Dear Daily Message Readers,
READ: Matthew 17:1-13
Matthew 17:1-2 (NKJV) "Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves;2and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light."
Years of Christian camps and weekend conferences have taught me something. The lessons I have learned at these Christ-centered events have prompted me to invent in a new sign to be placed around every church that reads likes this: Beware of emotional and spiritual highs! The problem that many of us face, both in special events and in our daily walk with Christ, is that we become so on fire for God that we often allow this high emotional time to overtake any rational thoughts as to achieve whatever goal the Lord has shown us. So, usually the next day or very soon after the experience, we have already lost the "life-changing" encounter we were so excited about.
The Bible records this so-called mountaintop phenomenon in vivid detail in Matthew 17:1-13. The text tells us that Peter, James, and John were on top of a high mountain with Jesus. Then, before their very eyes, Jesus was transfigured with Moses and Elijah standing by Him. The three disciples had had a religious experience, one that Peter wanted to keep having repeatedly. But later passages reveal that only two of the three disciplesJames and Johnsucceeded in taking this experience to heart, for Peter denied Christ three times in the midst of his Savior's last days.
Matthew 17:4 "Peter said to Jesus, 'Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters--one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.'"
The disciples clearly understood that they would have to go back to the world below them; their mountaintop experience with Jesus would end. Despite all their efforts to stay, Jesus took them back down the mountain to the place where they had started.
Having an experience with God is a moving, exceptional occurrence that I hope we all experience in worship. However, if we descend from the mountaintop with that experience and lose everything God has instructed us to do, we simply had a 'religious experience'. On the other hand, if we come down from the mountaintop, take to heart what God tells us, and live for Him more completely, then we can know that our experience is a genuine experience. Faith Lesson: To carryout the will of God in our lives, we must be fervent not to base our time with God on pure emotion. Instead, we must continue to seek Him in study, prayer, and worship to carry that experience on into the darkest valleys of our lives.
In Christ,
Darin Smith
READ: Matthew 17:1-13
Matthew 17:1-2 (NKJV) "Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves;2and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light."
Years of Christian camps and weekend conferences have taught me something. The lessons I have learned at these Christ-centered events have prompted me to invent in a new sign to be placed around every church that reads likes this: Beware of emotional and spiritual highs! The problem that many of us face, both in special events and in our daily walk with Christ, is that we become so on fire for God that we often allow this high emotional time to overtake any rational thoughts as to achieve whatever goal the Lord has shown us. So, usually the next day or very soon after the experience, we have already lost the "life-changing" encounter we were so excited about.
The Bible records this so-called mountaintop phenomenon in vivid detail in Matthew 17:1-13. The text tells us that Peter, James, and John were on top of a high mountain with Jesus. Then, before their very eyes, Jesus was transfigured with Moses and Elijah standing by Him. The three disciples had had a religious experience, one that Peter wanted to keep having repeatedly. But later passages reveal that only two of the three disciplesJames and Johnsucceeded in taking this experience to heart, for Peter denied Christ three times in the midst of his Savior's last days.
Matthew 17:4 "Peter said to Jesus, 'Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters--one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.'"
The disciples clearly understood that they would have to go back to the world below them; their mountaintop experience with Jesus would end. Despite all their efforts to stay, Jesus took them back down the mountain to the place where they had started.
Having an experience with God is a moving, exceptional occurrence that I hope we all experience in worship. However, if we descend from the mountaintop with that experience and lose everything God has instructed us to do, we simply had a 'religious experience'. On the other hand, if we come down from the mountaintop, take to heart what God tells us, and live for Him more completely, then we can know that our experience is a genuine experience. Faith Lesson: To carryout the will of God in our lives, we must be fervent not to base our time with God on pure emotion. Instead, we must continue to seek Him in study, prayer, and worship to carry that experience on into the darkest valleys of our lives.
In Christ,
Darin Smith
