Spring is in the air; warmer weather is almost in reach. There is a passion that stirs in my heart when I think of spring. One of the things I love to do in the spring is hike. There is something about hiking to remote places, the freedom, the freshness of the air and most of all the solitude of that moment.

You might be familiar with the mountain climber George Mallory. When asked why he wanted to climb Mt Everest, one of the most dangerous mountains on the planet, his response was simply, "Because it is there."

Though it is true, mountains are there, and men must climb them. I believe there is much more to that experience when spiritual eyes and hearts are applied.

Jesus also climbed mountains and He didn’t just go once. He often went and retreated to the mountains. Many times, Jesus went to the mountains or to “lonely places” for rest or in some cases, to hear from His Father.

Luke records a time when Jesus retreated to the mountains and as a result on His return, He chose the twelve disciples.

Luke 6:12-16

Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: 14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; 15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor. NKJV

What can we learn from this text? Well, for one we can learn that we all must get away in order to think clearly, to consider, to ponder and yes to make wise decisions. What is your response, when the mountains call or the beach, or your prayer closet, etc.? If we don’t make time to get away, we will have a hard time hearing our Father’s voice . So, who is ready to do some mountain climbing?

In Christ,

Pastor Greg