Top Ten List from Tracy

Tracy and one of her co-workers wrote me this Top 10 List for Israel... enjoy

Top 10 Things Chris shouldn’t do while visiting the Holy Land

#10 – pull on someone’s beard at the Wailing Wall.

#9 – Pee in the Sea of Galilee (I think I get bonus points on this one since it rhymes)

#8 – Call the American Consulate and ask him if his refrigerator is running! 

#7 – Order a pulled pork sandwich at a kosher restaurant.

#6 – with a side of fried pork skins!  And a diet coke

#5 – Ask a rabbi if the thing on his head is a really bad toupee. 

#4 – write his prayer on toilet paper for the Wailing Wall (am I obsessed?).  they do have toilet paper don’t they?

#3 – Carve “Chris wuz here” on everything he sees

#2 – Jam on his Ipod in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and sing out loud a little.

#1 – Plaster a poster in every synagogue that depict an Uncle Sam version of Jesus with the caption “I want YOU!”

The Sea of Galilee

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.  Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught."  So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs."  A second time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep."  He said to him the third time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.  Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go." (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, "Follow me."  John 21:1-19 NRSV

Today, we kicked it into gear…. After a short jog along the coast of the Sea of Galilee, we visited 7 sites around the Sea of Galilee.  First the Church of the Beatitudes, followed by the Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fish, then the Church of the Primacy of Peter, then we traveled to Jesus’ home base of Capharnaum, then on to the Sea of Galilee for a short cruise, the ruins of Bet She’an and finally the Jordan River. 

While this may sound like a lot of driving most of these sites are extremely close to each other on the North Side of the Sea of Galilee.  It is said that Jesus did 80% of his ministry in a triangle area stretching from Migdal (home of Mary Magdalene) to the west, Korazim to the north and Beit Saida to the East. Jesus’ home in Capharnaum is located almost halfway between Migdal and Beit Saida.  The approximate distance between Migdal and Beit Saida is 16 km, (I’m way too tired to do the math into miles so go for it).

Being on the Sea of Galilee, reading through the story of Peter walking on the water has been the highlight of the day.  Seeing the churches we visited earlier from the boat and imagining what the disciples might have thought as we sat out on calm still waters off of the beach where Jesus was cooking fish was an experience that I will treasure for always.  I find that I can be like Peter and the other disciples, I get so busy in my work, distracted in my problems, too worried about the future that I fail to see Christ right there in front of me.

Today has been quite a journey. I hope you are able to look at the pictures I’ve posted below.  Tomorrow we visit Nazareth, Megiddo, Caesarea and end up in Jerusalem where we will stay for the rest of the journey. Thanks for reading.

Day 3 of Israel Trip

Pictures of Day 3 in the Holy Land.

Day 1 -2 of Holy Land Trip

Day 1 & 2 pics

Geography and Connections

When he had gone through those regions and had given the believers much encouragement, he came to Greece, where he stayed for three months. Acts 20: 2-3 NRSV



After four movies, two 30 minute sitcoms and approximately 1 hour sleep. We are getting close to Tel Aviv. The airline has a satellite map that tracks the process of the trip. Iceland is fine, no ash from the volcano and during this last leg of the trip, I have visions of Mr. Ruff’s 7th grade social studies class and the many assignments of tracing and labeling maps around the world. Looking at the screen I remember labeling Italy, Greece, Crete, the Adriatic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.


It is quite a sight to see from the air under the broken clouds the definition of the Mediterranean shore line at the heel of Italy’s boot. Flying over Greece and thinking about Paul’s missionary journeys, but that is another trip for another time.


So far, I have met some ELCA Lutherans from Sheboygan Michigan, and United Methodist from Germantown, Tennessee. Germantown is just outside of Memphis and two summers ago our youth group stopped at this church on our way back from our mission trip to ASP. They graciously hosted us for the evening as we wrapped up our week of mission in Kentucky.


As I’m writing this, we are about 1 hour away from landing in Tel Aviv where we will gather our luggage and then make our way to Tiberius next to the Sea of Galilee.

Travel

Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went.  Acts 8:26-27a NRSV

I am not equating my trip to the Holy Land to that of Phillip and his encounter with the Ethiopian, however when I think about this “pilgrimage” I am on, I think of how Phillip’s life was interrupted after  his ministry in Samaria.

It doesn’t sound like Phillip was looking to go somewhere else, the Lord just told him to go.  As I ride the DART train to DFW listening to The Robbie Seay Band on my IPOD. I am thankful that God has told me to go.  I wasn’t planning on taking this trip, really never crossed my mind… Sure, as a pastor I’ve thought that it would be nice to visit the Holy Land, but never thought I would be able to follow through and take this trip. But God always has a way of interrupting lives and if we listen and follow, takes us on extravagant journeys our own minds can’t comprehend.

I am going to miss my wife and family, however I know that God is with them and also with me while I’m on this trip and I’m looking forward to the many surprises God has for me as I walk in the places Jesus walked, see the holy sites and take pictures and collect stories from this trip.

My plane takes off here in about one hour and twenty minutes to Atlanta, where I will pick up my flight to Tel Aviv. Arriving there around 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon (10:00 a.m. Central Time).

I pray that this trip, this blog leads to powerful ministry and a strong testament of our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ.

T-minus 1 week

A week from today, at this time, I will be sitting at DFW airport waiting to board a flight to Atlanta then off to Israel.  I'm very excited about this trip and am looking forward to walk through the Holy Land and visit the historical sights of the Bible.

Growing up, this was my view of "The Holy Land." Over my childhood and youth, and yes even twice as a youth director, I visited the Great Passion Play and what they called the Holy Land Tour.  It was entertaining and educational. Walking around a replica of the Exodus temple and see a layout of the upper room brought my heart and mind close to the stories of the Bible and even though I was in Arkansas, I developed ideas of what it might have been like to walk in the same places Jesus walked.


I know this is an understatement, but this trip is going to blow Eureka Springs, Arkansas out of the water.  I won't be imagining Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Jericho, the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee, I will be sailing, wading, walking and experiencing the Holy Land for myself.


Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing my thoughts, adventures, stories, pictures and hopefully some video of my trip.  I'm doing this mostly for my own record of the trip, but if you would like to come along and comment and share your thoughts, please feel free to comment below.