Eternal Priesthood

"Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."  Exodus 19:6

Astounding!!! God takes his people out of Egypt and plops them down right in the middle of the desert...in the middle of nowhere...in the heat, the dirt, the grime, the wind, the desolation, the nothingness, and says to them...today you have become my Holy, Majestic, Royal, Divine, Mysterious, Eternal KINGDOM OF PRIESTS!!! TREASURED POSSESSION!!! HOLY NATION!!! Although the whole earth is mine...in fact, everything...in the entire universe!...from age to age, eternity to eternity is mine...YOU are my treasure...you have a Divine Destiny...you are Royalty!

THEN!!! The time had arrived. For the receiving of the covenant...the law...the 10 commandments! Read it when you get a chance...the dense cloud was to come on Moses...the mountain was to be roped off with orders not to touch! The fire was about to fall, the smoke was about to pour forth...another cataclysmic event was about to overtake them...a Divine Entrance...a mighty move of Almighty God, himself!  A glorious moment for these little people…

This....is where I live...plopped down in the middle of the desert, fighting the annoying dust and wind and grime and all the inconveniences of desert living and...along with it comes the chaos and confusion and stress of dealing with all these people in this camp in the middle of nowheresville!  I'm thirsty...and when I'm thirsty, I go to get a drink and there are those annoying needles...all over my cactus!!! Ugh!!!  There's all this sand!!! And rocks!!!

And in the midst of it all...even my immaturity...God moves majestically...and reminds me....although the whole earth is his, I and the amazing, beautiful, treasured people in my camp are part of His Eternal Enterprise! The Bride of Christ...destined for the throne, destined to wear royal garments and eternal badges of honor.

The work I currently do here in Tulsa...trauma consultant for a medical device company...brings me to very interesting situations in the operating room...situations you would never expect with a patient on the table under anesthesia. I have some very nice and professional surgeons to work with but I also have some very twisted individuals who enjoy berating every person in the OR...who with knife in hand and patient sliced open, enjoy toying with medical reps in the room...calling in extras to bring unneeded supplies, sending them on wild goose chases, “waving carrots in front of their faces” to entice them to do unethical things to get a sale...only to finally end up dumping implants into their patients supplied by a relative, a brother, a friend, a lover....whether the patient needs it or not...

I think day after day, what a slop house! What a graveyard of corrupted, arrogant little kings who rule their pathetic little kingdoms with insecurity, money and pseudo power! I have seen time and time again, the sanctity of the operating room violated and the welfare of the patient undermined and well… completely forgotten in my opinion. I have literally had to stand over the “back table” (inst. Table) face to face with a surgeon screaming every vulgarity at me only to be “kicked out” because I would not bow to his pressure or give in to his blasphemies! 

These surgeons remind me of Philippians 3; 19.  “Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.”

When I walk through these hospitals (their kingdoms) I pray for them…I am reminded of what their dark kingdoms (someday dungeons) represent and I’m moved to intercession…for them...the patients…and the hospitals…I think about the “wars” I have had with them, the financial loss from “doing the right thing” and the battles with my own pride of “losing the game”…and I do not doubt that I have been thrust into this fiery furnace…led into this desert by Him.   

But, in this desert...these difficult times, my God is still with me…whispering in my ear…Kingdom…priests…eternity…beloved…royal…majestic…holy nation…treasure…possession…rewards…of honor…of greatness…of holiness…sometimes he whispers…then sometimes he roars!...and like on Mount Sinai that day, the fire falls, the smoke billows, and the Divine Entrance of Almighty God, the Lord Jesus Christ!...penetrates this “realm” and shows himself to me!

It is somehow so good...when you're there...in the struggle...the desert...and you can look up and see Him, Jesus...you can look up and almost see forever!...you can almost see the "holy ecclesia" of God being pulled out of here!...and you keep looking and you can see the House of God, the Kingdom of Priests working, living, worshiping...in the new heaven and the new earth!!! 

This is what drives me...daily. My feet may be in hot sand but my heart is in His kingdom...and my eyes are fixed on my Lord, my Jesus, my King...for I know that I am a part of an Eternal Priesthood!

"For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." Isaiah 57:15

The Art Of Warfare

"As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated." 

2 Chronicles 20:22

Wow!!!  Have you ever experienced this in your own life?  Have you ever been surrounded by your enemies (stress, worry, confusion, despair, loneliness, sorrow, poverty, marital struggle, family struggle, etc) and began lifting your voice, singing his praise, worshiping the King...then slowly...or suddenly...it was as though the Lord set ambushes...he caused these enemies of your soul to turn on each other...he caused them to flee...he caused peace to flood them...overwhelm them...push them out of your life?

I have, once again, been thinking about the early days of my conversion...those amazing, miraculous times that I will always cherish. It never ceases to amaze me when I think about the gift that God redeemed...how in a matter of days I went from writing, singing and playing such dark, despairing "alternative" music to writing, singing, and playing WORSHIP!!! The psalms had come alive and they flowed out of me with new melodies that were literally effortless to create!!!

But that's not the most amazing part. The days that followed my first "encounter" with God were wonderful but soon turned very, very difficult. While it was truly a new life that I had been birthed into...the life I had left behind did not want to let go so easily....call it oppression, possession, depression, addiction...call it whatever you want...I call it warfare!!! The enemy did not want to let go and words cannot express the severity of this battle! Close friends and family know the anguish and the hardship I endured the first few years of following my Lord.

“blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.  As they pass through the valley of Baca (weeping) they make it a place of springs”

It was in those years and those difficult times that I learned to cultivate a deep, intimate, personal, secret, powerful life of worship. It is no exaggeration when I tell you that hour after hour, day after day, week after week...in every free second...I couldn't wait…I ran to be with my God!...in the secret place of the Most High...under the shadow of his wings...whenever I could....wherever I could...NOTHING ELSE MATTERED!...I had a nothing job and I didn't care.  I couldn't wait to get off work to go and be with the Lover Of My Soul!!!...”my soul yearned, even fainted for the courts of the Lord…”

"my soul follows hard after thee"

I couldn't wait to get home and pick up my guitar and sing to him!!! And I sang and I played for Him!...for hours!...and I consumed his word. It’s all I knew to do...I didn't know how to pray! I just sang the psalms and he was always so faithful to meet me there...there was healing in his wings...and there was deliverance, sweet deliverance!…his presence was my delight!...he made my enemies scatter!...it was also in those times  I learned the art of warfare in worship....my soul exploded with songs of praise! My instrument felt like a weapon and my voice, it seemed, thundered into the heavenlies…The enemy didn't stand a chance!!!...I was in awe, and I look back on those times still very awestruck...”he prepared a table for me in the presence of my enemies”…he REALLY was my hiding place…”he surrounded me with songs of deliverance…he made me to lie down in green pastures…”

Day after day, he calmed my anxious soul…he eased the worry and the traffic in my mind…he walked with me in the cool of the day, in fact, that is just what I did. I couldn’t wait for my days off…they were spent ENTIRELY devoted to seeking him and he truly walked with me!…Jehovah Shamah, the Lord surely was there!

I carry these early years with me wherever I go and through whatever I encounter. Its interesting, I can drive around the many places in Oklahoma City and point out the "dark places" and the "dark things" I did before I met Christ...and...now...I can drive around the many places in OKC where I encountered Him and spent time with Him...and grew to know him...literal places where I learned to worship him, places where I learned to intercede for the church...the nations...Carol loves to tell the story of when we met, we would go to pray in the prayer chapel at Baptist Hospital...for hours...ugh...what a date!...I've since made it up to her!...she loved it though...

"Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle."

My desire never changes…whether I am alone with Him or before a congregation of people…my soul’s desire is to explode in honoring him, thanking him, loving him, remembering what he has done, and worshiping him for who he is…in Spirit and in Truth…my desire is that as we lift him up and praise him and worship him, he would set ambushes for our enemies, scatter them...destroy them!...they almost destroyed me!

I went to a Worship Leaders conference several years ago. Several worship leaders were there to lead the different services. One stood out to me among the rest. This person, Dave Ruis, was different…I’m not sure he knew the congregation was there!  It was as though he was in his “prayer closet”…and we had been invited in to worship with him…there was no big show…no production…just worship…I am convinced his heart’s desire was to honor his King, just like he did when he was all alone...and to see his enemies be scattered! 

My desire when I have led worship in the past is that I would never leave behind those intimate times and places that I had with my Savior.  I tell people all the time...I don't have a beautiful voice and I'm no Phil Keaggy on the guitar...but I have been somewhere...a place I think the people of God want to go...a place the heart yearns and even faints for...the hidden place...the altar...the sanctuary of a mighty God...wanna go?!?

Jerusalem

"I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband."

Hold Jerusalem close. Deep in your heart. Guard her. Protect her. She is our delight. She is our home...our eternal destiny...our holy city...our sacred delight! Keep watch through the night for her...give yourself to her safety...clothe yourself with intercession for her...our warfare determines her destiny...

“If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.”

May we never forget her. In our wealth, may we never forget her, in our poverty, may we never forget her, in our pleasure, may we never forget her, in our pain, may we never forget her, in our hour of triumph may we never forget her and in the hour of persecution may we NEVER forget her.

"By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.  Upon the willows in the midst of it, we hung our harps."

Praise God this will never happen again! Never again will Jerusalem be left desolate with her children captive in a foreign land. She is now in our hearts....and that cannot be taken from us! Praise God our harps will never again be laid down and our songs of praise will never again be silenced!

 "Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ"

O Jerusalem...precious bride of the one, true, living God! You are beautiful on the mountains! A city on a hill...a glorious city...I can see you! In all your splendor...the splendor of the King...the beauty of his holiness. Adorned for the Groom! There is none like you, for you are truly filled with the Mighty One!

Oh holy and spotless, blameless Bride of Christ covered by the blood of your Groom...do you realize how loved and how coveted you are? Name the price! Name the price!  A groom's father might have said to a prospective father of a bride...

Name your price satan! Fallen one, deceiver, accuser, father of lies, prince of darkness...name your price for that which you have stolen!!!

Fine!!!  I will name it!!!  I will pay....

I will send my son...Like a sheep led to slaughter...

I will buy her back...She is my beloved...I will rescue her...

Maybe she will love me...

What could we possibly hold dearer in our hearts than our Jerusalem? Our sacred delight! Should anything grip our hearts more constant than the in-gathering of her citizens? May her thoughts never leave my mind, Lord. May her name never leave my lips. May her welfare never leave my heart. May her soul consume mine and may her labor be mine. O Jerusalem... My Father's beloved...my breath is consumed with intercession for you...I arise at dawn fixed on your every need...I lay down to sleep with your hope as my desire...when I lie down I ache for you. I search for you...I dream dreams concerning you...

O Jerusalem...I love when you gather to see the King! I long for the day you'll gather to see him face to face...I am captivated by your zeal for him...I am captivated with zeal for you...when you gather...I love you...when you worship, it's contagious...powerful...when you gather, the dark things disappear, the blemishes, the stains...I only see Him, his marvelous light!...and my heart burns with love for you...you are his treasure...and I treasure you the same...

“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.  “Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended,  That her iniquity has been removed,  That she has received of the Lord ’s  hand double for all her sins.” Isaiah 40

O Jerusalem, answer the call to warfare! Soon comfort will come...great...great comfort...great reward awaits you...eternal pleasures from his hand...don't give up...just a while longer...my eyes have seen a great thing...it is very soon...give yourselves fully to him...set yourselves fully on the hope you've received...set your affections on him, not on temporal things, they will soon be totally forgotten...give every moment to your eternal inheritance in Christ, your hope of glory!!!

O Jerusalem, tonight I dine with your warfare...wrestle with your enemies...intercede for your destiny.

Pour Water On It, Lord!

"He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood. Do it again, he said, and they did it again. Do it a third time, he ordered, and they did it the third time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench." 1 Kings 18:33-35

Pour water on it! Let's make sure everybody knows beyond any shadow...beyond any hint of a doubt that God did this! Soak it! Drench it! More jars! More jars! More jars! Give the water some time to soak in! Hey prophets of Baal, why don't ya pour some flame retardant on it! You arrogant blasphemers of the Most High God!  Let’s make sure no fire can burn so the fire of God can fall and everyone will know the truth!

Can you hear Elijah's passion? Can you hear his voice thunder as it rips through and terrorizes the prophets of Baal? Can you feel the false prophets' fear as they tremble at what's about to happen? Can you sense the eminence of God's Kingdom and all its forces ready to explode out of the sky to encroach onto the scene...like gates rattling, before the thoroughbreds are unleashed to run the track...his chariots of wrath...stomp in place...suck breath into their nostrils...even the horses burn passionate with his righteous, angry justice.

"I must decrease, he must increase."

This is my continual prayer to God...

Pour water on it, Lord...soak it...destroy it....rip it to shreds...make sure it fails!!! Make sure every one of my human efforts fail...every self-promoting, self-exalting, self-worshipping, fleshly works be utterly destroyed...root out the dark worship of Baal...in me...that YOU would LIVE...in me...that YOUR work would be accomplished and not mine…"the flesh profits nothing, the Spirit gives life"...did you read that? Nothing! Your works count for nothing! It is the SPIRIT that gives life! “Flesh gives birth to flesh; the Spirit gives birth to spirit”.

Jesus' flesh was ripped to shreds from scourging and it hung on display for the entire world to see...that our flesh profits nothing! It actually....destroys...he was destroyed by fleshly men. How many of us desire so much to truly move in the power of the Holy Spirit that we would pray...for cross-work...to pray..."I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me"…crucify me Lord…not for ourselves, although there are AMAZING benefits...no, we pray to die...FOR HIM...and for the world...we follow in his footsteps..."pick up your cross and deny yourselves"...we are his SLAVES...and I love it!

"unless a kernal of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it produces no fruit"

I have a friend who has an amazing voice...she gets lots and lots of compliments on how wonderful her voice is...she sings all the time and people love it. But a few Sundays ago something different happened...psalm 22:3 says in the KJV that God inhabits the praises of his people; literally translated...he sits down and dwells among his people...a few Sundays ago it was as though he sat down and dwelled among us. She was unaware that the entire congregation who was sitting at the beginning of the song were now standing...voices full volume...hands lifted...worshipping the Lord…God had arrived and it was astounding...she was unaware of our standing because her eyes were closed...she was captivated by her Savior and unaware of what was happening around her. 

The compliments were different after this time she sang...I know because I read some of them on facebook...they were more like, "God really moved when you sang...and...I really sensed the anointing when you sang"...her voice didn't matter quite as much this time. People came hungry for God…and they were fed.

What I know about this person is that her life has been ripped to shreds and put back together again...she's been to the cross...and continually welcomes it again and again in order that God is glorified...knowing she has much growing to do...much more self-worship to die to…as all of us do...she prays daily to die…and God honored that prayer in a special way that day.

That is only one example…has anyone ever brought you food and brought the presence of God with them? Has anyone ever visited you when you were in deep depression…and they brought with them a mysterious light that penetrated your darkness when nothing else could?…has anyone ever hugged you and it was as though Jesus, himself, just hugged you?…has anyone ever patted you on the back, spoke a few words to you and it was as though God, himself, just spoke to you?

“God works supernaturally through natural means”, author unknown.

Pour water on it, Lord! May my efforts fail so yours would live through me, SO THAT ALL WOULD KNOW THAT IT IS YOU AND NOT ME…SO THAT THE FIRE OF GOD WOULD FALL ON ME...

Paul said, “I come not with eloquent words but with a demonstration of God’s power”.

It is a supernatural life that we are called to live. We are called to walk in a DIVINE calling but there’s only one way to get there…it’s not by having lots of “mystical, ecstatic” experiences and dancing around an altar flailing and frantically prophecying. 1 Kings 18:26-28 

It’s by answering the call to come and die…continually…before the throne…in the workplace…in the marketplace…it’s by embracing the cross, the struggle…it comes by wrestling, like Jacob, with the Angel of the Lord until you receive your new name…the name of someone who walks “not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit…”

Watchmen On The Wall

"I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest,"  Isaiah 62:6

I can hear the cadence...the drum beat...it's almost fearful...it forces breath into me...exploding in me...kingdom coming...kingdom coming...it's soon...it's very soon...cries of intercession...thru the night...keeping watch through the night...gripping the altar...unceasing...knees aching...fire falls...warring hosts advancing...trumpets blasting...hosts of wickedness wailing...like a mist his Spirit descending...weaving in and out and through the streets, the homes, the factories, the offices, the farmhouses, skyscrapers, restaurants, drug addicts, prostitutes, clerks, CEO’s, farmers and firemen...and those that reject him...and those that reject him...and those that reject him...and those that reject him...would he still move if we didn't pray?

There's only one army that advances on its knees...in secret...where there is no tangible battlefield and no stage for generals...and no plunder for the victor. The watchmen on the wall.  Those that allow no sleep to come until they have completed the King's orders. Those awakened in a moment to move and breathe as the Holy Spirit navigates them through cities, towns, and homes. Their hearts beat with his...their cries pierce the heavenlies...ascending the throne like incense...their ears attuned to his whispers...gentle...intoxicating...commanding. They have only one yearning...that the breath of intercession would fill their souls and the heart of God would be made known to the nations...that scales would fall...that eyes would be opened, hearts softened, and minds enlightened...to know the true saving knowledge of God through Jesus Christ, his son, our Savior. That the church would breed true lovers of God...and worship him in Spirit and in truth.

Watchmen live their lives awaiting the next call to arms...contemplating the next battle, the next move, the next charge, the next flank...there's only one kind of person who spends his day searching for a new angle to pray...how to be more effective, how to thwart the enemy, how to advance his kingdom, his church. The watchmen is truly God's friend. There is no limelight, no praise, no pats on the back, no recognition....no glory....sometimes even little or no evidence of his labors...only evidence of need...for so much more...for so very much more....need.

But he keeps God's work alive...he's granted that honor, “work prepared in advance" for him to accomplish through his Lord, Jesus Christ...and it's his passion...no need for reward or recognition...for that comes from the throne...and he knows it...the Father's good pleasure wells up deep in his spirit and he is full...he wrestles with revelation...and he is astonished.  He shares in a heavenly delight that few know...that few care to labor to know. He lives in the Word and finds his heritage, his lineage, his heroes, his teachers, his trainers, his mentors.

His chamber is sacred...holy ground...wet with cries for God's people and wet with the dew of heaven...

His sin?...despicable...ever before him...tempting him...taunting him...and at times...seizing him...so what does this mighty, valiant warrior do?...knees...altar...prayer....his ever-increasing awareness of his own sin causes his burden and his love for his brothers and sisters in Christ to ascend  new heights and new depths.

"sin is ever crouching at your door, you must learn to master it"

"together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ"

Deliver us oh Lord, deliver us...this is the watchmen's unceasing prayer....deliver us oh lord, deliver us...

"deliver us oh lord, from every sinful and inordinate affection and from the sin that so easily entangles us...by thine agony and bloody sweat...by thy cross and passion, by thy resurrection and ascension...deliver us" Book Of Common Prayer

"God's purposes and the Church's praying are the combination of all potent and omnipotent forces" E.M. Bounds

The watchmen knows he stands at the door of eternity...and it is his unceasing, spirit-filled, Word-centered praying that unites the purposes of heaven and the hope of God's created. He is captivated with the weightiness of his God-given responsibility.

As he makes his way through his city where he lives...the divine beckoning never ceases...the highways lead him, entangle him, and wrap his heart around the buildings, the businesses, and the homes that scream with agony of those still lost and hurting and dying...and he stands in the gap...with joy and passion...knowing God is moving...mightily! He knows because he can see it...because he asked to see it...he prays not for riches but only for his Father's heart...and for the souls of unregenerate men.

“all creation groans”

The watchmen's personal struggles are also great. He is no stranger to the sufferings of his fellow man, but he knows that somehow the sufferings of this life, united with his striving after holiness, and united with his ceaseless intercession and worship is bringing about the righteousness of God in Christ…and his efforts are not futile for others either. He is an intercessor…every action matters…every growth spurt counts…has “corporate” effect on God’s beloved.

Make me your watchman oh Lord; share with me the secrets of heaven, the yearnings of your heart. May your heart beat like a cadence in mine. May your heart beat like a cadence in your people. Help us to hear the mighty drums that lead the charge of your advancing Kingdom…and may the unquenchable fire of God burn in our hearts…

“From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” Matthew 11:12

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!!!

We Have Come To The Mountain