“For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it.” (Colossians 1:19-23a NLT)
I was watching a show yesterday morning on some world travel station. The focus was on different waterfalls, pools, and other bodies of water around the world where people went to bathe, seeking to be cleansed both physically and spiritually. Whether it was places in the far east, a site held sacred in Hatti, or other location on the map, they came, among other reasons, to have their sins washed away. They apparently did not get help from the hymn that says, “What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! What can make me whole again, nothing but the blood of Jesus.” As we say, “They did not get the memo.”
As I thought about what I saw with a degree of sorrow, I turned my focus to Jesus’ time on earth. Specifically, I begin to think about when Jesus was on Mt. Hermon, the site of The Transfiguration. There were people who passed by where Jesus was and went to one of the magnificent springs of the mountain, named Chasbeiyeh. It was believed that the dew clouds of Mt. Hermon, brought about a blessing. Wow! They passed right by Mr. Hermon, not only the site of The Transfiguration of Jesus as witnessed by Peter, James, and John, but also symbolic elevation, indicating that when you go up to worship, you separate yourself from what is going on in the world. Yes, as I have said before, “It is up to worship, and down to work.”
I try to be brief on Saturday mornings, knowing that you need to get a lot of things done to negate excuses that cause one to feel exempt from worship on Sunday. Side Note: You are not exempt. You are expected to be in the assembly of the saints. Oh, we sing an old and the updated versions of “Do Not Pass Me By.” Newsflash! Jesus will not pass you by. That’s what I believe. But I also believe that some people pass Jesus by and seek other sources, sources; sources that really can’t do you like Jesus by any comparison. If you really want healing, blessing, the washing away of your sins, make sure you don’t pass Him by. If you really want water that will do you some good, Living Water, make sure you don’t pass Jesus by. Before you turn off your electronic device, forward this to others; share this with someone that you know who needs to be redeemed; someone who needs to be returned to the fold, someone who needs to realize that Jesus died for their sins on Calvary so that we might live, and live eternally. Use the words from the old hymn below to invite them to come to Jesus. Have a great Saturday and an even better Sunday when you worship the Lord in spirit and in truth! Be blessed!
“Come to this fountain so rich and sweet. Cast thy poor soul at the Savior’s feet. Plunge in today, and be made complete. Glory to His Name.”
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King