Friday, November 7, 2008

And a second time they shouted, "Hallelujah! Her smoke goes up for ever and ever. The Twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and Worshiped God, the one sitting on the throne, saying, "Amen, Hallelujah!" Rev. 19:3, 4.

It must be easy to worship God when you are face to face with dazzling glory! Flashes of lightning, thunderous sounds, and blazing torches almost force you to fall on your face and worship. One who possesses such glory and such power. But does it really take thunder and lightning and dazzling jewels to inspire people to worship the Lord? Or is it more about being attuned to His presence, wherever we are?

I remember the time my daughter and I climed up the traditional site of Mount Sinai in the dark. At 5:00 in the morning we reached the top. Along with about 500 other people, we sat or lay down on rockes to await the sunrise. We battled to stay warm in a freezing wind atop the 7,400-foot peak.

Although we might have been on the very spot where Moses encountered the living God Himself, the crowd seemed to exhibit no awe or reverence. Locals were making money, loudly offering food, hot drinks, and blankets that they had transported to the mountaintop on the backs of donkeys and camels. Tourists coursed the cold and the wind and carried on conversations about sports, relationships, politics, and what they had eaten yesterday. They had no sense of God's presence on the mountain. All were consumed with the concerns of the moment.

That began to change with the first rosy glimmer at one end of the blackened sky. People began to stir from their places. A buzz of conversation all over the mountain banished the mundane details of everyday life and anticipated the appearance of the golden orb that lights every day. For an instant everyone forgot the cold, sports, and politics. As the red in the eastern sky gradually spilled over onto the peaks to the west, all sounds of human presence began to die down until an amazing hush gripped the whole mountaintop.

As the sun itself began to peek over the mountains to the east, no one raised up a sign or anything, yet everyone in the crowd either remained silent or at most talked in whispers. It seemed as if everyone had suddenly realized that we were in God's sanctuary-and what a sanctuary it was! The roof was the heavens and lit by the sun. It was fittingly huge as befits a King of His stature. Everyone responded in queit awe. There was no thunder or lightning and no sparkling jewels. Yet for a moment all were attuned to God's presence.

Lord, I need a sense of Your presence today. I need to be awed by the mighty works You hae done for me. Give me a glimpse of You in the midst of today's distractions.

Like every other one of God's good gifts entrusted to the keeping of humanity, marriage has been perverted by sin; but it is the purpose of the gospel to restore its purity and beauty. In both the Old and the New Testament the marriage relation is employed to represent the tender and sacred union that exists between Christ and His people, the redeemed ones whom He has purchased at the cost of Calvary. "Fear not," He says; "thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is His name; and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." "Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you." Isaiah 54:4, 5; Jeremiah 3:14. In the "Song of Songs" we hear the bride's voice saying, "My Beloved is mine, and I am His." And He who is to her "the chiefest among ten thousand," speaks to His chosen one, "Thou art all fair, My love; there is no spot in thee." Song of Solomon 2:16; 5:10; 4:7(TFMB 64).