
Sin has lost, Jesus bore the cost
My life counts, no matter my pain, or loss
Christ proclaims my victory
Background can be overcome
Christ will fix us, His character becomes ours
All the things wrong with us
Jesus knows that fixing us takes time
We don’t surprise Him, don’t quit
He will never, no never,, not ever leave us
Peace reigns when Jesus is in control
We bend the knee, He speaks to our soul
Listen as Jesus guides you, He is on your side
Jesus gives us His strength, we change
He is Lord, follow Him
Clay Corvin. 11/24/17. Jerusalem
TRUST
God is trustworthy, we can trust Him with our life
He knows all about us, loves us, forgives us
Seeks our best good, knows what we need
Brings us to an understanding of that
Too many people lead lives of quiet desperation
No joy, no peace, the future grim, the present desperate
I️ do not accept that, I️ trust the Lord
Everyday is a good day, I️ can live without fear
I️ know every tomorrow, is filled with God near
All my steps lead to the future, held in the hand of God
I️ rejoice this moment, each new day brings me closer to Christ
He is lord, He gives life, I️ can be confident in the moments of life
Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me, He is with me giving me peace
His peace is a present thing, a foundation for joy
I️ stand and shout, Jesus is Lord, Lord of All
I️ trust Him; I️ live,I️ grow, I️ change, Life is peace and joy
Clay Corvin 11/24/17 Jerusalem
TEACH
Teach me to do your will oh Lord
Place my feet on firm footing
Guide me in your righteous way
Convict me of my sin
Call me to forgiveness
Lord God Almighty I need You
Cutoff my enemies Lord
I fear for my life
In Christ is my strength
Use me to help the hurting
Showing my care for you to them
Walking in forgiveness and peace
Keep me focused on Your goals
My heart aches for your presence
I want to know you better Lord
You Lord are worthy of all praise
Honor and glory to You O Lord
Let my life reflect my love for You
I desire to study Your Word
Jesus is my life
Knowing it will soon be done
So many to be won
Help me hurry Lord
That no one perish without You
Clay Corvin 11/25/17 Jerusalem
Israel Pilgrimage – Thursday/Friday 11/23 & 24/2017
Two fast paced hectic days. Thursday was spent in and around the Old City all day.