Drive-by Majesty

One of the greatest places to live is Colorado. Lori and I lived there for four years and never got tired of seeing the mountains. I remember on a day-off going up to Rocky Mountain National Park and spending the afternoon just staring at the 14,000 ft. Long's Peak. Sitting there in that field gave me a new understanding of the word majesty.

A few years later, living back in the flatlands of the Midwest, we had the opportunity to take family vacation to California. We traveled up the coast from LA to San Francisco and over to Yosemite National Park. I was so looking forward to experience that view of the mountains I now missed. On the the day we went to the park we were accompanied by several thousand other people seeking solitude and a chance to get away from the noise, and traffic and crowds. There we all were, thousands of people and cars snaking their way through the park in one long traffic jam. Every now and then you would stop momentarily to take a quick glance through the exhaust fumes and see part of a mountain. It just wasn't the same.

Majesty is not something you comprehend quickly. You have to take time to take in the view, realize your own size and mortality by comparison to something as ageless as a mountain.

I think it is the same way with God. We cannot just skim the scriptures, drive-through a worship service, or go on autopilot in our prayer time and expect to comprehend the majesty of God.

We have to slow down, sit in God's presence, gaze into the picture of Him in His Word, and meditate on who we are in comparison to the awesome, ageless, majestic God who always delights in revealing more of himself to us.

Jack Hayford wrote these lyrics to the classic song, "Majesty".

Majesty, worship His Majesty,
Unto Jesus, be all glory, honor and praise!
Majesty, kingdom authority, flows from His throne,
Unto His own, His anthem raise.
So exalt, lift up on high the name of Jesus.
Magnify, come glorify Christ Jesus the King.
Majesty, worship His Majesty,
Jesus who died, now glorified,
King of all kings.

I bet Pastor Jack was staring at a mountain.

Serving Up Chicken Soup

I am a chicken when it comes to approaching people I don't know and confront them about spiritual issues. I am not an evangelist. I am like the guy who related working with people to basketball. He said, "I was great playing zone but terrible one-on-one". In other words, it is easier to address a crowd than individuals.
There is within me though a desire to see people meet Jesus for who He really is. Not the religious Jesus many have been presented, but the Jesus I have come to know as my Lord and friend.
In Colossians 4, Paul presents a simple instructions that help me.
First he calls us to pray. Prayer not only changes the world, it changes me. While praying for others I gain insights into God's love for people. My prayer also prepares people for Divine encounters that I believe God sets me up for when I pray.
Now the soup part...
Paul goes on to instruct us in handling these Divine encounters. The essence of our conversations are "full of grace and seasoned with salt" (Col. 4:6).
I was struck as I read this verse a picture of someone making soup.
Soup with no salt is tasteless. Soup with too much salt is bitter and inedible. Good soup is about 99.9% soup and .01% salt.
So it is when I speak to others. If I am full of God's love and grace through my connection with Him in prayer, then this will be the basis of the conversation. That takes the pressure off. I don't have to preach I just have to let God love people through me.
Should the opportunity arise to talk to them about spiritual issues then I can season the conversation with God's truth.
My prayer is that God can take this chicken and make soup to serve to hungry people which is salted properly to each person's need.
Blessings...