Palm Sunday Blessings from Israel!

"The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!”                                                                                                                                                   John 12:12-13 

 Women's Journey of Faith team leader Lisa Braun writes: 

"It was only a week ago that I had taken this photo on the top of Mount of Olives in Israel and today on Palm Sunday, it becomes so meaningful and powerful to me! (Almost 2 thousands years ago in this very same place)...It was just after Jesus had been in Jericho where he healed a blind man, he had visited Zacchaeus, and he told the parable of the ten talents - reminding us to use our gifts well....then 'going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethany, at the place called Mount of Olives...', he sent two disciples ahead of him to find a young donkey tied there. Jesus got onto the donkey and the people spread their robes and palm branches in front of him. They began to 'praise God joyfully with a loud voice' ...'The King who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed one. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven. Hosanna, Hosanna.' (Luke 18:35-19:48 HCSB)  

     It was here right after this moment that Jesus wept over the City of Jerusalem because they did not get it, they didn't recognize him for who he was ...'if you knew this day what would bring you peace - but now it is hidden from your eyes.....' The Pharisees and Scribes wanted Jesus to quiet the disciples and were angry when so many people were rejoicing and singing/praising. Jesus said no and if he did tell them to be quiet then 'these rocks would cry out!' Oh I pray we won't be blinded and that we may recognize HIM today!"

                                 .......................................................................................

Regardless if you are a part of a church community that recognizes "Palm Sunday" or not, we can all embrace it's meaning no matter where you are at on the journey. Grab a palm leaf (if you're blessed to get your hands on one!), a flag, a scarf, or simply raise your voice with hands lifted high to praise Him for who He is. With the Easter season just around the corner, we can celebrate Jesus all across the nations through our own shouts of joy!

Camel Rides, Garden Escapes to the Garden Tomb

Today was the last full day of our tour to the Holy Land together as a group with Women's Journey of Faith. One last day in Jerusalem, we started off our day with a fun Camel ride! Yes, a little bit of a tourist trap but our tour guide humoured us to arrange another stop for the photo opp with our lumpy back hairy friend on top of the Mount of Olives. Worth every bit of the 15 shekels for our giggling gals!

We then embarked on a walking tour down the hillside to Garden of Gethsemene & the Pools of Bethseda. It was there that Sandra read from the Word of God where Jesus healed a man. We too must ask ourselves.. "Do you want to be healed?" Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever and He is asking if we too want to walk in the freedom, healing and wholeness that he offers... or do we want to stay in ruts of complacent, apathetic spiritual numbness? Jesus came to bring us life to the full! (John 10:10). Hearing the pitch perfect acoustic in the church on site was heart searing as well. (If I get a chance, I'll get back there and do my rendition of Ave-Maria & the Lord's Prayer alongside with the priests, monks, nuns, bishops and pastors faithful prayer people who frequent there throughout the nations each day!)

Back on the path down the hillside, we entered the old city through the "Lions Gate" on our route to the Via Delarosa , the path that Jesus walked with his cross on the way to be crucified. Our guide led us down under a monastery where archeologists unearthed the original path that Jesus walked. We all knelt down and touched the ground in deep intercession for our own sin that led him there. Humbling really. Praise God that he took all of our sins upon himself and when we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us!

We meandered to other stops including our visit to yet another awesome lunch of Falafal's. NUMMY! Walking amidst cultures from the Palestinian quarter, the Jewish and Christian, Armenian quarter was fascinating to "people watch". We definitely stand out as tourists, but they welcome us as their economy thrives on it and they too realize that the world has it's eyes on their nation. What I have found to be true and foundational to relationships (both long term, short term and even as a 'passerby' when traveling) is to follow His great commandment of loving God with your whole heart, mind, soul and strength and to love your neighbour as yourself. In Israel, that means to show love and honour when meeting others on the street, or those who serve you. When honour is present, we grow in our faith once more to another level that is truly counter cultural.

After lunch we ventured off to the Israel museum and tow key sites that brought the Bible to such clarity for us...Fascinating! Two key sites included the Catholic Church in the old city (Church of the Holy Sepplica) and then a visit to the Garden Tomb where most protestants believe to be the site where Jesus' tomb was/is. Our group agreed that the feeling there was so surreal and more peaceful (compared to the Church of the Holy Sepplica where more orthodox or Catholic christians believe to be the site of his tomb)... When at the first site, it was crowded with hundreds of worshippers from many nations, seeking to touch the supposed site of his tomb there and we were filled with mixed emotions seeing many mournful desperate faces there. I am sure at both sites, there were people from all different denominations and religions. When sitting in our circle at the Garden Tomb site amidst the hillside, we had such peace having our communion service together as sisters in faith. Hearing other groups sing worship songs in different languages in their own communion circles around us was fascinating. Among us all, we had a unified peaceful assurance that because of Christ- we can be united as one amidst our diversity. We proclaimed together that he is Risen! He is Alive! Likewise, it really doesn't matter to us where Jesus' tomb really was, what matters to us is that He is in our hearts, and through the power of His Holy Spirit we too are alive in Him. As the Father sent Christ Jesus into the World to show us the way, Christ then sends His followers into the world to serve, love, pray and speak about His name.

We ended the day with a dinner together at a nearby restaurant where we shared many thoughts, memories, impact moments of faith that we will share together for a lifetime! We will share more highlights on this blog (including a photo album in the coming week), but until then- keep us in your prayers as we make our treck back to Canada!

Shalom and Thanks for sharing the Journey to Israel with us! - Lisa, Jodi, Pam, Sandra, Joanne, Gwen, Sherri, Ruth, Cathy and Alice:)

Deserts, Masada, Rolling Valleys to the Dead Sea!

Our tour today brought us out of Jerusalem to explore the desert terrain with a hike, ascending to Masada in the 90- 95 degree weather, enjoying the Dead Sea and gazing upon Israel's beautiful valleys. It was apparent that we all grow in faith in various ways. One being through nature and allowing God to speak to you as you walk about His creation. Whether it be the waterfalls gushing, birds singing, or in the scorching heat... our senses are awakened as we explore together in this way. The highlight was reading scripture that pertained to that specific site as we "took it all in".

With only a few more days left on this tour, emotions and reflections are plenty:
-"We have so much to learn about Israel! We feel we've only touched the surface!"
-"This has been such a life changing trip, I won't return home the same!"
-"I now know more what it truly means for a Christian to be "Grafted" in with Israel and the Jewish nation, God's chosen people.
-"I pray that I can return someday and bring people from my church or family, they just simply need to come and experience this with me!"
-"Touring Israel, I now know what it means to view this as the Holy Land. It truly is."

We have been exposed to so much history, so much depth seeing Biblical sites first hand, so much anticipation and hope in the Jewish people of their coming Messiah. (i.e. The Jews anticipating his first coming and we as Christ followers seeing it as his second coming...) Plus so much pain with the visit to the Holocaust Museum... Immersed in a tour that brings us into the depths of understanding Israel's political, spiritual and historical realities more...our hearts and minds are FULL! It will take some time to process it all for sure. Journaling helps, talking about our experiences with each other and friends/ family when we get home is good too. For now, we needed to lighten it up a bit.... so the Dead Sea truly was a much needed stop for this crew of Canadian Women on a Journey. It is the lowest elevation on the earth and it's salt levels are 10 times stronger than the ocean! After we slathered ourselves with it's mud... we floated weightless in the sea and were reminded once again that we were created to laugh, smile and enjoy life together. Floating as such, reminded me how we are to cast our burdens on Jesus Christ. To allow Him to 'bear our burdens' when He said" Come to Me all who are weary and I will give you rest..." May we never forget that feeling. (Minus the salt stinging our eyes or the mud cracking our skin!) It was truly a glorious day. All are well, nobody has gotten sick and we are thrilled to get to know more friends in faith as we've embarked on this pilgrimage together:)

We ended the day reading on a lookout of the Judean Desert from Psalm 121. "I lift my eyes up, to the mountains... where does my help come from?..." Our help truly comes from God and as we looked over the desert/ wilderness where Jesus went to be tempted for fourty days...reminds us that we have our own 'deserts' and 'wilderness' times that we too need to rely on God. Trusting in His strength to deliver us as Christ Jesus had done... so should we.

Stepping Up!

A word picture that has stuck with us since we have "ascended into Jerusalem" is our call to "Step Up", meaning to grow deeper in our walk with The Lord. One way is by learning more of Him and His Holy land this trip and we are inundated with such amazing things! As eluded to in an earlier post, we as a group had the opportunity to go through Beth Moore's "Stepping Up" study in preparation for this tour to Israel.

First thing this morning was our trek to the Temple Mount, where at the present time is the location of the Muslim's "Dome on the Rock". It was surreal knowing that the Temple of The Lord God once stood there. We know that one day, it will stand there again. Walking by the East Gate, the reminder in the Book of Zachariah came to mind which prophesied that Jesus Christ the Messiah will once again enter the Temple Mount and set up His reign on this earth for 1000 years before the end of this age. Seeing muslim women gathered in circles talking about their faith as their was a sight most of us have not seen until this point. I couldn't help but wonder what they were talking about. What questions did they have? What concerns do they have as we are in this age where all eyes seem to be on Israel. I believe deep down inside all people, long for the same thing: to be loved, accepted and secure and significant... I pray they come to know the Jesus as I know Him:) I found it amusing when one of the women stepped out of her circle to take photos of us (as we did of them). We left that area with heavy but hopeful hearts and we trust in the Word of God to have the final say for all mankind.

Next stop, we walked to the "City of David" and toured Hezekiah's Tunnels which are 2700 years old! Knowing we'd visit the Southern Steps for our Stepping Up Devotional and photo opp with our long skirts, that was quite the task going through the tunnels hiking them up through narrow and damp passageways! Eventually, this led us to the newly excavated find of the original site for the "Pool of Siloam" as found in John 9:1-10 where Jesus healed the blind man! Alice read from that passage of scripture as we sat on the steps envisioning the scene. Incredible! That same man who discovered this new pool (as confirmed in 2007 and has proven to be the original site)... just happened to be in the next tunnels we ascended to while trecking up towards the Southern Wall! His name is Eli Shukron, who is fast becoming a famous archeologist here in Israel because of the miraculous sites proving the Bible's authenticity. Our tour guide was ecstatic as it was not by "Chance" that we met him and he gave us a private tour of other unopened sites with a deeper explanation of what we were just standing on as it has just recently been open to the public. It was absolutely astounding meeting this man as he is in the thrust of changing history through his finds! It truly brings the Bible to life that cannot be described.

Finally, we arrived out of the tunnel walking 300-400 meters underground uphill to the Temple Mount from the Pool of Siloam. We viewed the Western wall from the outermost corner and then arrived at our focused destination: The Southern Steps. Again, we read from Psalm 122 as a group while walking up the steps as a reminder of the Pilgrims who too sojourned to this very same place two to three thousand years ago. We had a very special time at this place. God is using teachers like Beth Moore to bring others deeper into God's word. Amazing to find out that our tour guide's daughter was the one who modelled for the front cover of Beth's Stepping up Study workbook as he has been Beth's tour guide as well. Arie is one special person and we have LOVED his guidance, leadership and wisdom shared with us all!

To end the day, we visited Israel's Holocaust History Museum which brought us all to sobering tears mourning the annihilation of 6 million jews during WW 2. The museum is named Yad Vasham which means " a memorial and a name" (Isaiah 56:5). May we never forget this sad reality and may we continue to pray for the peace of Israel and for the restoration of all throughout the nations. One of the quotes that we read on the first exhibit was: "A country is not defined by what it does but by what it tolerates...." I pray that we as a nation of Canada (or the USA) or any of the countries we represent... are ones that stand for the truth and seeks to Honour God through our actions, words and prayers.

A day we will never forget. A day that was filled with "God moments". A day of mini miracles of grace:)

Mount of Olives, The Wailing Wall and Bethlehem.. What a Day!

Two of us bought a Shofar on the tour thus far and decided to bring it with us to the Mount of Olives to give it a try! Although it's use has changed over the centuries, the premise is still the same: to get the attention of the people, to gather them for God's purposes and to declare praise and honour towards our Heavenly Father! (Just need a wee more practice though as the sound was not as strong as our tour guide's demonstration!) We then read from Psalm 122 over Jerusalem before we headed back down the hill towards the old city of Jerusalem preparing our hearts for the blessing and intercession for this city. By doing so, we grow. Blessing Israel, praying for its peace and for God's people to fully step into their destiny....we too change radically in the process.

After going through their security check point with friendly Israeli armed guards standing by, we were ready for our next faith adventure. Walking towards the Western Wall and given the freedom to approach what Judaism considers the most Holy and Sacred place for prayer-the Wailing Wall was thrilling and humbling at the same time. This proved to be another highlight for me (and others) for this tour thus far. Placing prayer notes from loved ones in the cracks of the walls was a tradition known to the Jewish people and by placing ours with theirs, it was another symbol of what we've come to know as being "Grafted into the vine" of God's people. Knowing I was "standing in the gap" representing families and generations alike with prayer is an honour. Likewise, standing for and with the fervent and faithful Jewish women in prayer for Israel and the nations is an honour and a privilege I would not have understood as deeply had we not had this opportunity to join with them in their holy hush. Sure, the men and women were separated with their own sections of the wall we were allowed to approach, but all the more to pray more intentionally for the restoration of all as men and women. We were both created in God's image (Genesis 1:27) and created to love, serve and pray side by side as 'one'. True, our world is far from that- but that didn't stop the faithful as mentioned throughout scripture to give up on the ideals of our Father's original intent. We believe Jesus came to restore all that was lost in the fall of mankind. An added 'bonus' after our "above ground" wailing wall experience, we were able to walk underground the rest of the Western Wall tunnels which was absolutely incredible!

En-route to Bethlehem, we had an unexpected surprise touring a Jewelry factory "Yvel". A unique place where immigrants to Israel (Primarily Ethiopian Jews) who needed a hand up while starting fresh in the Holy Land. By learning the language, job skills and a chance at thriving in the country... they sought out applicants who were then given the opportunity to apply for entrance, receive schooling and then guaranteed employment afterwards within the company. We may not have all walked away from there with a purchase, but we walked away with hearts filled with hope and optimism with what we witnessed there. Although pearls are their speciality and win prestigious awards each year, what touched us most is their dedication to people. They truly see each individual in their company as a treasured pearl of great value. We too should do the same:)

Last stop? Bethlehem! We visited the Church of the Nativity which is the oldest church being about over 1500 years old. Incredibly busy there as it's known as the "traditional" birth place where Jesus was born and the Church was built on top of it there. The next church nearby was the Church on Shepherds Field where we sang Christmas carols and read the passage in Luke 2 on the birth of Christ. We ended our time in Bethlehem looking at the picturesque view of a field where the Shepherds received a message from the angels proclaiming the "good news" of the Birth of Christ Jesus.

We ended our day with a lovely visit of an American couple stationed in Jerusalem living full time here serving both the Jewish and Christian communities. She helped our group understand more fully the reason why people, (particularly Christians) should honour, pray for and bless Israel. With what we've experienced thus far, we most definitely look forward to learning more and doing just that.

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May those who love you be secure.May there be peace within your walls, and security within your citadels." Psalm 122

Sea of Galilee to Jerusalem

Getting up to watch the sunrise on the shores of the Sea of Galilee each morning at our Kibbutz, was a definite highlight for the early risers of our group. After packing up we all wrestled with mixed emotions of leaving such peaceful serenity at this rural setting. At the same time, we were as giddy as little children knowing that this was the day that we were "ascending to Jerusalem."

We started our day at the Gilboa Springs where God chose 300 warriors for Gideon and hearing our tour guide Arie's personal testimony while serving as an Israeli Army Commander in the war that took place in Yom Kippur in the 1960's. An extreme test of faith for him whereas God was going to go before him and have victory over a grim situation. He too faced unsurmountable odds of trusting God and by doing so, a miracle happened in his life that affected the lives of so many that day. Going forward, reading about Gideon in the book of Judges will never be the same again! Truth combined with a personal testimony brings the Word to life in our present day reality.

We visited the most amazing excavation site that has been completely revealed to the public in the last 20 or so years: Beit She'an. Learning about the history of this Roman centre (of about the 4th century) and it's impact on Judaism at that time, was dumbfounding! Paganism invaded both Judaism and Christianity with the stark reality of sinful idolatry of it's time. We couldn't help but personalize it in our day and age once again as the temptations are the same: greed, vanity, pride, sexual immorality, and acceptance of every other belief system that the world offers. It is apparent that ruins are uncovered for God to speak to us as we appropriate the lessons and consequences for sin. Thankfully, we serve the One who can forgive all sin and make us as "White as snow". (thankful too that we don't have to experience that word picture literally this week as the temps are in the 80's-90's this week!)

In preparation for our tour, we all had the opportunity to study Beth Moore's Psalms of Ascent "Stepping Up" 8 week Bible study. As we ascended to Jerusalem, we shared stories of how God was speaking to us thus far while listening to the beautiful music of a local musician who wrote a song for each of the Psalms of Ascent as found in chapters 120-134. As we entered the Holy city of Jerusalem, our hearts were incredibly moved as we ventured up to a location overlooking the picturesque panoramic view of the old city. Our guide surprised us with a special blessing as he welcomed us to Jerusalem! We look forward to our last 5 days in Israel staying in this city like no other...(What does tomorrow bring? Our next stops include Bethlehem, Mount of Olives, the Wailing wall and more...)

Mount Tabor to the Jordan River...

Last day in the inner Galilee covering more of the inner region and visiting mount Tabor and Zippori, a fun visit to a chocolate factory in a local Kibbutz. We ended the day at the Jordan River with three of our tour ladies being baptized!, Reading through the significance of the transfiguration of Jesus (Mark 8), was very moving knowing that Peter grasped who Jesus really was. Mount Tabor was also site of Deborah, the prophetess who was appointed as a judge over Israel and was victorious as she led the Israelites in Battle and the land experienced great piece over the land. We compared her leadership and the outcome of her using her gifts and abilities for God's glory to the evil ramifications of another woman in the Old Testament who used her influence for destruction: i.e. Jezebel. Praying for our own lives to reflect godly influence in our families, churches and communities was the desire of our hearts...

At Zippori, we toured ancient ruins of a Synagogue that was built shortly after the destruction of the Temple. The mosaics in the Synagogue told the stories of drastic shifts and compromise.It was amazing how quickly they adopted paganism, secularism, and mythology to appease the people. It showed us how we too as a church can so easily adopt worldly customs and false teachings and water down the truth of God's word. By doing so, the enemy distracts God's people and those searching for the truth! After that eye opening venture, we had a lovely lunch and had a sweet treat at a unique Israeli Chocolate factory at one of the many Kibbutz's in Israel.

The major highlight of the day was going down to the local baptism site on the Jordan River on the Yardenite. With great joy, we celebrated with Ruth, Pamela and Sheri and Sandra as they affirmed/ reaffirmed their faith in Christ. Just as Jesus was immersed in these same waters, standing by these women as they too were immersed... gave us all a greater sense of the meaning of Baptism. We look forward to connecting with these sisters in faith after our tour to encourage them in their call. Restoration begins in the heart, extends to the family and seeks to infiltrate the world! As our Father in Heaven sent Jesus to the world for His unique call and purpose, He too sends us with a call to use our lives for His glory and purposes. With radiant faces, this most definitely will be a faith marker they will not soon forget!

"...how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Romans 10:15 (Isaiah 52:7)