He holds the seven spirits of God

“...These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God. " - Revelation 3:1

“The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD—”- Isaiah 11:2

O Jesus, You have the Spirit of the Living God! You are just like Your Father. Everything that is good, noble, right, just, and true, this is in You, from You. You lack no good thing. You hold the seven spirits of God - flames of fire that ever blaze before the throne of God. 

You are the wise one - the only wise God. You say to the wisest of earthly beings, "Do not think that your wisdom is something worth bragging about! The only thing worthy glorying in is that you know Me. Your greatest wisdom to Me is as foolishness!" I profess to know nothing when I stand before You. I am but a stupid creature! 

Jesus, You have all understanding. This is good news for my life right now and for every difficult season of pressure or misunderstanding that will come my way. This is good news for every single mom, widow, homeless person, one who is bed-ridden or sick, or even for the ones just plain in the midst of perplexity - You understand. You are not far off, unaware, distant from our troubles. You have intimate understanding, and compassion and grace flow forth from that heart of understanding. 

Before the people, even when Your heart ached of loss, You had compassion on them. Your heart was moved because You understood that they were like sheep without a shepherd. Your eyes see past outward appearances and actions - that seem to aim at irritating the soul - and You see straight to the heart.

Deep is Your understanding. Profound is Your insight. No wonder You are the Wonderful Counselor! Being the wise one with understanding alone makes You qualified to counsel. You not only know the right answers, but you have the best intentions in mind all the time. You see my heart, know my frame, understand my circumstances, and therefore Your words reach my heart infused with grace, and You nourish me again and again. 

So I lift up my soul to You and You alone. Where else does my help come from? You alone. You alone. You alone. 

And You don't simple give counsel and then send me on my merry way. You hold all power in both heaven and earth. All power is at Your disposal. Anything You say, You have the power to produce. Your power makes You the faithful one because nothing can stand in Your way! Death, life, the present, the future, angels, demons, height, depth, powers, or anything in creation - no, nothing can separate You from me. Your power is absolute, total, thorough, enough.

I recently heard a mathematician say that in studying babies in utero and the complexity of the human makeup, his confession is that the highest of mathematics cannot keep up! NASA's most complex algorithms and technologies cannot come close to comparing to a single cell let alone a 6 week old baby in the womb! 

I love Your mind, Jesus! You have all wisdom, and You have all knowledge. You are the God who did Genesis 1, and You are the Oen who is forming baby girl within me even at this very moment - to the confounding of planet earth's most knowledgeable and learned men and women! You alone are God!

Oh, who could not fear You and glorify Your name? There is none like You! All-powerful You rule the nations. Nothing is beyond Your knowledge, Your grasp, and yet You are intimately acquainted with the faintest movements of my heart!

You unite all of the broken, fragmented, and mismatched pieces of me - emotions, thoughts, and actions - and You bind them together with the truth of Your Word. I am being made whole, complete, as I come into line with You.

You are holy, God, and I worship You as the creatures around Your throne. As Your fires continue to burn, I marvel and acknowledge the blaze, and say, "Draw me away with You! Take me up in the Spirit and let me gaze on Your fire and be changed! Let the intensity of Your heat melt my cold heart. Change me. Spirit of the Living God, You who dwell within me, burn with an unquenchable, jealous flame!"

Linking up here:

Among the Lampstands

Among the lampstands... - Revelation 1:13

O Jesus, You walk in the midst of the lampstands. Whenever we are gathered - 2 or 3 in Your name - You are there. That is Your promise. You never forsake our gathering. Much of the time this truth lies beyond my awareness, but oh, how You infuse me with confidence when I remember! I don't sing to the air. I look right at You and sing right to You because You are here! 

When I have eyes to see this reality, it's like the Garden again. I can walk with God as You walk among us. It's like the Garden again - face to face, heart to heart. You, O God, are with me!

This is not a wish or a pipe dream but reality. It is not a mirage - something too good to be true that haunts my heart's aspirations. This is the true state of things if only I have eyes to see beyond what is seen.

How greatly You show love in that You come. You always come. The chorus as I'm writing this today in the Prayer Room is "Such love, so wholly other than! My heart it overflows! My heart it overflows!" Your presence among us is Your commitment to us. It is a statement of Your heart. Surely You are able to keep us and preserve us to the end.
Your presence is my aim. Your presence is my hope. Your presence is my joy, peace, and support. And I know that my calling out to You, the desiring of my heart for Your presence, is more than alluring to You. I need not manipulate You (as if I could anyway!) to come. You are always there. "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." Isn't that Your promise, too? 

So this heart does overflow today at the thought of Your faithfulness and Your nearness. Who is a God like You? Surely there is no one. Closer than a brother, You are. I bless You for your willingness, Your heart's desire to be numbered among us!

Voice Like a Trumpet

“On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.” - Revelation 1:10 TNIV

For a time, Jesus, You existed on this earth as a mere baby, just a speechless child, totally dependent upon Your mom and dad for everything - sustenance, clothing, warmth, shelter, and safety. You were an ordinary cooing and crying baby, but You were, oh, so uncommon!

I wonder, in all Your earthly days, if You ever yelled other than when You responded in righteous indignation toward the self-righteous religious men and when You let out a cry in agonizing pain on the Cross. Your disciples had surely never heard You raise Your voice as is common for ordinary men.

How shocking it must have been - especially to a prisoner's ears - to hear a voice as loud as a trumpet, resounding! You are the Living Word, Jesus. You are the One from everlasting who spoke creation into existence. You are the Word of God - spoken. You still speak and hold all things together. You speak and things happen. You speak and demons flee. You speak and angels do Your bidding. Your thunderous voice fills the heavens. Your voice imparts grace, strength, fear of the Lord, freedom, knowledge of God, revelation, and more. 

So there on Patmos - by the Word of God - Your voice trumpeted and released and announced the revelation of Jesus Christ. You revealed Yourself by appearing but also by the Words that You spoke...and You are still speaking. You speak to me in that still, small voice. Can my frame sustain the reverberation of Your trumpeting sound? John knew You best, and he fell like a dead man!

I ask for it all! However You will come, come. However You want to speak, speak! I know that this voice of Yours changes everything. The waves of Your sound penetrate to the very core of my being, and I am changed from the inside out. Yes, I could (and at times do) choose to ignore that voice, but oh, how it haunts and taunts me when I do! You will not relent. Your voice spoke creation into existence, and Your desire is to keep speaking to me until every thought, word, and deed are alight and aligned with new creation.
So speak, beautiful Man, speak. I am listening.