Hometown Week In Israel

The first sense I got as we arrived in Israel is that I am going to get to know Jesus as a man - as a brother - as a son.  It has become natural to see Jesus as Lord and as Savior but to see him as a man as  a brother and a friend are harder for me.

I remember as a kid my mom and dad would occasionally take us to their hometown in Dayville, OR and show us places and tell us stories of their lives before we were even born. We would go to old houses and churches and sit on the school hill that my dad burned down as a kid.  We would hear stories and picture their lives as they would share memories.

We love to take our kids by the “Love Palace” and show them where we first lived when we first got married and tell them stories of our lives before they were even born.

This is the sense I’m getting early on this trip to Israel. We get to see and walk on the land and remember and enjoy old stories of times and places and people that lived here much before our time on this earth but it has everything to do with our lives today.

I get the sense this next 10 days are going to feel a little like going home and participating in a Hometown Week and enjoying the memories and stories of a very best friend and getting to know more and understand more about Him because we visited His hometown, his old stomping grounds.

Matthew 12:47-49 New Living Translation (NLT)

47 Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and they want to speak to you.”

48 Jesus asked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 49 Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers.

We are extremely thankful for this amazing opportunity and pray God uses it to bring us closer and bring Glory to His great Name!