MOVING FORWARD - pastor mike landry

What's your favorite drink? In my case it's a diet coke. Suppose you've been walking all day in the heat and are very thirsty. If someone offers you a diet coke, you'd probably gratefully accept the offer. You are given a hose to drink from and out comes cold and tasty diet coke.

Now imagine that the diet coke keeps pouring out of the hose. You're thirst is now quenched but you keep on drinking. Now your stomach is full and it just keeps on coming. You just can't take in any more. That's about what it's like being here in the Holy Lands.

All of us have come drinking from the Holy Land trip and there's just more than you can imagine. It's all great and we keep on trying to take more and more in. Today's journey through Jerusalem was one of those kind of days. You're not going to believe all we got to see.

The Mount of Olives - we saw a panoramic view of the city from here and it was gorgeous. This is also the spot Jesus was on when He came into the city that last week of His life. He saw the city and wept over the city because it was so blind to the presence of God.

The Garden of Gethsemene - Oh my! To spend some time praying in the spot where Jesus poured His heart out to the Father just before being arrested and crucified. We spend some time at the rock where Jesus prayed and recommitted ourselves to the Father by praying the same prayer Jesus did..."not my will, but Yours be done."

The Pool of Bethsaida - This was the place where Jesus healed a man who had been waiting years for a chance to get to the water first after it was stirred. We heard the testimonies of a couple in our group about how God used a tragedy (the death of a child) to ultimately birth a medical center in Haiti. Talk about inspirational!

Via Delorasa - Then we walked up the traditional street that Jesus carried the cross on the way to His crucifixion. The hardship and cruelty that Jesus faced to ultimately pay for our sins was unreasonable and yet, He still went through with it.

Church of the Holy Sepulcher - This is one of two sites where Golgotha (where Jesus was crucified) and the Tomb where Jesus was buried is thought to be. The crowds were down on this day so we were able to get really close to each of these markers and reflect on what actually transpired here. Talk about sombering.

Then we had lunch at Papa Andrea's. This was an open rooftop cafe where we could see the city of Jerusalem from above. We enjoyed some local foods as well as the common french fries and diet cokes. It was a much needed break and rest. We heard the call to prayer during this lunch time and then the competing bells from the many orthodox churches. Some called it a different kind of "dueling banjo's"...middle east style. :-)

After lunch it was off to see the archeological ruins of the temple mount walls and area where the temple tax was paid. Amazing. From there we went to the Western Wall, commonly referred to as the Wailing Wall. Men and Women had to go to separate areas. We spent some time there praying ourselves. It was one of those "holy" moments.

Lastly, we went to the Garden Tomb. This is the second site that is recognized as the location of Golgotha and the tomb of Joseph Arimathea where Jesus was buried. This location is still out in the open and has a much more realistic feel for this most awful, yet world changing event. We all were able to go in the tomb...by the way...IT'S EMPTY BECAUSE JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD! And then beside the tomb, our group partook of the Lord's Supper. If that doesn't produce spiritual goosebumps I don't know what will. It was definately the highlight of the day.

As you can see, it just keep coming out of the hose and we not only got our thirst quenched, we were full to overflowing. This is such an amazing place.

Tomorrow, is a day for us to catch up on some rest, revisit some places we had to run through, or visit some other new spots. Catch up with you later.

News from your Holy Land Pilgrim Pastor Mike