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Transformational Talk

Hello, my name is Sherri Woods and I will be your journey guide for Wednesday Wanderings. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, to wander means to move about leisurely without a fixed course or goal. The purpose of Wednesday Wanderings is to set aside time to allow Jesus to accentuate our creative minds and fill them with His truths. For Wednesday Wanderings, we will be journeying with Jesus into encounters to heal our mind, body, and soul. You may want to consider utilizing a journal to record what I have termed the “transformational conversations” of your venture.

Watch the Wednesday Wanderings Welcome.

Now that we have cleared our minds of the clutter, we can wander on the journey of examining what it means to Have a little talk with Jesus.

PREPARATION:

There is something unique about having a talk with Jesus.  When we pray and allow Jesus to hold the sacred space for us, we can expect to experience transformation. Our thoughts are powerful and have a creative ability. The Bible is complete with truths and promises to renew our minds and penetrate our hearts. When you are ready, you may begin the dialogue with Jesus by stating:

“Jesus, I invite you to help me to wander aimlessly into your Presence where my mind, body, and soul can be transfigured. I welcome your truth and a holy encounter with your Word. Illuminate my spiritual senses that my eyes may see you, my ears may hear you, my body may feel you with me, and my heart may receive you.”

PROMISE:

Psalm 139 is an invitation to wander on the path with God that leads to eternal life. David invites God to search his heart, reveal the hurts, habits, and hangups, and guide him away from his sin. The heart is where our hurts, habits, and hang ups are revealed. Our minds hold the thoughts but our hearts hold the evidence of the thoughts. Reading God’s Word alters our thoughts. Applying God’s Word, reconstructs our hearts. Seeking God’s presence and plan redirects our journey.

Psalm 139: 23-24 The Message

23-24 Investigate my life, O God,
    find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
    get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
    then guide me on the road to eternal life.

PSALM: Just a Little Talk With Jesus

Cleavant Derricks, the song writer of Just a Little Talk with Jesus  shares his transformational conversation with Jesus.

Verse 1:
I once was lost in sin, but Jesus took me in,
And then a little light from heaven filled my soul;
It bathed my heart in love and wrote my name above,
And just a little talk with Jesus makes me whole.

PARABLE: Verse one introduces us to the four components of a transformational conversation.

  1. The Hurt – Hurts, habits, and hang ups that create sin.
  2. The Hope – Jesus rescues us and gives us the light of hope.
  3. The Heart – Jesus cleans our heart in love.
  4. The Healing – Our hurts are transformed from hurt to wholeness.

PONDER and WANDER:

Take a few breaths in and out. In and out. As you breath in invite your spiritual imagination to become activated. As you breath out, release the clutter of concerns and anxieties. Breath in and out.

When your mind is clear of clutter, and you are ready, take a few minutes to wander as you have a little talk with Jesus.  If you would like, you may want to consider noting the responses in a journal.

Begin by inviting the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you into the truths of the answers to the questions below.

Ponder these questions:

  1. “What is the hurt, habit or hangup that is interrupting my spiritual growth?”
    • Note the hurt.
  2.  “What hopeful truth would Jesus like to offer to rescue you at this time?”
    • Request and welcome the hope of Jesus to bathe your heart in love.
  3. “Is there any blockage (shame, guilt, forgiveness, anger, etc.) that is keeping your heart from being cleaned?”
    • Surrender your the blockage.
  4. “How will you respond to what Jesus wants to heal in you?”
    • Receive God’s promise to rescue you, fill you with His light, and make you whole.

PRAYER:

As you listen to the video recording, surrender your sin to Jesus. Transformation takes time. Invite Jesus again to rescue you. Let Him bathe your heart in love and fill you with His light. He promises that He will make you whole.

Listen to this closing prayer and enjoy a glimpse of the Mediterranean Sea filmed while I was in Jerusalem.

PRAISE:

Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to offer a praise of thanksgiving as you let the work of your wandering transform your mind and the freedom and assurance of  your salvation permeate your soul.

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.

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Walking in Son-shine

Lost in Sin

I once was lost in sin but Jesus took me in
   And then a little light from heaven filled my soul
He bathed my heart in love and He wrote my name above
   And just a little talk with Jesus makes me whole.

Just a Little Talk with Jesus
By: Cleavant Derricks (1909-1977)

Listen as you read.  This is an updated version of this old hymn.

As promised we begin being to explore the second of our two alternating hymns this week, Just a Closer Walk with Thee, and Just a Little Talk with Jesus.  As we begin that journey today looking into the heart of the matter with the first two lines of the latter, I am excited to announce that Wednesday Wanderings begins tomorrow with a different look into this text under the guidance of Dr. Sherri Woods.  If you are on our list, watch your email tomorrow for that first installment.  If you are not on our list, sign-up today in the box to the right.

Let’s tune our hearts!

A Different Path

Last week our opening image was of two people walking and talking along a colorful path enjoying each other.  Today’s image is meant to evoke a very different feeling.  It looks like a few individuals walking alone on a dark street.  It looks a little dangerous, even mysterious.  What thoughts come to mind as you look at that image?

Maybe the caption I added gives it away, but there is trouble lurking on that path.  In the shadows all sorts of mischief are brewing, things which one the one hard may seem intriguing even temping, but cause us a world of pain.  We all know that path because we have walked it far too many times.  It is way that quickly takes us far from a life of honoring God.  What sins dot your path?  Doesn’t take much introspection to recall the difficulties into which we wandered, does it?

Take just a few moments to recount some of the things which demonstrated just how lost you were.  You will need that mental list in a minute.

But Jesus

Fortunately for us, Jesus knew we could not find our way back to the light, so He came looking for us.  That is what He did on the cross.  He made a way for us to come back to our Father, the One from whom our sins had separated us, causing us to be swept along a powerful stream of self-indulgence.

Jesus Took Me In

Can you remember that moment when you accepted the grace of Jesus?  I can.  It felt very much like what this image depicts.  I realized that I was far from God, but that Jesus not only had made a way back, He was the Way.

There is quite a contrast between these two images, just like there is between the first and second part of that first line. Lost, accepted.  Alone, together. Darkness, light.  Jesus has done all that for us, but I fear we are too quick to forget.  That little talk we have with Jesus at the beginning of our relationship changes everything, eternally.  Hallelujah!  But we need to keep talking to Him.  At a loss for what to say, start here.

“I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”  Luke 7:47
Jesus taught this truth using the extravagance of an expression of much love from a woman who had been forgiven much.  Truth is, we have all been forgiven much.  Trouble is, we forget too quickly.

Have a little talk with to Jesus right now.  I asked you to recount some of the ways your life demonstrated how lost you were.  Thank Jesus for delivering you from each of them.

Can You Still See It?

The light that is.  You saw it when you took Jesus up on His offer of forgiveness.  You have seen it in those moments you chose to love Him, and others, much.  Maybe you saw it just now as you expressed your gratitude once again for the deliverance Christ has brought into your life.  You can see it, that light from heaven that filled your soul, every time you remember how Jesus took you in, drawing you away from that life of sin.

Light from Heaven Filled My Soul

And what a beautiful, inspiring light it is.  We face all kinds of darkness in our lives, every day.  But that light from heaven still illuminates our path even when, especially when, the darkness closes in on us.

You invite that light every time you have a little talk with Jesus.  Does it leave entirely?  Sometimes yes.  Sometimes no.  Like the image here, sometimes it is pushed to the side, still present, but not overwhelming.

So remember to welcome the light.  Remember to talk to Jesus.  There will be times when you simply sit and enjoy His presence.  Other times, you will pour your heart our in tears.  But sometimes, many times, throughout the course of every day, just have a little talk with Jesus.  Why?  Because those talk make you whole.

Invite Jesus right now to flood your soul with the light of heaven.  Look to the cross.  Welcome His embrace.  Revel in His love.

We will continue to warm our hearts with these truths as we step deeper into this old hymn on Thursday and subsequent weeks, but be sure to take a few minutes and cultivate that heart to converse with Jesus through the video log and transcript below the prayer.  The video is available only to our Subscribers and Free Members, but the transcript is available to everyone.  Become a Free Member today.  Simply click here.

Bright Tuning!

Jesus, I was lost in sin.  But that did not stop You from demonstrating Your love for me, on the contrary in motivated You to do so, out of obedience to the Father.  When I surrendered to Your love, light filled my soul.  Help me to surrender today and every day, and to walk in that light. In Jesus name.  Amen.

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Subscribers and Free Members enjoy this podcast! Everyone else, the transcript below.

Video 8.1 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 once was lost in sin but Jesus took me in
   And then a little light from heaven filled my soul
He bathed my heart in love and He wrote my name above
   And just a little talk with Jesus makes me whole.

It all begins here, with a heart of repentance, turning away from sin and into the loving arms of Jesus.  Do you remember when you first realized He willingly accepts as we are? Reflect on that and thank Him for leading you to repentance and taking you in.

I remember exactly where I was that moment the light of heaven filled my soul.  I remember what that felt like to turn from the darkness of doubt. Do you? Thank Jesus for the work He has down in your soul.

I felt His love for me and embraced the wonder of it with my whole heart.  I was overcome with emotion, my eyes filled with tears. Still my mind had little idea of the wonder that had just occurred, my name written in the book of life.  Bless His name!

Each of the sections of this old song ends with the powerful declaration I first realized that night, a little talk with Jesus changes things.  It changes me, my perspective, my circumstances. Sometimes all three. Thank Jesus for the difference a little talk with Him makes.

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
Lost in Sin – https://pixabay.com/photos/lost-hell-limbo-night-dark-forest-474124/
Jesus Took Me In – http://onayemiinspiration.blogspot.com/2015/08/jesus.html
Light from Heaven Filled Me Soul – https://pixabay.com/photos/inspiration-heaven-spirituality-2706594/

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Satisfaction Guaranteed

Walking Closely

I am weak but Thou art strong;
  Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
  As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Just a Closer Walk with Thee
 By: Anonymous

Listen as you read.  This is a great old dixie jazz version.  Don’t be startled when it picks up around 2:49.

On Tuesday we began our walking and talking journey with Jesus by acknowledging our weakness and His strength.  We need that  strength to be kept from all wrong.  We find it when we walk closely with Him, which also happens to be the place where we learn to be satisfied.  Let’s think about this.

Satisfied

We tend to get ourselves in trouble when we seek to be satisfied first, instead of seeking first to be close to Jesus.  That pursuit of satisfaction reveals our weakness by taking us down paths that lead to wrong.  When we choose from that same place of weakness to instead look to Jesus for the strength to do right satisfaction floods our minds and hearts.

Satisfied

So where are you looking for satisfaction, or where are tempted to look for it? It seems our traveler here has made the choice to come to God in His Word to find satisfaction.  Good thinking.

This is a true statement, “I’ll be satisfied as long as I walk, let me walk close to Thee.”  But it can not ring true if we do not choose to draw close to God.  One of the best ways we can do that is by spending time in His word.  It looks like our sojourner here has put a few miles on that Bible.  Can the same be said of one or more of the copies of God’s word which you possess?  If not, why not?   If so, how will you continue to seek after God as He reveals Himself in His word?

I like reading a bound copy of the Bible.  Love feeling it in my hands and flipping to my most recent place of revelation.  Yet, for the convenience of having several copies at my fingertips, I generally read it on my phone.  However you get into it, let it get into you.  It will point the way to the place of satisfaction and even become it as you are diligent to get it in front of your eyes.

Learning to walk closely with Jesus certainly includes learning how He walks, but reading His Word is only way of the ways to do this.  We also learn by watching others who do it well, and by learning to talk with Jesus so we can develop our ability to discern when our choices may be leading down a wrong path. Let’s think about these latter two.

Walking Closely

Because we can not see Jesus footprints in the sand like the photo above, we must figure out other ways to follow Him.  Fortunately, there have been many who have gone before us, and we can learn from their spiritual stride how to walk closely to Jesus.  Who comes to mind in your life that is following Jesus in such a way that you could improve the quality of your walk by emulating them?  Thank God for the people that just came to mind then think about how you could learn even more from them.

Lace Them Up

If you can not think of anyone, then you need to begin to pray that God will help you identify someone.  Once He has, ask them if you can walk along beside them awhile.  I would advise you to put your walking shoes on as you ask because I am exceedingly confident God will provide someone for you.

Even in those moments when there is not someone into whose footprints you may carefully learn to place your own, there is yet another way to learn how to walk closely with Jesus.  Ask Him to teach you.  That’s right.  Begin a dialogue with Jesus about where your feet are taking you, and begin to make changes as needed.

He wants you to walk closely.  When you mirror that desire the Holy Spirit will be right on your heels prompting you to make right steps.  Do not complicate the process.  Just get walking and talking to Jesus and very soon you will find yourself satisfied.

Jesus, help me to find satisfaction by learning to walk closely with You.  Bring people into my life who have learned that better than me, so I can copy them.  Teach me how to talk with You so I may discern when I need to change my direction, or at least my speed.  Let me walk close to You.  In Jesus’ name.   Amen.

Satisfied Thinking!

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Subscribers enjoy this podcast and the transcript below!

Podcast 7.1 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 am weak but Thou art strong;

Psalm 73:26 ESV

My flesh and my heart may fail,
   but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Though the psalmist’s focus here is on the certainty of the strength that God is for us, I have often wrestled with the word “may” referring to the failing of my flesh and heart.  My flesh and heart fail me routinely, but God never does. Thank Him for His strength.

Jesus, keep me from all wrong;

Jude 1:24 ESV

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,

Our weakness is revealed when we pursue wrong things.  This pursuit causes us to stumble. Jesus is able to keep us from stumbling, to keep us from all wrong.  Ask Him to keep you from the counterfeits of wrong things by giving you a desire for right things which bring joy. 

I’ll be satisfied as long

Matthew 5:6 ESV

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Our being kept from wrong hinges not on Jesus ability to keep us because that is set, but instead on our pursuit of righteousness, which we can only accomplish in His strength.  Ask Jesus to help you hunger and thirst for rightness, for that quest will bring you the satisfaction your soul truly craves.

  As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

James 4:8 ESV

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

We need to walk closely to Jesus because only that will satisfy our longing.  We know this is true because we have all been disappointed by pursuing the wrong things which only satisfy for a time.  Ask Jesus to help you walk closely with Him today, and everyday.

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 am weak but Thou art strong;
  Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
  As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

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

Image Attributions
Walking Closely – https://pixabay.com/photos/sand-beach-ocean-water-footprints-937387/
Satisfied – https://pixabay.com/photos/bag-book-fashion-man-pants-1868758/
Shoe Close-Up – https://pixabay.com/photos/shoe-style-men-wear-foot-close-up-819363/

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The Strength to Keep Me

Walking and Talking

I am weak but Thou art strong;
  Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
  As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Just a Closer Walk with Thee
 By: Anonymous

Listen as you read.  This is a great old dixie jazz version.  Don’t be startled when it picks up around 2:49.

Over the next seven weeks we are going to alternate between two different hymns, Just a Closer Walk with Thee, and Just a Little Talk with Jesus.  We will explore these ideas of walking and talking with Jesus and how essential there are to our journey toward greater spiritual resonance.  Learning to live with a greater awareness of God’s presence with us is what we at Resonant 7 want to help you do.

Along the way, we will also be welcoming a dear friend of mine to join us on that journey.  Dr. Sherri Woods will begin contributing to Resonant 7 with a new series of blogs and companions under the heading Wednesday Wanderings beginning next week.  I have experienced a taste of these offerings and I know you will be blessed as you spend time walking along with her as I have been.  Welcome Sherri!

Weak/Strong

As we begin this part of the journey of walking along with Jesus, the writer starts with an interesting acknowledgement, our weakness and God’s strength.  Both are important foundational concepts to our faith that few followers would deny, yet we too often live like the opposite is true on both counts.  We act like we are stronger than we really are, and God is weaker than He actually is.

Weak/Strong

This acknowledgement allows us to begin our journey with a measure of honesty that will help us along the way.  We are talking of course about a lot more than just physical strength, though even that is a part of it.  I like this image because it represents how we often think of ourselves, with an overestimation of our strength.  But I think it also can convey the reality that we can tap into a strength much greater than what it appears on the surface we may possess when we rely on the strength of God.

And we desperately need that strength as we consider the journey before us.  Walking along with Jesus is not easy, as anyone who has done it for any length of time will be able to identify.  Honestly, it would be impossible if it were not for the strength of Christ in us helping us at every single step in the road.

There is a marvelous song that addresses this truth.  All I Have is Christ makes the statement that Jesus is everything.  He is all I have, but it goes on to paint an incredible story of why that is a good thing.  At the point of commitment and surrender the song says in the third stanza, “Now Lord I would be Yours alone, and live so all might see the strength to follow Your commands could never come from me.”

We do not begin this journey without the help of the Holy Spirit revealing to us our need for a Savior, and Christ’s willingness to be that, but we also can not even follow through with our commitment to live for Him unless He gives us the strength to do so.  But praise His Name, He does so, and gladly!

Keep Me From All Wrong

There is a great movement implied in this.  Not just let me stay safe in one place, but as I walk along keep me from all wrong.  That which I might bring on myself as well as that which others might invite me to join.  And I suppose there are two aspects of this prayer.

  1. Deliver me from evil
  2. Keep me from it in the first place
Keep Me From All Wrong

The first is an important prayer which Jesus taught His disciples to pray (Matthew 6:14).  When we find ourselves in a wrong place, doing a wrong thing, we cry out to be delivered from that place and activity.  But I like this prayer because it is proactive.  Keep me from that wrong place and thing so I do not even go there.

It is a further acknowledgement of our weakness as well as this truth in James.

“each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.  Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”  James 1:14-15

When we see it this plainly, making the choice for right which leads to life, seems simple, but it does not always present itself so clearly.  That is then compounded by the fact that we are longing to be satisfied, and that pursuit sometimes leads us astray, but we will look into that on Thursday.

Think of it this way.  We can make much better music, be more resonant, when we are in tune.  We acknowledge we are weak, prone to get out of tune, and that we need to routinely tune our hearts.  We come to the One who is strong, evidenced by the fact that He is always in tune.  We ask Him to keep us in tune, from all wrongs, and that puts us in a position to allow His song to resonate in us.  Here’s to getting, and staying, in tune.

Happy Tuning!

Jesus, I am weak.  Though I would rather not admit that at times, I revel in it here and now as I simultaneously declare You are not.  On the contrary, You are strong.  Your strength can keep me from all wrong, and so I ask You right now to do just that, all to the glory of Your name, that I may walk closer to You today. In Jesus name.  Amen.

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 available only to Subscribers.  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 Subscribers content, click here.

Subscribers enjoy this podcast! Everyone else, the transcript below.

Video 7.1 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 am weak but Thou art strong;
  Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
  As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

This is a great place to begin, acknowledging our weakness and His strength.  Are you familiar with your weakness. That’s a start? Admit it to God, then thank Him for His strength.

Here is the ancient prayer Jesus taught His disciples, “Deliver us from evil.”  In addition to the wrong without, this is also a prayer that we would be kept from the wrong within.  Ask Jesus to keep you from all wrong.  

Satisfaction.  So elusive. Think of one thing that you want today.  You imagine you will be satisfied when you receive it, but if you have longed for anything before and received it, you know our longing often turns to the next thing.  Ask God to show you what you are longing for today, then surrender it?

When we long for God, instead of trying to satisfy that longing with something else, we can be truly satisfied.  Why? Because He is the One for whom we were created to long. When we learn how to walk along daily close to Jesus we find the secret to satisfaction.  Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how to walk with Jesus.

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
Walking and Talking – https://pixabay.com/photos/human-friends-men-portrait-forest-3729591/
Weak/Strong – https://pixabay.com/photos/man-board-drawing-muscles-strong-2037255/
Keep Me From All Wrong – https://pixabay.com/photos/ethics-right-wrong-ethical-moral-2991600/

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Resolve to Rekindle

Holy Spirit Kindling

Podcast below accessible to EVERYONE!  Check it out for a sample of the additional media content available with EVERY BLOG! 

Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love,
 One holy passion filling all my frame;
The kindling of the heav’n-descended Dove,
 My heart an altar, and Thy love the flame.

Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart
 By: George Croly, 1780-1860

Listen as you read.  This is a very simple flute and harp version.

On Tuesday we considered the first two lines of this stanza, which contained a powerful and dynamic illustration of how to love God.  In these last two lines we will consider three more elements wrapped up into one final illustration of the Spirit’s work, consuming us with a passion to love God. Are you ready to catch fire?  Let’s think about this.

Kindling

Have you ever tried to start a fire with no kindling?  Those fire-starter bricks are really helpful but even with those some kindling gets the whole process going much more quickly.  So what exactly is kindling?

Small sticks and twigs that are easily combustible.  This is the role of the Holy Spirit when it comes to lighting a fire of love in our hearts for God.  There are moments when we draw near the flame of God’s love and can feel its radiant warmth.  When those moments pass however our lives cool far too quickly.  When need the kindling of the Holy Spirit to help keep that flame close to the logs of our lives.

It was like this at Pentecost when the Spirit came on the first disciples.  They were waiting as Jesus had instructed them.  They were ready.  God’s love was filling their hearts.  Then the heaven-descended Dove came upon them and provided the kindling they needed to get the fire going.

And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.  Acts 2:3-4 ESV 

In the imagery from the hymn the material that first kindles the blaze is the very presence of the Holy Spirit.  Are you ready to welcome Him to come and be that quickening fire-starter in you, as those first disciples did?  If you are, first ask Him to reveal anything in your life that would hinder His kindling work, confess that and then ask Him to come and kindle a love that flows from the throne of God into your heart.

My Heart an Altar

Altar

My heart.  This is where the Holy Spirit kindles the flame.  This is where God’s love burns.  This is the place.  And that is a very important thing.  But it is only the place.

I would contend that the Holy Spirit kindling helps to bring the flame of God’s love to a critical temperature upon the altar of my heart.  All the conditions are right for combustion, but the flame and the kindling not only need a place to burn, my heart, they need some material, my life, at least for the purposes of the this illustration.

Certainly, nothing can extinguish the flame of God’s love.  Period.  But if that flame is going to burn in me, even in my heart, it needs some substance to burn.  That substance is my life.  I must offer my life, on the the altar of my heart, so the kindling of the Holy Spirit can cause the flame of God’s love to ignite it.  For that reason, I implore you to offer your life to God.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Romans 12:1 ESV

My life is combustible.  Think about it.  We burn with passions for all sorts of things.  Those passions consume us to the point that we sometimes have little left for other things or people that matter to us, including our loving and gracious God.  If we bring our lives too close to any of these other flames, they will catch fire and leave nothing in their wake but smoke and ashes.  

Maybe you are feeling the effects of having drawn too near to some other flame today.  That choice may have left you charred and smoldering.  You may even be wondering if there is anything left to offer God.

The good news is that there is.  God’s mercy is great and new every morning.  That does not mean we should just abuse it.  Rather we must receive it and then choose to respond to it by offering ourselves regularly to Him as an act of worship.  In this spiritual worship, the Holy Spirit comes as kindling to light our lives on fire on the altar of our hearts with flame of God’s love.

Thy Love the Flame

Flame

This would all be for naught, if it were not for the flame of God’s love.

I asked earlier if you had ever tried starting a fire without kindling.  Hard to do, but possible.  If you have no material to burn, you could scrounge around to find something to burn of less value than the resultant fire.  If you do not have a safe place to start the fire, you could start it somewhere else, but it is going to leave a mark at best.  But if you have no flame, all your other efforts are useless.

This is especially frustrating if you are cold, wet, hungry, or…all three!  A flame can warm the frigid, dry the soggy, and feed the famished.  This is important when it is your flesh that is being tended, but also when it is your soul.

The flame of God’s love warms the cold soul.  It dries the dampest and feeds the ravenous.  It can do so much more than that, if we will bring our lives as a sacrifice upon the altar of our hearts.

Will you bring your heart near the flame of God’s love?  Will you welcome the kindling of His Holy Spirit?  Invite the Spirit of God to come and do His work in you today.

Spirit, help me to see how much I need Your kindling work.  Remove any fear that may be keeping me at a distance.  Show me where I am cold, damp, and hungry and remind me that the flame of God’s love can change all that.  Do Your work in me today. In Jesus’ name.   Amen.

Incendiary Thinking!

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EVERYONE enjoy this podcast and the transcript below!

Podcast 6.5 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.

Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love,

Revelation 5:11-12 ESV

…I heard around the throne…the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”

To love God with this kind of adoration we draw inspiration from His messengers who never cease to give Him the praises due His name.  They are undivided in their affections toward the living God. Ask the Spirit to help you mimic them.

  One holy passion filling all my frame;

Psalm 84:2 ESV

My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.

In this verse the Psalmist seems to be mimicking the angels love, his soul, heart and flesh longing to be in God’s presence and sing His praises.  Can you with sincerity say you long for God’s presence to the point of fainting? I can not, but I want to. Ask the Spirit to give you such a consuming passion.

The kindling of the heav’n-descended Dove,

Acts 2:3-4 ESV 

And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

And what a beautiful picture these last lines create.  Welcoming the flames of God’s consuming fire into our lives.  The Spirit is the kindling, the substance which makes getting the fire started much easier.  Ask Him to reveal anything in your life that would hinder His kindling work.

  My heart an altar, and Thy love the flame.

Romans 12:1 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

This confuses the imagery a bit making my life the sacrifice instead of my heart the altar, but it helps illustrate the point.  God’s love is what sets the kindling of the Spirit on fire, and this activity transpires on the altar of my heart. Ask the Spirit to light that fire in your heart today and every day!

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

Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love,
 One holy passion filling all my frame;
The kindling of the heav’n-descended Dove,
 My heart an altar, and Thy love the flame.

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

Image Attributions
Holy Spirit Kindling – https://pixabay.com/photos/wood-kindling-lena-trunk-1073503/
My Heart An Altar – http://dee-lightfullmoments.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-fire-must-never-go-out.html
Thy Love the Flame – https://normansennema.com/archives/16397

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