This was Fergie the camel that helped us get through hump day.
This is from a rising junior at JMU Katie “KT” Taylor:
The last few days here have held more adventure than my mind or heart can fathom! We swam (floated) in the Dead Sea, rode Jeeps around the Judean Desert, rode camels around the Judean Wilderness, got baptized in The Jordan River, and have continued to learn more about the heart and history of our sweet Jesus.
We saw Jacob’s Well, where a Samaritan woman encountered Jesus in her striving and thirsting for satisfaction. We saw Qumran, where the Dead Sea scrolls were found because of the people’s commitment to write, learn, and memorize scripture. We saw the Mount of Temptation where the devil tried to pierce right at Jesus’s identity and authority. We saw En Gedi where we learned that David was a man after God’s own heart. Finally, we saw Masada, a place that reminded us of the truth that living is Christ, and dying is gain.
The theme that stood out to me throughout these locations is that memorizing scripture is vital. Whether it is thirsting for satisfaction from the world, having your identity being probed at, being tempted by the devil, or anything in between – Scripture needs to be the leather that covers our whole being, and that comes to mind in every response or situation. We learned this from Jesus who responded to the devil with Scripture every time. If we don’t know the scriptures deep down in our hearts, how will we respond and defend our faith when our identity is being questioned and attacked? In the same way, if scripture is our armor, who can win the battle against us? No one. We are pondering how committed to the scripture we are, and whether or not we are letting it sink deep down in our hearts, versus twisting the words to read what we want. How freeing the Truth is. Again, it is all real and it is all true!