Day 6

10/11 ……Today on our Life of Christ field trip we went up to a lookout point onto the Sea of Galilee, and we were given precious time to pray and meditate on Scripture by ourselves. I’ve been going and going so much that I haven’t had much of a chance to just stop and let the magnitude of being on the Sea of Galilee, where over 1/3 of Jesus’ ministry took place, sink in and affect me. I read through as much as I could of Mark 1-5 in Greek… being there and actually seeing the various cities and places His miracles took place at made such a difference. Afterward Abner pointed out that as real as Tiberias is, or the Arbel Cliffs are, or the Sea itself, Jesus Christ is more real. I have never been so struck by His reality before, or so grateful that I serve the TRUE, living God and not some irrational, unrealistic one.
…… Nice dinner and boat ride around the lake tonight. Amazing to look out on the very place where Jesus calmed the sea and walked on water tonight… Oh LORD, help me never to lose my wonder.

10/12 The more I gaze out onto the Sea of Galilee, the more I think about it and picture it in my head, the more I am reminded of the joy of the gospel, the joy of salvation. But the Sea of Galilee did not always represent joy, as Abner pointed out from Isaiah 9 in chapel tonight. It used to be a symbol of gloom and anguish, of contempt and darkness. I never connected the fact that the Sea of Galilee is on the North with the fact that the North is where Israel has almost always historically been invaded. Why then would Jesus choose to come to this very region to do most of His mighty works and make His name known? Because just like all of the other invasions- Assyrian, Babylonian, etc., this, too, was an invasion, by God Himself, only this time it brought joy, not sorrow. And He overturned the entire world through a child. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness (lit., in the shadow of deep darkness or death, cf. Ps. 23), on them has light shined.” Is. 9:2 God truly has ‘made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.’
As I stood with my feet in the water, thinking about all that Christ did here and all that He has done in my own heart here this week, knowing that this would probably be my last time in my life to look out onto the Sea of Galilee, I prayed that I would not forget these things, that they would not remain as facts and figures in my head, but that their reality would forever transform my life, my heart, my worldview. I pray that this lake would always hold a special place in my heart, that its image would forever be engraved in my mind as a symbol of how God changed sorrow into joy and shone His light on t entire world through His Son. I pray that all of this would compel me to take this joyful news of salvation to the nations who are still dwelling in the valley of the shadow of death, just as the Jews once brought the message of salvation to us, the Gentiles.
I also praise You, Father, for pleasure derived from Your magnificent creation, which I was able to experience this morning, rafting down the Hapzini River. I thank You for enjoyable times, and pray that I would never take them for granted.

That's pretty much it... there you have it- the random ramblings from the journal of Joey Moore. I hope they have served their purpose.

Thanks again for your prayers and encouragement!!