God is Good.

July 2

First of all, look at the view from my room!!! This is so beautiful and exciting, I just want to scream and dance. I mean, this is the Sea of Galilee! Yeshua saw this SAME sea. This same view. This same sunset. I am in absolute awe. I mean, I’ve been in awe all day so it’s nothing new, but wow. I am pretty excited. We get to stay here for three nights!!

So, the first place we went to was Mount Carmel which was really exciting. We focused on the fact that this is where Elijah’s contest with the prophets of Baal occurred. What a powerful God we have, right? This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible because it really goes to show who our God is. He will answer us when we call, unlike any other idol we may have in our lives. The view was breathtaking. I mean, I really don’t know what else to say. To be able to see all of these things and know exactly where I am just really puts the Bible into a whole new perspective. We were also able to see some cool mountains such as Mount Tabor and Mount Gilboa.

From Mount Carmel we went to Megiddo. Megiddo is just an amazing place in general, let alone how important this place has been in the past, present and future! This is where Josiah was killed and where many battles have taken place and it’s right on the south edge of the Jezreel Valley. We also read Revelation 16:13-16 and Joel Chapter 3 because this is where the battle of Armageddon will be fought! It’s just amazing to think that the next time I’m at this place might be when Yeshua returns! We also talked about how God is preparing an ultimate judgment for all of the nations because at that point, all of the nations will be against Israel. God keeps His promises and He promised Israel that He will bless those who bless them and curse those who curse them. This covenant still goes on today, and that is why we can only pray that America keeps supporting Israel!

From Megiddo we went to Nazareth. Nazareth was a really awesome place because it really put into perspective… this is where Yeshua grew up!! I mean, it is so much hillier than I expected… He must have had pretty strong legs walking up and down all those hills every day! We were able to go to a place called Nazareth Village which brought to life a Galilean village so that we could really see what it may have looked like in Yeshua’s time. This was also where Yeshua preached his first sermon from Isaiah and the people in the synagogue tried to throw Him off a cliff!! Crazy stuff.

From Nazareth we went to Cana. Cana is an awesome place because this is where Yeshua’s first miracle of changing water into wine took place. Chris talked about this more in depth and I realized some things I never thought before!! Now it doesn’t matter if you believe if it was real wine or if it was non-alcoholic or if it was grape juice. Whatever. I mean, I personally believe it was real wine but I’m not going to get into some big debate over it. But anyway, Yeshua made the BEST wine. The host came back and said, “You saved the best wine for last! No one does that!” I mean, this was THE best. It was a HUGE miracle!! Chris made a wonderful point also, that I had never thought about before that, Yeshua’s grace is abundant. Meaning, there is BOTH quantity and quality. We don’t have to pick and choose like we do in America! His grace is abundant in quantity AND quality! It never runs out and it is the best thing you can have. 

But yes, if you want more details, I posted pictures and descriptions on my facebook page, so you can check them out if you desire.

This trip has made me realize so many things about God. I mean, I already knew these things about God, but sometimes you just need a wake up call! When I got back to the hotel, after getting settled in and eating dinner, I went out to the sea and read the last few chapters of Job. Where God is challenging Job with questions about Himself. God is POWERFUL. And that is so clear here!! Everything here has a purpose and everything I see and breathe and hear… its all evidence of His holiness and power! I don’t have a right to question God about anything, because He IS.

Which brings me to my next point. Some tough things have been happening to some of the team. Really tough things. But one thing I have learned is, God is good. No matter what disasters come our way, God is good. We can’t forget that. Being here is a beautiful blessing and all I can do is thank God over and over again. But sometimes it can be hard to thank Him when things aren’t so beautiful. It can be easy to question Him. But the fact is, you may never know why. But one thing you can know is, God is good.

We also read some into Philippians, more into chapter 2… which is also one of my favorite passages of the Bible. It continues to talk about the humility of Christ. We talked about what humility is exactly. Humility is knowing yourself and knowing that you are below God. That is not to say that you have to wear a “kick me” sign on your back. Not at all. But humility is SUBMITTING yourself. Not being in control of your own self because you are holding nothing back. You are a bondservant to Christ. Yeshua knew humility all too well. He put aside His Godly privileges to become fully man while remaining fully God. I may never understand how it works, but I have faith that this is true. Yeshua knew humility more than anyone else because He died a torturous death for me and you. Am I willing to die a torturous death for Christ? Am I? It’s something I don’t like thinking about. But that is humility. That is how we all become a true humble servant of God. And God deserves are humbleness. God is good.