Although I do so appreciate counsel and many forms of self-help, I am confident that I will not be the person I want to be or become the person God created me to be apart from this crucial element's existence in my life! For my own sake, my family's sake, and for the sake of all those around me, I need to lift up my gaze continually. I am bankrupt in and of myself. I have nothing good to offer anyone apart from Him and His perspective (Ps. 16:2)! So off I go!
If you're new to the word "adoration" or the concept or practice of "adoring", I encourage you to read the words of a friend of mine who says it better than I! This month, though, my adoration and meditations will be a bit more guided than usual. I'm jumping on the bandwagon with those who are taking this month to meditate specifically on the way the Lord describes Himself to John the Beloved in Revelation 1-3.
I concur with what my friend says, "So, I’m taking the charge I heard from the front of the room this past Sunday morning. Opportunities for adoration are popping up everywhere in all different shapes and sizes. I think I’m getting the hint. In Revelation 1-3, John’s vision highlights 30 descriptions of Jesus’ majesty. Thirty. (Just enough to take me from today to March.) He doesn’t spoon feed us here; He allures us. A treasure hunt designed for the seeker, the hungry. The desperate. A phrase here, a word there, each one of them an invitation. To me, and to you, to not sit passively at the well of loss and despair and take subtle drags on death — but to find the treasure tucked away in this surrender. He is the treasure and adoration makes it practical."
To help me stay on track, I made a calendar for the month with one description per day. Feel free to use it yourself, or break them down differently. That part doesn't matter so much as just doing it! :)
“and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth." - Revelation 1:5 NKJV
"All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations." - Psalm 22:27-28 tNIV
Jesus, You suffered much and were misunderstood and wrongfully accused, yet You remained true to Your Father - even though this meant separation from Him and ultimately death! You did wear the grave clothes, drink the dregs of the cup of Your Father's wrath, and taste the bitterness of death, but oh, how He vindicates! The LORD has highly exalted You and given You the name that is above every other name - Yahweh! You, Jesus Christ, are LORD! You are Yahweh, yet You are fully a Man seated at the right hand of the Father - where You rule the nations.
The earth is Yours and everything in it, and You have taken back the dominion over it - dominion that the First Adam squandered and handed over to that old "sneaky snake" (as my son's Bible tells it!). Yet You were the faithful witness. You lived in obedience as the Last Adam and then died and were buried. Oh, but the grave could not keep You in its immortal grasp! You are the firstborn from the dead - the first fruits of the Resurrection! You are alive forevermore and You are the Second Man, a new sort of creation. I carry this newness by the Spirit dwelling in me as my down-payment that one day, too, I will be further and more fully clothed. But, Jesus, You walk in it now! How beautiful You are! There is none like You! White and ruddy - the beautiful God-Man, You are!
So I bow before You today. I pay homage to You as You deserve as "the only one who hit the grave at 90 mph but didn't stay there" (in the words of Allen Hood)! I adore You today as King, worthy ruler. Among all the leaders of the world and those vying to become the newest ones, I pay homage to You, King Jesus. Today - in the day before it is made clear to all and while it is still the time of volunteering - I say, You and You alone are Lord! You are the only rightful King. Have Your way in me. Reign in me. Rule amidst my family. Have Your way in the earth. I long for the day when Your judgments will completely fill the earth and the nations fully learn righteousness, but I look to the inception all those 2000 years ago when You split the veil, made a way, came forth from the grave, ascended into Heaven, and sat down in the very presence of God in order to rule and reign forever! Since that time Your merciful leadership has been going forth, establishing peace and justice.
It doesn't take much looking around to see the gaping need across the planet for Your leadership, but yet again, I don't have to look far to see where You've left Your mark! On the other side of the planet from Jerusalem, Your Word has gone forth and made it all the way to - me - a female, a Gentile from the back side of nowhere! I fit the category of "most unlikely" (in the ancient, Jewish mindset) to receive anything from the Hebrew God! Yet You've done it! The Father has set His King on His holy hill, and Your Kingdom is going forth! In all of my intercession, hopes, and desires for the fullness to be made manifest in the earth, I do not despise the day of small (comparatively to what it will be!) beginnings!
(As I was writing these words in the Prayer Room, the singers began singing the following chorus! I love the way the Lord speaks! "We wait for You expectantly. We long to see Your government in the earth!")
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Ummm...this is awesome. Love your thoughts and the calendar is so smart. Am printing it now.
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