Israel Day #2 - Fishes in the Water

Friday April 15, 2016

Matthew 5:4

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

We began day #3 in Israel at the location of the Sermon on the Mount by Jesus as written out in the bible in Matthew 5:1-20.  Today our entire day was spent in the region of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus spent a majority of His 3 year ministry prior to His death.  Everything we visited today was walked by Jesus and His disciples even though we spent the whole day in the bus…to imagine and see the places where Jesus walked, the valleys and the flatlands, the seashore and the mounts were so revealing. Everything He did was intentional and timely and for the purposes of revealing God’s will to all He came in contact with and there were many.

We started our journey at 7:45am after having a great breakfast at the Leonardo Hotel.  Breakfast and lunch are provided everyday on our tour buffet style..there are over 50 things to choose from at both meals, from fresh salads, to main dishes of steamed and cooked veggies, stews, beef, chicken, fish, lamb, goat, bread (all kine), and varying desserts. If you are hungry on this trip it’s your own fault.  Along with our group of 14, there are about 2 more groups, 1 that we continually run into that left with us from Netanya on Wednesday. It’s been kind of cool seeing each different group from all different areas, people from India, the Philippines, China, and other places all touring the same spots and desiring to see the same things we are seeing.  The one big difference that I do notice is that the other groups seem to be…may not be 100% true, but seem to be rushing through things.  Our intimate group of 14 + our guide Hill-El, take our time through each location with information provided by Hill-El that includes a lot of great info and culture aspects that is not revealed in the bible. The intimacy of the group is awesome…and we have been blessed by all of them. 

Anyway, we started off at the location of what is known as the Mount of Beatitudes..its on the hills above Capernaum overlooking the Sea of Galilee on the west shore.  It is where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount.  At the end of Chapter 4, the bible says that Jesus was going throughout all of Galilee teaching and healing in the synagogues and proclaiming the Gospel, the Good News.  Word spread through Syria (on the other side of the Sea of Galilee past the mountains (like 25-35 miles away) and people were following Him from places as far as Jerusalem (down south). People were seeking Him out and following Him.  He sees the crowd of people, and decides to go to the top of Mount Arbel and preaches.  No sound system, no chairs, no pipe and drapes…He just preaches and uses the natural environment of this hillside to share the 8 Blessed are the…teachings and so much more.  And to let those that are listening to know that they are the Salt of the Earth and Light of the World and that their purpose was to Glorify the Father.  As we walked and visited the church built there to commemorate the area, which is a pretty cool church with stain glass windows of an 8 corner built church, an octagon shaped church it was surreal to think once again that I am walking in the footsteps of those who followed Jesus 2000+ years ago and heard Him and saw Him.  We were given some private time to reflect and pray as we usually get at each stop and along the pathway from the visitors area to the church there are these blocks on the pathway that has the 8 beatitudes written on them.  I found the scripture noted above, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4) and there was a bench across it with the path in the middle and I just sat there and thanked God for all the comfort He has shown me and Brandi…He has provided much comfort via His love of us, the people He has placed in our lives every day…to go through this season of mourning, now almost 1 year…I cried and turned on my worship music from my phone and just listened to the song Good Good Father and was just blessed by the moment I was in…sitting in Galilee, in Israel..knowing what I have come through and gone through in the last 3.5 years, even longer than that..all the trials and tribulations…and yet, God is still here..with me..and now even in this sacred land.  This process called mourning is healthy and there is no specific time period or way to go through it…yes, it would be easy to just suck it up and move on…but it would not be healthy…I am not stuck in mourning, I am just passing through..but regardless of what I may be feeling or experiencing or longing for, God has provided so much comfort to me.  I am in awe of what He continues to do and is doing in my life.  Wow!!  This was just our first stop of the day…lol.

From here, we headed down to the (stop #@2) Sea of Galilee, where Jesus did many things.  We jumped on a boat, like a 40 footer and took out on a 30 minute ride on this awesome body of water.  It is 13 miles long and 7 miles wide.  Even though called a sea, it is actually a lake. It is living water, its fresh water, that provides the water source for Israel.  The Jordan river gets its water from here.  This is a very special place for so many people.  Peter and the walking and falling into the water story took place here, from Matthew 14 (vs 22-33).  It was my turn to share today, and once again, I was totally blessed by it.  The water was so calm, so soothing..you could see all of Galilee from the mountains to the shore.  Even though a bit hazy today (like vog but not as bad or affecting of health) we could see the mountain ranges far and near.  We could not see Mt Hermon clearly but it was in sight. The feeling was so soothing and according to the boat drivers, the calmness of the sea is like this 90% of the time..its gets a little windy at times in the late afternoons and the sea is affected by it.  I shared a devotion titled Blinded by our Sight…we as humans have been taught/trained to believe what we see..if we see it then we will believe it. The Christian faith is based on believing and then seeing the things that God wants us to see through His eyes, with compassion, mercy, love, hope and joy.  I tied it into when Lori first got diagnosed with her rare form of cancer. Even though that what we thought we saw was this horrible disease wreaking havoc on her body..it was not what we believed in.  Regardless of the outcome, our faith was in God and His will and plan for her life, our lives regardless of the outcome.  We learned that regardless of what our eyes, our physical eyes may tell us..of what is right in front of us…but with God, when we see things through His eyes, there is peace, joy and comfort in whatever is going on..and that is what we, me – having been living through the last 3.5 years.  After sharing my devotion, a very emotional one that many were touched by, I was able to spread some of Lori’s ashes into the Sea of Galilee…now be reminded that this a fresh water drinking source for all of Israel..was it allowed, our guide was not sure, but it was the right thing to do.  It was very peaceful in letting Lori’s ashes being spread out into a body water again, like we did in Kauai at Lydgate..even though she could not even swim.  Lol!!

Our group was so awesome, so encouraging.  Once again, God’s timing and planning waa spot on.  We headed back to shore talking and laughing amongst the group.  It was totally amazing. 

We next headed to stop #3…an area known as Tabgha, the church of the Multiplication of the Loaves (5) and Fish (2). This is the location of the First Feeding of the Multitude that is referenced in Matthew 14(vs 13-21).  A church was built on this location to commemorate this event.  Our guide told us that about 2 years ago, radical Jews tried to torch the church and a portion of the church is under repair.  To this very day, people are still trying to destroy what Jesus has shown to be true to the multitude.  This area was along the seashore down from the Mount of Beatitudes, once again walking distance for those back in the day.  There was a mosaic of the 2 fishes and the 5 loaves located in the church and was pretty cool.  Side note, even though called Tabgha, the actual name is Heptapegon..the word Tabgha is a made up word that does not make sense to the Jews, in Hebrew but it has been used for centuries.  Continually amazed by being able to see and touch and feel the history lived out here.

As we headed to stop #4, going north along the shore of Galilee, we came to the area known as the Primacy of Peter.  This shoreline area is where Peter had his conversation with Jesus after the resurrection as told in John 21.  4 of Jesus 12 original disciples returned to their trade, fisherman, after Jesus death and here is Jesus coming to them at the seashore as they are fishing.  As the story is told, they were not catching anything and this man from shore told them to throw their net to the other side of the boat and they caught choke fish (153 is said to have been the #, there is a commentary behind this that I am looking forward to researching later on) and after this happened, Peter realized that it was Jesus talking to them and once again jumped out of the boat and swam and ran to Jesus on the shore.  The others, reasonable men unlike Peter paddled in..lol.  As they got to shore, a fire was lit and bread was made.  Jesus asked them to bring the fish to cook. This is where Peter and Jesus had the “do you love me” discussion where Jesus is talking about “Agape” love unconditional love and Peter is responding with “Phileo” love brotherly love..and Jesus is telling Peter to take care of His sheep..all of His sheep..all meaning all people…this was where Peter’s calling was fulfilled.  A lot of the visitors there were stepping into the water onshore and a few of our group did so as well.  I as usual stepped to the side to just spend time in reflection and reminding myself that I am here, where Jesus walked, taught, loved and lived with others spreading the Good News of His Father..unreal. 

Stop 5 – Capernaum, a short bus ride from stop 4 and almost at the most northern part of the Sea of Galilee. In Matthew 8, Jesus entered Capernaum and a lot of Jesus ministry occurred here.  The story of the Centurion and the healing by faith occurred here. He also healed Peter’s mother in law here in Peter’s house. This area had remains of the house of Peter and the community all in tact. We were able to see the layout of Peter’s house and the first House church right across the street from Peter’s house, similar to a synagogue, but more of a house church. Actual artifacts and houses were all around us, showing the living conditions during that time. It was amazing.  To once again see and feel the area of where so many things occurred as told in the Bible is just beyond my thinking. 

From here, we head (Stop #6) to what Matthew 8:18 says Jesus gave orders to depart to the “Other side”…the other side is known as the other side of the Sea of Galilee, the Eastern shore below Golan Heights…were non Jews and Gentiles were living.  While driving we saw the area where Jesus casts out demons from men into pigs and the pigs ran out down the mountain into the sea and died and the people were mad at Jesus healing these 2 men and told Him to leave.  Matthew 8:28-34.  We stopped at at Kibbutz Ein Giv to have lunch.  Like our first day, we eat as a group for lunch and can choose from a set menu.  We are served what we call in Hawaii Pupus, had pita bread, hummus, fresh picked veggies (tomatoes, olives, etc) and eggplant and cabbage.  Then we get to choose today between 3 choices – a salad, a sweet potato quiche and St. Peter’s fish (the tilapia, not the Ala Wai Canal kine).  Sufficient to say that I was the only one who chose the fish.  Lol…sorry coming from Hawaii…it was okay.  We had a nice lunch and was blessed by one of our group, he paid for us all.  Thank You Lord for allowing us to make these new relationships. 

It is now about 2pmish and we have been on the go since 8am this morning, non stop and had one more scheduled stop to make today.  Stop # 7 is the Jordan River Baptismal sight known as Yardenit. It is at the most southern point of the Sea of Galilee, so today we drove all the way around the Sea of Galilee.  Even though this is not the area where Jesus was baptized (Qasr El Yahud), as that area due to military issues in the past is not considered safe, this area of Yardenit was deemed to be the first regulated baptism site on the Israeli side of the Jordan River.  The Qasr El Yahud was reopened in 2011 but Yardenit is now the place where 400,000 visitors each year come to get baptized. I had planned to get baptized in advance as I saw it as opportunity to do it here in Israel, the Holy Land and also as a reaffirmation of my first adult baptism back in 2003, 13 years later.  A lot has happened since then and I wanted to let God know how thankful I am for what He has done in my life.  Now this is where the day became a miracle.

I came on this trip as a participant not as a Pastor..however, my calling as a Pastor cannot be compartmentalized…I cannot just take of the hat and put it back on when I want to…God called me into this role, to be a shepherd of His flock…all of His flock.  Pastor David Stoker asked me to be a part of the baptism today. Also, David and Monica (his wife) wanted to get baptized also and needed someone to dunk him..lol..as he could not dunk himself.  So along with Jim from North Carolina, Brandi, me, Monica and David, 5 of us were set to be baptized today with our 9 others standing in prayer for us all. However, God had a bigger plan for us that than today.  Prior to getting into the water, we were asked by a German film group shooting a documentary on Pentecostal Baptisms…and wanted to film our group.  We said yup, no problem.  Go for it.  Just when that got agreed to, our guide Hill-El asked us if we could assist in the baptism of 6 soldiers, who are serving with the MFO – Multinational Force and Observes.  According to their website www.mfo.org :

The Multinational Force & Observers (MFO), headquartered in Rome, is an independent international organization, created by agreement between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the State of Israel, with peacekeeping responsibilities in the Sinai.

And as we all know, in the Sinai, ISIS has been showing up recently  So these 6 young soldiers (no one probably older than 30-35 years old), 3 from America, 2 from Czech Republic and 1 female from Australia wanted to get baptized on their 5 day leave from Egypt into Israel.  All professed that Jesus Christ was their Lord and Savior and for the 3 Americans, especially Jeremy from Chico California, this was something that was a milestone for him today.    So 1 by 1, they came into the water, cool, green, filled with fishes (big and small) turtles and ducks and we baptized them.  Unreal opportunity not only for them, but for me and David. To be part of something like this, baptizing people in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit was a miracle.  Prior to going in the water, David shared with all those around us the significance of baptism.  As I, we at NH Aloha Pau;ole have been learning over the last 8 years is that baptism is an identity declaration for us.  It is as much about professing our faith outwardly for an inward decision as it is of washing our sins free but there is 1 thing first and foremost that must be understood..baptism is being deemed valuable by the Father first and foremost.  The bible tells us that when Jesus was baptized, he had not yet done any miracles, had not done any teaching or preaching, but when He came out of the water, God, the Father spoke out and said “This is my Son, in whom I well pleased.”  Jesus was valuable to God, He was loved by God, He was God.  And like Jesus, we are valuable to God.  God created us in His image and His likeness for great things.  Like Jesus, we are deemed valuable regardless of what we do, don’t’ do or will do.  We get the opportunity to believe in Him and call Him Lord and Savior regardless of the mess we are in because of who He is in us.  Repentance of Sins is a key component of our Christian walk, but we must first understand that we are valuable to God, we are loved and we are His.  And because of that, we can live out the calling in our lives regardless of our deficiencies and inabilities and I got to share that to those today in attendance.  Pure Love 101 baby lived out in Israel.    What a way to end the day. But wait, not pau yet. As we came out of the water, the German film crew wanted to interview me.  They asked why I wanted to get baptized and why here. I shared my testimony on why we did this today – to honor and memorialize the events over the past 3.5 years. I shared with them that Brandi and I had come to fulfill my wife’s requests and Brandi was asked the same question.  I wish you could see the faces of the interviewer, the camera man and the boom person (holder of the mic).  Flushed faces, ready to cry, not fully understanding that what they had come for in this interview was this story that Lori wanted us to share with the world..that God is good in the midst of suffering..that God regardless of the pain and loss going on in our lives, is still being glorified through our lives and actions lived out in the midst of great loss.  They could not believe what they just heard.  The Gospel presented in such a way that lives will be changed forever.  Unreal!!  Lord, thank you for this opportunity..may you be magnified and glorified in all things.

Wait, we are not done yet..and you can see why these last 2 days have been so wonderful and joyful…God continues to show up and show His glory.  We left Yardenit and headed back towards our hotel, completing the full circle island tour of the Sea of Galilee…and made 1 more unplanned stop, Stop #8 at Magdala. There is a huge historical significance of this place just in between Tiberias and Capernaum and it has only recently been discovered.  This area of development for a Catholic Filipino Women’s retreat center had begun construction a few years back and in 2009, construction workers found a first century (28AD) synagogue, where it is believed Jesus taught.  One of the first confirmations is that this area is the home of Mary Magadalene who was with Jesus through His ministry. Other artifacts and structures in this area of about a half acre in size (20000 sq ft) resembles synagogues and architectural designs and layouts of what a synagogue looked like and contained back in the days of Jesus.  Jesus walked, talked, taught and prayed throughout His time and this finding continues to confirm what has been confirmed throughout history..and the cool thing is that this all so new..that we got to be up close and personal of this new finding…probably within a few years, the areas we walked and touched where Jesus was will be blocked off and turned into some national treasure like the other places.  As our guide said, this is so new that we are blessed to have seen it first hand.  For more info, checkout the website www.magdala.org its really cool.  There was recent article on April 5, 2 weeks ago on a ancient bronze tool being unearthed at this location.  A incense jug and a bronze jug were found in this area.  Nuts yeah…oh, the construction of the development is still moving forward, they just had to move some stuff around, but now this place will also be a huge boost to this retreat center moving forward.  Crazy how God works out all things for His good and our good. 

Well, we got back to the hotel at about 4pm and took a nap and joined our group for dinner at 6:30pm. Friday’s in Israel at approx 3pm, Shabot (Sabbath) begins to take place and people come together and stop working and eat and pray together and our hotel is a very popular place for Shabot dinner so we were told to come and eat early and avoid the crowd rush and also because they needed our table for a 2^nd seating..lol.

It is now 5:30am Saturday morning and we leave our hotel today and head down to Jerusalem, where we will stay till we leave next Thursday..wow..we still have 6 days to experience the fullness of God!!

Today, we will be visiting Jericho, Qumran and the Ein Gedi and check into our hotel Mount Zion in Jerusalem.  Our guide, Hill-El, is a Israeli Jew and cannot go with us into certain areas like Jericho and Bethlehem, because they  are under Palestine control.  So for a few hours today and tomorrow, we will have a new guide. Our bus driver/security is an Israeli Arab, so he will still be us.  Safety as always is a concern as we head more south towards these area..but as we know, God is in control. 

It has been so exciting for me and for Brandi and for the group. I am so thankful for what I am seeing, experience and hearing. I am continually asking God for clear eyes, fresh ears and an open heart to see, hear and experience all that He wants to reveal to me.

I close with this and I am not sure what if any significance this is or will be…but it happened twice today.  I am seeking God’s revelation on why if any message He is trying to share with me. 

While I was sharing on the Sea of Galilee, 2 of our group, Amy and Tom Webster saw fishes jumping out of the water behind me..multiple fishes…jumping out of the water behind my back. She motioned to Tom to take a picture but he shushed her off as he was totally engaged into what I was sharing.  I thanked her for the info and said wow..cool.

At the Yardenit Baptism site, when I was dunked into the water by David and Monica, Amy and a few others of group, saw fishes jumping out of the water behind me…I told them that I caused a tidal wave when I was dunked and that’s why they flew out of the water and they all said nope, God was saying something through the fishes.  I don’t know what it is yet..but when God is ready He will reveal..all I can think of is when Jesus told the disciples to fish, they fished and they caught. 

Lord, thank you so much for this day and for whatever you have in store over the next days.  I give you all the glory and praise and I love You.  Please open my eyes, help mje to hear and see and experience all that you desire of me.  Lord to You be the glory.

Love you all, praying for you and thanks for all the comments, likes and support.  May you all be blessed by what I am sharing. 

Aloha