New Year Peaks!

The created world was deluged by forty days heavy downpour. When the heavens were shut the waters receded and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains were seen (Gen 8:5). This New Year we are going to walk up the mountain tops and see what happened there that can change our lives.

1. The Mountain top of sacrifice (Gen 22:2).

Abraham went up to Mt. Moriah in obedience to God’s command to sacrifice his only precious son Isaac. The passage starts with, “After these things God tested Abraham.” God showered Abraham with blessings and wanted him to give back the best he had—Isaac!

There will be a time in our life when all will be moonlight and roses. But after the boom years a time of testing will surely follow, as winter follows summer and night follows day. God may ask us to sacrifice a precious blessing. The rich young man went away sorrowful for he had great possessions. He could not sacrifice. Was it worth committing yourself to a future with a dead end?

How many of us have more than what we need? Most of us! And yet there are so many whose minimum needs are not met. Abraham had no idea he’d get back Isaac. No tears, no prayers. He handed over Isaac to God unceremoniously. God saved him in the nick of time. Yes, nothing is too much for our great God.

Let children grow up in a culture of thrift and self-sacrifice and let NO become a house-hold word. Then we

will have enough to give to God. Don’t spend and waste money accumulating objects that will only turn to dust and ashes. Skimp and save and you will soon discover that sometimes less is more.

In Mt. Calvary Jesus said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit” (Lk 23:46). He gave up His all to save us. What can we give for Him in return? May be we have sacrificed, but this year let’s give one last push to record sacrifice by spending less on us and giving more to God. Only then we can testify, “Jehovah Jireh!”

2. The Mountain top of Prayer (Ex 17:9-1 5).

To make someone feel guilty we just have to ask them about their prayer life; and do we not come under that bracket too? One problem is that satan makes us believe we cannot pray. We try to climb the mountain but give up when faced with problems. Moses went up the hill along with Aaron and Hur. When Moses’ hands became heavy he was made to sit and Aaron and Hur supported his hands till Amalek was defeated.

Jesus said, “If two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them (Mt 18:19,20). It is not a big number. When your friend visits you, bend your knees for a few minutes. If there is one more person for you at home, that forms a good prayer unit. A neighbour is enough. Esther prayed with her maids.

That’s exactly what happened to Moses. He could not have survived up the hill, holding up his arms. They had a good reward— victory over the Amalekites. When Moses’ hands fell, the others held them up. They had each other to encourage themselves, and the threesome came down with the victory banner JEHAVAH NISSI flying high!

Are you weak in prayer? Get a companion. Walk up Mt. Carmel and see Elijah bowing down to the ground putting his face between his knees. He will teach you how to pray till you see a cloud as small as a man’s hand.

Jesus prayed the classic prayer on Calvary, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Lk 23:34). The prayer was answered and that’s why we stand forgiven.

As for individual prayer, set apart one hour a day. Whether you pray or not during that time is another matter. You may sleep on your knees and your thoughts may wander and you may feel you have wasted one hour. Never mind. Once the hour is yours start working on active praying. Kneel down and cry to God, walk around and pray, pray aloud. Keep a diary of prayer points. Look into it and pray. Make use of every five or ten minutes you otherwise waste. A walk to the shop, waiting in the doctor’s waiting room (If you cannot testify to someone), a ride in the bus can become times of a talk with God. When your hands are up towards God the enemy will be defeated. When they are down the enemy shall prevail.

Satan resists prayer more than anything else. You can feel it when you think of prayer, when you decide to pray, when you kneel down, when you articulate your prayers. He hinders you every step of the way. Fight him and climb up the mountain top of prayer this year.

3.Mountain top of Character building (Ex 34:4,29).

Moses rose up early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai. Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the words of God in his hands, his face shone (vv 28,29).

Outward transfiguration comes from inward transfiguration. “Character is what you are willing to do when the spotlight has been turned off, the applause has died down and no one is around to give you credit” quotes Ann Landers in Creators Syndicate. The forty days of hearing God changed Moses inside out. People could see it on his face. Moses was soaked with God’s word. His character was his charisma. People crave for gifts. Craving for holiness has sadly and conspicuously taken the back seat.

May be you are at your lowest ebb in Bible reading. May be you are dependent on a daily reading for daily food. It is time to walk up Mt. Sinai to spend time with God, hearing Him speak and allowing yourself to be transformed. Sit with the word of God and meditate till you hear God’s voice, till you receive something, till you feel full, till you bubble over. Then make a decision for the day. A decision for a day means 365 decisions this year. It is sure to affect your moral choices in public and private life. One of the seven deadly sins quoted by Gandhiji is knowledge without character. Allow your Bible knowledge to deal with you ruthlessly and transform you. There is a right way and a wrong was to do everything. Let the Bible be your guide in everything.

Desire holiness and follow hard after it. Jesus said in Mt. Calvary, “I thirst.” Hunger and thirst for right­eousness. Then your face will become as the face of an angel like Stephen (Acts 6:15). From his speech you can guess Stephen was a fountain of God’s word. The secret of a good character is spending time with the Bible and putting it into practice. You may not become perfect but aim to become better this year. Don’t forget that true character begins at home.

4. Mountain top of Relationship (Num 23:8).

King Balak pinned Balaam with the force of a jackhammer to curse Israel. Balaam also desired to comply by the request of Balak and bag some valuable gifts. But he only blessed Israel. The reason—God had blessed them. How often we feel the strain to maintain good relationship with our brothers and sisters. God taught Balaam valuable lessons on relationship. The first time he went up from Aram, from the mountains of the east and prophesied, “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?” The second time he climbed to the top of Pisgah and prophesied and said, “Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it. He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, nor has He seen wickedness in Israel” (23:20,21).

The third time he did not go as at other times, to seek to use sorcery but as a man whose eyes were opened, who heard the word of God and said, “...Blessed is he who blesses you and cursed is he who curses you” (24:9). The message strikes straight to the heart.

God has not cursed His children however bad they may be. We are commanded to bless those who curse us. Instead of burning to vent our feelings if we bless our brothers and sisters, we’ll be blessed. We know Israel was not sinless. Yet in God’s sight he was sin-free (23:21). So are we and our fellow believers. Break the cycle of hatred and revenge. “If eye for eye and tooth for tooth is followed, the whole world would be blind and toothless” quipped Gandhiji.

How can you grease the wheels of your relationship? “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Mt 5:44). All human relationships have rough patches. Each restored relationship will bring back the brightness into your life. In an inc­reasingly impersonal world let this year be a year of reconciliation to build up all broken relationships, even the seemingly impossible. Otherwise they may become a shroud you cannot lift. Do all you can, then its up to God. On Mt. Calvary Jesus blessed the thief who reviled Him, the moment he asked for it.

5. Mountain top of Despair (1 Ki 1 9:8-1 8).

Every man has ups and downs in life. Elijah with his ferocious dedi­cation was no exception. After a grand victory he hits absolute rockbottom runs for his life and hides himself in a cave in Mount Horeb where God meets him. Yes, you are never closer to God than when you are hurt, frightened and left alone.

The brush with death taught him truths, stronger than any logic—that God was with him; that he was not alone; that God knew more detail than he ever imagined; that he was not the only zealous man but there were seven thousand others in Israel who had not bent their knees to Baal or kissed him; that God did not always make dramatic appearances but spoke in a whisper too; that it was too early to pray for the bliss of death and that important jobs were waiting to be done; that he needed to prepare someone to continue his work.

Suffering is God’s crucible to mold and teach us. It brings out the music in our soul. If it weren’t for the rocks in its bed, the stream would have no song. Wood is cut and scraped and bored through to be made into musical instruments. God uses our daily struggles to shape and define us that we may become more like Him. This is an everyday subtle process.

Are you going through times of darkness? Refuse to the undone. God knows everything. He knows every little detail. You are not alone. “Know that the same sufferings are experien­ced by your brotherhood in the world” (1 Pet 5:9). When we look at burdens some others carry, how light is the load God has given us. It is in this situation that we hear the still small voice of God. We can hear Him if we listen. He is whispering to us the knack of finding a positive is every negative situation and viewing each setback as a challenge. Come out of your hiding place. God has work for you. Your job in His kingdom is not over yet. He needs you still. So make a crown out of your thorns.

6. Mountain top of Temptation (Mt 4:8).

The devil laid the whole world at the feet of Jesus; but He said an emphatic, ‘No.’ Job thought natural calamities befell him. He did not know what was happening behind the screen (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7). When we go through trials and temptations what we do not realize is that God is challenging satan that we will ever remain faithful to him. What happens when we sin?

God is put to shame.

Satan laughs in the face of God. The kingdom of God experiences a loss.

Somewhere our future is affected. There will be loss in our heavenly rewards.

Even on Mt. Calvary the dirty snake played its last trick on Jesus. “Come down from the cross and prove to these people that you are the Son of God. This is a golden opportunity to make these people believe what You have been telling them for more than three long years.” It was literally satan waging guerilla warfare against Jesus. Jesus emerged unscathed and entered glory sinless.

Satan is sure to take you up this mountain for a ride. Figure out what caused you to backslide in the past and redouble your efforts this year to keep yourself unsullied. God is looking to you to stand on His side and lift His face up before satan, so that He can laugh at satan with a did-I-not-tell­you look..