Worshiping With A Whole Heart

A beautiful morning before boarding the boat.

            My husband and I are forever changed after our recent trip to Israel.  When we share about the events of our fifth day there, we get emotionally charged.  Our morning started out sunny, with clear, blue skies.  We boarded the boat, “Faith,” for a ride to the center of the Sea of Galilee.  It was smooth and enjoyable.  We sang the Star Spangled Banner followed by the Israel National Anthem: HaTikvah ("The Hope") with the raising of both flags.   

Clouds in this direction, but nothing threatening!

           Once anchored, we participated in an amazing worship service.  Our Captain, Daniel, a Messianic Jew, shared his testimony and music!  The youth of our group led in more singing, inviting the Spirit of the Lord to reach down and touch us.  One of the songs we sang included, “Let It Rain,” a request for spiritual rain from God.   Pastor Kevin gave the message from Mark 4, where Jesus calmed the raging waters by simply speaking the words when the disciples feared for their lives.  When Pastor Kevin was nearly finished, raising his hands he said something to the effect of, “Lord, let it rain!”

Raising of the flags

                                                                                                                                                                           

From the boat ..looking at the shore

Near the center of the Sea of Galilee

                                                                                                                                                                                             Moments later, drops of rain fell from the sky.  Before long it wasn't just raining, it was pouring.  There was little space on the boat in which to stay dry, which meant every person there got soaked.  It was wonderful!  It rained so hard, the contents in my husband’s wallet were wet!  Everyone rejoiced.  Understand, this is not normal!  As I mentioned in my first blog, this was a miracle.  It does not rain in mid-May in Israel!  Rain is nearly finished the end of February with a stray shower or so in early March.  What a wonder! What a gift!                                                                                              

Actual restored boat from the time of Jesus

                                                                                   Once we got off the boat on the other side of the Sea of Galilee from where we boarded, we were treated to seeing a restored boat from the time of Jesus in the museum.  It’s amazing to know we actually saw a boat Jesus probably would have been familiar with while he walked the shores of the Sea of Galilee!  After this, since everyone needed dry clothes from the rainstorm, we retreated back to our hotel to change and then we were off again!

 

           

              Our emotions were again raised a level when we visited Capernaum.  This is the city where Jesus lived, called his first disciples and began preaching.  It was here he healed the Centurion’s daughter, and the paralytic that was lowered through the roof of one of the houses.  It was also here, in the synagogue, that Jesus drove out an evil spirit and where he declared he was the “Bread of Life.”  Standing in the synagogue where Jesus taught gives rise to goose                                                                                                       bumps….or better known as “Jesus  or                                                                                                     Holy Spirit bumps!”  

Synagogue where Jesus taught

 

             

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   We continued our journey to Bethsaida which is near Capernaum.  It is here where Philip, Andrew and Peter were probably born.  It was here, Simon Peter’s mother-in-law was healed from a fever. We again had Bible study time and then had time to reflect on where we were, who changed the course of history in this place, and commune with our Savior one on one in private time.

Area of Bethsaida

            Our minister asked not long ago, “How do you worship?”   I suggest how we worship is directly related to the condition of our heart, dictating our response and what we are able to receive in return.

           Our worship service on the Sea of Galilee was incredible!  God gave us an amazing miracle of rain; a storm, no less!  In Capernaum Jesus performed miracles of healing and provided demonstrations that he was the true Son of God while the Centurion showed faith beyond what Jesus had been witnessing among the people.  And in Bethsaida, Jesus again, healed the sick. 

Do we enter worship with the expectation of a miracle?  Or, do we “perform” worship out of habit or tradition?  Do we feel the spirit “rain” and flood into our souls?  God wants us to know the real, vibrant God he is.  That can only happen, however, when we come to Him with a heart full of love, expectation, celebration and joy.

I Serve an Awesome God

The fourth day of our trip to Israel was exhilarating, as well as, sobering. We visited the Tel Dan Conservatory where we witnessed the beauty of God's Creation when adequate nourishment and water abounds.  Flowing streams, green trees and beautifully colored bushes and flowers greeted us on either side of the path as we made our way over rocks and bridges which finally led us to the place in the ancient city of Dan where Aaron erected the golden calf as a god for worship.

Tel Dan Conservatory

Water running along the walk way!

Bushes and flowers along our path!

This is the area Aaron sacrificed the Golden Calf

 

An area of the city of Dan

Area of sacrifices to the god, Pan in Caesarea Phillipi

 Add to this the visit to Caesarea Philippi, a city built on top of a massive rock structure towering over 100 feet, where the  false god Pan was worshipped, and I can't help wondering how people could be so deceived.  This area gave me chills.  We saw where parents sacrificed their children in an attempt to please this false god, as well as other gods worshipped in that time.

Area of Caesarea Phillipi

The area of sacrifices to the god of Pan in Caesarea Phillipi

      Yet, the Bible indicates it was just outside Caesarea Philippi Jesus asked Peter, "Who do people say that I am?"  And ultimately this is the place where Peter was given the name "Rock" and told that Christ's church would be built on him.   Matthew 16:13-18  When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"  They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"  Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.  And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

What was amazing here also included the knowledge that we walked where Abraham walked!  The gate which has only been excavated and restored since 2004, would have been the gate Abraham entered into the city of Dan when he rescued his nephew Lot.   

You have this horrible evil  of child sacrifice to false gods on one hand; but because God is sovereign and rules, God used Caesarea Phillipi to demonstrate that He is greater than any rock or god we, as humans, can conjure up in our minds!  And Aaron's golden calf was destroyed and God again was proved to be the only God to be served and offered forgiveness for those who would choose to repent.  

For each case, there was something horrible, yet we can see another side, because God demonstrated something good.  Near the area around where the people worshipped a golden calf, we have Abraham's gate.  Abraham was godly man, whose faith pleased God.    Near Caesarea Phillipi we have God's demonstration of his strength through Peter as the Rock.  God can take something very awful and make something beautiful.    This also applies to our lives.  He has a way of using disappointments and the bad things of life to show his power, mercy and amazing love. 

I serve an awesome and powerful God.  He cares about every part of my life and every person in it, as well as your life and the people you know and love.  Does he rule in your life?   Do you see his power demonstrated every day?

Fighting For Christ

Monument to the soldiers killed at Biet Lid

Day three of our trip was as amazing as the previous two.  We started at Biet Lid where a Palestinian suicide bomber, disguised as an Israeli soldier, took the lives of twenty Israeli soldiers and one civilian while waiting at a bus stop in 1995. We continued our drive up Carmel Mountain to a Druze village where we met the parents of one of the soldiers killed and enjoyed a meal in their home and visited the area where Elijah stood as a strong man of God against 450 prophets of Baal.  We also visited an army base that welcomed us and shared their story of how important it is to protect Israel’s borders. 

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Monument of Elijah on top of Mt. Carmel

Two views from the top of
Mt. Carmel

          

                     Additionally, a visit to King Herod’s castle in Caesarea Maritime, unearthed by archeologists in the early 1990’s, proved King Herod’s incredible intelligence!   It’s my understanding he would have had the equivalent of an engineering degree!  (I will admit it never occurred to me “degrees” were given that far back in history!  For some reason, I associated that with a much later time period, even though I knew men studied and were educated!)  I was fascinated by the king’s eighteen foot deep, Olympic size pool, as well as, the aqua duct he designed that allowed fresh water from nearly ten miles away to flow into the city.  Additionally he had constructed a theater accommodating 3,500 people, and a Hippodrome which was an arena used for chariot races and his version of the “Olympic Games.”  This is also the place where Paul tried to reason with the king, requesting an appeal to Caesar while pleading his case as both a Roman and a Jew, after being accused of desecrating the temple. 

A section of King Herod's palace grounds

Theater

Remains of King Herod's pool

Hippodrome

            What strikes me about this particular day is recognizing how Paul tried to reason with the king for his life because there were those who disagreed with his message of Christ.  There were those who would take extreme measures to see Paul imprisoned, or worse, if possible, even killed.   We have Elijah who proves his God is the God of Israel when challenged against Baal, a false god, who many at the time, chose to believe.  Add this to the suicide bomber taking the life of others  because he didn’t agree that Jews are the chosen people of God and decided he had the right to choose who would live or die, including himself.  And then there is Herod who wants to make his mark in history by using his excessive wealth and power, even building his version of an Olympic stadium for games for gladiators and chariot races, which set the stage for a fight to the finish often causing death of one of the competitors at the hands of another, in this case as a form of entertainment.  Sound familiar?  

God’s people want our world to go back to being a God fearing country, while there are those who would choose to demoralize our world to the point of non-recognition! We have those who choose to kill out of hate, or choose to steal our rights as Christians to pray or worship via the court system; and others who choose to make their mark like Herod with wealth, who because of their political or Hollywood status, degrade, demoralize and attempt to disintegrate all that is good and holy.  Christianity is fighting for its life and if we as God’s people don’t stand up for what is right, Satan’s foothold is going to entrap more and more.

Aqua Duct

Another section of the Palace grounds

We have many “Herod’s” in our world, much hate and many who are so hardened to God’s word and love they choose to follow the evil spirits and principalities of the underworld.  Are we ready to fight for Christ?  Paul stood up for the God he called his own.  Elijah stood tall for God against a mighty force of unbelievers.  The Israeli soldier stood up for his country and as the chosen people of God.  Should we not follow these examples?  Should we not be so deep into God’s word and strong in our beliefs that when the world tremors and shakes all around us, we stand strong regardless of the earth quaking beneath our feet?