Pastor Jay //

On the second day in Israel, we traveled North along the coast to Caesarea Maritima. Herod built this city in honor of one of the Caesars and added all the grandeur of Roman life. The city at the time of Christ and Paul included a theater, hippodrome, a man-made harbor, and a Royal Palace. Though Jesus did not come to Caesarea, Peter and Paul did. This is the city where Peter visited Cornelius (Acts 10). Also, Paul was imprisoned here and appeared before Agrippa in Caesarea (Acts 23-27). Caesarea was the main port city for Jerusalem and therefore it was used as the staging area for Pilate’s armies. For many years there was no historical verification of Pilate’s governorship, but during among the excavations at “Caesarea by the Sea” a discovery was made bearing his name in a dedication plaque to Tiberius. Once again, the truth of the biblical account was confirmed.

Jesus said:  “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)

During our trip to Israel, we spent the first night on the Mediterranean Sea. We had been travelling for about 30 hours and it was difficult to even think about going anywhere. However, I saw that the sun was setting over the Sea and the kids and I ran with camera in hand to find a good shot. We missed the sun setting but got to the beach in time to catch this shot. This sea connected Israel with the rest of the Roman world in the time of Christ. You could said to Africa or Greece from here.

I will try to post some more pictures from the trip and give you a sense of what we saw.

Why not try this for Christmas??

Hello from the Harvest Dinner

It’s not totally put back together, but I am finally back online with the blog!! The u-haul boxes are still scattered all over the room here, but I am finally getting some of the blog parts back on the shelf. Thank you for your patience. I’ve learned some new things along with the move that will help improve the site. I’ll keep you “posted!!” Also, I’ve been finding myself micro-blogging more and more on Facebook. So, the best place to keep up with me, that will probably be the best place.