Tomorrow our trip begins…Lititz to Washington DC to New York City to Cairo and the rest of Egypt, Jordan and Israel. The trip ends with several days in city of Jerusalem. Here is what I wrote in my journal about my first glimpse of Jerusalem on my last trip:
From Qumran, it was on to Jerusalem and our hotel. I have waited this whole trip to see this great city. I thought my first glimpse of it would be one of simple awe. Never would I have imagined that such emotion would rise within me as I caught my first sight and our tour guide played the old song, “Jerusalem.” This was it. This was the city where the great temple stood. This was the city where Jesus cleansed the temple. This is the city where Jesus and His disciples had their last supper. This was the city where He rode in on a donkey while the people waved palm branches and shouted, “Hosanna.” This was the city where he would be tried before Caiphas, Pilot and Herod. This was the city where He would be beaten, scourged and have a crown of thorns placed on His brow. This is the city where He would hear the crowd cry “Crucify Him.” This was the city where my Lord would carry his cross down the narrow street and up a hill outside the city gate to be crucified. This is the city where the women would run to the upper room to tell the disciples the news of the empty tomb. This was the city where the resurrected Savior would appear to His disciples who were locked in an upper room.
As all of these thoughts raced through my mind I was overwhelmed by what a special city Jerusalem is. So special was this city that according to the book of Revelation one day we will live in what Scripture calls the New Jerusalem…A city so beautiful that John can only describe it as a bride adorned for her husband. Over the next 4 days we will see the city of Jerusalem up close and personal. I can hardly wait.
Jerusalem, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Mount of Olives…what special places they are. Here is how my journal ended from our last trip:
Our wake up call will be at 2am. We need to have our luggage outside of our rooms for the bellboy by 2:30am and we need to load the bus at 3am. On our way to the airport we will take one final trip up to the Mt of Olives to see Jerusalem under the lights. If I never make it back to Israel in my lifetime I know that one day I will return to the Mt of Olives with the Kings of Kings and Lord of Lords! Again I must pray, “Come quickly Lord Jesus!”
How excited I am to be taking off tomorrow for a return trip to the Holy Land. My first trip there made such an impact on my life, my ministry and my walk with the Lord. I can only imagine how returning will impact me even more. So, if you think about, pray for us over the next 15 days. Your can track our itinerary each day here on my blog while I am gone. Then, on Sunday, November 16th, I will share here at Grace Church through word and picture the top ten highlights of the trip!
From Qumran, it was on to Jerusalem and our hotel. I have waited this whole trip to see this great city. I thought my first glimpse of it would be one of simple awe. Never would I have imagined that such emotion would rise within me as I caught my first sight and our tour guide played the old song, “Jerusalem.” This was it. This was the city where the great temple stood. This was the city where Jesus cleansed the temple. This is the city where Jesus and His disciples had their last supper. This was the city where He rode in on a donkey while the people waved palm branches and shouted, “Hosanna.” This was the city where he would be tried before Caiphas, Pilot and Herod. This was the city where He would be beaten, scourged and have a crown of thorns placed on His brow. This is the city where He would hear the crowd cry “Crucify Him.” This was the city where my Lord would carry his cross down the narrow street and up a hill outside the city gate to be crucified. This is the city where the women would run to the upper room to tell the disciples the news of the empty tomb. This was the city where the resurrected Savior would appear to His disciples who were locked in an upper room.
As all of these thoughts raced through my mind I was overwhelmed by what a special city Jerusalem is. So special was this city that according to the book of Revelation one day we will live in what Scripture calls the New Jerusalem…A city so beautiful that John can only describe it as a bride adorned for her husband. Over the next 4 days we will see the city of Jerusalem up close and personal. I can hardly wait.
Jerusalem, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Mount of Olives…what special places they are. Here is how my journal ended from our last trip:
Our wake up call will be at 2am. We need to have our luggage outside of our rooms for the bellboy by 2:30am and we need to load the bus at 3am. On our way to the airport we will take one final trip up to the Mt of Olives to see Jerusalem under the lights. If I never make it back to Israel in my lifetime I know that one day I will return to the Mt of Olives with the Kings of Kings and Lord of Lords! Again I must pray, “Come quickly Lord Jesus!”
How excited I am to be taking off tomorrow for a return trip to the Holy Land. My first trip there made such an impact on my life, my ministry and my walk with the Lord. I can only imagine how returning will impact me even more. So, if you think about, pray for us over the next 15 days. Your can track our itinerary each day here on my blog while I am gone. Then, on Sunday, November 16th, I will share here at Grace Church through word and picture the top ten highlights of the trip!