The Jordan

 Our packs piled up, we have breakfast upstairs

 Today we walk to the Jordan

North of the sea of Galilee

The Jordan is the most mentioned geographical feature in the bible

It's never wide but can move fast

Faith lesson about the crossing of the Jordan

faith is a thinking / doing word

like "put your trust in"

Do you know Me?

Do you trust Me?

Go!

We were invited to "do Mikvah"

To show before witnesses (our insula)

that we want to re-dedicate our head, heart, hands and feet

It is still hot in the desert and we struggle

but we want to live obedient before God

with His help

 I went first

I was so excited, 

When I was a youth leader we would do something like this sometimes

sharing that it was hard to live as a Christian and 

some kind of re-dedication

but in our regular church experience there is no room for this

I wish there was

Moria went somewhere in the middle

all the way under

 Marc went last before our leaders took their turn

all of us went even one who couldn't swim

that took guts

Everyone getting their "feet wet"

It sure was special

 With our feet still wet we went to our next stop

It seemed like a "plain" tell

We walked through a gate of some kind

And there we saw this great city

Bet She'an or Schythopolis
I'd been here before but coming up the back way sure gets the wow effect

 Took a picture from this, 

because that's what our  story was about the last time we were here

Marc sits on the stones the right way

It's a bathroom, close to the theater, mixed gender

they used to have live music too 

Coming from the black basalt towns of Betsaida & Korazin

this is so much more impressive

so much marble and big streets paved with mosaic floors

This is the "far country" form the parable of the "lost son"

or more accurately "the forgiving father"

a very seductive place

 

You should only go there with "wet feet"

They found a sign at the ancient hospital

"no death shall enter here"

It was a hospital where old people and pregnant women were refused help

their death may have looked unfavourable on their god of healing

This city was build by Alexander the Great

It got ruined by an earthquake 

 Alexander was a missionary for the Greek / Hellenistic lifestyle

"Human being is the measure of all things"

is the Hellenistic philosophy 

this is a seductive place

 interesting decoration, later used as symbol of evil

 Alexander build -an Arena (out of town because of the smell)

- a Gymnasium, school/ university where they studied naked

Arena for athletics - also with naked people

Temples to all sorts of pagan gods

With these things in place people would be seduced to be Hellenist 

In our world who uses the influence of 

education, sports, arts? 

"I did it my way" attitude of the theater?

or "you deserve it!"

How are the people of the religious triangle ever going to be an influence here? 

only with the Living God

 Thinking of our college and university students

how difficult it often is for them to have a living faith

when the deck is stacked against it

evolution is taught everywhere, 

and you are made to look stupid if you don't believe it

The only way is when we don't do it by ourselves

when we go in community, when we find an insula to belong

This place was hot in temperature and desert like

thinking of how difficult life is for our young people

out in schools where it's hard to measure up

it's often the same kids that get all the awards

if you are good at sport do you play hockey or

go to church?

and we live in a celebrity culture

we need to support each other

We went to the theater and sang

"Amazing Grace"