Day 1

February 24 – February 25
Sun – Mon

The day started out fairly early (depending on who you talk to). We were ready and on the road by 6:45am, headed to Temecula to catch the bus to LAX. We arrived and went through our orientation class. This is where you sit there and act like you’re interested in everything they’re saying but really you just want to get on the road.

We finally loaded and made it to LAX. Now we started the crazy screening process. Not only do you go through the LAX security but the Israeli government has their own security screening process that is much more intensive. This section provided a bit of humor for those present with me because as I walked up to the screener, she immediately told me to stay where I was and she called a second agent. He then took me (in front of everyone mind you) to a back room and told me that I had been selected for further screening. Now if you’re like me, you would’ve probably been thinking, “Oh no, here comes the rubber glove time” cause that’s exactly what I was thinking. But actually they just opened my luggage and went through everything. They broke a piece on our church camera (sorry Isaiah) so that was nice of them. But all in all, it was pretty painless.

We then went to the terminal to prepare for boarding. Prior to this I had not known about Israel’s extreme security measures even here in the US. Once all of our boarding passes were handed out, they loaded us onto buses and drove us to an entirely different location out in the middle of no where. In a place all to itself was our plane. Our bus ride to the plane was escorted by Israeli police and our boarding was monitored. But finally, we were on the plane and waiting to take off.

The plane ride was smooth but life-sucking!! The flight was a straight shot from LAX to Tel Aviv, 14 LONG HOURS!! And just at the point when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, I looked at the onboard T.V. monitor and saw that we were flying over Thessalonica, the place where the Apostle Paul planted a church (Paul wrote them a letter cleverly titled Thessalonians). That brought back some much needed life to my dying spirit!!

We are about to go to sleep and prepare for a full day tomorrow. We were told to read Acts 9 and 10 and the book of Jonah because tomorrow we are traveling to Joppa (the port Jonah sailed from to try and run from God) and Galilee (place of Jesus early ministry) and Caesarea (mentioned in the Bible related to the Apostle Paul and Peter). Can’t Wait!!!

-Pastor Greg

Day 2

February 26
Tuesday

Our day began at 6:30am with an Israeli breakfast. It was nothing short of amazing!! There was so much food that I had never seen before, but I was somewhat adventurous. By 7:30am we were on the road to our first destination: Joppa.

This is a picture of me sitting on a small wall while Pastor Clark is giving the morning devotional at the Tel (archeological mound) of Joppa. You can see the Mediterranean behind us and it was raining that morning but I didn’t care. I could not believe I was sitting at the very place where the prophet Jonah boarded a ship headed for Tarshish in direct opposition to God’s call. Joppa is also the place where Peter raised Dorcas from the dead. Read Jonah chapter 1 and Acts chapter 9 to get the biblical account.

Next we were off to the Caesarea. Caesarea was an amazing site!! The city was literally right on the Mediterranean Sea and was built by Herod the Great in 22 B.C. It is amazing to walk right in the middle of all the ruins. You are literally walking through thousands of years of history, both secular and sacred or biblical history. The most amazing thing to see in this place was the Roman Theater. Besides the blue chairs, this theater is completely authentic and was present during the life of Christ. We can be sure that the Apostle Paul was in this theater and it’s very possible that the Apostle Peter was here as well. When you walk through the entry ways, it forces you to just stop, stay quiet and just take it all in. This is also in Caesarea. This is the remains of a first century horse track arena. The place where you see the people walking is the actual track and the stone bleachers are the real seats from the first century.

From Caesarea, we stopped off quick to see a first century Roman Aqueduct. It was built by Herod the Great and it brought water from a spring at the base of Mt. Carmel to the city of Caesarea. The accuracy and precision that was used by the first century Roman engineers is staggering. For example, this Aqueduct is 11 miles long and each mile has exactly a 10 inch downgrade so that gravity would carry the water the distance of 11 miles. The primitive life was sometimes think they lived is not true. I got so excited to see the Aqueduct that I ran over to it and climbed to the top to get my picture taken.

Our next destination was Mt. Carmel. This was one of the most amazing sites so far. The Old Testament prophet Elijah was on this very mountain and actually called down fire from Heaven to prove to the people around him that God was the only true God. You should read this story because it is so powerful!! It is found in 1 Kings 18:20 – 46. But I actually stood on the same mountain as the prophet Elijah!! For the first time in my life, I had nothing to say. What can be said when you’re standing on a place that was the used in such a powerful way by God. The first picture is a monument of the prophet Elijah that is on the top of the traditional site where it is believed Elijah had his confrontation with the prophets of Baal. The second picture is of the valley below Mt. Carmel. It was utterly breathtaking.

There were so many other places and things that we did that I don’t have the time, energy or space to share with you all. But hear this!! You MUST, I say again, you MUST find a way to come with us to Israel when we go again. It will change your life, your Bible reading and your view of Israel forever. We are presently in a hotel on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and it’s time for bed. We have an early morning ahead of us. For the next two days we will be in Galilee literally walking in the very footsteps of Jesus Christ.

-Pastor Greg Cash

Day 3

February 27
Wednesday

I don’t know about any of you but before this trip to Israel I haven’t gotten up at 6:00am so many days in row since high school.  I can almost hear some of your sneers but that’s ok, this is a new thing for me.  This morning started the same: up at 6:00am, breakfast at 6:30am, on the bus by 7:25am and on the road by 7:30am.

Our trip started with an hour drive up to the northern most point of Israel called the Golan Heights.  In fact, we could see Lebanon and Syria from where we were standing.  These two countries do not have standing peace agreements with Israel at present and our Israeli guide was telling us that in 2006, 1000 rockets were fired on the exact spot we were by Lebanon.  He also told us that we were all presently within range of their artillery. Let me tell you, that’s an interesting moment!!  As we continued to drive, there were huge tracts of land that were completely fenced off with signs posted every few feet that read, “DANGER, MINE FIELD.” These mines are left over from the 1970s when Israel came under control of the area.

We finally made it to our destination spot, Tel (remember a Tel is just an archeological hill) Dan.  You may remember the name Dan from the Old Testament. Dan was one of the original 12 tribes of Israel and is located at the northern most border of Israel.  Solomon was one of the greatest kings in Israeli history. After his death the kingdom was divided into two kingdoms. 10 tribes went north and called themselves “Israel” while 2 tribes stayed south and called themselves “Judah.”  The king in the north was named Jeroboam and the king in the south was named Rehoboam.  In those days the Temple was the only acceptable place to worship God (unlike today where we can worship wherever we are) and the Temple was located in the southern kingdom of Judah. But Jeroboam (northern king) didn’t want his people to go to the south to worship for fear he may lose them.  So he created two site of worship for the northern tribes so that they wouldn’t go down south to the Temple.  This flew in the very face of God and His instructions of proper worship.  But Jeroboam built two sites, one was at a place called Bethel and the other was at a place called Dan.  He had two golden calves made and put them at each site. There the people slaughtered animals and offered them to the calves.  So the northern kingdom fell into HEAVY pagan idol worship.  You should check out this story, it’s pretty cool. It’s found in 1 Kings 12 – 13.

Well, (and this is the point of my whole story here) I was at the pagan worship site today at Dan.  I SAW the altar where the golden calf was placed. I stood on it, walked all around it and then it hit me.

I thought about how many people went to HELL because of this pagan site.  This was a 3 century old reminder of what we are ALL prone to; and that is to slip away from God and worship false gods. Whether it is our money, our “toys” or our jobs, we all have the capacity to turn from the one true God and put our hope and trust into something else. CRAZY!!  As you walk into the opening of the city, there is an altar from that time period. And so many times I’ve read about different kings in the Old Testament and all the evils one have nearly the same thing written about them. The bible says that they did evil in the eyes of the Lord and they failed to take down the “high places by the gate.” Well one of those “high places” is still in existence.

Being here in this land brings your bible reading to a ridiculous new level. Now in my mind I see the places that I had to imagine before. I see how close together all the biblical sites are, this explains how Jesus walked everywhere.  I’ve been to the “high places” and have seen where the ancient Israelites went very wrong.  It’s so unbelievable and I’m not accomplished enough as a poet or writer to be able to give you a complete picture of the reverence that is felt while you’re in this place.

From Tel Dan we drove a few minutes to one of the best, and most moving sites, on this trip so far. We drove to Caesarea Philippi.  Now, from biblical accounts, we know that Jesus and His disciples were present at Caesarea Philippi. This place was built by Herod Philip, one of the sons of Herod the Great. He built the city for a dual purpose. One was to honor the Caesar of Rome and also to honor himself, thus you get Caesarea Philippi. This was a pagan city of worship with a huge temple dedicated to the false god “pan.”  As Jesus walked with His disciple to this spot, he asked them an important question. He asked, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”  The answered with some names of Old Testament prophets among other names. But then He asked them the real question. He asked, “But who do you say I am?” Peter jumps in here and says that Jesus is the “Christ” or Messiah, the Son of the Living God.  Catch the scene here!! They’re standing in a city known for its pagan worship and Peter is making an honest confession that Jesus is the one true God. Amazing!! Well there is also a huge cave in the side of this mountain face that the ancient people used to believe was the LITERAL passage way to the underworld or what we would call HELL.

Jesus taught his disciples a powerful object lesson here.  SO there standing by this huge rock mountain face with the supposed passage way to Hell right there. Here is where Jesus calls Peter the “Rock” and says that He will build His church and the gates of Hell (remember where they’re standing) will not prevail against it.  His point was the church will not be built upon false worship that they were surrounded by but on Christ alone and Hell itself will not be able to stand against it.  Jesus used this pagan practice to bring in powerful spiritual truth.  To know that Jesus was there and teaching was more than I could handle. I broke down several times…..I WAS A WRECK!!!  But it was a LIFE-CHANGING experience.

From this place, we went to a place that had no Biblical significance but huge historical significance. We went to Nimrod’s fortress.  This is a castle in the Golan Heights that was constructed by Crusaders in 1099 AD and built onto later by other groups.  It was crazy to walk around in so much history.  I was up in a tower that had a long thin slit cut into the wall that was used by knights to shoot arrows out to enemy forces outside the walls.

Through this fortress you can see the entire valley that comes from the Sea of Galilee to Caesarea Philippi. It was a breath-taking view and experience to know that knights lived in that fortress over a thousand years ago. I was able to walk and touch everything…nothing is roped off like you might think.  Everywhere you turn, there is so much history that you’ll go into a historical coma if you’re not careful!!

From the knight’s fortress or Nimrod’s fortress, we drove for about 45 minutes to the area of the Sea of Galilee. There we went to the Jordan River and, are you ready for this? We got baptized in the Jordan River!  I am fully aware that baptism is just a symbol and has no salvific (related to salvation) power but there is something SO SPECIAL about getting baptized in the same river that Jesus was baptized in.  Again, I was a wreck!! We had a time of worship from a guitar and then the baptism.  Let me tell you….singing God’s praises at the river where God was baptized will just shut your mouth and the tears will flow.  It was the most moving time of my entire life!! Yes it was freezing, it is winter and the water is run off from the snowy mountains, and yes the water takes your breath away with the shock to your system, but I would NEVER HAVE MISSED IT!!  That is how we closed our day.  I came back to my hotel room to write this blog and to read all the Scripture I could about the places we visited today.  It has been such a cool time to hang out with God and experience Him on an incredible level.

PLEASE HEAR ME WHEN I SAY THIS…Beg, Borrow, or Steal to come to Israel.  Do whatever you have to do to afford this trip.  One thing I can promise you is that you will NEVER BE THE SAME.  Yes Jesus is everywhere and the same Christ that I am experiencing is the same Christ present in Norco California. But to come to the ROOTS of our faith is a life-altering experience that every Christian should try to do at least once.  No….at a minimum of once!!! I’m going to do whatever I have to do to bring my wife and children here one day, and Lord willing, again and again and again.  May God bless all of you and I can’t wait to talk to you all individually about these experiences. There are SO MANY I’VE HAD TO LEAVE OUT!!!

May the “Lord Shalom”, the “God of Peace” be with you always.

Love,
Pastor Greg

Day 4

February 28
Thursday

Ok, you guys will never guess what I did first thing this morning!!! Ok maybe you will. I got up at 6:00am and had an Israeli breakfast. Ha! I’m noticing the bizarre pattern that fish and cheese are served at every meal no matter the time of day.

So we left on the bus this morning at 7:30 am again and headed to our first stop of the morning….and get this…we went to a city that Jesus lived in for a time…Capernaum.  We are told in Matthew 4: 12-22 that Jesus lived in this city and called His first disciples from this northern region of the Sea of Galilee.  I actually walked up to the synagogue area (their church building) and saw the original foundation of the place that the synagogue of Jesus’ day.

If you’ll notice in the picture a white upper layer and darker bottom layer.  The bottom layer is the original wall and foundation of the synagogue that Jesus stood in. The Byzantines (Constantine) came later in the 4th century and built the white existing synagogue over the exact foundation of the old one.  Pretty amazing!  You should look at these pictures and then read Mark 1:29 – 31.  In this passage, Jesus leaves the synagogue and its says He went into the house of Simon and Andrew and healed Simon’s mother-in-law. We know this Simon is the apostle Peter and his house is about 30 – 40 yards from the synagogue.

Very recently the Catholic Church came and built a structure over the house of Simon Peter, so that’s what you see in the picture that is over the ruins.   So I was standing among the ruins where Jesus, Peter, Andrew, James and John walked and lived.  It was nearly too much to take in.

From Capernaum, we traveled a short distance to the city of Korazin. This may be a less familiar city than the others I have mentioned but we know that Jesus was in this city and taught in it’s synagogue. It is found in Matthew 11:20 – 24. That passage shows Jesus pronouncing judgment on this city because of its unbelief.

Here I’m squatting in front an authentic 1st century flour grinder.  They put wheat and barley inside the rectangular holder and used the pointed rock to grind it down to flour for bread.  There is a synagogue in this city as well and it has not been rebuilt by anyone.  This synagogue was the real deal!!! This is the exact structure that Jesus would have walked through and taught in.

As I said, we were at Capernaum, Korazin and Bethsaida, the three places that Jesus pronounced woes on in Matthew 11:20 – 24 (you gotta read it!!!). Well these three cities lie in ruins to this very day. Several cities in Israel that have biblical significance have been rebuilt and a lot even have Israelis living in them today (the ruins are preserved of course but they live all around them). But these three cities are still desolate ruins to this very day. Nothing has been rebuilt and nothing is around them…confirming the prophetic words of Jesus over 20 centuries ago in Matthew 11:20 – 24. Unreal!!  Let me tell you…the Bible is a reliable source and Jesus’ words are true.

After visiting those three cities, we stopped for lunch.  This was the coolest because we ate at a fish restaurant right on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. It was called, are you ready for this, “Peter’s Fish Fry.” No lie….true story.  So we ate at Peter’s Fish Fry and ate the same thing that has been eaten for thousands of years, in fact, the fish we ate is called “Saint Peter’s Fish.”  I typically hate fish (except Filet – O – Fish at McDonalds) but I made myself eat this fish and I loved it. I took a picture of this lovely fish served for lunch.

Once lunch was over, we headed to the shores of Galilee to a museum. This museum was the home of an authentic 1st century boat that was found buried under the soil of the Sea of Galilee in 1986.  So although it is impossible to know if Jesus was in this boat, there is no doubt that this boat was around during the time He was present at the Sea of Galilee.  This was fascinating to look at.

Vernie and I also had a chance to meet the man who found the boat and helped uncover it.  He’s kind of a national celebrity in Israel for his significant find.

We had some time to shop at this museum and had an opportunity to get a rare time of relaxation for about 45 minutes.

We ended our day a bit earlier than normal.  But we ended in an unbelievable way.  We took a boat ride out on the Sea of Galilee, on the very lake that Jesus Himself was on and around throughout most of His ministry.  The very lake where Jesus walked on the water and calmed the storm by His spoken word.  The awesomeness of that moment was incredible.  I hope I can paint the picture for you.  We got into our boat and started across the lake.  Galilee is 13 miles long and 7 miles wide, so you can easily see to the other side of the lake (something I didn’t realize from just reading the Bible…I’ve never been able to see to the other side of a Sea before). But we were in the middle of the lake when the captain of our boat shut off all the engines and we sat silent. 

When you’re silently sitting on the Sea of Galilee, realizing that the Creator of the universe, the author and perfector of our faith, was also on that lake, that will close your mouth in a hurry.  I sat there with a complete loss for words.  What can be said that will do justice to a moment like this?  I just sat there looking at the water thinking of Jesus and started to cry.  There was nothing more I could do.  I just cried and thanked my Savior that His love for me was so great that He chose to come to this earth for something as worthless as me.  It was a moment I will never forget as long as I live.

So today I walked were Jesus walked, I saw the places he taught and spoke His sermons, and I was also on the same lake where he calmed the storms and walked on the water.  How can a day like this ever be achieved again besides in Heaven?  This to me has been a spiritual milestone that nothing else will compare to.   So again church, I beg you, for your own spiritual health and revitalization, do WHATEVER NECESSARY to come to Israel with us on our next visit!!!  It will change your life FOREVER…this much I can PROMISE you.

NOTHING COMPARES TO THE GOD OF HEAVEN AND EARTH!!!

With Much Love,

Pastor Greg

Day 5

February 29
Friday

Hello everyone!!! I have some more exciting news from Israel.  Today was a beautiful day…the best weather you can imagine!!!  Well…like everyday so far, today held some amazing and life-altering experiences.  Here’s what I can tell you…the Bible is absolutely reliable. Everything you read, from the Old Testament to the New Testament, is factual historically, archeologically and spiritually!!!  I hope this blog gives you guys a taste (even if the taste is small) of what we’ve been living for the past 5 days.  So on with today’s activities!!!

We left the area of northern Israel, the Sea of Galilee, and headed south.  Our first stop was an incredible Old Testament site. You may remember a man by the name of Gideon.  Gideon was called by God as a judge of Israel (similar to Deborah, Samson, and Samuel) and was charged with leading the Israelites to freedom from their current oppressors, the Midianites.   He had a 32 thousand man army that was to go up against the Midianites who were over 100 thousand strong.  In this famous story, while Gideon is camped at the “spring of Harod” with his men, God comes to Gideon and tells him he has too many men.  God eventually tells Gideon to have his men go the spring and get a drink of water and the men that drink the water with there faces in the spring (like dogs) are to go home and the ones that used their hands to drink were to stay.  Gideon obeyed and after the experiment, Gideon was left with only 300 men.  God fought the battle for Gideon and his men and the giant Midianite army was defeated. You have to read this story, it’s found in Judges 7:1-12.

Well, today, I was at that same spring!! I sat at the base of the mountains of Gilboa (also called Mount Gilead), looked across the plain where the actual battle took place, and I gathered some water from the spring with my hand just like 300 of the ancient Israelites did so many thousands of years ago.  Biblical history came to life to me today!!!

From the Spring of Gideon we went to a place called Bet Shean.  This place might not strike your memory right at first until you hear what happened there.  Shean (or Shan as its pronounced in the Old Testament) was the name of an ancient Philistine god.  So Bet Shean was an ancient Philistine city, the sworn enemies of the Israelites. Bet means city and Shean was the name of the god, so the name literally means “City of Shean.”  Ok, so if you remember the name of the very first king of Israel, Saul, then you’ll know about Bet Shean.  The bible tells us in 1 Samuel 31:12-13 that Saul was in battle and was mortally wounded by some archers. Saul asked his armor bearer to kill him because he knew the Philistines would abuse him if they captured him.  His armor bearer refused so the bible says Saul “fell on his sword.” Saul and his son Jonathan were killed that day in battle. Well the Philistines found their bodies and, knowing those two would be considered great trophies, cut their heads off and brought their bodies to the city of Bet Shean. At Bet Shean they fastened their headless bodies on the wall in the town square for all to see.  This was like a trophy of a great victory in their eyes.  So I was in the actual city where Saul and Jonathan’s bodies were put on the wall. This city was huge and is still largely in tact from roughly 1000 years before Christ.

In these pictures you can see that the original pillars are still present, the theater of the city is in excellent condition, there were paved streets still in tact….it was just amazing!!! As I walked through the city, it was like being in a time machine and walking through an existing Old Testament city.  I just can't adequately describe the feeling to you (I know this is quickly becoming a common statement in these blogs but it’s so true).  Erika Velasco and I both climbed up a hill right next to the city that give an incredible view of the city and the surrounding country sides. If you look at the picture you should be able to tell that it’s us.

After lunch we headed to our final region of Israel.  We will stay in this southern region for the remainder of our time here in Israel.  Of course I’m talking about the one and only city of Jerusalem.  It was a long drive getting there but it was worth the drive.  We drove along the West Bank (alittle nervous about that at first), by the ancient city of Jericho where the Israelites marched around the city walls and they collapsed. We couldn’t stop in Jericho because that’s a military zone at this time….it’s a dangerous place for Americans and Jews right now.  We had to make one stop along the way to go to the bathrooms and such.  At this stop, some in our group took advantage of the time and paid to ride a camel in the parking lot.

Let me tell you….camels, or at least these camels, smelled like something from the pit of Hell!!! It was horrible but fun to watch. Anyways, we continue our drive.  As we approached Jerusalem our tour guide thought it would be a good idea to listen to a song about the holiness of Jerusalem before we entered one of the holiest cities in all of Israel.  The song he played spoke about the power of God and His city of Jerusalem.  During the song, I started to realize what was about to happen to me.  I was about to enter the very place where my Savior bled and died for me because of His incredible love.  About 7 words into the song I was moved to tears and I nearly sobbed the entire song. I don’t think I’ve cried more in a week’s period in my entire life than on this trip. 

Just before you enter the city, you have to drive through a tunnel that was cut through the center of one of the surrounding hills.  As we’re driving through the tunnel and approaching the other side, our tour guide said welcome to Jerusalem. Just as those words left his mouth, the city opened up to us and the first thing you see is the Temple Mount.  It was breath-taking!! Our bus was DEAD SILENT.  That was another one of those moments that you just have to try and absorb and not ruin it with words.  In this place you can’t help but the feel the actual presence of God.   We drove to a look out point and we did a traditional Jewish greeting where we broke bread together and drank grape juice. Not communion but a symbolic ceremony of rejoicing for being in the city of God.

After this we drove to the hotel. No touring yet, but tomorrow we’re supposed to go to the Dead Sea and float among other things, so I’m very excited about that.

Church family, I hope you can hear my heart in all of these paragraphs and I hope it moves you to plan ahead for next February when we return to Israel.  Your life will be forever altered for the Lord. This will be better than any vacation that you could EVER plan.  Until we meet again, may God bless you.

Pastor Greg Cash

Day 6

March 1
Saturday

Shalom and boker tov!! In Hebrew this means, “Hello and good morning.”  We had another packed day here in the land of our Lord and Savior.  As an update I must tell that I believe the Lord is coming back any minute because I am starting to like getting up at 6:00am every morning.  So pack your bags the Lord must be on His way!!

So this morning we drove out to the Dead Sea region of Israel.  I was amazed to see just how big the Dead Sea is.  The thing is absolutely huge!! It’s enormous in size even after the water has receded some 60 feet.  Anyways, we were in that region and we made our first stop for the day.  We went to a place called En Gedi.

This again may be another place that is less familiar to you until you hear what happened at the site.  This site is found in the 1 Samuel 24.  The quick synopsis is this: Saul was the first king of Israel but was not following the ways of the Lord.  God had the prophet Samuel anoint David as the next king of Israel who would take Saul’s place. David used to work for Saul until Saul became extremely jealous of David because he had the people’s affection.  Because of this, Saul tried repeatedly to kill David.  David was forced into hiding to save his own life. David went to the wilderness in the desert around the Dead Sea region.  He went to a place called En Gedi to hide out.  David and all his men were in one of the caves in the area when Saul and 3 thousand men came to the region.   By the hand of God, Saul went into a cave to relieve himself and it just so happened that he picked the exact cave that David and his men were in.  So we would think that God delivered Saul into David’s hand, but David didn’t see it that way.  He used this opportunity to prove to Saul that he was on his side.

As Saul was relieving himself, David snuck over and cut off a piece of Saul’s robe.  Saul left the cave and returned to his men.  David later came out of the cave and yelled down in the valley to Saul, showing him the piece of his robe and telling him that he wanted to be loyal to him. 

Well the place that all this happened was at En Gedi, a fresh water spring that is about a mile off the shores of the Dead Sea ( a mile now, then it wouldn’t have been so far away). I stood in the footprints of King David and Saul where this epic confrontation occurred.

It was ridiculously awesome!!!

From En Gedi we traveled to Masada. Masada has little biblical significance but it means a lot to the Jewish people of today, as well as the Jews from the 1st century.  In A.D. 70 the Temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Romans who were cleaning house. The Romans were tired of all the rebellions of the Jews and were putting a stop to it.  They captured the city of Jerusalem, burned the Temple and carried everyone present off to captivity.  A remnant of the Jews escaped the city and fled to the wilderness. They fled to a placed called Masada. Masada was built by Herod the Great (the Herod of Jesus birth who had all the babies killed) as a winter palace because of the mild climate of the Dead Sea region (the Dead Sea has no winter since it’s the lowest place on earth at 1300 feet below sea level it gets little rain, snow or cold temperatures – today they use it to plant many types of fruits that normally could not grow in winter climates so they can sell the fruit in the off seasons and make a bunch of money).  Masada is a giant plateau that rises off the floor of the Dead Sea region to the point of being sea level, or roughly about 1300 feet.

From the top of this mountain you can see the surrounding area because this plateau is in the shape of a giant cylinder or circle that raises high in the air. It’s the perfect spot for a fortress and that’s what it turned into when the Jews had to escape Jerusalem after the Romans conquered it in 70 A.D.  A remnant of roughly 1000 Jews made it to Masada.  The Romans sent 10,000 soldiers to the city and besieged it. The siege lasted for 3 long years.  Since there was only a small path that lead to the top of Masada, the Romans couldn’t get up to it because they were taking heavy casualties. 

So the Romans devised a plan.  They decided to bring some of the captive Jews from Jerusalem and force them to build a dirt ramp that lead from the ground level to the top of Masada. They did this because they knew the Jews on top of Masada wouldn’t try to hurt their brothers who were now slaves.  Once the dirt ramp was completed, the Romans brought in battering rams and broke through the walls of the city.  But they ran into the surprise of their lives.  They found all 1000 people dead by suicide.  The people had decided to take their own lives rather than be subject to slavery for the rest of their lives.

At this site, I saw the dirt ramp, remains of the city on top of Masada, including a giant pile of rocks used by the Jews to drop on the Romans, and the remains of the Roman camps that were around the base of Masada.

It was very strange to be on top of Masada knowing that 2000 years ago Jews were forced to make a horrible decision for death rather than a life of slavery and abuse. 

After Masada and lunch, we stopped quickly at a place called Qumran. Qumran is the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were originally found in 1947.

So it was cool to see the place where ancient people lived and made copies of Scripture (among other documents) that we found nearly 2000 years later.  This helps prove the bible’s reliability, showing that the same bible we read today is the same bible this ancient sect of people had in their possession.  To me this site was a less exciting (compared to the rest of the sites) but it was still worth stopping at without question.

From here we jumped back into our tour bus and headed for the Dead Sea.  This final event was going to close out our day.  We brought our bathing suits and went for a swim, or should I say float, in the Dead Sea.  This was the CRAZIEST experience I’ve ever done.  Imagine that you’re walking out into a lake that looks perfectly normal.  But as you enter the water, your foot sinks up to your knee in the mud.  So you pick up some of the mud to inspect it and it is the darkest mud you’ve ever seen (the only comparison I can make would be that of a sewage plant – just without the smell).

So once you get out into the water at about waist level, you just lie back and the top half of your body is completely out of the water.  You can quite literally take a book out in the water with you and read it very comfortably for as long as you’d like to.  If you can imagine this, then you’ve nearly experienced the Dead Sea.

This was the strangest thing to me at first, but it quickly became the coolest thing ever!!!  I felt like I was lying on top of the water.  At one point, I swam out to deeper water and stood upright.  I was bobbing up and down like a buoy.  It was stinkin COOL!!! 

After this experience we headed back to the hotel.  We were all exhausted from a full day of cool stuff and ready for some sleep.  I am missing my wife and kiddos no doubt.  The only possible thing that could make this experience cooler is if Micah, Jadyn and Tami were with me.  So in a strange tug-of-war, I wish I could stay here longer, but I can’t wait to get home.  I hope you all are doing well!! See you soon!!

Pastor Greg Cash

Day 7

March 2
Sunday

Good morning family!!! Wow, have we had an incredible time in the Holy Land.  When you’re in Israel, there is no question that this land is the Promised Land, the chosen land of God.  I know that God is everywhere, and the same God of Israel is present in Norco, but there is something special about praying, studying and walking through the land that He called the “apple of His eye.”  It is inspiring!!

This morning, we got to sleep in!!!! ROCK ON!!! But can I tell you guys something very strange?  Instead of leaving at our typical time, we left 30 minutes later, but I woke up 15 minutes earlier than I normally did the earlier days.  Is that not ridiculous?? Ha! Anyways, today was a great day.  Our first site was a place called “Bet Shemesh.”  This was a cool site!  By the way, all its fields were covered in red wild flowers that were just beautiful.

We were standing in an ancient Israelite city that was surrounded by their arch enemies, the Philistines.  In 1 Samuel 4 & 5 the sacred Ark of the Covenant had been used as a manipulation tool and was captured by the Philistines.  Then God, in his sovereignty, sent tumors and rats on every Philistine city where the ark was sent.  Am I the only one that thinks that’s hilarious??  God is amazing and is DEFINITLY in control no matter what the circumstance!!

Anyways, the Philistines finally wised up and sent the ark back to Israel, but they chose a strange way to do it.  They put the ark on a cart and attached two cows to pull the cart, and then they let them go seeing if God was really God.  The cows pulled the ark directly back into Israelite territory and they brought the ark to a city called Bet Shemesh, where I was standing. It was so cool to look across the exact valley that the ark traveled in.

In the picture of me with the mountain range in the background, you see a small little village at the base of the hills.  Well this is the ancient city of Zorah, the place where the prophet Samson was born.  And just down the valley and around the corner was the ancient city of Timnah, where Samson went and got a Philistine wife.  There is so much history at EVERY TURN here in this place. I’m telling you it is unbelievable!!  Back to Bet Shemesh. The bible says that when the farmers saw the ark coming they rejoiced (1 Samuel 6:13).  So I stood on top of the Tel (archeological mound) of Bet Shemesh and looked at the valley floor and just imagined what it must have been like to see God’s Ark traveling in the valley on a cart with two cows by itself.  It was a cool place let me tell you.

From this spot, we traveled to a huge cave that was used before the time of Christ.  Inside the cave were a bunch of holes in the wall, probably about 150.  They looked like little cubby holes chiseled into the rock.  We were told that they were used to house pigeons.  Apparently pigeons back in the day were BIG business. They were used for meat and carrying messages, among other uses.  Well inside this cave, archeologists discovered an amazing find.  They found a family burial site that was above ground.  There was a chamber of tombs that were decorated and were completely untouched since before the time of Christ.

The entrance was hidden very well over time and a hunter eventually found the opening to the cave as he was chasing a rabbit that “disappeared.” As he searched, he found the opening and the site was discovered.

As I looked at the caves, I couldn’t resist.

I tell you this, it was a little eerie to be inside of this tomb.  Do you see what I go through for you guys!?!?!? Ha!  I also went into the supposed owner’s tomb and looked around.

It was a cool place no doubt, even though it had no biblical significance.

The last site we went to was the valley of Elah.  This is the exactly valley where David killed Goliath.  The story is found in 1 Samuel 17 and it talks about the Philistines and the Israelites being camped on opposite hills with a valley in the middle.  I was in the valley and saw the hills. They aren’t very high hills but they stand directly opposite each other with about 3 or 4 hundred yards between each other…the perfect place for a battle.  I also picked 5 smooth stones from a river bed believed to be from David’s time. This is exactly what David did when he went down to kill Goliath.  It was such a cool moment…and the rocks look cool too. They are all still smooth in that river bed from all the flood waters that push them along the valley.  Perfect for a man’s forehead.  The pastor who taught us the biblical lessons on each site is a man named Pastor Clark. He is an amazing man of God.  He has such a tender spirit, an amazing heart of worship and a crazy-good understanding of the Bible.  Anyways, at the site of David and Goliath, Pastor Clark brought out a sling shot similar to the one David used and he flung several rocks.

It was ridiculous how much momentum he generated with just a few overhead rotations.  I now definitely understand how a rock from David’s sling could easily have knocked a giant to the ground.  As you know, David then ran over to Goliath and took the giant’s sword from him (I think that’s cool by the way) and cut off his head.  God can do anything through anybody as long as the person has the faith and willingness to let Him work.  This was a great site with great teaching from Pastor Clark.

So the day was brought to a close with a great dinner and great conversation.  I miss you all and cant wait to be with you again. 

Pastor Greg Cash

Day 8

March 3
Monday

Ok….I don’t know how to start this blog.  Today was our first full day of touring on the Temple Mount of Jerusalem.  I thought it very strange that the city of Jerusalem is divided into four sections.  You have the Christian quarter, the Jewish quarter, the Armenian quarter and the Arab quarter.  By quarter, I don’t mean that each have an equal amount of space. The Armenian quarter, oddly enough, is the largest section. 

We started from a look-out point on the Temple Mount overlooking the surrounding hills and valleys.

If you look at this picture, the gold dome is called the Dome of the Rock. This is a Muslim monument where they believe the prophet Muhammad ascended into heaven in the late 7th century (sound familiar???).  The second dome you see in the picture is the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This is a place of worship for Muslims in and around Jerusalem today.  The Temple in Jesus’ day would have dwarfed these two sites by comparison.

In this picture you can see a structure with a bunch of small golden towers that looks like something straight out of the cartoon Aladdin. This is a church directly next to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus went to pray before being betrayed by Judas.  Directly behind that structure, you see a complex about ¾ up the hill towards the top…this is the Mount of Olives. The place Jesus prayed, taught and ascended into heaven.  This is also the exact mount where Scripture tells us that Jesus will return at His second coming.   Hallelujah!!  Between the huge wall and the golden topped church is the Kidron Valley, spoken of many times in the New Testament.  There’s so much more I could show you…but I took some good video so when we return I’ll work that up for us all to give a more complete view. 

Now we went to the Old City of Jerusalem.  This felt like you were walking back in time.  The main streets in modern-day Jerusalem are not the streets that Jesus walked on.  You have to remember this one city has been fought over for centuries!! It has been conquered and rebuilt so many times.  When a group conquered the city, they didn’t have heavy equipment, like we have today, to move the foundations or the existing buildings.  So when you can't move something, you build on top of it. This happened repeatedly over the centuries and therefore the streets that Jesus Himself would have walked on are about 30 feet under the existing streets.  The people of Israel have excavated down to the 1st century streets in some spots and I got the chance to walk on the VERY STONES that Jesus most likely walked on. It was a CRAZY moment.

As you can see, some of the stones have been replaced with modern stones (the white ones). But the wall I’m touching and the pillars you see are all authentic to the time of Christ. Now think about this for a second.  When Jesus was on earth, He was God and knew all things past, present and future.  Therefore, when Christ was in Jerusalem, He knew that one day I too would be in Jerusalem walking through the ruins of the very city where He was (they weren’t ruins at that time).  He knew that I would one day call on Him for salvation and so He died on the cross to pay for my sins so that I wouldn’t have to face an eternity separated from Him.  I was thinking these very thoughts as I was touching the walls and walking on the ancient paved streets. SIMPLY AMAZING!!!

Next we went to a place called the Rabbinical Tunnels. Along the giant walls of the Temple Mount, tunnels were dug a long time ago to provide water from a cistern to a part of the city.  We walked through the tunnels and it seemed like you were walking back in time because I was looking at the parts of the walls that are still underground.

This wall was built by Herod the Great just before Christ came on the scene.  And Herod was a guy with big dreams that like things to look nice.  SO you might think that he just had people put stones on top of one another to build a wall, but that’s not all.  He had workers come in and put a frame around the outside of each stone of the Temple Mount just for the decoration.

In the picture, you see our Israeli guide Ami. This guy was amazing and incredibly knowledgeable.  In the close-up picture, you see his hand touching one of the Herodian stones and you can clearly see the frame that he had put around each stone.  It just shows you that this Temple Mount was no small feat and it must have cost a fortune.  But what a cool place to walk through.  I’m telling you family this place is like no other place you could EVER imagine!!!

After the tunnels we headed back to the surface to the Wailing Wall or the Western Wall.  I had a chance to walk up to the wall and pray.  It was a sweet time with the Lord, just hanging out and talking with my God.  At the Wailing Wall you can write your prayers down and put them in the cracks of the wall…so that’s what I did.  So somewhere in the wall that has been seen on the news so much is a tiny piece of paper of 5 prayer items by Greg Cash from Norco California.  Anyways, the courtyard area around the Wailing Wall is an amazing place.  First of all there are soldiers EVERYWHERE.

But I’m telling you this doesn’t make you nervous at all….in fact it makes you feel very secure.  And by the way, Israelis LOVE Americans.  They love us because we are one of the only nations that openly supports them and because we come there and spend a lot of money and that helps there economy.  But from elementary school they are taught about America and the people there that support them.  I had a little girl walk up to me who must have been 6 or 7 years old. She walked right up to me and said in broken English, “Welcome to Israel.”  It was such a touching moment. 

But the courtyard area had a lot to show. There were Hasidic Jews (ultra orthodox Jews…the ones with the big hats and curly bangs) praying and ceremonially washing their hands.

Almost every square inch of the wall was occupied by someone praying.

And I learned something new that I hadn’t known before this (this is a huge understatement….cause I learned about a billion new things).  The reason the Jews pray at this wall known as the Wailing Wall, is not because they think it is holy.  This wall had nothing to do with the Temple.  The Temple from Jesus’ day was inside the complex that this wall was around.  So why here?  They pray here because it is the closest public place to the Holy of Holies (the place the high priest was only aloud to go once a year to offer sacrifice for the sins of the people) that is still in existence.  The Holy of Holies sat at the back of the Temple in Jesus day and that Temple would have come close to that section of the wall. So they are praying at literally all hours of the night (seriously….2, 3, 4 in morning..you name it and they’re there) at this spot because they believe it is near where the Holy of Holies once stood, the very presence of God.  That is cool to me on one hand and then sad to me on the other.  For they all have such devotion and knowledge of the Scriptures and yet they missed the Savior.  They are trapped in legalism where they try and keep the 613 commands of the Law spelled out in the Old Testament.  So I have come to love the Jewish people, I have prayed for them consistently since I’ve been here, but I also pity them.  This courageous group of people is blind to the fact that God can live inside them now through Jesus Christ.

I’m sorry if this one is a long blog but my heart was touched in a special way today.  Please continue to pray for all of us out here as we continue to pray for you.  There is so much more I could tell you about but it would be impossible to list everything and everywhere we’ve been and all the things we’ve seen.  That is why it’s so important that you come with us to this Holy place.  You will never read the bible the same way again and you’ll look at people in an entire new light.  That is what has happened to me.  The bible has come to life literally right before my eyes and because of that I view people in general differently now.  I think God has given me a small portion of seeing people the way He sees them.  I want this feeling and experience that I am having for all of you.  May God bless you all.  See you soon!!

Pastor Greg Cash

Day 9

March 4
Tuesday

Good morning family!!!  Today was our second full day of Jerusalem exploration.  This will be my LAST blog, for tomorrow is our last full day of touring, then a farewell dinner and then we go to the airport to fly out at midnight.  So we will be with you soon once again…Lord willing.

Anyways, on with today’s blog.  We got into the bus this morning at 7:30 am and headed towards the Temple Mount.  As we arrived they told us things I hadn’t really thought about.  They said that the Temple Mount is not under the control of the Muslims authorities. The Temple Mount is under the sovereignty of the Israeli nation but being that this area is so sensitive; the Israeli government has given them complete religious control.  Therefore, the Muslims determine when and where tourists can go. For example, tourists are only allowed to be on the Temple Mount until 10:00am, then they shut it down so that Muslims can come and pray.  There are Israeli police in the Temple Mount so as you’re standing there you can feel the tension that is present. 

So we entered the Temple Mount area and obviously the first thing you see is the golden Dome of the Rock.

This is one of the three most holy sites for the nation of Islam (Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem).    One of the craziest things that was told to me when we were there is not to bring a bible.  If you bring your bible into that Muslim holy site, they’ll take it from you.  They want little to do with Americans or Israelis for that matter.  So while you’re there you feel the spiritual tensions and the evil that is present on top of the Mount.

So we walked around the Temple Mount past the golden Dome and came to a huge open courtyard.  It is paved with the same stones but it is completely empty.

This is the spot where the Israelis believe the Temple of God once stood.  They also are preparing now for a third Temple to be built.  So you might be wondering how they could build the Temple if the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque are there.  Interestingly enough, if you read Revelation 11: 1-2, it tells you that the Temple was measured but the “court of the Gentiles” was excluded because it had been defiled.  Many believe this is in reference to the Muslim holy sites and that one day the third Temple will reside next to these sites.  It is a very interesting thought. 

We continued to walk around the Temple Mount complex, which is stinkin huge!!! There was so much to see. As we turned a corner, I saw an Israeli policeman so I went up to him and had a picture taken of us.

I’m sure he thought I was a complete psycho but I didn’t care.  Ha! After the picture, he asked me, “Why you hold up one finger? What does this symbol mean?”  So I told him that I thought he was number 1….I said, “It just means you’re the best man.”  He just stood there and looked at me ……so needless to say I left the area immediately.  I turned another corner (the streets have a crazy amount of twists and turns….way too easy to get lost) I came across a roped off garden looking area.  As I looked at the monuments there, I saw something that astonished me.  So look at this picture closely….what do you see?

OH YEAH….That’s my name!!! What’s up??? I felt cool for a second. 

So we continued our tour headed to our next site, the Pool of Bethesda. Read John 5:1-15.  This is the spot where a pool was located in Jesus’ time.  The bible tells us that occasionally the waters were stirred and the crippled people lying around the pool got inside the water believing they would be healed.  Well this certain man had been an invalid for 38 years and was never able to get inside the pool when the waters were stirred because people always got in before him.  So Jesus asked the man if he wanted to get well.  Jesus healed this man and it so happened to be on the Sabbath.  Once the Pharisees, the religious leaders of that day, heard that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath the bible says they “persecuted him.”  But I was at the very spot where this healing took place.

I just sat there and looked at all the stones and thought that MY SAVIOR was once here and His power was physically manifested in this healing!! It is so amazing to be so close to the places where such events took place.

From Bethesda, we walked out of the Temple Mount area and crossed the Kidron Valley.  The Kidron Valley is mentioned several times in the New Testament.  It is a beautiful valley with amazing history.

As has been true with every other place we have visited, everywhere you turn there is HUGE history.  As we crossed the Kidron Valley, we stopped and looked to our right and saw a huge monument.

If you look at this picture, you see a stone building in the center with a pointed roof.  Well this is called the tomb of Absalom, King David’s son.  So this is from approximately 1000 years before Christ and Jesus would have seen this monument as well.  Just as I was taking that in…we walked a few yards further and saw another huge monument.

This is the tomb of the prophet Zechariah.  It is so crazy that so much history is so close to each other in this land.  We always think of Jerusalem as dealing with Jesus only.  But this place is full of huge Old Testament figures as well that the people of the 1st century would have admired and respected, just like we respect and admire them. 

Once we passed through the Kidron Valley, we headed over to the ever famous Garden of Gethsemane and the Mount of Olives.

(pic IMG 1931, 1930, 1933, 1938).

In these pictures you see the Garden of Gethsemane olive trees.  They were huge and the largest ones would have been present during the time of Jesus.  Olive trees never really die, they just continue to thrive and produce as long as they have the right conditions for survival.  So it was an AWESOME MOMENT to walk through this area and think that Jesus himself might have been by or touched these exact trees.  The Mount of Olives was an awesome place too.  This is the very spot where Jesus taught, ascended into heaven and will one day return.  Here’s a crazy thought….I STOOD ON THE EXACT MOUNTAIN THAT OUR LORD AND SAVIOR WILL RETURN TO.  Is that not amazing and too much to handle??? I looked at the sky and wondered what it must have been like to see Jesus literally ascending into the clouds.  Read it for yourself in Acts 1:1-11.  As I read it now, it carries a whole new meaning to me.  You read and wonder what the place was like, but I read it now and have walked on the very mountain.  INCREDIBLE!!!

Well family, this has been an amazing journey for me and I pray that my words may have stirred your heart for the Israeli people and the Holy Land.   We will have a lot of time to talk about other things that we have seen and done here in the Holy Land.  These have been the single most spiritual days of my entire life and I want this for you all.  I hope you will give it some thought and consider it for next February.  May God bless you all and, Lord willing, we will see you soon.