(Clay Water pots at Cana of Galilee)
Next we headed to Nazareth and worshipped with our brothers and sisters at The Church of the Nazarene. I preached on the theme: "Discipleship is all about Identity." The main question being, "Who do you belong to?" I referred to John 3, John 21, Luke 19:16-30 and 2 Timothy 2:19. Everyone seemed to get help. Especially me.
After lunch (Swarma sandwiches) with the church leaders, we were back on the bus bound for Jerusalem. But along the way we made a meaningful stop in the village of Nain. My son, Grayson, read from Luke 7 about Jesus resurrecting the widow's son right out of his coffin. It was powerful enough, but then I found Grayson had arranged to have the pastors on the trip to anoint me as he prayed for my sciatic nerve issues. Wow!
(Pastor Drew David preparing to anoint me as Grayson prays.)
Later in the afternoon, I announced to the group that I felt the least amount of pain I have felt in 3 weeks. The enemy didn't want me to praise God so soon, but I did anyway saying: "I care not today what tomorrow may bring.... I praise God today because I feel better today." The people were humbled and amazed along with me.
Our last stop was along the Mediterranean Sea. How beautiful. We saw the ancient aqueducts along the coastline.
As we passed by Emmaus, 7 miles west of Jerusalem, we all read the story in unison from our Bibles with our "Hearts Aflame" as we considered our own individual discipleship journeys.
Finally, we arrived at the Olive Tree Hotel at 6:30 p.m. Pope Francis is also sleeping in Jerusalem tonight. The traffic was very heavy with added security and the like.
Tomorrow we begin at Bethany. Our Hearts are Aflame, indeed.
www.HeartsAflame.org
Grateful
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