Highpoints

They say “confession is good for the soul” so I must admit, falling is much easier for me than climbing. While preaching a crusade in Cuiaba, Brazil, my “conversation interpreter” suggested we go on an hour long drive and see the magnificent waterfalls, called “The Fallen Veil,” which carries the legend of a jilted bride who jumped over the cliff. We traveled through the valleys, hills and rivers to a massive and stunning waterfall, flowing hundreds of feet down into an immense pool of water flowing into a river. We stepped out of our vehicle and hiked in to the designated area for photographs.

After viewing the falls from a distant our small group moved closer to the cascading falls, so close we began to feel the light spray of water upon us. The rocks were slippery as ice from the constant moisture from the mist from the rushing falls. We wanted to step over a few more feet to view the falls from the top, near the bank of the rushing falls.

I slipped, fell and slid over the cliff. This would be a good place to hold for a commercial break while you are trying to gain your composure. Yes, I fell over the embankment, over the cliff and down by the falls. I landed some 40 to 50 feet down landing on a protruding flat rock, gaining my footing momentarily and sliding my back on the canyon wall. I sat down. Breathing heavily and surveying my options and they were nil. Inches further and I wouldn’t be writing this book, missing my spot of safety would have landed me on the floor of the chasm and left for dead.

I decided that I would climb back to the top while my friends sounded words of comfort through exclamations of fear. Climbing perilously up, grabbing limbs and slippery rocks till reaching my group, they cried, and supported me back to the vehicle. Bloodied, my clothes torn and muddy, but alive.

I have a short list of daring feats I would like to accomplish before I die; scuba dive, parachute and climb a mountain. Realistically speaking, a person could die doing any one of these “defeating the odds” acts. Yet sometimes you have to “look death in the face and do it anyway,” to accomplish your dreams. Climbing a few boulders, large cliffs, and two partial mountain climbs I have accomplished successfully without incident but I must admit my weakness, when cars and people look smaller than ants, I start coming back down. So my experiences are more like farfetched imaginings and my dreams like – well, just a dream.
But the real mountains of pursuit have been more of a spiritual nature. Tackling the fears of the unknown, fighting self inflicted quilt trips, facing inability, acknowledging lack of confidence, absence of power, loss of passion, and even lurking thoughts of discouragement and bouts of depression cause us to look higher. These surrounding questions of life have caused us to reach for God in a greater measure, to go past the unfamiliar and press to the greater. We can discover Jesus in the desert, commune with Christ in the wilderness, converse with Him in the night and speak to the Savior in the storm but nothing, yes, nothing compares to climbing a mountain of divine victory and feeling the pure elation of the elevation.

Mountain tops are frequently mentioned throughout the Bible and have spiritual significance, and are highlighted in the life of Christ. The Mount Sinai of the ten commandments, the Mt Calvary of crucifixion, the Sermon on the Mount and the Mount of Olivet where the ascension took place. Christ was transfigured into a glorified revelation to the inner circle of disciples on a mountain, went many times to pray on a mountain and commissioned His disciples (Matthew 28:19-20) with the mission mandate; all on a mountain.
These are not mountains of accomplishment but rather mountains of life, an experience transforming the heart, renovating the mind and renewing your spirit. Simply living the human route of circumstances, reacting to the pressures of the situation and settling in to the state of affairs is not enough there is “a higher plane.” Paul sincerely prayed, “That I might know Him.” To follow “in His steps” was Peter’s prayer. And John leaned upon His breast. Simply put, there is more.

It is this, “there is more” causing the swell in my thirsty soul and a stir in my hungry spirit. “There is more” begs for answers. Is it for me? Can I have it? Do I want it bad enough? Can I begin today? God, will you help me? And to all these questions, God answers with an emphatic, “YES!”

Jesus wants us to come! “Come unto me…” (Matthew 11:28a). The invitation has been sent out. Jesus is inviting you on a mountain climb; the chance of a lifetime.

Jesus climbed a mountain in Matthew 5:1, commonly the geographical location of the one of the most well known and foremost messages of Jesus Christ, called the Sermon on the Mount. But there is one significant point often missed with a casual reading of the scripture. Jesus climbed the mountain and when He was seated the disciples climbed the mountain to Him. The opportunity presented itself and the disciples took the challenge. Their desire to learn, grow, grasp and to be in His presence was incentive enough to cause them to take the precarious invitation to scale the mountain height to be with Him.

The risk of falling, being hurt or dying is not enough to turn back from the challenge of climbing to the greater heights where stunning views, ecstasy, and triumph await. Jesus took his disciples; just three were invited, the inner circle, those closest to Him, to climb a mountain with Him. Mentioned in three of the four gospels, Jesus simply asked His disciples to climb with Him to pray; unknown to them the magnificent wonder of His glory they were about to witness; as He prayed His face shown as radiant as the sun and His clothes a brilliant white. A “jaw dropping” display of heaven’s glory. Another flashing moment and two prophets, Moses and Elias (Elijah) stood with Him, arrayed in shekinah, the manifest presence of God. Mark 9:6 records they were very afraid and didn’t know how to response to such an awesome display of the magnificence and splendor of God’s grandeur. Peter feebly suggested three tabernacles to be built to encapsulate the moment but another outstanding visual captured their attention as a thick cloud surrounded them and God spoke, “This is my beloved Son, listen to Him.” Totally taken back by this demonstration of heart throbbing actions, the disciples were visibly shaken fear captured their hearts and their innermost being was completely changed. Their internal person had been utterly inebriated with God’s all sufficient and encompassing aura of wonder.