MICAH 4:1-2 –  It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, and many nations shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

THEME OF THE DAY: GO UP TO THE MOUNTAIN.  Paul Engle wrote an interesting book titled When God Draws Near: Exploring Worship from Seven Summits.  He uses seven stories of seven mountains in scripture to remind us of the God who we worship.  Think about mountains just for a moment.  Where did Moses have the intimate encounter and receive the ten commandments?  On a mountain.  Where did Jesus take Peter, James, and John for prayer and to reveal His glory to them? On a mountain.  Mountains play a significant part in scripture and today’s adds to that truth.

We find the prophet Micah proclaiming the Lord’s habitation on the highest of mountains and people from far and near are exhorted to go to the mountain.  Why? To encounter God. To learn from Him so that they might walk with Him.

In his Narnia tales, C.S. Lewis reminds us that scenes of nature, like towering mountains frequently inspire worship.  Quoting from Engle, “Lewis believed that such feelings are not merely subjective and personal – that there is something objectively and inherently majestic about mountains.”  A Lewis scholar, Thomas Williams, observed, “The beauty of the mountain is telling you that a greater beauty exists above it. The mountain is only an image – a shadow – pointing to that greater reality. That greater reality is the true reality that is the source of all beauty and the spring of all joy and delight that spills over into nature. That reality is God Himself.”  I have a dear friend who is a mountain climber.  He has climbed the highest peaks in North America, and after each climb, he basically tells me what Williams just stated.  But there is a lesson here for us.  It isn’t that we must go out buy a bunch expensive gear and start climbing mountains to find the Lord.

The mountain signifies silence, no distractions, solitude, and alone time.  All those are necessary to cultivate a close walk with the Lord.  Jesus often went to a quiet place, particularly the Garden of Gethsemane, to be alone with His Father.  And we too need to pull away from the fast-paced lives that drag us away from time with Him.   Ponder these words from the prophet Isaiah – For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling (Isaiah 30:15).  It is in quietness we get close.  Doesn’t have to be a mountain, but it has to be a place of no interruptions, distractions, and hindrances . . . .

So, go up to the mountain.  And also get the book I mentioned in the opening paragraph.  It will help on the journey!

PRAYER: “Father, help me to guard against anything that keeps me from quality alone time with You.”

QUOTE: “To grow in the Lord and close to the Lord we must have consistent time alone with the Lord.”

In the affection of Christ Jesus,

Pastor Jim