We Have Come To The Mountain

"We have come to the mountain of the living God, take a good look around us, what we see is what we've got" Jason Upton

I've been in Tucson, Arizona for a few days and I just love the mountains. Granted, these aren't like Everest or Fuji but they'll do! I find when I look at them I can't seem to take my eyes off of them. They're mesmerizing! It's as though my eyes are glued on them or locked in on them by some powerful force. I can actually feel power coming from them and filling my chest with new breath and strength.

Now, before you think uh-oh-weirdo earth worshiper dude, just know I love God's creation but I would prefer to worship Him! Anyway...as I would walk in and around the very large... and crowded resort I was staying at, my eyes always found themselves fixated on the mountains. The crowd, the chaos, the confusion, the pressures I faced from the job that I was there for...staring me right in the face....didn't seem to matter so much when my eyes were on these mountains. I felt lifted above the stress. I felt energized for the battle that raged around me. I felt like an overcomer!

For a moment, the mountains were the only thing that mattered.

"Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith"

Of course, as you've probably already guessed, I couldn't help but think of the mountain of the living God. If only we could lock in on him like that! If only we could walk in such victory, locked onto our Mighty Leader.

Well, the truth be told, eventually I got hungry, needed some coffee, grew tired, was annoyed by the crowds, drained by the job, etc.,...and etc...annnnddddd holy moment gone, mountains not so important anymore.

...but...they were still there...

Quiet but still so powerful...they surrounded the city...watched over it...protected it...When you woke up in the morning and looked out the window, they were there, and when you went to bed at night they were there...sleeping giants...these guardians of the city were immovable...

"he never sleeps nor slumbers"

I guess you just kinda get used to them and they become invisible...mmmhhhh

"so we fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen"

The song at the beginning of this page, says "we have come to the mountain of the living God, take a good look around us, what we see is what we've got"...I'm not sure if he's speaking of the present or the future but for now let's assume, present.

Take a good look around us, what we see is what we've got!!!

What we've got is nothing less than astonishing. I take a good look around me....and I see the cross. I see a God who dearly, passionately loves me and thinks I'm the most special thing that ever walked the earth...I realize there's a few billion others he thinks that about too but that makes it no less amazing...I see a cross that gave me life through a man that died and somehow supernaturally, mysteriously, and completely...transformed me. I died! And he lives...in me!

I see through the cross...to the other side...where I live...hidden with God in Christ...I hide in the secret place of the most high....sheltered by him…under the shadow of his wings...and as I embrace the cross...with all its sufferings, all its hopes, all its glory, all its love, all its sacrifice, and all its stripping, shaping, forming and transforming, I see eternity...I see the mountain! I see his glory! I see forever! I see him!

And like the woman at the well I want to go and tell...actually RUN and SCREAM! He's there! I can see him! Come on! Before it's too late!

I also take a good look around me and see an enormous and overwhelming amount of suffering that causes me to realize I am so blessed! The cross has been unveiled for me. I've been in the Holy of Holies and tasted his beauty.  "I have seen you in your sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory". I have seen the Lord! How can I not spend every moment...no...minute...no...SECOND...serving Him?

And whether the mountain I come to is one of suffering that requires great faith or a "mountaintop experience" that brings new hope and wisdom and mystery and strength, I will stand on the rim of the visible world, look to the cathedral in the sky and know the sanctuary is always open!

"on the rim of the visible world...cathedral in the sky...the sanctuary's always open" Jason Upton

And as I look around to see what we've got, I will run to serve him...whether it's in the soup kitchen or behind a pulpit...if they are true...then they are one in the same...God help us to run to the suffering...I know you’re there, I know you’re there...

Maybe if we ran to the suffering then we would find the mountaintop. Maybe if we ran to the hurting then the mountaintop wouldn't matter....because with the suffering, he is there...you are there, Lord and I want to be where you are...

I will exalt my God, the King! For he is like the mountains. He is an immovable force! Look with favor on your anointed ones. Look with favor on us! In the multitude of your mercies, let us rejoice. Keep our eyes fixed on you, Lord. Grant us the secret knowledge of your Kingdom. That which is only reserved for your beloved. Strengthen us...that we might press into the suffering and hurting...to find you our beloved, Jesus.

Cause us to come to the Mountain of the Living God and to look around and see what we've got...for now and forever!!!