Taking the Mountain top with you.

[God] called you through our proclamation of the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. -2 Thessalonians 2:14 (NRSV)

When one lives in a valley, it is good to go occasionally to a mountaintop to get a look at the whole scene. I had a great honor to serve in the Great Smoky Mountain foothills in the town of Sevierville, TN as a worship minister at Smoky Mountain Christian Church in the years of 1995 through 2000. It was an amazing run. I was extremely green as a minister and we had some awesome opportunity to serve, worship, and bring God's people closer to the God they loved. One of the finest memories is the opportunities to go to the National Park. Every now and then, friends and I would enjoy going up bluffs on either side of the valley and looking down on our little world. In fact, I courted Karen taking trips into those mountains. Those mountain top hikes and picnics were refreshing giving all a new perspective.

I have often thought of those experiences something like the experience of worship, when we meditate on the magnificence of God. We praise God, but we also hear God's word which gives us a new way of looking at ourselves. The truth of the verse quoted above bedazzles us. God is on the mountain calling us, renewing us, and giving us His attention in worship.

How do we respond? We are to be like Christ, to share his glory! He is able to give us the spiritual power to resist temptation, uproot harmful habits, and follow the highest ideals of our faith. We come down from the mountain of worship ready to be Jesus to those we come in contact with.

My prayer is that I don't take advantage of those gifts from God by forgetting and taking my eyes off of Him. I also know that the valley times will come and when they come I can go to the mountain in worship and come down renewed.

You know I love ya - Don