Day 2 in Jerusalem

We started our day on the Mount of Olives; overlooking Mount Mariah where the Dome of the Rock now sits. Pastor Randy took us to a space of raw land near the Church of Gethsemene that was filled with olive trees. It was easy to imagine the night that Jesus was here; what he saw and felt prior to his crucifixion. We took a little time to reflect; take it all in and truly feel how much it meant to our salvation that Jesus gave himself up willingly for us to have a path to heaven. We visited the Church of Gethsemene where in the garden there is an extremely old olive tree. They cannot date the tree to know for sure though they believe the tree could have easily been there during Jesus’s crucifixion.

We entered the city of Jerusalem through the Lions Gate (St. Stephens gate). Our first stop within the city was the Church of St. Anne and the Pool of Bethesda. We dug into John 5 and the story of Jesus healing the lame man. Jesus often asks us what we need from him as a child of God though many times we miss the mark and we don’t keep seeking him. We end up comfortable with our discomfort. We need to create a healthy dialogue with the Lord and be willingly step out of our comfort zone in faith.

As we walked through Jerusalem we took the route of the Via Delarosa (Way of Agony); currently much of the walk is through the Muslim quarter of the old city. Ronen shared with us that many times on Fridays if you walk this route you would see Muslims, Jews and Christians all doing life together in the same space. We walked this route to the Church of the Holy Seplecure. This ancient church sits overtop what is to believed to be the rock and the place of Jesus’s crucifixion. An interesting fact of this church is that the keys are have been held by several generations of a Muslim family and they unlock/lock the church daily to allow Christians to see this holy space.

Our next stop after enjoying lunch was the Western Wall. This wall is considered an extremely holy place as it is the closest the Jews are permitted to pray near the Temple Mount. The access to the Temple Mount is restricted and when you are within that space you are not allowed to speak of Judiasm or Christianity.

The Southern Steps was our final stop of the touring day. In Acts 1-2 Peter preached from the steps and shared how the scripture was going to be fulfilled. The steps that were remaining were uneven, rough and as we learned before God wants us to be purposeful and mindful as we head into our time with him. We should watch, pray and be ready for the return of Jesus.

We wrapped up our final day with a special dinner celebration at the Sea Dolphin restaurant. We shared some of our favorite life changing moments which included:

• Understanding more about Jesus’s Birth and Crucifixtion
• Really understanding that faith can move mountains within our lives
• Walking where Jesus walked and deeper understanding of the Bible
• Seeing the Bible come to life
• Seeing how our pastor really does care for our entire flock and he has a true Shepards heart.
• Hearing another group of tourist sing Silent Night in their native language

As we head back to life we are challenged to pray a big prayer. A prayer that God will wreck us for good, that God will give us a heart to give, a heart to love, and a heart to change.

We pray that God fills our heart with a passion for him and that we share our faith boldly and confidently as we head home.

It was my pleasure to recap our days in Israel for the group and for all those at home following our journey. I am extremely grateful for Ben’s willingness to share his talent of photography to capture the days visually for us.