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A Chosen Need

Wednesday Wanderings with Dr. Sherri is a time we set aside to wander in the Presence of Jesus and ponder His truths. When you are ready, prepare your mind, body, and soul to have a transformational encounter with Jesus.

Watch the Wednesday Wanderings Welcome for this week.

Now that we have cleared our minds of the clutter, we can wander on the journey of exploring our need of God.

PREPARATION: In our last Wandering we asked the Holy Spirit to teach us the will of God and to fulfill His promises. This week we will explore a chosen and a desperate need. When you are ready, you may begin the dialogue with Jesus and state: “Jesus, I invite you to help me to leisurely wander into your Presence. Prepare my heart to receive and illuminate my spiritual senses to encounter you.”

PROMISE: Phillipians 4:19 Amplified

                       All my needs

19 And my God will liberally supply (fill until full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

At times I tend to prioritize and compartmentalize my needs into chosen needs and desperate needs. I prioritize my longings and choose to trust myself to take care of my physical, social, emotional, financial, and mental needs. Until a crisis arises and I need extra money or I gain extra weight and cannot fit my clothing or stress takes over, THEN I admit that I need God to step in and fix what I thought I could do.  When I’ve depleted my might, I examine which void I was attempting to meet, pray, and desperately trust God to meet my needs. No matter the initial focus, I always come back to the same result, I am spiritually deficient. This approach is redundant, reactive, and unnecessary. The truth is that God WILL supply- to capacity-ALL my (spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, social, and financial) needs if I seek and chose to rely upon Him FIRST.

PSALM: I Need Thee Every Hour written by Annie Sherwood Hawks.

Every day in every way I need you

I need Thee, O I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee!
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

Annie Sherwood Hawks was a mother of three when she wrote the hymn I Need Thee Every Hour. Her heart song developed when in the midst of completing ordinary chores she felt overwhelmed by the Presence of God. The hymn includes the psalmist’s confession of her constant need for God in every day – in every way – in everything. The thought of an every day and every way need includes inviting God to direct us in ALL areas of our lives. Not prioritizing my spiritual needs keeps me spiritually depleted and from acknowledging that I need God everyday in every way.  When was the last time you acknowledged that you need God everyday in every way? 

PARABLE:  The reality is that whether or not we choose to acknowledge that we need God does not negate the fact that we  need God. A desperate need is when we find ourselves feeling as though we have no options and we turn to God to intervene immediately. A chosen need is when we do not wait for a desperate situation to trigger our acknowledgement of our need for God. I want to choose to come to God to fulfill the spiritual potholes within my soul BEFORE a life obstruction.

How do we develop the pro-active practice of choosing to need God in all areas of our lives?

  • We come to understand that our needs can only be met through a relationship with Jesus Christ that will lead us to trust and depend on God (Proverbs 3:5).
  • We prioritize and actively attend to our spiritual need for God by coming to God FIRST and trusting Him to meet everything else (Matthew 6:33).
  • We surrender the illusion that anyone but God is meeting our needs (Phillipians 4:19).
   Chose to trust God to meet your needs

What are our spiritual needs?  Spiritual needs are God-given deep desires rooted in core longings that only God can meet. Core longings of the soul are love, safety, understanding, purpose, significance, and belonging. All of our needs: spiritual (love), mental (purpose), emotional (understanding), physical (safety), social (belonging), and financial (significance) are all established in our core longings.Our longings trigger us to go to God. Out of His love for us, God designed us to long for Him to meet our needs that only He can fulfill.God has given His promise and His oath of provision. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.

PONDER and WANDER: When we come to God to meet our spiritual need first, we are able to enjoy His blessings and provisions of love, safety, understanding, purpose, significance, and belonging. Providing for our needs is not something that God does, it is WHO HE IS: Jehovah Jireh, the trusted God who provides. We have to take time to discover the impact of core longings and our responses to them so that we can train our hearts and souls to ask God to meet them.

If you choose, Ponder these questions with Jesus and ask the Holy Spirit to help you notice the responses. Then, you can surrender these areas to Jesus and CHOOSE to need God!

               Dear God I choose you First
  • Soul care training exercise: We will spend our energy trying to meet the need of what we most desire. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the longing you spend most of your time trying to meet. Is it safety, understanding, purpose, significance, belonging, or love?
  • Once you figure out what you desire, think about what you do to meet that need. As it comes to your mind notice is the need ever truly met?
  • Now, decide where you need to acknowledge and choose to need God.

Please know that soul training is not a one time experiential. If we want to choose to need God in every area of our life, we will have to continue to notice when the priority of our needs have shifted away from FIRST addressing our spiritual need for God. Making our spiritual needs a priority sets the direction of our heart to recognize what we need most is the love of God, it develops the habit of seeking God first, and trusting Him to meet every need and core longing.

            I need you like the sun

PRAYER: God I choose to desperately need you every day in every way! I repent for acting as though it is me who meets my needs.When the core longings within me are activated, help me to come to you first and to resist the temptation to depend on what I think I can do or what I think I know. A songwriter once said, “like the desert needs the rain, I need you. Like the morning needs the sun, I need you. Like the ocean needs the rain, I need you. Every day in every way, LORD I need you.” I agree with these words. I am desperate for you because I choose to be.  In the strong name of Jesus I pray, Amen. 

PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to thank God for providing your every need!  Let the work of your wandering fill you with the assurance that our God will supply your every need according to His riches in glory.

Then take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.

Until next time, be Resonant.

PERSONAL BONUS: If you choose, take another five minutes to read about the teachable moment where God showed me what it looks like to choose to come to God to meet every need.

While serving at the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission (NWHCM) I participated in Meals on Heals ( similar to our Meals on Wheels Program). Several times a week families most at risk for starvation receive a few bowls of rice and beans to decrease their hunger. As the team serving walked within the community and distributed bowls of rice and beans out of an empty paint bucket, my perspective of prioritizing my needs changed. While the cement homes were filled with 10-15 people and they needed the donated rice and beans to meet their physical need to escape starvation, it was not their priority. Several of the families had joy. They greeted us with smiles of thanksgiving, shared their testimonies of answered prayer, and invited us to pray with them. In an impoverished country where several natural disasters destroyed the little they had, villagers longed for God’s presence and love.  They chose to need God not out of desperation but out of living Proverbs 3:5 and relying totally on God to meet ALL their needs.  Notice the ten children sitting outside of this one room cement house. Notice the bare feet in the picture. These same feet walk to worship service to praise God for sufficiently and abundantly meeting all of their needs. During my time in Haiti, I received much more than I gave. I found hope. I experienced true teachable lessons of what it looks like to make seeking God first a priority and trusting Him to meet ALL needs. I am hopeful that I too can practice this type of dependence. In the United States, God abundantly meets even our basic needs. I appreciate the provisions of food assistance and food banks, homeless shelters, public housing, and so many resources that God has provided for the United States. Even in desperation, He is meeting all our needs. I experienced true teachable lessons of what a chosen need  looks like. 

The post Chosen Need appeared first on Resonant 7.

Image attributions:
All my needs: Belovedwomen.org with added text
Choose to trust God to meet your needs: Pixabay with added text
Every day in every way: Belovedwomen.org with added text
I need you like the sun: Pixabay with added text

 

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Awaken to the Flame

Asleep

I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
  Every hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior,
  I come to Thee.

I Need Thee Every Hour
By: Annie S. Hawks, 1836-1911 (1872)

Listen to this beautiful piano version as you read, or watch the video then read.  Please make certain to enjoy the video log below.

In this final installment we look at the refrain that would be repeated throughout the hymn.  It reinforces the overarching theme of our need of God, and makes plain the supply, Jesus Christ.

Are You Awake?

Our lives are made up of many needs.  Need for shelter, companionship, food, safety, to name a few.  We strive to meet these basic needs and their provision leads us to a different level in the hierarchy of needs.  Abundance, status, privilege, comfort, they become “needs” as the lower ones are met.  These are all very genuine needs, but there is ultimately and even greater need which each of these point to heart and mind of everyone willing to be honest enough to admit it.

We need God.

God provides the context for understanding all that is right and wrong in the world.  God gives us hope in the midst of difficulty and strength when ours is gone.  God rises above all these lessor needs and provides for us in His presence a rest that informs how we live today, and a perspective that there is coming a better tomorrow.

But we must be awake to receive it.

But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”  Luke 21:36 ESV

In this passage Jesus is particularly instructing us to watch for His return, but there is a larger application.  In order to be ready for that Day, we must be careful how we live each day.  It is easy to become complacent, slowly being lulled to sleep by the passing of time.

We must stay awake.

Only then will be have the strength to endure whatever comes, and be able to stand on that Day.

Are you awake?  Are you watchful every day of how you are living? Pray God keeps your eyes open and strengthens you to live for Him, with a constant awareness of your need of Him. Ask Him to reveal if there are even areas of your life where you are not watchful.  Confess them and ask Him to help you stay awake.

The Hour

The Hour

This age as we wait on the return of Christ is made up of years.  Those years are made up of days.  And those days, hours.

If we live every second ready for His return, then we will be ready every minute.  If we are ready every minute, we will be ready every hour.  Even though we do not know the hour, we will be ready.

Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.  Matthew 24:44 ESV

So we are called to live in readiness and expectancy, but even still the hour of His return will be a surprise even to those watching for it.

Flame

The only way we can even approach this lofty ideal of living expectantly is to hourly confess how much we need Him.  That confession becomes the flame of a holy passion that consumes the dross of our selfish, ordinary lives and calls us to something far more beautiful, far more glorious.  It burns away the chaff and leaves the fully formed seed of righteousness.

Will you ignite that flame?  Will you welcome the Spirit to turn up the heat in your daily living until it becomes a spark to the kindling of your soul?  That is what being resonant means.  Reflecting on the reality of God routinely until it becomes your new normal.  

Jesus, I need You every hour.  Show me how to live out my need of you by praying often.  Keep me from falling asleep spiritually.  May I always be invoking Your power, Most High God.   In Jesus name.  Amen.

Fiery Tuning!

Keep coming back and we will work help you remove the things that may hinder your longing for His return by cultivating an awareness of God’s presence.   We will help you tune your heart to live out your worship by providing resources like this to help you acknowledge the greatness of God as you become more Resonant, 7 days a week.

Like what you finding here?  Fill out the form to the right to get an email with each fresh post and updates of new tools to help you be Resonant.

Please comment below and share if you have found this helpful in your journey of being more resonant.

Below is content always available to Subscribers, often to Free Members, and sometimes everyone.  Want to learn more about accessing all the additional material in the Subscriber Content Library, click here, or the Free Member Content Library with some examples of the complete Subscribers content, click here.

Everyone members enjoy this video, and the transcript below.

Video 11.6 Transcript

Welcome to Tuesday Tunings at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s tune our hearts.

I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
  Every hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior,
  I come to Thee.

I love it when writers repeat themselves, especially in song texts.  It must be important when they do. Add in the emphatic “Oh” and it leaves no doubt.  He needs God. I need God. Tell Him again, oh, tell Him again.

As if the first several times were not enough, here it is again.  I am certain this repetition is not vain, but purposeful. We know we need God, but we are prone toward self-sufficiency.  We repeat our need of God so we can not forget. Tell Him one last time.

And just what blessing are we longing for as we come to the Savior?  Nothing more than Him alone. We have rehearsed that in every line of every stanza and we declare it here together.   The blessing we long for is the presence of our Savior in every hour. Ask for it.

And we can be confident He will bless us with Himself.  Why? Because we have humbly declared our need and asked for Him alone.  Also because He promised. “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”  James 4:8 Come to Him right now

Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has surfaced in your heart, or just listen to what He is saying to you, then we will sing once more.

Sing

Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond.  Until next time, be Resonant.

Image Attributions
Asleep – https://pixabay.com/photos/man-young-male-adult-sleeping-909049/
Hour – https://pixabay.com/photos/clock-time-watch-hours-minutes-1461689/
Flame – https://pixabay.com/images/search/flame/

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Finding Yourself in Christ

Crucifixion

I need Thee every hour, most Holy One;
Oh, make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.

I Need Thee Every Hour
By: Annie S. Hawks, 1836-1911 (1872)

Listen to this beautiful piano version as you read, or watch the video then read. Please be sure to experience the worship-cultivating podcast below.

Having established who it is exactly that we are calling out to and why, we turn our attention to the remedy and it’s implications.  Think of it in terms of possession and position.  Let’s think about this.

Possession

As I look at this second line, it appears to me to be an issue of possession.  Let me explain.

We are asking for the Most Holy One to make us His possession.  We see this as a remedy for our neediness.  If we belong to Him we assume we will have everything we need because He will supply it.   This is a reasonable assumption since He has not only chosen to meet our deepest need, salvation, but did so by becoming the provision.

Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Titus 2:14 ESV

Jesus made us His by offering His life on our behalf.  His sacrifice redeemed us and purified us for Him. We are His people. 

It is interesting how the Scripture decides to describe us.  Of all the ways it could characterize God’s people, it says we will be zealous for good works.  Since zealous is a bit uncommon, let me define it.  

To have zeal is to posses great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or objective.  As God’s people we must have a great enthusiasm for good works.  This preoccupation with the work God has in store for us informs our focus.  We are not fixated on our need.  Instead we are intentional about meetings the needs of others, spiritually and otherwise.

Do you see the connection between being a person of God, and doing the work of God?  Do you understand how that preoccupation takes your focus from your need and puts it squarely on the needs of others?  Where are you that continuum?  Have you asked Jesus to make you His possession?  If so, is your life marked by a desire to do the work of God?  Ask God to show you how you can shift your focus from your need to someone elses.

Transfiguration

Position

Jesus making me His possession has some implications.  Some of them have to do with doing as indicated above, others with being.  Though there are distinctions to be made between these two, it is also important to realize the importance of the being simply because it actually informs the doing.  and our being flows out of the One who has taken possession of us.

He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”  Matthew 17:5 ESV

At His baptism and here at His transfiguration, the Father acknowledges His Son, His beloved, blessed Son.  Moses and Elijah also appeared with Him, but it was the Son whose sacrifice makes us the possession of the Father.  The Son changes our position with the Father from one of orphans to adopted children.

The three disciples on the mount with Jesus wanted to create tabernacles to worship there, one each for Jesus, Moses and Elijah, but Jesus had something else in mind.  He wanted to make them tabernacles, caring around the presence of God. He wants to do the same in us.  

And He has positioned us to be reflectors of His glory.  Our dependence on Him is one of the best ways we reflect His presence, not by pretending we have it all together, but acknowledging we know the One who does.

When we do that, we are transfigured.  We become more like Christ.  We are filled with light and love.  And God is pleased with us.

What situations do you already know will be a part of your day where you will need Him?  Determine now to reflect the position you have in Christ to the world around you.  Not sure how to do that?  Simply ask for help and trust your position in Christ to supply it.  

Jesus, make me Yours, and position my life in You that I may know Your supply for every need.  Have Your way in me today.  In Jesus’ name.   Amen.

Purposeful Thinking!

Are these thoughts helping you to develop greater spiritual awareness?  Sign-up in the form to the right above to get updates of new tools to help you be Resonant.

Below is content always available to Subscribers, sometimes to Free Members, and occasionally to everyone.  Want to learn more about accessing all the additional material in the Subscriber Content Library, click here.  Or check out some other samples at our Free Member Content Library.  We have lots of tools and lots of options designed to help you be Resonant!  Check them out today!!

Everyone enjoy this podcast and transcript below!  It features meditative music and moments to contemplate the Scriptures and reflections shared.

Podcast 11.5 Transcript

Welcome to Thursday Thoughts at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s think about this.

I need Thee every hour,

Matthew 26:40 ESV 

And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour?”

Jesus told His three closest disciples He was sorrowful to the point of death and asked them to pray.  When He returned He found them sleeping. If they could not stay awake on their own, how much more we need God, to stay awake and alert.  Tell Him again you need Him.

   most Holy One;

Luke 1:35 ESV

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

The Holy One we are crying out to in this stanza is the Son.  This account of His conception confirms that He would be called holy.  He is utterly unlike us, yet because He became one of us, He knows our need.  Thank the Most Holy One for being familiar with us.

Oh, make me Thine indeed,

Titus 2:14 ESV

Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Jesus made us His by offering His life on our behalf.  His sacrifice redeemed and purified us for Him. We are His people.  We can best model that when we engage in good works with great energy and enthusiasm.  Thank Him that you are His, and ask for His help showing it.

   Thou blessed Son.

Matthew 17:5 ESV

He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

At His baptism and here at His transfiguration, the Father acknowledges His Son, His beloved, blessed Son.  They wanted to create tabernacles to worship there, but Jesus was going to make them tabernacles. Ask the Son to make His home in you again today.

Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has come to your mind, or listen to what He is saying to you, then I will read our text once more.

I need Thee every hour, most Holy One;
Oh, make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.

Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond.  Until next time, be Resonant.

Image Attributions
Crucifixion – https://pixabay.com/photos/good-friday-crucifixion-1734261/
Transfiguration – https://pixabay.com/photos/church-window-church-window-jesus-1704825/

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Needy? You Are in Good Company

Passion

I need Thee every hour, most Holy One;
Oh, make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.

I Need Thee Every Hour
By: Annie S. Hawks, 1836-1911 (1872)

Listen to this beautiful piano version as you read, or watch the video then read.  Please make certain to enjoy the video log below.

In this stanza, we focus in on the person of Jesus.  He is the blessed Son, in whom the Father was pleased.  The One whose birth was heralded by angels and announced by Gabriel himself.  The Savior who offered Himself to make us His own. Let’s tune our hearts.

Watch With Me

Jesus was nearing the end of His mission.  The hour was at hand.  He could feel the weight of the Father’s will.  He could see the cup He would have to drink.  He was in agony.  He drew His closest three away with Him and asked them to pray.  How discouraging when He returned and found them asleep.

And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour?”  Matthew 26:40 ESV 

Jesus knew how much he needed the Father in those moments.  He modeled that for His disciples and invited them to enter in to that experience with Him, but all they could do was sleep.  Ever happen to you?

You knew these was something you needed to see God do.  You knew you needed to pray.  You started but found yourself driving off, barely able to keep your eyes open.  

Even when we know we need God, sometimes it is difficult to stay vigilant.  To remain alert.  It is true in many seasons.  It is true every hour.  You may not have actually fallen asleep, but you have certainly lost your vitality.

What area of your life is God using to reveal your need of Him in this season?  It will not take long to figure that out.  It is probably the thing you think about when you are thinking about nothing else.  Take a few moments now to tell Him you need Him in that area, and then ask Him to help you persevere in prayer in this hour, and the ones that follow.  Know with each prayer Jesus is persevering with you.

Annunciation

God Most High

So from the end of His life and ministry we swing the pendulum to His conception.  We do so to realize that we are asking for the help of One who though He is at His very nature different from us, He became one of us so that He could become intimately familiar with our need.  How kind of the Father to send Jesus to breath our air and walk our sod – the perfect Son of God.

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.  Luke 1:35 ESV

Though we could have used any number of Scriptures to consider why Jesus is the “most Holy One” we came here because of several key aspects.  It puts The Holy One we are crying out too in this stanza as the Son. It acknowledges the role of the Holy Spirit.  It points to the power of the Most High.

All these things must also be a part of our approach to God.  We must cry out to the Son.  We should acknowledge the role of the Holy Spirit.  Our prayers should invoke the power of the Most High.  Not so much in a formulaic way but in the essence.

Think about the last thing you cried out to God regarding.  When you last told Him how much you need Him.  Did you cry out to Jesus?  Did you acknowledge the role of the Holy Spirit?  Did you invoke the power of the Most High?  

Example

It should overwhelm you that you have access to Him.  It should humble you that you do not take advantage of it more often.  It should encourage you that you can change that, in this very hour.

Gethsemane

Back to the Garden, and His passion.  Jesus sets the example for us.  Never was one’s need more great than when Jesus sweat drops of blood in anguish over the cup He was about to drink.  I cried out to the Father, and found in Him all He needed to endure the path before Him.

We can do the same.

What most brings to heart your greatest need for God today?  Lift it to Jesus.  Acknowledge the role of the Holy Spirit to help you.  Ask for the power of the Most High.  Then do it again, every time you think of it.

 

Jesus, I need You every hour.  Show me how to live out my need of you by praying often.  Keep me from falling asleep spiritually.  May I always be invoking Your power, Most High God.   In Jesus name.  Amen.

Sequential Tuning!

Keep coming back and we will work help you remove the things that may hinder your longing for His return by cultivating an awareness of God’s presence.   We will help you tune your heart to live out your worship by providing resources like this to help you acknowledge the greatness of God as you become more Resonant, 7 days a week.

Like what you finding here?  Fill out the form to the right to get an email with each fresh post and updates of new tools to help you be Resonant.

Please comment below and share if you have found this helpful in your journey of being more resonant.

Below is content always available to Subscribers, often to Free Members, and sometimes everyone.  Want to learn more about accessing all the additional material in the Subscriber Content Library, click here, or the Free Member Content Library with some examples of the complete Subscribers content, click here.

Subscribers and free members enjoy this video, and along with everyone else the transcript below.

Video 11.5 Transcript

Welcome to Tuesday Tunings at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s tune our hearts.

I need Thee every hour, most Holy One;
Oh, make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.

Rather than growing weary of telling Jesus how much you need Him, I hope you are instead  actually gaining momentum. When this posture begins the be your default setting, you can find the wholeness your soul craves.  Tell Him you need Him.

We need the Holy One because our lives are in pieces.  When confronted with the integrated wholeness of God, His Holiness, Isaiah said, “I am undone”.  God is the One who can put our broken pieces back together. Ask Him to make you whole, so you can be holy.

That path toward holiness requires the confession of our need of God demonstrated in a life of surrender.  Do you want to be whole? Offer your life to God, completely, entirely, holding nothing back. If you want to find your life, you must lose it in Him.  Do it now.

Jesus is our example of surrender, the blessed Son, who pleased His Father.  He laid down His life and is now exalted in heaven. Determine today to follow in His footsteps, staying one step behind Him, as you live a life that declares your constant need of Him.

Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has surfaced in your heart, or just listen to what He is saying to you, then we will sing once more.

Sing

Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond.  Until next time, be Resonant.

Image Attributions
Gethsemane – https://pixabay.com/photos/passion-christ-jesus-christianity-3807314/
Annunciation – https://pixabay.com/photos/stained-glass-colorful-dove-angel-4053237/
Transfiguration – https://pixabay.com/photos/church-window-church-window-jesus-1704825/

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How To Know and Live God’s Promises

Promise

I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.

I Need Thee Every Hour
By: Annie S. Hawks, 1836-1911 (1872)

Listen to this beautiful piano version as you read, or watch the video then read. Subscribers and Free Members please be sure to experience the worship-cultivating podcast below.

As we look into the latter part of this stanza, keep in mind how it hinges on the first part.  We must know God’s will, then trust Him for the strength to do it.  Then, and only then, can we truly see the flow of promises fulfilled.  Let’s think about this.

Promises, Promises

Just what is a promise, and what specific promises has God given to us?

A promise is a declaration or assurance that one will do a particular thing or that a particular thing will happen.  Promises are often broken, but not God’s promises.  He offers us so many in His Word and we can find great comfort and confidence in His ability to carry them out and follow through with them.

Let’s consider one of the greatest and most common promises in the Bible.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16 (ESV)

What is the promise here?  Whoever believes in Jesus will not perish but have eternal life.  That is a promise we can trust.  It makes a difference in our daily lives and changes our eternal destination.  When you determine to receive this promise it changes everything, and it is only one of many, many promises which fill the pages of Scripture.

Have you received this promise?  If you have you know the reality of it because it has changed you and invited you into a life of ongoing transformation.  If you have not, why not today?  Jesus died for you so you can live eternally, even when you die and pass from this life. Put your faith in Him and begin the most incredible journey of one fulfilled promise after another.

Granted, Past Tense

We are going to use two parts of the same verse to guide the rest of our thinking about the latter part of this stanza.  The first part tells us that God has granted His promises to us.  Past tense.  Nothing you can do can effect the promise, only your experience of it.

…he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, 2 Peter 1:4a ESV 

The one above is a wonderful example of just how precious and VERY GREAT His promises are.

The experience of this granted promise, however, is continent upon something. It is contingent upon your knowing Him.  Fortunately for you that knowledge is imparted by His divine power.

I know this is getting a little complex but follow me.  His divine power has made Him known to You.  If you know Him, you have been granted these promises, and you can only know Him if His power has revealed Him to you.

Be encouraged by the fact that you know God.  Because you know God, these promises have been granted to you.  This means that these promises have been given formally to you.  And all of this is a gift of God.

But wait, it gets better.

The Nature of Christ

Though these promises are precious and very great, they are but a gateway to the greatest blessing of all.  We have been granted these promises…

…so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 2 Peter 1:4b ESV 

Partake

Partaker.  When you partake of food or drink, you consume it.  I like to think of this as enjoying it and that is certainly true of the impartation of the nature of God, but this goes MUCH deeper than simple enjoyment so that is not the definition in play here.

To be a partaker in these terms uses the lesser two of three common meanings.  First it means that you have joined in, so you are taking part in the very nature of God.  That is amazing, but it is the last one that really blows me away because it tells me that I am to be characterized by the divine nature.

The verse does say that we “may become” partakers, so we have a choice.  We have to allow the Holy Spirit to bring this about in us.  As you read the end of the verse you see another reinforcement of the sequence we considered on Tuesday in A Sequence of Fortunate Events.

As we learn and endure the will of God, living it out with His help, we understand and then exist within His fulfilled promises.  We escape the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire, an expression of our old nature, and become partakers of the Christ nature.

Hallelujah!

There is no better promise.  We become characterized by the nature of Christ, becoming like Jesus at our core.  Hallelujah!

Even the thought of that process reminds me how much I need Him because I can not accomplish that on my own.  Nor can you.  Thank Him again for His promises, and the work of the Spirit which teaches them to us, and then empowers us to live them.  What is the next part of the sequence we have considered for you?

  1. Learning His Will
  2. Doing His Will
  3. Knowing His Promises
  4. Living in His Promises.

It is likely some combination of several or all of them, but ask Him to show you what the next step of your journey toward Christlikeness should be.  Wait for it.  When He shows you, you will undoubtedly be ready say anew, “I need you every hour!”

Jesus, take me to and through the next part of my journey with You.  I need you to teach Your will, so that I may continue to see Your promises fulfilled in my life. In Jesus’ name.   Amen.

Needful Thinking!

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Subscribers and Free Members enjoy this podcast!  Everyone, the transcript below! It features meditative music and moments to contemplate the Scriptures and reflections shared.

Podcast 11.4 Transcript

Welcome to Thursday Thoughts at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s think about this.

I need Thee every hour;

Hebrews 10:36 ESV

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

This Scripture sets the stage for this entire stanza.  We need endurance to do the will of God. We can not do that in our own strength.  We need Him. When we have done His will, by His strength, we are positioned to receive what is promised.  Tell Him again you need Him to endure.

   teach me Thy will;

Psalm 25:4-5 ESV

Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

We wait every hour, all day long for God to lead us and teach us.  We need Him to lead us in His ways and teach us His paths. Do you spend any time each day learning HIs ways, just waiting on Him?  Take a few moments right now and ask Him to show you His ways, then wait. 

And Thy rich promises

2 Peter 1:4a ESV 

…he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, 

When we have taken the time to learn His ways, and trusted Him for strength to walk in His ways, we are positioned to not only know His promises, but receive them.  Are there any of God’s promises you are waiting to see fulfilled? Either way, ask Him to show you more.

     in me fulfill.

2 Peter 1:4b ESV 

…so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

What better promise than a new nature, the very nature of Christ!  That is a promise God longs to fulfill in our lives as we live according to His will.  Are you experiencing that transformation? God wants to fulfill that in you. Ask Him if there is anything in you withholding that fulfillment.

Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has come to your mind, or listen to what He is saying to you, then I will read our text once more.

I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.

Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond.  Until next time, be Resonant.

Image Attributions
Promise – https://pixabay.com/photos/christ-cross-faith-jesus-passion-3484141/
Partake – https://pixabay.com/photos/breakfast-delicious-drink-food-1835478/
Hallelujah! – https://www.freeimages.com/photo/hallelujah-1308790

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