Listed below you will find Top 10 holy places that should be seen by any traveler coming to the Holy Land of Israel.

1. Jaffa Gate is considered one of the eight entering spots to access the city of Jerusalem. It was built in 1538 by the Suleiman ruler. According to the Legend any attacker would enter the city specifically through Jaffa Gate. The gate is situated at the western side of the Old City leading straight to the Armenian and Muslim quarters. Jaffa sea port had tremendous historical and cultural significance since it served as a shipping route for delivering wood to build the temples of Jerusalem.

2. Western (Wailing) Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem is among the most important attractions of all Israel Holy Places. The wall is adjacent to the Temple Mount and is considered the holiest of all holly places in Israel to reach God with prayers. Jews from all over the world come here to pray and find peace; they also insert small pieces of paper with their most sacred wishes into the little openings in the Wailing Wall.

3. Bethlehem is considered the place where King David and Jesus Christ were born. Bethlehem is located 10 kilometers from the Old City of Jerusalem. The most significant attractions of Bethlehem are the Milk Grotto Chapel, Basilica of the Nativity and Rachel’s Tomb.

4. The Sea of Galilee is located within 25 kilometers of the city of Nazareth and provides a plethora of activities for any visitor to Israel. Jesus Christ used to preach at the picturesque shores of the Sea of Galilee or Lake Kinneret that it is also referred as. A lot of miracles that Jesus Christ created were described to have taken place at the Sea of Galilee, specifically, walking on water, taming the storm and feeding the hungry.

5. Mount of Olives is a holy place for all Jews and is named mostly for a large concentration of olive trees growing all over the mountain. Mount of Olives is a very important place since there are so many places of religious interest scattered around the surrounding areas. The Hebrew cemetery is a place where a lot of famous people throughout the Jewish history rest in eternal peace. The Russian Church of Maria Magdalene, Church of All Nations and Dominus Flevit Church are just a few places to visit in the Mount of Olives region.

6. Elijah’s Cave is another important Holy Landmark that could be witnessed in Haifa. A lot of significant events were described to have taken place in the Elijah’s Cave where the prophet prayed and meditated. The cave is holy to many Jews and Christians due to the fact that Mary, Joseph and Jesus stayed here overnight on their way from Egypt. Elijah’s Cave is situated right at the foot of the Cape Carmel in Haifa.

7. Nazareth city is a must attraction for any tourist visiting Israel. According to the New Testament Nazareth was a place where Jesus spent part of his childhood. This area boasts a vast net of churches to commemorate the religious significance of this city. Do not miss the Church of the Annunciation, Mensa Christi Church, the White Mosque and Eastern Orthodox Church among its many attractions. Shopping at the Nazareth’s Old Market is a great experience and opportunity to acquire wonderful souvenirs to take home.

8. Mount Nebo is one of many Israel Holy Places that is home to the Memorial Stone to Moses when he viewed the Promised Land. Mount Nebo opened a spectacular panorama of the Promised Land to Moses. Mount Nebo is also a final resting place for Moses and therefore an important Holy Landmark in Israel.

9. River Jordan according to Judaism flows to create an eastern border for the Land of Israel. River Jordan was Jesus Christ’s place of baptism by John the Baptist. Do not miss visiting this Holy Place during you visit to Israel.

10. Jericho is the City of Palm Trees and the most ancient known walled city. The story has it when Joshua entered the city the walls came down, though archeologists still have not uncovered any remains of the actual walls. Cleopatra was known to favor Jericho due to a large plantation of persimmon plants that were used to manufacture the most sensual perfume that drove any man wild. The remnants of the tower and forts are considered the most precious pieces of artifacts in Jericho city. Jericho was considered an oasis in the desert and loved by wealthy people of the ancient times that used this city as their winter residence.

Many women trying to get pregnant have become frustrated as days go by and no pregnancy shows up. However I want to encourage you, from God’s Word, that barrenness is not your portion. God created you to be fruitful, so expect it. Expect God’s Word to establish fruitfulness in your life today, in Jesus name. I want to encourage you with this scripture from God’s Word. God says, “He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers.

He will bless the fruit of the womb, the crops of your land, your grain, new wine and oil, the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land that He swore to your forefathers to give you. Deuteronomy 7:13.

This scripture promises you total blessing in all areas of your life, including fruit of the womb, which means having beautiful and healthy children. Now I want you to receive this promise of God by faith and praise Him for it, as you pray, in Jesus name.

Prayer: O Lord, You are my praise and my song and I bless You. By faith I speak out and bless You that You have done for me all these great and awesome things you promised in your word. By faith in your unfailing word I call myself a happy mother of children. I am fruitful because that is what you have said concerning me.

Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are God and you have made the Heaven of heavens, with all their hosts, the seas, and all that is in them and you alone are God. I worship you Lord. What no one could do for me, you have done it, Lord.

Because you love me so much you have blessed me and increased my numbers and blessed with the fruit of the womb. Lord you are my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid of all the negative reports about me conceiving a child of my own, for you are my strength and my song; and have also become my salvation. I praise You, O Lord, and call upon your name. I declare your doings among the people, and make mention that your name is exalted. Thank you Father, in Jesus name. Amen

As human beings, we’re good (or bad) about remembering important dates. Whether it’s an anniversary, a birthday, Bastille Day, Boxer Day, we seem to always find a reason or an excuse for having a party, celebrating a victory or commemorating another special occasion.

Even sad ones.

We Christians are no different. On Christmas, we remember the birth of our Lord Jesus. On Good Friday, millions and millions remember His horrible crucifixion. On Easter, we remember the glorious resurrection of our Lord.

THE FORGIVENESS TAPE

Many years ago, I was given a wonderful cassette tape on forgiveness. After listening to this tape, I was compelled to begin a list of all of those people – as far back as I could recall – who had hurt me, even in the most seemingly insignificant ways. Now, most of us are inclined to say, “Oh, that was no big deal” whenever we are offended throughout our daily routines. The thing we’re forgetting by reacting this way is that we are all receptacles and, therefore, will retain every good AND bad thing that happens to us in our lives. To respond by saying “no big thing” is to deny ourselves the opportunity to grow spiritually.

So, there I was, having just finished listening to this incredible tape on forgiveness, and I knew I needed a plan of action. So, I began by praying, asking that the Holy Spirit would bring to my memory every situation, every individual who had EVER hurt me.

What transpired was a glorious exercise that I have entitled “Building a Monument to the Moment.” In other words, as these images were unearthed like some sort of an archeological find, being brought to light after, in many cases, decades without seeing the light of day – or the light of truth – I took the opportunity to pray. It went something like this: “Dear Lord, I bring to your remembrance Coach So-n-So. Father, forgive Him. He didn’t know what he was doing when he embarrassed and humiliated me in front of so many people on that cool, autumn day when I was 16. Father, right now, in the name of Jesus, I release him from the bondage of unforgiveness and I release myself as well. I bless that man, his life, his health, his family. And if he hasn’t taken the time to establish a relationship with you throughout the many years since that occurrence, I pray that he will come to know you in the deepest, most intimate way. And I pray that he, too, would discover the joy of forgiving and blessing those who have trespassed against him. I pray these things and I thank you for the release that this moment has given me, in the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen!”

How many people did I do this with? Over 300. I listed them and faithfully prayed for each and every one of them. Some of these sins were greater than others and brought great shame and humiliation to me on a very grand scale. “Grand” in my mind, at least. In those instances, I made an even larger “Monument” by doing something that I felt would help me to remember – should the enemy ever try and REMIND me of my past – the very instant that I forgave and released and blessed that individual. For example, I’d write the situation or person’s name on a slip of paper and pray over it and bury it, burn it or flush it down the commode.

I remember teaching this from the pulpit of a Baptist Church when, after the sermon, a young lady sat staring at me with a confused look upon her face. Her friend, a young lady I had known several years, introduced us. We’ll call her “Christa.” With tears in her eyes, “Christa” told me, “For starters, I’m NOT a Christian. But how can we be expected to forgive somebody who has REALLY hurt us bad? How can I forgive my brother? He doesn’t deserve it!” She went on to describe the details of the terrible sins of her younger brother.

I reminded her of the extreme purity of God and how ANY sin – from a bad thought to brutal murder – separates us from Him. I explained that God chose to send Jesus as the perfect sacrifice and that the shedding of His blood paid the price for ALL of our sins. All we had to do was believe. “None of us,” I told her “deserves the forgiveness of God.” In a few minutes, she began sobbing and fell into my arms as her girl friends laid hands upon her and silently prayed. In time, Christa DID become a Christian, attending my Coffee House Bible studies regularly and, more importantly, exhibiting the fruit of a lover of Jesus throughout her daily life at the nearby college. The forgiveness she found in Christ she began, with difficulty, to express to her family. In time, however, several key members also turned to Christ to do what they alone could not do; forgive a young man who didn’t know what he was doing and how badly it hurt those who loved him most.

HOW SCRIPTURAL IS THIS “MONUMENT” STUFF?

It’s wise to ask how Scriptural it is whenever a seemingly new concept is being taught. But the Building of a Monument to the Moment is really not new at all.

The Old Testament refers to at least two types of monuments: an altar of sacrifice and a monument of remembrance. The altar of sacrifice was established by God’s command when Abraham was told by God to worship Him by the sacrifice of the promised child, Isaac.

The other type of monument was a monument of remembrance.

This monument was built as a reminder of God’s goodness and providence. Jacob’s altar at Bethel was a monument of remembrance of the vision he had of the ladder between heaven and earth with angels ascending and descending. In the morning Jacob took his stone pillow and used it as a pillar, a reminder that God had met with him. God said to Jacob, “I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me” (Genesis 28:11-22; 31:13).

The Israelites built a monument of remembrance after they crossed the Jordan into the promised land of Canaan. The Lord told Joshua to have twelve men take twelve stones from the Jordan, where the priests were standing upon dry ground, and to make a monument with those stones from the middle of the riverbed. Joshua took these stones and pitched them in Gilgal. He then spoke to the children of Israel and told them, “When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever,” (Joshua 4:21-23).

Another monument of remembrance was erected on the opposite side of the Jordan. The Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh were the only people not to possess the Promised Land but instead they took the land on the opposite side of the Jordan by Moses’ blessings. Upon their return to the opposite side of the Jordan, the two and one-half tribes built an altar so that they might say to their future generations, “Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it [this altar] is a witness between us and you,” (Joshua 22:28).

The last monument of remembrance was not one built upon a commandment of God or built out of a desire to remember the goodness of God. No, this monument was used to strike fear into the heart of Israel. This monument was first used to detain Israel and limit them from advancing into the land of the Philistines. This monument was that of a tool of execution. You might ask, “What is this monument?” The answer is simple: “It is the sword of Goliath.”

You can read about this in 2 Samuel 21:1, 3-4, 6, 8-9: “Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest [saying] Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present. And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread. So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread. And David said unto Ahimelech, and is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me. And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, there is none like that; give it me.”

When David was running for his life as King Saul tracked him down, David ran to the only place he could find refreshment, help, and solice, the Tabernacle of the Lord, located in a place called Nob. David knew he could find nourishment at the Tabernacle, for the priesthood operated under the Mosaic law of charity: love thy neighbour as thyself (Leviticus 19:18).

It was at Nob, on the morning of the Sabbath, when David arrived – unarmed, weary, and faint with hunger – before Ahimelech the priest. David needed two things: food and a sword. He asked Ahimelech for five loaves of bread. The priest sorrowfully had no bread to except the hallowed shewbread – the bread, which sat upon the golden table in the sanctuary used as sustenance for the priests and their families. Though it was unlawful for David to eat this bread, Ahimelech gave David five loaves anyway.

The people of Israel did not wear swords constantly, unlike today where a soldier carries a firearm. The priests had no swords, but in the Tabernacle was the sword of Goliath, which was kept behind the ephod wrapped in a cloth. This sword was kept as a monument of the glorious victory David had achieved in the defeat of Goliath. This sword was given to David, and was a reminder to him and Israel of the miraculous victory won by him and the people of Israel through God’s divine intervention. Just seeing the sword must have taken him back to that glorious day when he said to the giant, “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD” (I Samuel 17:45).

MAKING APPLICATION

Please remember, dear friends, that those terrible things that you feel have happened TO YOU are actually happening FOR YOU and for the advancement of God’s Kingdom on Earth. We can embrace them as such or allow them to destroy us. As the saying goes, “we can get bitter or we can get better.”

Years ago, I was walking with a cane, virtually crippled by a debilitating spinal disease. On two occasions, I almost gave up on asking for prayer and trusting God for a miracle and started filling out government assistance papers. In contrast to those days recently, I carried a small refrigerator up a flight of stairs by myself and I’m currently involved in the remodeling of my house, carrying lumber and swinging a hammer repeatedly from atop a ladder. The cane? I still have it and cannot look at it without remembering how God strengthened me during those dark and miserable hours. Have I made an idol of that monument? No! In 2 Kings 18:4, King Hezekiah not only forbade the people to worship the brazen serpent made by Moses in the wilderness to keep those who looked upon it from being bitten by snakes (Numbers 21:4-9) – a piece that survived for about 825 years – but Hezekiah also broke that brazen serpent into pieces to show the people that it was Nehushtan – nothing more but a piece of brass. Do not allow your monument to become your idol.

God has a lofty goal in mind for each of us, i.e., to conform us to the image of His Son. We MUST be tested and strengthened for Kingdom work. Just as Jesus was, we, too, will be tempted in the wilderness, have our beards plucked, be spit upon and mocked and will feel the sting of betrayal by our friends. If not literally, figuratively. We can pass these tests as they come, or fail and try to pass them later.

Why not begin building YOUR “Monument” today? In each Old Testament example, it was the priests who were responsible for maintaining the memory of the miraculous. As a Christian, YOU are a priest (Yes, all you non-Catholics..you, too!). Not only does God say that “…you shall be unto me a Kingdom of priests, and a holy nation…, (Ex 19:6)” but 1 Peter 2:9 also declares, “that we are “…a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”

There. It’s settled. We are all priests and, as such, we must never let the memory die of the wonderful things our God has done, not only in our own lives, but in the lives of others, including those between the pages of Scripture.

Now, go!

Start building those monuments!