Sep 22, 2007

A vision of Christ

John was in exile for his faith on a lonely island when his Revelation came, yet when Christ appeared to him (Revelation 1:12-20) he didn't take his complaint to the Master. John also didn't wait for Christ's commendation for his successes in pastoring the seven churches (the seven golden lampstands). He wasn't impressed by the stars Christ held in his hand nor by the fact that those stars were angels. John was clearly awestruck by the vision he saw of Christ himself whose "eyes were like a flame of fire," whose "feet were like burnished bronze," whose voice roared, whose mouth wielded a two-edged sword, and whose "face was like the sun shining in full strength." He was so overcome by his vision of Christ, he "fell at his feet as though dead" and required the gentle reassurance of his Lord not to fear.

Lord, as we walk through this with Ian, help us to be awestruck by you. Give us grace not to complain. Help us even not to be overly impressed with successes. Help us to be awestruck by you. But, we will continue to petition you to restore him to us.

Steve

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Steve, your wisdom and insight are such a blessing to us. Our prayers are ever with you and your whole family.

Anonymous said...

Lord, you are so high above us.You have existed before time began and are not bound by flesh and mortality as we are.You are magnificent and holy, Sovereign Creator. And we are everything but that, depraved, wretched sinners, deserving punishment for all that we are :::BUT GOD::: You, being rich in mercy, have poured out grace upon our lives and rescued us from ourselves and our just debt! What could be more amazing than this? There is nothing more worthy of our admiration and amazement than beholding Jesus Christ, our magnificent Savior! Lord, may you restore to us the AWE of our salvation!!! May we daily offer thanks to you for this mind-blowing grace.Thank you!

And to echo a Puritan prayer, "Grant me grace so that I may know my need for more grace."

So Lord, knowing who You are and knowing that we need You, we pray for more and more grace to flood Ian's body and spirit right now! That by the same power which ransomed his soul from the grave and proclaimed Your name through his salvation, may You likewise redeem his physical body from this state and proclaim the glory of Your name yet again in his life by healing him...

You are holy, holy, holy.
Your will be done. We will for eternity stand in awe of You.

By the blood of Christ,amen...

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for your steadfast faith and commitment to Christ in all of this. Your desire to treasure Him above all is such an encouragement to me. Still praying for Ian and all of you. -Darci in Ft. Myers, FL

Anonymous said...

When reading you latest entry, I was reminded (because I just read) of when Jesus took his friends with Him up to the mountain and He was transfigured before them. His face shined like the sun and His clothing became bright white. Peter started to speak, but then the Father spoke, and they fell down, terrified. Again, in this instance, Jesus came to them and told them, "Don't be afraid." I think this must be the Lord's words to you in this trial. "Don't be afraid."

Your post inspires me to worship the One who does all things well, but as you said, we must be more impressed with Him then with what He does. So, so well said, Steve. Thank you!

kristi