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!!!