An unshakeable Kingdom...

Okay…how many of you remember that old Carole King song, “I Feel the Earth Move”? You know…
I feel the earth move under my feet,
I feel the sky tumbling down,
I feel my heart start to trembling
Whenever you're around.

Or perhaps, that’s too old and I have to admit, it is a secular song, so here’s one of my favorites that perhaps might be more appropriate for what I’m about to share. It’s called, “Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble”. That song has been done by numerous artists – Matt Redman, Delirious, Sonic Flood and my personal favorite rendition is by RiverTribe. The lyrics were written by a guy named Martin Smith and they’re great, even if you aren’t familiar with the music.

Did you feel the mountains tremble?
Did you hear the oceans roar?
When the people rose to sing of
Jesus Christ the risen one

Did you feel the people tremble?
Did you hear the singers roar?
When the lost began to sing of
Jesus Christ the risen one

And we can see that God you're moving
A mighty river through the nations
And young and old will turn to Jesus
Fling wide your heavenly gates
Prepare the way of the risen Lord

Open up the doors and let the music play
Let the streets resound with singing
Songs that bring your hope
Songs that bring your joy
Dancers who dance upon injustice

Did you feel the darkness tremble?
When all the saints join in one song
And all the streams flow as one river
To wash away our brokenness

And here we see that God you're moving
A time of Jubilee is coming
When young and old return to Jesus
Fling wide your heavenly gates
Prepare the way of the risen Lord.

Well, Jim and I experienced just a few moments of our own earth moving and mountain trembling last night. We were privy to our first tremor…as in the house was shaking just a bit! I was sitting on the loveseat in front of the computer table and Jim was perched on the arm of the loveseat. All of a sudden, it started vibrating and then began moving up and down, like it was being shaken. I looked at Jim, initially thinking he was kicking the loveseat, but as the movement became more intense coupled with the expression on his face, I knew it wasn’t anything he was doing!

I just kept looking at Jim and when he looked up at the ceiling, it dawned on me what was happening. I had my back to it but he said the piece of furniture that we use for all our electronics – the computer, printer, modem, etc. was moving also. The whole thing didn’t last longer than a few moments, but it was long enough that it got our attention! It was the strangest sensation, kind of rolling-like and surprisingly enough, neither of us became frightened but I can tell you it certainly heightened our “sensitivity levels”. Jim went outside and asked our guard if he felt the movement.

He was very blasé about the whole thing and said it was common. Jim told him it wasn’t common for us! Osvaldo said that if it got worse and became an earthquake, we should go stand in a doorway. I thought to myself, if it gets worse and becomes an earthquake, I think I’ll just skip the doorway and go straight on to heaven! It was one of those moments I don’t know if I would want to necessarily experience again but at the same time, it was so new and different from anything I’ve ever experienced before, that it was a bit exciting. I can say that because it didn’t turn out to be anything of any consequence. And when I think about it, that’s pretty much the way life is here…sometimes kind of shaky and out of our control.

Right after it occurred, I called Mandy and asked her to pray for I was just sure there would be another one, maybe even a stronger one…there wasn’t. I will give her the credit for prayerful intercession. We visited for awhile and then got off the phone. In reflecting over that event, I knew I wanted to share this with you…it was just such an un-Cassville-like moment. But as I was writing this, I was also reminded that in reality, God is the Mover and Shaker of our world and if we can just keep that in our minds and entrenched in our hearts, maybe we will ride the next tremor out viewing it like a free carnival ride! No matter how much we may rock and roll here, we know that someday, we will inherit a Kingdom that cannot be shaken.

See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken-that is, created things-so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire."
Hebrews 12:25-29