May 16, 2007

• A Hi from the Holy Land

  Oh, words cannot describe how awesome Israel is. I wish we could linger more in spots, but God is doing remarkable work in people’s lives.  I have been taking notes, and will share these notes and hopefully some pictures when I get back but I had to share with you part of a teaching today. By the way, gas is $9 per gallon here.

  We went to a spot outside of  Nazareth that overlooked the Jezreel valley and Pastor Don reminded us of Jesus reading Isaiah in the temple, how the people tried to throw Jesus off the cliff and He walked through the crowd. Pastor Don pointed out that the scriptures read in the temple follow a set time for the reading, so it was not random that Jesus read those particular scriptures (see Luke 4) at that time. And the people had waited 700 years for this prophesy to be fulfilled, but Jesus did not look like what they imagined the person fulfilling the prophesy would look like. They looked down on Nazarenes (sort of like the southerners speaking a different dialect) they did not think anything good could come out of Nazareth.  It was a miracle that He did not get cast down that hill. I will share more of this in detail, but Pastor Don pointed out that the VICTORY OF THE SAINT is knowing that it is not the Saint doing, but God working through Him. Don’t let the devil beat us down by telling us that we have met our Waterloo, know that God has our backs, and that nothing will happen to us until it is God’s timing. Jesus knew that God had work for Him to do.

  I will share more of this talk later, but God spoke to me in a big way here, in fact we had church on that mountain top and did not make it to the site of the annunciation.

  Please think of me and pray tomorrow for we will be going out on the Sea of Galilee, and baptism in the Jordan. Please pray that God’s perfect will is done for me, that strongholds are removed, that I am no longer resistant to what God has in store for me.

  Oh, we also went to Caeserea today, what a piece of history and a reminder that obedience to God is so important, and what Paul went through. I want to cry with joy as we trace the paths that Jesus and the disciples walked. We even got to walk through the underground tunnel near Megiddo, where water was brought into the city.

  Tonight we sang in the hotel lobby of the kibbutz we are staying at, and what a blessing that was. The people in Israel are so friendly, helpful and  fun to meet. I tadah them (we learned that that means thank you, not sure how it is spelled).  Tomorrow we will stay in Jerusalem. Maagan is the name of this Kibbutz and it is right on the Sea of Galilee. The meaning of Maagan is “where the boats dock.” From my porch I can see the sea of Galilee. How awesome is that. It was the first kibbutz in Israel, so those who were here had to work long and hard, and many were concentration camp survivors at that time. Now it is different, but still blessed.

  Praying you are all blessed, I will try to write more later, and am praying for my Xangians. When we get to the Wailing Wall I will put my Xanga Friends in a prayer there. Anyway I have to go now, and will try to write more later. We do so much in a day that I need to sleep. Have a blessed night, we are seven hours ahead of New York.

  Heather

  • 3:41 pm
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