Draw Near

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Posted by Priscilla Carr, August 14, 2024

Our pastor is teaching through the book of Revelation, and his sermon series is titled “All Consuming Fire.” This exposition of “the Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 1:1) has illuminated me. I’ve come to see Jesus as I’ve never seen Him previously, and it has both emboldened me and made me draw back in fear and awe as I’ve encountered Jesus’ holiness and otherness. The Apostle John wrote Revelation and was the apostle who walked closely with Jesus and, along with Peter and James, witnessed Jesus’ transfiguration “on a high mountain.” (Luke 17:1,2); he wrote the book of John and gave us insight into Jesus’ earthly ministry and was the self-described “one whom Jesus loved” (see John xxx), but when he saw the risen, glorified Jesus as he described Him in Revelation 1:12-16, he “fell at His feet like a dead man” (Rev. 1:17).

When you see something out-of-the-ordinary and potentially dangerous, what’s your tendency? 

Do you throw caution to the wind and try to get as close as possible to it, to view as much as possible? Or do you try to put as much distance as you can between you and the event? Many years ago, my sister Lillian, her four boys, and I were on our way to Southlake Mall in Morrow. I was driving when suddenly several police cars sped by us to my right, suddenly stopped the car in front of me, and with guns drawn, got out and surrounded the vehicle in front of me. I screamed at the kids in the back seat and Lillian beside me to “get down”! I didn’t know if a gunfight would ensue. I only knew there was potential for harm, so I got down as low as possible in the driver’s seat. However, my sister and 1 (of 4) of my nephews did not share my concern and chose to watch everything unfold. The shouts of the officers and their drawn weapons did not deter them. They wanted to see and know.

In Revelation, future events are described in detail. But, often preceding the events, trumpets are sounding and peals of lightning and thunder—the descriptions are alarming and frightening. I was reading Exodus 19 and 20 and noticed a similar event. Before God gave the Israelites His ten commandments, God’s glory descended on Mt Sinai, and its description is very similar to that given us in Revelation:

“On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning, a thick cloud on the mountain, and a very loud trumpet sound so that all the people in the camp shuddered. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke because the Lord came down on it in fire. Its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently. As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in the thunder. The Lord came down on Mount Sinai at the tip of the mountain, and he went up.” (Ex. 19:16-20).

I wrote the following in my Bible after I read the Exodus passage, “Would I have been too afraid of the display (peek) of God’s glory to go ‘up’?” Moses wasn’t—he went up. I tend to want what appears safe and not to go up.  Make no mistake about it: our God is a consuming fire. His presence is heralded with flashes of lightning, peals of thunder, and the blasts of trumpets. The small glimpse of Him I’ve gotten in Revelation from Pastor Louie’s talks is scary. When my friend Tonya taught about God’s holiness, she shared that our God is “awe-full.” And because He is, we bow accordingly in reverence and worship. And we must also draw near to Him if we want the intimacy He offers us, His beloved children. Jesus paid the ultimate price to give us that access so that we could go to Him boldly, with nothing separating us (see Luke 23:45). He gave us the capability to draw near so that we could know Him intimately. And He invites us into that intimacy. Our God, who is “a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29), also summons us “to come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:16).  What is your response?

🎶 Our God is an awesome God, He reigns from heaven above with wisdom, power, and love. Our God is an awesome God 🎶

-Richard Mullins

🎶Just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, and that thou bidd'st me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, thou wilt receive, wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; because thy promise I believe, O Lamb of God, I come, I come🎶

–Charlotte Elliott

Priscilla Carr was born in NYC, but has lived in metro Atlanta since 1979. She is a Navy veteran trained in electronics which God used for a 30-year career at the FAA. She uses her training to provide audio support to Touching Hearts Ministries, and is the Editor and Producer of “A Burst of Hope” podcast. She began her adult new life in Jesus in 1990 right before leaving the Navy, and today she exudes her love for Jesus. She is the proud mama to two rambunctious fur kids, Gracie (Lab) and Faith (Pit-mix). Priscilla was encouraged by elementary teachers to write. She took creative writing courses in High School and college, but in the mid-eighties, she stopped writing. The desire to write has been recently reawakened, and she is thriving in her new writing adventure.