Day 04 - Galilee: Mount of Beatitudes, Mount Arbel, Magdala, Tabgha, Shabbat Dinner

We began the day with the Sermon on the Mount. Overlooking the Sea of Galilee, Mt. Arbel to our right, it wasn’t hard to picture this location as a place He could’ve been. We ventured into the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry by looking back. Exodus 19, God commanded that His people come up to meet with Him on Mt. Sinai, and had given specific instruction on how to approach Him. In chapter 20, when they opportunity came, the people trembled with fear. Despite Moses imploring them not to be afraid, they stayed at a distance, never going up to meet with God.  The best part about sitting on the mount today wasn’t the beautiful view,  but beholding the One who came and dwelled among us on it. Hearing the birds chirp and seeing the flowers of the field was a needed reminder of how much more He cares for us. 

When we got on the bus we prepared for another hike. We began our hike with somewhat of a history lesson, but our other other lessons came after quite a strategic pathway.  When we got to the top, we talked about prayer. Prayer was described as, “communication with God that is full of faith as children, creatures, sinners, and citizens”.  We were challenged with unpacking why prayer matters, and got to marvel at the fact that it matters because God hears it! He wants to meet with us, and we get to come boldly before Him as children and dependent creatures. When we pray, we lay aside any need to prove ourselves, and beg Him to rid us of our self-righteousness. Lastly, when we pray, we pray as citizens. Our prayer isn’t to build our our kingdom, but to build His. 

How would the kingdom be impacted if we reflected His faithfulness, as He went up the mountain many times to do, in prayer? How would the lives of others be impacted if we prayed without ceasing on their behalf for Him to accomplish what He wants through them? 

We ended our day with a few more sights, Magdala being one of them! It’s still mind-blowing what is being uncovered archeologically this many years later. Our last stop was Tabgha, where we sat and dug into Jesus’ threefold approach to discipleship through Peter’s call to follow Him. Peters start to following Jesus being while fishing in a boat, and seeing Him again after the resurrection while fishing in a boat was such a full-circle moment. My hope and prayer is that in the same way He called Peter, we would remain firm in the calling we too have on our lives. That we consider Him worthy of devoting our lives to for all of our days.