Tuesday we continued our tour on over to the Rabbinical Tunnels, where we got to see the entire length of the Western Wall, even where it began down to the Original Bedrock stone on the Northwestern side of the Temple Mount. It was truly a great tour seeing such amazing history of the past 2000 years plus right in front of my eyes. There was some amazing architecture and it’s no wonder Herod was known as “The Great”. After the tunnels, we headed to the Holy Sepulcher, the place where many religions believe that Jesus was crucified and buried. I really didn't not like the feeling when I walked into this church. There was a pretty heavy oppression inside. It's odd, because this is a church that claims to believe in the Deity of Christ, but yet, why do I feel more oppression at a place like this than say, the Western Wall, or in a Synagogue. It was very strange, and I my only explanation is the intense religiosity of the Catholics and Greek Orthodox church. It's truly a sad sight. Well if you study into the place of Christ's crucifixion, you will realize that He was taken outside the city walls, to the place of the skull. This church claims the sight of death and resurrection but I see no biblical connection. I encourage you to look into it yourself. Really interesting stuff... Garden Tomb & Golgotha was next on the agenda, which was my favorite place by far thus far on the study tour! So for those of you who don’t know, this is the place where I believe with all my heart that Christ was crucified and buried in the tomb. Not only that, but this is where Christ conquered death, which is the foundation of Christianity, which allows me to live for Eternity. Jesus rose from the dead at this exact place, rolled away the stone and walked out proving that Yeshua is the Great ‘I Am’. The four of us also partook in communion together in the Garden Tomb, remember all that Christ has done for us. Pastor John asked if I could lead the 4 of us in communion, so it was a great honor and blessing to be able to do this reminiscing of all that Jesus did for me, for you, releasing us from great bondage, and giving us Everlasting Liberty! After this we headed over to the Shuk, or outdoor market, and then finished the night being blessed by leading a Bible Study for the SEND Ministry team, on Acts 2. Sosimo has a gift of teaching. Keep this brother in prayer as he travels throughout Israel, seeking Christ!
If you recall from the last blog, we met a girl last night named Martina. She was staying at a Hostel in the Old City, Jerusalem, and she told us they have pretty good rates. At this point we were going to stay at the Old Bible College dorms, but there was hardly any room for 3 more guys. So Pastor John, Tyler, and I went to check out the rates of the hostel in the Old City. Well, the Lord blessed us with reasonable rates so we ended up staying the night here in our own personal bedroom with a bathroom and shower and a nice view of the Old city Back alleys! It was truly a blessing to spend more time living with Pastor John, getting more wisdom from this man, just on Practical Christianity and also to spend more time with brother Tyler. It was also an amazing experience to be able to stay in Old City Jerusalem. That is something I have been wanting to do for a while!
Well we woke up early this Monday morning and headed to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum. This was truly a place that I believe everybody needs to visit sometime in their life. I have heard and learned a bit about the Holocaust, but this really brought it to life, and made me really appreciate the Gift of life that God has given me. Not only my physical life, yes very much so, but more than that my Spiritual life that the Lord has freely given to me by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on Calvary. My heart breaks for the Jews, and all the war they have been going through over the past thousands of years. It also broke my heart to be reminded that our very own Nation, the United States, turned our backs against the Refugees of the Holocaust who fled from Europe by Boat, and were rejected entrance by many countries including our very own. This world we live in is a sad sad corrupt place, and it breaks my heart to know that even those who persecuted the Jews, dare to call themselves Christians, representatives and followers of Christ. Nothing could be further from the truth!!! It’s disgusting to even think about it, how people radically abuse and slaughter the precious name of JESUS CHRIST! And now, now those people have made it very very rocky ground to be an Evngelisty or do ministry work here in Israel. I have such love for these people, and when I share with them the Good News of Yeshua Hu Ha Mashiach, they curse me, throw things at me, and burn Hebrew Habrita Ha Hadasha’s (New Testaments) in front of my face and throw them at me! It breaks my heart to see these lost children of the True God, react this way, because they have some corrupt idea and wrong vision of who I am and what I’m doing, all because of the work of some shepherd for satan claimed to be doing the work of Jesus Christ while persecuting the Jews. So so sad. But I recognize the Lord has brought me here for a reason, and I count persecution as Joy because I know my heavenly Father will rejoice as He did for his child Stephen who was Matyred not too far from where I am sitting right now typing this blog. Christ gives me strenght to endure the cross, and Sprint towards His beautiful, most glorious face!
After the Holocaust Museum, we headed over to the Davidsons Museum, where we got to walk on the actual steps where Jesus had once walked, which led up to the South Side of the Temple Mount, where every good Jewish man would come 3 times a year, cleanse themselves, and come to make there sacrifices. It was truly beautiful and surreal to have walked where God literally has walked before! I know everywhere I go, and bow my knee is Holy Ground, and Christ is with Me, but it’s a different experience, that I cant put into words. Well we spent sometime here, then finished the day relaxing shopping and hanging out at a coffee shop. Martina also spent the whole day with us which was great, because she really got to realize that we are not “religious” people as she has seen everybody else in Jerusalem acting: Catholics, Moslems and of course Judaism. She go to witness that we are just regular people who have so much Love for the Lord Jesus Christ, because He first loved us. There is nothing religious or great about me. Just another guy who has so much Love for Jesus, and turns to a Relationship with my Lord and Savior, knowing that I am saved by Grace, not by works (which separates True Biblical Christianity from every other religion on this earth).
(The picture with Obama is from the Yad Vashem the Holocaust Musem. I didn't take this picture, I found it online, but found it very Ironic to see Obama here at Yad Vashem. Interesting stuff. The other picture of me and the guys covered in mud above is from the dead sea from the previous day. I thought it was worth posting) Enjoy. :-)
Yeshua Be With You Always.
I’m sorry for not updating my blog in a while, I just have been so busy. Sunday, 9.20.09 Me, Sosimo, Tyler, and Pastor John headed over to Ein Gedi, “Kid Spring” or “young goat”. This is the place where David hid from Saul (1 Samuel 24:1). We hiked for a few hours, to the beautiful waterfalls, and it was truly a blessing to hike with some great brothers in the Lord, enjoying the creation of the Lord, which holds some amazing history, and also seeing plenty of goats and rock badgers! After getting a good work out at Ein Gedi, we drove across the street and relaxed for a bit at the Dead Sea, rubbing mineral mud all over ourselves and just relaxing while floating in the salty water! After enjoying the dead sea, we then drove back to Jerusalem. On the way we stopped at Qumron Caves, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, which is truly an amazing Archaeological evidence that the Word of God is true and living and powerful. Also proving that the faith we hold is not Blind Faith. Jesus Christ has surely manifested Himself to us today! When we arrived to Jerusalem, we stopped at the Garden of Gethsemane, the place known where Jesus prayed three times to the father, right before his betrayal and arrest. My favorite part about being here was remembering that Jesus spoke to His disciples telling them to pray, lest they fall into temptation. Yet they fell asleep. Jesus spoke to me that day telling me to pray without ceasing, lest I also fall into temptation, and also pray according to the Father’s Will. We also headed up the rest of the Mt. of Olives and got to overlook the Eastern Side of the Old City, including the pagan dome of the rock, but my favorite was seeing the Golden Gate, the place where Christ will someday walk through setting up His new Kingdom! Amen!
After all this we sought for a place to eat, but because it was Rosh Hashana, everything was closed in Jerusalem. The only place open was McDonalds, so we settled for it and ate there.. As soon as we got our food and sat down, we understood immediately why the Lord led us to eat at McDonalds. There was a young lady from Italy sitting alone close by, and she came over and asked if she could eat with us. Of course we said yes and began getting to know her. The Lord was so good and led the conversation toward Himself, and we ended up sharing the Gospel with her for several hours in the middle of McDonalds. There was a man sitting near by, whom later told us he was from Australia, and he over heard us say “Jesus” and “Yeshua” several times, so he also asked if he could sit and join us. It was truly an incredible time to witness to Martina (the young gal from Italy) about Jesus Christ, and why He came. She admitted that she is an atheist, but she was very open to what we told her and listened very intensely. The Australian man was a believer and also expanded on the Gospel of Christ. As our time ended with Martina in McDonalds, we invited her to come with us the next day to tour more of Israel, visiting the Holocaust Museum and Davidson Museum. Earlier she had told us that she didn't want to go to the Holocaust Museum with her friends a few days before, but she ended up saying “yes” to us and decided to join us the following day. The Lord has been so good to us, and since that night at McDonalds, she has met the whole SEND Ministry team, joined us at the soup kitchen at Calvary Tel Aviv, and also visited a few more sights with us and the team. The girls have been taking them under their wing and speaking to her about Christ, and I believe someday this woman will be an amazing amassador for Christ Jesus. Pray for this gal, that the Lord will raise her up today! Today is the day for Salvation!!!
Saturday we woke up early to get a start on the day. We started the day by driving past the Well of Abraham. After this we headed over to Tel Arad. A “Tel” is basically one city that is built upon another. So Tel Arad is an ancient Canaananite city. We read in Numbers 21:1, “And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners.” It was lots of fun to just check out the old ruins and climb all the rocks of an old Biblical Ruin, with the boys. After some time there, we drove to Masada and hiked up to the top. Masada is an amazing amazing amazing Fortress that sits on top of a Plateau in the middle of the Negev Dessert. It was built by Herod, and was used as Israel’s last stand against the Romans. Here many Jewish people defended their palace for 2 years while the Romans built a siege ramp to conquer the city. Well the Romans were successful in building the ramp which is still standing today, but i’m sure were very disappointed when they got to the top to see a Mass Suicide. The Israeli’s chose to commit suicide rather than fall in slavery to the Romans, which would have been a lifetime of torture and treacherous bondage. This was one of my favorite sites, and has such a beautiful view overlooking the Dead Sea. It’s very sad to see the pain that the Children of God have had to go through. They have been in a war since the beginning. A war not fought with physical weapons, but every bit spiritual. It’s very sad history at this place, but really amazing to spend time with my brothers there.
After we hiked down from Masada, we set up camp near by, and stayed the night right outside of Masada in a tent. We had no sleeping bags or pillows, just a nice windy night, and the Lord Blessed us with a great Bon Fire to end the night. It reminds me again of God’s guidance on the Children of Israel, let out of captivity by a Cloud during the day, and a Pillar of Fire by night. Jesus has had His hands on me and my brothers every step of the way.
Friday, John, Sosimo and Tyler, and myself left Northern Israel (Galilee area) and drove to Beer Sheva. It was a nice long drive and along the way we stopped at the Mediterranean Sea (Ashkalon & Ashdod, 2 of the 5 Philistine Cities). We left Northern Israel, with the intention of touring around southern Israel, The Negev for a few days, but we had one problem: no place to stay for sure. On the way south, I called up a good friend that I met when I stay in Beer Sheva, who’s father is the Senior Pastor at a Messianic Congregation. I asked him if it’s possible to stay at the church building for the night, remembering that they had a room with a few beds. Well, by God’s grace, Tal and his Father said yes and we now had a free place to stay and also a kitchen to keep some food in. So after we spent a few hours at the beach, relaxing after a long drive, I called Tal, and his family invited us all over for a Rosh Hashana Diner! So we headed over to he family’s house and ate with Tal's family for Rosh Hashana and then was blessed by staying at the church of Tal's Father, Pastor Howard Bass. They fed us so much food, and after we played a few worship songs, and had a great time of fellowship. Looking back on the day now, I can completely see the Lord's hand guiding us and directing us every step of the way.
Yesterday was my first day of the study tour with Pastor Drew, Pastor John Bonner, Tyler Campbell, Sosimo Avila, Pastor Steve Flores and his lovely wife and son. We traveled to Mount Carmel first. There we read out of 1 Kings 18, where Elijah told the people in verse 21 “...if the LORD be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.” This really spoke to me in several ways yesterday. First I enjoyed the fact that we were created to make choices, and in this life, we have a choice to either accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior or not. Or make the the choice of not choosing, as we see the followers and worshippers of Baal chose.
Being on top of Mt. Carmel yesterday, and reading the story of when Elijah brought the false prophets of Baal and Ahab to the mountain, and there Elijah gave them the plan. If your God is true, then call to him and he will pour down fire on the offering. Of course as they danced around screaming and shouting, nothing happened. They even began to cut themselves, practicing such pagan worship to Baal. Finally, after some observance and mocking from Elijah’s part, he told them basically to step aside and watch. He rebuilt the altar, poured much water on the offering, and prayed to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to pour down fire, here his voice, so they people will return to God. Sure enough, fire poured down from the sky, consuming the offering. After, Elijah took the followers of Baal to the Kishon Valley, and killed them. And I love at the end, that God gave Eli power and strength to run even in front of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel.
This was by far my favorite place to stop at yesterday, listening to the teachings of Drew, and Worship was great too. I love the simplicity that if God is God, then we must leave all behind, not looking back, and follow God! So simple, but yet so hard. It’s a strange Dichotomy that ought to be a no brainer of what to do. After this, we traveled to Nazareth Village, where Jesus grew up. I found this place exciting as well, because we got to get a better understanding of the common lifestyle of the people there. We learned much and ate even more, and after headed over to the 3 cities that Jesus cursed. First stop, Capernaum, then Bethsaida (which was closed) and finally we got to walk through the ruins of Korazin. Capernaum was great to see the old synagogue and also I loved to see the house of Peter. Other than the huge Catholic church standing above it, it was a great site to see. Korazin was lots of fun to walk through, and I found it interesting to see the Pagan God’s even carved inside. Also is was interesting to see that the whole city had been carved from Volcanic rock.
Well yesterday was a long and fun day. Lot’s of biblical sites to see, and I’m so thankful that God has allowed me to join this tour. I keep the verse from 1 Kings in mind throughout the day, that If God is God, then follow him. It should be easy, but I know there are things hindering my walk. I will pray that the Lord will remove everything in the way, which is really just myself, because I must die to self to follow Christ, and death to self is the only way God can receive all the Glory. Amen.
Pictures (top to bottom):
Love you all,
May The Yeshua's Name Be Magnified,
Nick
Well, I have now been in Beer Sheva for a week. Although I would love to stay, because the people are so great, unfortunately I'll be heading up North to Galilee area, instead of to Sderot. Yesterday, I received an email from a man asking if I'd like to go on a study tour with him, two other pastors (one from san diego, another from peru) and also my buddy Sosimo will be there... I prayed about it and decided it would be a great opportunity to go through this Discipleship class with the men, and also learn more about the Land. 
ore work on the car, repairing some holes in the walls of the apartment, and other errands before the couple i'm with heads back to the states. Thursday, I went to Tel Aviv, and helped at the soup kitchen at the Calvary Chapel. I really love going there on thursdays, and I really want to stay connected with the Calvary Chapel in Tel Aviv. Serving at the soup kitchen is such a big blessing and I love talking to the older guys who show up about our Messiah. They are not believers but smart men, and it's fun to challenge them on certain things.. Friday during the day I helped out at Christian book store/Coffee house, and in the evening we began the youth conference. It was a great evening, fellowshipping with many youth believer's and after the worship and teachings, we all stayed to hang out, eating, playing pool and ping pong. Saturday was the day for the Adult conference, which was lots of work. We got there early to help set up, and of course finished just as the people were showing up. It was a conference for all congregations in the Negev of Israel. There was a great number of people who showed up from all over the world, gathered in a small town in Israel. It was amazing to see the work of God in that building that day. The worship was my favorite part. Worshipping with hundreds of believer's in the Hebrew language, was truly awesome. It's great to see how God brought us all together for one purpose: to worship Him who created us! The conference lasted just about all day, and by the time we cleaned up after, we headed to the church and set up for some more hours of recording songs. 
