His works are real

Friends and Family, Carson here:

As I write this (just to set the scene and maybe provoke some jealousy), I am sitting on my porch watching the sun set over the Golan Heights, the city of Tiberias, Mount Arbel and the Sea of Galilee. I’ll let that sink for you in the same way I am attempting to grasp it in this very moment.

I would like to start off by sharing a little bit about my experience thus far as a whole. I came to Israel preparing myself to uncontrollably weep at each site we went to. I was expecting these stories I have read for so many years to somehow supernaturally come to life. At one of the first sites, I was staring at the Elah Valley: where David defeated Goliath. This is the exact spot where the Philistines were defeated by the Israelite army: the victory that was catalyzed by the faith of a young shepherd boy. The culmination of the trip in my eyes was upon us and my mind was completely blank. I had no feeling of insane devotion or complete awe, but just the realness of the valley and the mountains.
This frustrated me early on. Why am I not on my knees face down in front of a spot where my God worked so mightily? Then it hit me: it was THE REALNESS that makes it so special. God wasn’t bringing these “real” (or what I thought was real) stories in my head to a supernatural, spiritual high where I would FEEL. Instead it was taking the stories I learned as a child, and honestly have equated with bedtime stories, and turning it into a very “real” and true light. God doesn’t just work in Israel or in the Elah Valley. He works all over, and His works are real. Yes they are supernatural and incredibly powerful, but I do not need to feel a certain way for God to be moving. For this I am thankful.

Now, join me as take a look back at our day.

Day 5 has now come and gone, and man was it a BIG day. It was filled with biblical sites, ancient ruins, recreated first-century cities, a few bus rides and life changing declarations. I would just like to list off the places we went (have fun wrapping your mind around this):

We started at Capernaum, that has been dubbed “The Town of Jesus,” where we saw many potential sites of Jesus’ teachings where he walked, and even where He might have lived. Then we ventured to Qatzrin, which is a recreated 1st century city to get a better understanding of what Capernaum might have looked like during the 1st century. After that, we traveled to Bethsaida, which is another one of Jesus’ triangle cities where He would have spent a lot of time teaching, performing miracles and calling people to His kingdom. We ended the day of traveling at the Jordan River, where we watched some of our brothers and sisters declare their dedication of their faith that have been living out for some time now.

Although each site was truly incredible and REAL (if you will), I would like to focus on two sites in particular: Capernaum and its lessons to us, and the Jordan River baptisms.

Capernaum, the city of Jesus, was truly beautiful at 8:00 in morning. The architecture of the 3rd century limestone built upon the 1st century basalt foundations is truly a masterpiece. Matt Lantz challenged us with his thesis for the site: “What is the object of your faith?” and “The object of your faith changes everything.”

As we are sitting in the synagogue in Capernaum on the Sabbath reading in Mark 1 about Jesus sitting in the synagogue in Capernaum on the Sabbath, we came to a few conclusions after Matt’s lesson: The object of our faith changes everything, has a direct impact of our quality of life, and it determines the extent of our fellowship. Needless to say that it cleared some things up, but provoked more introspective questions in us all.

The Jordan River was incredible. Now, the river itself was not exactly a phenomenon. It was about 20 yards wide, it was brown, the bottom was very muddy and rocky, and it really isn’t much to look at (sorry for all of you who have the “mighty Jordan river” picture in your heads). This being said, the fact that Jesus was baptized in this river made it so much sweeter watching some of my brothers and sisters declare their devotion to faith in the same waters. Our time spent on the banks was filled with people crying tears of joy and hugging one another in celebration because of the declarations that were made in those waters. It was truly a gift.

Needless to say, our BIG days are also long days. While our bodies are adjusting to the time change, the amount of work we are doing is taking a toll on some of the group. If y’all would pray for safety, energy, and a brain that would soak in as much of this trip as possible, that would be much appreciated!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and be a part of our lives. It is truly a blessing to get to share our experiences with people who care.

Much love,

Carson Wilder