From the golf course, east of Canon City is where “SUPER MAX” is.  All the really bad folks are there.  See the buildings in the middle of the picture?

#1  Capernaum. Ok, so this does not make the #1 pick of most who visit Israel, but it sure did on mine.  Capernaum is a village on the northern edge of the Sea of Galilee in which Jesus lived and did most of His 3 year ministry.

Jesus taught in the synagogue in the middle of town that (kind of) still exists today.  Actually, the original foundation is right below another synagogue build above it.  You can see the original very easy.  We stood right in the middle of the synagogue as it stands today. Jesus taught in this synagogue on the Sabbath’s(Luke 4:31-32).

Front of synagogue….with surrounding neighborhood

So many thing happened here in Capernaum.  One day while Jesus was teaching in one of the houses,  a person was lowered through the roof for Jesus to heal(Luke 5:19).  This is the neighborhood right next to the synagogue.

There was a busy road right outside of town that Matthew would have been collecting taxes at. (Luke 5:27)  He called him to be a disciple here too.  A Centurion’s servant was healed here(Luke 7).  An official of the synagogue, Jarius’ daughter was healed(Luke 8:54).  A woman who had “bled” for years was healed (Luke 8:44).  A LOT OF STUFF HAPPENED HERE!

Another thing of importance was the fact of Peter’s mother in law that was healed(Luke 4:39).  This is where her house was(and parts of it still are). The “flying saucer” thingy is where the Catholic church built over the site.

Another thing that I thought was cool was the shoreline.  How many times did Jesus stand there and look out over the Sea of Galilee?  The was the Sea that He created and told to “BE STILL!”(Luke 8:24)….awesome.  And we stood right there….

This is a pic of me at the Sermon on the Mount site very close to Capernaum.  Because of the amount of time that Jesus spent there and that the place was largely preserved, it was awesome!  A beautiful spot, and no wonder why our Lord would hang out there in one of the great spots that He created!

So there you go….my top 10!  Very difficult, but someone had to do it.  Maybe wifey will come up with her own…keep in touch!

#4 The road to Damascus. Ok, so this does not make many lists, but I was very impressed.  We did a Sunday service in the Golan Heights overlooking the road to Damascus, where Paul was confronted by the resurrected Jesus and was converted.  It was a perfect day and the valley was laid out before us with the road to Damascus below.  Syria was on the other side of the valley.

Paul is a complete hero to me.  His personal account described in 2 Corinthians is very special and I read it over and over.  Even though he was an apostle, he was still humble and shared the gospel with everyone even in meekness, fear and much trembling.  I can relate, and I love Paul for being so transparent.

This picture is us and the valley where the road to Damascus is.  In fact, Damascus, Syria is only about 30 miles from here.

#3 Western Wall in Jerusalem I spent a night of sharing the gospel here to Jews and Muslims in the courtyard of the Western Wall.  This wall is original from the 2nd temple time (destroyed in 70AD) and it is also known as the “Wailing Wall”.  There was also a military ceremony that night, and after it was done, there were hundreds of Jewish solders hanging around in loose formation.  I gave gospel tracts to all of them and when they asked what they were, I told them they were Christian gospel tracts.  They all took them and thanked me!  Once I got done, someone from the Jewish religious types came over and asked what I was handing out and I gave him one.  He was not happy and marched off to talk to someone.  We got out of there before I became Stephen the martyr #2 (first one was recorded in Acts 7).

#2 Southern Steps leading to the Temple Mount. There was only one way to reach the Temple Mount in Jesus time, and that was by the Southern Steps.  One set of the steps have been uncovered, and you can walk on them.  These were the very steps that Jesus and the disciples used to ascend to the Temple Mount area.  It was VERY MOVING to walk on the very stones that Jesus walked.

Anyway,

#7  Caesarea by the sea. We stood at he very dock that Paul stood while getting on the boat to sail to Rome (Acts 27).  Stood at the very place that Paul witnessed to and defended the faith to the Roman rulers Felix and Festus (Acts 24-26).  Caesarea was also a very important town in early Christianity, especially as it was the place of the first recorded conversion of a Gentile, Cornelius (Acts 10).  While Peter was in Joppa, he saw the vision of animals on a sheet and God telling him it was ok to eat them for food.  When Peter resisted, God told him not to call unclean what He has cleansed, and then sent him to Caesarea to witness to a GENTILE…yikes!  Anyway, once Peter showed up to share the gospel, Cornelius was converted and the rest is history.

6. Road to Jerusalem. The day we left for Jerusalem, we drove south along the Jordan River.  We soon drove by Jericho, which is the oldest city in the world, and the lowest in elevation city in the world.  We drove through the smallest desert in the world where we saw camels, bedouins, sheep herders and their flocks.  Then up past Bethany(where Lazarus was brought back from the dead), and up to the most famous city in the world, Jerusalem!  Wow!  Going through the tunnel under the Garden of Gethsemane, we came out in sight of the Temple Mount.  It was amazing!

5.  Mount Carmel. We visited the “burnt place” where Elijah called down fire from heaven that consumed the sacrifice.  450 false prophets were killed after that to show the power and reality of the God of Israel.  After this sacrifice, Elijah prayed for rain to break the 3.5 year drought, and it rained.

When the pastor told this story at the peak of Mount Carmel, it started to rain.  Connie’s bible will always be wrinkled from the rain drops at 1 Kings 18…..very cool.

Israel is a very modern, clean, beautiful, small, contrasting in geography and cultures, and SAFE place.  The food was fantastic too.  The only place that we felt uneasy was in Bethlehem, where there is much Palestinian autonomy.  We walked the streets of Jerusalem, even at night many times, and never felt unsafe.

The Israel people love their country and very much encourage everyone to visit.  They wish for peace and look forward to the day when the lion will lay down with the lamb.  But they say that they prefer to “be the lion, because you never know”.  Very wise these people.

We were overwhelmed every day and I am sure we will need a year to mostly process everything.  It was the most satisfying, educational, interesting, spiritually uplifting and life changing trip we have ever took(close second was seeing our Compassion child in the Dominican Republic and the trip to Europe with the family).  All other future trips will be a tough act to follow, that is for sure.

SO….

#10 is a tie between Bethlehem and the Garden Tomb.  The town of Bethlehem is, in contrast to the rest of the country, dirty and run down.  Israel has granted the Palestinians some autonomy there and they are proving how unworthy they are.  Israel had to erect a wall around Bethlehem because they were strapping bombs on women there and they were going to Jerusalem to blow up restaurants full of kids.  Since the wall was erected, the bombing has almost stopped.

Anyway, the Church of the Nativity is there, and it is probably an accurate spot for the birthplace of Christ. It is appreciated how the Catholic church has preserved the site, but the actual church is way overdone with the religious stuff and it actually takes away from the site.  But it is probably the birth site of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it was pretty cool.  Also, as a bonus, the cell that Jerome wrote the Latin Vulgate in 405 is just next door.

The Garden Tomb is an alternate site for Golgotha and the burial place of Jesus.  The authenticity of the site contrasts with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre site and no one knows exactly where it happened.  But the Garden Tomb site is absolutely stunning and we took communion next to the tomb.  Very moving and beautiful place.

#9.  Boat ride across the Sea of Galilee. This is where Jesus walked on water and calmed the sea. I was amazed at the size of the “sea” (really a lake).  It was a beautiful day when we were there, but the winds can whip up in a hurry and make the Sea of Galilee a very dangerous place.

#8.  Pool of Bethesda. This is where in John 5, Jesus healed the person who was sick for 38 years.  The site has ruins of a church(from the Muslim invasion) over the pool, but had another chapel close to it.  While inside the chapel, there was a huge group of Christians from the Netherlands.  They were using the incredible acoustics in there to sing the song( in Dutch), Angus Dei..Allelujah… it was very moving and emotional.  I think about it alot.  Brothers and sisters in Christ singing to the Lord at such a place.  I asked one of the people in the group where they come from and they said the Netherlands, and that they “love the Lord Jesus Christ very much”.  Very moving.

More of the top 10 list tomorrow…………………..