Greetings from Tiberias, Israel!
We have been living near the Sea of Galilee for 3 days now. This lowest freshwater lake in the world is also called Kinneret or Kinnereth, Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake Tiberias in the Gospels. It is approximately 53 km in circumference and is being utilized from Biblical times up to now as a major source of tap water, agriculture, and fishing.
In the Gospels there are many stories that happened in the Sea of Galilee or in its seashore. Let me mention only 3.
In the first story, in the seashore of the Sea of Galilee Jesus called his first disciples — Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John. From being fishermen, Jesus now called them as fishers of men.
The challenge for us to remember that when we accepted Jesus in our lives, we must be fishers of people.
In the second story they were sailing in a boat and in the middle of the Sea of Galilee they encountered a storm. The disciples woke Jesus up. Jesus rebuked the storm and it became calm. Then He asked them, “where is your faith?”
Let us be reminded that we need to have faith in Jesus no matter what storms we may encounter in life.
In one of the post resurrection stories, Jesus was in the seashore cooking a fish and a bread in burning coals. When the disciples came ashore with a miraculous catch of fish, Jesus talked to Peter one on one. He asked Peter three times “Do you love me more than these?” and Peter also answered three times in the affirmative. Jesus made sure that Peter will really commit to feed the lambs and the sheep after he denied Jesus three times.
Let it be that we will fulfill our commitment to Jesus Christ and the ministry of the church.
Shalom from Israel!
Rev. Francis Neil G. Jalando-on
#SeedsOfFaith
#BinhiSangPagtuo
October 29, 2018