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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…. —Mark 9:2 Have you ever had a spiritual mountaintop experience with Christ? I hope you have. We need glimpses of Christ in all his glory to fill us with faith and boldness. And yet, as wonderful as mountaintop experiences are, you and I are called to more! Let me explain. In today’s Scripture verse Jesus has taken disciples Peter, James, and John up on what we call the Mount of Transfiguration, because it was there that they saw Jesus transfigured in all of his resplendent glory. The disciples could see everything that Christ was on the inside demonstrated on the outside. For that dazzling moment his inherent, intrinsic, incarnate glory was revealed. Now having seen Christ’s glory, Peter wanted to stay right there on the mountain. Jesus had been talking about dying for the sins of mankind. So Peter said, “Lord, let’s just stay here. Let’s build a church and we’ll stay here and worship.” Well, Peter is like many believers today, but that’s not what God had in mind. We must translate our faith from the mountaintop to the valley! God doesn’t intend for us just to buy ascension robes and wait on a roof somewhere for Jesus to return. You are called to a mission! Not just to bask in his glory on the mountaintop, but to share his message with a lost and dying world.   WE MUST TRANSLATE OUR FAITH FROM THE MOUNTAINTOP TO THE VALLEY!

Living in Truth

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
1 John 1:5–7
It has become quite common to hear people speak of “my truth” as if their perception is more valid and important than reality. Yet despite what a culture or society may say, there is such a thing as absolute, unchanging, eternal truth. There are principles God has laid out for us that are grounded and firm which apply to all people at all times in all circumstances.
It is easy to see why people reject the notion of absolute truth. It is far more demanding to have a set standard that never varies than to adjust demands and beliefs according to circumstances. Most of us remember a class or two from the past where tests were graded on a curve. That meant that your score was not an absolute measure of how many questions you got right, but how you did in relation to the rest of the class. Even if you only got a few questions right, you could come out all right as long as most of the rest of the class was in the same boat.
God doesn’t grade on a curve. When we claim that truth adjusts and that we are therefore not really sinning, He says we are lying. He will not change His commands or what He calls sin just because what He declared is not popular with people. Instead, God calls us to walk in His truth so that we can have fellowship with Him.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

Holding firm to the truth revealed in Scripture is the only way to avoid compromising our principles.