A Mountaintop Experience

Revelation 21:22-22:7 & 20-21

　
Have you ever had a mountaintop experience? My first one was as a high school sophomore. I went to church camp that summer and when I returned home, I was really fired up about God.

Last Thanksgiving my siblings and our families met in Boone, NC. While there, we visited the "Mile High Swinging Bridge" on the top of Grandfather Mountain. It was an amazing experience to be at the pinnacle of the mountain where you had a 360-degree view of the world around you. You felt like you had come face to face with God.

(And on that day there were 50 mile an hour winds so that the swinging bridge really made you feel like you might go home to be with Jesus.)

Peter, John and James had a mountaintop experience when Jesus took them to the mountain to pray. The Bible says, "As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightening". Then, while in a cloud, God spoke to them saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him". That would be enough to get my attention.

The heading in my Bible for Revelation 22 is "Eden Restored". Verse 4 says, "they will see his face". When we come into God’s presence we are restored to the person that He created us to be. Even Eden, the place where sin first showed its ugly face, will be restored. It doesn’t matter what you have done in your life – no matter how bad or shameful, God can restore you.

What makes a mountaintop experience? You don’t have to go to church camp. You don’t have to be on a mountain. You don’t have to hear a voice. You don’t have to see a vision. But you do need to come into the presence of the Living God. And when you do, your life will never be the same.

We live in a chaotic world. It’s difficult to find some quiet time alone to meet God face to face. We can tweet, check our Face Book, check our email, answer our cell phone, watch TV, and listen to the radio. Interruptions in our lives are commonplace. Multi-tasking is demanded. There is too much to do. Just like the wind on the "Mile High Swinging Bridge" was a distraction, all of these things can distract us from God.

Take a moment today to be still. Find a way to go to the mountaintop and keep the wind from distracting you. It’s work but it will be worth it.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2021:22-22:7&version=NIV;TLB
http://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/Rev.21.22-Rev.22.7