DAY ONE -- GOD
Yahweh, Elohim, El Shaddai, Adonai
Reflect
Spend some time in quietness before God. Read the following verse aloud, slowly considering the truth in each of the three sentences.
Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted on the earth.
Consider the greatness of a God whose exaltation cannot be thwarted, and let this knowledge still your heart as you seek to set aside the cares of this day.
For a moment, try to mentally capture the image of the Jesus most familiar to you. What comes to mind first? What is He like? Are there any attributes of God you might find difficult to ascribe to Jesus? Why might this be?
Ask Jesus to come to you in this journey, to reveal Himself in ways you’ve never seen before. Write a prayer of desire in your prayer journal.
Read
Quietly ponder the passage below before reading the devotional that follows.
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like wool, like snow, and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man.
Shut away on a tiny island in the Aegean Sea, the aging leader of the early Church pondered his plight as a man banished from acceptable society. Winds carrying salty seawater provided the only relief from the afternoon sun as it bore down upon his well-worn face. Slowly John plodded along until he reached the refuge of a large rock where he often knelt to pray. With charcoal from the night’s fire, he made a mark to show another day had passed. The rock’s face was almost covered by now, but John no longer cared how much time had gone by -- not since that one unforgettable day. Gazing into the distance, the wonder of it began to fill him once again. His weary eyes sprang to life as details of the incredible vision swirled around in his head like a hundred shooting stars all at once…Revelation 1:12-17a
It was a Lord’s day, the weekly highlight of his lonely exile, for always this day was spent in worship. Awakening early, he’d sensed an unusual stirring within. Quickly gathering ink quills and parchment, he set out, hoping that perhaps the Lord would grant him some fresh words for the fledgling churches whose welfare battered his heart continually.
Upon reaching his open-air sanctuary, the elder statesman of the Christian faith began to quietly praise his Redeemer. Soon tears flowed freely, his heart swelling with humble gratitude. Memories of walking with his Master along the shores of Galilee flooded his mind, filling him with the familiar yearning to touch that tender face once again. How he longed for just one more chance to lay his head against his Beloved’s chest.
O my Lord, I thank You, for You came and gave me understanding so that I might know You who are true. I praise You that I am in the truth, for I am in You Son of God, Jesus the Christ. I worship You true God and eternal life…
Suddenly a frightening sound shattered the silence on the obscure island, shaking the ground beneath John’s feet. It blasted forth in trumpet-like shrieks louder than the ocean’s pounding roar, finally forming into words with a command to write. Flying to his feet, John turned to face the bellowing barrage.
At first all he could see were seven shining lamp-stands. But from their depths an alarming vision of a man beckoned him to draw near. John’s whole being sunk down, his eyes gazing in spellbound wonder at the gleaming feet before him. All around them yards of glistening garments seemed to flow endlessly down. Trembling, John gradually raised his eyes, flinching at the beams of light that bounced off a golden breastplate. Wanting to run, yet unable to move, he could only stare, mouth agape, at the shimmering white wool-like clouds that enshrouded the head of the stunning specter.
With pounding heart, John leaned back, trying to take in the full force of this One whose presence seemed to permeate all 35 miles of the atmosphere on the island. What he saw next so astonished him that he knew he would never get over it. Eyes -- piercing flames of fire -- and a mouth wielding a two-edged sword, comprised a face unlike anything he’d ever seen. So bright was the countenance that the full force of the sun seemed dim by comparison. In an instant, John fell, face to the ground like a man overcome in the throes of death.
What John saw that day was the glorified Christ – a sight so shocking he might never have rallied back to life, had Jesus not knelt to tenderly assure him there was no need to fear. It is a vision we hear little of in the church today, perhaps understandably so. We are far more comfortable with the Jesus of Nazareth who spoke kindly to adulterers and thieves, than one whose words slice the air with a sword of judgement. We feel more at ease with the Jesus whose eyes of compassion beckon weary souls to His side, than the One whose flaming gaze pierces through our impurities. The face of Jesus marred by the blows of sinful man may grieve us, but in a warm way, for in His wounds we find the mercy that makes us new. It is not so simple to relate our notions of redeeming love to this face of Jesus that shines with such strength we cannot bear to look.
The incarnate Christ brought to planet earth the face of God, and through His humanity we saw something never before revealed – the radiance of the Father’s glory. The wonder and beauty of this is a source of comfort to every soul who has found in Him the joy of salvation. But if we are to worship Him worthily, we must always remember that the man Christ Jesus, was God in the flesh – not some fanciful facsimile. He was and is fully God, the One who made the earth by His power, established the world by His wisdom, and stretched out the heavens by His understanding (Jeremiah 10:12).
When Jesus left this earth ascending in a cloud, it was to return to heaven through the gates of glory, where myriad upon myriad of angels cried out in adoration as His Father placed the royal robes He’d left behind back upon His scourge-striped shoulders. Taking His throne, the exalted Christ resumed His reign as the one true God, all things at last subject to Him.
This is the Jesus who appeared to John that day on the isle of Patmos. There in majestic splendor, he reminded the awestruck exile of the truth that transforms everything. Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades (Revelation 1:17-18).
This is the ultimate reality, the unspeakable wonder reserved for those who believe – that though He came to earth and died, Jesus is and has always been the living God, and He alone holds the keys of life and death. Let the church rejoice for our Lord reigns! He who once walked among us now fills all things with His triumphant beauty. Let us fall down in worship at His glorious feet (Revelation 1:18).
Respond
What has been your experience of the majesty of Jesus? Is there mystery in your meditation? Wonder in your worship? Are there moments when His transcendence so consumes you that you long to offer your life completely, bowing before Him with reverence and awe? Prayerfully consider this.
Jesus is God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, who at this very moment holds the entire fate of the universe and every creature on it, in His hands. Consider the sheer weight of Jesus’ power, His glory and marvelous essence. Ask Him to reveal Himself afresh to your heart. Wait upon Him, worship Him and write a prayer of response.
A Prayer
Jesus, precious Jesus, who spilled Your blood for me, how can I grasp that You are also the God of transcendent power? In my struggle to reconcile the two, I confess that at times I’ve espoused a sort of domesticated version of Your Deity. It seems so natural to embrace You as sweet, warm, tender, good, accepting, comfortable. Yes, You are these, but oh so much more. You are worthy of greater honor -- You who hold the worlds together by Your power and will one day crash through the cosmos with the fire of judgment in Your eyes. Let these truths transform my heart, that I might offer worship proportionate to Your worth. Open my eyes to the fullness of Your being until I grasp the weight of the reality that You, Jesus, are fully and completely God.
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