Help me to the feet of Jesus

We began the day with a devotional by the Sea of Galilee talking about God’s omniscience and how that impacts prayer. If God knows everything, does it make a difference how many people are praying for something? Will more people make God change his mind? If not, then does sharing prayer requests really matter? As we continue to build “insula” (community) on this trip, thinking on these questions brings us to this: that many people praying together for the same thing creates stronger “insula” and gathers people together to witness God’s sovereignty, glory and power over our lives and prayer requests. Many prayers for the same thing really does matter!

From there, we traveled back in time to Ancient Qatzrin to experience “insula” through the eyes of Hepzibah and her children. We found ourselves dressed in traditional robes, learning about close communities of stone houses built one attached to another. We reviewed the process of making olive oil, rolled our own dough to make bread, and feasted on the bread with fresh cheese, jam, olives and olive oil. We also crammed into a small house, and immersed ourselves in what it must have been like during the time that a lame man’s friends tried desperately to get him into a house to be healed by Jesus but instead had to drop him through the roof. We all left asking ourselves: to what extent do I encourage others to the feet of Jesus, and am I the type of person who allows my friends to help me to the feet of Jesus?

Returning to present day, we next visited the bunker on Mt. Bental. Less than a mile from Syria, we could see the border checkpoint, and the UN and Israeli forces just across the valley. On the other side, we could see Lebanon as well. It brought to mind all of the conflict and tensions of the region and encouraged a new understanding of all that the people of the region have gone through.

Continuing on, we ventured to Caesarea Philippi, a city that the Jewish community during Jesus’ time would have been shocked and embarrassed to visit due to their grotesque idol-worship practices. But Jesus was not afraid! In Matthew 16 we read that He takes his disciples there and speaks words that have now become much more pointed in our new understanding of the context, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me...for what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?”

We left to travel north to the ruins of Dan, the northernmost part of Ancient Israel. Here we walked along the natural springs of crystal clear water and stood before the actual stone walls of the fortress that was Dan. We strode through the city gates, and even sat before original stones of the altar in the temple. Lastly, we stood before the oldest known arch in existence dating back to the late Canaanite period (3,700 years ago!). We discussed the tribe of Dan and its decision to not trust God, which ultimately resulted in its downfall. We learned that obedience to the Lord always trumps selfishness!

It was a full day that ended with an unplanned stop at a local olive orchard where we learned about the owners and had the opportunity to sample olive oil products. Another packed day finished, with lots of lessons learned and questions to ponder as we continue to build context in living color around the Bible.