Christian Pilgrimage: A Refreshing Experience

By Ezeako Odi

And it shall be, that whoever will not come up of all the families of the earth to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even on them shall be no rain. Zachariah 14:17 (AKJV).

There have been many spiritual and physical interpretations of this passage. Rain symbolizes the blessings for which we pray. Could it be that God is angry with Christians who fail to heed this injunction? Many Christians go to Church and read their Bibles, but often forget to avail themselves of the promises of Christian pilgrimage as contained in the above passage. More tragic is the fact that some fail to separate pilgrimage from tourism. The result is that they too are not blessed.

In this book, we take you step-by-step in the spiritual journey to the Holy Land that never goes out of fashion. The holiness of Israel as the Promised Land is evident in the several spiritual sites you will encounter. You get a glimpse of the marvelous miracles of God. This book also helps the pilgrim to stay focused in order to be blessed. It is an inseparable guide to the pilgrim in need of additional ecclesiastic literature.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 11, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512720846

Ezeako Odi

Ezeako Odi is a communications consultant. A graduate of University of Ibadan, Nigeria’s premier institution of higher learning, as well as the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, Odi was the director of information at Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Abuja, Nigeria. He was also the founding editor of many publications on the stable of the Administration. He was the speech writer to five consecutive ministers. As a consulting editor, Odi has authored many biographies. He is well travelled within Nigeria and oversees. He lives in Abuja with his wife and children.

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Copyright © 2015 Ezeako Odi.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture taken from The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. The Living Bible, TLB, and the The Living Bible logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-2082-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2083-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2084-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015918983

WestBow Press rev. date: 3/10/2015

CONTENTS

Acknowledgment

Preface To The Second Edition

Foreword

Introduction

Chapter 1. Exhortation

Chapter 2. Sea Of Galilee And Golan Heights

Chapter 3. Tiberias, Nazareth, Mt. Tabor, And Jerusalem

Chapter 4. Jerusalem

Chapter 5. Jerusalem New City And Ein Karem

Chapter 6. Dead Sea (Rechristened Sea Of Life During The Second Trip)

Chapter 7. Eilat To Mount Sinai

Chapter 8. Sinai-Eilat

Chapter 9. Ben-Gurion National Museum

Chapter 10. Graduation Ceremony

Chapter 11. Leisure In Tel Aviv

Chapter 12. The Mystery Of Figure 12: Our Aborted Departure

Chapter 13. The Departure

Chapter 14. Divine Emergency Landing

Chapter 15. Moral Challenge

Chapter 16. The River Nile

Chapter 17. Rome And Bethlehem

Chapter 18. Wishing Bridge

Chapter 19. Cable Car Cruise

Chapter 20. Reflection: Christianity And Politics

To Celine, my wife; and our children for their love and prayers

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to begin by acknowledging almighty God, custodian of wisdom and knowledge, who has given me the inspiration to write this book.

Also, I thank the management of Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Nigeria, which graciously approved and sponsored my trips to the Holy Land.

I am indebted to the late Chief Solomon D. Lar, former governor of Plateau State of Nigeria, former minister of police affairs and pioneer national chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who wrote the foreword to this piece.

This work would have ended up as a travelogue in the pages of newspapers but for Danfulani Shuaibu Ahmed, a professor of law and strategic studies and former director general, National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, whose wise counsel helped me to turn it into a book.

I am also grateful to Mr. Jaf Nwosu, a retired federal permanent secretary; and Mr. Davis Obaro, whose critical ability and editorial prowess helped in no small measure in modeling this book.

The editorial department of WestBow Press deserves my appreciation for editing the book in line with American standards, paying attention to the style prescriptions of the Chicago Manual and Christian Writer’s Manual of Style in spelling, hyphenation and punctuation use.

Let me also acknowledge the encouragement of Elsa Marcado of WestBow Press, who prodded me to publish this second edition.

My appreciation would be incomplete without mentioning the role of Celine, my amiable wife, and our children, whose love and support provided the needed atmosphere on the home front.

I owe eternal gratitude to Mrs. Angela Odi, my ninety-five year-old mother, who passed into glory in the course of this production. During her life time, she prayed earnestly for me and for the success of this book.

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

The first edition of this book entitled Perspectives on Christian Pilgrimage was published in 2002 in Abuja, Nigeria. Since then, the urge to update it was strong enough that I was led to undertake a second pilgrimage, this time to Rome and Palestine, in addition to Israel. I recall with suppressed excitement and humility that the response of readers to the first edition was a source of encouragement, not only to bring out this edition but also to write other books.

Like the first pilgrimage, the trip took place in December. Our first port of call was haunting, as chilling winter weather greeted us in Rome. We shivered with cold as we pumped steam through our mouths and noses. Our lips quivered uncontrollably. We sought shelter in a small gift shop, with some of us spilling over to the entrance. I pitied my companions, as they bore more of the brunt of the angry icy gale.

Can’t they change the weather for visitors, the way rain makers prevent rain in our country? a pilgrim muttered. The warm clothes we had were of little help. We inadvertently prevented the shop owners from closing at the end of the day’s business until our bus arrived to convey us to the hotel. The kiosk operators deserve my gratitude for their patience and deference to foreigners in need of shelter from inclement weather.

This second edition is coming with a different title: Christian Pilgrimage: A Refreshing Experience. It is because of the thrill participants enjoyed at various sites, which the reader cannot afford to miss. The worship session on the Sea of Galilee, for instance, was glorious and awesome. Tears of happiness welled up in the eyes of many a pilgrim. It is often believed that praise worship does many things to many people. To some it brings repentance, which sometimes transports them to the verge of tears. To others it brings healing. A few lucky ones receive revelations from the Lord.

An army of pigeons swarmed our boat that day. They could not resist the ambience that suggested the presence of God as they fluttered around us; we could almost catch them if we so desired. The weather that morning was cloudy and not too cold, making it possible for pilgrims to dance freely as they praised almighty God for the gift of salvation and for the opportunity to undertake this pilgrimage in their lifetime.

The Sea of Galilee was calm and bluish. Perhaps it bowed to the power of praise as well, just as King Saul did when David played the harp to soothe him, following the tormenting spirit from the Lord. We were not afraid of a repeat of the scenario in which a fierce storm threatened to capsize the boat Jesus Christ and his disciples boarded to sail to the other side of the same Sea of Galilee. The disciples, I recall, were shocked that the Messiah was fast asleep on the stormy sea. Jesus, on his part, was disappointed that his disciples did not believe that, with the Master on board, the boat would never capsize. He asked them, Where is your faith? Mark 4: 35-41. I reflected on how we Christians soon forget the promise of Jesus to be with us till the end of the age when confronted with the storms of life.

This second edition has retained the foreword written by the late Chief Solomon D. Lar as a deserving tribute to a statesman who bestrode Nigeria’s politics like a colossus for six decades. His demise at the ripe age of eighty-five is not an excuse to deny him my gratitude for the role he played in my life. Under his benevolent administration as governor of Plateau State. I secured an opportunity to begin a career in journalism at the state government-owned The Nigeria Standard newspaper. The large-heartedness of his administration in this regard is uncommon in a Nigeria where nonindigenous persons are seen as opportunists.

For a period of thirty years