Reflections over the Sea

As I sit and look out over the Sea of Tiberias, I am trying to organize all of the information I have taken in over the last few days. The sights, ruins, people and cultures have been pleasantly overwhelming. Yesterday, we visited many archaeological sites; some recent, some not so recent. We had devotions on the Sea, which was most powerful. The thought of floating on the water in the early part of the day while singing songs and reading the Word really moves your heart to soften in the hands of the Mashiah, Yeshua. Tto be in this land is to know Him more. To walk where Jesus walked and float on the Sea is wonderful, but to understand what He did, day by day, season by season, as a Jew, lets me come to know him more deeply than ever before. To know the desires and habits of someone opens up a whole new world when they speak or write. This adventure has done that so much. The more I understand Judaism, the more I understand the context in which Jesus was speaking and how those who were arond Him would understandand respond. I know the Lord has led me here. On the first day during some quiet time the Lord led me to Psalm 48.

Vss. 1-3

"Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised In the city of our God, In His holy mountain. Beautiful in elevation, The joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, The city of the great King. God is in her palaces; he is known as her refuge."

Vss. 12-14

"Walk about Zion, and go all around her. count her towers; mark well her bulwarks; consider her palaces; That you may tell it to the generations following, for this is God, Our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death."

Oh how He loves us by showing us His ways and guiding down His paths. "The steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord. And He delights in his ways." Ps. 42:23

Allow God to order your steps and be "the light unto your path."

Over the past few days, we have taken in more information than I could possibly imagine. We have seen some of the oldest ruins known to the modern world. The best and most assuring part of this information is that it gives the evidence to affirm the Scriptures in the mind of the skeptic. Today while visiting Tel Dan, we saw the site of the oldest known city gate, dating back to the time of Abraham, that has been recently uncovered. This gate is over 4000 yers old. It is likely that Abraham would have stayed inside this gate while on the trek to free his nephew Lot.

One has to know that God, in His infinite wisdom, has kept these places a mystery until they could be used for His glory and so we use science to spread the gospel to a people who already love God and are seeking the gospel of the Messiah. Oh I hope we can love them to Jesus. I also hope they can love us into a deeper understanding of the heart of God and His desire for His people to understand Him by understanding the Older Testament.

Enough for today, more later.

Shalom!