bmartin's Blog

Hi everybody from the Sea of Galilee!
This has been an incredible day. Most people focus on Jesus in Jerusalem; His betrayal, beating, crucifixion and resurrection. But this is the place where Christ begins His public ministry (Matthew 4), calling the first disciples. It’s also the place He comes, after the Resurrection, to give us the Great Commission. (Matthew 28).
We began our journey at the Mount of Beatitudes. Here Jesus spoke those wonderful principals of the blessed life and the Sermon on the Mount.
The Mount sits on the side of the hills surrounding the Sea, which is actually a lake. The Sea of Galilee is 13 miles long and 7 ½ miles wide at the northern end. If you love fishing this is the place to retire. Compared to the big city it is incredibly dark at night here (you can actually see the stars) and it’s amazingly quiet and peaceful. The Bible records the miraculous catch of fish, calming of a storm, healing of a demon-possessed man, the miracle of walking on water and some others.
From here we went to Capernaum located along the northwest shore on the Sea. It lies along the great trade route from Damascus to the Mediterranean Coast and Egypt. More of Christ’s miracles were performed here than any other city. We got to see Peters house and walk in the ruins of the old city.
Then it was a boat ride on the Sea and an incredible worship service. Recording artist Michael Jon Clement is with us handling all of the music. He’s awesome. Just floating in the middle of the Seas of Galilee and listening to him brought many people to tears.
We finished the day with a baptismal service in the Jordan River. The spot is one of two believed to be where John baptized Jesus. The water was cold, cold and colder.
During lunch, before the baptism, we eat at a fantastic restaurant right on the sea. The owner came out and sang God Bless America. We all joined in. The servers then showed up with sparklers. Many of us wondered how many other countries around here, let alone in the rest of world, would have done that.
Well, its time to get to bed. The OSU game starts at 3AM here and a bunch of us are going to get up to cheer on the Bucks.
Blessings,
Bill