March 25, 2007/Sunday
9:58pm EET (Tiberias)
It was another full day. I am tired. I didn’t sleep much last night. We got up this morning at 6:00am. That is just simply ungodly. I hate getting up that early. I feel like I wake God up when I get up before 7:00am.
We headed into the Golan Heights. It is the northeastern part of Israel. It is where Mt. Herman is. You can ski there. I wish I could have. The group that I am with isn’t much for skiing. It is also against the Syrian border. We stood at the border and looked at a UN encampment. UN stands for a waste of good tax dollars given to a group of people who don’t really do anything or enforce any agreements. I know that seems like a lot of words for two letters. It must be French, which stands for a country that exists for no apparent reason except to back out of every incident possible. Once again that is a long definition. Trust me I know several languages. This is correct.
While in the Golan Heights, we went through Kiriat Shmone and Rosh Pinna. Both of these cities were the ones targeted by the Lebanese missiles just months ago. That was really cool.
We went to Caesarea Philippi today. It is the place where Jesus spoke to Peter about building the church upon the rock. It is a beautiful place. The Bannias Springs are located here. This spring feeds the Jordan River. It is one of three that do.
From Caesarea Philippi, we traveled back south to the Galilee area. There we ate Peter’s Fish. It is the original tilapia. Tilapia is indigenous to this area. It has only been farmed in other places in the last years. It is the fish that is noted in Scripture when Jesus tells Peter to get a fish from the Sea of Galilee and in it’s mouth he will find a shekel to pay the taxes. I love the way they cook it, at least the way it tastes. They cook it with the head on it.
After eating lunch, we went to Tabgha, Magdila (Mary Magdalene’s hometown), the Mount of Beatitudes, Capernaum, and other places. We saw where Jesus fed the 5000. We saw the steps where Jesus and the disciples would have walked up from the boats into Capernaum. We saw Peter’s house, where Jesus would have stayed. We saw so much it is hard to mention everything. We also went to the Jordan River where some of the people in our group were baptized. I got in and baptized Dave Roesler. The water was freeeeeezing.
We ended the day shopping. I got an artifact from the Herodian Period. It is an oil lamp. It is a pottery piece that was carried for light. I guess you could say that it is the predecessor of the flashlight.
One of the coolest historical things I heard today was about a man named Eli Cohen. I hope I get this right. He was a Jew from Egypt who ended up working in Israel. He was fired for some reason and couldn’t get a job. I think he was being forced out or maybe they were putting pressure on him for some reason. The government ended working a deal with him to train him as a spy. They trained him in the Islamic Faith. They sent him to Argentina where he befriended a man there who was Syrian. This man became the President of Syria. The President brought this guy back as a trusted man and gave him a position.
Eli Cohen began to work with the army of Syria. This was before 1967 (I believe this date is correct) when Syria possessed the Golan Heights. He instructed the Syrians to plant Eucalyptus Trees near the army posts so that they would have shade. He was also telling the Israelis that wherever they saw Eucalyptus trees there was an army base. Eucalyptus trees were not present here. They really stick out. This aided the Israelis in air attacks. They ended up taking possession of the Golan Heights.
Eli Cohen was hanged in Syria. He spent the remaining days of his life in prison there before his execution. I think this is a great story.
Today, we drove through this area. There are a lot of full grown Eucalyptus trees.
I love being here in Israel. I think I could live here. I’d have to brush up on my Hebrew, a lot. I can only read some biblical Hebrew. But, I feel at home here. The land is so beautiful and fertile. They can grow anything. It is a self-sustaining land.
I am praying for some real answers while I am here. I have been doing ministry for almost fifteen years. I have been in and out of churches for a long time. I now find myself asking some serious questions. Questions like, “If God healed people then, why not now?” Believe me I know the standard answers to this questions. So, please don’t feel it your responsibility to e-mail me yours. I have studied it. I am simply asking why it isn’t happening today. I think I know. All I will reveal is that the church is not the same church as when it began. God is the same God however.
There is more to God than our books tell us. There is more to God than a denomination can explain. He is bigger than our figuring and thinking. He said it Himself, “His ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts than our thoughts.” I guess that is what makes him God isn’t it?
9:58pm EET (Tiberias)
It was another full day. I am tired. I didn’t sleep much last night. We got up this morning at 6:00am. That is just simply ungodly. I hate getting up that early. I feel like I wake God up when I get up before 7:00am.
We headed into the Golan Heights. It is the northeastern part of Israel. It is where Mt. Herman is. You can ski there. I wish I could have. The group that I am with isn’t much for skiing. It is also against the Syrian border. We stood at the border and looked at a UN encampment. UN stands for a waste of good tax dollars given to a group of people who don’t really do anything or enforce any agreements. I know that seems like a lot of words for two letters. It must be French, which stands for a country that exists for no apparent reason except to back out of every incident possible. Once again that is a long definition. Trust me I know several languages. This is correct.
While in the Golan Heights, we went through Kiriat Shmone and Rosh Pinna. Both of these cities were the ones targeted by the Lebanese missiles just months ago. That was really cool.
We went to Caesarea Philippi today. It is the place where Jesus spoke to Peter about building the church upon the rock. It is a beautiful place. The Bannias Springs are located here. This spring feeds the Jordan River. It is one of three that do.
From Caesarea Philippi, we traveled back south to the Galilee area. There we ate Peter’s Fish. It is the original tilapia. Tilapia is indigenous to this area. It has only been farmed in other places in the last years. It is the fish that is noted in Scripture when Jesus tells Peter to get a fish from the Sea of Galilee and in it’s mouth he will find a shekel to pay the taxes. I love the way they cook it, at least the way it tastes. They cook it with the head on it.
After eating lunch, we went to Tabgha, Magdila (Mary Magdalene’s hometown), the Mount of Beatitudes, Capernaum, and other places. We saw where Jesus fed the 5000. We saw the steps where Jesus and the disciples would have walked up from the boats into Capernaum. We saw Peter’s house, where Jesus would have stayed. We saw so much it is hard to mention everything. We also went to the Jordan River where some of the people in our group were baptized. I got in and baptized Dave Roesler. The water was freeeeeezing.
We ended the day shopping. I got an artifact from the Herodian Period. It is an oil lamp. It is a pottery piece that was carried for light. I guess you could say that it is the predecessor of the flashlight.
One of the coolest historical things I heard today was about a man named Eli Cohen. I hope I get this right. He was a Jew from Egypt who ended up working in Israel. He was fired for some reason and couldn’t get a job. I think he was being forced out or maybe they were putting pressure on him for some reason. The government ended working a deal with him to train him as a spy. They trained him in the Islamic Faith. They sent him to Argentina where he befriended a man there who was Syrian. This man became the President of Syria. The President brought this guy back as a trusted man and gave him a position.
Eli Cohen began to work with the army of Syria. This was before 1967 (I believe this date is correct) when Syria possessed the Golan Heights. He instructed the Syrians to plant Eucalyptus Trees near the army posts so that they would have shade. He was also telling the Israelis that wherever they saw Eucalyptus trees there was an army base. Eucalyptus trees were not present here. They really stick out. This aided the Israelis in air attacks. They ended up taking possession of the Golan Heights.
Eli Cohen was hanged in Syria. He spent the remaining days of his life in prison there before his execution. I think this is a great story.
Today, we drove through this area. There are a lot of full grown Eucalyptus trees.
I love being here in Israel. I think I could live here. I’d have to brush up on my Hebrew, a lot. I can only read some biblical Hebrew. But, I feel at home here. The land is so beautiful and fertile. They can grow anything. It is a self-sustaining land.
I am praying for some real answers while I am here. I have been doing ministry for almost fifteen years. I have been in and out of churches for a long time. I now find myself asking some serious questions. Questions like, “If God healed people then, why not now?” Believe me I know the standard answers to this questions. So, please don’t feel it your responsibility to e-mail me yours. I have studied it. I am simply asking why it isn’t happening today. I think I know. All I will reveal is that the church is not the same church as when it began. God is the same God however.
There is more to God than our books tell us. There is more to God than a denomination can explain. He is bigger than our figuring and thinking. He said it Himself, “His ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts than our thoughts.” I guess that is what makes him God isn’t it?
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