Mountaintop (part 2)

Last week, I left off with:

“Christians call what happened to me a mountaintop experience. I agree. It seemed like, in accepting Christ as my savior, I had been suddenly picked up and could briefly see everything from God’s perspective!”

I truly had been reborn in Christ. At that time, I didn’t know all the Christian buzz-words; only later did I have someone explain to me that I had a “mountaintop experience.” That really seemed to fit with what had happened to me. Everything seemed so very clear. The Holy Spirit may have lifted me, and filled me with faith… but God put me right back down in the valley again… to choose… I still had a choice!

Now, I KNEW along which path salvation was to be found; I really knew. And even from the valley, I could still see the mountaintop. But the rush I felt while being lifted up in the presence of the Lord… that was fading. The brilliance of the light at the mountaintop was replaced by the shadows of the valley. How could God lift me up one minute, and put me right back in the same place I was the next?

Bemoaning my sad fate, I was shown Psalm 23 and reminded that with God walking with me, I had nothing to fear. I was also reminded of the Good News: whether we are somewhere on the mountain, or down in the shadows of the valley… If we just open the door to our hearts, if we are receptive… God will come in and embrace us. Now that’s GOOD NEWS!

The Bible speaks over and over about ascending the “hill of the Lord”, and climbing “God’s holy mountain.” To walk in communion with Christ is not an easy path. Fulfilling, yes! Easy? No. Now we get to the really exciting part: the choice is ours. All I need to do was climb back up. I knew where God wanted me to be, but He continues to let me make my own choices. It’s my effort, it’s my choice, and ultimately… it’s my walk. Whether you are all fired-up and born-again (like me), or raised in the church with a steady, abiding, and growing faith, our walk to God’s mountaintop is our free choice.

But it sure seems like a lot of work climbing that mountain. If you are a Christian, how far have you climbed? Are you lost in the foothills? Have you gotten higher, but the path now seems blocked? Are you at a sheer rock face? What stops you? What’s impossible to overcome? For some, it doesn’t take much to make them consider turning back.

If salvation depended on me alone… on how well I could climb the mountain… I’d never get there! I’d probably be doing something stupid, and sliding back down again. God gives us the ability not just to climb mountains, but to move them as well! We need to be ready to say: “I can’t overcome this obstacle by myself, Lord, so I’m just going to hook on and let you pull me up.” When our own efforts fail, the next step we take should be a step of faith.

And after you’ve seen salvation at he mountaintop, do you just hike up alone? Wouldn't you want to take your family, friends, everybody? Of course, the response you’re likely to get is: “What? We have to climb a what? Are you crazy?” Well, good news: you don't actually have to climb a mountain. What if God told me he’d save anybody I bring to church this Sunday? How many would believe in me; in what I was saying? How many would come? Thank heaven it doesn’t depend on me! It doesn’t depend on you, either.

God is HERE!

He stands at the door and knocks, but the latch is on your side. Most of us latch our door with guilt, shame, sinfulness, and the biggest latch of all… a feeling of being unworthy. Christ died...he died...to wash away all of those sins... and more! He died for ALL our sins… yours AND mine... he died for ALL of us (nobody is left out).

If you are reading this and you don’t know Christ in your life, what are the things that keep the door to your heart latched?

If you are reading this and you already have a walk with Christ, what sheer rock faces have stopped you in the past? How did the Holy Spirit lift you past those obstacles? Are there obstructions in your path today?

God is stretching out his hand to pull you up; all you have to do is to want to accept it. Will you reach out, and ask God to come into your life?

IF YOU… want God to come into your life,
IF YOU… want God to be ACTIVE in your life,
IF YOU… already have a walk with Christ, but you want to reaffirm your commitment to God,
IF YOU… find yourself in any of those situations,
THEN stretch out your hand with me, and ask Christ to fill your heart as you pray the following prayer:

Dear God,

You gave your son, Jesus Christ, to be tortured and to die, alone, crucified on a cross. His blood washes away ALL of our sins, his resurrection ensures our salvation and everlasting life. Today, we stretch up our hands to you, Lord. We raise them up as a symbol of our willingness to have your spirit fill our hearts. Come into our hearts, Lord, and wash away the sin, and the shame, and the guilt with your perfect gift of
forgiveness; purchased by the blood of Jesus.

Fill us with your spirit, God. Cleanse us, renew us, and sanctify us with your Grace. Show us the path to that moun­taintop, so that we may walk in YOUR ways for the rest of our lives.

We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Your brother in Christ,

Dave

Mountaintop

For more than half my life, you couldn’t get me near a church. Me… go to church? No way! I saw churches as failed, antiquated, outdated, and irrelevant institutions. All kinds of people invited me to church. I wouldn’t go. People prayed for me (and, oh, how they prayed); I scoffed at their prayers.

Though I was well educated and well read, I was lacking the one thing that might have drawn me into any Christian fellowship: faith. Without faith, even I couldn’t force myself into church… even had I wanted to.

Then, a strange thing happened. In 1988, I was talked into attending a business conference clear across the country in Charlotte, North Carolina. During the conference, I was outraged by speakers who acknowledged Jesus Christ as a partner in their lives, their families, AND their business. Surely, religion had no place in business, and certainly not proclaimed from the stage at a business conference, I argued. My friend and business partner, Steve Sullivan, calmed me down a bit by asking me if… once I had achieved a high level of success and recognition… wouldn’t I want to be free to talk about the things that mattered most to me?

Almost immediately after that exchange, a speaker was introduced that I had been eagerly anticipating. His name was Ron Ball, and I knew him to a top financial analyst, who was also a vibrant, exciting, and dynamic speaker. I had my notebook and pen at the ready to try and outline as many of the points I was sure he’d be covering during his presentation. Imagine my surprise when he began by introducing himself as a financial analyst, but then unapologetically acknowledging that he was also a Christian minister. He wanted to get that on the table right up front, he said, because many of the references he was going to be using came from the Book of Proverbs in the Bible. I was stunned. But 4 pages of notes, and 40 minutes later, I stood with the other 20 thousand people packed into the Charlotte arena to give Ron a thunderous standing ovation.

Though the business conference ended late Saturday night, everyone was being encouraged to come back to the arena on Sunday morning for a non-denominational worship service.

“Thanks. Not for me. I’ll be sleeping in and then catching some sites in Charlotte before my flight back to California,” I said. Famous last words.

Two more of my east coast business partners were Jim and Nancy Herrick, whom I had just met for the first time on Friday night. On Sunday morning, they hustled me out of my room, got me checked-out of the hotel, and drove me to the arena. “There’s someone we want you to meet,” was what they kept telling me. I thought they were talking about some of our millionaire partners, and so I grudgingly allowed myself to be dragged along.

We got there a bit late because you-know-who was dragging his feet, and my worst fears were realized: I was in some sort of revival meeting! From stage, people were testifying as to how the Lord had worked in their lives, they were praying, and (of course) they were taking up an offering! Jim and Nancy were excited… I was bored, a little put out that I was being forced to endure all this, and just waiting for it to be done so I could mingle and network with the leaders of our business.

And then… something incredible happened: Ron Ball, the financial analyst I held in such high esteem, took the stage. Suddenly, I was paying a little more attention. Truth be told, I had such an intensity of focus, that everything narrowed down to just Ron Ball on that stage for me. He quoted Revelation 3:20 several times:

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

Over and over Ron spoke those words of invitation. He emphasized that Christ keeps calling to us… can we listen at the door to our heart? He made it clear that Christ was knocking at the door to our heart… not battering it down, as God could most surely do. Calling… knocking… but the latch is on our side, and we need to DECIDE to open the door and let Christ into our heart. And if we do, He promises to be part of our lives in a very real way.

Ron spoke of other things, too. He spoke of belief. Now that was easy for me. I believed in God. I could easily see the miracle of a newborn’s hand, the elegant structure of a dandelion, the ordered chaos of a cloud, and the enormous power and beauty of a lightning bolt. Faith, however, was a much more difficult matter for me. When Ron spoke of faith, he gave examples of how when we place our faith in people we often get disappointed or hurt. Even the most perfect parent will someday die, making a lie of the promise: “I’ll never leave you.” Finally, here was someone acknowledging that putting your faith in a church, or a doctrine, or a pastor was a recipe for disappointment.

“Ha, I knew it.”

But then, I listened as Ron explained that the only one who would never leave or forsake me was God. He told how Jesus had already died to redeem me, and that He wanted to come into my life through the power of God’s Holy Spirit. Ron backed everything up with Scripture references; I remember thinking how incredibly well all of Scripture seemed to be falling into place that morning.

I opened the door to my heart that day.

Tears were pouring from my eyes. Letting Christ into your heart for the first time can be an overwhelming experience. For the first time in my 38 years, I really knew what it was to be a child of God. I was overcome with the knowledge of the suffering Christ had endured to rescue me from my sins, and I had no words to express the complete fulfillment, peace, joy, and faith that now filled me… only tears of joy.

Christians call what happened to me a “mountaintop experience.” I agree. It seemed like, in accepting Christ as my savior, I had been suddenly picked up and could briefly see everything from God’s perspective!

That’s my story. Of course, there are a hundred little details that can’t fit in the retelling, but I hope you get the main message: Christ is calling you. Open the door, and He WILL come in.

When did you first hear Christ knocking on your heart? How did it feel when you knew you had really opened the door to let Him in?

By the way, here is a link to a site where you can view a 360 degree panorama of the tiny picture at the beginning of this entry. If you haven’t guessed, it is taken from atop Mt. Everest.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050306.html

Your brother in Christ,

Dave

Speak Sweetly

On Sunday, and then continuing again on Wednesday night, Pastor Bob continued on in our current Live Like You Were Dying series. This is an amazing series of sermon, teaching, and small group activities that is leading us into Easter. If you are already involved, you know what I’m talking about. If you are not fully involved in this opportunity, you are welcome to join in at any time.

The topic this week for the Live Like You Were Dying series was: Speak Sweeter. Pastor Bob asked us to think back over our lives. “Who”, he asked, “affirmed or encouraged you in such a way that it still has an impact on you to this day?”

You ever notice how a question posed during a sermon or a lesson sometimes has very little impact on our conscious thoughts at that moment, but later… God puts out the equivalent of big neon signs, flashing: “Here’s the answer!”

On Sunday afternoon, I met up with some special friends from high-school. We were all part of a school organization called “The German Club”. Our teacher, Margit Munroe, formed her top German class into what she called the German Club (that’s Margit in the front row, on the right). We didn’t really have much in common. I can’t recall if I even had any of the people in German class in any other class with me. What we did have was a teacher that spoke and taught in an encouraging, uplifting, and positive manner. She challenged us, and we… well, we certainly challenged her! For 3 years of high-school, we thought of ourselves as a club, and not so much as a class learning a foreign language.

On Sunday afternoon, and then well into the evening, Margit and her husband Don had the German Club gather at their house overlooking Laguna Beach. We all had a fantastic time! I'm positive that there are no finer hosts than Margit and Don. In addition, the two couples that worked tirelessly to set up, serve, and then clean everything up were charming, gracious, and a lot of fun.

Our little German Club is part of something very unique in the entire world. True, we don't come together all that often, but when we do, it's like no time has passed. We slip back into the comfortable rhythms we imprinted during 3 years of growing up together, becoming young adults together and fitting together in a most comfortable manner. While not discounting the leadership of several of our members, Margit Munroe... our teacher... our mentor... our encourager... has been the key ingredient in solidifying the bonds that hold us together still today; 40 years later.

Thank you, Margit. You continue to teach me still today.

Pastor Bob asked the question already. I’ll ask it again: “Who affirmed or encouraged you in such a way that it still has an impact on you to this day?” Go ahead, post your reply. Let’s hear from YOU this week.

Your brother in Christ,

Dave

Forgiveness

Sometimes I really struggle with the whole forgiveness thing. I want justice served on those that wrong or hurt me, and yet… I pray every day for God to just wipe clean the slate of my transgressions. Most of us, if we’re honest with ourselves, have secret strongholds (maybe not so secret) where we cry out for justice, accountability, payback, and punishment. Maybe it’s that neighbor who is threatening and cruel. Often it’s someone in the news that has done something that deeply offends us (take your pick: O. J. Simpson, the mother of the octuplets, a star with a drug problem, and on and on). It could be a spouse that cheated on you, or perhaps it’s the arsonist that burned down your whole neighborhood in the recent fires.

And yet, Jesus didn’t just teach us about forgiveness, he tells us over and over, and in no uncertain terms, that it is imperative that we forgive everyone who sins against us! It might be safe to assume that almost every Christian knows the Lord’s Prayer. It’s in Matthew 6:9-13 just in case you need to look it up. In verse 12, we are taught to pray:

“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors,”

Immediately following the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus makes the following very strong admonition:

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Matthew 6:14-15

But our nature is to hold that grudge. Collectively, we cry out: “That two-timing cheater destroyed our marriage; you have no idea deeply how he hurt me!” “That drunkard killed my wife and 3 children and didn’t even get a scratch; he killed me, too, that day!” “That teacher’s offhand remark caused the whole auditorium to explode in laughter, and the humiliation made me want to die; I’ll hate her forever!”

“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.”
John 3:16

Jesus has paid the price, so that we might have forgiveness for ALL our sins. In the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 18:21-35), however, Jesus again shows us that even though we have been forgiven, we cannot expect to be saved if we withhold forgiveness from others. The parable ends with the unmerciful servant being turned over to the jailors to be tortured until all of his debt was paid (which would be never), and Jesus once again warning us:

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
Matthew 18:35

Jesus tells us that we have a choice: Be unforgiving and stay in bondage to sin, and ultimately be cast out, or be forgiving and be free, and… be saved. That’s pretty heavy. I have to forgive everybody? That’s what Jesus teaches us. Imagine the world if all Christians actually started to grant forgiveness from their hearts, rather than be unforgiving… which leads to hate… which leads to more sin. Jesus didn’t just teach forgiveness, he lived it. As he was being crucified on the cross, he cried out:

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Luke 23:34

Most of the time, I don’t know what I am doing; I don’t know when I offend, or hurt, or wound people. I don’t mean to, but I’m sure it happens, because it happens to me. Every day, I pray the Lord’s Prayer, and I ask God’s Holy Spirit to fill my wounds with forgiveness, and then that forgiveness begins to fill my heart. Sometimes it takes a lot of prayer, and sometimes… I don’t want to let go of some hurt; I don’t want to forgive. In those times, I find that spending time in God’s Word, connecting with God through Scripture, helps me to let go of the anger, or hurt, or frustration, and to really begin to forgive from my heart.

I was trying to come up with a prayer to ask for a forgiving heart. What I got, instead, was inspiration for this poem (who says prayers can’t rhyme?):

Each lash upon your bleeding back,
Was a lash you bore for me.
Each thorn, each nail, each drop of blood,
My sins… on Calvary.

You suffered there, upon that cross,
And you died that I might live.
You rose, and want a walk with me;
Jesus… teach me… to forgive.

Anybody else ever have a problem forgiving someone? Is there something you feel you will never be able to forgive? How did you manage to forgive someone who had done something unforgivable? Was God involved? How was God involved? How did you feel after really forgiving that person?

Hmmm… this is a lot to chew on. I suspect I’ve only scratched the scratch on the scratch on the scratch of this topic. Share your thoughts. Let’s hear from you. I always find your comments to be much more inspired than my musings.

Your brother in Christ,

Dave

Plug In!

For the past couple of weeks, we’ve all been encouraged to use one of the blue signup cards to commit to a 4-week small group experience during Lent. These opportunities come around from time to time in all churches; for Messiah… at this particular time… the small group opportunity is titled: “Live Like You Were Dying.” According to the signup card, “it’s an experience that could change your life!”

You might well ask: “Yeah, right… how is meeting with a small group of people once a week for 4 weeks going to change my life?” The answer is that Christian churches everywhere recognize the awesome potential of the small group experience to connect people with the life-changing power of God’s Holy Spirit.

Simply coming to church does not connect us to God’s Holy Spirit; neither do good works, prayer, or even belief in God. So often, people find that, though they attend church religiously, they still feel empty and unsatisfied. Like the toaster in the picture, they may well be in the kitchen, but they are not plugged in. If you are not plugged into the source of power, you are not able to fulfill your purpose… whether you are a toaster… or a wonderful and unique child of God.

Plugging into God’s Spirit allows us to begin to fulfill our purpose. Becoming alive in the Spirit helps lead us to a closer walk with Christ, and a more intimate relationship with God.

So, how can we plug in? How can we tap into the power of the Holy Spirit? How can we energize our relationship with God? Simple:

1. Listen; read and study God’s Word… and how it speaks to your life;
2. Pray; share your daily concerns and triumphs… talk to God;
3. Worship; thank, praise and glorify God;
4. Fellowship; be an active part of a Christian community.

The small group experience has proven to make it easier for people to fellowship. It is far easier to learn the names of 8 people, rather than 800. Small groups of people connect better, share more, and tend to encourage, support and care for each other. They form intimate communities that study, pray, and worship together… connecting with God’s Holy Spirit.

In fellowship, God’s Word comes alive when discussed, shared, and explored by people who are connected.

In fellowship, our prayer life is energized and enhanced when we pray together. The Holy Spirit often shows us how to expand our prayers through the prayers and concerns of others.

In fellowship, we can be a blessing to others, and allow them to be a blessing to us.

When have you felt most connected to the Holy Spirit? Have you had an awesome fellowship experience? Have you had a fellowship experience that changed your life?

Of course, there are many ways to connect in fellowship. Small group opportunities have just proven to be very effective, so I really encourage you to participate in every small group opportunity… wherever you happen to be a partner in ministry. So, get energized… get alive in the Spirit… plug in!

Your brother in Christ,

Dave