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Israel Study Tour with Grace Central Coast
October 11-23, 2015
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Shabot Shalom!
Our Shabot started with our shabot dinner after sundown last evening. We sat as small families, sang some hymns, broke bread, and thanked God for His blessings.
In the morning, we truly walked… Where Jesus Walked. For three years Jesus centered His ministry in the area of Capernaum, where Peter lived. We sat in the synagogue of Chorazin. God calls us to repentence and to act on it, not just be comfortable in being saved. The majority of His miracles are recorded in this area. He healed the sick, cast out demons, taught in the synagogue, stood on the bema (raised spot in Tabernacle) and read Isaiah, saying in the Jewish way, I am the Messiah. Everything to give evidence that He worked through the power of His Father in Heaven.
Capernaum
Jesus made Capernaum his home during the years of his ministry: “Leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum” (Matt 4:13).
Peter, Andrew, James and John were fishermen living in the village. Matthew the tax collector also dwelt here.
Capernaum is one of the three cities cursed by Jesus for its lack of faith.
The Sermon on the Mount begins with the Beatitudes. Being there we could actually picture Jesus at the base of the Mount, speaking to thousands of people and beginning His sermon with, “Blessed are the poor in spirit (we realize we can’t earn our salvation) for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The Kingdom of Heaven was His message while He was here on this earth. He closed the Beatitudes with “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Mount of Beatitudes
The so-called “Sermon on the Mount” is recorded in Matthew 5-7 and Luke 6. The alleged discrepancy between Matthew’s version being on a hill and Luke’s being on a level place is easily reconciled with observation of many level places on the Galilean hillsides. Scripture gives no indication of the exact location of this event, but the Byzantines built a church to commemorate it at the bottom of the hill. Some of Napoleon’s men placed it on the nearby Arbel mountain.
We spent time on Mt. Arbel and talked about Jesus and how important prayer was to Him. He was God and yet He depended completely on the Father and the Power of the Holy Spirit. He emptied Himself and made Himself nothing (Phil. 2:6-8). Though He was God, as man He performed His miracles in the power of the Holy Spirit – the exact same power that we have. He took the time to find a secluded place, slipping away to pray. He even prayed all night before choosing His disciples. To us, five minutes a day in prayer is a struggle and we wonder why our spiritual life is so powerless. The challenge for us is to find that time and secluded place to spend time with God and fellowship with Him. Be open and honest with no secrets. If you don’t know what to say, be still and listen for His voice. But don’t miss that time with him.
Shabot Shalom
Dan and Robbin Mote
Mount Arbel
Mount Arbel (Hebrew: הר ארבל, Har Arbel) is a mountain in The Lower Galilee near Tiberias in Israel, with high cliffs, views of Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights, trails to a cave-fortress, and ruins of an ancient synagogue. Mt. Arbel sits across from Mount Nitai; their cliffs were created as a result of the Jordan Rift Valley and the geological faults that produced the valleys.
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