Day 07 - Decapolis: Galilee Boat Ride, Jezreel Valley, Ein Harod, Beth Shean, Susita

Ok people, picture this:  it’s the first stop of the day and you’re walking through some ruins, just piles of stones and a lot of dirt. Nothing we haven’t seen before. But little did we know there was more than just a few stacked rocks and piles of rubble on the other side of this hill. We crest the top and what lies down before us is the city of Scythopolis. A large rugged basalt street lined with many grand white pillars on either side. The remnants of countless markets, a bathhouse, streets, a gymnasium, and even a theater that could seat thousands of watchers. It was a city that was run by commerce, “if we don’t have it then you don’t need it”. A people consumed with entertainment like watching sports, comedies, and tragedies. A city that was trying to sell you what they thought was the good life. A world that looks a lot like the one today. A once mighty city that is nothing more than ruins and dust now. However enticing and fulfilling this world may seem, it will only end in ruin. The only kingdom that will last, that can truly provide you with the good life, is the kingdom of heaven. And the kingdom of heaven is here, it’s now.

Then we come to the last stop of the day, the ruins of a city called Susita. Jared speaks to us of a man possessed by a great number of demons. How Jesus freed this man from these demons who had tormented him for so long. How he wanted to follow Jesus but his Savior had a different plan for him. Jesus told him to go home and tell his story to everyone there, and he did. A believer as of a moment ago and his immediate response to Jesus was obedience. Jesus said go and he went. Jesus told him to tell his story and he did. As of lately I’ve been thinking and praying about where God wants me to go. Lord just tell me where to go and I will. The thing is He already has. Looking over the entire sea of Galilee, my eyes come to focus on Mount Arbel on the opposite side. The very place where Jesus told his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. I’ve been waiting for Jesus to tell me where to go when he already has. For most of his missionary journeys, Paul wasn’t told exactly where to go. God didn’t directly tell him “first you're going to go to Corinth and after that you’ll go preach to the Phillipians”. The Lord just told him to go and he went. The Lord has told me to go, no where specific, so maybe I just need to pick somewhere and go and there’s no wrong place to go cause the whole world needs the gospel. I just need to be faithful to go and to tell my story.