- Joined
- Apr 25, 2006
- Messages
- 18,404
Keep climbing!
'WHO MAY CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN OF THE LORD?' PSALM 24:3
Halfway up one of the mountains in the Swiss Alps there's a little cafe. The mountain itself takes a full day to climb from the bottom to the top but you can usually get to the cafe by lunchtime and that's where you separate the men from the boys. When some amateur climbers feel the warmth of the fire and smell the good cooking they say to their mates, 'I'll just wait here while you go to the top. When you come back down I'll join you and we'll go to the base together.' Relaxation washes over them as they sit by the fire sipping the strong sugary coffee. But about 3:30 in the afternoon everything changes; they start looking toward the mountaintop as their friends reach it. Suddenly the atmosphere in the cafe changes and they think, 'If only I'd kept climbing!' So what factors decide whether you end up in the cafe or on the mountaintop? There are at least three things:
1) tiredness. Jesus told Peter, 'I have prayed for you... that your faith may not fail' (Luke 22:31-32). We all have to find strength in Jesus to overcome times of failing faith
2) fear. Some days it seems like vertigo strikes our souls. We can't cope with the height of the mountain and we're tempted to give up. Then a voice whispers, 'Be strong and courageous...for the Lord your God will be with you' (Joshua 1:9 NIV)
3) comfort. Conflict and hard times keep us on our toes and on our knees but having it easy all the time can con us into settling down short of our goal. So keep climbing!
written by Bob Gass
'WHO MAY CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN OF THE LORD?' PSALM 24:3
Halfway up one of the mountains in the Swiss Alps there's a little cafe. The mountain itself takes a full day to climb from the bottom to the top but you can usually get to the cafe by lunchtime and that's where you separate the men from the boys. When some amateur climbers feel the warmth of the fire and smell the good cooking they say to their mates, 'I'll just wait here while you go to the top. When you come back down I'll join you and we'll go to the base together.' Relaxation washes over them as they sit by the fire sipping the strong sugary coffee. But about 3:30 in the afternoon everything changes; they start looking toward the mountaintop as their friends reach it. Suddenly the atmosphere in the cafe changes and they think, 'If only I'd kept climbing!' So what factors decide whether you end up in the cafe or on the mountaintop? There are at least three things:
1) tiredness. Jesus told Peter, 'I have prayed for you... that your faith may not fail' (Luke 22:31-32). We all have to find strength in Jesus to overcome times of failing faith
2) fear. Some days it seems like vertigo strikes our souls. We can't cope with the height of the mountain and we're tempted to give up. Then a voice whispers, 'Be strong and courageous...for the Lord your God will be with you' (Joshua 1:9 NIV)
3) comfort. Conflict and hard times keep us on our toes and on our knees but having it easy all the time can con us into settling down short of our goal. So keep climbing!
written by Bob Gass
Last edited:
