Covered in His Dust

Where did Jesus feed the five thousand? Where did He calm the storm or walk on water? Where was Jesus when He healed a blind man? These stories and SO MANY MORE are where we were today in the Galilee Region. But those miracles are not what today’s post will be about.

Today is about discipleship. So much of the lessons we learned today revolved around following the example of our Rabbi Jesus. This really began early in the morning while hiking up Mt Arbel. Now let me try to paint this picture: imagine 40 flights of stairs + a 30 degree incline ramp for a mile + another 20 flights of stairs + a rock climbing wall about 50 feet high + another 10 flights of stairs and occasional level patches just to help your lungs rest! THAT was Mt Arbel. But we made it to the top which was breath-taking! Looking from this mountaintop to see the beauty that the Father has created was worth the climb.

What’s most amazing is multiple times the gospels tell us that Jesus would retreat alone to a desolate place to pray, early in the morning or in the evening. Many scholars believe this mountain to be that place. This was the first example of modeling our life after Jesus. If prayer was of THIS high a value to our Rabbi Jesus, shouldn’t we also be pulling away to ‘a desolate place’ to pray to The Father?

Now after praying all the way down the mountain (look at the pictures of our descent to see why!) we made our way to three historical cities of extremely high significance. Capernaum, Chorazin, and Bethsaida form a near perfect triangle all within a few miles of each other. Within this triangle Jesus did 70% of His ministry. This is of high significance and for another time because this post is about discipleship.

Jesus calls His first disciples from this region saying “Come. Follow Me.” These young men, ordinary men, rejects and misfits, are called my Jesus because as a rabbi He believed these young men could be like Him and walk in His steps. To follow Him meant to be close. So close that you were literally covered by the dust from His sandals. Imagine how much you learn while walking and talking. How much you witnessed within these three cities. How much you learned to be like Him! Jesus’ footprints are ALL OVER these three cities and it was a gift to walk and learn from this land today.

Tomorrow’s another big day so we’d appreciate your prayers for rest and restoration as some people are feeling particularly tired and a little sick with sore throats. We are thankful for you all!