Springtime glory to you and yours! 💐 💦

May this collection of revelatory writings strengthen your inner-life this month. Revelation is spiritual oxygen. It expands the heart and releases a life-giving infusion of wonder and trust (i.e. worship & faith).

In this issue, Nick begins a new series called The Song of the Universe, unraveling mysteries from creation that give witness to the greatest Story ever told . . . He also explores the riches of Wisdom, Understanding, and Rest in the next parts of The Seven Spirits of God (a written version of the series being preached at The Almond Branch). We also continue our walk along the healing paths of C. David Baker’s Walking Stick Journal—even as Dylan drops some fun insights with “Jesus and Rock ‘N’ Roll.”

Enjoy...

Featuring:

The Song of the Universe: Sonship and the Stars

Jesus is Rock ‘N’ Roll

New Installments of:

The Walking Stick Journal: Being Human

The Seven Spirits of God (Part 3 & Part 4)

💎 🌾 💎

Join us in impacting lives across the 10/40 window—your gift goes entirely to this mission. Learn more in the link below.

Support the Field of Dreams

This series will not be about hidden codes in the stars or secret meanings buried in nature. Rather, it explores how creation itself functions as a parable, an echo of the same story Scripture proclaims from beginning to end.

In this first entry, I share a trail of what felt like divine breadcrumbs that led me to a remarkable region of space—the Carina Nebula—where I discovered imagery that reflected the Gospel in surprising ways.

Subscribe now

The Sower in the Stars

Genesis opens with a curious statement about the “lights” in the heavens:

“Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens… and let them be for signs.” —Genesis 1:14

From the beginning, Scripture suggests the stars are not merely decorative. They shine physically upon the earth, and they also shine symbolically. Throughout the Bible, light represents revelation, which is why we find the heavens are actually participating in telling the story of God.

Now, this is not about astrology or hidden codes. To put it simply, creation functions as a parable. The universe is singing a song . . . and the song carries the most incredible message you could ever take into your ears (and eyes) . . .

A number of years ago I felt impressed to open a book I’d been gifted called Far Out. It’s one of those massive coffee table books filled with pictures of the universe. I happened to open to a photograph of towering pillars of gas within the Carina Nebula. Here, the authors pointed out something remarkable: if you zoom into one part of this nebula (see above), you’ll find a shape that resembles a sower scattering seed.

This immediately called to mind Jesus’ parable:

“Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow…” —Mark 4:3

In this case, however, the seed was not grain. It was stars.

Seeing that image stirred something deeper in me. I went to Genesis 1 which describes a pattern in creation: things are formed after their kind. Living things, in particular, carry seed within themselves. Trees bear fruit containing seed. Creatures multiply according to their nature.

But before the creation of plants or animals, God created the stars.

Modern astronomy tells us something astonishing: stars carry “seed” as well. When they die, stars scatter the material from which future stars—and even planets—are formed. In a very real sense, stars multiply after their kind.

Creation itself follows the pattern of the Sower.

From Star-Stuff to God-Stuff

The astronomer Carl Sagan famously said:

“We are made of star-stuff.”

There is truth in this observation. The elements in our bodies were forged in ancient stars; however, Scripture tells a deeper story. Humanity is not merely made from stars. We are made from something—or Someone—far greater.

We see this in the progression of Genesis 1. Creation itself moves from stars, to seeds, to living creatures, to humanity. Each stage reveals a multiplication after its own kind.

But the greatest Mystery comes when God says,

“Let Us make man in Our image.”

Just as fruit carries the seed of the tree that bore it, humanity carries the life of the One who formed us. Creation reaches its climax in this ultimate reproduction: God himself birthing something after his own kind.

The Bright Star at the Center

With this, I became infused with wonder over the fact that the stars might be heralding this exact message to humanity—which was strengthened as I read further on regarding Carina . . .

At the heart of this nebula, there lies a remarkable star system called Eta Carinae. This is one of the most massive and luminous stellar systems visible from Earth. Being one of the brightest stars that God’s kids can look up and behold, you might imagine there is something important that it’s “heralding.”

First, eta means seven. It is catalogued as the seventh star in the Carina constellation. I could go into the connection between the number seven, the seventh day of creation, and the finished work of Christ—but I’ll hold off for the moment. Right now, I want to focus more on why this star is so bright.

Scientists have discovered that what originally appeared to be a single star is actually two stars orbiting each other—a binary system whose radiating light shapes the dramatic pillars in the surrounding nebula. This is what is causing us to see images such as the sower scattering seed.

Upon discovering this, I saw a living parable written in the heavens. These two stars orbiting each other reflects God’s design of relationship. Within that, it speaks of the original and eternal Relationship from which everything else came. The two stars circling one another speak of the Father and Son eternally giving and receiving each other’s love. The Holy Spirit is the Light of that Love. The Spirit is the warmth in which the Father and Son bask, and it is this warmth that shines out and births other things around it.

Thus, we find a picture of the Trinity as they sow life into the universe.

The Seed That Must Die

As I continued pondering what I was seeing in Far Out, I decided turn my Bible from Genesis 1 to 1 Corinthians 15. I was looking for Paul’s statement about how stars differ in glory from one another. When I got there, I noticed something I never saw before, in the verse immediately preceding Paul’s words about stars:

“What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.” —1 Corinthians 15:36

In this passage, Paul moves seamlessly from seeds to stars! After already meditating on the connection between seeds and stars in Genesis, I was blown away by seeing a parallel in Corinthians.

Creation truly shares a pattern from the highest heavens to the soil under our feet. A pattern that shows seeds dying and multiplying.

And this is truly the Gospel, a reality written into the fabric of the cosmos. This is what the finished work of Christ is all about. Jesus’s death and resurrection was about restoring our original identity as image-bearers.

Now, to reiterate our earlier disclaimer, this doesn’t mean we’re making a doctrine through telescopes. Rather, we’re discovering doctrine echoed in creation’s light. This is the illuminating poetry of the Gospel sending out its message for those with eyes to see.

The Key in the Nebula

The next thing I discovered was that within the Carina Nebula also lies a formation known as the Keyhole Nebula.

Think of it. God designed both the spectrum of light and the highly complex human eye that can take it in perfectly. Unlike any other created being, humans have the unique ability to see images in the heavens and make symbolic connections. With that mind, consider that humankind has discovered an image of a keyhole found in the middle of this already-prophetic stellar nursery.

A seed-bed of stars surrounding the shape of a key.

Jesus talked about “the keys of the kingdom.” The universe itself seems to whisper the same truth.

There is a key that unlocks the meaning of creation.

That key is Christ and his Gospel—i.e. what happened through his finished work on the cross.

Discovering this key unlocks our understanding into the very “theme” behind creation’s story.

And it is also a musical key. It helps tune us to the song of creation as well.

After Their Kind

So, let’s return to Genesis 1 and this repeated phrase scattered throughout the text: “. . . after their kind.”

Plants after their kind, creatures after their kind, any living beings after their kind. And then comes the human race, where God declares that they are “made in Our image.”

This is what the light is pointing us to. This is the key to understanding what our lives are really all about.

The heavens are inviting us to lift our heads, not only to gaze at the beauty of colorful nebulae, but to lift our awareness of who we are. We are not some complicated computer in a skin-suit designed to look and act like our Programmer. There are hints of that in our design, but the truth is so much more wondrous.

In reality, we are children who we are born from God in the way a new star emerges from a dead one, or a plant comes from a geminating seed. We are the very life of God. As Jesus is the eternal Son of God, humanity can likened to the daughter of God, a precious child fashioned in the same image as our Elder Brother.

If you read ahead in Genesis, this message comes out plainly when we see how humans go on to multiply themselves:

“Adam fathered a son in his own likeness.” —Genesis 5:3

This is the same terminology used for God making Adam. It helps us see what image really means. It’s about children who share the very life of the parent.

All of this illuminates(!) the meaning of Christ’s coming and his work on the cross. This Gospel story is not only about the glorious and generous gift of forgiveness (though that is a central need for the human heart). Jesus’s coming is about the redemption of divine sonship/daughterhood.

And creation itself has been pointing toward this from the beginning! The stars are shining with its message. They are a singing its song over us . . .

With that, we’ll go next to the Star of Bethlehem, an actual cosmic event that pointed the way toward everything we’re attempting to describe here.

Until then . . .

💎 🌾 💎

Join us in impacting lives across the 10/40 window—your gift goes entirely to this mission. Learn more in the link below.

Support the Field of Dreams

Stepping Stones of Transformation

An Unfolding Manuscript

by

C. D. Baker

Chapter Nineteen: Being Human

We humans are made in the image of God; we are even united to him. Yet God also intended our earthly limitations through a purposeful design that even Jesus experienced.

How we relate to that design often defines the quality of our lives. Can we accept vulnerability? Are we ashamed of weakness? Do we strive to be superhuman? Do we recognize need? What of dependency?

Do we deny or do we embrace our humanity?

Do we even know what it means to be human?

The answers make a difference.

***

Summer-Fall 2022

I laugh out loud. What Bill says is so painfully true that I don’t know what else to do. “Well, you’re right...I really don’t know how to be human!”

Bill is also smiling. He folds his hands and then gets serious. “Unfortunately, you have a habit of rejecting your humanity. Actually, you cage it.”

I get that.

Bill crosses his ankles in front of himself, waiting.

Taking a long breath, I say, “If I were allowed to just be myself, it feels like I’d be rejected.”

“That’s a tragic comment.”

I wait.

“Did you ever wonder if God expects nothing from us beyond our humanness?”

His question intrigues me.

“God made you human and does not ask for more than that...or less.” He pauses. “I’m guessing you love it when your sons feel free to be who they are.”

“That’s true. I can see it in them. I hear it in their laughter.” I reflect for a moment. “But what does it mean to be human, anyway?”

Bill closes his eyes for a moment to think that through. “Your inner self has a strong sense of that. Trust what you’re feeling when worn out, or inadequate, or vulnerable. Also when you’re selfless and good, truthful and bold. That’s your humanness...”

“Well, my inner voice demands that I eliminate the limiting parts...”

“It’s demanding you to be something that you just cannot be.” Bill leans forward. “We’ve talked about that voice.”

“But it’s good to excel, to improve.” I click my pen. “Of course, guilt then comes into all of this. It feels like a sin to be less than perfect. After all, Jesus said...”

“We’re not talking about excelling. Or sin. We’re talking about you denying your true humanity...like expecting yourself to never fail, to not need help, or not need comfort...”

I grunt. “Like I’ve said before, I have no gauge for normal.”

Bill nods and draws a breath. “Isn’t Jesus the ultimate example of true humanity? He grew tired and frustrated in the midst of his strength and goodness. He experienced terrible dread as he anticipated the cross even with the knowledge of his resurrection.” His face tightens. “Do you think you are superior to Jesus?”

I feel my brows rise. What? “Of course not.”

“Are you sure?”

“Last week I was really nervous while waiting for blood test results. Ridiculous. So, no, I’m not better than Jesus.”

“I see. So why were you afraid?”

Sniffing a quick breath, I answered, “I had no control.”

“And you think you should have control.”

Here we go. “I guess so...” I hear my voice fall away.

“And so you think it was ridiculous to feel anxious about a blood test.”

I nod.

Bill sits back. “It’s not. Most people feel at least a little nervous, sometimes more. It’s human.”

“I hate the feeling.”

Bill scratches his jaw. “Like it or not, every human feels fear. But you deny yourself that part of your humanity.”

I shift in my seat.

“You try to eliminate the fear by trying to control the situation. You can’t. Instead, why not just share your fear with another...like Jesus did in his Gethsemane prayer.”

I wait.

“The answer to fear is comfort, not control. You—none of us—have control...but we are offered comfort.” Bill lets that settle.

I look at my notepad, unsure of what that looks like...or feels like.

“To be human includes needing others,” Bill says. “But someone told you that you were expected to be above that. You were supposed to be beyond vulnerability and even beyond need.”

He draws a deep breath. “I’ve said before that vulnerability is the human reality and it’s what helps us experience love. In the midst of it, we receive comfort from others and they from us.”

My chest feels suddenly tight and I blurt out, “Death is the ultimate vulnerability and I already feel ashamed of it. It will be my biggest failure...I have no control and it terrifies me.” Hearing myself say that troubles me. Some Christian I am.

Bill answers in a soft voice. “To be human is to die. There is no shame in it.” He uncrosses his ankles. “All of us fear death to some degree or another.” He pauses. “Give yourself some room to get used to all of this. Acknowledge that you struggle with fear and trust, and that there are very real reasons.”

I exhale.

“All this neurotic stuff sits in wait. That’s also part of our being human. We never eliminate all of those tendencies but we can begin to change them by first noticing them.”

For some reason I recall a moment on my rock. I had realized then that my reality is in the world of touch and grief and fear and laughter and loss and limitations. Maybe these are all things that help us experience our humanness. I’ve somehow tried to look past all of this as if I’m expected to exist outside of it all...

Bill summons my attention. “David, your humanity has been in place all along. It’s that abusive voice that’s been interfering.” He leans forward. “What if you turned toward a different voice?”

(Find earlier installments of The Walking Stick here)

💎 🌾 💎

Join us in impacting lives across the 10/40 window—your gift goes entirely to this mission. Learn more in the link below.

Support the Field of Dreams

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;

from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

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 11:1–2 (NIV)

Moving Forward in Wisdom

God is calling us upward into the life of His Spirit. Scripture gives this beautiful picture of the sevenfold Spirit resting upon Christ, and now resting upon us in union with Him.

We’re not shifting our focus on the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, the first pair that branches outward from the Spirit of the Lord Himself. All throughout the Bible there are extravagant promises connected to wisdom. Promises of blessing, stability, joy, favor, and fruitfulness. They are not quiet promises. They are bold guarantees, repeated over and over again, as if God wants us to be absolutely convinced that wisdom changes everything.

The Doorway Is Rest

Before we go any further, I want to remind us of what we discovered in the last part. The doorway into the flow of the seven Spirits of God is rest. It is abiding in His love. It is remembering our union with Christ and living from that place instead of trying to earn what has already been given. Wisdom and understanding begin there. They do not begin with effort.

They begin with communion.

Proverbs tells us plainly:

“For the Lord gives wisdom;

from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

—Proverbs 2:6

Wisdom is not something you climb your way into. It is given. It is a gift from a good Father who delights in His kids. James even says that God gives wisdom generously—not to the deserving, but to those who ask. That means the starting place is not qualification; it’s relationship.

But James also says we must ask in faith. Another word for faith is trust. And trust is what allows us to rest in Him. When we know who we are in Christ, the atmosphere of our hearts becomes clear and open, and we begin receiving what He has already been speaking over us.

If I don’t trust someone—even if they are wise—I won’t receive what they are offering. Trust is the foundation of relationship. In the same way, learning to trust God opens us to the wisdom He is already giving.

Scripture paints this beautiful picture in the story of Esther, when the king says, “Up to half my kingdom—it’s yours!” That is the posture of God toward us. Those who know they are treasured approach the throne with boldness. They do not hesitate. They do not shrink back.

So everything we are about to explore rests on this foundation: wisdom and understanding are gifts accessed through trust.

Wisdom Revealed in the Cross

Wisdom and understanding are paired together like branches extending from the same place. Wisdom answers the question what. It shows us what life looks like when it reflects heaven. Understanding answers the question why. It reveals the heart behind that wisdom and gives power to walk it out.

Scripture ultimately presents wisdom as a person. Wisdom is Christ. More specifically, wisdom is revealed most clearly in the cross of Christ, because true wisdom looks like love. The wisdom of the world is usually defined by intellect, argument, strategy, or technical skill. But the wisdom of heaven is first revealed in self-giving love, and the cross stands as the clearest image of that love the world has ever seen.

The cross is like the essential oil of love. Many of us are familiar with peppermint in everyday forms—gum, toothpaste, or mints—but pure peppermint oil is something entirely different. It is concentrated. It is intense. A single drop fills the air. It is the distilled essence of the plant.

In the same way, the cross is the distilled essence of love. It is what love looks like when everything unnecessary is stripped away and only its pure form remains.

At the cross, the darkest act in history became the backdrop for the brightest revelation of mercy. Innocence itself was crushed, yet forgiveness flowed outward from that moment with unstoppable power. When Jesus entered suffering with compassion instead of retaliation, heaven’s wisdom was revealed in its clearest form.

This is why wisdom corresponds to the color red in the imagery we discussed earlier—the color of His blood.

The Vision of the Red Throne

The apostle John witnessed this firsthand. He stood at the cross and saw the Messiah lifted up, covered in blood. Later in life, John was given another vision—the vision we now call the book of Revelation. In that vision he saw the throne of God, and the One seated upon the throne appeared like a sardius stone.

A deep red stone.

Then John was shown the Lion of the tribe of Judah, but when he looked he did not see a lion. He saw a Lamb standing in the center of the throne—a slain Lamb.

The Father appeared like a red stone. The Son appeared as a slain Lamb. The throne itself was marked by the imagery of sacrifice. The Father and the Son are one, and together they reveal that God is love at His very foundation.

John saw wisdom.

He saw what love looks like at its source.

Understanding: The Power Behind Love

Jesus embodied this wisdom not only at the cross but throughout His entire life. He came as a servant. He laid down His rights. He lived in constant union with the Father and constant compassion toward people. Scripture even tells us that those who walk in this wisdom now will be entrusted with greater responsibility in the age to come when the Kingdom is fully revealed. That promise alone shows how valuable wisdom truly is.

Understanding is paired with wisdom because it reveals the reason behind love. Jesus did not love people out of obligation or religious duty. He loved because He understood their value in the eyes of the Father. When you truly see someone’s worth, love becomes natural instead of forced.

The apostle Paul said he was compelled by the love of Christ. That word compelled means he felt carried along by something stronger than his own will. Love became the force moving his life forward.

When wisdom and understanding work together like this, selfishness begins to lose its grip. It becomes difficult to act against love when you can see clearly.

The Gentleness of Wisdom

James writes about this connection between wisdom and understanding in a powerful way:

“Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show it by his good behavior, by deeds done in the gentleness of wisdom.”

—James 3:13

James is not saying we earn wisdom by behaving better. He is saying wisdom reveals itself through a transformed life. He even calls it “the gentleness of wisdom,” which sounds exactly like the character of Jesus.

Then James contrasts heavenly wisdom with earthly wisdom. If jealousy, selfish ambition, or bitterness are present in our hearts, he says that is not wisdom from above. That kind of thinking leads to disorder. It leads to confusion. It leads to relational breakdown.

But wisdom from above is pure, peace-loving, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy, steady, and sincere.

Understanding Brings Reconciliation

Understanding plays a special role in relationships because is one of the primary ways division enters our lives. Learning to seek understanding instead of trying to win arguments changes everything.

In counseling—especially marriage counseling—one of the first lessons people learn is to shift their goal from winning the conversation to understanding the person. When someone makes that shift, they discover a treasure most people never find. Much of the conflict people experience comes not from disagreement itself, but from the pain of feeling unseen or unheard.

Seeking understanding takes practice. At first it can feel uncomfortable, even vulnerable. But over time it becomes natural.

Seeing Beneath the Surface

Understanding looks beyond the behavior to the heart behind it.

Sometimes someone’s frustration is really fear. Sometimes anger is covering insecurity. Sometimes harsh words are coming from old wounds that were never healed. When we begin to see this, compassion grows naturally.

Even when someone intentionally hurts us, Jesus gives us the clearest example of what understanding looks like:

“Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

That is wisdom.

That is understanding.

He saw deeper than their actions. He saw their blindness.

When we begin seeing people this way, something changes inside us. We stop reacting the same way. We stop getting pulled into the same patterns. Instead, we begin carrying peace into situations that once produced conflict.

Understanding protects your heart while enlarging it at the same time.

Receiving Wisdom Through Others

Sometimes growing in wisdom and understanding includes receiving help from others. God often places His gifts inside people, and a single insight from someone who carries understanding can unlock something in your life that changes everything. In that sense, wise counselors can function like eye doctors for the heart—they help us see clearly again.

There are also many helpful resources that teach these principles in practical ways. Learning to walk in honor and understanding reshapes how we relate to family, friends, coworkers, and even strangers.

Returning to Rest

But I want to return again to where we started. Wisdom and understanding flow from rest. They are already present in your union with Christ. As you commune with Him, what is already yours begins to emerge more clearly in your life.

So let’s pray.

Father, we acknowledge that Christ is the Truth of who we are. Teach us to live from union with Him. Release a fresh expression of wisdom and understanding in our lives so that Your love becomes visible through us in every relationship and every circumstance. Amen.

💎 🌾 💎

Join us in impacting lives across the 10/40 window—your gift goes entirely to this mission. Learn more in the link below.

Support the Field of Dreams

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;

from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

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 11:1–2 (NIV)

Returning to the Treasure Chamber

Before continuing this treasure hunt, it is worth pausing to regain our bearings. It had been several weeks since the previous message in this series, and the response afterward confirmed something I sensed even while speaking: there is a hidden chamber of spiritual riches contained within this vision of the Seven Spirits of God. Whenever Scripture begins to open like that—when patterns start appearing across passages separated by centuries—it is usually a sign that the Lord is inviting us to look more closely.

In the earlier message, which I called The Way of Life, we discovered that the Seven Spirits of God are not simply a list of spiritual attributes that believers are meant to cultivate. Rather, they describe the very pathway of divine life itself. They reveal the inner movement of Christ’s own life as it flows toward us and through us.

We began with the Spirit of wisdom, which shows us what life actually looks like when it reflects the heart of God. Wisdom is not primarily cleverness or strategy; it is the shape of self-giving love. Christ crucified is the wisdom of God, and in that sense wisdom is the first color in the spectrum of divine light breaking into the world.

From wisdom we moved into understanding, which awakens us to why this way of life is both necessary and beautiful. Understanding allows us to perceive the goodness of wisdom from within rather than merely observing it from the outside.

Then comes counsel, which reveals how this wisdom becomes practical within the ordinary decisions of life. The Spirit of might follows, supplying the resurrection power required to actually live what counsel reveals. Wisdom may show us the way, but it is might that enables us to walk in it.

As these realities begin to mature within a person, they give rise to knowledge—not information about God, but a lived and relational knowing of Him. Truth moves from doctrine into experience. God is no longer simply someone we believe in; He becomes someone we know.

From this intimacy emerges the fear of the Lord, the final Spirit named in Isaiah’s list. This is not fear in the sense of anxiety or distance, but awe, wonder, and surrendered reverence before the beauty of who God truly is. Yet even here the movement does not end. Like the rainbow itself, which forms a circle rather than a straight line, the fear of the Lord becomes the doorway into a deeper wisdom. We return again to the self-giving love revealed in Christ, but now with a greater clarity than before.

The sevenfold Spirit of God is therefore not merely a structure of spiritual virtues; it is the rhythm of divine life itself. It is the movement of wisdom, power, intimacy, and worship that exists eternally within the Trinity, and into which humanity has been invited.

A Lampstand Community

One question naturally follows from this: what happens when an entire community begins to live within this rhythm?

When the sevenfold Spirit becomes the shared atmosphere of a people rather than the private experience of individuals, something remarkable begins to emerge. The community itself becomes a living lampstand. The church begins to burn together with the fire of the Spirit in a way that reflects the fullness of Christ more clearly than any single believer could express alone.

It is not surprising that different aspects of the Seven Spirits often correspond to different expressions of ministry within the body of Christ. Wisdom, understanding, and counsel frequently appear in pastoral care and spiritual direction. The Spirit of might is often visible through healing, deliverance, and miracles. The Spirit of knowledge is closely connected with prophetic insight and teaching, while the fear of the Lord finds its natural expression in worship and prayer. Yet the goal is not specialization alone; it is harmony. The dream is to see entire communities shining with the fullness of the Spirit so that every branch participates in the light.

This is how the church becomes a true witness to the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

The Center Pipe: The Spirit of the Lord

If this is the vision, the next question becomes deeply practical: how do we actually enter into this flow?

Isaiah begins with a statement that at first glance seems almost too simple to carry such weight:

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him.

The key word here is rest. The movement of the Spirit described in Isaiah does not begin with effort, strategy, or discipline. It begins with rest.

Our calling is not to force our way into wisdom or power or intimacy. It is to enter into the rest in which the Spirit already dwells.

During a recent visit to Jerusalem, I stood near the great menorah positioned outside the Knesset, Israel’s national parliament. The placement of that lampstand is striking. At the visible center of Israel’s political authority stands a symbol pointing toward another kind of authority altogether—the authority of the Spirit resting upon a human life. For those familiar with the imagery of the almond branch in Scripture, the meaning is difficult to miss. The menorah represents the Seven Spirits of God burning upon the Messiah, yet the New Testament also tells us that the lampstands represent the churches themselves. The life that rests upon Christ is meant to flow through His people.

In this sense, the church participates in a hidden form of governance in the world. Like Esther standing before the king, the people of God influence history through love and intercession in ways that are often invisible but deeply real.

Zechariah’s Vision of Overflow

The prophet Zechariah was later given a vision of a lampstand that differed in one important respect from the design given to Moses. In the tabernacle menorah each lamp had to be lit individually by the priest. In Zechariah’s vision, however, the branches were hollow and connected to a central source so that oil flowed naturally from the center outward into the six surrounding lamps.

The center received the oil first, and the branches received the overflow.

Because oil throughout Scripture consistently represents the Holy Spirit, the meaning becomes clear. The life of the Spirit flows first into the Messiah and then outward into those who are joined to Him.

The question that remains is how we participate in that overflow. Once again the answer leads us back to the same word Isaiah used: rest.

The Pattern of the Seventh Day

The Hebrew word translated rest in Isaiah appears again in the account of creation:

For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth… and rested the seventh day.

—Exodus 20:11

The pattern is difficult to ignore. Just as the menorah contains six branches connected to a central stem, creation itself unfolds across six days and culminates in a seventh day of rest.

Adam was created on the sixth day. This means that his first full day of existence was not a day of labor but a day of participation in God’s rest. His introduction to life itself began with enjoyment rather than effort. Before he was ever asked to cultivate the garden, he was invited to receive it.

This is not a small detail in the story of creation. It reveals something essential about the structure of human life as God intended it to be lived.

Abiding in the Vine

Jesus later spoke directly into this same mystery when He said,

I am the vine, you are the branches… apart from Me you can do nothing.

—John 15:5

For many believers, this passage becomes a turning point. I remember encountering it early in my own life with Christ and recognizing immediately that it contained something central. Throughout church history, some of the most perceptive voices in the spiritual tradition have returned again and again to this invitation to abide. There is a reason for that. Jesus was not offering advice here; He was describing the secret of spiritual life itself.

If His followers learn to remain in Him, everything else follows. His courage becomes their courage. His wisdom becomes their wisdom. His love begins to flow through their relationships. The same pattern appears again: Isaiah speaks of rest, Exodus reveals the Sabbath, Zechariah describes the flowing oil, and Jesus calls His disciples to abide.

When a person begins to recognize this pattern and shape life around it, something unusual begins to happen. Grace begins to flow in ways that cannot easily be explained by effort alone. Favor appears where striving once dominated. From the outside it can almost look as though something unfair is taking place.

In one sense, that impression is not entirely wrong.

You are cheating death.

You are cheating fear.

You are cheating sorrow.

You are learning to live from the life of Christ rather than from your own strength.

Wisdom Before Creation

Still, the question remains: what does abiding actually look like in practice?

To answer that question Scripture takes us somewhere unexpected—not only to Genesis, but to a place even earlier than Genesis.

In Proverbs 8 wisdom suddenly begins speaking as a person. At first the book of Proverbs describes wisdom as guidance for living well, but then something shifts. Wisdom begins to describe events that took place before the foundations of the earth were laid. As she speaks, we begin to recognize language that echoes Isaiah’s description of the sevenfold Spirit.

Wisdom says,

Counsel is mine… I am understanding… I have strength.

Within only a few verses we encounter wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord gathered together in one voice. The pattern of the seven Spirits appears again, but this time it appears within a conversation that reaches back into eternity itself.

Then comes the remarkable statement:

By me kings reign.

This language reminds us once again that the sevenfold Spirit is connected with authority. Those who learn to live within this flow begin to participate in the hidden governance of God’s purposes in the world.

The House with Seven Pillars

The next chapter continues the same imagery:

Wisdom has built her house;

she has hewn out her seven pillars.

—Proverbs 9:1

Here the sevenfold pattern appears again, this time as a house supported by seven pillars into which Wisdom invites us to enter. Immediately afterward she prepares a table and extends an invitation:

Come, eat of my bread

and drink of the wine I have mixed.

It is difficult to miss what this imagery suggests. The entrance into the house of Wisdom is not achieved through effort but through participation at a table. Bread and wine appear once again as the means by which the life of God is received rather than produced.

The Secret of Sabbath Trust

When Moses established the Sabbath commandment, he did not forbid activity altogether. What he forbade was the kind of labor that arises from anxiety about provision. The Sabbath was meant to remind Israel that their lives were sustained not by their own effort but by the faithfulness of God.

Rest, in this sense, is another name for trust. And trust is another name for abiding.

It is significant that one of the central activities permitted on the Sabbath was shared meals. Even today the Shabbat meal remains one of the defining features of Jewish life. Families gather around a table not simply to eat but to remember that life itself is received as a gift.

When Jesus invited His disciples to abide in Him, He did so during a Passover meal—a Shabbat meal centered around bread and wine. Communion was not incidental to His teaching about abiding. It was the setting in which that teaching was given.

Receiving the Delight of the Father

Later in Proverbs 8 the mystery reaches its most beautiful expression:

Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman;

and I was daily His delight…

and my delight was with the sons of men.

Before creation began, the Father, Son, and Spirit delighted in one another. Yet within that eternal delight there was already a place prepared for humanity.

This same delight appears again at the Jordan River when Jesus is baptized and the Father declares,

You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased.

Then, only a short time later, Jesus speaks words that bring this entire pattern to its climax:

As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you. Abide in My love.

—John 15:9

This is the secret hidden within the pattern of rest. The overflow of the Spirit becomes accessible not through effort but through trust in the astonishing truth that the Father loves us with the very love He has always given His Son.

We are not invited to earn this love. We are invited to rest in it.

The bread is ready. The wine is mixed. Whatever barriers we imagine still exist between ourselves and God have already been removed in Christ. The oil of the Spirit is not something withheld from us until we prove ourselves worthy. It is something already given, waiting only to be received.

We learn to recognize its movement within us as we learn to rest in the delight of the Father.

💎 🌾 💎

Join us in impacting lives across the 10/40 window—your gift goes entirely to this mission. Learn more in the link below.

Support the Field of Dreams

…keep scrolling…

keep going…

…almost there.

🥁 🎸

Rock ‘n’ roll was birthed out of a combination of blues, gospel, and country. Diversity coming together to birth a sound. A sound of freedom.

Jesus was birthed out of a combination of humanity, Jewish history, and the Father in heaven. Diversity coming together to birth a sound. A sound of freedom.

Rock ‘n’ roll is a victory over the world . . . the world with its rigid rules of law, sin, and death, keeping humanity trapped in a system.

When that guitar is played, an invitation goes out. Come to the party. The party of heaven. The party of hope. The party of victory.

Jesus is rock ‘n’ roll. An unstoppable force. The victory in human form. God in the flesh. Death couldn’t hold him. His song has been played for the whole universe to hear.

Has his music swept you up into cosmic victory?

He leads us in constant and continual triumph. You’re a part of his band, man. In this world you will have trouble, but cheer up, he has overcome the world. And what is the victory that has overcome the world? Our faith.

Keep on rockin ‘n’ rollin.

Sometimes that gathering is two or three around a table. Sometimes it’s a larger community coming together in worship and learning.

But the times are a-changing. The “church” is moving from the pulpit back to the Table.

The Table of Christ is the center of the cosmos . . . and the engine of revival. Our desire is simply to help set the table and watch as the glory of Jesus increases everywhere.

We are seeing new ekklesia gatherings spring up in many places. While nothing replaces meeting together in person, God is also moving powerfully through online connections.

To help pour into this awakening, we offer several opportunities to share communion together online:

Awake | Arise | Advance

Our three-part formation course is designed, in part, to help people begin simple Communion-centered gatherings in their own homes and communities. It’s part of a larger journey rooted in grace, identity, and the finished work of Christ.

Good Fridays

We gather live every Friday at 12:00pm EST for a simple half-hour time of communion, enjoying the presence of Jesus together.

House of Wine (with The Almond Branch)

We also invite you to join the House of Wine gathering hosted by The Almond Branch in West Milford. This two-hour communion and worship gathering is livestreamed Sundays from 9:00–11:00am EST, with replays available afterward.

Zoom 110 Calls

Supporters of Elisha’s Riddle are invited to join our monthly Zoom 110 Calls—an intimate time of communion, prayer, and connection together.

Wherever you are, there is a place for you at the Table.

💎 🌾 💎

Join us in impacting lives across the 10/40 window—your gift goes entirely to this mission. Learn more in the link below.

Support the Field of Dreams

Good Fridays is a weekly online communion gathering hosted by Nick Padovani and Dylan DeMarsico (and special guests).

This is not a performance, a sermon, or a production. It is a simple return to the Table. We read Scripture, reflect briefly, pray, and receive communion together — usually in 20–30 minutes.

Why We Call it “Good Fridays”

We call it Good Fridays because every Friday is good in light of the Cross.

We believe the finished work of Christ is not an annual remembrance, but the center of every week, every day, every breath.

The Cross is not merely an event in history; it is the revelation of God’s heart and the redemption of our identity as his beloved kids. We need to drink of this truth regularly.

How to Participate

• Bring bread and something to drink (wine, juice, etc.).

• Find a quiet space if possible.

• Come as you are—no pressure, no performance.

Whether you are in your home, office, car, or watching later, you are welcome at the Table.

What if I Miss it?

If you cannot join live, the replay will remain available on our YouTube channel.

Communion can be received in real time or later — the grace of God is not bound to a clock.

Join Live (or view replays) Here

Join Good Fridays

Every Friday at 12pm EST / 9am Pacific

💎 🌾 💎

Join us in impacting lives across the 10/40 window—your gift goes entirely to this mission. Learn more in the link below.

Support the Field of Dreams

Why We Call it “House of Wine”

The phrase “House of Wine” comes from a poetic story in scripture. In the poem, a glad king invites his beloved companion to come to his royal table and enjoy his presence (Song of Songs 2:4). Like the companion in the story, each of us are deeply loved of God and are invited to come and feast at His table.

The House of Wine is a 2-hour worship gathering in the spirit of this poem.

Throughout the time, we “come to the table” through communion, song, prayer, and celebration.

Along with a worship team, there is an emcee who will help guide our time together. This includes moments when people can share things on their hearts, whether a song, a testimony, or something they are sensing God is speaking.

How to Participate

Our preference is always to have you join in-person! But if that’s not possible, you can totally participate online.

• Bring bread and something to drink (wine, juice, etc.).

• Find a quiet space if possible.

• Come as you are—no pressure, no performance.

Whether you are in your home, office, car, or watching later, you are welcome to drink from the table of the Lamb!

Join Live Here (Sundays 9am)

House of Wine (Live)

Or Watch the Replays Anytime

House of Wine (Archive)

💎 🌾 💎

Join us in impacting lives across the 10/40 window—your gift goes entirely to this mission. Learn more in the link below.

Support the Field of Dreams

Each month, we gather online for our Zoom 110 Calls.

These are special gatherings with our supporters. Together we:

• share communion

• pray for one another

• listen for encouragement from the Spirit

• bless what God is doing in each other’s lives

• and share updates about where this ministry is going

The name comes from Psalm 110:1:

“The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand…”

This is one of the great prophetic declarations about the Messiah—fulfilled in Jesus, who is seated at the right hand of the Father.

But the wonder doesn’t stop there. Ephesians 2:6 tells us something astonishing:

God “raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.”

The Zoom 110 Calls are a time to come up together—to remember that we are truly seated in Christ. Again and again, we’ve found that when we gather from this “seated place,” clarity increases, burdens lighten, and hope rises.

If you are already a supporter, you are invited.

If you’re considering becoming one, this monthly gathering is one of the most meaningful ways we stay connected as a spiritual community—not just readers and listeners, but friends walking together in the heavenly reality Jesus has opened for us.

We would love to have you with us at the table.

💎 🌾 💎

Join us in impacting lives across the 10/40 window—your gift goes entirely to this mission. Learn more in the link below.

Support the Field of Dreams

Our Move to SubStack

Elisha’s Riddle is a ministry aimed at opening up eyes to the wonder, glory, and victory of the Son of God. Our podcast and magazine is all about unveiling the mystery—the riddle—of Christ, the One who is hidden in all places, situations, and people (Colossians 1:27).

We launched this thing 10 years ago on Good Friday of 2016! For the past decade, we did this on our own website; however, the administrative costs have proved a little burdensome. Therefore, after a lot of prayer, we decided to use the free resource of SubStack to host this online ministry. It’s now available for free with an option for people to donate to support the work.

A Prophetic Mandate

We believe there is a fresh vision God wants to impart to his awakening people—his beloved Bride. On my recent trip to Israel, the Lord made it so abundantly clear that we have entered the hour of the “Rachel Bride.”

Some of you may know the story: In the book of Genesis, Jacob (i.e. Israel) had two wives: Leah and Rachel. The Scriptures say that one of them (Leah) had “weak eyes.” On a prophetic level, this speaks to a church with weak vision. It is a weak view of God, ourselves, and the world around us.

It also involves a weak vision of the future. In other words: a “doom and gloom” mentality that just wants to get raptured away instead of leaving a generational impact on the nations. This gets at “prophetic” side of this ministry, which is why we incorporate the name Elisha.

Thus, the mandate we sense is to help impart a hopeful and beautiful vision to God’s children!

Equipping the “Rachel” Bride

All of us need a greater revelation of the Father, Spirit, and Son. We also need to be fully awake to our union with Christ. Furthermore, we need to see all humanity through the lens of Jesus’s finished work.

So that continues to be the purpose of Elisha’s Riddle. It’s meant to equip people with a regular supply of sweet honey that enlightens the eyes and encourages the heart.

And this is more than just teaching and information. This is a revelatory ministry where we anticipate real encounters with the living Creator.

On that note . . .

Rachel = Esther (An Invitation to Communion)

There is another figure in Scripture that illuminates where God is taking his people in the days ahead: the one and only Queen Esther.

Esther is the one who stood for her people and saw global breakthrough and deliverance. She did this after a time of communion with the King. After enjoying some wine, Esther released her request to the King, which forever changed the world.

In the same way, we see this “Rachel Bride” with beautiful eyes being one who first and foremost enjoys the wine of intimate communion with Christ. Gathering together with others for a time of transforming communion is vital. It is a necessary place the Holy Spirit is taking the church.

Because of this, we plan on continuing to host Good Fridays! Every Friday at 12pm EST (9am Pacific) we enjoy communion in Spirit-led time in the Word and prayer. Everyone is welcome to join.

UnCloud Your Eyes

Many things can cloud our vision, whether woundings from life or the heavy weight of the news (or social media). Yet God wants to unveil your true face and put on display the simplicity of Christ that is already present within you. That’s the mission here.

Join us on this journey, whether with online communion, connecting with the podcast, or on the Elisha’s Riddle Magazine. Subscribe for free today.

💎 🌾 💎

Join us in impacting lives across the 10/40 window—your gift goes entirely to this mission. Learn more in the link below.

Support the Field of Dreams

Humanity and the Microchip

All the wonders of modern technology find their source in a city-like entity called a “microchip.” As we prepare for a deep dive into technology and the Kingdom of God, the microchip—and how it is made—is a fitting place to start.

If this topic interests you (and if you want your mind blown), the following video—just under an hour—walks through mankind’s most astonishing commercial machine, the one responsible for producing the most advanced microchips in the world (as of 2026). It will give you technical detail far beyond what we’ll touch here, but it will sharpen your sense of awe for what we’re about to consider. (Something in it will also come up in the next part of this series.)

The marvel of how computer chips are made is breathtaking on its own. But I want to press into something deeper—something beautiful—about our identity as image-bearers, and how that identity quietly echoes through this small piece of technology that fills our phones, computers, and nearly everything else we touch.

So here are the essentials of how a computer chip is made:

We melt rock.

We imprint an image upon it.

Digital life emerges.

Overly simple, but not untrue. It is, in essence, how advanced computer chips come into being, enabling intelligent human ideas to manifest as sound, light, movement, and meaning on screens and speakers.

Here’s a little more detail.

A particular kind of rock that already that is broken down (i.e. sand) is melted into something that looks like a flawless mirror. This is called a silicon wafer. Onto this wafer, a blast of extraordinarily precise light imprints an image—an impossibly complex pattern. This image becomes a system of pathways through which electricity flows. (Some of these pathways are only a few atoms wide!)

Information is “processed” as electricity moves through this patterned image—twisting, branching, colliding, cooperating. And somewhere in that movement, something remarkable happens. Art emerges. Music pours into the air. Worlds unfold with stories, characters, and soundtracks. Human imagination, once locked inside a mind, finds a body.

The possibilities feel nearly endless.

And yet, we’ll pause for a moment.

Because what we are witnessing is not merely a technical achievement. It is a parable.

The Parallels to Our Creation

Perhaps you can already sense the connection to our own creation.

Our Creator took the rocky clay of the earth, molded and shaped it, and imprinted His image into it. Humanity began as dust lovingly formed and then kissed with intention.

Just as light is used to imprint an image onto a silicon wafer, God released His breath—His Word—into us. But Scripture combines God’s Word and God’s Light. Jesus is introduced to us as both. “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.” He is the Word spoken, the Light revealed, the Image made visible.

Jesus, then, is the infinitely complex image imprinted upon our being.

On the “mirror” of our humanity rests the very likeness of the Son. We are children of God, created and imaged after the eternal Son of God—the One who has always existed as the Father’s beloved, His ever-present reflection. Before we ever did anything right or wrong, before we processed a single thought or made a single choice, our design was relational. We were patterned after Sonship.

As image-bearers of the Son, we possess within us the capacity to “process” the pathways of His life—what Scripture calls righteousness. Not as moral performance, but as lived expression. His life is meant to move through us.

Within a microchip, unimaginably small wires carry the flow of electricity. These pathways are what allow the chip to come alive with information. Without the current, the image remains dormant. The design is there, but the power has not yet arrived.

So it is with us.

We “light up” as divine life flows through us. The Spirit of God moves like an electric current—not impersonal, but intimate—energizing what was always meant to be there. The Holy Spirit gives life to our design, revealing the meaning of the intricate image within us. We awaken to the stunning truth that we were made not merely to resemble God, but to reflect and embody the life of His Son.

This is why the Christian life is not about self-improvement. It is about animation. It is about a design finally receiving the power it was made for.

Of course, analogies drawn from the world around us can only take us so far. They are meant to bring us to one port, where we can jump on another path that takes us further. At some point, we must leave the metaphor of technology behind, because we are not machines. We are not programs running code. We are sons and daughters.

To go further, we will need an entirely different language: one of family, intimacy, inheritance, and love. Keep that in mind as we move forward. Every analogy must eventually bow to relationship.

And yet, there is still truth here.

We are, in a very real sense, “programmed” to embody the life of God. That life expresses itself not as cold logic, but as radiant beauty. Scripture describes it in all the colors and sounds of love—things such as joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control. These are not behaviors we strain to manufacture, but natural displays of a design functioning as intended.

This is what it looks like when the image lights up.

But there is another sobering reality.

Just as a system can receive corrupted data, human beings can receive information from false “spirits.” Scripture speaks plainly about this. Not every voice that enters us is life-giving. Some ideas lodge themselves like a virus, distorting the pathways, hijacking the flow, redirecting desire.

When that happens, we begin to operate outside our original design. Sexual immorality, debilitating addiction, fits of rage, deep self-loathing—these are not expressions of who we truly are. They are symptoms of interference. Corrupted signals running through sacred circuitry.

Left unchecked, this distortion always leads toward fragmentation and self-destruction. Not because God is punishing us, but because life cannot flourish when it is cut off from its true power source.

The tragedy is not that humanity is broken beyond repair.

The tragedy is that we forget what we were made for.

And this is where the conversation about technology, power, image, and the Kingdom of God begins to sharpen. Because whatever we build will inevitably reflect how we understand ourselves.

To be continued...

💎 🌾 💎

Join us in impacting lives across the 10/40 window—your gift goes entirely to this mission. Learn more in the link below.

Support the Field of Dreams

“God, I want to be happy.”

I didn’t realize it right away, but that prayer wildly redirected the course of my life. In the years that followed, I began to encounter the love of Jesus in ways that changed how I saw everything—including God Himself.

What I discovered surprised me: at the center of the universe is not a reluctant or distant God, but a deeply joyful one. That discovery eventually led me to write The Happy Trinity, and along the way I found some remarkable companions across church history who saw the same thing.

Recently I reflected on four of these “friends”—voices from different centuries who all glimpsed the same radiant truth about God’s happiness. Out of curiosity, I asked ChatGPT to trace the thread between them. The result was too good not to share. Cheers. 🍻

This is a profound convergence. What St. John of the Cross, St. Julian of Norwich, Jonathan Edwards, and John Piper all saw—across centuries—is that God is infinitely happy within Himself, and creation and salvation flow from that happiness, not from deficiency but from overflow.

Let’s trace the thread through each of them.

1. St. John of the Cross — The soul enters the Trinity’s living joy

From Living Flame of Love, Stanza 3, Commentary:

“The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit dwell within the soul… and the soul knows by experience the divine Persons within itself.”

And most strikingly:

“The soul loves God with the very love with which the Father loves the Son.”

For John of the Cross, the Trinity is not static—it is living love, actively shared. The soul is drawn into the same delight the Father has in the Son.

God’s inner life is not solemn isolation—but radiant, shared joy.

2. St. Julian of Norwich — God’s joy in loving us

Julian takes this even further by emphasizing that God Himself experiences joy in loving.

From Revelations of Divine Love:

“The Lord showed me… that He is to us everything that is good and comfortable… He is our clothing, who wraps and enfolds us for love.”

And most directly:

“For He rejoices that He is our Father, and He rejoices that He is our Mother, and He rejoices that He is our true Spouse and our soul is His beloved.”

Julian explicitly says God rejoices.

Not reluctantly loves.

Rejoices.

She even writes:

“The blessed Trinity enjoys endless delight in the work of our salvation.”

God enjoys saving you.

This is staggering.

3. Jonathan Edwards — God is infinitely happy within the Trinity

Jonathan Edwards wrote an extraordinary essay titled “An Unpublished Essay on the Trinity”, where he describes the Trinity in terms of infinite happiness and delight.

Here is the key passage:

“The Father delights in the Son, and the Son delights in the Father; and the Holy Spirit is the delight itself.”

He goes even further:

“God is infinitely happy in the enjoyment of Himself.”

This is central.

God is not waiting to become happy.

God is happiness itself.

Edwards explains:

• The Father beholds His own perfect image in the Son

• The Son beholds the Father

• The Holy Spirit is the love and delight flowing between them

God lives in an eternal act of knowing and enjoying.

4. John Piper — God’s happiness is foundational to everything

In “The Pleasures of God”, Piper builds directly on Edwards and Scripture.

He writes:

“God is infinitely happy in the fellowship of the Trinity.”

And:

“From all eternity, God has beheld His own beauty in the face of His Son and delighted in Him with infinite joy.”

This is crucial.

God did not create because He was lonely.

God created because He was full.

Piper says:

“The happiness of God is the foundation of all His works.”

Creation is overflow.

Salvation is overflow.

Love is overflow.

5. Edwards’ most famous summary: God’s happiness is self-sufficient

Jonathan Edwards writes:

“God has no need of any creature… He is infinitely blessed in Himself.”

This means:

God did not create to fill a hole.

God created to share His joy.

6. The shared vision across all four of them

They all describe the same reality:

Within the Trinity:

• The Father delights in the Son

• The Son delights in the Father

• The Spirit is the living joy between them

God is infinitely alive.

Infinitely delighted.

Infinitely happy.

Not becoming joyful.

Eternally joyful.

7. And the most shocking part: we are invited into it!

Jesus says in John 17:13:

“That they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.”

Not a different joy.

His joy.

The same joy the Son has in the Father.

This is exactly what:

• St. John of the Cross calls participation

• Julian calls God’s delight in loving

• Edwards calls God’s infinite happiness

• Piper calls the pleasures of God

8. Edwards’ most breathtaking conclusion

From his Trinity essay:

“The happiness of God consists in the enjoyment of Himself.”

And salvation is being brought into that enjoyment.

Not merely forgiven.

Welcomed into divine joy.

💎 🌾 💎

Join us in impacting lives across the 10/40 window—your gift goes entirely to this mission. Learn more in the link below.

Support the Field of Dreams

Stepping Stones of Transformation

An Unfolding Manuscript

by

C. D. Baker

Chapter Seventeen: In the Belly of Suffering

On Saturday, April 2, 2022, I was awakened by a 12:30 AM phone call from my daughter-in-law, Brittany. I took a breath and answered. “What’s wrong?”

“Will [my son] fell and the ambulance is taking him to the hospital...” Her voice was strained. “I gotta go.”

Ten hours away on the southern Outer Banks, I began to pace.

She called back an hour later. Her voice was tight, tearful. “He’s headed for brain surgery...”

Stunned, I blinked. My wife and I threw our stuff in the car and roared up a lonely North Carolina two-lane. At around 4:30 AM my phone lit up again. The contact’s name was Brittany’s best friend. I braced myself.

“Mr. Baker, I’m so sorry.” Her voice was hesitant yet steady. “The news isn’t good.” She paused. “The surgeon says that Will Is unlikely to survive and if he does his future is a trach and a feeding tube...”

I jerked the car to the gravel shoulder, jumped out, and collapsed by the back bumper, broken and folded in half under a canopy of stars. Wailing, I soon railed at God with sounds coming from my throat that I had never heard. My son...dying? Institutionalized for life? “What kind of monster are you!” I shouted. There was no reply and I eventually climbed from my knees to stare helplessly into a fearful, deep-night nothingness.

Dumbstruck, I slowly crawled back behind the wheel for the remaining eight-hour ride home. The drive remains a blur, though I remember alternating waves of trembling anxiety and swarming dark thoughts. My faith had failed me and I didn’t care; rage and terror competed for my soul.

Arriving, I raced into the ICU to find Will in an induced coma, stuffed with tubes, draped with wires, and surrounded by medical staff. I tried to breathe. Electronics filled his room with a palpable energetic insistence. The forced rhythm of Will’s ventilator was a claustrophobic intrusion. Alarms of things going wrong brought a rush of footsteps.

*

Agonizing days passed with no improvement. The doctor gathered a meeting on Thursday and I listened still as stone. Against my fragile hope he advised that we should begin considering what kind of life Will would want.

I tried not hearing.

They would do a final test tomorrow and after that we would have to make some hard decisions. The hopelessness in the doctor’s voice said it all. I choked, then abandoned the meeting to hide my sobbing in the little chapel next door. Brittany found me there and took my arm, offering one word: Trust.

A sleepless night followed and when morning broke, I grabbed my walking stick to trudge alongside my faithful creek. I asked God for a miracle and then glanced at my feet where I discovered those little yellow wildflowers once again. I stared at them for a long moment, remembering how God once used them to tell me how he saw me: fragile, vulnerable...loved. This morning I was too shattered to care.

Time to go.

Arriving at the hospital on that Friday morning, my pastor, Mark, asked if he could pray for Will with an anointing of oil--a biblical act of releasing the sufferer to God. It was not a common request among Mennonites but why not?

Just before the final test, eight of us gathered to hold hands in a semicircle around Will’s ICU bed. The hospital chaplain bowed his head just outside the door. Two nurses turned down the alarms and pulled the curtain closed. There we were, nine helpless human beings in a sterile room, eight of us breathless and Will on a ventilator.

Sometimes words simply fail. As Mark prayed it was as if some ethereal veil suddenly parted and an invisible but tangible Presence filled the space. I literally experienced God’s Spirit enveloping the room with such other worldly comfort that terror and despair melted away.

The Comforter then delivered another grace. She enabled me to do that which I could never do on my own: From the depths of my soul I willingly surrendered my beloved son to whatever God wanted for him. For once, God felt safe and I could feel--absolutely FEEL--the love of Will’s heavenly Father holding him.

Mark’s tender ‘amen’ dismissed us for the doctors’ final examination. Staring at the curtain now closing us out, it did not escape my notice that a disorienting chaos had swallowed me whole on that first day and that I had been delivered into an indescribable rest on this, the 7th. In one week’s time I had never felt such soul crushing anguish, such feelings of betrayal by God, such rage, terror, abandonment... nor such love, trust, peace, and embrace. Mark’s anointing prayer had been the life-altering moment that God opened my heart to experience divine love. And in that lifting of the veil I suddenly awakened to the truth that a good God had been there all along.

There are terrible, wonderful mysteries in the belly of suffering.

A stir behind the curtain had me gnawing my lip; a moment later a nurse walked the curtain open and a doctor turned toward us. He yanked away his mask to reveal a smile. “Will’s in there,” he said.

He’s in there? Another nurse hurried past me whispering, “One in a million.”

The doctor gathered us and said something about hope. He quickly added some words of caution...but we knew only one word: ‘miracle.’

More wonder filled the days that followed. Within a week, I watched Will open one eye and look back at me--I’ll never take that for granted again. A few days later he offered a thumbs up!

What’s coming next? I don’t know and it may not be all that I am hoping. All I know right now is that in that ICU a good God revealed the beauty, the power, and the peace of belonging to him.

(Find all previous installments of The Walking Stick here)

💎 🌾 💎

Join us in impacting lives across the 10/40 window—your gift goes entirely to this mission. Learn more in the link below.

Support the Field of Dreams

Stepping Stones of Transformation

An Unfolding Manuscript

by

C. D. Baker

Chapter Eighteen: Faltering

The Christ journey is an invitation into love and goodness and faithfulness--into the experience of resting in God who is perfectly faithful, perfectly good, and wholly loving.

However, we sojourners are still learning who we are in Jesus Christ. And so when we encounter hard things we do not rest. Instead we often falter in many ways and for many reasons.

The good news is that sometimes all we need is to be awakened to the love, the goodness, and the faithfulness that is already present. And in that awakening, be moved into deeper rest.

***

April, 2022

I arrived at Bill’s pretty shaky this morning. I’ve had night sweats again, and increased tinnitus probably as a result of the aftermath of so much stress. What an incomprehensible week! I don’t think I will ever have the words.

And yet despite the miracle of my son, I’m experiencing a new kind of anxiety. Will is still connected to tubes and no one really knows what’s coming.

I just can’t surrender him like I did only days ago and that’s really bothering me. I have so quickly regressed from the comfort of turning him over to God. What is wrong with me? Why can’t I hold that feeling of sheer trust?

*

“Good morning, David,” says Bill as he takes his chair. He smiles warmly and we bask in Will’s miracle for a few moments. “So beautiful . . . I am just so happy for all of you.”

Squirming, I just say it. “In spite of all of God’s goodness, I’m running scenarios about Will’s recovery. Will he ever go home? Will he be able to work? How much brain damage is there?” Anxiety crawls through me as I’m speaking.

Bill listens, sympathetically. “Scenario running is fear at work. We try to control the possibilities but can’t, so our anxiety escalates.” He looks at me carefully. “This comes from your need to solve your world as a little boy.”

This again.

“Comfort allows us to lean into our fear. Comfort gives us the freedom to surrender our control. That’s what you experienced during the prayer in the ICU.”

“I had never felt anything like that before...” I chew on my cheek.

Bill sits quietly for a moment. “Exactly. You had never felt that before. And so you still have great difficulty depending on love.”

I make a note. “That experience was something so much more then all of the theology I’ve ever studied. Feeling held by a loving God was indescribable. And yet...”

“You struggle. I understand. You try so hard to control your world because of so much deprivation within you.”

Feels like an excuse.

“You demand more of yourself than what’s there. So instead of surrendering control you sink immediately into self-abuse.”

I feel resistance to the word surrender.

Bill must intuit what I’m thinking. “You believe that surrendering makes you vulnerable, especially to the false god you were raised with.” He leans forward. “But for the first time, the beauty of God’s true presence inspired you to happily surrender control of your treasure—your son.”

I nod. “But I can’t hold that feeling . . . instead I watch him and am afraid.”

“Of course. You are human. But the abuser’s voice within seeks to condemn your slightest flaw, and flaws are always there. Is that the voice of the God who showed up in the ICU?”

We both sit with that for a moment, then Bill adds, “Somewhere in there you fear that love can be used up. You don’t believe that love is reliable and so you’re running scenarios again.”

He interlocks his fingers, then looks at me for a long moment. “Grace comes from beyond us. The ‘what-ifs’ inside of you take you nowhere other than into your own thoughts. It’s a self-centeredness that denies love access.”

All I hear is ‘self-centered.’ That stings. Another flaw.

Bill sighs. He knows. “What do you think might happen if you let go—surrender—all that self-condemnation and just be present, flaws and all?”

*

I went home feeling low and even helpless. Bill was right. I live far too much in my own self. I am obsessed by my thoughts. I dwell on my fears and my failures.

How might love ever break through?

I hurried to sit on my rock in the creek. The early spring day was warm and the creek was lively. I closed my eyes and prayed, asking God to let me experience his love in this place, and as good and limitless and beautiful. I acknowledged my frail faith and my struggle to believe. But something told me to stop.

Opening my eyes, I watched the clear water bouncing over the smooth stones below. And then I suddenly saw it all differently. The creek had become the image of love . . . a living metaphor that reached me.

I released myself to the moment. When I did, I could see how love—like this untamed creek—flowed day and night, in sunshine and rain, in floods and in drought. Nothing about it depended on me. No. Whether I am present or not, love faithfully winds its way through this valley as good and limitless and beautiful.

The awakening felt warm and whole and good. Thanks be to God.

§

May 13, 2022

This morning I met Brittany at Good Shepherd Hospital. Despite my faltering faith, God’s mercies never wavered. A nurse helped my smiling son into the car and today he went home, whole and happy.

Love never fails.

***

I am painfully aware that not everyone enjoys this kind of miracle, and I have no answer for that. None. A few broken souls who have lost children have shared in our thanksgiving. God bless them. May they, in their ongoing sorrow, experience the ever-present gift of divine comfort that we were given.

(Find all previous installments of The Walking Stick here)

💎 🌾 💎

Join us in impacting lives across the 10/40 window—your gift goes entirely to this mission. Learn more in the link below.

Sow into the Field of Dreams

The Ceiling of Silicon

In the video mentioned in Part One, there is an incredible story told by one of the key leaders at ASML.

ASML is arguably the most important technology company in the world. They are a kind of modern printing press—but instead of printing pages, they print microscopic images with light. In doing so, they lead the world in producing the most advanced microchips on the planet—the very engine behind artificial intelligence and other modern marvels. As we prepare to explore AI and reflect on its meaning, this story may be the perfect place to begin.

In the early 2010s, ASML was working on a project aimed at breaking through a hard physical barrier in microchip manufacturing. Chips could no longer be made smaller and faster using existing methods. If this ceiling remained, it would dramatically limit humanity’s ability to continue advancing computing power—and with it, AI.

ASML had a promising approach, but it required enormous time, money, and patience. They were being funded by three major companies, each with a vested interest in the success of the project. Yet despite years of effort, the team kept hitting one roadblock after another. Progress stalled. Pressure mounted. Failure would mean lost funding and a stalled future.

Three Candles in a Chapel

At one point, a senior leader and a key scientist went out to dinner together. Afterward, they noticed a chapel across the street and decided to step inside.

Having reached what the scientist later described as “the limits of science,” he appealed to “divine intervention.” Inside the chapel, they lit three candles—one for each of the companies investing in the project. Then they offered a simple prayer.

In the interview, the scientist describes this moment as a turning point. Shortly after, a breakthrough occurred. Their work accelerated, and ASML moved forward with the technology that now underpins the most advanced chips in existence!

Many viewers may gloss over this story or treat it as a charming anecdote. But pause and consider this for a moment. According to the testimony of those involved, prayer marked the moment when the impasse broke—ushering in a revolution in microchip manufacturing. These are the very chips now accelerating AI and reshaping the modern world.

God can, of course, step in and halt humanity’s building projects. That is the heart of the Babel story. Yet here it seems God did not choose to apply the brakes. Instead, He allowed—and perhaps even aided—the acceleration. Without this breakthrough, ASML would have lost funding, and the technological landscape of our world would look very different.

(You can watch the relevant portion of the documentary here.)

A Supernova in a Machine

This does not mean the road ahead is without danger. Every technological advance moves through a fallen world and is therefore vulnerable to corruption. Fear and greed can infect even the most brilliant inventions. Yet there is still a divine purpose at work.

The Gospel is meant to travel at light speed.

The Kingdom of heaven is not threatened by technology. Rather, it rides upon it. Just as the first printing press emerged on the heels of the Reformation, this new “printing press” is arriving amid what will prove to be a global awakening.

Consider one final detail.

The scientists prayed by lighting three candles. Ironically—or perhaps prophetically—the breakthrough they eventually achieved involved generating an extraordinary burst of light. In ASML’s extreme ultraviolet (EUV) process, successive laser pulses strike a microscopic droplet of tin, creating a tiny plasma explosion—something engineers often describe as a “mini-supernova.” For a fraction of a second, this plasma burns hotter than the surface of the sun, releasing the energy needed to generate EUV light and etch unimaginably small images onto silicon.

This was the missing key! And amazingly, the scientist in the video notes that there are specifically three blasts of laser light involved in this breakthrough.

Three Reflections from the Fire

~ A Parable Hidden in the Machine

Just as multiple, coordinated blasts of light were required to generate the power needed for breakthrough (following a moment of prayer marked by three candles), it will take a recovery of Trinitarian revelation to advance the Kingdom into new territory. If the Church is to move with greater authority and clarity, we must rediscover the depth and beauty of Father, Son, and Spirit. Trinitarian theology is not an abstract idea, but a catalytic force.

~ Igniting the Son Within

Those blasts of light produced something astonishing: a miniature “sun” ignited as light struck a piece of earth (tin). In the same way, the Light of the Trinity longs to strike our hearts, producing an explosion of the Son within us. The life and love of Jesus are meant to radiate outward as we encounter the light of God’s Word.

And just as the plasma in the machine burns hotter than the sun itself, Jesus promised that those who abide in Him would do greater works than him! Not by effort, but by participation in the Spirit’s life.

~ Becoming Vessels of Light

Like those bursts of light, we ourselves become vessels of light. We are invited to co-create with God—receiving illumination and then releasing it outward.

This includes the faithful use of technology.

God desires to infuse technology itself with the Light of the Trinity, so that people across the world may hear truth and receive life. Microchips—AI systems, smartphones, computers—can become conduits of revelation rather than distortion. They can amplify truth rather than noise.

Where is Jesus Hiding?

The first two reflections above are examples of discovering the riddle of the Gospel hidden within the world—even within engineering and technology. This is the vision behind Elisha’s Riddle: cultivating spiritual eyesight to perceive Christ and the Kingdom woven into creation.

Where do you see Jesus hiding in the world around you?

Regarding the third point about our call to become vessels of light—I encourage you to explore our recent Advance Course, which offers a practical pathway for releasing light in the same way Jesus did—through union, love, and participation in the life of God.

💎 🌾 💎

Join us in impacting lives across the 10/40 window—your gift goes entirely to this mission. Learn more in the link below.

Support the Field of Dreams

This is the first part of a future book on The Seven Spirits of God. It is being adapted from a series given at The Almond Branch. See the original message here.

What’s beautiful about the Lord’s dealings with us is that even in times of national failure and crises, God is always faithful to raise up voices of hope. The prophet Isaiah was one such voice.

Around the year 730 BC, the nation of Israel was falling apart—politically and spiritually. Isaiah comes into this situation and doesn’t mince his words. The first ten chapters of his book are filled with deep pronouncements of judgment. All of it builds toward this image of the nations being like a forest that’s been mowed down and decimated. The leaders of these nations are particularly compared to cut down trees across the field.

But then in the 11^th chapter, something shifts. It’s like sun comes out and shines on the prophet as he sees something filled with tremendous hope…

He sees a vision of a new little tree that’s going to come from one of the stumps in this broken forest. Included in the fallen trees of the nations and its leaders is the people of Israel. One of the fallen trees is the line of King David, whose father was named Jesse. Thus, it’s from the “stump” of that tree where Isaiah sees something unimaginable:

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;

from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

2 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 11:1-2 NIV)

Isaiah sees something really good coming out of the ashes of mankind’s broken leadership. He sees a new kind of leadership that will be marked not by human power, but by the Spirit of the Lord. He then goes on to say in this chapter that out of this new leadership, the “wolf will lie down the lamb” and peace will spread across the earth.

Of course, this was the promise of a Messiah—One who would rise from the line of David and become a healing tree that would restore the earth. What we learn through the prophecy is that this Messiah would do this work of healing through a unique expression of God’s Spirit. This expression is then described in seven different ways.

Seven in the number of fullness. This meant the Messiah would carry and operate in the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

When the Messiah showed up on the scene, he said to his followers: I am the center vine—you are the branches.

It turns out that we, the followers of Jesus, are the branches on this tree Isaiah saw.

That means the fullness of the Spirit is meant to flow through us.

There is no greater pursuit than to know and experience the Holy Spirit. This is our greatest inheritance. Everything built on man’s ways and man’s power (what the scriptures call the ways of the “flesh”) is going to crumble. But the life of the Spirit will last forever.

I want to invite you into a greater connection and intimacy with the Spirit of the Lord, and with that, to look at some of the mysteries of how the Spirit flows in and through our lives.

Isaiah and John

Over the years, there have been people who have seen the connection between Isaiah’s prophecy and something the apostle John was shown in the book of Revelation:

2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne... 5 Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

(Revelation 4:2, 5)

Throughout Revelation, John’s sees a lot of temple imagery. When it says there were “seven lamps” burning before the throne, this is very clearly pointing to where in the Temple there was a lampstand with seven burning lamps on it. This is known as the “menorah.”

As we can see in this image, there is a clear connection between the menorah John saw and the seven aspects of the Spirit Isaiah proclaimed. There’s the Spirit of the Lord, and then its pairs: wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and the fear of the Lord. We’re going to look at all of these and how these are meant to function in our lives.

First, we need to go back thousands of years, before John and before Isaiah, to when God originally gave the design of this menorah. He gave it to Moses on a mountain. Similarly to Isaiah, this happened while the people of Israel were engaging in great darkness. Moses was having an encounter with God on the mountain while the people down below were worshipping a golden calf (which then turned into a demonic party).

In the midst of this, God shows Moses another golden image—not a golden calf, but a golden tree. He tells Moses that instead of planting this tree, he is going to build it. And this tree will reveal something that will heal the brokenness of this world.

The golden tree is the seven-branched menorah. It was fashioned after an almond tree. The almond tree would be known in Israel as the first tree to awaken from the sleep of winter. This is why the word “almond” in the Hebrew has to do with open eyes—being awake.

The function of this lamp-tree was to give light in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle that Moses was told to design. Its purpose was much more than that though. This purpose was so weighty that it would take thousands of years to unfold its meaning its meaning. This was a mystery—a riddle that God gave to Moses.

Fast forward 1,500 years to when the Messiah finally appeared. Jesus ascended to heaven and poured out his Spirit after sending his apostles into the world. One of them—John—was given a very important vision. We call it the Book of Revelation. In the beginning of this vision, before he sees the throne, John sees the golden almond tree God told Moses to design all those years ago. Jesus finally explains the meaning of this tree.

He says to John: This strange lampstand … is My Church (Revelation 1:20).

Suddenly, the riddle begins to unravel. The image starts making sense.

But we have to combine this something else John learns in his vision. John is told that the number six is the number of “man” (Revelation 13). The menorah has six branches that come together into a seventh piece. Again, seven is the number of completion. Therefore, this is communicating something about humanity finding wholeness, fullness, completion.

Jesus said: I am the center piece…I am the vine. You are the branches. Remain and you will experience true life. You will bear fruit. Because from me will come the oil or the life of my Spirit. John recorded these things in his Gospel (John 15).

This menorah is a riddle that gives a picture of a redeemed humanity. It is a hidden word of God released to Moses and then to Isaiah. He also gave it to Jeremiah, Zechariah and others. They were all shown the same thing—that out of the ashes of this forest fire that sin created—devastating nations and people group—there will be a new tree that rises that will provide light to the world.

This will be like an almond tree in the winter—that even when the winter of sin still appears to be holding on, the tree will declare that the winter is defeated. It’s coming to an end. A new day has dawned. Spring is emerging, and our brokenness is not the end of the story.

Now, back to Isaiah: When he sees the tree, he’s told that it represents a Person. He says the Spirit of the Lord will rest on this Person. Then he gives six other descriptions of the Spirit that will flow through this individual.

As we already said, this prophecy about Jesus. However, Jesus would come to have a Body bigger than his own human frame. We are his body. We are mystically united with Christ. This is Ephesians 2. This is the Gospel. We are made one with Christ in death and resurrection and his ascension to heaven.

We are raised up and seated with him.

Thus, this vision is truly about us, and how the Spirit will flow through the church to bring healing.

The Science of the Rainbow

Let’s switch gears for a moment and talk about the science of color.

You might be familiar with the fact that all colors of the rainbow exist within white light. I want to take some time to explain this because God has hidden more mysteries in the design of light itself. We’ll see here how the “book of Scripture” and the “book of creation” come together in more ways than we can imagine.

Light travels as waves of energy. It’s called a wavelength. A wavelength is simply the distance between one wave crest and the next. Longer wavelengths carry less energy and they appear to us as reds. Shorter wavelengths carry more energy and appear as blue or purple. So different colors are the same light, but they are spaced differently.

So how do you get white light? White light is formed when all the different wavelengths travel together balanced as a single beam. None of the colors disappear; they overlap so completely that our eyes perceive them as one unified brightness instead of separate hues. White light is not a single color—it’s the harmonious presence of all colors at once.

Let’s talk about a prism.

When white light enters a prism of glass (a raindrop has a similar effect), the light slows down and bends, but each wavelength within it bends by a slightly different amount. This causes the colors that were traveling together to spread apart, and it reveals this spectrum we call a rainbow. The prism or raindrop doesn’t create the colors, it just gives space for what was unified to now become visible.

You can imagine a choir singing. One singer alone and you hear a clear, distinct voice. That’s like an individual color. When several singers come in with different notes, that’s where harmony begins. And when all voices sing together in balance, you no longer hear individuals—you hear fullness. It’s like one Voice, even though it’s not—but it is!

That fullness is white light. The voices don’t disappear. They’re just integrated perfectly as One.

Now, the human eye is designed to clearly pick up six unique colors. The light spectrum is much more intricate than that, but it’s six colors that really stand out. Now, you might be familiar with the idea of “seven colors” of the rainbow. The reason for that is this fellow:

Isaac Newton was a strong believer in Jesus—and he loved the number seven. Also, there’s more to that choir analogy, because there’s another connection here to the seven notes of the musical scale. (See Addendum)

Isaac wanted seven colors to match the seven notes, and also wanted to bring in the overarching symbolism of the number seven throughout scripture. Hence, he was the one who took purple and split it into indigo and violet so he could his nice number seven. What we’re going to find out, however, is that he missed an opportunity to see that the six colors all combining into one white light is the more powerful biblical image.

The book of Scripture says this: God is Light (1 John 1:5)

The apostle John wrote those words. Now that we’ve looked deeper into the book of creation, we can discover more of what this means. God is perfect white light; yet within God is distinction and diversity. It reminds us of the Trinity, the reality of a unified God who is mysteriously comprised of Three Persons. (This connects to a Trinitarian revelation in that there are three primary colors, which we’ll get to in the next section.)

But let’s focus in on the rainbow and the way that it appears to the human eye as six distinct colors. This gives us incredible insight into what humans (represented in the number six) really are. It shows us how we come from the very Light or Substance of God.

This means our body is like a prism, where God’s eternal glory is slowed down—like a light wave gets slowed down through glass. God’s glory gets slowed down into a created vessel to be revealed a unique way.

Each of us are a unique “color” revealing a part of the Eternal God. He has given us his glory—his very image and likeness—because we are his children. We come from him. Yet we all reveal a different aspect of him. Thus, the purpose of our lives is so much more than we could fathom. We would love and honor ourselves, and be at so much more peace with ourselves, if we could truly accept this.

Six, being the number of man, is not a bad number. God made man on the sixth day and he called it very good. Six colors coming together in One White Light speaks humanity finding completion in Christ.

Or you could say—Christ is our Completion. Jesus Christ is the complete revelation of who and what humans are. Jesus, the One Isaiah saw, embodies humanity as it was supposed to be. He is our true identity and our ultimate destiny.

We are not beasts. We are not evil by nature. On our own, separate from the source of light, is not good. But the truth of who we are is good. Very good.

There’s another powerful picture of these truths in John’s revelatory encounter. In Revelation 4:3, John looks and see a rainbow around the throne. Then in the next verse—4:4—John continues looking and sees 24 elders around the throne. The same word used for the rainbow that was around the throne is used for the 24 elders around the throne.

While we can’t expound on it here, the 24 elders represent people. Whether or not they are literal, they are standing in for others. They represent Jew and Gentile. The nations.

And here’s the point: The rainbow around the throne—and the people around the throne—are one in the same. John sees a rainbow and then sees the nations.

This is the reality of who we are really!

We are the radiance of God’s glory.

Let’s talk about one final moment of crisis and hope in the Bible… The story where the rainbow first shows up.

In the flood story, the whole earth is destroyed while Noah and his family go on. They are like a little shoot growing from the stump of a global mudslide. This family is then given a promise sealed by a spectrum of light in the sky.

Hopefully you can see now that this famous promise is more than God saying, “I won’t flood the earth again.” The promise has to do with the revelation of humanity shining with the true glory of God.

If you go back to Isaiah 11 and you keep reading the full prophecy (after he discusses the Seven Spirits), Isaiah gives this remarkable promise:

…For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

(Isaiah 11:9b)

There are so many things connecting here… The waters covering the earth reminds us of Noah. But now we know more of what the rainbow means. It’s that the earth will be filled with God’s glory (Habakkuk 2:14).

And what is God’s glory?

It’s us!

We are his Glory, made in his image. It doesn’t say the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord . . . it says the earth will come into the “knowledge” or “awareness” of the Lord. In other words, we will wake up to who we really are—light of eternal Light!

The church—like an almond tree in winter—is the first-fruits of the Glory appearing on earth. We are called to manifest the true design of humanity.

When we realize we are one with Jesus—and we rest in this truth—we become the “light-filled branches” that we truly are.

Let’s look one more time at the menorah:

Here, we placed the order of the Seven Spirits differently to show the color progression. In the next part, we will talk look more closely at the seven Spirits and look at the connection between each one and the colors of light.

In closing here, I just want to point out that it’s interesting how the menorah looks like an upside rainbow. In light of everything we’ve discussed, this makes sense if we are indeed God’s glory on earth.

Think about this: A true rainbow is a circle (though it usually doesn’t appear that way because it’s blocked by something in the atmosphere). The menorah is thus an image of God’s glory on earth underneath the rainbow of God’s throne above.

Yet it’s all meant to be One, which is what a circle points to: Unity.

We’ll dive into this glorious Unity together in the next part…

Addendum:

Sound, Waves, and the Sevenfold Pattern

The connection between the seven Spirits and the musical scale is not merely poetic but rests on the shared nature of light and sound as waves. Though one is perceived by the eye and the other by the ear, both arise from vibration, frequency, and ordered resonance. Light appears to us as color when electromagnetic waves oscillate at different frequencies; sound appears as pitch when air vibrates at different rates. In both cases, what we experience as beauty or harmony is the result of invisible movement ordered by law.

Music, like light, is structured around a sevenfold pattern. The diatonic scale—do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti—contains seven distinct notes, yet it is not linear in the way it first appears. The eighth note is not something new; it is the beginning again. “Do” returns, but at a higher frequency—an octave above the first. What seemed like an ending becomes a deeper beginning. Completion gives way to transfiguration.

This mirrors the biblical logic of the seven Spirits of God (Isa. 11:2–3). The fear of the Lord, listed last, is not a dead end or a diminishing state. Like the seventh note of the scale, it carries within it the momentum of return. Fear of the Lord does not cancel wisdom; it refines it. It leads back to wisdom again, but now with reverence, humility, and clarity born of encounter. Wisdom on the far side of awe is not the same wisdom with which one began—it is wisdom in a new “octave.”

Musically, the seventh note (“ti”) is uniquely charged. It is called the leading tone because it longs for resolution. It creates tension not to frustrate the listener but to draw the ear forward. Its instability is purposeful; it leans toward rest. In the same way, the fear of the Lord introduces a holy tension into the soul. It unsettles self-sufficiency and false mastery, orienting the heart toward surrender. That surrender, paradoxically, is what opens the way to deeper wisdom.

This cyclical movement—progress that returns, ascent that circles back—reflects a fundamental pattern of creation. Just as a rainbow is not truly a straight band but a circle seen only in part, so spiritual growth is not a straight climb but a spiral. Each revolution carries us forward, yet also brings us home again, to truths we have known before but now perceive with greater depth.

Thus, the seven notes of the scale offer more than an analogy; they provide a sonic parable. Harmony is not achieved by abandoning the beginning, but by returning to it transformed. The end does not negate the beginning—it fulfills it. In both music and the life of the Spirit, fullness is not found in stopping at seven, but in allowing the seventh to lead us back to the first, now resonating at a higher frequency of glory. We will explore this in much more depth in the next section.

💎 🌾 💎

Join us in impacting lives across the 10/40 window—your gift goes entirely to this mission. Learn more in the link below.

Support the Field of Dreams

The second part of a future book on The Seven Spirits of God. It is being adapted from a series given at The Almond Branch. See the original message here.

We are doing a deep dive into the Seven Spirits of God. Look again at Isaiah 11:

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;

from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

2 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 11:1-2 NIV)

This is the menorah God told Moses to design—and over a thousand years later, Jesus said this object represents the church.

Think of it… God is a Dad who teaches his kids things by drawing draws pictures for them! This particular picture is about people being “branches” connected to a center point—which is Jesus. He releases his life into us, which causes his light (or fruit) to come through the branch of our shared and individual lives.

Last time, we brought in another one of God’s pictures given to humanity: the rainbow. We looked at the link between the colors of the rainbow and the Seven Spirits of God. In the above image, we have the white light in the middle—white light that holds all other colors. In the same way, the Spirit of the Lord (the first thing Isaiah declares) includes and exudes six other “Spirits”: wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord.

In this session, we’re going to learn today how each of these operate and how there’s a sacred flow between them. Together, they teach us about the essence of life.

Color & the Glory of God

Years ago, I took some incredible courses on Hebraic dream Interpretation. These were taught through the ministry of a man named John Paul Jackson, someone who I found the Lord had imparted great insight concerning the language of symbols.

During that time, I learned how red is a color that connects to wisdom.

While preparing the material for this study, I recalled this bit of insight and thought that this was quite interesting considering how red is the first color on the spectrum of visible light and the first of the seven Spirits. The connection between red and wisdom then made even more sense when I considered a few other factors:

First of all, the New Testament declares that the message of Christ crucified is the very wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:23-24). Now red is obviously a symbol of blood. It’s also a symbol for humanity. The Hebrew word for Adam and the word “red” are very much connected.

So, the blood Jesus shed reveals the wisdom of God. Part of what this means is that laying down your life for another is the highest wisdom. To be wise is to learn to love. Red is the color often associated with love because of the heart from which blood flows. Therefore, all of the wisdom of the law and prophets is summed up in the reality of love—giving of yourself to God and others.

Now this is where we’ll bring back the science of color. We discussed last time how red is the lowest level of light energy—or the longest wavelength of visible light. In the same way, Christ is the infinitely intense and unimaginable God “slowed down” into visible form—into something human: Adam | red.

Jesus—particularly in his sacrifice of love—slows down and makes visible the infinite glory of God.

Wisdom is a life of love, sacrifice, and pouring yourself out. This is a Spirit—a Person—who gets embodied in human life. It’s a Spirit that fills our own personhood.

One other word about wisdom (and this will set us up for the Spirit of Understanding and everything else we’re about to discover). You can think of wisdom like this:

Wisdom is what to do.

Wisdom is what life is supposed to look like. Understanding is the why.

If wisdom is living a life of love—understanding is why you live that way.

You are supposed to love your neighbor. But why?

Understanding gives the deeper reasons behind things. You love your neighbor because you understand their value. You understand they are precious to God. You understand that you and your neighbor are connected—so to treat your neighbor well is to treat yourself well.

You can’t have wisdom without understanding. Wisdom without understanding is called “religion.” It tells people what to do without giving them a reason.

We do this with little kids to an extent. At first, we just tell children what to do. However, as they get older, maturity looks like understanding the why. As we mature, we’re supposed to know the reasons why we do the right things.

For example, wisdom is telling kids to keep sex within marriage. Understanding is why that’s so crucial—spiritually and biologically. It gives the underlying context to wisdom. It’s like the setting or the mount for the diamond in a ring. Understanding is the beautiful setting while wisdom is the precious gem within it.

To connect this back to color—the next color in the light spectrum is orange. This is our color for understanding. Interestingly, orange is a color within red. It is not a primary color. It comes from red and other combinations, which brings us to another science lesson:

The Primary Colors

In regard to light, the three primary colors are red, green, and blue. When you combine these colors, they produce white light. They can also produce every other visible color.

Some of you may remember the primary colors as red, blue, and yellow (or cyan, magenta, and yellow). This is mostly for painting. Paint pigments absorb light, which leads to a different system of color mixing. For the purposes of this study, we’re focused on how light works.

Indeed, the human eye is designed with three receptors for colors called cone cells. They are made to specifically receive red, green, and blue.

So, orange is a color that emerges after combining red with other colors.

In the same way, understanding is a necessary by-product of wisdom. Wisdom is what it is. It is settled truth. Yet, understanding addresses the questions of why that wisdom is so powerful.

And understanding is also a Person! It is part of God’s very nature—and the life he shares with us.

Next, we have the Spirit of Counsel. If wisdom is what to do, and understanding is why you do it, what do you think counsel is about?

Counsel is the how. You know what to do and why to do it, but how does this actually play out? Counsel is the practical, strategic outworking of wisdom.

For example: wisdom means loving my spouse and giving my life for her. Understanding tells me it’s because she is a precious gift from God, and that we are One.

Counsel is how do I practically lay down my life for my wife?

Thus, I take wisdom and understanding and then say: I am going to go out of my way each week to do something that makes my wife feel seen and heard… I am going to protect a certain time during the week for us to connect… I am going to lay down my opinion in one area and die a little bit to myself, and let her win!

If that sounds like being crucified to you: congratulations, welcome to marriage and the Christian life! Welcome to the Spirit of wisdom, understanding, and counsel! You may not have any clue as to what you’re getting into with this teaching. Though I promise, this is leading to the true, delicious fruit of the tree of life—what was lost in Eden…

Now, if we stay on the path of the rainbow, we have counsel lining up with yellow. This works well because yellow is very much the symbol of hope and direction. Sunlight is associated with yellow—it brightens the path before you. When you have counsel, there is a hopeful direction.

Yellow also comes from red. It’s a secondary color. So wisdom contains both understanding and counsel. Wisdom is everything. Understanding and counsel are really aspects of what is underneath wisdom and what it looks like in action.

Therefore, you can think of this progression as the color red getting more intense. Indeed, when light is energized, it moves from red to orange and to yellow. There’s a message in that of the practical nature of wisdom becoming movement.

And this leads to something totally different. It brings us to the Spirit of Might—which also brings us to a whole new primary color: Green.

Think about the progression here. You know what to do, why to do it, and how to do it…

Might is DOING IT.

Action.

Might is the energy and ability to walk out the counsel, understanding, and wisdom of God. Might is life itself. Therefore, green is perfect because it’s the color of life.

This is an amazing connection because sometimes the word “might” is translated as power. As a result, this gives us a beautiful way to understand power.

God’s power is not defined by the way the world defines power. God’s power is linked with resurrection life. His Spirit in the Bible is called the Spirit of Life. The might of God is his power over death. Creation testifies to this all over the place. (Such as a little “shoot” growing from a cut down tree . . . that is God’s power)

Green is like a brand-new entity arriving on the scene. It’s quite different from those warmer hues of red, orange, and yellow. This brings us back to the primary colors.

I mentioned last time that there is a Trinitarian revelation here. I believe God made these three colors (with the human eye fine-tuned to behold them) in order to point to his Triune nature. The primary colors also give us a metaphor for how everything flows from the Trinity interacting with One Another.

Red easily points to Jesus. As we’ve already covered, red is more earthly and speaks of sacrifice.

Green points to the Spirit—who is the Life of God and the loving connection between the Father and the Son.

Blue speaks to God the Father. Blue is a heavenly color. God the Father is our Heavenly Father. Blue (and purple) point to his majesty and royalty.

A Disclaimer! None of this is meant to be a perfect interpretation of color and scripture. Much of what we’re discussing here is just a guide into some of the mystery of how God speaks.

Part of God’s love language is symbols—which he utilizes all through creation. This is not about knowing cool ideas. This is about a God who is reaching out to his kids as a Dad who happens to be an unimaginably good artist.

Back to the Seven Spirits: we have wisdom, understanding, counsel, and might. All of this is meant to lead us into this reality of knowledge . . . The Spirit of Knowledge.

The word “knowledge” in the Hebrew is not about knowing facts. This word here is about an experiential knowing. When you understand something and walk it out, it becomes part of you. You know it in an intimate experienced way.

It’s like the difference between someone who knows about cars and someone who knows cars. A person can read a book on mechanics. They can watch videos. They can be very knowledgeable in our modern sense of the word. But it’s really not until they get under the hood, hands dirty, driving multiple vehicles over multiple years, that they the know the thing.

Someone who can tell you wise things doesn’t mean they’re truly knowledgeable. (A good reason why pastors, authors, and public figures should not be idolized.)

But the word “knowledge” goes even deeper. It’s more than just knowing the right things, understanding them, and doing them.

This is also the word for intimacy. It’s where we get the Hebrew term for a husband and wife knowing each other physically.

This has to do with an intimate relationship with God and others. The goal of wisdom, understanding, and walking in good counsel all leads to experiencing intimate connection with God and others.

This is what life is all about! This is what is happening within the circle of the Trinity—and they have chosen to share it with us!

This is who they are, and we have been given bodies, personalities, and relationships to experience this flow of life (the flow of the Spirit of Life) together.

The word for knowledge is also connected to the New Testament term for revelation. The apostle Paul prays for “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation” to hit people in Ephesians 1. He is speaking about the Spirit of Wisdom and the Spirit of Knowledge there.

Revelation is when something hidden gets revealed. This connects to intimacy because intimacy is to see and know something about someone that others don’t—something that’s not on the surface. It’s a special awareness you have. A husband knows his wife in a way no one else does and vice versa.

Therefore, knowledge or revelation is to know God and the mysteries of his heart. It’s not just about knowing his commands and counsel—although those are very important. All of this is meant to lead to relationship.

In regard to color, this ties into something else I learned in those Hebraic dream interpretation courses. Blue is a color for revelation and intimacy. I learned this almost 20 years ago and I was blown away when I was going down the line of the Seven Spirits matching the colors of the rainbow.

So, we now have wisdom, understanding, counsel—what do to, why to do it, how to do it. All of it leads to the actual flow of these of things in our lives. This is the green blossoming Spirit of power. This produces true knowledge: experience and intimacy with God. In this, we come into greater and greater revelation of who he is (and who we are as his image-bearers).

This leads to this final Spirit erupting in our lives. It brings us to the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord.

The word “fear” in the Hebrew is different than the Hebrew word to be afraid. This is not always the best translation. In fact, when Jesus quotes the Old Testament that mentions “you shall fear the Lord your God”—Jesus translates it as worship (compare Matthew 4:10 with Deuteronomy 6:13): “You shall worship the Lord your God.”

It is a word that speaks to praise, awe, and reverence.

Now, this is the final part of the progression, because when you know God more—when you see into his heart (meaning you have revelation of who he is)—that leads to being overwhelmed in awe. It produces within you a true sense of honor, respect, and adoration for him. All of this is wrapped up in the phrase the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord.

This is about pure worship. It’s where you recognize who God is and his beauty overwhelms you and delights you.

Nonetheless, we can’t completely throw out the word “fear,” for there is an element of holy terror as we encounter something absolutely beyond our control. We’re talking about a beauty and power that is beyond our ability to understand or contain . . . which is humbling. Thus, the fear of Lord confronts and burns away pride and all the darkness (sin) that attaches itself to pride’s delusions.

But here’s something else amazing—recall that a rainbow is actually a circle . . . this blew my mind when I realized the Scriptures says over and over again: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (see for example Proverbs 9:10).

The fear of the Lord brings you back to Wisdom. It brings you back to Christ, and to the simplicity of his love. It brings you back to the blood of Jesus.

When the priest entered the most intense and holiest part of God’s temple—the Holy of Holies—he found a mercy seat sprinkled with blood. Within the infinite glory of God’s presence is the purest mercy and kindness!

To reiterate: Jesus is the Almighty and incomprehensive God slowed down for us to see and touch and draw near.

Though an overwhelming experience of worship can be terrifying (because you recognize your desperate need and pride is exposed and burned away)—we come back to the place of rest as we surrender. We are brought back into safety. The Almighty becomes an all-comforting presence.

This is what we find in revival testimonies from the 1700s and 1800s. Prominent preachers who saw people encounter the fear of the Lord during different spiritual awakenings would remark that people who never moved beyond the groaning and crying over sins were never truly “converted.” It was those who experienced the true joy of God’s salvation who bore lasting fruit in their lives.^[1]

This idea of the fear of the Lord bringing us back to wisdom connects us back to the musical scale as well. We discussed briefly last time the connection between the Seven Spirits, the colors of the rainbow, and the seven notes of the western musical scale. When you reach the most intense note on the scale (ti), you go back to you started (do); however, this is now at a different level known as an octave

The fear of the Lord corresponds to the most intense color in the spectrum, which is purple (or violet). It also connects to the most intense musical note. But again, it leads you back to a new beginning—a new octave.

In God, there is an infinite experience of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge—leading to more and more and more wonder and worship—which brings you back deeper into wisdom, understanding, and so forth. And, as hard as it is to fathom, it never gets old.

The Spiraling Paths of Divine Life

So, this teaching is called The Way of Life. We could have also called it the “paths of righteousness” from Psalm 23 where David says God is a shepherd who leads his sheep in the paths of righteousness.

In the land of the Bible, shepherds did not take their sheep straight up a mountain. They walked them in circles around a mountain, ascending higher and higher at a pace they could handle. So these paths would be more like a spiral.

Indeed, the paths of righteousness are a circular spiral. Our very DNA is designed after this pattern—it is a spiraling ladder. This is because life itself is a spiral upward the Seven Spirits of God!

The fear of the Lord—true worship—is the pinnacle experience of the “ladder” of life. It is the crescendo of everything. Yet at the same time, it is a painfully overwhelming experience. Like the highest note—ti—it makes you long for a resolve—do. And just when you are totally undone and think you can’t handle anymore, the resolve comes. Things quiet down. You come back into the white light of his glory, which is the place of rest (more on that in the next session).

Then, as you rest, that slow “red” wave comes back: You come back into a fresh discovery of his tender mercies. It’s the sweetest and greatest thing you could ever know.

One final thing we’ll explore from God’s creation: God’s design of human sexuality. There is a connection to what we’re learning here.

God created the idea of marriage. This was meant to be a relationship that begins with a covenant of the kind of wisdom we’re talking about: the promise to love another and lay your life down. In the case of marriage this culminates into something (like moving from red to purple). It leads to a physical union, which then goes on to repeats the “circle of life”—literally. Life comes out of that intense union. Human life with red blood flowing through its veins.

Yet, right before that happens, there is a “climax” of intensity—one of the most intense feelings a person can experience. It’s a feeling of that employs both the pain and pleasure sensors.

As strange as it might sound to people’s ears, there is a correlation to worship and the fear of the Lord here.

In fact, the pornography problem is a false grab at the Knowledge (intimacy) and the Fear of the Lord (worship). Think about it… We are made intimacy, beauty, and ecstasy. We long for connection and encounter. Pornography is a quick and false grab at it.

Thus, a lot of men struggle with worship because they’re already worshiping at broken altars and having this false religious moment of ecstasy (which actually sucks life of them as they literally their life-seed on that idolatrous altar).

So, every level of life points to the mystery of knowing God and experiencing his sevenfold Spirit. This is the essence of what life is about—the way and path of righteousness.

We are made to experience wisdom, understanding, and counsel, which leads to action—might—which then builds experience upon experience, cultivating intimacy with God that blossoms into intimate and powerful worship. And these encounters with him then lead to spiritual life, just like the intimacy between a husband and wife. We become fruitful! We multiply.

Then, we pass our wisdom to others. We ourselves learn to slow down like that red wave as pour into someone else’s life. Or, in other words, as we incarnate into someone’s world. This is the end game for our personal journey—which is a really a new beginning . . . a new octave. All of this is found on spiraling ladder of life in Christ.

Some of us may be stuck on a certain part of the ladder . . . but God wants to bring us higher . . . so we can actually lower—and bring others up with us!

Father, thank you for the path of life you’re revealing to us in your Word! Draw us deeper into your presence. Awaken us to the intimate knowledge of Christ within. Thank you that He is our inheritance. He is our wisdom, our understanding, our might. He is the fear of the Lord.

Father, open our eyes to Christ within and lead us higher into your glorious ways. We pray this in the mighty name of Christ. Amen!

^[1] See Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards (1746).

💎 🌾 💎

Join us in impacting lives across the 10/40 window—your gift goes entirely to this mission. Learn more in the link below.

Support the Field of Dreams

Step into this month’s journey with Elisha’s Riddle. Begin at the heart with The Vision of Elisha’s Riddle, where faith unfolds in surprising ways. Then explore The Gospel in Silicon, a deep dive into finding Jesus in the world of technology. Feel the joyful thunder of The Happiness of God with Dylan, wander alongside C. David Baker in the reflective paths of Walking Stick Journal, and uncover divine mysteries in Nick’s Seven Spirits of God series. Each piece is an invitation—read, wonder, and let the Mystery unfold before you.

Featuring:

The Vision of Elisha’s Riddle

The Gospel Written in Silicon (Part 1 & Part 2)

The Happiness of God

New Installments of:

The Walking Stick Journal (Faltering & In the Belly of Suffering)

The Seven Spirits of God (Part 1 & Part 2)

💎 🌾 💎

Join us in impacting lives across the 10/40 window—your gift goes entirely to this mission. Learn more in the link below.

Support the Field of Dreams