Shalom!

     It’s been 3 days since I last updated you guys on My  Jerusalem Pilgrimage.  I must apologize.  I will catch you you up half way today and then send another one  tomorrow morning.  There has been a roller coaster of emotions that has taken place on this trip.  As the group explores the country of Israel, it is inevitable to eventually get to one of the most traumatic and devastating moments in history...the holocaust.  I will get to that in a little bit.  It has been an experience learning the history, battles, creation, destruction, rebuilding, and endurance of the Israel state and its citizens (mainly the Jews).  Their battle is an inspiring story that hasn’t even come close to finishing yet.  And, without getting too political, the borders of Israel and their freedom to have life are under attack again.  May God watch over them and protect them.

     To the right is a picture of an 18 year with a automatic machine gun.  In Israel, at the age of 18 or high school graduation everybody, man and woman, must enter the Israeli army for 2 years.  They are trained in history, heritage, and military maneuvers and skills. These young men and women have their guns on them at all times whether they are in a museum (unloaded guns) or walking around Jerusalem (loaded guns) to learn their territory or get money out of an ATM.  Can you imagine a nation in which almost all of its citizens are trained for active military duty.  That’s one nation that will be tough to beat.  Yet they still have nations at their doorsteps that are passionately trying to exterminate Jews from the face of the Earth.  Huh.

     On my fourth day of touring we traveled down the

 eastern coast of the Dead Sea.  The Dead Sea got its name due to the fact that nothing can live in its waters.  The salt content is too high for anything to live and function as an animal should.  When I heard of this it obviously made sense and I immediately envisioned that the Dead Sea was a dark, dreary, lifeless, dump that would be like the armpit of a nation.  I was completely wrong.  A picture of the beautiful sea is here.  The high salt content is actually very, very healthy for your skin.  So healthy and refreshing that Queen Cleopatra of Egypt conquered the land to make it her own personal spa.  No wonder she was so beautifully portrayed in history.  Also, everybody floats!!!!  No matter what position you lay in, or ball up in, you will undoubtedly float.  Be careful though not to get this into your eyes.  Very painful.  After floating in the sea and then getting into the natural hot spring of the Dead Sea my body felt so incredibly fresh and rejuvenated.  The affect the water had on my body was incredible.

     At the northern part of the sea is Qumran.  This is a pretty incredible place and is also where archeologists found one of the oldest scrolls in mint condition from over 2000 years ago, the Book of Isaiah.  These men were a group of Jews called the Essenes.  They took themselves out of civilization to be in complete dedication to their community and to God.  They emphasized purity of mind and soul and body.  Some of their teachings and communal laws can set a good example what living Holy lives should look like for Christians today.  It’s rumored that John the Baptist may have visited and stayed with them for a couple years.  You should take some time to study them a little.

     Next we went about 3/4 of the way down the coast to the Desert of En Gedi.  Some very neat stories took place here from the Bible and I got to learn about and touch two trees that played some major roles.  In 1 Samuel 24 the Bible talks about King Saul chasing after David to kill him.  David is located in the Desert of the En Gedi in some caves.  King Saul stops to relieve himself at the caves and David cuts a corner of Saul’s robe to prove he does not want to kill Saul and he wants peace. I got to see these caves.  The sands have shifted over time and water has moved the level of the cliffs much higher than it was back then.  But regardless, these are some of the only cliffs in the Desert of the En Gedi.  I also have a picture of the wild goats that wander around everywhere in this region.  Just another famous story that puts into context even the Old Testament texts of the Bible.  Secondly, I got to see the tree that the items of the temple were made out of and then more significant to me is the tree that produces the thorns used to create the crown of thorns that Jesus wore during the crucifixion.

     At the bottom tip of the Dead Sea is an amazing archeological find called Masada.  Masada is a large town/fortress built on top of a tall cliff.  This was King Herod the Great’s getaway palace for the winter but also a great location to block invaders from the south of Israel.  So great this fortress that when the Jews overtook it from the inside, the Romans had much difficulty in taking it back from them.  There is a movie on this city that is supposed to recap the battle well.  Just to show you a little more about the power of King Herod the Great I will tell you briefly about the fortress.  King Herod the Great had a sauna/steam room in this palace and channeled water from distant springs to flow into large cisterns.  He had everything inside this city from entertainment to pigeons trained to carry letters to and from Jerusalem.  Masada is home to the oldest synagogue as well.  If that doesn’t impress you then remember that this was created 2000 years ago!  Pretty incredible place and an awesome view overlooking the entire Dead Sea and surrounding Valleys.

     Finally, we come to the beginning of the 5th day.  This is a day that was so emotional and horrifying that my words alone cannot describe it effectively.  Just understand that before you even read these next statements that there was a chance for this to be avoided.  The chances were the people who had the ability to do something yet did nothing.  These people may be just as guilty as those committing the crimes themselves.  The Holocaust Museum is split into two buildings.  The first is the Children’s Memorial.  Over 1.5 million children were put to death during the Holocaust all around Europe during the time of Hitler.  The memorial is constantly playing the Name, Age, and Country that each of these children were from.  On constant playing of these names of the children alone, it would take 3 months for every name that they know of to be read aloud.  The second memorial is to recap what actually happened there  and remind us never to let it happen again.  Some officials (Iran) today believe that the holocaust never happened and it was all made up.  They wish to annihilate the Jews and take over the entirety of Israel.  The deception, lies, false hope, slander, mental, physical and sexual abuse that went on in these years makes you question their humanity.  One German official wrote a letter to his wife and child informing them of how he handles murdering these men and women.  He says (paraphrasing) “it was hard at first to kill the Jews.  But the more I killed them, the easier it got to get rid of them.”  About 6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust altogether.  During the War to stop Hitler about 50 million men and women died.  These numbers are huge!  Almost unfathomable when you think about each number being an actual life and soul.

     As I saw this Memorial I couldn’t help but think “God? Am I the same human, flesh and blood as these men murdering millions? Would I have stood up for justice in the face of an equal death of not only me but also my family?”  I thought these thoughts and then read Romans chapter 9 and swallowed hard to try and take it all in.  God is Love.  And He is so in Love with us.  Verse 23 impacted me the most.  As an object of His mercy I would be a fool to see these horrors and do nothing.  James 5:20 and James 4:17 say “Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins” and “Anyone who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”  Jesus came to Earth to bare Gods wrath for us.  He saw the horrors that man had committed and chose to face them head on to save you.  How many lives have been saved due to the Gospel of Jesus Christ?  How many opportunities are foregone everyday that would allow us to bring a sinner from the error of his way?  As I briefly remind you of this event let’s not miss out on the truth of God’s mercy!!  The earlier questions are not the questions at all that I need to be asking myself! There is a God! He is alive! I am not like those men! I was made for love! I will stand up for justice!  I will go and make disciples of all nations! Christ will be victorious!...but know that faith without works is dead.  We know the good news and how to use it!  Will we sit on the sidelines as our children, brothers, sisters, peers, and co-workers are deceived and led to die?  I won’t.  Beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news and Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord!

     I will see you guys soon.  Hope everything is going well for all of you.  Be safe!  Love much! Have faith!

!Shalom!

Josh

Jesus’ Miracles around the Sea of Galilee

!!!SHALOM!!!

     Hello everybody.  My Holy Land Pilgrimage is still going successfully.  Today was an awesome yet exhausting day.  We basically circled all the way around the Sea of Galilee to see the places where scholars, and ancient writings, have determined or suggested that Jesus performed specific miracles there.  Pretty awesome!!  Let’s just start off by saying that Jesus had to be in shape.  Everywhere you look are hills and then mountains and then large valleys with more hills!!  And Jesus did some traveling.  The Sea of Galilee is a beautiful place and would be a great vacation residence for a season or two.  

     There is so much history and significance from the Bible around this sea.  At first it is a little difficult to fathom that you are looking at the place where Jesus feed the 5000.  You might say to yourself...self “How can they really know where Jesus was standing 2000 YEARS AGO!?! Let’s just read the scripture and appreciate the fact that Jesus was in this area.”  If I thought like this then I would completely miss the fact and the reason why I came to Israel in the first place.  So I listened to the reasoning and facts behind why this site is really the place.  Here is the conclusion I came to, “JESUS WAS A BIG DEAL!!!”  The reason they know some of these sites is because 1st century Judeo-Christians would tell stories of the events and then build churches on top of these boulders and hills.  The churches would be destroyed and other churches would be built and so on depending on different battles and earthquakes.  The Church of the Heptapegon is shown in the picture to describe how this site came about though different archaeological digs and such.  If we really think about it, we make monuments every year to signify war heros and tragic events and president’s faces.  Is it so hard to believe that the Son of God made so much of a big impact when He came to Earth that people would make monuments to remember.  So when I tell you about some of these sites and what happened here, try not to distance yourself from the reality that Jesus walked this land and did miraculous things here in Israel.  

     First things first, Matthew 4:12-25, Jesus went all over this region to preach.  I guess the first thing that hit me when I was remembering this scripture is that when Jesus had “good news” (Mark 1:15) He spoke about it and told everybody.  Even when these “everybodys” already had their Jewish customs and strange interpretations and stubborn hearts.  Do you have “good news” that you could tell to people...anybody...one person?  I know I do.

     The first place on todays journey was The Temple of the Beattitudes.  This is where the scholars say would have been the location for Jesus to give His infamous Sermon on the Mount.  This hill is big enough to fit thousands of people and is shaped in a nature-made amphitheater.  We read the Beattitudes here and had a small lesson from one of the Pastors. It was Very cool!!  We then went to the Church of the Heptapgeon.  This is said to be the very rock and place that Jesus multiplied the bread and the fish to feed the 5000 people in Matthew 6:30-44.  In verse 33 it says they people saw where Jesus and His disciples were sailing to and ran ahead of them.  This is very possible.  On a clear day you can see all the way across the Sea of Galilee.  The boats were not motorized, so the people had ample time to get to the other side of the lake by running a long way around the shore.  Next we drove by the cliff where they believe the pigs ran into the sea and drowned from the Demon(s) Legion.  That is just a funny story to me.  Then we went to the place where Jesus appeared after His death.  We read from scriptures and were reminded of the fact that Jesus appeared to His people after He arose from being dead!!  This particular church was said to be the place where Jesus reminded His fishers of men (apostles) how to fish.  He told them to cast there nets onto the right side of the boat in John 21:1-14.  This is where they drug in their net of 153 fish and Peter has his Life Purpose reminded to him.  This story can be sooo very significant to Christians today.  Peter had sinned against his Lord and felt that he had disqualified himself from Christ and His mission here on Earth.  In doing so he reverted back to his original life style as a fisherman with the rest of the disciples.  Thank God for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross that is able to take away all of our sin when we return and seek forgiveness from Him!!  Peter showed his love and repentance by jumping out of the boat and then confessing to Jesus that his heart is still for Christ.  I see two choices that come from sin...Peter’s and Judas’.  One sought the Lord for forgiveness and forgiveness was given.  The other chose to reject God’ mercy and his sin led him to his self-condemning death.  Do not do the latter.  Repent and turn to the glorious cross of Christ for forgiveness because “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (Romans 4:25)

     In speaking of Romans, I have learned much about the extravagance of King Herod the Great.  He was a powerful man that built cities everywhere.  John the Baptist and Jesus really were brave men to stand up to such a ruler as this.  Today we saw a city named Bet She’an or also called Scythopolis.  Amazing place that even had a large public unisex bathroom inside the city when large events were taking place.  You can see the picture here.  This King built incredible cities with amphitheaters, horse racing events, and coliseums for gladiators.  This city particularly had the streets built at angles so that the rain water would drain to the side and flow out into the valley to water crops.  Not to mention his aqueduct system that he built, again, to bring water from miles away.

     Finally we went to the Jordan where to a possible spot that John the Baptist baptized Jesus.  There are many possible locations for this occurrence.  Here there is a baptismal area set up for anybody who wanted to be baptized in the Jordan river.  Amazing feeling as crowds gathered around, like back in the biblical times, to watch and encourage the believers who were participating in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

   

  That is all for todays ventures!  Until next time, Shalom!

!!Shalom!!

     Today was an awesome day of fun and learning.  It’s pretty amazing that the more you get to know and learn about a place the more you fall in love with it.  Everybody seems to have a success story from the long ago to how they arrived to the current reality.  Israel has been through some pretty heavy opposition since it’s beginning in the Book of Joshua.  It seems as if they are still going through it and missing out on the blessings that come with obedience to God.  David and Solomon were prime examples of this.  They obeyed and were blessed.  Today, God is reached through Jesus Christ alone, yet He was despised and rejected by men: Deuteronomy 28:1-2 (Blessings for Obedience) and Deuteronomy 28:15 (Curses for Disobedience) and Isaiah 53:3.  The Orthodox Jews, that I have seen, are so devote and intentional about their prayers and the old law.  I am reminded of how easily we can overlook or ignore Christ and boast in ourselves and our works.  Today I was reminded about Romans 11.  Great chapter!! Paul speaks to gentiles (me) in a way that should lead me to humility because of God’s grace.  I have been grafted in!!! Praise God!!  My prayer tonight goes to the Jews in Israel and all over the world.  May there eyes be reopened and their ears aloud to hear.  May they be released from the spirit of stupor and to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior!!  

     Today was our 1st day on the Sea of Galilee!!  I actually got to get into a boat that was made similar to that of the 1st Century, except bigger, and go into the middle of the sea.  As we worshipped on the sea I could do nothing but embrace the reality of Jesus walking on these waters and calming the storm that suddenly swept over them.  I could see all the places that Jesus’ miracles happened from the Sea of Galilee: the feeding of the 5000, healing of the demon possessed men and Legion, sermon on the mount, casting the nets on the other side to catch the 153 fish, etc...  I could go on!!  He definitely proved that He had power over everything natural, and spiritual.  The Sea of Galilee is a beautiful place.  I could see a bunch of different cities around the lake depending on which way you face.  Even though it is 7.5 miles across, the hills surrounding the sea allow you to view the other side pretty clearly.  It would be easy to see large crowds gather in different areas.  Definite put into perspective when he said that a city on a hill can not be hidden.  I could sea all of them!!

     Today we also went up to Caesarea Phillipi, named after King Herod’s son.  This is where the Jordan river is primarily fed through a spring that shoots out from Mount Herman.  I took rocks as gifts.  Interestingly enough, this place is where a shrine to the god Zeus other goddesses were made.  Attached is a picture of a Roman Bridge that was built around the time that Jesus walked the Earth.  I was possibly walking on the same path as Jesus!!  Caesarea Phillipi is also where Simon Peter (pebble) declares that Jesus is the Son of God and his named is changed to Peter (rock).  Jesus then declares that the gate of Hades’ will not overcome the Church!!  Woohoo!!  That’s a statement we can stand on as the Church of Christ.  Be encouraged!!

     This trip is a Pilgrimage to the Holy land to experience and get better insight to the potential atmosphere that my Savior and Lord lived in as He spoke to the 1st generation.  By no means is this trip to prove that Jesus is real to me; I am no doubting Thomas.  I believe in Jesus 100%!!!  Our God really came down into His creation and lived as/through Jesus Christ.  Jesus is Real!!  This trip is strengthening to my spirit and I hope that you are encouraged thus far from these brief glimpses into my mind and heart.  I believe that one of the worst weaknesses of the body is for one to be guarded and alone.  Not only in the physical body but also in the church.  My encouragement to whom ever is reading along is to become transparent with the church and its members and begin to share your heart on these matters.  Come to receive mercy, grace, peace, forgiveness, joy, insight, guidance, and love from one another but also give that same gift back to others with patience and as much understanding as you can muster.  Sometimes all people need is an ear to talk to and the Holy Spirit will guide their hearts into righteousness and comfort.  My peace I leave with you from Israel as Jesus has left it with me!! (John 14:27) Go and be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect! (Matthew 5:48).  

!!Shalom!!

P.S.  Interesting fact about the Jews and the Sabbath.  There are elevators here in Israel that are called sabbath elevators.  These elevators stop at every floor in the building so that on the sabbath the Jews don’t have to “work” by pressing the elevator button.  Huh!!!  Praise be to God for sending Jesus!  

Sorry for the delay in posting.  I had struggled getting internet.  Also...everything on this website is now in Hebrew!!!  I don't read Hebrew.  I had to guess on memory on what I needed to press to get these things posted.  I will do my best to get these posts to you.  Sorry if the formatting is a little off.  I can't read the language well or really at all.

!!Shalom!!

!!!Erev Tov!!! (Good Evening!)

     I left America at 1:30pm and arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel at 6:45am (local time).  We wasted no time and quickly got acquainted with our tour guide Shlomo and were on our way.  We stopped and got some coffee before leaving the airport and went straight to touring.  First impressions...this looks just like American airports and American Highways except the lanes are about 2 feet smaller.  The driving feels like New York and the locals are always in a hurry for some reason.  The weather is a bit off at the moment.  We experienced constant 25mile per hour winds yesterday and slight rain.  It nearly knocked me over a couple times.

     Our first stop was Joppa!  Joppa has some significant stories in the Bible.  Jonah left from the port of Joppa heading towards Tarshish (modern day Spain) instead of heading to Ninevah (the complete opposite direction).  We saw the port and it looks like a modern port.  Then we went to the place where Peter came to after healing a crippled man and raising Tabitha from the dead.  Peter stayed with Simon the Tanner and they are pretty sure that his house was within a quarter mile of this seaside location (Acts 9).  Peter was a real man too!  Not a mythical character.  We then went to the hotel to catch up on sleep and wonder around Joppa for lunch.  I did both!  This picture attached is a picture of my first Israeli meal. Its a falafel.  It is a much fun to eat as it is to say.  Its fried chick peas with some other stuff...it’s good and apparently healthy.  That night the hotel provided our dinner and, let me tell you, they know how to feed people.  The buffet was huge and delicious: meats, veggies, soups, salads, peppers, and a slew of desserts.  I ate like a king and felt like a huge glutton afterwards, but slept great that night.  I was awakened twice that night with a strong impression to pray...so I prayed and it was awesome.

    The next morning we packed up and went about 10 miles south to Caesarea.  This is further along in the Acts of the Apostles.  Chapter 10 tells about Peter’s vision of the sheet full of animals, clean and unclean.  This is significant for you and me who are not Jewish.  This is how God tells his Apostle to begin preaching and converting the Gentiles.  Peter then converted and baptized Cornelius, a Centurion in the Roman army.  The plan of God reconciling all of His people back to Him took another step forward here!

     Next we went to Megiddo!  I know what you are thinking...where?!?  That’s what I said until I got there.  Megiddo is a city that is one of the most significantly strategic bases that Solomon built during his 40 years of peace and blessings from God.  Solomon was quite the brilliant man and he was real to!  This fort was at the intersection of the major international highways of the land at that time.  It overlooks and controls the Valley of Jezrel (Valley of Armageddon).  This is a huge valley that is said (depending on your interpretation of Revelation) to host the final battle of Heaven here on Earth in which Jesus will defeat the Anti-Christ and his armies.  This Valley can fit millions of people on it...it’s huge.  So many battles have been fought on this valley from Josiah and Deborah to World War II.  Now it is just farm lands.  Megiddo is a historical digging site that has 25 different levels of forts and altars built on top of each other.  Two pictures shown are a large gate that Solomon built looong ago and then an altar that pagans used to sacrifice animals and humans on even longer ago.  Solomon conquered and built over the other god’s altars and town.  The water system was awesome as well, I will tell you about that in person.

Finally, we went to Nazareth where we walked in the old streets and buildings that the Son of God more than likely walked on.  For those of you who haven’t been to Nazareth, it’s a real place and Jesus was a real person.  I didn’t feel anything special as we began to tour the city.  The city looks like a 21st century city on a mountainside.  It’s cool.  In Jesus’ time there was said to be 50 families or so living on the main street.  There are much much more now.  The main feeling I got was that of the Anti-Christ.  

     The Muslim influence is sweeping across Israel and is attacking all ways of life, the airways, mosques everywhere, and bringing oppression on the young men and women.   The radical Muslims are said to either convert you or kill you.  They shine a green light on their mosques if they have this radical influence.  We saw many green mosques on our trip already.  Church, we are in a spiritual and physical war that is slowly killing and polluting the TRUTH about Christ and His message.  We have to begin to pray, fast, worship, and live aggressively for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to prevail in this generation today.  Muslims pray 5 times a day and these prayers are broadcasted trough the land on loud speakers.  The Gospel of Truth needs to be talked about in our conversations, dreamt about while we sleep, spread to those without it, and lived out with strengthening faith and passion that would have others see it and desire it over everything else.  God’s message of love and peace is that good.  Do you believe that?  The extent to how deeply you believe is the extent to how faithfully you will live it out.  It’s time to redefine our relationship with God and draw even closer to Him.

   Lastly, I was reminded of whom stands supreme over all physical and spiritual things.  I got to see the two mountains that significant events happen on them.  On Mount Carmel, the Divinity of God was proven and the false reality of other gods was defeated (1 Kings 18:16-46).  Then on Mount Herman, the possible location where Jesus’ transfiguration took place, 3 apostles saw Jesus transform into His spiritual body.   These two events prove the physical and spiritual power of the God we serve and His son Jesus who is our Savior.  Who can stand against Him?!? Nobody.

     The trip is going great!!!  I am finally getting to know my group a little better.  I got rest and tomorrow I am going to the Jordan River and the Galilee Sea.  These are where Jesus spent a lot of His time and performed many of His miracles.  Pray and intercede for me and the Church of Jesus Christ here in Israel!!  Talk to you tomorrow!!

Hope you are enjoying this!! 

!! Shalom !!

Uninvited Baggage

Shalom to you all!!   

Grace and Peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!!  I am still in the states and have already felt the Spirit of God moving and opening my mind to see more about His kingdom.  I successfully procrastinated in packing in the last couple days.  For all of you out there who have ever done that, then you know how my morning was.  I scrambled around in different rooms and searched through luggage to ensure that what we call our “essentials” were packed.  The last couple days I was caught up by the worrying of having everything I NEEDED for MY trip.  I felt calm and peaceful and full of joy on the outside; but, on the inside I was worrying about fleshly provisions that I believed were necessities for me to have on my trip.  Looking back I find that my prayers and quiet times had taken an early flight and were nowhere to be seen.  How deceived I was to think I was at peace in my spirit because of how I was portraying myself to the world.  This evening my spirit felt heavy and overwhelmed because of my worry that was disguised as “necessary preparation” this morning.  I was short in conversation and irritable in spirit.  I caught brief comfort from God with a song on the radio but quickly fell back into the hustle and bustle of being prepared for EVERYTHING that could possibly happen in Israel.  My attitude poured into my family and everybody else I came into contact with today.  I wasn’t necessarily negative but definitely wasn’t full of zeal that would allow me to uplift them and to be a light in a dark world.  Even the encouraging messages that were being texted to me all day were acknowledged and then overtaken by my stress.  My sneezing, runny nose, itchy and then watery eyes compounded the situation as I checked into the hotel in Newark, NJ.  
     It wasn’t until my twin, Mark, and I went to dinner at the hotel cafe’ that I noticed the heaviness of my spirit.  We prayed.  Some of the heaviness immediately went away as I began to focus on God and His provision and omnipotence in this world.  A world that is so full of distractions.  Dinner was great and my mind was refocused.  We overheard an older couple preaching back and forth at each other about Christ and His time here on Earth.  I felt an impulse to go over say hello to these strangers and eventually got up and interrupted their conversation.  The man had a passion and zeal for the Lord that was encouraging and very uplifting to my Spirit as he spoke to us about his many experiences in the Holy Land.  He was a retired pastor from Ohio that had taken his whole church to Israel at one point.  We got to mutually encourage each other for a couple minutes as God completely took the weight off of my heart and my spirit.  
     In this moment I was reminded of what Matthew 6:25-34 was really talking about.  STOP WORRYING!!  This worry that had engulfed my spirit had hindered 3 conversations that could have easily become a time to glorify God and give hope somebody’s soul.  That’s 3 divine appointments that I missed because I was focused on me and my agenda.  I let a good thing, going to Israel, that God had for me become a hinderance to His divine plan in my life.  Thank you Lord for continuing rescue me from myself!  Moral of today’s story...1) don’t procrastinate.  But in all actuality 2) don’t allow life’s blessings or setbacks pull you away from the divine guidance, provision, and purpose of the Holy Spirit of God.  

  On a happier note, I am about 15 hours away from boarding a plane to fly to Israel.  My spirit is full of joy and my brother and I have laughed into tears multiple times tonight.  I have freshened up on my Holy Land history and am ready to embark on My Jerusalem Pilgrimage.  Stay tuned until next time!

From left to right: Josh, Mark

Much Love! and !!Shalom!!

My Stateside PreIsrael Introduction

Hello All!!

     My name is Josh and I am going on my first Holy Land Pilgrimage.  I am excited and encouraged to share an excellent experience with you in the next two weeks.  My hope is that you are strengthened and uplifted by my posts about the Holy Land in Israel.  I will be sending pictures and videos (if I can figure out how to do so) about the different places I visit.  I hope you will be reminded about just how real Jesus was and is through the pictures and experiences I write to you about.
     I will be landing in Israel on the 28th of February. Some sites to look forward to are Jerusalem, the Garden of Gethsemane, Jordan River, Capernaum, Sea of Galilee, the Pool at Bethesda and more!!  I will be sending scriptures for you to follow along with to refresh your memory of the events that went on at these sites.  So have your swords (Eph. 6:17) drawn.
     I am sooo excited!!!  Unfortunately, Israel is on the other side of the world.  So a 10.5 hour flight from Newark, NY to Israel must first take place.  I have arranged entertainment, sermons, and healthy crossword puzzle competitions that my twin brother and I will use to pass the time.  Being still for long periods of time is not a gift God has blessed me with.  The weather is said to be in the lows of the 30s to the highs of the 60s at about this time of year.
     As I pack my luggage and write about going to Israel I find that the whole idea of me flying to the other side of the world is a bit surreal.  It hasn’t sunk in yet that I will potentially be walking on the same roads that Jesus Christ walked on 2000 years ago.  God became a man and lived on Earth!!!  My prayer is for God to give us a revelation of who Jesus, the Son of God, really was, and STILL IS, as we journey together in Israel.
     The truth of the matter is that we need to know who Jesus is and why He was here in the first place!  In John 14, Jesus’ disciples have questions concerning His going away, back to the Father.  Jesus tells us that “If you knew me, you would know my Father as well.”  How AMAZING is that?!?!  Jesus is the only way to the Father for us.  I believe the more real, present, tangible, and alive that we see Jesus to be NOW then the more empowered we will become spiritually, emotionally, and physically to serve Him and live as God intended.  God is not a distant being staring down at us from afar.  He is omnipresent and omnipotent!  God is among us and His glorious presence dwells inside of us if we so choose to truly have FAITH in His son Jesus Christ.
   Until next time…!!!Shalom!!!