1 QUOTE

“Do not the mountains praise Him when the woods upon their summits wave in adoration?”

- Charles Spurgeon

1 NOTE

Two weekends ago, the words of the Psalmist came alive for me. At the Forest Home Christian Retreat Center, I prayed through Psalm 121. I lifted my eyes to the mountain. I asked my soul where my help comes from. I first thought theology and then experience. My friend and mentor Darrell Johnson showed me that Matthew’s gospel is structured around five mountains:

1. The Mountain of temptation (Matthew 4:1-11)

2. The Mountain of teaching (Matthew 5:1-7:29)

3. The Mountain of glory (Matthew 17:1-8)

4. The Mountain of judgment (Matthew 23:1-25:46)

5. The Mountain of victory (Matthew 28:16-20)

Why does the Psalmist in the Old Testament and Matthew in the New Testament connect God and the mountains? I think it is because God loves to come down and meet his people on the mountain (Exodus 19:16-20). The mountain proclaims God’s creative power. He created the massive mountains with only His voice. And his love is made clear as he designates unique purposes (resisting temptation, theology, beautify, warnings, commission) for each of our mountain experiences.

On our Saturday afternoon family walk at Forest Home, the Holy Spirit filled me with joy. Our now teen children walked ahead of Becky and me. They were enjoying each other and God’s creation. I remembered the mountain of miscarriage. I remembered the mountain of prayer and fasting. I remembered the mountain of early parenting. I remembered the mountain of discipleship basics. I remembered our current family mountain of mission and God using Kara and Luke to win our first convert at Holy Faith Fellowship. Yahweh is our help!

None of us can avoid the valleys (especially the valley of death’s shadow). But because God is our help, we must do all we can to treasure the mountain top moments with God.

1 QUESTION

When was your last renewal event?

Until Next Tuesday,

John