Outside of our comfort zone

Shalom! Day five! Today was a bit lighter scheduling-wise than yesterday, but we enjoyed being able to take our time at each site visit. We started out with another early morning hike (are you seeing a pattern here?) through the Golan Heights. We learned a lot about the Zealots and what they stood for. They were a people who loved the law and the knife. Josh did a great job teaching us that being zealous for the Lord is a good and necessary thing for us as Believers, but there is a right way to go about it- loving those in your circle of influence well (or as it’s called in Hebrew, your Shfela), and doing everything to bring honor and glory to God. Next, we visited a site that Jesus visited during his time of preaching in the synagogues throughout Galilee. In fact, we stood in 2 places where it’s extremely likely Jesus himself stood. To be in the exact spot where our Savior once stood is indescribable. At this site, we started to learn about the synagogue, and what a typical service would look like. Did you know that people used to dance, cheer, shout, and try to kiss the Word as it passed by them in the synagogue? Sounds like a party we most definitely want to bring back to our church when we return home (approval from Dr. Josh Allen pending). Another really cool site we got to visit was the place where Peter made an important confession that would ultimately lead to Jesus making him the rock upon which He built His church. This is also where Jesus took His disciples to show them the importance of ministering to people outside the walls of their comfort zone. And trust us, this place most definitely would have been outside of their comfort zone. Here, Josh gave us the same challenge that Jesus gave his disciples: love, minister, and commune with those who are outside of our comfort zone. While this can be challenging, it’s something that we as Believers must do in order to spread the Good News. It’s getting good friends, hang tight as we learn and soak in these last few days. Prayers for strength would be much appreciated. Also, for the Lord to open our eyes to us what He wants us to see.

Highlights from today include: seeing an Egyptian vulture and learning about birds who have 9 foot wingspans, running from yellow jackets (praise the Lord nobody got stung), hiking to the site of an incredible waterfall, and watching our AMAZING tour guide and bus driver, Ronan and Mayir, jam out to an interesting song about the Hebrew language. Israeli’s know how to have a good time, especially Ronan and Mayir.