May the mumbling commence!
Today is a day of preparation for my family. I have been bustling around the house getting ready to go to a District Conference called “The Gathering”. It will be my family’s fourth time at “The Gathering”. Each time it has been a mountain top experience (metaphorically speaking – we are in eastern Kansas after all).
I look forward to fellowship, worship, and learning with people who I have come to know and love. I look forward to the theme of this year – “What Now? Where Next?” What form will our Lord take for us? How will God appear to us? Take a look at a passage from Exodus chapter twenty-four:
Then the Lord instructed Moses: "Come up here to me, and bring along Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel's leaders. All of them must worship at a distance. You alone, Moses, are allowed to come near to the Lord. The others must not come too close. And remember, none of the other people are allowed to climb on the mountain at all."
When Moses had announced to the people all the teachings and regulations the Lord had given him, they answered in unison, "We will do everything the Lord has told us to do."
Then Moses carefully wrote down all the Lord's instructions. Early the next morning he built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He also set up twelve pillars around the altar, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent some of the young men to sacrifice young bulls as burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord. Moses took half the blood from these animals and drew it off into basins. The other half he splashed against the altar.
Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They all responded again, "We will do everything the Lord has commanded. We will obey."
Then Moses sprinkled the blood from the basins over the people and said, "This blood confirms the covenant the Lord has made with you in giving you these laws."
Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the leaders of Israel went up the mountain. There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a pavement of brilliant sapphire, as clear as the heavens. And though Israel's leaders saw God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they shared a meal together in God's presence! (Verses 1-11)
Moses, Aaron and the others worshiped God at a distance. They shared a meal in the presence of God! What a mountaintop experience! Oh, to do everything that the Lord tells us to do! How exciting! There would no longer be any question about “What Now? What Next”.
May that Divine meal be our experience this weekend as we gather to worship, to serve, and to fellowship! May we celebrate with the fact of our relationship with our Lord that was made clear soon after Jesus died upon the cross. Read from Matthew chapter twenty-seven:
Then Jesus shouted out again, and he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead after Jesus' resurrection. They left the cemetery, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people. (Verses 50-53)
No longer is there a curtain to separate us from the presence of our Lord. Let us go to God with humility and boldness to hear what our Lord would have us to do… where our Lord would have us to go.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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