Recently my family and I spent a week in Colorado. We don't vacation like many families. We like to be active. We like adventures. My boys like to climb, hike, explore and so do Nicole and I....no laying on the beach for us. The capstone to our trip was to summit Twin Sisters Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. It's a 7.5 mile round trip hike with more than 2,000 feet of elevation gain and you end up at the top of a mountain at over 11,000 feet above sea level with 360 views of the Rockies. It's amazing.
And yet, though we had hiked for about 3 hours to get to the top, we didn't stay long. You see clouds were rolling in and the top can be a dangerous place to be. There is no place to take cover. No trees to hide under, no buildings for safety...nothing but rock, so we took some pictures, ate a snack and got down. In the Christian life we tend to use the phrase a "mountaintop experience" a lot. We all want to have these goose-bump moments with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. And while I've had these moments and enjoyed them too, the reality is that the top of a mountain isn't a place we should try to stay. Life isn't lived at the top. Life is lived in between the top and the valley. We are constantly somewhere in between. In Matthew 17 we read the incredible story of the transfiguration where Jesus takes 3 of his disciples to the top of a mountain and they meet with Moses and Elijah and Jesus is shown in his glory. Peter (of course it's Peter who speaks up) is so impressed he decides they should stay in that moment long term. He says, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” Peter is ready to camp out long term. He wants to stay in the mountain top moment for a long time. But, Jesus knows this is just a moment. Only a few verses later they head down the mountain together. We can't stay on the mountain. We aren't meant to. We take the memory. We carry it with us. It helps us through the valley. But we have to live in our real life...not waiting for the next emotional high, not just hoping for another "transfiguration" type moment to come...but following Jesus in the boring day to day of the places and people of our jobs, schools and homes. Walk on brothers and sisters, no matter where you roam. In Christ, Pastor Scott
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Amos 5 is a good example of a part of the Old Testament that often gets ignored by us because we find it uncomfortable. In these sections, God tells us that he hates the worship of the Jewish people because they are just going through the motions or because they do their religious duties and yet still take advantage of their fellow people. Read this section below and get a sense of how God felt about their worship of Him,
“I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me. 22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. 23 Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. 24 But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!" That's harsh! That hurts. Imagine if God watched our worship service (He does) and then told us something similar. I mean ouch! And yet, if we sing our songs of praise, give our offerings, preach our sermons, take communion...and yet do not love our brothers and sisters or take advantage of them...would God not still feel the same? God doesn't change. If he felt that way in the Old Testament then he still would today. And yes, our sin can be forgiven by Jesus...but shouldn't we seek justice? Shouldn't we seek righteousness? Shouldn't we hate what God hates and love what God loves? Worship can be very good, but empty worship is nothing. Worship can be very good, but if our hearts are cold toward those in need, how can we worship the God who made those people? So let justice roll like a river in our homes, in our town, in our community...let it roll in our hearts and then let us worship with the love of God knowing that we love like God! In Christ, Pastor Scott |
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