Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

On Saturday, October 23rd, we spent most of our day in the Judean wilderness. We visited Qumran, the Essene community where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Next, we hiked the En Gedi, the hills wherein David spent much of his time hiding from Saul (and where he wrote many of his psalms). And, we went to Masada, the fortress in which almost 1,000 Jews killed themselves, believing it was better to die as freemen than to live as slaves of Rome. It turned out to be a very emotional day as we considered what it must have been like for the Essenes living in the dry hills of Qumran, separated from friends and family; for David living in the caves of En Gedi, running for his life from an insane king; for the Jews who desperately tried to fight off the Romans but who eventually took their lives at Masada. As we walked through these various places, it was almost as if one could see the faces and hear the voices of those who had once lived there, suffering so intensely under evil regimes . Yet...

I will never forget my first glimpse of Jerusalem. It was Thursday, October 21st. We had spent the earlier part of the day traveling the country – a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, the ruins of Capernaum, a first century lunch in Nazareth, Caesarea Maritime on the Mediterranean. Finally, as the sun was beginning to set, we made our way up to the top of the Mount of Olives. As we reached the top of the mount, suddenly the city of Jerusalem appeared. There before us, was the city that I had read of so many times; the city that is central to both biblical history and prophecy; the only city that is called, the “Holy City.” And, there it was now before me, the sun glistening off of gold domes; the walls looking strong and proud. What a spectacular sight! The next day we returned back to the Mount of Olives, once again late in the day. Again we took in a breathtaking view of Jerusalem. This time however, rather than driving down towards the city, we took the path that Jesus would have ta...

During our time at the Sea of Galilee (also called, Lake Tiberias), we spent one of our days traveling through the “north country” visiting the ruins of a number of cities that are mentioned in the Bible. It was quite a day as we visited places, some of which were 3,000-4,000 years old. The day included a hike at the Dan Nature Reserve which led us, not only along one of the main tributaries to the Jordan River, but to one of the “high places’ built by Jeroboam. It was a religious site used by the kings of the northern kingdom as a place of worship in order to keep their people from going to Jerusalem for worship. For these kings, political power, economics, and pragmatism was more important than the worship of God. We went to Caesarea Philippi, a Roman city that was filled with temples to their pagan gods, the largest of which was to the god, Pan. The temples were built along a huge rock cliff. On one side of the cliff there is the mouth to a cave, thought to be by the Romans an e...

After having spent a couple of days in Jordan visiting places such as Petra and Kerak Castle, on October 19th we crossed back into Israel by Jericho. After visiting the ruins at Jericho and Beth Shean, we drove to the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias). There, in the late afternoon, we sat on the shore by an ancient jetty, one which gives evidence to a fishing industry having been on this part of the lake. It is said that it was probably there that Jesus first met his disciples such as Peter, James, John, and Andrew. And, it was most likely at that spot (or one very nearby) that the risen Christ met his disciples, after the disciples had spent the night fishing with nothing to show for it. I remember on that particular day getting choked up twice. The first time was when we were crossing back into Israel from Jordan. For some reason, it felt like I was coming home. There was almost a sense of relief as the young man took my passport and welcomed me back into Israel. I realized that day t...