POSTCARDS FROM ISRAEL

I recently returned from an amazing and eye-opening trip to Israel. A group of 51 of us traveled together throughout this small but important country, hitting many highlights on our 12-day journey by motor coach.

It was led by our pastor and his wife, Dr. Dan & Rhonda Backens, who poured their passion for the Holy Land and their loving, caring spirit into nurturing and guiding us along the way, aided by the tour coordinator Nancy. They, along with our Messianic Jewish guide Naomi and others, helped bring insights into the personal revelation of God’s heart to his people both Jewish and Gentile.

Through this, I received the trickle-down effect of God revealing himself more fully to me because of my heightened understanding of the context in which he moved in the various cultures in Bible times. Not to mention the deeper connection with God the Father and Jesus the Son through all of this.

As I have been processing all the sights I saw, photos I took (over 4500 of them!), and the lessons learned, I have to say this was truly a transformative trip for me. I will never look at the Bible or my relationship with God in the same way.

I felt like I actually walked through the Bible and saw where things happened, even viewing some places from the same vistas Jesus may have had.

Grasping the fact that this was the place of physical connection with God on earth in human form, I couldn’t help but marvel and be indelibly touched in my spirit. Seeing the olive trees, the fig trees, and the palms, the sheep and shepherds in the fields, the rocky, hilly Galilee area with its ancient style fishing boats, walking through Jerusalem and entering the temple gates, these were but the beginnings of bringing the stories of the Bible to life.

And life was waking up on the inside of me in ways I never dreamed. With insights gained, the door swung open wide for miracles of the heart and physical kind to manifest. So many symbolic life lessons came to me – and still are, as I continue to process and unpack this compressed time with so many places we visited. I knew I had to capture many photos so I could relive this on my own slower time when I got back home. I was right, as I see so much I didn’t have time to realize while in the whirlwind schedule we kept there.

As I have been constantly writing since I returned, I realized there are so many insights and lessons I learned there that seemed too important not to share. So in this next series of posts, I will share my heart and more of the Father’s heart as revealed to me since walking in the footsteps of his Son on earth.

One more thing! The more I share about my trip with my friends, the more I realize there are others of you who have had similar experiences there. It is exciting to share these with you and to hear what God has downloaded into your life as well. I would love to receive your comments and stories from the Holy Land and how you got to know and see God in a different way because of your travels there.

Feel free to share them here in the Comments section below or on my Facebook page to bless others. Or use the contact form to email me. I am here to support you in your faith journey too!

Shalom!