June 25 07

On April 10 I had the awesome blessing of being able to go to Israel for ten days. It was a great experience. Every time I show people pictures of it I miss it so bad.

Often I'm asked, "What was it like? What was the highlight for you?" Well, there is one thing in particular that really was special to me.

A while before I went to Israel I was going through an especially difficult time. I was giving into temptation more than I was resisting. In fact it seemed hopeless to even try.

It began to register in my mind that this was more than just a personal area of failure. Satan was behind and using to try to immobilize me in any hopes of ministry. God brought me to this passage in Luke 22:31-32

31And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:

32But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

That really encouraged me to realize that Jesus is praying for me!

Now when we were in Israel we had no specific plans ahead of time where we would stay in Nazareth or in Tiberius by the Sea of Galilee. In Nazareth we stopped at a motel and our leaders went inside to check on rooms. Well 5 minutes turned into 10, then 1/2 hour. So we went to check on them. They were nowhere to be found! We went up and down the street to different motels looking but to no avail. We had no idea what to do not even a phone number.

At about the 2 hour mark we came to the conclusion, Ok this is serious. We need to make a plan here. That's when I spotted them walking back toward us. What had happened was every place they tried there was no room. But the guy would say,"O, but there's another place just 20 meters farther." or "Yes, just go another 200 meters." Well, they ended up far, far away.

But God led them to the Sisters of Nazareth Convent which was a lot nicer than the motel would have been. Our leaders told the receptionist that we also had no place set up to stay in Tiberius yet. She said she knew of a place on the Sea of Galilee. A phone call confirmed, sure enough, there was room at this church and monastery guest house.

We arrived at this awesome place right on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. We couldn't ask for a nicer spot. Then we discovered what this place was. Its called St Peter's Primacy. God had put this whole thing together for us but especially for me.

Remember the passage He had given me months before? Satan desired to sift Peter but Jesus prayed for him and said he would be restored. St Peter's Primacy, here on the Galilean shore marks the spot where Jesus restored Peter and gave him a ministry! Remember Peter after he had denied Christ went back to his old career of fishing. They fished all night and caught nothing. Jesus called out and told them to throw the nets out on the other side resulting of a haul of 153 fish. Then the realized it was Jesus. "Peter, do you love Me? Feed my sheep."

God moved a lot of stuff around even to get me to Israel and now had set this whole thing up to allow me to meet with Him at the very same spot where Peter was restored! Well, Jesus has restored me. We talked about it quite a bit there on the shore. I didn't catch any fish and didn't feel anything dramatic. But He had set this thing up and He was there.

He is stirring in me hope and yearnings for revival and ministry that I'd never thought possible a few months before. If God is for us who or what can be against us?

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.