Go Into All the World

Today is a difficult one to write about, partly because it was so varied and partly because it was so emotional.

We began the day in Capernaum (Kafer Nahum) which was Jesus' chosen ministry home. It was a

relatively small town in His day but you should be thinking Harvard, Princeton and Yale when considering its academic credentials. In other words, Jesus chose to take on the scriptural "heavyweights" of His day. This was also the first and so far only place we experienced the tourism industry. It was strange.

Our next hike led to the banks of the Jordan River where we had an experience unlike any other so far. John the Baptist entered the story again, along with Jesus and the disciples. How can I describe this Faith Lesson?

We've been discussing the story of God bringing Peace (Shalom) to the Chaos and following it from

creation to the Exodous to Jesus and right on through to the present. Today's experience at the Jordan River brought insights into exactly what happened when Jesus stepped off the bank, into that water to join us in the chaos. It would take me 45 minutes to describe what happened next. The challenge to us was you can't stand on the bank and ignore the chaos around you. The challenge was unexpected, as was my own reaction. We all ended up IN the rushing river, knee deep, crying out to God. I have river rock taken from where I stood.

I'm going to mention that lunch followed only because today's holiday made necessary an unusual thing; a restaurant. What I want you to know, besides the fact that the food was wonderful, is that 53 people arrived, ate and departed in one hour and one minute.

The Decapolis followed with a visit to two cities in particular, Bet She'an and Susita. We had quite a

surprise at Bet She'an that I'm still not over. We were set up, Ray admitted, but we were blasted with the reality of the seductive nature of Hellenism. It was sobering to say the least.

A long, steep hike up to Susita led us to more fascinating history and ruins. The best part was the

hillside view of the Sea of Galilee as the sine began to set. The final Faith Lesson dealt with the story of the demon possessed man which Ray makes a strong case for believing occurred within sight of where we gathered. You just can't imagine how powerful it is to read the story where it happened. Add instruction

from a world-class teacher and you have a recipe for astonishing insights. That's what we received. I think we all cried. The sun sank below the Lower Galilee mountains as we made our descent and we reached the bus in darkness.

One man in utter chaos received from Jeaus ultimate peace. He was asked to go home and tell his story which resulted in "a large crowd of believers" who were present the next time Jesus came through. One man, entering chaos with the story of what Jesus had done for him, helped change the world. In what ways are we doing the same?