Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 I have arrived back. My suitcases are sprawled across the floor with stuff waiting to be put away. My adventure is officially at an end. Unpacking suitcases will be easy compared to the unpacking of what I’ve learned these last 3.5 months. For those who have been praying for me, I greatly appreciate it. My prayer now is for guidance in what to do next. God has plans for me, […]
Category Archives: Travel
Goodbye Israel
If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy. Psalm 137:5-6 It’s hard to believe it, but I’m sitting in the airport waiting for my plane to leave Israel. Security wasn’t too bad. A group of us are waiting for our flights to take us away. Our Egypt trip ended well. It was overall an amazing trip. In the coming week I’ll post the details of it. Saturday morning we hiked up […]
Chasing the Sun
Greetings from Egypt! Tonight’s hotel has free WiFi in the lobby, so here’s a quick update. The week has been quite incredible. A typical day includes leaving before 7:00, lunch around 2:00, supper around 8:00. Itineraries generally are described as, “We’re doing this and that and the other thing…” (enough to sound tiring) “…and then after lunch we’re doing this other long list.” Egypt is quite the place. The distance between lush, fertile land and complete desert is a few feet. Our teacher (Dr. Paul Wright) often says we’re “chasing the sun”. In other words, we’ve got a lot to […]
And that’s Final
“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me–the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” The Apostle Paul speaking in Acts 20:24 Finals week has come and gone. All my papers are turned in. All my exams are completed. Things are packed for Egypt. The first students have packed up and flown home. More will soon follow. That hasn’t kept me from enjoying some time around Jerusalem or kicking back and relaxing around JUC. For instance, last Saturday I hiked […]
Parchment Praise
Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15 Since getting back from Jordan, much of my days could be summed up in the simple phrase “writing papers”. With four papers due by Monday, it’s been a lot of work. I had started before Jordan, but it’s been a lot of work still. I’m now nearing done. I have written about the Hyksos in Egypt, the physical geography of the Coastal Plain and Negev, the archaeology/history surrounding the exodus, and rabbinic interpretations of the early part of Exodus. Thursday evening we celebrated Thanksgiving. It isn’t a holiday in […]
My Puzzle is Missing a Few Pieces
I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;I will turn the darkness into light before themand make the rough places smooth.These are the things I will do;I will not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16 In the city of Medeba in Jordan many ancient mosaics have been found. One is of particular interest. It’s a map of the region, including much of Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. Large chunks are missing, but it’s been used to help locate some otherwise unknown sites. Our final stop in Jordan was Mount Nebo. This was the place […]
Capitals
Then send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. Give them a message for their masters and say, `This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Tell this to your masters: With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please. Jeremiah 27:3-5 In ancient times, Jordan was the home of three small nations that regularly interacted with Israel: Ammon, Moab, […]
The City of Rock
For who is God besides the LORD?And who is the Rock except our God? Psalm 18:31 The top tourist site in Jordan is Petra. That’s where we began our third day. Unfortunately we were only there until 1:00. You could easily spend the entire day there because it is so big and there are so many trails to wander on, stretching on and on for miles. Of course, even my short time there was full of long, arduous hikes. A full day would be even more exhausting! For those who don’t want to hike as much, the Bedouin are there […]
What is this Place?
The end of our second day in Jordan brought us far off the main highway in the ancient region of Gilead. As we arrived at our destination, our instructions were to put our skills of observation together to examine the ancient structure at the site and determine its age and purpose. We had a mystery on our hands and I was bound and determined to solve it! We found an ancient stone building. Walking around it, I saw lions carved in several places. There was a pair of columns on each end. It was looking like a temple to me. […]
The Ten Cities
Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. Mark 7:31 During the first century there was a group of cities east of Israel known as the Decapolis (the Ten Cities), a league of ten Greco-Roman cities in their own Roman district. The region was on the east side of the Sea of Galilee, visible from where Jesus spent most of his time. We visited several of these cities. I’ve already mentioned Beth Shean from our Galilee trip. In Jesus’ day it was called Scythopolis. […]