A new day and a full day in Israel – Woohoo! Well, not so woohoo—before we left the hotel, I almost tore up the room trying to find my cash that I thought I lost. I knew I had carefully placed it away the night before so I knew I had it, but couldn’t remember where I put it. A few hours later the Holy Ghost showed me where I put it. Now … woohoo!
A night of rest helped, but I was still groggy and slightly off. No matter, because we were going to Capharnaum, Mount Hermon, Caesarea Phillipi, and the Mount of Beatitudes.
Capharnaum
Our guide Amnon described Capharnaum as Jesus’ home base. It is mentioned several times in the scriptures. It is where Jesus met Peter, James and John and told them, “You will be fishers of men.” On 
site were remains from the 1st century B.C./A.D. We saw the Star of David and the Christmas star carved into stone right next to each other. Amnon in his inquisitive teacher tone asked, “Why are the Jewish symbol and the Christian symbol right next to each other?” A few mumbles went among us about the answer. He told us that neither symbol was a religious symbol. He said the religious symbol of Israel was the seven-candle Menorah and not the Star of David. You learn something new every day … particularly in my situation.
Mount Hermon-Caesarea Phillipi
Remember in Day 1 when I said we drove past Mount Tabor that some believed to be the possible site of Jesus’ transfiguration. Well, some others believe it is Mount Hermon. At the base of Mount Hermon is Caesarea Phillipi—the city where Jesus asked His disciples two questions:
- Who do men say I am?
- Who do YOU say I am?
Peter spoke up and responded, “You are the Christ.” After Peter said this, Jesus replied, “Blessed are you.” Here is the “light bulb, ah-ha” moment: God wants to bless those who receive the revelation of who Jesus is. Jesus goes on in the verse to tell Peter that He will use Him to build His church. If you connect that with Matthew 26, which is the Great Commission, you realize—or at least I realize—God is talking to all of us. All of us who have the revelation who Jesus is are blessed and called to build His church.
Mount of Beatitudes
Speaking of blessed—we came to the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5. You know it: Blessed are those who dot dot dot. Yes, I have read it and heard it many times, but standing on the mountain looking at the Sea of Galilee it became a breath of fresh air. Pastor Sean R. Moore described as “how are attitude should be.” What was renewed in me was that blessings are promises of being in a partnership and relationship with God.
Amnon said that it was not 100 percent that the location of the mount was the place, but he said he had traveled to many other mountains, but none with the same acoustics. In this place, Jesus did not have to talk loud (there were signs encouraging us to do the same). You could clearly hear a person who was speaking at a normal volume at any location of the mountain. This was our last location of the day, so Amnon encouraged us to take a moment and meditate. I observed the banana trees and olive trees surrounding the property as well as the beautiful flowers. I wrote a great deal in my journal about this visit. Truly a blessing.
