by Australian Christian women. Since September 2015

Matt. 20:17-18 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside privately and told them what was going to happen to him. “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die. There is nowhere quite like the Old City of Jerusalem. A walled city containing narrow streets and staircases alongside busy attractions and peaceful homes, w

Matt. 14:25 About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. The Sea of Galilee is somehow both smaller and larger than expected. Most of the time it is a calm and peaceful place, the favourite spot for many who visit this land. But the locals tell of how a storm can turn it violent in a hurry. Here Jesus travelled between various towns. Here Jesus spoke with authority to calm the wind and waves. Here Jesus walked upon the water, and Peter by f

... along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons ... Luke 8:2 The newly excavated town of Magdala has a synagogue dating from the time of Jesus and ritual baths for purification, giving insight into Jewish life at that time. But it is the woman from this place whose life was cleansed, turned upside down and inside by meeting Jesus for whom it is best known. Mary of Magdala would h

“What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago.... Matthew 11:21 Some locals call Korazim ‘Capernaum with a view’. Another ancient town, but overlooking the beautiful Sea of Galilee. Another place where Jesus taught and performed miracles, but a place whose only mention in the gospels is for its people’s failure to repent and believe. A place of w

When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. Mark 2:1 The remains of ancient houses and a synagogue at Capernaum provide a glimpse of first century life in this small town where Jesus lived during much of his ministry. Here he taught his disciples, healing people and doing miraculous signs, proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. How might you share the good news he proclaimed here in your world today? Melinda is

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. Matthew 4:1 It doesn’t take very long after leaving the towns and cities of Judea to enter the rugged, inhospitable wilderness. Spending an hour or two out here in the heat is almost unbearable. Jesus spent 40 days, facing every kind of temptation and yet clinging to God’s Word, remaining faithful to his Father and his mission. What kind of temptations are you facing that Jesus is able to l

Matt. 3:13 Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. Not much more than a murky stream in many places today, the Jordan River remains the border between the nations of Israel and Jordan, existing as a physical and symbolic boundary marker. For Jesus to cross over through the waters of baptism was to identify himself with the people of the Old Testament in their journey, and with all of us in our obedience and repentance, entering into the new

Luke 4:16 When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. Another small town located in the central part of Galilee, overlooking some of the land’s most fertile valleys and busy hillside towns, Nazareth is home to spice markets and carpentry workshops, places of worship and a first century village. Daily life goes on in the place where Jesus grew up and experienced all the joys a

Luke 2:11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! A tiny, obscure village in Jesus’ day, Bethlehem today is a small Palestinian city surrounded by a wall. It’s a place of heartbreak and confusion, conflicting stories and emotions. And yet it seems fitting that the Saviour of the world was born in one of the most complicated places on the planet, the Prince of Peace in a place of ongoing sorrow and strife. Where do you experie