Sea of Galilee – denisebalog…Grace filled devotionals.

Casting my Net

“Sun not up over the horizon yet.

The sea is quiet as I cast my net.

Reaching out into the depths of the day;

Lord,

Please, keep the winds of adversity at bay.

Speak, “Peace, Peace!” to the beating storms,

For the prayers of the watchmen guard the shores long.

Under the covenant and mercy of You,

Casting my net to sail dreams of new.”

“Jesus shouted to them, “Throw your net over the starboard side, you’ll catch some!” And they did as He said, and they caught so many fish they couldn’t even pull in the net.” John 21:6 TPT

Delightfully sharing memories of one of the greatest joys of my heart, pilgrimage to Israel.

Poem by denisebalogc2022.

Photographs by denisebalogc2014.

You Walked for Me

“From the sands of the sea

Your heart is set on me.

Through the expanse of time the

Cross it does remind.

You walked all the way for me;

From Your heart flowed Calvary.”

“How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!

How great is the sum of them!

If I should count them,

They would be more in number than the sand.”

Psalm 139:17-18 NKJV

Quiet of the Sea

“For You are the God of my salvation;

On You I wait all the day.”

Psalm 25:5 NKJV

Tears Unfold

“After these things Jesus showed Himself
Again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias,
And in this way He showed Himself.”
John 21:1 NKJV

“There’s something that

Happens on this trip divine.

Causing your heart to

Go back in time.

When you least expect to

Hear a word,

His love unfolds

And sets tears to roll.”

“Then as soon as they had come to land,
They saw a fire of coals there,
And fish laid on it,
And bread.”
John 21:10 NKJV

“Jesus said to them,
“Come and eat breakfast”
John 21:12 NKJV

Morning Tide

“Light broke the sky

Before the morning

Timed rise.

Pink of the tide

Revealed in

His eyes.”

“But when the morning had

Now come,

Jesus stood on the shore;

Yet the disciples

Did not know

That it was Jesus.”

John 21:4 NKJV

Never The Same

“Stepping out into the

Cool dark air.

One lone bird

Welcomes my presence here.

“Don’t lay inside

In a jetlag night.’

Step outside and

Absorb the light.”

Once to be experienced

In this life of change.

Resting on the shore of Galilee –

Never the same.”

Through Travel Eyes

“What made you take this trip again?

You’ve been there once and

Twice my friend.

What draws you back

To fly the skies?

Distant lands through

Travel eyes.

What do you find so

Far from home?

To cause your heart

To want to roam?

‘There is no answer of

Come and see,

Except for one;

“Follow Me.”’

“The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee,

And He found Philip and said to him,

“Follow Me.” John 1:43 NKJV

A Pilgrims Journey – Part II

“Oh, the glory of what’s in store;

Crayola’s many colors

Beyond the open door.

The green of Galilee’s hillsides.

The orange of the sun.

The stillness of the water.

The brown of En Gedi’s run.

The aqua of salt shores,

Masada’s red cliffs to soar.

The midnight of the City.

Mount Scopes and its view

Open the eyes of wonder,

Beholding only You!

October 18th…three months and counting before the group and I begin our 2018 pilgrimage! Looking forward to what lies ahead.

Photos captured by denisebalog@2011 & 2014 – Israel

His Garment Sweep – The Woman on the Street – Capernaum Part Seven “4”

The last of The Woman on the Street of our walk about the neighborhood of Capernaum.

This poem was written when I woke one morning after a dream where I was missing “teeth”. Feeling a bit down, I ponder the dream and its meaning in the midst of writing this mini series of Jesus going about the neighborhood of Capernaum.

Once again, thank you my WP neighbors for always welcoming a fellow neighbor back…even if we are missing a “tooth” or two.

“Right here on “Joyless” street;

There’s a hole in the smile of all my things neat.”

Reaching to touch His garment sweep.

The “blue” was from the cerulean mussel, the rare color was used to dye the tassels. This prayer shawl is an example only of what the “woman” would have been reaching to touch on Jesus’s hem.

From sickness to health;

Darkness to Light;

From everything wrong,

To everything right.

At the place where

He turned my smile to bright!

Healing is found in

His wings were we meet,

Between “Joyless” and

“Joyful” Street!”

“The Sun of Righteousness shall arise

With healing in His wings…”

Malachi 4:3 NKJV

Poem by denisebalog 2017

Photo of the Sea of Galilee captured in 2011 by denisebalog

Having Heard – The Woman on the Street – Capernaum Part Seven “1

It has taken me two weeks to mull over the story of the Woman on the Street of Capernaum. I hope you don’t mind joining me for a day or two as we watching her miracle unfold.

Would the woman with the “issue of blood” having heard about Jesus, used her last coins to go by boat to Capernaum?

Located on the other side of the Lake from Capernaum, is the City of Tiberias, a major Roman town known for its warm springs used for healing. Did she hear about Jesus there? Could she have used the last of her coins to pay the entrance tax to look for the Man in Capernaum?

Could someone have told her whose house He was staying, or did she just follow the crowds while she walked the streets of Capernaum.

“When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.” Mark 5:27 (NKJV)

Jesus would have worn something similar to this as His prayer shawl. The tassels is also known as the “wing” as in Malachi 4:2 “healing in its wings.”

Breaking the Law, she pressed in to touch the hem of His garment, Jesus turning spoke the words she longed to hear…

Whose House – Capernaum Part Four

There is no clear path pointing to whose house Jesus visited when He entered Capernaum. During His life here on earth, “according to the pattern” (Acts 7:44), I believe there can be only one.

“And He said to them, ‘Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house.” (Luke 2:49 ESV)

Pilgrim traveler writing in his journal while resting in the Capernaum Synagogue

“Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.” (Mark 1:21 NKJV)

Walking With the Dove – Capernaum Part Two

Jesus and His family would have walked through the Valley of the Doves, passing by the craggy, mountain cliff sides of Mount Arbel on their way to Capernaum. This was the common route from Nazareth to the Sea.

I imagine going to Capernaum was as when we go to the seashore or the lake with our families for holiday. Or possibly His new disciples were excited to have their own families meet Jesus and His family. Young John was the only one to write of this journey in the Gospel of John. Whatever the reason, there must have been great joy as they walked from the overflowing wedding experience to the anticipation of the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

Little did the disciples neighbors in Capernaum know, Jesus coming to their town was about to fulfill Scripture and changed its course in history forever.