Mountainous Impact -- Covenant Sustainability

"I will lift my eyes to the mountains; From whence does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2

We have reached the final installment of the "mountain" blogs today. So far, we have primarily looked at how the mountains can remind us of our God and some of His various attributes. Today, let us look at God Himself as revealed in these verses. First of all, we see that our help comes from the LORD. Upon close inspection, we can see that the name lord is in all capital letters. This signifies the covenant name of God in the Hebrew called the tetragrammaton or YHWH from which we derive the names Yahweh and Jehovah. This is the revealed name of God as spoken to Moses from the burning bush in Exodus chapter 3 verse 14.

As we ponder the name, YHWH, we are moved to remember that this is the God who inflicted the enemies of Israel, the Egyptians, with 10 different and spectacular plagues as seen in Exodus chapters 7-11. In addition, YHWH delivered the Israelites by splitting the Red Sea and then drowning the entire Egyptian army as the waters of the sea returned to their places in Exodus chapters 13-14. It is in this story that we see Yahweh revealed as the protector, deliverer and guardian of His people. He is the one Who will provide us with His help too.

This same Yahweh is also the same God Who covenanted with His people, the Israelites. Though the Israelites certainly failed to keep the covenant, God is a covenant making and covenant keeping God with Whom there is no possibility of lying or reneging (Hebrews 6:18). Therefore, when we see promises from Him, we know that they are true, and He will keep them because that is His very nature. After all, every promise He has ever made is "yes" and "amen" in Jesus! ( II Corinthians 1:20)

But our verse 2 in Psalm 121 gets critical near the end of the verse, because the LORD is seen as the maker of both heaven and earth. That means that He is the creator! That is important, because if we fail to believe that He is the creator Who by His great power spoke everything in to being, then where else might we fail to believe in Him. As someone once said, if you cannot believe Genesis 1:1, then where will the doubting of Him and His word stop?

But God's act of creating does not stop there, because He is also the great sustainer of His creation. Consider the following:

"For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." Colossians 1:16-17

"Cast all your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall." Psalm 55:22

"Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He. I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." Isaiah 46:4

So what does all of this mean in today's blog? It is this. When I look to the mountains to see where my help comes from, I remember that my God is a covenant keeping God who will watch over me. I remember the great displays of His power in creation, His mighty deliverance of the Israelites and the miracles He has performed for His people of which I am one. Praise God He is the same yesterday, today and forever! Hallelujah!

I will close with these wonderful verses:

"A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all." Psalm 34:19

"I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread." Psalm 34:25

Be blessed beloved. God is faithful. Look to the mountains and remember from Whom your help comes!

Mountainous Impact -- Safe from Wrath

"I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From whence does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2

A number of years ago while we were in Montana, I was meditating on the mountains as was a fairly frequent custom. We never had a church building per se during the ministry in Butte, as we met for 7 years in a hotel. But there was a time before we considered some property to purchase that we pondered the thought of building a church building that by any stretch of the imagination would have qualified as being "green" in today's lingo. Had the building ever been built, it would have consisted of longtime discarded junkyard tires, aluminum cans, mud and thatch. It would have been complete with solar panels for solar energy. Yes, I know that sounds quite strange, but it was a novel idea at the time. And, in theory anyway, it would have saved our poor little church a tidy sum of money.

But the whole idea was rejected before it ever began. Why? Well, we checked the building codes, and the structure would have never passed inspection. The reason was that Butte, Montana was considered a high risk for earthquakes. Had the building ever been built, it would have been quickly disposed of by even the smallest of earthquakes!

It was the thought of earthquakes that reminded me of the mountains. I am sure you are wondering why, so I will tell you why. Let us turn our thinking to the flood during Noah's days. The seventh chapter of Genesis informs us:

"And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month --- on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights." Genesis 7:10-12

This passage gives us two sources of the floodwaters: (1) the rains from heaven and (2) the springs of the great deep. Apparently, the springs of the great deep were opened in order to bring forth an enormous amount of water. This would require shifts in the tectonic plates resulting in great upheaval. In other words, this would closely assimilate what we call an earthquake. Only, this was all over the world! Presumably, this must have taken place on both land and sea. And the possibility exists that some mountains were formed as a result.

Genesis 7: 19 tells us something of how high the floods rose:

"They (the floodwaters) rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered."

When all was said and done, and the waters had receded, Noah and the Ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat (Genesis 8:4). Ararat itself is over 17,000 feet high. That is almost 3,000 feet higher than any mountain in Colorado!

Now you are probably thinking: "This is interesting, but what does it have to do with looking at the mountains and realizing where my help is to come from?" So, I will ask you a question: "What does the universal flood represent? " Well, the fact is that it represents the very wrath of God upon a sinful world. And as a Christian, what is my relationship to God's wrath that surely will come again upon a sinful world? Read on dear friend:

"... They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead --- Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath." I Thessalonians 1:10

"For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. " I Thessalonians 5:9

Glory to God! What a Savior! So, when I look to the mountains I am reminded of God's past wrath and that I am saved from the coming wrath! Hallelujah! The same God who in wrath completely covered the mountains of which I stand in awe is the same God who has saved me through Jesus Christ! Praise God! Think about it!

Mountainous Impact -- A Protective Hiding Place

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains; From whence does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2

I don't get to do it often by any means, but I love to hunt deer and elk in the mountains. There were some members of the church in Montana where I pastored during the 90's that became good friends primarily due to our hunting trips.

I will never forget one particular hunting trip. We went to a familiar hunting spot where we had always gotten our mule deer in years before. The deer were always plentiful, and we would even see some small herds of elk occasionally. But this particular day was different. We failed to see deer for a couple of hours while on the hunt. It was shocking to say the least! After all, this place always had numerous deer -- too numerous to count!

But that day my hunting buddy and I would learn a lesson. It was chilly and also pretty breezy that day. While roaming the countryside, we stumbled upon a deep ravine. And there were the deer! They had been lying down and were almost hidden from sight. It did not take long to shoot a nice 3 point buck muley. I was ecstatic, as this was the largest buck of what at that time had been a short hunting career.

So why were the deer lying down like that? Due to the strong wind that day, the deer's scent could carry for long distances and thus alert their predators to their location. Mountain lions, wolves, etc. would thus have no problem finding them. By lying down low in the shelters of the mountain, they found protection from the potential trouble. It just might save them from death!

So what is our lesson for the day concerning mountains? After scanning the mountain terrain that aforementioned day, I remembered the many deep ravines, small but dense stands of timber and even caves and ridges to be found in the mountains. In actuality, there were innumerable places to hide from one's enemies. Additionally, there were many places that could provide shelter from a heavy storm. And all of these places could be found in the mountains! Suddenly, verses like the following came to life in my mind:

"The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble." Psalm 9:9

"The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in Whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." Psalm 18:2

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in Whom I trust.'" Psalm 91:1-2

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped." Psalm 28:7

"For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me." Psalm 27:5-6a

"As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people both now and forever more." Psalm 125:2

Mountainous Impact -- A Higher Point of View

"I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From whence shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2

The summer after my 7th grade I had the opportunity to attend a camp for one month in the Rocky Mountains with my youngest brother, Clark. The camp was called Ute Trail, and it was located in the small community of Powderhorn just outside of Lake City, Colorado. We had many adventures during the month, but one memory that has stayed with me all these years was when we hiked to the pinnacle of Mount Uncompahgre. That mountain is one of the 14, 000 foot plus mountains found in Colorado.

We left early in the morning on that hike, and we reached the precipice in the early afternoon. The scene was unforgettable! There was a shear cliff on one side of the topmost point and a gradual descent on the other side from where we had hiked. From that vantage point, we were told that we could see 5 states -- Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico and of course Colorado. You could literally see for many miles!

Any mountain, by its nature, is the highest point in a given area. That again reminds me of the Lord. If I should need wisdom, why should I not go to the highest source of wisdom? Only God can provide that, as He sees and knows everything! He can be my source of help.

From the highest point of all, God infinitely transcends time and literally can see forever. And that kind of sight spans in all directions -- eternity past and eternity future. In battle, they say the highest point can provide a scout the opportunity to see an enemy coming so that He may warn his fellow troops and they can become better prepared. So from God's vantage point, He can see when my enemies will come and work to prepare me for that battle -- if I will but look to Him.

And again from that highest point, God can see me now and what I can and will become. He sees me becoming like Jesus at Jesus' coming, but He knows what must be done in my life in the meantime to complete His work in me.

If I will but look up to the mountains, I will be reminded where my help comes from!

Mountainous Impact -- A Humble Reminder

"I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From whence shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2

Yesterday's blog got a little lengthy, so today will be shorter. But that means that I won't finish the subject on "The Impact of Mountains" today. It will take a few days longer.

Yesterday, we saw that mountains reminded us (1) to fear God and stand in awe of Him (2) to remember that God is bigger than our problems and circumstances no matter how large they seem to be and (3) to reflect on the majesty of God as our King.

Here is an additional meditation about the mountains:

1. Humility -- Our verses from Psalm 121 speak of looking up or lifting our eyes up to the mountains. When it comes to mountains, there is really no way around it -- we are forced to look up! This can only be done from a low position. Obviously, the mountains are considerably higher and taller than we are. The mountains remind us of how much higher God is than us. From that high position, it is only natural that His thoughts and ways are considerably higher than ours. The prophet Isaiah stated it best: "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9) Mountains have the ability of keeping us humble before our God. Somehow they remind us that God has plans through our difficult circumstances that we may not always understand, as His ways and thoughts are so much higher than ours. I cannot count the number of times I have had to learn and re-learn these truths. But the mountains have helped me to remember them.

Isaiah again gives us some insights that are relevant to our study on mountains and humility when he writes: For this is what the high and lofty One says -- He Who lives forever, Whose name is holy; "I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite" (Isaiah 57:15). Oftentimes, when we are looking for help in life's situations and circumstances, we need reviving. That is -- we need rest, renewal and a "bringing back to life" so to speak. Certainly, a mountain is "high and lofty", and such is our God. He not only lives in a high and lofty place, He Himself is high and lofty! Just like a mountain! The high and lofty One is where our help will come from, and that help will come when we remember to be humble and lowly in spirit. So, we must look up and be humble about it.

Mountainous Impact -- Awesome Majesty

"I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From whence shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2

You will note on this blog the backdrop of snowy mountains. One of my kids picked that out for me, because he knew of my love for the mountains. He picked it out, and I liked it well enough to keep it on the blog. I hope you like it too.

For about 10-12 years, a time frame from around age 20 to my early 30's, I made regular trips to the mountains of Colorado or New Mexico. Most of those years I was unmarried, so I frequently went with small groups of people. If it was winter, we all went to do some skiing in the fresh mountain powder. If it was summer, we would do some serious camping with all the amenities of home. We hardly "roughed" it, but we always had fun. For the most part, we had 2 trips a year -- one for the summer and one for the winter. If we had money and time, we might sneak in an extra trip for skiing.

But one thing stood out for me personally. I always felt close to God in those mountains. The crazy part was that at the time, I was not a Christian. But there was something about those high hills that I could hardly get away from. I found myself longing to go back. I even considered moving to a mountainous state. But I always "chickened out" due to fear or perhaps because none of my friends wanted to make the move with me.

Later on, as I relinquished my life to Christ and began to grow as a Christian, I began to pray about going in to ministry. Eventually, after a couple of years of praying, the Lord opened the door to go in to ministry as a pastor. Lo, and behold, the Lord sent me and my family to Montana for almost 9 years and then to Colorado for just over 8 years. Near the end of those 16-17 years, I suddenly realized something. The Lord knew my heart and had sent me and my family to minister in the mountains of the Rockies. It's funny that I never really looked at it that way until near the end of those years. I am not sure why that is so, but I found myself exceedingly grateful to the Lord for it all. I considered myself to have been hugely blessed.

Though we witnessed many moves of God during those years in the mountains, we certainly experienced some very difficult times as well. Some of those times were exceedingly difficult. But it was during one of the initial very difficult times that Psalms 121:1-2 became one of my favorite passages. It even became a beloved but simple praise chorus periodically sung in our church services. You see, in both Butte, Montana and in Montrose, Colorado, where we ministered we were surrounded by the mountains. It was easy, therefore, to "look" to the mountains.

I found myself "looking" to the mountains often during the sometimes excruciatingly difficult times. Here are a few meditations on the mountains that I found as I "looked" to the mountains. I will only share a few today and then finish with tomorrow's blog.

1. Imposing and awe inspiring -- Mountains will do that to you. They can be quite imposing and yet awe inspiring! I will never forget my first trip up the "Highway to the Sun" in Glacier National Park in Montana. It took my breath away, as it was incredibly awesome! When we think of "awe", we are reminded that we are to "fear" our God. Fearing God is not shaking and trembling in fear of an angry God. Fear of God really relates to having an awe of God. It means to be acutely aware of the uniqueness and holiness of God. He is incredibly powerful and yet incredibly loving and merciful. There is never a day or hour where He is not Almighty and in authority. Yes, He can be wrathful, but He is unbelievably long suffering toward us. He is everywhere at once with no place for us to hide. And He knows everything! That means everything! That should inspire us to stand in awe and walk in reverence in the light of His presence. That is the fear of God, and the mountains remind us of that.

2. How small we are and how big He is -- Many mountains seem gigantic! And they are! Compared to us, they are humongous! We are miniscule in comparison! And yet one gigantic mountain, can be held in the palm of the Lord. He is that huge and powerful. There are times that our difficult circumstances may seem bigger than we are. But no matter how difficult or how big they seem --- God is bigger! In fact, He is so much bigger that we cannot possibly fathom it. Scriptures make it clear that even the highest heavens cannot contain Him ! (I Kings 8:27)Mountains have a way of reminding us of that.

3. Majestic -- If there is one word that describes the Rocky Mountains, it is majestic. In my opinion, Montana's mountains are not as majestic as Colorado's -- with the exception of Glacier National Park. If I remember correctly, Colorado has 70-80 mountains measuring 14,000 foot plus. Each one of them is majestic! Montana does not have near that many. But majesty is the key word. And majesty speaks of a King and His authority. A King is usually adorned with color, magnificence, pageantry and a beauty only befitting of royalty. And that is what we find in the mountains. Mountains remind us that God is our King -- the only Omnipotent King and Sovereign.

See you tomorrow.

Meditation: It's Better Than You Think

"Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth, meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." Joshua 1:8

Recently, I had the opportunity to write a 68 day E-Devotional for our church on the subject of love -- love both inside and outside the body of Christ. During this extended time of writing, I found myself constantly meditating on just one or two verses at a time. Sometimes, though not always, the Lord gave me verses a couple of weeks in advance. But whether He gave those verses to me the day before the devotion was to be emailed or weeks in advance, I found myself thinking upon those verses for lengthy periods of time.

The experience was really terrific! Hopefully, the readers of these E-Devotions were blessed. But even if they were not, you be can be sure that I was personally blessed. I have been a pastor for most of the last 18 years or so, and I have taught my share of bible studies. But this adventure in writing devotions probably allowed me the greatest opportunity to really "meditate" on God's word. Oh, sure I had meditated on verses in the past. But in preparing sermons and doing bible studies, I often was looking at either many passages of scriptures or a certain text of 8-10 verses perhaps. Sometimes I would zero in on 1-2 verses and think about them a great deal during the week prior to teaching a lesson or preaching a message. Usually, most of my prepartion time was spent in picking apart the passage, checking context, digging into the Greek or Hebrew, etc. But this time of devotional preparation allowed for maximum meditation on a very few verses. There was a great deal of mulling over a verse or two and tossing it over and over in my mind for lengthy stretches of time. It turned into a valuable time of just letting the Lord speak to me, as I "chewed" on those verses.

What I found was that as I meditated, I would spend quite a bit of time in prayer about those few verses to be focused upon each day for the devotion. The result: the Lord really opened my eyes to spiritual truths and seemed to give me greater depth of insight. In addition, since love was the subject, He showed me many of my shortcomings in the area of love. I was often humbled in the process, as I saw how selfish I really am. And true love -- agape love that is -- is far from selfish. I really began to see how far short I fall in the area of agape love, and it gave me a greater desire to love like Jesus. After all, Jesus said: "As I have loved you, so you must love one another." (John 13:34) And that is quite a challenge!

I had heard people in the past speak of meditation on God's word. In each instance, they said to focus on just one or two verses to meditate upon. Those were wise words they gave, but in my life they were not put into practice as much as I'd like to say. So as I close, I would exhort you to begin meditating of just a few verses on a regular basis. It may just be better than you think. In fact, it just may change your life.