Fair are the meadows fairer still the woodlands
Robed in the blooming garb of spring
Jesus is fairer Jesus is purer
Who makes the woeful heart to sing

Fairest Lord Jesus 1662
By: Anonymous 1662

Listen to this simple version of this hymn as you prepare to ponder the lyrics. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.

Below is video content always available as part of an extensive archive of resources. We have lots of tools and options designed to help you be Resonant!  Check them out today and please consider becoming a Subscriber to support our mission of providing these tools to everyone with access to the internet!!

Please enjoy this video and the transcript below.

Transcript may be found below, at the end of the blog.

As we continue our journey through this worshipful hymn ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to see Jesus clearly. Marvel at the majesty of our Savior. Let’s tune our hearts.

Plains and Forests

I grew up in the mountains. There beauty is easy for me to see. Sometimes maybe to easy, in that I take it for ranted.

I can hardly recall a trip to North Dakota as a child, but had seen others topographies and could appreciate the different beauty they possessed. I will never forget traveling across the upper plains one summer, particularly when we came over one rise and could see what seemed like endless miles of wheat. The wind looked like the fingers of God gently raking across the fields. It was a beauty I had never seen before that moment.

There are many different scenes which reveal the beauty of our God. Oh, to have eyes to see the fingerprints of God in each. Can you?

Fair are the meadows fairer still the woodlands

“For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” Isaiah 55:12 ESV

God reveals His glory in creation. He reveals His glory in Jesus. Have you taken a walk through a meadow or a woodland lately? The beauty can be overwhelming, but be certain to let it lead you to praise the One who made it. We do not worship the creation, but the Creator.

Beautiful wide open spaces. Beautiful closed in spaces. Beautiful grasslands and fields of wheat. Beautiful forests and trees. Beauty all around for the eye and the ear, for the nose and the hand. Beauty to be taken in, lived in, moved in. Beauty. So…much…beauty.

RESONATE!
Take a few moments and think about the swath of nature that most evokes your praise. Ask God to help you see His beauty in that and every expression. Make this your simple prayer “Lord, help me know the beauty.” 

Spring

It is not the only season that stirs our praise, but to see the bursting forth of life after a long winter, spring has its own beauty. The buds begin to show on the tress. Flowers begin to bloom. As everything greens up, the reemergence of life seems unmistakable.

The barrenness of winter is slowing covered by a blanket of new life. Sure there are some weeds mixed among all the beauty, but still the beauty is there. What is it about spring that most captivates you?

Robed in the blooming garb of spring

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. Isaiah 35:1-2a ESV

A desert rejoicing and blossoming like a crocus. That sounds like such a beautiful, remarkable thing. The stark and barren land replaced with joy and a garment of flowers.That kind of transformation is something worth noticing. Meadows and woodlands alike revealing God.

All that beauty clothed like a garment. Wrapped in layers of even more beauty. Beauty for a season. Fleeting beauty. Here today, gone tomorrow, over a canvas that never changes. Temporal and lasting, woven together in a fabric of created beauty. Dressed up. Beautiful.

RESONATE
Take a few moments and think spring. The promise life bursting forth everywhere. Pray this simple prayer, “Father, thank You for the beauty of Your creation.“  

Jesus, thank You creating. A we begin o see everything as an expression of Your beauty, we are moved to praise again and again. Show us Your glory. In Jesus’ name. 

Renewed Tuning!

Keep coming back, and we will work to 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’re 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.

Video 50.2 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.

Fair are the meadows fairer still the woodlands
Robed in the blooming garb of spring
Jesus is fairer Jesus is purer
Who makes the woeful heart to sing

Beautiful wide open spaces. Beautiful closed in spaces. Beautiful grasslands and fields of wheat. Beautiful forests and trees. Beauty all around for the eye and the ear, for the nose and the hand. Beauty to be taken in, lived in, moved in. Beauty. So…much…beauty. 

Lord, help me know the beauty.

All that beauty clothed like a garment. Wrapped in layers of even more beauty. Beauty for a season. Fleeting beauty. Here today, gone tomorrow, over a canvas that never changes. Temporal and lasting, woven together in a fabric of created beauty. Dressed up. Beautiful.

Father, thank You for the beauty of Your creation.

Then there’s Jesus. Nothing and no one even comparing to His beauty. Pointing to it but not becoming it. Revealing it without fully representing it. Everything some lesser version of all that He is, and yet never as untainted as Him. Jesus. No rival. No equal.

Jesus, thank You for being so fair and pure.

His beauty is not just to be observed. It instructs. It reminds us there is wholeness and wholesomeness. It shows us that even when things are broken they can be beautiful again. Seasons change and so do our lives. There is hope in the beauty of Jesus. 

Jesus, Your beauty points to what can be.

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.

Fair are the meadows fairer still the woodlands
Robed in the blooming garb of spring
Jesus is fairer Jesus is purer
Who makes the woeful heart to 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.

The post How Does the Beauty of Nature Inform Your Worship? appeared first on Resonant 7.

Image Attributions
Fair are the meadows fairer still the woodlands – QualifiedElatedChanticleer-size_restricted.gif
Robed in the blooming garb of spring – happy-spring-icegif-7.gif

Fairest Lord Jesus Ruler of all nature
O Thou of God and man the Son
Thee will I cherish Thee will I honor
Thou my soul’s glory joy and crown

Fairest Lord Jesus 1662
By: Anonymous 1662

Listen to this simple version of this hymn as you prepare to ponder the lyrics. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.

Below is video content always available as part of an extensive archive of resources. We have lots of tools and options designed to help you be Resonant!  Check them out today and please consider becoming a Subscriber to support our mission of providing these tools to everyone with access to the internet!!

Please enjoy this video and the transcript below.

Transcript may be found below, at the end of the blog.

As we begin our journey through this worshipful hymn ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to see Jesus clearly. Marvel at the majesty of our Savior. Let’s tune our hearts.

Jesus

This text originally written in German with no record of authorship is such an incredible expression of praise. It seems fitting the author would not even want to list their name anywhere near the One that is above every other name. The focus is simply on Jesus, and what a wonderful image is created with these words.

There are several definitions of fair. This opening line seems to explore one in particular: the fact that He, and His rule, are free of self-interest, prejudice or favoritism. He is not only fair, but the fairest. We will explore how His fairness is revealed through creation in subsequent stanzas, but here the focus seems to be on this aspect primarily.

Fairest Lord Jesus Ruler of all nature

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. Hebrews 1:3 ESV

This is who He is, the lovely Lord Jesus. This is His authority, the Ruler of all nature. Not only earth, but the entire universe. Authority over all. Beauty above all. He has no equals in any way. Unmatched and unparalleled in dominion and majesty. Worship Him!

There is no one like Jesus across all time and space, nor will there ever be. He is the fairest, where that word is used to describe something that is such to the utmost. This is a very unusual usage so immediately speaks of a different idea than is conjured by most.

RESONATE!
Take a few moments and think about the fact that the Ruler of all nature is Jesus, fairest Lord that ever has been. Spend some time thanking Him for revealing His beauty to You. Make this your simple prayer “Jesus, there is none so fair as You.” 

The Son

Though He spoke creation into being and reveals His glory through it, He also became a part of it. He has been fully God eternally. He became fully man at just the right time.

O Thou of God and man the Son

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, Galatians 4:4a ESV

He is both of God and man. The only begotten Son of the Father, and also born of woman. Jesus, the uncreated One humbled Himself to be born like us so He became familiar with our weaknesses without ever giving up a bit of His strength.

Fully God and fully man. This one truth alone sets Jesus apart from any rivals, of which He has none. There is a mystery in the fullness of His divinity and humanity that we can only begin to fathom. Both God and man, and always the Son. That is our Savior.

RESONATE
Take a few moments and think about this mystery. We simply can not understand how it can be, yet we believe it and know it is true. Pray this simple prayer, “Jesus, help me marvel at the mystery.“  

Jesus, thank You revealing Your glory to us. Thank You for becoming one of us, though You are different from us. Cause my soul to swell with praise for who You are.  In Jesus’ name. 

Awe-filled Tuning!

Keep coming back, and we will work to 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’re 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.

Video 50.1 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.

Fairest Lord Jesus Ruler of all nature
O Thou of God and man the Son
Thee will I cherish Thee will I honor
Thou my soul’s glory joy and crown

There is no one like Jesus across all time and space, nor will there ever be. He is the fairest, where that would is used to describe something that is such to the utmost. This is a very unusual usage so immediately speaks of a different idea than is conjured by most.

Jesus, there is none so fair as You.

Fully God and fully man. This one truth alone sets Jesus apart from any rivals, of which He has none. There is a mystery in the fullness of His divinity and humanity that we can only begin to fathom. Both God and man, and always the Son. That is our Savior.

Jesus, help me marvel at the mystery.

He is worthy of glory, praise, adoration, honor etc. Still, I must make the choice to give Him what he deserves and commit to doing so with my entire life. It is not enough to acknowledge He is worthy. I must also find ways to express that in my daily living and choices.

Jesus, I commit to honor You.

This is why I honor Him. He is the glory, joy and crown of my soul. He is worthy of glory. He is my soul’s joy. He is the crown of my soul. Being His is what endows my soul with inestimable value. I am created in the image of God, and being recreated in the image of His Son.

Jesus, thank You for infusing my soul with value.

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 the refrain..

Fairest Lord Jesus Ruler of all nature
O Thou of God and man the Son
Thee will I cherish Thee will I honor
Thou my soul’s glory joy and crown

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

The post None So Fair as Jesus, Impartial and Honest appeared first on Resonant 7.

Image Attributions
Fairest Lord Jesus Ruler of all nature – https://www.learnreligions.com/jesus-before-he-came-to-earth-4157459
O Thou of God and man the Son – https://www.framedart.com/missman/mary-baby-jesus-print-951537.htm

At the cross at the cross where I first saw the light
And the burden of my heart rolled away
It was there by faith I received my sight
And now I am happy all the day

Alas And Did My Savior Bleed 1707
By: Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
ref. by Ralph E. Hudson, 1885

Listen to this modern version of this penitent hymn as you prepare to ponder the lyrics. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.

Below is video content always available as part of an extensive archive of resources. We have lots of tools and options designed to help you be Resonant!  Check them out today and please consider becoming a Subscriber to support our mission of providing these tools to everyone with access to the internet!!

Everyone, enjoy this video, and the transcript below.

Transcript may be found below, at the end of the blog.

As we conclude our journey through this penitent text and hymn, make each stanza your own by praying through it. Let’s tune our hearts.

Seeing the Light

I remember the moment. I remember the pew. It’s gone now. I remember the cross. It’s still there.

I had wrestled with the cross and Jesus work there for some time. I had ignored it even longer. When I finally saw the light I was humbled by the realization of all that Jesus had done for me, how much I needed it, and how long I had spurned His generous offer of forgiveness.

But it is really more than that. Being forgiven, cleansed, and healed makes the entire exchange breathtakingly remarkable. Being invited into a new way of living is even moreso.

You see, our standing changed because of the cross, and that is amazing. But not only that, our experience was transformed. We die to sin.  Hallelujah! And we live to righteousness! Thanks be to God! We were stuck in sin. Now we are free to move about in grace. Good thing we can see.

At the cross at the cross where I first saw the light

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 1 Peter 2:24 ESV

Jesus bled and died at the cross so that we could die to sin and live to righteousness. At the cross He opened our eyes and delivered us from the dominion of darkness. Can you remember those moments you first saw the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ? Those moments when His work on the cross for your sins was first revealed to you?

RESONATE!
Give Him praise for opening your eyes at the cross.  Ask Him to help you see the cross as if with new eyes of faith. “Jesus, help me see the cross with eyes of faith.” Take a few moments right now and simply talk to Jesus.

Burdens Rolled Away

I sat there in tears, in that pew that is no longer there. The wonder of that moment often comes back to me even still when my Lord reminds me of that transaction. When I realized the burden my living in sin had created for me before a holy God, I was undone.

What really brought the tears, the remorse, the repentance was His willingness to take that burden for me. Even as I write now I am overwhelmed with gratitude and my eyes are filled with tears once more. Thank You Jesus!

Have you humbled yourself before God? Have you confessed your sin and your need of a Savior? Would you like to have your burden roll away?

And the burden of my heart rolled away

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7 ESV

Can you recall the feeling forgiveness first afforded, when the burden of sin lifted for you? If you have placed your faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ at the cross, you know what it feels like to have the weight of your sin lifted. Thank Him. If you do not know, humble yourself before Him, confess your sin and need of a Savior, and feel the burden roll away today.

RESONATE!
Ask the Spirit to remind you of the weight of your sin so you can marvel again at the gift of salvation Jesus made available to you at the cross. Spirit, remind me of my burden and the lifting of it. As we make our final approach to Easter, humble yourself before your King.

Jesus, thank You for the cross and opening my eyes to see the light. Overwhelm me routinely with the extravagance of Your sacrifice there. Help me to live a life responding to that love. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

Humble Tuning!

Keep coming back, and we will work to 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’re 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.

Video 49.6 Transcript, 26.6 Reframed

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.

At the cross at the cross where I first saw the light
And the burden of my heart rolled away
It was there by faith I received my sight
And now I am happy all the day

Can you remember those moments you first saw the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ? Those moments when His work on the cross for your sins was first revealed to you? I can. Ask Him to help you see the cross as if with new eyes of faith.

Jesus, help me see the cross with eyes of faith.

Can you recall the feeling forgiveness first afforded, when the burden of sin lifted for you? Ask the Spirit to remind you of the weight of your sin so you can marvel again at the gift of salvation Jesus made available to you at the cross.

Spirit, remind me of my burden and the lifting of it.

What a gift to see the cross with eyes of faith! Many who look upon it never truly realize the significance of what Jesus did there. If you do, give Him praise. If you do not, ask Him to give you faith-enabled sight right now.

Lord, give me sight by faith.

The writer is not saying we never have anything but happiness. Instead, he is affirming that because of the cross, even when we deal with unhappy things we are able to maintain a level of happiness in spite of it. Thank the Father for making you happy.

Father, thank You for making me happy.

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.

The post Can You See the Burden-Blasting Light? Reframed appeared first on Resonant 7.

Image Attributions
At the cross at the cross where I first saw the light – https://pixabay.com/photos/cross-hands-god-jesus-religion-4033437/
And the burden of my heart rolled away – https://pixabay.com/photos/heart-love-wave-water-association-3367962/