Many times in the biblical narratives, mountains were places where man met God.
Moses would climb Mt.Sinai where a visible inferno of flame can be seen at the top.
Peter, James, John would never look at Jesus the same after their Master brought them into a mountain where they experienced Jesus transformation into His divine nature.
Jesus, Himself, before He started His day would retreat into the mountains from the ruckus of the crowd, for isolation and a time to talk with God.
It is no doubt then that in the bible mountaintops were places where man met God, but all too often many people don't make it to the top.
The Israelites did not climb up Mt. Sinai with Moses because they did not want to encounter the living God, whose thundering voice struck fear in their hearts when He spoke and whose appearance is like that of a consuming fire.
It is then a matter of one's decision whether or not one meets God.
There will be Mount Pain, Mount Heartache, Mount Loneliness, Mount Disappointment, Mount Uncertainty, Mount Hopeless that we will all climb sometime in our lives. Do not be reluctant to take that first step up the mountain. That first step is one step closer God, and that's our comfort isn't it? the comfort that God will meet us.
It's in those moments up there that we will see a side of Him we've never seen before, completely changed like the disciples. God will make a transfiguration in our lives and it's guaranteed that when we encounter the living God in our personal Mt.Sinai's, we will never be the same again.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
True Colors
Everybody knows John 3:16 by heart: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
It's very flattering but there is the following verse that many tend to overlook and that is "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
The implication of this verse is truly phenomenal. It speaks of God coming into the human world not to annihilate and usher in the apocalypse but rather to save the whole world. This verse probably was a shock value to many since up until then (in Jesus' times) and even now there was and is a pre-conceived notion that God is always angry. A God who gets angry the moment you succumb to your human weaknesses and has His fist poised, ready to send you to hell at any given moment. Who painted this picture? If you think of God like this, then that is a different one than the biblical God we worship. That's the problem and that's the obstacle for society is that they are conditioned to think that He is just that sort of God. Easy to get angry and hard to please.
If you know your greek mythology then you know that
every now and then the "gods" would get angry. Rather than taking a deep breath, having a heart-felt conversation with their psychiatrist or trying to solve their problems using constructive methods, the gods all too often unleashed terrible punishments on those unlucky humans who got in their way. Maybe that's why society closes it's ears when we talk about God, they picture Him along with the greek gods.
Yet John 3:17 paints a totally different picture, it speaks of a God who did not condemn the moment He entered this sinful world but it speaks rather of a God who came to save. Jesus demolished the very idea that God got violent and had tantrums quickly. Jesus then portrayed the true side of God. The God who is patient with us when we are ignorant and act out of our own selfishness. The God who loves us even when we submit to our human weaknesses and vices. The God who has an eternal love for us. That's the God we serve. Our part then is to emulate Jesus and with our life: peel the paint off the canvas and show it's true colors.
That is the obstacle that keeps people from coming to
It's very flattering but there is the following verse that many tend to overlook and that is "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
The implication of this verse is truly phenomenal. It speaks of God coming into the human world not to annihilate and usher in the apocalypse but rather to save the whole world. This verse probably was a shock value to many since up until then (in Jesus' times) and even now there was and is a pre-conceived notion that God is always angry. A God who gets angry the moment you succumb to your human weaknesses and has His fist poised, ready to send you to hell at any given moment. Who painted this picture? If you think of God like this, then that is a different one than the biblical God we worship. That's the problem and that's the obstacle for society is that they are conditioned to think that He is just that sort of God. Easy to get angry and hard to please.
If you know your greek mythology then you know that
every now and then the "gods" would get angry. Rather than taking a deep breath, having a heart-felt conversation with their psychiatrist or trying to solve their problems using constructive methods, the gods all too often unleashed terrible punishments on those unlucky humans who got in their way. Maybe that's why society closes it's ears when we talk about God, they picture Him along with the greek gods.
Yet John 3:17 paints a totally different picture, it speaks of a God who did not condemn the moment He entered this sinful world but it speaks rather of a God who came to save. Jesus demolished the very idea that God got violent and had tantrums quickly. Jesus then portrayed the true side of God. The God who is patient with us when we are ignorant and act out of our own selfishness. The God who loves us even when we submit to our human weaknesses and vices. The God who has an eternal love for us. That's the God we serve. Our part then is to emulate Jesus and with our life: peel the paint off the canvas and show it's true colors.
That is the obstacle that keeps people from coming to
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