LESSONS FOR ALL

THIS IS THE DAMASCUS GATE -- THE MOST PICTURESQUE ENTRY AND EXIT LEADING TO AND FROM THE INNER CONFINES OF THE OLD CITY OF JERUSALEM

You have to check it out!

Hello, Pilgrims:

I have been silent for quite a while because I have a demanding secular job to attend to. But, here I am. There are two parts to my lesson today. One is that there are some things that can be learned about the Bible by going to Google. The first example of that appears below in the lists of the meaning of the names of people, angels and places. Notice the the names of people who are quite familiar to you are indicative of the role that these people play in the Bible stories that we know.

Jesus = Savior. Elizabeth = God is my oath. Eve = mother. John = the Lord has been gracious, etc.

Then, there are things that can be learned only by feeling the spirituality of the land beneath your toes, seeing its beauty in your eyes, smelling its air through your nose, hearing its noises in your ears and feeling God's message from its sky entering your heart and soul. Enjoy this message and make it happen in your life by registering your reservation today. The form appears at the end of the itinerary to be found by clicking here or by calling 800-566-7499.

More follows next week...a very artistic Power Point Presentation for you.

Enjoy the definitions that follow below.

The Message in the Name of the Saints and places of the Bible

PEOPLE

Aaron: mountain of strength, illuminator

Abel: acquired

Abraham: father of a multitude

Adam: man

Andrew: a strong man

Cain: brought forth; acquired

Daniel: God is my judge

David: beloved

Deborah: Bee

Elijah: whose God is The Lord

Elisha: God his salvation

Elizabeth: God is my oath

Esther: a star

Eve: mother

Ezekiel: Strength of God

Gideon: feller or hewer

Hannah: Grace; favor

Isaac: laughter

Isaiah: God is my salvation

Ishmael: God hears

Israel: He who has striven with God

Jacob: one who follows on another's heels; supplanter

Jeremiah: The Lord exalts

Jesus: From Yeshua, God is savior

John: The Lord has been gracious

Joseph: may God add

Joshua: From Yeshua, God is savior

Judah: praise

Luke: beloved

Manoah: Place of rest

Mary: from Hebrew Miriam, meaning God's gift

Nathaniel: God has given

Noah: comfort

Rebekah: a noose

Samuel: heard of God

Sarah: princess

Saul: Prayed for; requested

Solomon: peaceful

Thomas: Twin

Zacariah: The Lord recalled

Zaccheus: The Lord recalled

ANGELS

Gabriel: God is my strength

Michael: Who is like God? (In a reverential tone)

Raphael: God has healed/Healing God

PLACES

Bethany: House of figs

Bethlehem: House of bread

Capharnaum: Nahum's village / Nahum means "comforter"

Carmel: Garden; orchard

Emmaus: Warm spring (?); Redeem (?) Disputed/unsure

En Kerem: Spring of the vineyard

Hebron: Binding friendship place

Galilee: Circuit; circle (?)

Gethsemane: Oil press

Israel: He who has striven with God

Jericho: Fragrant

Jerusalem: City of peace

Kidron: To become black (?) a brook

Kumran (Qumran): Unknown

Nazareth: Shoot or sprout

Yad Vashem: "A name and a place" to describe a place to remember those who were buried anonymously, or not buried at all. The name given to the holocaust museum in Jerusalem.

The News is ALL GOOD

It is Lent. We are preparing for Easter. During this moment we consider ourselves to be like the Israelites of old who were traversing the desert from Egypt to the Promised Land. Many of us attend churches that replicate scenes of the desert the way we know it here in the United States. Sand and cacti. We don't imagine the Middle Eastern Desert anywhere near what it looks like, and especially the Holy Land desert. If you look at the picture on the right of this paragraph, the one with the Ibex, you'll notice some tufts of green. That is because this picture was taken at a place called Ein Gedi. It is a place where a spring has existed for centuries. It is a place that appears in the Old Testament and is named in a very interesting story. It is a story of something that happened between David and Saul. I encourage you to click here and spend a few moments reading about Ein Gedi and the story of what happened between Saul and David here. This a story that takes place at an oasis in the middle of the Judean desert. This is what the Israelites would call the wilderness. They call it that because it can sustain life. What the Israelites call the desert is incapable of sustaining life. Since this place was known to Jesus (Because He knew what had happened between Saul and David) and since this place was also close to the desert and close to the monastic community of the Essenes, it is possible that the 40 days that Jesus passed in the desert were close to here.

The picture on the right shows a picture of the stark Judean desert, not far from the Dead Sea. This picture shows some caves in the desert not far from where the Essenes had their community established, not 5 miles west of the Dead Sea. This is a mere 20 miles south of Ein Gedi, and there is not a blade of grass, and nary a small cactus in between the two. Try to image living there for 40 days. Jesus had to be tough!

Let's make this the Lenten leg of our Pilgrimage.

God bless you all.

COME TO THE WATER, PRAY BY MY SIDE...

Pilgrims:
Love and blessings to you all. It has been a while since I have reached out to you. It has been an exciting seven or eight weeks for me. I have taken on a new challenge. I now drive a medical transportation van during the day, most days of the week. It is a wonder that I can do this for many hours a day and not lose my sense of humor. But I do. It gives me a good chance to pray a lot and many chances every single day to thank Mama Mary and my Guardian Angel for saving me from disaster on the open road. It will be good to go and feel the holy ground beneath my feet. It will remind me of just who it is who keeps me alive during the hundreds of hours I spend on the city streets and the highways and by-ways.

I have sent you a slide show composed greatly of pictures taken during our pilgrimages to the Holy Land. This show is an invitation to you to join us in June for two weeks of prayer, meditation, discovery and good clean living among like-minded Christians. I hope that you will appreciate the information contained in the notes super-imposed on the slides.

The last two slides are part of the reservation process. The itinerary appears in the post before this one, so you can look at it again. The base price for the pilgrimage is $3,316 from Los Angeles, $3,241 from Atlanta, GA. Those who would like to start from other major airports would have to fly into JFK, new York and a fare will be quoted from JFK for you.

Make your reservations as soon as possible. There is a lot of information here in this blog, and the slide show will help you get some visual information as well.
Stay tuned for more information at this location. Don't forget...if you have questions and or comments, click on the "comment" button below and ask away, or make you comments. We will respond quickly.

Amen. God bless you all.