Mountain Tops and Valleys

CURRENT RADIO SERIES The Source of Our Strength   CURRENT TV SERIES At the Cross

“And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.” —Mark 9:2-3 The men who traveled with Jesus up that mountain were troubled men, because Jesus had just announced to them of His death and impending crucifixion for the sins of the world and they didn't understand it. They were uncertain of their future, and they were disturbed and deeply troubled. Perhaps today you have a troubled spirit.  Maybe you're troubled about the state of the world in which we live where there's so much evil and sin. Maybe you're troubled about your home.  Some of you are just hanging by a thread in your marriages and in your homes and families. Maybe you're troubled in your own heart today.  You may not even know why, but there's an unsettling there and, more than ever, you need a fresh touch on the mountaintop to share the glory of Jesus once again in your own life.  You need the glory of God to break through in your life today. In this one majestic moment the disciples were allowed to see Jesus in all of His glory. The Scripture says He became radiant!  Even His clothing shone through with the glory and brilliance of God! Because Christ is coming again, we know that there is a kingdom coming where there's no death and no hell and no sin. We will share in that kingdom and experience His glory forever. Because of that, I'm encouraged today.   NO MATTER HOW TROUBLED WE ARE, WE CAN LOOK UP AND REFLECT UPON THE KINGDOM WHICH IS COMING!

 

Full of Pity for Us

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;”

Psalm 103:13–17

All of us who have children know how painful it is to see them hurting. When a little one falls down and scrapes a knee or an elbow, our hearts ache for them, even though it is a minor wound. Some of us have had the experience of watching our children go through serious and life-threatening medical conditions. But even though the circumstances and seriousness of the situations are far different, the feeling we have is much the same. It is not so much the level of pain they are enduring but the level of love in our hearts that stirs up the pity we feel for them.

God is the same way with His children. Whether our hurts are large or small, He still cares for us. He does not delight in our suffering and pain, but rather shares it with us. That is why at the grave of Lazarus, even with the full knowledge that all of the sorrow of those around Him was about to be turned into overwhelming joy, Jesus wept. The heartbreak of Mary and Martha and their friends mattered to Jesus, even though it would only be fleeting. God cares about what we experience because of His great love for us. Our concerns, even the small ones, matter to God because we matter to Him. He knows all about us, and He never forgets His children.

Today's Growth Principle: 

God knows each hurt and heartache that we experience, and takes pity on us as a loving Father.