Israel Study Tour - Scott Heare

March 19 - April 2, 2015

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Wonder

What do you wonder?

Kids intuitively do this. They ask questions about everything and are in awe of the ordinary. Some day when life’s ambiguities become reality, we lose our wonder. We who want finite answers and pay bills and see the challenges of life forget how to wonder.

Jesus tells us to have faith like a child. So we must reclaim our wonder. We must see the world through their eyes. But how do we wonder and see the beauty of God in the midst of such tragedy as we climb Masada? As we wheeze and struggle up the mountain?

We’re only a half-mile up and we look around and see the desert filled with grass and flowers. An occurrence that Scott has never seen in all his years in Israel.

I wonder why God brings green and flowers to the desert? I wonder what this means in my life? For my life? I wonder what this means to the Israelis?

Our group stretches out over the steep, rocky path and I find that if I look to the sky and see where I must go, I can’t go any further. Instead, I look at the path below my feet and to the heels of the pilgrim ahead of me and take just one step until it’s time to rest. The pilgrim behind me looks to my heels and the person behind them to their heels. And we all follow the path of the Rabbi. But if I decide to take my own path instead of the Rabbi’s then those following behind me are led astray by my own selfishness and rebellion.

Remind me of this with every decision
Generations will reap what I sow
I can pass on a curse or a blessing
To those I will never know
(Generations, Sarah Groves)

Abraham planted a Tamarisk tree as a sign of a covenant he made that would last for generations to come.

Abram was promised eternal life for his generations when he looked to the heavens. He believed the Lord and passed on a blessing to those he would never know. But he wondered, “how will I know this will come to pass years after I am gone?” So God made a covenant with Abram. In this graphically beautiful ceremony found in Exodus 15, we see God promise “may it be done to me as was done to these animals should I break my covenant.” But in God’s wisdom & love He will not allow Abram to make the same promise he nor his descendants can ever keep. And so Christ walks the blood path and makes covenant with God for the impossible promise.

I wonder if on that day Jesus vividly saw what this covenant would cost Him?

So we rest tonight grateful for all of those who have passed on a blessing of faith, hope, and the opportunity to walk the ancient paths. Who have faithfully followed the path of the Rabbi and not led us astray. And we commit to the responsibility of leading those who are following behind.

Remind me of this with every decision
Generations will reap what I sow
I can pass on a curse or a blessing
To those I will never know
(Generations, Sarah Groves)

On a personal note, my deepest gratitude for those who have made this trip possible and who have deeply impacted my faith journey. To Chris, thank you. I love you and miss you more than you know. To my parents, I’m perfectly safe unless you consider the leopard…

Danielle Lair
From Memphis, TN - Children's Pastor

Masada

The summit of Masada sits 190 feet (59 m) above sea level and about 1,500 feet (470 m) above the level of the Dead Sea. The mountain itself is 1950 feet (610 m) long, 650 feet (200 m) wide, 4,250 feet (1330 m) in circumference, and encompasses 23 acres. The “Snake Path” climbs 900 feet (280 m) in elevation. From the west, the difference in height is 225 feet (70 m).

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