Resonant 7

You are here: Home / Blogs

by Leave a Comment

Can You See the Burden-Blasting Light?

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

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

And the burden of my heart 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 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 26.6 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.

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? 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/

by Leave a Comment

Presenting the Gift of Love

Here Lord I Give Myself Away

But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe
Here Lord I give myself away
‘Tis all that I can do

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 podcast below.

Here is podcast 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 podcast and transcript below!  It features meditative music and moments to contemplate the Scriptures and reflections shared.

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

As we continue our journey through this penitent text and hymn, make each stanza your own by praying through it. Let’s think about this.

Present Your Gift

When you give something away it is called a gift. Another word for gift is present. One way of conveying a present to someone is to present it to them.

Truly the only thing you can give or present to someone that they can get nowhere else is yourself. When the writer talks about giving himself away, he has gotten to the core of what it means to give, taking something special or unique and presenting it to someone.

As we think of Jesus sacrifice this is the only appropriate gift or present. Our very selves. Are you ready to present the gift of your life to God?

Here Lord I give myself away

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

Our response is expressed by giving our lives in worship to God, loving Him and loving others. In view of His mercies, and even by them, to give ourselves over to the purposes of God as modeled by Christ Himself. Will you give yourself entirely over to the Lord? What are you holding back?

Here is our response. We give ourselves away to God, to use our lives as extensions and expressions of the very love of Christ that has changed our eternities and is transforming our days. What will giving yourself away look like today? Ask the Father that question routinely.

 

RESONATE!
Lord help me to give myself to you. Father, please show me how to give myself away today. And remind me to ask you some  question like that again tomorrow and every day. 

Love Earnestly

‘Tis All That I Can Do

What does giving yourself away look like? Love. And what does love look like? There are countless expressions of this most important action and God will help you find yours. The crucial thing is to understand that loving by giving yourself away to God and others should really characterize every word and deed. It is really all you can do, because it should be the motivation of everything you do.

‘Tis all that I can do

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8 ESV

Christ’s work on the cross paid the penalty for all our sins, yet there is some way that our response of love to His great act of love also covers sins. All we can do is love one another seriously. It is easier said than done, but may Christ’s example inspire and empower us today.

Giving ourselves away is the only right response to Christ doing that first. The hymn writer says it is all that we can do, so in a thousand ways this singular truth will be lived today. Invite the Holy Spirit to fill you with joy as you find your unique expressions of God’s love today.

RESONATE!
Ask the Spirit to reveal to you the intrinsic nature of loving by practicing giving myself away. Even when I struggle to keep something back, teach me to give my all. Help me to do so gladly. Spirit, fill me with joy as I love.

Loving Savior, thank You for showing me how to love by enduring the cross for the Father’s glory and my good. Give me eyes to see the cross this season and find my surrender in it  I want to experience the joy of giving myself away. Amen.

Responsive 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.

Podcast 26.5 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.

But drops of grief can ne’er repay 

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18 ESV

When we look at the cross and realize it was necessary because of our sin, it causes grief. That grief is the result of the awareness of our Savior’s sacrifice to take the burden of sin. In this penitent season, look to the cross again, and feel that grief.

The debt of love I owe 

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 1 John 4:9 ESV

Our grief in the cross should not leave us wallowing in sadness, but responding with gratitude in the resurrection life of Christ. That gratitude is characterized by love for the One who laid down His life and took it up again so we too might live. Acknowledge your debt of love to Jesus.

Here Lord I give myself away

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

Our response is expressed by giving our lives in worship to God, loving Him and loving others. In view of His mercies, and even by them, to give ourselves over to the purposes of God as modeled by Christ Himself. Will you give yourself entirely over to the Lord? What are you holding back?

‘Tis all that I can do

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8 ESV

Christ’s work on the cross paid the penalty for all our sins, yet there is some way that our response of love to His great act of love also covers sins. All we can do is love one another seriously. It is easier said than done, but may Christ’s example inspire and empower us 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, with the refrain.

But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe
Here Lord I give myself away
‘Tis all that I can do

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

The post Presenting the Gift of Love appeared first on Resonant 7.

Image Attribution
Here Lord I give myself away – https://pixabay.com/photos/gift-packaging-loop-christmas-402199/
‘Tis all that I can do – https://pixabay.com/photos/people-friends-group-hands-signs-2608145/

by 1 Comment

Grief and Gratitude

Wednesday Wanderings with Dr. Sherri is biweekly and 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.

Wednesday Wanderings Welcome for this week.

PREPARATION: In our last Wandering with Dr. Sherri, we examined  The SONshine. This week we will examine Grief and Gratitude .  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: Ecclesiastes 3:4 Amplified Bible

A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.

There is a time to grieve. It is a necessary experience. There is also a time to give thanks. So how can grief and gratitude coexist?

PSALM: Alas and did my Savior bleed (At the Cross)
By: Isaac Watts (1674 – 1748)

Chorus

But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe
Here Lord I give myself away
‘Tis all that I can do
In this stanza, Watts gives us a view of grief and gratitude. I wonder what was the title of the message that accompanied this stanza? I suspect it may have been Grief and Gratitude.

PARABLE: Over the past few years I have learned more about the both / and concept. Before I opened my mind to a growth mindset, either / or was how I viewed things. I have learned that two polar opposite concepts can hold the same space in time. Particularly, I have learned that grief and gratitude can coexist. You can experience the emotion of grief generated by a loss yet at the same time offer God gratitude for being with you IN the loss experience. I know it is peculiar and does not make sense but the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit can give us an attitude of gratitude in the midst of adapting to a loss. 

I’ve shared in previous posts the despair that I have experienced from loss within my life. I understand the heaviness that sometimes walks with you like a shadow on the path to grief recovery. It is necessary to take the time to mourn our losses whether it is the loss associated with unemployment, death and dying, divorce, abandonment, addiction, illness, infidelity, relocation, incarceration, miscarriage, abortion, oppression, identity, or status. Taking time to grieve the loss and share your experience and feelings with God is a mandated part of the healing process. Christ is our example, He grieved the agony of His own death. Yet, with gratitude He obeyed His Father and took on our sins.

Everyone’s grief and loss process look different. What is the same is that the comfort of the Holy Spirit can help us to experience gratitude in the midst of grief. When life sends us grief, and it will, if we choose to give it back to God with a grateful heart, we can know He will meet us right where we are, right where we have need of Him. God is worthy of gratitude. We can offer thanksgiving to Him while we mourn because we know He is with us! We know He will understand. We know He will walk with us on the path of sorrow until our hearts lighten enough to adapt to the loss. No time expectation, just confidence of knowing the losses we experience on earth are temporary, one day we will weep no more and we will dance for eternity.

PONDER and WANDER:  Grief and gratitude are necessary and can coexist. As you review your losses over the last year are there any for which you still need to grieve and offer gratitude?

Soul care training exercise:  

  • Reflect and let the Holy Spirit reveal to you any losses you have experienced over the last year that you need to grieve.
    • Notice without judgment and with a curious awareness what comes to your mind. Invite God into your sanctified imagination. Tell God the truth about this loss. What did it cost you? What do you feel? What do you need from Him as it relates to healing from the loss?
    • Next scan your mind and notice any small wins or victories you experienced over the last year.  Allow these thoughts and emotions to be illuminated in your sanctified imagination.
      • Focus on what God shows you and offer Him thanks for being with you and letting grief and gratitude co-exist. What will you see differently as a result of this? How will view grief and gratitude co-existing?

PRAYER: Abba, you are a GOOD GOOD Father. It hurts you to see us grieve. You want us to share our tears with you. We hand you the weight of the many losses we have experienced. We thank you that you are attentive to the things which concern us. Even though we are hurting, we thank you that you will lighten our sorrow. We will look for the small wins and victories. We will celebrate life. Our strength will be renewed in you. Hold us close until gratitude rises in our hearts. In the 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 offer Him gratitude. 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.

The post  SONshine appeared first on Resonant 7.

BONUS Guided Meditation. I invite you to take 6 minutes to listen to the SONshine guided meditation.

Image attributions:  Text art app with words added

by Leave a Comment

Of Grief-Drops and Love-Debts

But Drops of Grief Can Ne’er Repay

But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe
Here Lord I give myself away
‘Tis all that I can do

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

Drops of Grief

What breaks your heart?

Do you recall when you last uttered some version of those words? “That really breaks my heart.” Was it the plight of someone on the news. Or maybe the news of a dilemma of a dear friend. Whatever the case may be, you are familiar with that sentiment and that feeling I am sure.

What breaks God’s heart?

The plight our sin had left us in, and the dilemma that placed a holy yet merciful God. Having to sacrifice His only sin to deal with sin, knowing that many would spurn His offer of forgiveness, and even those who would receive it would too often live as though they had not. Shame on us.

That should prompt some grief. But so should the fact that the sacrifice was necessary at all.

But drops of grief can ne’er repay

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18 ESV

When we look at the cross and realize it was necessary because of our sin, it causes grief. That grief is the result of the awareness of our Savior’s sacrifice to take the burden of sin. In this penitent season, look to the cross again, and feel that grief again.

Can you recall the feeling that conviction of sin first evoked? Do you remember what it felt like when you first understood Jesus had removed that guilt through His work on the cross? Ponder that grief again today for just a few moments, and then we will consider what to do with it.

RESONATE!
Ask the Spirit to help you recall that first awareness of your need of a Savior when you were confronted with your sin. “Spirit, remind me of my first grief over sin.” As you recall that, and reflect on the sacrifice that set you free from the curse of it, prepare to respond.

Debt of Love

The Debt of Love I Owe

Whether we look upon the cross, the crown of thorns, or the story as found in the words of Scripture, our eyes should cloud with tears, and our hearts with love. We respond to love. We must respond with love.

The world looks at the cross and responds with disgust. After all, it was a hideous punishment device. Yet we look on the cross with love. They see a circular crown of thorns. We see a heart. They see a man crucified. We see our Savior sacrificed.

And we respond with wonder, awe, and love.

The debt of love I owe

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 1 John 4:9 ESV

Our grief in the cross should not leave us wallowing in sadness, but responding with gratitude in the resurrection life of Christ. That gratitude is characterized by love for the One who laid down His life and took it up again so we too might live. Acknowledge your debt of love to Jesus.

Jesus does not want us to languish in grief though. Instead, He invites us into a journey of responding to His demonstration of love with our own. It is not an attempt to repay the debt we owe Him, for we could never do that. Simply the right response. Thank Jesus for His love.

RESONATE!
How will you respond to the cross this Easter season? Hopefully gratitude. “Jesus, thank You for Your love.” But it can not, it must not stop there. Respond with love. Love for your Savior, shown to the world.

Jesus, thank You for the cross and Your finished work there. I pray it prompts me to a response of love that never ends. IN this season as we approach Easter once again, overwhelm me with Your love for me and may it motivate me to love others. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

Responsive 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 26.5 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.

But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe
Here Lord I give myself away
‘Tis all that I can do

Can you recall the feeling that conviction of sin first evoked? Do you remember what it felt like when you first understood Jesus had removed that guilt through His work on the cross? Ponder that grief again today for just a few moments, and then we will consider what to do with it.

Spirit, remind me of my first grief over sin.

Jesus does not want us to languish in grief though. Instead, He invites us into a journey of responding to His demonstration of love with our own. It is not an attempt to repay the debt we owe Him, for we could never do that. Simply the right response. Thank Jesus for His love.

Jesus, thank You for Your love.

Here is our response. We give ourselves away to God, to use our lives as extensions and expressions of the very love of Christ that has changed our eternities and is transforming our days. What will giving yourself away look like today? Ask the Father that question routinely.

Father, please show me how to give myself away today.

Giving ourselves away is the only right response to Christ doing that first. The hymn writer says it is all that we can do, so in a thousand ways this singular truth will be lived today. Invite the Holy Spirit to fill you with joy as you find your unique expressions of God’s love today.

Spirit, fill me with joy as I love.

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 Of Grief-Drops and Love-Debts appeared first on Resonant 7.

Image Attributions
But drops of grief can ne’er repay – https://pixabay.com/photos/woman-crosses-tears-cry-emotion-5530220/
The debt of love I owe – https://pixabay.com/photos/love-died-cross-thorns-crown-699480/

by 1 Comment

Evoking Godly Emotions

Dissolve My Heart in Thankfulness

Thus might I hide my blushing face
While Calvary’s cross appears
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness
And melt mine eyes to tears

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 podcast below.

Here is podcast 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 podcast and transcript below!  It features meditative music and moments to contemplate the Scriptures and reflections shared.

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

As we continue our journey through this penitent text and hymn, make each stanza your own by praying through it. Let’s think about this.

Dissolve

There is a lot of emotion in this stanza. The first part was focused on the blushing caused by the very appearance of the cross. This second part is no less dramatic.

The use of the word dissolve here first reveals the tone. This usage has to do with one thing subsiding uncontrollably into an emotion or feeling, in this case thankfulness. The writer is praying and asking God to cause his heart to subside uncontrollably into thankfulness, and all this at the very appearance or thought of the cross.

Has that ever been your experience? Have you ever looked at the cross, pondered our Savior’s sacrifice there, and found the very seat of your emotions sinking into a state of thankfulness? Not part of it, but all of it, until you were overcome with gratitude?

Dissolve my heart in thankfulness

Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Ephesians 5:20 ESV

Seeing ourselves clearly against the backdrop of the cross can have the effect of dissolving our heart in thankfulness, but we must welcome that work. We should be thankful for the work of the cross. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a heart overwhelmed with thankfulness.

From shame in the first part of this stanza to thankfulness in the latter, such is the journey of the honest soul as it acknowledges all the emotions the cross evokes. What a beautiful prayer to have our hearts dissolved in thankfulness! Are you willing to have your heart dissolved? If so, ask Jesus to do it.

RESONATE!
It really is a simple prayer, but one that must be prayed earnestly. “Jesus, dissolve my heart in thankfulness.”
If you are willing to ask, truly desiring that experience, be prepared for God to answer for there are few prayers God would like to answer more than to help your heart to sink into gratitude.

Melt

And Melt Mine Eyes with Tears

The use of the word dissolve above was not unlike the use of the word melt here, at least in some ways. The makeup of the object changes, from ingratitude to thankfulness, from something hard to something soft. But there is something in the words that is interesting.

It is the word to. The writer did not pray, “melt mine eyes with tears”, but “melt mine eyes to tears”. That is a very interesting choice.

With implies lots of tears flooding the eyes. To implies the eyes actually becoming tears, so complete is the anguish. The very nature of the eyes changes, so complete is the pain. Though I have cried tears at the thought of the cross, this seems more exhaustive, and I think I want it. How about you?

And melt mine eyes to tears

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret…2 Corinthians 7:10a ESV

Though thankful we are also grieved when we see our need for the cross. We repent and turn from our lives of self and sin and surrender to the work of repentance. Repentance leads to salvation, and in salvation there is no regret. Ask Jesus to melt your eyes to tears of repentance.

From thankfulness to tears, maybe ones of godly repentance as much as it may still be needed, and maybe ones of utter joy at the incredible, undeserved gift of salvation. Have your eyes ever melted into tears at the thought of the cross? If not, ask the Spirit to do that today.

RESONATE!
Again, a simple prayer, but with profound implications.  Will you prayer, “Spirit, melt my eyes to tears”? Be ready for Him to answer.

Merciful Savior, thank You for Your work on the cross that creates a scenario where my heart can be filled with thankfulness and my eyes would melt to tears. I want to experience that kind of thoughtful emotion and the very appearance of the cross. Amen.

Emotional 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.

Podcast 26.4 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.

Thus might I hide my blushing face

Saying: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. Ezra 9:6 ESV

Though these are the words Ezra spoke when he heard the sins of the returned exiles recounted, they might just as well be ours when the cross forces us to confront our sin. We should be ashamed of the lives we lived apart from the cross. Confess your shame.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

While Calvary’s cross appears

And you…God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:13a-14 ESV

The cross makes a way for all the wrong things to be made right, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us. We are ashamed that we are hopeless without Him, but it can lead us to the place of putting all our hope in the cross and Christ’s finished work there. Embrace the glory of the cross.

Dissolve my heart in thankfulness

Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Ephesians 5:20 ESV

Seeing ourselves clearly against the backdrop of the cross can have the effect of dissolving our heart in thankfulness, but we must welcome that work. We should be thankful for the work of the cross. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a heart overwhelmed with thankfulness.

And melt mine eyes to tears

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret…2 Corinthians 7:10a ESV

Though thankful we are also grieved when we see our need for the cross. We repent and turn from our lives of self and sin and surrender to the work of repentance. Repentance leads to salvation, andin salvation there is no regret. Ask Jesus to melt your eyes to tears of repentance.

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, with the refrain.

Thus might I hide my blushing face
While Calvary’s cross appears
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness
And melt mine eyes to tears

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

The post Evoking Godly Emotions appeared first on Resonant 7.

Image Attribution
Dissolve My Heart in Thankfulness – https://pixabay.com/photos/heart-ice-cold-winter-christmas-549097/
And Melt Mine Eyes with Tears – https://pixabay.com/photos/eye-tear-cry-sadness-pain-emotion-609987/

Connect With Us

Tuesday Tunings LLC
E: support@resonant7.com