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.
Watch the Wednesday Wanderings Welcome for this week.
Now that we have cleared our minds of the clutter, we can wander on the journey with Jesus.
PREPARATION: In our last Wandering with Dr. Sherri, we Crowned Christ in the Crisis. This week we will see what it means to be entitled. 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: Jeremiah 31:3
The Lord appeared to me (Israel) from ages past, saying,
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you.
The love of Jesus is everlasting, endless, and entitled to a response.
PSALM: Crown Him with Many Crowns
by Matthew Bridges (1851)
One with the Father known.
One with the Spirit through Him giv’n
From yonder glorious throne.
To Thee be endless praise.
For Thou hast died for me;
Be Thou, O Lord, through endless days
Adored and magnified
Bridges response to the endless love of Jesus is to crown Him as the Lord of Heaven. He adorns Christ because He is one with God and one with the Spirit whom we receive because of Him. Bridges sets his intention of praise on who Jesus is and concludes that the eternal love of Jesus is deserving of being magnified and adored without end.
PARABLE: Adoration is about consistency and intention. On April 30, 2020 my husband and I will celebrate 28 years of marriage. Those who know us would say that Troy adores me. I confess that at times I’ve become complacent and taken Troy’s doting acts for granted. While he is patient, there are times when he has “gone on strike” in response to my ingratitude and life has stopped being about me. When this occurs, I have to warm up and clean the snow off my own car, pump my own gas, and clean up the kitchen after I cook. This quickly reminds me that I am not entitled to his acts of loving kindness. Then I strategically demonstrate my appreciation by purchasing Twizzlers for his sugar addiction or buying ginger beer for his non-alcoholic urges. He soon returns to his default of demonstrating his admiration stating that “A mere “Thank You” is sufficient.”
Sometimes I treat Jesus the same way I treat Troy. I take for granted the fact that He loves me with an everlasting love (Jermiah 31:3) , sings songs of deliverance over me (Zephaniah 3:17), and that there is nothing that will make Him stop loving me or go on strike from His doting acts (Romans 8:38). I do not consistently adorn Jesus with my gratitude. I am grateful that Jesus does not go on strike with His graces and gifts even when I am exercising spiritual entitlement and being inconsistent with offering Him endless praise.
PONDER and WANDER: If you choose, Ponder the questions: How can I remember to consistently adore and magnify Jesus?
The love of Jesus is everlasting and demonstrative and He is worthy of a response of adoration. The way I remember to adore and magnify Jesus is that I set my intention of gratitude on WHO Jesus is, practice the discipline of gratitude, deliberately contemplate who Jesus is, and make it a habit to SAY so.
Soul care training exercise: If you choose, complete this week’s soul training exercise.
- When you are ready, clear your mind and invite the Holy Spirit to help you Select which characteristic of Jesus you will focus on for this exercise.
- Next, let your spiritual imagination produce a slide show of the character of Jesus that will provoke you to praise and magnify Him.
- Then, take the time to adore Jesus and Say Thank you, love on Him, and tell Him what you want to say to Him.
PRAYER: Jesus, Thank you that you are intentional about your perpetual love for me. Help me to be intentional in displaying my love for you. I can always find shelter in your promises. Even when my mind chooses to forget, thank you that the Holy Spirit guides my soul to easily remember that only you are entitled to be adored and magnified. Help me not to take for granted or to leave you My First Love and to eagerly seek the fragrance of your presence. In Your name I pray, Amen.
PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to Say So, and let the work of your wandering fill you with the praise of Christ.
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.
If you’d like, take a look at this Bonus reflection and read my response to the soul training exercise.
I chose to focus on the characteristics depicted in the popular song Way Maker. During my contemplative time at a park, the Holy Spirit showed me my slide show through these trees and I selected to focus on Jesus as the Waymaker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, and Light in the Darkness. There were many incidents that flooded my mind of Jesus completing these acts in my life. However the greatest awareness I reached was the fact that these attributes depict Jesus’ character not just His actions. His love is demonstrative. Will you choose to make Jesus your object of affection and adoration?
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