When you hear the words "mountain man" who do you think of? For me it's Jeremiah Johnson - a character portrayed by Robert Redford in the 1972 Sydney Pollack film aptly named Jeremiah Johnson.
Johnson got tired of life in the city, the crowds, and also the war (the Civil War). So he left all the noise and people behind and moved up into the mountains.
Does anyone else come to mind as a mountain man? What about Jesus? It seems like every other story about Him took place on a mountain, of after coming down from a mountain, either alone or with the disciples.
How about Moses? Didn't he go up on a mountain by himself to receive the ten commandments? He was up there for 40 days!
Let's look at Jesus in the Book of Matthew and The Mount of Olives.
"Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him and He began to teach them."- Matthew 5:1-2
You know, it's interesting to note here that Jesus is going to return to the Mount of Olives one day. The prophet Zechariah spoke about it.
"And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives." - Zechariah 14:4
It seems like there is something about going up on a mountain that literally, and spiritually, brings us closer to God.
We don't have any mountains here in Wisconsin, but we can get closer to God by reading His Word, by convercing with "God On High" through prayer, or serving Him by serving others in our daily lives.
So, let us lace on our hiking boots, grab our walking stick, and be off on our journey this week.
"Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching." - Hebrews 10:19-25
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