What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!

What a Friend We Have in Jesus
By: Joseph M. Scriven, 1819-1886 (1855)

Listen to this simple piano version as you read, or watch the video complete with lyrics then read. Please make certain to enjoy the podcast below.

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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.

We began our journey through another great hymn Tuesday.  The second half of this stanza focuses on two consequences of NOT accessing our friendship with Jesus: things we give up, and things we take on.  If we pay attention, both will prompt us to take everything to Jesus. Let’s think about this.

Forfeited Peace

The first thing we will examine is what we give up by failing to access Jesus.  In short, peace.  To forfeit something means to lose or give up as a necessary consequence to something else.

We mostly think of forfeit in the context of sports.  One team loses or is forced to give up as a necessary consequence to something else.  For example, one team has to forfeit the game because they have too few players to compete.  Before they even have a chance to play the game, they have to accept defeat.

In our usage, it is similar.  We lose or give up the prospect of peace as a necessary consequence of neglecting our relationship with Jesus.  For example, we forfeit peace as we deal with a difficult circumstance because we have not invested in our friendship with Christ.  Before we even have a chance to experience His peace, we have to accept the alternative: worry, anxiety, etc.

The saddest thing of all is that He has already made His peace available to us.  We can cultivate it by spending time taking things to Jesus and talking with Him about all our troubles.  This time invested ushers peace into our lives as we learn to listen to the things He has said.

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.  John 16:33 ESV 

The good news is you can have peace, because Jesus has done most of the work for you.  He has overcome the world!  But we must take heart.  How do we do that?  Draw near to Jesus.  Why?  Because He told us we would have tribulation in this world.  Not might.  Will.

That passage starts off with the promise of peace, so let’s exercise it right now.  What tribulation are you facing today?  You do not have to think hard…it will be in the front of your mind.  Will you take heart as Jesus instructs?  Bring it to Him. Make the exchange.  Give Him the tribulation and all your concerns swirling around it.  Accept the peace He offers.  Do it right now.

Now some might say they can not forfeit something they never had, but I beg to differ.  Sometimes you lose even before you play the game.  Sometimes your team, or you as a player, are disqualified before the game even starts.  Maybe you failed to do everything to qualify, or you showed up late.  There are a number of ways you can forfeit in that context, and the same is true of our relationship with Jesus.  But there is one way to win.  One way to keep from forfeiting.  Go to Jesus!

Needless Pain

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Image Attributions
Forfeited Peace – https://pixabay.com/photos/hands-grasses-sunset-feel-touch-2667461/
Needless Pain – https://pixabay.com/photos/people-emotion-dramatic-female-1492052/

All creation, join in praising
God, the Father, Spirit, Son,
Evermore your voices raising
To th’eternal Three in One.
Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King.

Angels, from the Realms of Glory
By: James Montgomery, 1771-1854 (1816)

Listen to this simple piano version as you read, or watch the video complete with lyrics then read.  Please make certain to enjoy the podcast below.

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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.

We culminate our journey to, through, and beyond our celebrations of the arrival of our King today with a final invitation to come and worship.  It is easy to take down the tinsel and garland, the tress and wreaths, and settle back into the rhythm of life without allowing the miracle of His coming to change us.  How will you continue to respond to the access His arrival had made available today and all year long?  Let’s think about this.

Raise Your Voices, Now and Forever

Will you use you lips?  The carol puts it this way, “Evermore your voices raising”.  Surrendering our lips to His praise is a key piece to our response of worship, and if you have tried to consistently do this, you know it is not always easy.

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Hebrews 13:15 ESV

A sacrifice of praise.  This is a very common concept in Scripture: the idea that to offer something to God will cost us something.

Think about it.  If I say to God He is worthy of worship, then I must examine my other allegiances.  Are there other things that rather than being an expression of my desire to honor God, are actually competitors?  Of course.  When we resolve to do something, there are invariably adjustments we must make to follow through with that.

What adjustments do you need to make to allow your praise to be offered to our eternal Father?

Continually.  Now that is resolve.  Not a few times a week, or even few times a day.  Continually.  Without ceasing.  That is a challenging standard to try to live by.  None of us can do it in our own strength.  We absolutely need the power of the Holy Spirit to follow through on this commitment.  But find confidence in the fact that if you are willing to even make this commitment, the same Spirit that empowered you to want to offer a sacrifice of praise will help you do it.

Ask the Holy Spirit right now to make your praise continual.

Through Him.  If  you look back at the verses before this, you see that the “Him” being referred to here is Jesus.  How incredible that our desire to offer God our worship is not only imparted by Jesus, but actually accomplished through Him.  How kind of our Father to give His Son so that we could not only be made right, but continually live right.  The fruit of our lips acknowledging His name.  Not one of us can do this perfectly, but fortunately for us, Jesus has taken care of the perfect part. Praise His name!

Thank Jesus for providing everything you need to acknowledge God with your lips.

But Our Lips are Simply Not Enough

We must join the eternal praise with our lips today, but that praise demands and informs an even greater response: our lives poured out accordingly.  As we offer our praise to the eternal Three in One, it must find expression beyond just the fruit of our lips.  And what exactly frames that expression?

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 28:19 ESV

We repeat the invitation that was first heard from angels and shepherds, sages and saints.  Come and Worship.
We repeat it in every stanza.  Come and Worship.
We repeat it every day.  Come and Worship.
We repeat it so others may hear and join the throng of the people of God singing, living…Come and Worship!  
Let it resound and grow in our voices.  Come and Worship.  Let it find expression in our daily living.  Come and Worship!
Let it echo from the hills and across the plains.  Come and Worship.
Let it reverberate across all time and space, even into eternity.  Come and Worship.
May it inform our actions as it consumes our lives and fills the world.  Come and Worship.

Worship Christ the (newborn, risen, _____) King!

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Image Attributions
Voices Raising – https://pixabay.com/vectors/megaphone-shouting-voice-loud-man-150254/
Come and Worship – https://pixabay.com/illustrations/pray-devotions-apologize-religion-2672660/

Though an Infant now we view Him,
He shall fill His Father’s throne,
Gather all the nations to Him;
Every knee shall then bow down:
Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King.

Angels, from the Realms of Glory
By: James Montgomery, 1771-1854 (1816)

Listen to this simple piano version as you read, or watch the video complete with lyrics then read.  Please make certain to enjoy the podcast below.

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

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

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

Jesus, King of the Nations

I have this beautiful print hanging in my study.  As a pastor in a denomination where missions is our middle name, this keeps before me the purpose of our worship, to usher the nations into the throng that Jesus is gathering to Himself through our labors of making disciples.  We make much of Jesus for two reasons.

1. He alone is worthy to be praised.
2. He is calling all the nations to bow down before Him.

So let’s spend a couple moments on those two things as we begin a New Year of worshipping Jesus.

“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation…”  Revelation 5:9b ESV

Worthy.  John the Revelator shares his vision of heaven and hears this song sung by the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders around the throne.  Because of His finished work in the cross Jesus is able to open the scrolls revealing God’s will for the end of days, part of which is to gather His blood-bought children from every nation.

Worthy.  John the Baptist declared at the beginning on His ministry of Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” [John 1:29] He was slain as the sacrifice for our sins.  His blood ransomed us from our sins and made people for God, all who trust in Jesus.  No one else could have done that but Jesus.

Worthy.  Does your life reflect this?  How were you in 2019 at declaring the worthiness of your King to a watching world?  It is good to reflect on that, but also to embrace a new beginning. This year is fresh and filled with endless opportunities to show and tell just how worthy Jesus is of our praise, and the praises of all the nations He is gathering.

Will you commit to keeping your eyes, ears and heart open to seize those opportunities as they come?

Have you any part in getting the gospel to them?

Then Bow Down

This is a very powerful image to me.  First because it allows me to imagine Jesus wearing that coat of many colors representing His Lordship over the nations from above.  Second because it pictures the countless multitude bowing down before Him.  Third because we are all similar in our robes washed white by the blood of the of the Lamb.

Let’s think about this.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  Philippians 2:9-11 ESV

He is exalted.  There is simply no one like Jesus.  His is the name above every name.  I must reflect this in my life daily.  I must find ways to demonstrate this, in giving, praying and going.  It is not just an idea.  I must find ways to express the reality of this in my life.  How will you declare this truth with your life this week as we begin a New Year?  How will you intentionally invite the Spirit to exalt Jesus regularly this year?

Every knee, every tongue.  Though placing faith in Jesus seems optional now, it will not be on that day pictured here.  There will be none who fail to bow.  Still the greatest treasure remains for those who choose to worship Christ now by humbling themselves before Him.  When you bow on that day will it be a new activity for you or one with which you are well-accustomed?  Will you bow your knee to Him today, then repeat it everyday?  That posture prepares you heart to use your tongue for His glory.

To the glory of God.  What Jesus has accomplished in bringing this vast array of worshippers before the Father Almighty will truly bring great glory to God!  Are you longing for that day?  Is it because you want to see the impact your giving and praying actually made, or because you simply look forward to enjoying what Christ made available through your faith in Him?  What will you do in 2020 to be a part of taking the gospel of Jesus to those who have yet to hear?   Will you give?  Will you pray?  Will you go or send?  Be a part of seeing God’s work completed by doing your part.

 

These are some big questions to ponder as we begin a New Year.  May your resolutions reflect your preoccupation on Jesus Christ and His work in and through you in 2020.  Happy New Year my friends!

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Image Attributions
Gather All the Nations – https://sandistatondigitaldesigns.com/2013/08/10/a-coat-of-many-colors/
Every Knee Shall Bow – https://www.lordsart.com/evknshbowbyj.html

Saints, before the altar bending,
Watching long in hope and fear;
Suddenly the Lord, descending,
In His temple shall appear.
Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King.

Angels, from the Realms of Glory
By: James Montgomery, 1771-1854 (1816)

Listen to this simple piano version as you read, or watch the video complete with lyrics then read.  Please make certain to enjoy the podcast below.

We continue our journey to Christmas and the celebration of the birth of our Savior.  This week we consider the saints who are bending their lives to the will of God at the altar of God.  Their role in the story shows us that God rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Tuesday, we looked at Simeon.  Today Anna.  Let’s think about this.

Anna

We looked at Simeon on Tuesday and were challenged to hold on to our hope of seeing God’s salvation in our lives.  We know a little more about Simeon than we do Anna, including the prayer he offered in praise to God for fulfilling His promise.  Still, there are a few things we see in Anna’s life which make me so thankful she is included in the Luke account of Jesus’ birth.

And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin,  and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.^[a]She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.  And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.  Luke 2:36-38 (ESV)

What do we see about her in this passage?

• She was a prophetess.
• Though married, she had long been a widow.
• She never left the temple.
• She was poised to praise.

What do we glean from these things?

• She spoke for God.  And that was a dangerous thing for if one of the “thus sayeth the Lord” statements did not come true, she should have been stoned.  People who speak for God sometimes have very challenging lives because the messages they are compelled to share are sometimes difficult for their listeners to hear.  We do not know anything she said, but she was obviously regarded as a person who spoke from God and had nonetheless lived a long life.
• She had lived many years alone, with no companion but God.  Such a journey tends to have one of two effects on people.  They become either bitter or better.  And being a widow, let alone a prophesying widow, in that day would not have easy.  Still, she remained faithful to God.
• So abandoned was she to the Lord that she never left the Temple.  Some commentators argue that this means she was there every time the doors opened, but we know there were rooms within the temple complex and it is possible someone of her renown and station may have actually lived there.
• Though she likely lived a challenging life, had God alone as her life-long companion, and spent all of her time in the temple, she was still poised to praise God for sending His Messiah.  “At that very hour” she began to praise and speak to all those who were waiting for the redemption of Israel.

 

Waiting Like Her

So, on the heels of yet another celebration of the appearing of the Savior, what will you learn from Anna?  Are you willing to wait as she did.  Are you poised for praise now, and will you commit to still be ready decades from now?

Let’s think about this.

Do you realize you are called to speak for God?  You may not consider yourself a prophet, but in becoming Jesus’ disciple, you were invited into a believing family that has been commanded to share everything we know as often as we have opportunity about our Savior.  Scripture says effectively, as you are going, or along the way, make disciples.  [Matthew 28:19] Are you willing to engage in that process?

Are you finding your satisfaction in God alone?  Married for only 7 years and a widow at 84, we assume Anna was alone with no companion but God for possibly 60 years or more.  Whether it is a relationship or some other affection, is your desire for God greater still, and can you say He is enough for you.  If you are compelled to find satisfaction in something besides God, you may not be emulating Anna’s desperate dependence on Him in your life.  Ask the Holy Spirit to show you how consuming is your passion for Him alone?

Ok, I am not saying you should live at the church, but what might be a parallel in modern day for Anna’s abiding in the temple?  Well, the Scripture ask the question, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?” [I Corinthians 6:19]  Whoa! That brings it close to home.  We do not have to live somewhere else to be near God.  Quite the contrary, we need to be mindful to make our bodies and our lives places where it is obvious God lives.  Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you today if there is anything hindering your living out the reality that He is living in you, believer?

Anna obviously had ears to hear what the Spirit was saying to her [Matthew 11:15], and had lived a life of sharing that with others. She immediately began to share what God had revealed to her in the sending of His Son as proclaimed by Simeon.  We are commanded to do the same, as we teach others everything the Lord has shown to us.  [Matthew 28:20] Are you willing to follow Anna’s example and join Jesus in the work that He has entrusted to us?

These are some big questions to ponder as we round out the Christmas celebrations.  May they serve to lift your spirits as you consider the fact that, like Anna, you are invited into something much bigger than yourself.  Merry Christmas my friends!

 

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

Image Attributions
Anna and Jesus – https://susanmcgeown.webs.com/apps/blog/show/39188112-faith-s-attitude-at-christmas
Living Like Anna – http://www.biblewalking.com/blog-morning-minute/anna-the-prophetess

Sages, leave your contemplations,
Brighter visions beam afar;
Seek the great Desire of nations;
Ye have seen His natal star.
Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King.

Angels, from the Realms of Glory
By: James Montgomery, 1771-1854 (1816)

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

We continue our journey to Christmas and the celebration of the birth of our Savior.  Having already looked at what the wise men left behind, we press in a little closer to examine what they are pursuing.  As we do, ask yourself what you are going after.  Let’s think about this.

Seeking Him

The wise men had come from the east, and we have no indication that they were previously God-fearers, non-Jewish believers.  They had left some things behind in order to pursue the One whose birth the star proclaimed.  They were not just leaving some things behind they were also going after something.  What exactly?  Or more precisely, Who?

They told Herod they were looking for the King of the Jews.  Why would prominent Gentiles be seeking out a king who sits on a throne in lowly Israel?  Well, as they said, they had seen His star and had come to worship Him.  Yes, they had left some things behind but they were simultaneously pressing toward something greater.

They had come from other lands and nations to pursue One who would not only be King of the Jews, but so much more.  Our hymn writer here describes Him as “the great Desire of nations”.  Jesus describes Himself this way.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12ESV

He is not only the light of the Israel, He is the light of the world.  We all were walking in the darkness of death until we discovered the light of life.  The wise men are no different.

He is what are hearts long for.  Light.  Hope.  Peace.  Love.  He is our desire, and the great Desire of the nations.

You may choose to argue that point, but you will not once you surrender and determine to seek Him.  For once you seek Him, you will find Him, if you search with all your heart. [Jeremiah 29:13] And when you find Him you will know that He is what every person of every tribe and tongue truly desire.

So will you?

Will you determine to seek Him?  On Tuesday we determined to to leave some things behind so we could pursue the better things God has for us.  There is nothing better than Him, and a greater awareness of His presence in our lives.  But it does not just come to us, we must determine to pursue it.  How will you do that today?  Prayer, Bible reading, worship, etc.?  What discipline will you use to seek the great Desire of nations today?

In Response

But when we do seek, we must always acknowledge that even then we are simply responding to what He has already shown us of Himself.  And that revelation has caused us too long for still more. Their search began with the star.

They saw the star when it rose.  They knew it was significant.  They responded in worship.

And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. Matthew 2:9b-10 ESV

The wise men left their contemplations.  They pursued a star which appeared in the heavens.  They rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

What are you pursuing?  Be honest.  We are all going after something.  Are you confident that your pursuit will end with you rejoicing exceedingly with great joy?  We must be careful that the things we are chasing honor God and will ultimately produce good for us.

What has God shown to you?  Has He revealed something to you to which you have yet to respond?  It may require you to leave something behind.  It will certainly require you to begin a journey of faith.  But it will also absolutely be worth the sacrifice.  What response is God inviting you to make today?

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

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

Image Attributions
Seeking – https://pixabay.com/illustrations/christmas-kings-christmas-time-934177/
Respond – https://pixabay.com/photos/nativity-star-manger-christmas-3674785/