The Mountain Peaks Belong to Him
I just returned from a high altitude
adventure in the Colorado Rockies.
Traveling west with five friends from central Iowa, I participated in
Ride the Rockies. Ride the Rockies is to
Colorado what RAGBRAI is to Iowa. It's a
one week journey across Colorado on bicycle.
We rode two-wheelers from Telluride to Colorado Springs with 2,000 other
bike riders. Needless to say it was an
epic journey that checked off one of the empty boxes on my bucket list. The ride was challenging to say the
least. We covered over 500 miles and
climbed four major mountain passes: Poncha Pass, Hardscrabble Pass, Lizard Head
Pass, and Wolf Creek Pass. The day we
climbed Wolf Creek Pass could be considered the Queen Stage of the bike
tour. It was a 91 mile day that took us
over the Continental Divide at a staggering elevation of 10,850 feet! Completing that difficult day in the bike
saddle may have been one of the hardest things I've ever done. However, it wasn't all pain and
agony. During the ride, we witnessed
incredible natural beauty. We laid our
eyes on stunning 14ers such as Mount Sneffels, Mount Princeton, and the
infamous Pikes Peak. We cruised through
breathtaking canyons alongside raging rivers rippling with rapids. We paused to reflect on the bright yellow
beauty of a cactus flower in the high desert of Southwest Colorado.
Overall it was a trip that left you
awestruck. Seeing all this reminded me
of a verse right in the middle of the Bible.
The Psalmist reminds me that "The Mountain Peaks belong to
Him." (Psalm 95:4) It's true. The mountain peaks belong to the Lord. In fact, everything belongs to the Lord. The contemporary testimony of the Christian
Reformed Church also reminds us: "Our World Belongs to God." The earth and the seas, the animals and the
trees, and all of the world's seven billion people belong to the Lord. Whether or not we acknowledge it makes no
difference. Everyone and everything
belongs to the Lord. So it's no surprise
when we witness beauty on the earth.
God's good creation reflects God's glory.
The mountaintop experiences didn't come
to an end when I returned to Iowa. The
Thursday after I returned from Colorado, New Life Prison Community hosted a
worship service at the Newton Prison. It
was an incredible worship service to say the least. Overall the highlight was baptism and
profession of faith. Ten men were
baptized and one man professed his faith in Jesus Christ.
These eleven men committed themselves to make
a stand by following Jesus Christ. At
first, I was disappointed that it was only eleven instead of twelve
disciples. Later in the evening,
however, I was reminded of the eleven disciples who met with Jesus after His
resurrection from the dead. "Then
the eleven disciples went to
Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go." (Matthew
28:16) Is it significant that this was
also on mountain? Probably. But I suppose it's more than just spatial. It's spiritual. Whenever we meet with God, it's a mountaintop
experience!
Unfortunately, not every moment of life
is spent on the mountaintop reaching for spiritual highs. Whenever you find yourself in the valleys of
life longing for the elusive heights of the mountain peaks, go to God's Word
for comfort, encouragement, and grace.
Today I encourage you to meditate on the 95th Psalm. It makes no difference if you read it on the
printed page, listen to it on your MP3 player, visit the BibleGateway.com webpage (PSALM 95),
or call it up on your smartphone's Bible app.
Simply pause to digest this important message: "The Mountain
Peaks Belong to Him."
Rick Admiraal is the pastor of New Life Prison Community, a
prison congregation in Newton, Iowa. New
Life is in the middle of its third year of ministry to the imprisoned. So far it's been a big year for New Life of
hosting big events, such as February's 'Piercing the Darkness' concert and
May's 'Brothers-in-Blue,' a four day spiritual retreat behind prison
walls. Rick & his wife Rose live in
Pella with their two children.
I just returned from a high altitude
adventure in the Colorado Rockies.
Traveling west with five friends from central Iowa, I participated in
Ride the Rockies. Ride the Rockies is to
Colorado what RAGBRAI is to Iowa. It's a
one week journey across Colorado on bicycle.
We rode two-wheelers from Telluride to Colorado Springs with 2,000 other
bike riders. Needless to say it was an
epic journey that checked off one of the empty boxes on my bucket list. The ride was challenging to say the
least. We covered over 500 miles and
climbed four major mountain passes: Poncha Pass, Hardscrabble Pass, Lizard Head
Pass, and Wolf Creek Pass. The day we
climbed Wolf Creek Pass could be considered the Queen Stage of the bike
tour. It was a 91 mile day that took us
over the Continental Divide at a staggering elevation of 10,850 feet! Completing that difficult day in the bike
saddle may have been one of the hardest things I've ever done. However, it wasn't all pain and
agony. During the ride, we witnessed
incredible natural beauty. We laid our
eyes on stunning 14ers such as Mount Sneffels, Mount Princeton, and the
infamous Pikes Peak. We cruised through
breathtaking canyons alongside raging rivers rippling with rapids. We paused to reflect on the bright yellow
beauty of a cactus flower in the high desert of Southwest Colorado. 
Overall it was a trip that left you
awestruck. Seeing all this reminded me
of a verse right in the middle of the Bible.
The Psalmist reminds me that "The Mountain Peaks belong to
Him." (Psalm 95:4) It's true. The mountain peaks belong to the Lord. In fact, everything belongs to the Lord. The contemporary testimony of the Christian
Reformed Church also reminds us: "Our World Belongs to God." The earth and the seas, the animals and the
trees, and all of the world's seven billion people belong to the Lord. Whether or not we acknowledge it makes no
difference. Everyone and everything
belongs to the Lord. So it's no surprise
when we witness beauty on the earth.
God's good creation reflects God's glory.
The mountaintop experiences didn't come
to an end when I returned to Iowa. The
Thursday after I returned from Colorado, New Life Prison Community hosted a
worship service at the Newton Prison. It
was an incredible worship service to say the least. Overall the highlight was baptism and
profession of faith. Ten men were
baptized and one man professed his faith in Jesus Christ.
These eleven men committed themselves to make
a stand by following Jesus Christ. At
first, I was disappointed that it was only eleven instead of twelve
disciples. Later in the evening,
however, I was reminded of the eleven disciples who met with Jesus after His
resurrection from the dead. "Then
the eleven disciples went to
Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go." (Matthew
28:16) Is it significant that this was
also on mountain? Probably. But I suppose it's more than just spatial. It's spiritual. Whenever we meet with God, it's a mountaintop
experience! 
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