Lakeside Christian Church Blog

Day 3  –  Into the Wilderness   Last week (Day 2) focused on the Land of Promise seeing the Valley of Elah and Beersheba in the Negev. Today we will continue into the Wilderness and visit Tel Arad, oversee the wilderness of Zin, hike the Zin Valley, and travel to the Dead Sea. This is the land of the Patriarchs, the Land of Promise, the land of hope and opportunity. It is a hard, dry, and thirsty land. Life growing in the desert Last year, as we were walking up to Tel Arad, one traveler commented, “ why do so many fight for this land? Who would want this dry ground? It’s terrible! ” His frustrated comment came in part from the heat, lack of conditioning, and being accustomed to the rolling hills of Ohio. When you see it for the first time, you may wonder why people would want to live in the wilderness but when you look deeper, there is a beauty, a mystery, and a hope that only the wilderness can reveal.   Have you been in a wilderness? Not just literally, but spiritually? Emotionally?

This is our first day in the “Land of Promise.”  What is a promise? A promise is a declaration or assurance that one will do a particular thing or that a particular thing will happen. The theological, or biblical, term for a promise would be covenant – an agreement which brings about a relationship of commitment between God and his people.   What is  the  promise?  Ultimately, it’s the promise of the coming the Messiah, Jesus. But today we are going to back up thousands of years before the birth of Christ, and start our journey by encountering the story of redemption through events in the lives of David and the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).   The Valley of Elah   Our first stop will be the Valley of Elah, where David fought Goliath ( 1 Samuel 17 ). David had been anointed the King of Israel ( 1 Samuel 16:12-13) , but was not yet on the throne. At this time, Saul is still king and David’s primary responsibility is tending to his father’s sheep. David comes to the battlefield n

“Faith is taking risks, trying the impossible, and trusting God for the incredible.” – Corrie ten Boom On November 6, 2023 many of us will gather at Cleveland Hopkins airport early in the morning to begin our journey to the Holy Land together. Others will join us along the way. However, the journey really started long before that day as a step of faith. Petar, Cindy, and I all appreciated our own journeys to the Holy Land so much that we wanted to provide an opportunity for Lakeside to experience it. Petar went on his sabbatical a few years ago with his family, and Cindy and I went on a scouting trip last year with Harvest Net Ministries. Deciding to lead a trip was a step of faith. Tracking our departure and flight patterns   Each of you have your own unique story on how God has brought you to this opportunity and provided the way for you to participate. You might just like to travel and see this as another cool and exciting place to check off your list. This might be just another vac

Welcome   Thanks for joining us on this exploration of the Biblical text in preparation for our journey to the Holy Land. Over the coming weeks we will break down the itinerary of our trip into a devotional guide through the Scriptures, giving you one week per itinerary day to prayerfully prepare your heart, mind, and soul for the coming days. Our goal is to help prepare you to absorb and enjoy the sites we will experience together and not be overwhelmed with the information while on the trip.    The Land we experience will bring the Biblical text alive in many ways, so the more familiar we are with the text the more insights we will walk away with. However, reading the entire Bible, and comprehending all the details, before the trip is overwhelming and near impossible. Therefore, we will identify key passages for you to read and reflect on before the trip. This will give you plenty of time to read the full story prior to the trip and allow you to reflect on the key texts while on the