What God asks of us

After we spent the night right next to the Dead Sea, we sayed close and explored the Dead Sea Valley at Masada. We took a cable car that climb us this tall mountain. The sights were incredible, overlooking the valley from up above. Herod the Great built this city on top of a mountain for protection in case of an invasion. He would use this spot as a retreat. The palace was heavily influenced by Roman architecture, including a room with a pool and sauna!

Next, we explored the Judean Wilderness by camel! We shared many laughs as the camels quickly lifted themselves off the ground after we climbed on top of them. We spent some time in a desert tent, experiencing the local hospitality. We were treated with local tea, coffee and bread. Marshall shared with us a very convicting lesson on hospitality. The culture of the Eastern world readily opens their homes to strangers. In the Western world, strangers are often avoided. We talked about what keeps us from opening our homes to strangers and those who are unlike us. One of our greatest ministry opportunities is welcoming strangers to our homes and showing them the love of Jesus.

We then traveled to Arad. Located in the land of Judah, this city was built next to the Canaanite city that was destroyed by the Israelites as they entered the promised land after the Exodus. We were able to see the 4000 year old ruins of that city. Inside of the Israelite part, we saw the remains of an imposture Temple. The people of this city tried to create their own Temple outside of where God instructed it, Jerusalem. King Hezekiah commanded it to be destroyed during his Godly reign. We got to stand in the fake Holy of Holies and see the reconstructed altar. Troy led us in a great time of reflection as we considered where in our lives we might be compromising what God asks of us, rather than following exactly what He instructs us.

Lastly, we traveled back to our hotel on the Dead Sea. We all had a chance to swim in the sea and experience how buoyant the water was because of the high salt level. A heavy evening rain is changing some of our plans tomorrow; but we are still filling our day with a lot of great sites! I am excited to share them with you tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers!