Israel Conclusion

As I move back to my blog, I apologize for not updating when I said I would. Before I move on to topics that I have definitely been running around in my head, I wanted to bring to conclusion my experiences in Israel.

The trip was amazing simply said. God definitely rocked my world in a whole ‘nother way then expected. My outlook in going to Israel leading up to the trip was of not wanting to go, thinking that going would be pointless, wanting just to do evangelism and that’s it, wonder of why we were spending so much money to go to just another place that sure Jesus was at one time but isn’t anymore and why the place is of real significance other than historically. Needless to say I was brought to my knees and changed.

As I look over the last couple of months and look at my time in Israel, I would say I learned 2 major things: 1) How much pride I had and we (mostly) as Gentiles have in connection with Jews and God’s promises and 2) How we (mostly) as Gentiles really have a completely different perspective on God compared to the Jews.

First, in a capturing moment I express what I learned about pride and God’s promises with this picture. Standing in one of the first church buildings built in the city of Jerusalem and looking up to the stain glass windows and seeing a picture of an olive tree with branches cut off and on the ground while some other deformed random branches are put in their place upon the tree. This is the image of Romans 11. If I dare look as a random deformed branch upon the branches lying on the ground with contempt how arrogant and evil that is.

Secondly, I give you the picture of being able to take part within a Shabbat meal, Friday night meal starting the Sabbath day of rest, with believers. This meal basically was conducted like the Passover meal with tradition, scripture reading, imagery, and contemplation. I was changed though not through the food or the tradition but through how they referred to God and the prayer at the end. Whenever there would be a prayer within the meal, it would always start with, “Blessed are you God, King of the Universe, who has…” This view of God is completely contrary to most of us. The other thing was how at the end of the meal the leader conducting everything basically said this (roughly). “If you are a good Christian you would have noticed that we never prayed for God to bless this food for us. This is because in Jewish tradition you always thank God for the food that you received after you eat of it. That way you can thank God for the blessing and nourishment that He gave you. You can experience firsthand the blessings of God within the food’s tastes, smells, delights, satisfaction, etc. and then proceed to thank Him for it.” This is something that Becca and I have definitely incorporated into our lives this perspective of prayer after a meal from what I learned in that time.

If you are really hard core and what to know what we really did each day and other things learned then you can download my journal that I turned in for the class. You can download it HERE.

In Israel...Day 1

Well my trip to Israel has been interesting to say the least. Coming here I was my unadventurous, non-excitable self...however God is a lot bigger than me, thankfully. The flights out here were great - I got to read, sleep, talk to some people, eat some lamb, and walk out the tail end of the airplane onto steps in 35 degree weather. We flew into Tel-Aviv (the city where Israel parties - oddly enough) around 2:30pm Israeli time (which would be about 6:30am central time). We then had one of our team members get intensely questioned by the Israeli customs and once she got out and our team got together we discovered that our bags didn't make it to Tel-Aviv...they were still in Frankfurt, Germany and the next flight was @ 3am the next morning. So, all that to say it was good, but a little rough as a start.

Today was full of a lot of walking (which we will be doing a lot of in the next two weeks) and learning. We walked along the wall of the city of Jerusalem, passed through the Dung Gate and spent most of our time on top of, around, and under the city of David. We saw the excavation of David's Palace, we saw some of the houses that were built onto the side of the support for David's palace, and went underneath it to see Hezekiah's tunnel, the Gihon spring (which I drank some water from), and Warren's shaft (which was the shaft that Joab climbed up in order for David's army to take over the Jebusite city (where the city of David was/is)). We then went to where the King's tombs were within the city of David. We then went around to the pool of Siloam where Jesus healed the man born blind....we got to sit on the actual steps and see 2 of the corners of the pool. This pool would have been like an Olympic size pool with stairs around it on all sides. We then got to go into a part that is being excavated that has not been opened to the public yet - it was a step-way leading from the pool of Siloam up to the Temple. From here we walked/hiked for a good while, and made our way to the Jewish quarter of Jersualem where we went to several museums in which we saw a "mansion" of the 1st century, the house of the priest burned by the Romans, and walked and saw a street that was around in Jesus' day.

Sorry for the quick information and for not being very detailed...but I just wanted to give you a glimpse into my perspective and attitude thus far... - I finished reading When I Relax I Feel Guilty by Tim Hansel on the plane ride (as stated earlier) and here are two quotes that have encompassed a lot of what I've been thinking.

-"Are there minutes in your day that you could convert into vacations? Are you still, maybe even unknowingly practicing being unhappy?"

- "Some of us spend more time analyzing life than we do living it. I need to remind you that joy is something you are."

I have not been my typical self and have actually had a playful, take every moment captive, adventurous attitude. Even when our luggage got lost it was a perfect time to see this as even more of an adventure. Sure, being in Jerusalem is an adventure, but it is only by God's grace that I am trying to see as much, do as much, enjoy as much, learn as much, and flat out experience as much as possible rather than being the guy with his head down, who's focused, uptight, and uneventful. All that to say, I am thoroughly enjoying myself, which I wouldn't have expected honestly, and am looking forward more and more to what God is going to teach me (it will be a lot I'm sure).

P.S. - FYI, we got our luggage tonight (only after 1 day/night of not having it) and it was amazing to take a shower and put on clean clothes. Oh the simple joys in life. GOD IS GOOD! :)

P.S. (2) - I just thought about something that one of my professors said when we were at David's Palace. He said, "David always expected adversity and was amazed and in wonder when God blessed him. The biggest difference between us and David is that we expect God's blessing and are surprised when adversity comes - it was exactly the opposite with David." I hope that encourages you and gives you some perspective in some way. God is faithful and good above all else.

For His Name's Sake.

Israel...Here I Come

So, as many of you know I will be heading to Israel tomorrow for a history and geography class as well as doing evangelism. This will probably be my main form of communication, so I look forward to updating it. Here is a quick overview of what the 14 days will consist of: Jan. 3 & 4 - will mainly consist of traveling and getting an overview of Jerusalem. Jan. 5 - will be filled with being in and around the city of David as well as visiting the "Burnt House" which was a the house of a priestly family that was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. Jan. 6 - We will be hiking and going to the garden of gethsemane and the mount of olives along with some places within Jerusalem. Jan. 7 - We will be spending most of the day on the temple mount. Jan. 8 - We will be going to the Israel museum as well as several schools in the area. Jan. 9 - We will be traveling to the supposed site of the upper room as well as having some free time. Jan. 10 - We will be traveling to where the first gentile Christians lived as well as going to Nazareth, Valley of Armageddon, and the Sea of Galilee. Jan. 11 - We will be going to the traditional site of the feeding of the 5000 as well as going to the Jordan river. Jan. 12 - We will be heading to the Dead Sea, Qumran (which is where the Dead Sea scrolls were found), and the Elah Valley (where David fought Goliath). Jan. 13 & 14 - We will be hanging around with Jewish believers, doing evangelism, and experiencing Israeli culture. Jan. 15 & 16 - We will be traveling, traveling, traveling - more books and airplanes :).

So, please be praying for opportunities, strength, stamina, humility, protection, and that the glory of the Lord would shine forth and his will be done.