It's a beautiful Saturday morning (Day 7 of 9). We're on our way back to Jerusalem, and we'll be making stops at some Roman Ruins (Bet She'an National Park) and Lazarus' Tomb. The Bet She'an ruins is a representation of a Decapolis city. This is one of the places where the Jews fled when Rome destroyed Jerusalem. Rome demanded their allegiance, but ultimately, it didn't matter, and Rome eliminated the Jews who fled here as well. Jim then moved to talk about what was happening when the early church began to bring in Gentiles to become followers of Christ, particularly, those things necessary for converts to observe regarding Jewish practices and sexual morality. Jim pointed out that this world, however, had no boundaries when it came to sexual morality, making it very difficult to faithfully live out your faith in this environment. Marking yourself as a believer in this environment almost certainly would eventually lead to persecution and death. He had us think about this reality in the context of our protected Christian lives in the United States, and to think about the persecution going on in other parts of the world where being a Christian means persecution and possibly death.
After a 1 1/2 hour ride we came to the site of Lazarus tomb in Bethany, just south of Jerusalem. We talked about how Jesus risked coming back into a region where the religious leaders were seeking to take his life in order to raise Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus died before Jesus arrived, and upon meeting Lazarus' sister, Martha, he gave her what she needed by listening to her and sharing with her. Then when he met Lazarus' 2nd sister, Mary, he gave her what she needed when he wept with her. Michael shared we can be sure Jesus will meet our needs (not necessarily our wants) as well.
Father, keep our eyes fixed on Jesus when we are struggling with the circumstances of our lives, and cause us to rest in the knowledge that You will meet our real needs in this life and one day bring us home to be with You forever.
Amen. Hebrews 12:1-2
 |
| Roman Ruins |
 |
| Roman Ruins |
 |
| Explanation of why City was so popular |
 |
| Roman Ruins Overlook |
 |
| Cynthia headed into the tomb |
 |
| Maria headed into the tomb |
 |
| Group shot in the tomb |
 |
| Outside the Lazarus Church |
 |
| Cynthia and Maria with Zeid at Lazarus Tomb |
 |
Michael Card leading worship at the
Lazarus Church |
Comments
Post a Comment