About thirteen years ago, I had the privilege of traveling to Israel for the first time with our son Jonathan, who was about fifteen years old at the time. It was a monumental trip too. We were overwhelmed as we realized we were walking on the same streets as Jesus walked, viewed the hill where he was crucified and the tomb where he lay.
On this trip with Cherish, we visited some of these same sites, but being it was the second time for me, it was a deeper experience. We started out in Jerusalem with the Jerusalem House of Prayer All Nations Convocation. There were over 3,000 Christian delegates from 180 nations of the 230 in the world. Awesome. The underground church of China had 275 delegates; Indonesia had 90 delegates. Other countries represented were Malaysia, Tahiti, Algeria, Morocco, Uganda, Nigeria, Zambia, France, Iran, Iraq, the U.S. Canada and so many more. We stayed in a hotel with a lot of these beautiful people, ate with them, rode buses with them and got to hear such interesting stories of their lives and their lands. I feel like a huge expansion took place in my mind and heart for a vision for the nations.
What a grand experience to be in the Convocation meetings worshiping with this wide variety of humanity. I'm sure it will be what heaven is like. In quite a few of these countries, believers are giving their live as martyrs for the sake of their faith in Christ. In fact, we were not allowed to take pictures when some people shared from certain nations because they could get in big trouble with their governments if they knew where they were. They could not have their passports stamped in Israel. They came in via other nations.
One huge revelation I received was the power of continual 24 hours a days, seven days a week worship and prayer. When committed believers keep a vigil of prayer and worship going in their country, revival bursts forth and many give their lives to the Lord. Whole nations are turned around from corruption to righteousness and the people flourish.
After visiting special sites in Jerusalem like the Old City where our group of six from the U.S. paused and sang songs of praise at the Jaffa Gate, the wailing wall, Golgotha, and the tomb, we had a unique side adventure. Our small group went to the Jordan River and were baptized where it is believed that Jesus himself was baptized by John the Baptist. The usual place where tourists get baptized in the Jordan River is on the south end of the Sea of Galilee. They have a large tourist attraction there along with a store to buy souvenirs of the country. But where we went was the southern end of the Jordan River right next to the city of Jericho where there is a large Muslim population. We went through a sort of check point in a fenced area with mines planted on either sides of the road. It was quite sobering. But what a tremendous experience.
The next day we went to the Dead Sea. Nothing is alive in the Dead Sea. It is truly Dead because of the huge concentration of salt and other minerals. It makes your skin feel very soft and if you have any skin problems etc., they tend to heal right up after soaking in it just a little while. The weirdest thing is how you float so easily. Cherish and I went out into deeper water and literally bounced up and down to try to go under and the water only went up to our shoulders. You have to be careful not to get the water in your eyes because it burns.
Several days later, we traveled north staying two nights in Nazareth, which is the largest city in the north. For several days we visited different sites, like Mt. Carmel where Elijah the prophet of God put the false prophets of the god Baal to the test. Their god did not answer them, but Elijah's God, the Creator of the universe sent fire from heaven that consumed the sacrifice lapping up every bit of water poured on it.
We then visited the Sea of Galilee and the Golon Heights which Israel acquired during the six day war of 1967. All over the country, you see neat rows of banana trees, olive trees, orange trees and so many more kinds of fruits and vegetables being grown in what used to be barren areas, but which are now irrigated with lots of hoses with little holes in them releasing water. Israel reuses 80% of all its water for agriculture.
Our last night in the country, we all gathered in a 2000 year old outdoor coliseum in Cesarea right on the Mediterranean. There were 500 holocaust survivors present for the program which honored them by handing out a white rose to each one. Representatives from different nations including China, the U.S. and Iraq to name a few, asked them forgiveness for not helping them during their time of need, for turning a deaf ear, for forsaking them and leaving their families to perish in Hitler's death ovens. It was a very moving, deeply emotional moment. The culmination of the event was a spectacular fireworks display celebrating Jerusalem House of Prayer's 25 years as a ministry to Israel and the nations of the world. It was a trip never to be forgotten. I hope I can return again in the future.
Pictures. #1- Two young men in our team from U.S.,Cherish and I overlooking part of Jerusalem; #2 Cherish and I at Convocation; #3 Cherish and I standing in front of the wall and Old City of Jerusalem; #4 the western wall of the ancient temple of the Jews known as the Wailing Wall; #5 An alleyway in the Old City; #6 Building in Old City; #7 The dessert outside the city of Jerursalem where quite a few Bedouins live; #8 The Dead Sea; #9 Nazareth at twilight; #10 Sea of Galilee; #11 Jordan River where most tourists go; #12 The Jewish Quarter of the Old City; #13 Jaffa Gate of the Old City where we stopped to sing; #14 Coliseum at Cesarea.
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