In all the exciting hubbub recently, I forgot I had a blog.
“What exciting is going on?” you may wonder. Several things, but for one, this past Friday was my last day working at my old job!
Now before you ask what my next plans are, just let me say the future looks bright and I’m currently trying to narrow down my options to just 1 of 57 wonderful possibilities.
But first things first, it has been quite windy here so Nathan and I took the opportunity to go out sailing:
I would like to take this moment to point out that boating is an important part of following in the footsteps of Jesus.
Here are my proof texts:
Mark 3:9 Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him.
Mark 4:1 The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge.
Mark 4:36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.
Mark 4:37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.
Mark 5:18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him.
Mark 5:21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake…
Mark 6:32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.
Mar 8:10 …He got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.
Mark 8:13 Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side. The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat.
Matthew 14:32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
Taking a corner in my thought processes, have you ever been interested in numerology in the Bible?
What do you know about the number 12? Did you know that 12 is a critical number in the Bible signifying “governmental perfection”? For instance, there were…
- …12 fathers from Seth to Noah
- …12 fathers from Shem to Jacob
- …12 sons of Israel (which made up the 12 tribes of Israel)
- …and 12 disciples of Jesus
Additionally, Jesus was 12 years old when he first spoke out publicly and the Kingdom of God has 12 gates and is guarded by 12 angels and there are 144,000 people sealed (12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel).
And finally, as a shining testament to the importance of the number 12, the word “sailing” (or a derivative) is used TWELVE times in the New Testament!
Ok, I’m convinced. I need to be fitting in more time sailing methinks.
Seriously, I would love to go sailing on the Sea of Galilee and visit the locations mentioned in the New Testament. I see there are tours available.
Taking it a step further, I think it would also be incredibly awesome to backpack around Israel in the footsteps of Jesus. It would help me better understand the New Testament and also comprehend and teach on Jesus’ life with more depth. That is def one of the 57 options I alluded to earlier in this post.
I like it!! 🙂 (and as usual, you have me laughing).
Your option of touring Israel is a grand one!! Go for it!!
But, thanks for leaving us hanging on the other 56 options… :s 😛
I could really go for a dip in ye old lake. Your idea about Isreal sounds like a lot of fun – sounds like it should be high up on your list.
Ooohhh…backpacking around Israel. Wonderful — except the “backpack” part. hehe.
I don’t know how, exactly, you worked out point A to point B here (needing to sail more because of the number 12 and the mention of a boat in the Bible) but, hey, whatever works for you. :0)
@mary – the trick to making backpacking more enjoyable is to keep your backpack REALLY lightweight. if you don’t bring food or water and instead eat only at local venues and drink water from wells such as Jacob’s, then that helps make the pack lighter.
@seth – if you get bored maybe you can do some research for me on how feasible this israel trek would be. thx.
@amanda – the other 56 options will be revealed slowly over time. standby for further developments 🙂
I ordered the book, “Hiking the Jesus Trail and Other Biblical Walks in the Galilee” from Amazon.
One cool thing is it came from Nazareth (snapshot of the package it came in).