As we gather to worship together today, let’s be like the Psalmist and believe God’s promises as we lift his name in praise. (Psalm 106:12)

The Christmas story is absolutely astounding, but like we talked about last week, sometimes word pictures can become so familiar that we gloss over the fine print and miss out on important parts of the story. For example, I was rereading the account in Luke 1 about the angel appearing to Mary to let her know that she was going to have a baby. As if to reassure her that his message was legit, the angel even told Mary that her barren relative, Elizabeth, was miraculously entering her third trimester! After hearing the angel’s news, Mary went to visit Elizabeth in person.

So, in a nutshell, Scripture tells us that the angel showed up out of nowhere, shocked Mary with the news of God’s plan for her, told her about Elizabeth’s pregnancy, and then left (v. 38). That’s the part of the story that is very familiar to me. Yet, the very next verse says, “At that time Mary got ready and hurried to [Elizabeth’s town].” I don’t know about you, but I probably would have splashed water on my face to be sure I wasn’t dreaming and then called my best friend to say, “You are not going to believe this!” while still reeling about the angelic encounter.

But, not Mary; she just walked right out the door in faith. As far as we know, Mary might not have even been pregnant yet. It sounds like after the angel left, she put her walking shoes on and high-tailed it to Judea. I love the way The Message paraphrase says that “Mary didn’t waste a minute” to go and see Elizabeth.

God gave Mary a promise, and she didn’t hesitate to believe it and act on it. The angel concluded his talk with Mary by reminding her that “no word from God will ever fail” (v. 37), and Elizabeth exclaimed how blessed Mary was because she believed God’s promise (v. 45). As we begin our advent journey this week, let us all be encouraged that God holds true to his promises.

Endurance training, like mountain climbing, takes discipline and practice. How can you apply those same principles to your faith-walk today?

Sometimes when we’re on a journey, the destination overshadows the trip. What might God want to show you today that you’ve been overlooking?

The Bible uses several word pictures to describe Jesus (Lamb of God, Morning Star, Wonderful Counselor, etc.). How do you picture him?

Have you ever felt like God was taking you round & round in circles? Moses made many trips up & down Mt. Sinai. What can you learn from him?

Think about a physical task that took endurance, but you did it! Remember that exuberant feeling and imagine your faith-walk the same way.

Have you ever had a mountaintop spiritual experience? What prompted it? Did it fizzle out, or did it spur you on? What did you learn?

If your spiritual life was a mountain, where would you be? At the summit? Base camp? Climbing? Where might God want to take you next?

We Christians seem to like word pictures. We talk about being “salt and light” to the world, and we worship Jesus as the “Lamb of God” as we strive to be his “hands and feet” to our community. There’s nothing wrong with metaphors, but sometimes they can become so commonplace that we gloss over them as we read the Bible without really stopping to think about what they mean. One word picture that I’ve heard a lot about over the years but haven’t given much thought to until recently is the idea of spiritual “mountaintop” experiences.

The summit of Mount Sinai reaches 7,497 feet high, which makes it a little smaller than Mount St. Helens in Washington (8,363’) or El Capitan here in Texas (8,084’). Moses received the 10 Commandments on Mount Sinai, and the Sinai desert region is mentioned frequently in the Old Testament as an area where the Israelites spent time. Moses’ story is a familiar one: he met God on the mountain; God carved the commandments into stone tablets, and Moses brought the tablets to the people as God’s law.

What struck me as interesting is that God didn’t just call Moses near the mountain or even to the foot of it. Exodus 19:20 tells us that Moses was instructed to meet God at the top of Mount Sinai. I don’t know about you, but I don’t typically begin my mornings with a 2.5-hour hike (which is what some outdoorsy references say it takes to reach the summit … I’m guessing they don’t account for arthritic knees and potty breaks, but what do I know?). And Moses did it several times – up and down the mountain, talking to God and bringing his messages back down to the people.

We refer to mountaintop experiences in the Christian life as if they are just feel-good moments from summer camp or an awesome concert. And sometimes, yes – we do have an out-of-the-blue, phenomenal spiritual experience that makes us feel closer to God. Oftentimes, though, getting to the top of the mountain takes a lot of time and effort. It’s like spiritual hiking, and it takes discipline and endurance just like real mountain climbing does.

Not only that, but when Moses came down from his one-on-one time with God at Mt. Sinai, he was perceptibly changed (Exodus 34:29). Do people notice a difference in us because we’ve spent time with the Lord? God is calling each of us; are you willing to climb your own spiritual mountain in response?