“Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves” (Mark 9:2).
Greetings brethren –
Jesus called to Peter, James and John saying to them, “Come, follow Me and I will make you fishers of men” (Mark 1:17). At the invitation they laid aside what they were doing and immediately followed the Lord.
Along the path Jesus told others, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me” (Mark 8:34). We are not told how many heeded Jesus’ instructions and followed, but we are told later that many fell away from Him out of disbelief and decided to follow Him no longer (John 6:66).
We are also told that Jesus commanded his disciples to let the children come to Him saying, “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all” (Luke 18:17). This He told us to teach us there is a way to come to Him that will be received and a way to come to Him that will not be received by the kingdom of God.
I share these precepts of Scripture with you to suggest that to truly be with Jesus one must have a renewed heart. This renewal begins with an unconditional desire to be with Jesus; to trust Him, to long for Him, to want to be in His presence above all other things.
When we find ourselves coming to Christ out of a sense of duty, expectation, routine, or self need, we must immediately pause and ask God to remove these practices of fear from within us and replace them with a genuine desire to quietly and reverently be in Christ’s presence with the sincerity and innocence of a little child.
Seek the kingdom and God will supply your needs (Matt 6:32-33). He will be with you to carry you through difficult times, the moments in the valley and the splendid times, the moments on the mountain. Your desire to be with Him sparks His compassion to gently lead and guide you through all that has been planned for you during your life on earth. Pray to the Lord and ask Him to give you a desire to do His will (1 Kings 58). Let the moments Jesus shares with you on the mountain give you the faith to follow Him during the trials in the valley.
Remember, “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matt 22:14). Few are chosen because it is not their desire to follow Jesus in the way he instructs them to. Few are chosen because they fall away out of disbelief in Jesus. Few are chosen because they will not submit to Christ a follow Him with a childlike innocence.
Of the twelve disciples Christ called upon, only three were chosen to go up the mountain to witness His glory. Why, because it was their desire to be with Christ at all times and knowing their hearts He joyfully supplied their needs.
Blessings,
Pastor, Jim Bringman
www. pastorstudy.org
