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A New Spot, a New Life  …

Yesterday we had the opportunity to visit and baptize at a brand new site along the Jordan river. It is a newly discovered place which scholars believe was the actual site where John the Baptist baptized Jesus. The Gospel of John is the only account that records His baptism as taking place beyond the Jordan, or on the other side, close to the city of Bethabara. Recent finding have uncovered the ruins of this ancient city  and so it is here we went and enjoyed the morning as over 25 members of our group were baptized. As each person waded into the cool water, sounds of singing and guitar softly filled the air. It is always an incredible privilege for me to join in such a sacred moment. But what made this even more meaningful was not only the history of John and Jesus, but the connecting of two Biblical stories into one location. This would have also been the area in which Joshua led the people across and into the Promise Land (Joshua 3-6). Here they would have taken their last step out of the wilderness and obediently their first step into the Promised land of God’s blessing. Isn’t that what Baptism is meant to be for all of us?  Even the murk and mud had meaning. This was the place for Joshua and the Israelites to take their step of faith, for Jesus the same as He began the ministry, and for us as well as we choose to follow. I pray your baptism was that meaningful.

You know, this mud is sold for a high price once it reaches the Ahava factory down at the Dead Sea. So I’m guessing we not only enjoyed a life changing experience of baptism, but a full body treatment to boot. Such a Deal. From there, we crossed the border into Israel and like Joshua, it was as if the Commander of the Lord’s Army faithfully met us right there. One of the smoothest border crossings in to Israel I can ever remember. The Flock was hungry so we headed down to Qumran (the place where the dead sea scrolls were originally discovered) where we enjoyed some Magnum ice cream bars. Then it was up the hill to Jerusalem for an afternoon of exploring, worship, and devotions at the Southern Wall Excavations. This southern side of The Temple was the main entrance for the common folk, where the Priests and Levites had their own entrance from the higher eastern side. Parts of the giant stairs, which led to the Temple Mount from the courtyard, have been unearthed along with the purification pools. From here Jesus entered the Temple Mount and drove out the vendors and money exchangers who were exploiting the people. Some believe this was also the place where Peter preached and thousands were saved and baptized on the Day of Pentecost. It was another amazing wonder filled day, of which there are many more to enjoy as together we follow in the footsteps of our Lord. So today journey on, the Lord is with you!

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It has been a whirlwind couple of days… we’ve learned a ton from tracing the footsteps of Moses and seen some amazing places that make the Bible three dimensional. From Cairo, we chartered a plane to St. Catherine and prepared for a sunrise hike up Mt. Sinai. After a “delightful” 3:30am wake up call, we rode our camels up through the mountains as the sun peacefully rose into a warm sunny day. It was unreal being up on the mountain where Moses had spent 80 days and nights with our Lord. From there, we visited St. Catherine’s Monastery, claimed to be built around the area of Moses’ Burning Bush, and then we continued on our journey to the Red Sea with sweeping views of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel to the north. Our border crossing experience was… thorough… and we finally made it to our destination in Jordan, Tibet Zaman (The Bedrock hotel with rooms built into the stones! One of all time favs!

This morning, we woke bright and early for a hike to the amazing mountain fortress of Petra, known to be inhabited by the Edomites – the descendents of Esau. The tour began by walking through the “Siq,” an immense crack in the Nubian sandstone, to the city of Petra carved out of the rose red rock…. again, it was UNREAL! The immensity of the rocks screamed God’s name, as there’s no other way to explain them… they’re just that amazing. On the other end of the “Siq”, the rocks open up to the Treasury, El Khazneh, one of the most elegant remains of antiquity. Worshipping in the natural acoustics of these rocks was incredible attacting a growing crowd which included some Colombia University Journalism students studying Religion and the Holy Land interviewed us. One of them in recognizing my voice said they listen to me on the radio every morning. Props to Bridge FM and a divine appointment, if you ask me!

We left Petra and headed out through the King’s Highway, which took us all the way through the land of the Moab. We stopped to visit Mt. Nebo and a dusty view of the Jordan valley and have made it as far as Amman for the night. Tomorrow is a busy day of Baptisms (praise God) in the Jordan and Jerusalem tomorrow night! Spiritually feels like going home. Here’s a few amazing pics from our photo buddy Kate Noelle … Enjoy and God bless.

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Greetings from Cairo! Today we traveled back to ancient Egypt… to the wonders of the ancient world, some of which date back to 1000+ years prior to Abraham. It started out as a beautiful morning… stepped outside to this amazing view of the Nile River, the longest river in the world!

After a hearty breakfast, we spend the rest of the morning exploring the Egyptian Museum, learning Egyptian history from our tour guide “Mido”. It was very interesting hearing a Christian perspective on the seemingly well known history of the Egyptian people. There were mummies, Tutankhamen’s treasures, and ancient remains lining the walls… it was unreal!

Later this afternoon, we spend time at one of the seven wonders of the world- the pyramids. Cheops, with an original height of 496 feet, is the most colossal pyramid ever built. Some of the group went inside the pyramid…. it was a hike! On our way out, we stopped by the famous Sphinx.

It has been an action packed first day, but we’ve been so blessed thus far with an amazing hotel, great tour guides, and epic sights to behold. We’re finding that seeing these places first hand is changing the way we read the Bible… we’re able to put a place with the stories… we’re able to better understand the importance of Egypt in the history of our Lord. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers… we’re definitely feeling them!