Israel, revisited

Fifty-four years ago, it was my great privilege to visit the land of Israel on a tour with Derek Prince and other well-known pastors and leaders of that day.

For me it was life changing. The amazing beauty of the land at that time, and the improvements that had been made in about 20 years since they became a nation, were hard to believe. If you can understand that, it will help you to understand that in the past 54 years, the nation has transformed exponentially.

People of nations all over the earth from all different religious backgrounds come by the plane loads to observe for themselves not only the changes, but the things that affect their background of different faiths. It truly is a melting pot of those who live there and of those who visit. It seems that people of all faiths, including Christians, are searching for something.

One of the things Christians seem to be searching for is more of Jesus. Let me say firstly, that it would be difficult for an open-hearted believer to be there without experiencing more of His presence in their lives.

Since my return many friends ask me to express my greatest aha moment. For me I would say that would be the boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. As we slipped away from the docks, we realized that we were on the water that Jesus and Peter each walked on. The boat handlers put on the U.S. national anthem, which encouraged and blessed us. But it was followed by the Israeli national anthem, at which time most of our tour group began to weep and rejoice at what God is working there. This was followed by a period of spontaneous worship, which lifted the hearts of everyone present into the presence of the Lord Jesus.

In conclusion, let me say that when we were in Jerusalem at the Garden Tomb, we were given a small pavilion where our group of 35 could have worship and share communion. The hour or so there on that last morning was very powerful and life changing.

I share all of this as an example of the undeserved blessings the Lord has worked in my life, but also in many others of you who faithfully are about His business at home. Expect more wherever you are because He desires to bless you.

Ken Lawrence is the founding pastor of River of Life.