Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Dave Willis

Home
Relationships and Religion
Why Every Christian Should Visit Israel

Why Every Christian Should Visit Israel

Last updated on: April 20, 2017 at 1:58 pm by Dave Willis

Why Every Christian Should Visit Israel 2017-04-20T13:58:30-05:00 Dave Willis

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Jerusalem Israel Collective 2017

Just a few weeks ago, I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to the Holy Land with an incredible group called Israel Collective. I had always dreamed of traveling to the lands of the Bible, and the actual experience surpassed my wildest expectations.

On the first day of our trip, our tour guide shared a quote from Jerome who was a very influential church leader, teacher and Bible translator in the fourth century. Jerome said, “There are five gospels that record the life of Christ. There are the four we have recorded in Scripture and the ‘fifth’ can only be experienced by traveling to the lands where Jesus walked. It’s by experiencing this Fifth Gospel that you’ll be able to read the other four in their fulness.” By the end of our trip, this quote made perfect sense to me.

As a Christian, I know that we don’t need to go to any special place to get closer to God, because the Holy Spirit lives within us. He is just as present with me while I’m driving my kids to school as He was when I was standing by the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Still, something remarkable happened when I finally experienced the places I’d read about and seen depicted in flannel graphs (Old School Sunday School Reference) since my childhood. Experiencing Israel renewed my faith in ways I can’t fully express in words. For the rest of my life, my Bible reading, my preaching and my walk with Jesus will have a new dimension made possible by this experience.

For EVERY follower of Jesus, I’d urge you to make every effort to travel to Israel in your lifetime. Do it sooner rather than later. There will never be a “convenient” time to go in the busyness of life, but go anyway. I promise you it will be well worth the expense and the effort!

Below are some pictures showing highlights from the journey. Before I get to the pictures I want say a heartfelt THANK YOU to some people. THANKS to Israel Collective for allowing me to be part of this life-changing experience. THANKS to my crazy and awesome group who shared this experience with me. I got almost 30 new friends in the process! You guys feel like family. THANK YOU to the beautiful people of Israel for your hospitality. The places we saw where amazing, but it was the people we met who changed us the most. I can’t wait to see you again soon! Here are some highlights from the trip…

This was a FUN Group of people! Israel Collective 2017.

Being lifted up BY Israel IN Israel. Former NFL player Israel Idonije with Joel Smallbone from the band "For King and Country" in the background.

Being lifted up BY Israel IN Israel. Former NFL player Israel Idonije with Joel Smallbone from the band “For King and Country” in the background.

I got to hangout with a shepherd boy in Bethlehem next to the field where the angels appeared to shepherds to announce Jesus' birth. Pretty cool!

I got to hangout with a shepherd boy in Bethlehem next to the field where the angels appeared to shepherds to announce Jesus’ birth. Pretty cool!

The group asked me to share some words on the hillside where Jesus preached the sermon on the mount. It was a profound honor to share some of Jesus own words from this spot.

This sign from the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem says it all! Jesus is alive and the tomb is empty!

Bible Study

Inspiration and Encouragement

Life Tools

Bethlehem

Christians in the Holy Land

Previous Post

April 18, 2017

7 Questions Kids Ask About DIVORCE

Next Post

April 25, 2017 Ten things a Marriage MUST HAVE to Survive

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Bible Study Family and Parenthood General Inspiration and Encouragement Life Tools Marriage Uncategorized Videos

Select a Month August 2022 May 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

In Hebrews, what two things does the word of God judge?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The thoughts and attitudes of the heart Truth and lies Right and wrong Good and evil

Books by This Author Books by Dave Willis

See All Titles »