Indescribable.

July 3

Wow. I really don’t know how I’m going to remember everything that I want to, but I guess I’ll give it a try!!

First, we went to Golan. The Golan Heights were amazing!! It was so close to the Syrian border, you could see it! We got to pass old Syrian barracks and you could see a whole range of volcanoes. It was absolutely gorgeous. We were able to go up Mount Gamla, where people used to live and hike all the way down (and back up again!). It was really cool though because we were able to go to an old synagogue where there’s a good chance that Yeshua would have preached there! How crazy is that?! Anyway, it was awesome to be able to see and learn about so much history!

After we eventually made it back up the trail, we got back on the bus and headed to the Valley of Tears. This place was another amazing place. We were about 40 minutes away from Damascus on the border of Syria. (All the signs that said “Danger, Land Mines!” was pretty freaky!) It was really nice weather up there, being like 4,000 feet off of sea level! But I got to learn so much at this memorial about what the Israelis had to go through. I mean, they were attacked on the most important holiday, Yom Kippur and by the end of the war they only had about 2 tanks left! But the important thing is, is that now that border is the quietest one! We got to meet Israeli soldiers and get pictures with them which was really cool, because this is a good army!  I mean, the guys have to be in the army for three years and the girls for two. You better believe they are trained well!

From there we went to Caesarea Philippi which was a really interesting place. This is a place where they worshiped Pan, the god of shepherds, flocks and forests. It was a place that couldn’t be bypassed because of its water. This is also the place where in Matthew 16, where Yeshua asked His disciples who they thought He was and Peter answered, “The Messiah, Son of the LIVING God.” Oh, death, where is your sting?! Our God is living and will always answer, unlike all of the gods of the pagans. Death will never be able to conquer our living God. In this passage, Yeshua blesses Peter for proclaiming Him to be the Messiah. So, there is no way that Yeshua could only be a good teacher. He claimed to be the Messiah! This means that He was either a liar, a lunatic or Lord. And I believe the Bible is true, Words of our living God, which means, Yeshua IS the Lord our Messiah.

Anyway, it was a super cool place to explore. (Remember, all my pictures are up on facebook!)

After we finished there, went to Tel Dan Natural Reserve. Awesome place. Again, all the pictures are up. Here is the place where Jereboam makes golden calves into his own religion and brings his kingdom with him. It’s just crazy to think about because in the story, God PROMISES Jereboam that if he follows Him, He will make a dynasty for him! And yet, Jereboam forgets to fear God and instead fears man. He was afraid that if he let his people go to Jerusalem which was in the southern kingdom, he would lose them! So, he made other places of worship so they wouldn’t have to leave. He feared man more than God and that is what can cause you to fall into sin. It’s so easy to judge Jereboam, but how often do we do this in our own lives? I mean, I am a huge people pleaser. I will do anything to make other people happy and sometimes I give in too quickly to please man despite the promises that God has made me. It’s as if I don’t trust God to keep his promises and I try to control it myself by pleasing man instead of God.

We talked more about this in devotions tonight when we read more into Philippians chapter two. Hannah gave a good analogy about fearing God that really helped me to understand it more. She said at work, her boss came in. As soon as the big man came through the door all the workers went on their A-game. That is what it is like to fear God. It doesn’t mean cowering in the corner with fear. It means, trying your best to obey Him at all times, because He is always with you. He is always there. You can’t hide from Him. And this type of fear is a GOOD thing! Just like you fear your father. It’s a matter of respect. People nowadays, are very disrespectful toward people. Our God deserves our respect. We must be working in our salvation. God has given us a wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us. We are partners! We need to work together. We can’t just sit around and wait for the Holy Spirit to just DO something within us. We have to work together!

But anyway, after we got back to the hotel, we were able to swim in the Sea of Galilee which was AWESOME. I mean, to think that Yeshua was in this same lake… He walked on water here! It’s crazy to think that I was there!!

Today, the song “Indescribable” by Chris Tomlin has been running through my mind because I was thinking about how to describe this trip, and that’s all I could come up with. My God is indescribable. He is too great for our words to describe. His creation is indescribably beautiful. God is indescribably gracious as He knows the depths of my wicked heart, yet He loves me the same. There are no words to describe what I’m feeling right now. This joy that is in my heart. This love for my Savior. He is so gracious and yet so powerful. He is merciful and just. He is PERFECT. His love for us is perfect. Everything about Him is perfect. And it is just so indescribable that such a wonderful God could care so much about sinful people like us. Praise be to God.

PS.

If you could shoot out a quick prayer for me, I think I am getting a bit of a cold. I just started getting a runny nose and it’s not a big deal, but it’s just a little bit annoying having to worry about it. Thanks!