This is our last weekend in Israel! Yesterday I went to Beit Shearim and Sepphoris with a few other students. I had never been to Beit Shearim before, it was really neat! It was a city where many diaspora Jews were buried (because the Jews wanted to reside in Israel after death, even if not in life). Beit Shearim means house of gates, and most the tombs are sealed with large stone doors on hinges, which are carved to imitate gates. One of the coolest tombs was the tomb of the sarcophagi, where hundreds of sarcophagi were found. It was quite large, and fun to walk through and explore.
We saw a lot at Zippori/Sepphoris which I didn't get to see last time I was there. Sepphoris was the Capitol of Galilee for quite some time after the Romans conquered Palestine. There are many many mosaics there, really fine ones too. Some of the most detailed mosaics from the Roman and Byzantine eras have been found there. There is also a water tunnel we walked through, it was quite narrow and low in some places, and pitch black! We had one flashlight though, so we made it ok.
Today we went to a church in Nazareth. It was the first service I had been to that I needed to wear the earpiece for a translation, the entire service was in Arabic. Nazareth is a mostly Arabic town, and is mostly Christian, but also has a Muslim population. The Sermon was on Peter, and how he was willing to stand out and speak out for his religion and love for Christ. When talking with my professor afterwards, I learned that this is a common theme among the Christians of Nazareth, because so many of the Nazareth Christians are christian in name only. My professors family has met several christian Arabic families at the pool here in Mizra, and they all say it is difficult to be a christian there, because a large portion of the Christians who go to church every day only say they are Christians because it is a way to have a social classification, but not be Muslim. On the other hand, Many of the Christians in Nazareth moved there from elsewhere in Israel or the West bank, because Nazareth is one of the only places where it is common to be an Arab, and not a Muslim. It is a beautiful irony that the place where Jesus was raised, but later rejected for his teaching, is now the place where many Arab Christians live. It makes me sad to hear again how most the Christians there don't actually know Jesus though. That is one of the big things I have seen during these past 5 months. I've been so discouraged with the superficiality of so many denominations and churches - not hear only but in the States just as much! It seems like a problem everywhere. I expected the Church in Israel to be stronger, even if smaller. What I've learned is that Believers everywhere fall short of what God is calling us to, and there are many who say they are Chrsitians, but don't know God personally. I was very discouraged at this at first, and was wondering if the Holy Spirit really has power to transform, and wondering if Christianity really is that different after all.
After thinking about it a lot, I realize that even if the Body of Christ is quite fragmented and in need of such help, we are still bound together by His blood, and there is transforming power in His salvation. It has been a challenge to me to strive towards Him more, and to forsake the sins I see in myself. And instead of being discouraged and angry when I see other Christians sinning, I really want to be a Sister who can contribute to binding the body closer to God and together, and who can lovingly exhort other Christians to care more about God and others, and less about themselves. So much of our sin comes from simple selfishness. I've memorized some of Phillipians, and a verse that has meant a lot to me is 2:3-4: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."
The pastor today brought up a verse in Luke, (22:31) which records Jesus' words to Peter, knowing that Peter would soon deny Him. "Simon, Simon! Behold Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."
This verse is encouraging because Jesus already knows our hearts and the way we will doubt him, but he loves us still and even prays for us. Ultimately, he is the one who gives us faith, and he won't let our failure and doubt carry us too far from him. Furthermore, our own sins and weakness can be used by God to make us stronger and more faithful, so we can in turn strengthen others.
The fact that we as Chritians are part of one body is SO important! Let's not forget each other, or get upset at each other over selfish discontents and quarrels. By all means, pray for peace in the Middle East, but also pray for peace and love among the universal Church...because that has to come first before we can bring peace and love to the rest of the world.
We saw a lot at Zippori/Sepphoris which I didn't get to see last time I was there. Sepphoris was the Capitol of Galilee for quite some time after the Romans conquered Palestine. There are many many mosaics there, really fine ones too. Some of the most detailed mosaics from the Roman and Byzantine eras have been found there. There is also a water tunnel we walked through, it was quite narrow and low in some places, and pitch black! We had one flashlight though, so we made it ok.
Today we went to a church in Nazareth. It was the first service I had been to that I needed to wear the earpiece for a translation, the entire service was in Arabic. Nazareth is a mostly Arabic town, and is mostly Christian, but also has a Muslim population. The Sermon was on Peter, and how he was willing to stand out and speak out for his religion and love for Christ. When talking with my professor afterwards, I learned that this is a common theme among the Christians of Nazareth, because so many of the Nazareth Christians are christian in name only. My professors family has met several christian Arabic families at the pool here in Mizra, and they all say it is difficult to be a christian there, because a large portion of the Christians who go to church every day only say they are Christians because it is a way to have a social classification, but not be Muslim. On the other hand, Many of the Christians in Nazareth moved there from elsewhere in Israel or the West bank, because Nazareth is one of the only places where it is common to be an Arab, and not a Muslim. It is a beautiful irony that the place where Jesus was raised, but later rejected for his teaching, is now the place where many Arab Christians live. It makes me sad to hear again how most the Christians there don't actually know Jesus though. That is one of the big things I have seen during these past 5 months. I've been so discouraged with the superficiality of so many denominations and churches - not hear only but in the States just as much! It seems like a problem everywhere. I expected the Church in Israel to be stronger, even if smaller. What I've learned is that Believers everywhere fall short of what God is calling us to, and there are many who say they are Chrsitians, but don't know God personally. I was very discouraged at this at first, and was wondering if the Holy Spirit really has power to transform, and wondering if Christianity really is that different after all.
After thinking about it a lot, I realize that even if the Body of Christ is quite fragmented and in need of such help, we are still bound together by His blood, and there is transforming power in His salvation. It has been a challenge to me to strive towards Him more, and to forsake the sins I see in myself. And instead of being discouraged and angry when I see other Christians sinning, I really want to be a Sister who can contribute to binding the body closer to God and together, and who can lovingly exhort other Christians to care more about God and others, and less about themselves. So much of our sin comes from simple selfishness. I've memorized some of Phillipians, and a verse that has meant a lot to me is 2:3-4: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."
The pastor today brought up a verse in Luke, (22:31) which records Jesus' words to Peter, knowing that Peter would soon deny Him. "Simon, Simon! Behold Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."
This verse is encouraging because Jesus already knows our hearts and the way we will doubt him, but he loves us still and even prays for us. Ultimately, he is the one who gives us faith, and he won't let our failure and doubt carry us too far from him. Furthermore, our own sins and weakness can be used by God to make us stronger and more faithful, so we can in turn strengthen others.
The fact that we as Chritians are part of one body is SO important! Let's not forget each other, or get upset at each other over selfish discontents and quarrels. By all means, pray for peace in the Middle East, but also pray for peace and love among the universal Church...because that has to come first before we can bring peace and love to the rest of the world.
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