Sunday, March 11, 2007

Home from Israel

I came home from Israel last week with a renewed sense of awe for our Lord.

Israel is a beautiful country. Not only because of the landscape and the people but also because of it's history.

I sat in the ampitheater where Paul stood proclaiming the Word of God to King Aggrippa. While sitting there, I had an amazing view of the Mediterranean Sea.

I climbed Mt. Arbel where Jesus fed the 5,000. At the top, I had a breath taking view of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus walked on water.

I tenderly walked into the Jordan River with my husband and I was washed as white as snow while my Pastor baptized me in the very river Jesus was baptized.

I took a tremendous hike up a mountain and saw the caves where David hid from Saul and drank from the very stream the deer panted by.

I stood on the Mount of Olives where Jesus will one day return and firmly plant His feet. The view I saw from there was the Eastern Gate - the very Gate He will walk through when He makes His glorious return.

I walked around the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed the night before His death.

I walked down the Palm Sunday road where Jesus made His triumphantal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey.

I stood by what is thought to be Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, where Jesus died to free me from my sins.

And finally, I walked into the Garden Tomb where Jesus victoriously rose again from the dead. And, I tell you, it is EMPTY!! I cried at every site but this is where I cried the hardest as the Lord made Himself more real to me than ever.

I believe I left my heart in Israel.