Sea of Galilee
I had the privilege of being in Israel in February of 2009. It was a very meaningful journey for me, because it marked 30 years of following Jesus for me. I was able to see the land of the Bible that I had read and heard about all of my life. I went to Israel in 2009 with the intention of returning with a group from our church. That has now come to pass.
I am in Israel with a group of forty four, the majority of whom are from Cross Lanes Baptist, and another group from Cumberland Gap, Tennessee is with us also.
We came in on Tuesday evening after a very good trip from the states. Our journey began today in the Galilee region with a visit to what is known as "the Jesus boat", an authentic wooden fishing boat discovered in the 1980s along the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee. It dates to 40 BCE. We took a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee.
We then visited Capernaum (the literal meaning of the word is "the house of Nahum"). Jesus spent most of his earthly ministry in this region, with more miracles being performed here than anywhere else. We visited the site of the home of Peter's mother-in-law, the Mt. of Beatitudes where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), and the site of one of Jesus' post resurrection appearances and Peter's restoration (John 21).
In the afternoon we visited Beit Shean, one of the Roman Decapolis cities with an amazing archaeological footprint. The day concluded at the Jordan River Baptismal site.
God is good and faithful. It is a blessing to be here again in this land and to have my faith strengthened even more, by walking again where Jesus walked. This trip is even more special because my wife, Emilee, is accompanying me this time and is having a great time also.
Our travel company is TLC Holyland Tours. For anyone considering coordinating a journey to the Holy Land I would highly recommend Dr. Tony Crisp and the good people of TLC.
