Words of Encouragement

Today seemed like a busy yet short day. Our group headed over to the City of David which is the traditional sight for the city of Jerusalem. We watched a short 3D movie about the building and development of the city then headed below to see the archaeological site for King David's palace. It is believed that this is the palace where David looked upon a woman bathing and had her sent to him for unlawful deeds. Then we headed through Hezekiah's Tunnel, built over 2700 years ago to bring water to the city under ground. It was amazing being in a small tunnel going through 6 inch high water in the dark for 20 minutes. We did have flash lights but it wasn't the best lighting. The best part was when we turned off all the lights and sang the doxology​ together. :) We then headed up the Mount of Olives (which is so much closer than I ever thought!) and visited a renown Olive Wood shop where many of us bought unique nativities and crosses! Another visit to the Mount tomorrow for ...

Wednesday (Day 9) Our alarm went off at 6:00am this morning and we had a very delicious breakfast at our hotel. We left at 7:20 instead of our normal 8:00 to head to the "Wailing Wall" located in the city of Jerusalem. When we arrived Erez talked about the history of the Wailing Wall, why the Jews go there to pray and talked about the history of the gates and walls of the city as well as the building and demolishing of the temple and mosque. We traveled underground  to get to the street and wall from the time of King Harod and the time of Jesus. We went to the southern steps of the first temple. It was just amazing to think about how we were standing in the same vicinity that Jesus, after going to Jerusalem with His parents and after being left behind  went to the gates of the temple to talk to those at His Father's house. Walking where Jesus walked so to speak. It was also mind blowing to learn how they moved pieces of stone that weighed around 500 tons and how duri...

Tuesday (Day 8) Woke up Tuesday morning and packed our bags to leave the King David hotel at the Dead Sea and started our travels to Jerusalem. Our first stop of the day was at Beer Sheva (Beersheba), home to Abraham (Gen 21). We talked about the practicalities of settling in an oasis area; water is key! We talked about Abraham's relationship with Isaac and Ishmael and how, when we wait and trust in the Lord, we will experience God more profoundly. A little ways away we came to Elah Valley where David slayed Goliath with a sling and sword! It was neat to see this area and gaze around at the different hills where the Israelites and Philistines set up to watch God prevail in the most unlikely of ways! Today this destination is mere agriculture. We ate lunch and got a quick view of Bethlehem, our Savior's birthplace. This nearly all Muslim town is challenging to get to for many reasons and it was decided an overlook would suffice. Views like this have brought to life the compa...

On Sunday morning we left our hotel and headed south on the east side of Israel with the country of Jordan on our left. Beit Shean was a pagan city that was wild and full of amusment like Las Vegas, in the United States located under the ruins of the Jewish city in the tel. There the orginal Philistine city is where Saul's head was taken to and nailed to the center wall for display after the war. From there we could see Mount Gilboa , where Saul and Jonathan were killed during the war with the Philistine army. It was just amazing and interesting to walk through the ruins that once was active and standing in Biblical times until an earthquake hit in 749 AD and was abandoned until archaeologists discovered the city in more than 10 feet of dirt. We continued south to the supposed baptism sight of Jesus in the River of Jordan. As we walked down the steps we noticed guards with machine guns on each side. Since the River divides Israel and Jordan there needs to be some kind of securit...

Greetings from Israel, Shalom. Yesterday we went to many ancient historic sites. On Friday we traveled around the Galilee region. We went to the Tel Dan where the tribe Dan once settled and a temple established by King Jeroboam, it was a place where people would worship and sacrifice to a golden calf. From that sight we saw where the old Israeli and Lebanon boarder was before the Six Day War and from there you could see the new border a mile or so away. Next we went to a brick gate not far away where it is possible Abraham entered to rescue Lot (Gen. 14). We visited Caesarea Philippi where a Canaanite worship center once stood and where Peter went as a powerful weapon to share the Gospel. We traveled up the Golan Heights to an inactive volcano where our tour guide, Erez , shared his testimony and about conflict in the middle East while looking over the border of Syria, Lebanon and Jordon. We were about 4 miles away from the border of Syria. It was interesting to see the contras...

Wow, went to so many sights today. Walked another 11,800 steps. We left our hotel and traveled North along the Mediterranean Sea Coast to the sight where the ancient port of Caesarea  which included an arena for sports and a theater where individuals went to learn.  It was beautiful  to look out and picture in my mind the different locations and the activities which took place there.  The wars, construction, demolition,  and how King Harod built Caesarea for "earthy sinful  things" and God used it to spread the Gospel (Acts 10:1-48).  Then we traveled to Mount Carmel and talked about Elijah and what took place with showing the power of the One True God, and how after that he went to Horab and left the people without a prophet  (1 Kings 19:8). "Don't underestimate  the power of God. Don't overestimate  your importance. It is God who has the power and accomplishes all things." We traveled through Mount Carmel and through the Jezreel Va...

We are off! We left O'Hare Airport at 4pm on Tuesday and spent the next 8.5 hours flying to Frankfort Germony. When we arrived on Wednesday we walked around 4000 steps to our next terminal that would take us to Tel Aviv. At that terminal we went through security once again to a waiting area in which you could not leave due to high security.  We were all patted down extremely well while our bags were being screened. (Note to future international flyers, don't wear any clothing with any sorts of metal). That same day we arrived at Ben Gurion International Airport  tired but very excited for our tour to commence.  The airport is located in the city of Jaffa, which was given to the tribe of Benjamin,  a son of Abraham.  From there we traveled  through the city of Jaffa which was one of the major trading ports that connected the Mediterranean world  in ancient times.  As we all went to collect our luggage from baggage claim we had all retrieved...

Hello Everyone, I've been Bible Journaling for a few months now and I decided to take a shot at designing my own print and paste cutouts! Today, we have a freebie of my cutouts! :)  Click on the link below to view and download the PDF file and print horizontally! :) I would love to see how you designed your page! Share on Facebook with using @Romans15v13   or posting on my page: Words of Encouragment!  Click here to view PDF and download !