What do you have that I need?

Today we began in the Bet She’an National Park. Bet She’an means “house of quiet.” What a misnomer! This was the capital city of the Decapolis. They had everything a person could want - shopping, sports, education, theater, spas, good roads, philosophers, religion & more! The theater had 7000 seats and the stage was perfectly acoustical. BUT they did evil in the sight of the Lord. They were a polytheistic society. An earthquake destroyed the complex in 749.

We were reminded in Matthew 7:13-14 that wide is the gate that leads to destruction, and many find it, but narrow is the gate that leads to eternal life which few find. In the midst of their plenty, they did not see their need. We live in a modern day Bet She’an. As a disciple of Jesus we should be able to give an answer to the question: What do you have that I need?

We moved to Bet Alfa Antiquities Center and saw a film on the mosaic artistry that ancient synagogues used. Mosaic artists used 22 colors to make the floor in the ancient synagogue.

At Gilboa we learned the difference between Saul’s sins and David’s. Saul inquired of God once, grew impatient and called for a medium. David sought the Lord, but when he didn’t get an immediate response, he fasted & prayed. The difference? David had a broken and contrite spirit. The take away is that when God doesn’t speak back to you ... wait & keep inquiring. When scripture doesn’t answer you ... dance. The Lord has given you something you will need later.

At the Spring of Harold we learned the story of Gideon. Gideon was called by God to go against the Midianites, something he didn’t feel confident in doing. He felt that his clan was the weakest and that he was the least in his father’s house. Once again God shows us that He uses the smallest, weakest, most unsure so that God will get the glory. Gideon goes to Ein Harod and triumphs over the Midianites with only 300 men. The Lord gave Gideon the win! All the while the Lord was using the least and weakest.

Our last stop today was at Kursi. This was in the Gerasa region. Gerasa means “driven out ones” because there were 7 people groups drive from this region. This is also the supposed location of Jesus’ encounter with the Gerasene demoniac. After Jesus healed him he wanted to go with Jesus, but Jesus said no. He told him to go tell his family and friends what Jesus had done for him. So, what is it that you have that I need?

When we returned to our kibbutz, we were privileged to witness baptism of 3 of our sojourners. We are praising the Lord for their decisions. We also were offered the opportunity to participate in Mikveh and many did. What a blessed ending to a wonderful day!

Please continue to pray for our group. We have a growing number who are under the weather in a variety of ways. We are asking God to heal the sick/injured among us and to protect the remainder from illness or injury.