Enough Of This Serious Face
Unlike your ancestors, you didn’t come to Mount Sinai—all that volcanic blaze and earthshaking rumble—to hear God speak. The earsplitting words and soul-shaking message terrified them and they begged him to stop. When they heard the words—“If an animal touches the Mountain, it’s as good as dead”—they were afraid to move. Even Moses was terrified.
No, that’s not your experience at all. You’ve come to Mount Zion, the city where the living God resides. The invisible Jerusalem is populated by throngs of festive angels and Christian citizens. It is the city where God is Judge, with judgments that make us just. You’ve come to Jesus, who presents us with a new covenant, a fresh charter from God. He is the Mediator of this covenant. The murder of Jesus, unlike Abel’s—a homicide that cried out for vengeance—became a proclamation of grace.
Hebrews 12:18-24 MSG
http://bible.com/97/heb.12.18-24.msg
God has a way of surprising me. Some of the things He says to me are not always what I expect from Him based on my perception of Him. Kind of like when the serious teacher in school, who doesn’t usually crack jokes, says or does something funny. It seems out of character at first. But in reality, his jokester side is actually very much a part of his character. It’s just a side of him that no one has seen up to that point.
Like the day I was reading from Hebrews 12. As I read, I heard the Lord say, “Enough of this serious face. No one in Heaven walks around all serious like the religious people on earth. They are Joyful. And I Am Joyful. Yes, I am Holy and I Am Judge, but I Am also Joyful/Jolly. It’s another faucet of me. And I give you permission to be Joyful, too!” The Holy Spirit’s tone when He said that was like a jolly fellow at a grand party, dancing over to me like John Travolta, offering me a cup of punch, while trying to talk over the loud dance music and people laughing and talking.
In that moment, I suddenly felt like I had been some kind of Kingdom party-pooper. While everyone else in the room was smiling, laughing, dancing and having a jolly good time, I was in the corner with a serious face. It was a party and I was the only one not having fun!
See, there is a NEW Covenant in place! And when we come to God, it’s based on that New Covenant. And after reading Hebrews 12, it sounds like all those in the ‘invisible Jerusalem’ never stop celebrating and proclaiming what Jesus did on the cross and how He is our Mediator of this New Covenant. It’s a party, folks!! People are joyful! They aren’t curled up in a corner. They are celebrating and proclaiming God’s Grace!
So enough already. Enough of this serious face. It’s time we get in tune with Reality. It’s time we start joining in with the chorus of the throngs of festive angels and Christian citizens. It’s time we see that we can be Joyful and celebrate, too!
One week after I posted the above blog, I came across these songs/videos for the first time. Perfectly fits! Enjoy - and get smiling! ;)
https://youtu.be/I32vblmQ714
https://youtu.be/xtiUjNT_vAM
No, that’s not your experience at all. You’ve come to Mount Zion, the city where the living God resides. The invisible Jerusalem is populated by throngs of festive angels and Christian citizens. It is the city where God is Judge, with judgments that make us just. You’ve come to Jesus, who presents us with a new covenant, a fresh charter from God. He is the Mediator of this covenant. The murder of Jesus, unlike Abel’s—a homicide that cried out for vengeance—became a proclamation of grace.
Hebrews 12:18-24 MSG
http://bible.com/97/heb.12.18-24.msg
God has a way of surprising me. Some of the things He says to me are not always what I expect from Him based on my perception of Him. Kind of like when the serious teacher in school, who doesn’t usually crack jokes, says or does something funny. It seems out of character at first. But in reality, his jokester side is actually very much a part of his character. It’s just a side of him that no one has seen up to that point.
Like the day I was reading from Hebrews 12. As I read, I heard the Lord say, “Enough of this serious face. No one in Heaven walks around all serious like the religious people on earth. They are Joyful. And I Am Joyful. Yes, I am Holy and I Am Judge, but I Am also Joyful/Jolly. It’s another faucet of me. And I give you permission to be Joyful, too!” The Holy Spirit’s tone when He said that was like a jolly fellow at a grand party, dancing over to me like John Travolta, offering me a cup of punch, while trying to talk over the loud dance music and people laughing and talking.
In that moment, I suddenly felt like I had been some kind of Kingdom party-pooper. While everyone else in the room was smiling, laughing, dancing and having a jolly good time, I was in the corner with a serious face. It was a party and I was the only one not having fun!
See, there is a NEW Covenant in place! And when we come to God, it’s based on that New Covenant. And after reading Hebrews 12, it sounds like all those in the ‘invisible Jerusalem’ never stop celebrating and proclaiming what Jesus did on the cross and how He is our Mediator of this New Covenant. It’s a party, folks!! People are joyful! They aren’t curled up in a corner. They are celebrating and proclaiming God’s Grace!
So enough already. Enough of this serious face. It’s time we get in tune with Reality. It’s time we start joining in with the chorus of the throngs of festive angels and Christian citizens. It’s time we see that we can be Joyful and celebrate, too!
***
One week after I posted the above blog, I came across these songs/videos for the first time. Perfectly fits! Enjoy - and get smiling! ;)
https://youtu.be/I32vblmQ714
https://youtu.be/xtiUjNT_vAM
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