after the mountain.

Any of us that have been a Christian for more than 5 minutes have had a spiritual high.
They most often come after being with a group of people- small or large- that engage into the heart of God together. It makes you want that all the time. So, because it truly is easy on the eyes to see that we jump in automatically. Praising Him; praying heartfelt. It is easy in that place. We can admit it.
Those places are crucial. Those places are also meant to be parted from.
If Christians could hang out at retreats every moment of every day of the year...
Well, we wouldn't get any lighting of the world accomplished if we didn't walk down from the mountain. But Jesus walks down the mountain with us.

Matthew 17

The Transfiguration

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ² And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. ³ And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. ⁴ And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” ⁵ He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” ⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” ⁸ And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

⁹ And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” ¹⁰ And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” ¹¹ He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. ¹² But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Notice that Peter told Jesus the obvious. ''Lord, it is good what we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.''

It was indeed good that they were there. It just wasn't His plan to camp there. Peter wanted to hang out with them. Completely understandable. Think about the

topics they could have discussed if they WOULD have camped out there! But if you read on,

think about how many wonderful things wouldn't have happened if they would have.

My Commentary points out:

They [Peter, James, and John] were later to be the witnesses of his agony, and this was to prepare them for that.

He doesn't give us these experiences for nothing. They have a purpose... and we discover them if we treat them properly.

He was still speaking.
We get ahead of Him, don't we? Trying to perusade Him when He is chasing after us.
We assume what would be best and act on it. There is a fine line between GOOD and RIGHT.
So, when Peter was still talking 100 miles a minute God made him and James + John fall to their faces.

Notice, that when the voice of God told them to listen to Jesus some of the first words out of his mouths were, ''Do not be afraid.''

I contemplate that meaning many things.
Obviously, He was telling them to not be afraid of the voice. Could he also have been saying, ''Do not be afraid to leave the mountain. I will go with you. My glory will still exist, even if you don't see it.'' And with my sense of humor I hear Him saying, ''And don't be afraid that you just made a total fool out of yourself. I still love you the same. :)'' Here in this moment we
see the mightiness of God and the tenderness of God-- within seconds. A fierce voice, a gentle touch.
The voice is crucial, but so is the touch. You cannot seperate the two characters of God.

Here is my insight about coming down from mountain top experiences. These are the reasons I believe we tend to fall and slip on our way:

• We do not hold onto the truth of the experience, but merely the high of it all. So, when we don't have that high we don't know how or what truth to cling to.
• We focus on the Mose's and the Elijah's. We don't see Jesus alone. They had just seen JESUS unveiling His beauty, but then wanted just a tent for Him-- and the exact same ones for Moses and Elijah. Although the fellowship has to take place, we can't have fellowship and make that our worship. The two are completely different... though there is a time for both. They blend by our making.

You will have a mountain. Praise Him through it while clinging to truth. You will need it.

These are just a few of the many insights I will share with you for today. This passage is so rich and full.

I pray that when I arise and when you arise when we are afraid, that we would see no one, but Jesus only.

In Abba,
Emilee