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Make Me Like…a Clingstone Peach

See the Cross

Hast Thou not bid me love Thee, God and King?
  All, all Thine own, soul, heart and strength and mind.
I see Thy cross; there teach my heart to cling:
  Oh, let me seek Thee, and, oh, let me find!

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

Listen as you read.  This is a lovely piano solo version.

On Tuesday we considered the first two lines of this stanza, and with them the rhetorical question of how God invites us to love Him.  We turn our attention today to the clearest reason God gives us to do so, the cross, and conclude with a prayer asking the Spirit to help us seek and find Him.  Let’s think about this.

I See the Cross

It is one thing to be able to identify the two lines which intersect and from the cross, it is another thing altogether to discern the instrument of your salvation.  Everyone with functional eyes can see the cross in the image above, but only those with eyes of faith can will cherish this emblem of suffering and shame because they understand the transaction that took place there.  The Holy God  allowed His Son to become sin for us to redeem our lives from His wrath.

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5:8 ESV

This is a story with which we become casually familiar.  We know it so well, that we can easily become guilty of regarding it with no greater reverence than the ones who hang a gilded, gold version of it around their necks with little care their lives bear no resemblance to the One who changed the course of human history when He gave His life on it.  We must to more than just see the cross.  How will your life evidence the fact  today that you have seen the cross, and understand its significance?

Teach My Heart

Teach My Heart

When the Spirit has done His work of allowing you to see the cross for what it truly is, then you are in a position to have Him do the next very necessary part of His work, teaching you to cling to it.  This is a needful activity to engage in for every believer, holding tightly to the cross.  Why?  Think of it this way.

When we hold tightly to the cross, we are not able to take hold of other things.  Things that actually preoccupy us from clinging to the cross.  Things like hurts from the past, habits that eat into our discretionary time and energy, and hang-ups that paralyze us from pursuing health and happiness.   The cross delivers us from these things by being a place of healing, discipline, and freedom.

Clingstone Peach

This makes me think of Clingstone peaches.  You know, the kind whose flesh clings to the pit of the peach, making it nearly impossible to remove without bruising the peach.  We need to be like these peaches.  Ever clinging to the cross, forcing any attempts to remove us from its presence to leave us bruised.  If we are more like Freestone peaches, the ones where the pit is easily removed from the pit, the smallest things will serve to break us free from the presence and influence of the cross.

Freestone peaches

So which type of disciple will you be?  Clingstone or Freestone.  Cling-to-cross or free-from cross.  Decide today.   That will make it much easier when the hurts, habits and hang-ups come to peel you away from the cross.

But it is not enough to simply cling to the cross either.  In a sense that is our position or our standing.  We must also be mindful we are in process.  Acknowledging I have not arrived, my journey is not complete.  My standing is in the cross, but I must work its reality into my daily living by continually seeking the One who was crucified there.  How do we seek?

Let Me Seek Thee

Rather than focusing on do’s, let me mention a couple don’ts.

The cross teaches us one of the first lessons in seeking when we deny ourselves.  We can not seek God if we are consumed by other  things we are desiring for ourselves.  Lesson, don’t seek after other things.  Are there things that are keeping you from seeking?

Our learning to cling to the cross also promotes seeking in that it helps us to realize that God always has a better plan, even when we have to face pain.  This close proximity to Jesus also helps to foster a longing for even more because it eliminates His competitors.  Truth be told, He has no real competitors, but there are many things that vie for the affection He deserves.  When we  systematically remove those things, what remains is a single-hearted devotion that virtually insures success.  Based on what?  His promise.

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 ESV

Let Me Find

If we believe this, then the real issue is removing hindrances to seeking,  Deuteronomy 4:29 says “You will find [God] when you seek Him with all your heart and all your soul.”  The hymn writer offers a simple prayer. Echo that prayer, “God, let me seek You.”

 

Spirit, help me to not only see the cross, but cling to it.  Help me to seek You and find you by seeking you with all my heart and soul.  Remove any hindrances to such single-hearted seeking.  In Jesus name.   Amen.

Determined Thinking!

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

Podcast 6.3 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.

Hast Thou not bid me love Thee, God and King?

1 John 4:16 ESV

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

Rhetorical question.  Of course He bids us to love.  We know this because He loved us first, then invites us to abide or live in that love so He, and His love, may abide in us.  If you know that love, are you living your life responding to it?

 All, all Thine own, soul, heart and strength and mind.

Mark 12:30 ESV

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

The Great Commandment, or at least the first half of it.  Love for God, demonstrated by a love for all the things associated with God, is the command.  This is not as easy as it seems becuase other things compete with our affection for God. What is competing for yours?

I see Thy cross; there teach my heart to cling:

Romans 5:8 ESV

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

We cling to the cross because we not only see it, but understand what it represents to us.  God first loved us by paying the penalty our sin required. When we truly see the cross, we learn to cling.  Ask the Holy Spirit to teach your heart to cling to the cross.

 Oh, let me seek Thee, and, oh, let me find!

Jeremiah 29:13 ESV

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

How can I cling to someone or something I am still seeking to find?  I purpose to cling to that which I have understood and known with the hope that this close proximity fosters a longing for even more, for there is always more of God’s love than I have apprehended.  Ask the Holy Spirit to call you deeper into that love.

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.

Hast Thou not bid me love Thee, God and King?
  All, all Thine own, soul, heart and strength and mind.
I see Thy cross; there teach my heart to cling:
  Oh, let me seek Thee, and, oh, let me find!

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
Cross – https://pixabay.com/illustrations/art-artistic-painting-digital-2092530/
Heart Cling – https://pixabay.com/photos/heart-metal-heart-rusty-heart-674850/
Clingstone Peaches – http://www.howtohaveitall.net/how-to-pit-clingstone-peaches/
Freestone Peaches – https://bakingbites.com/2013/08/what-are-freestone-peaches/

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Not External but Internal

Angel Visitant

I ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies,
 No sudden rending of the veil of clay,
No angel visitant, no opening skies,
 But take the dimness of my soul away.

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

Listen as you read.  This is a nice string quartet version.

On Tuesday we considered the first two lines of this stanza, and began our examination of what we need not ask of God.  We continue that today and then turn the corner to what we do need to ask of Him.   Interesting, the things we are purposed to NOT ask for are primarily external, while the one need is internal.  Let’s think about this.

No Angel Visitant

The next item or experience on our list of things we shall not ask of God: and angel visit.  How do you imagine that occurring?  Something like the image above?

When I think of angel visits a number of different ones come to mind:  Abraham, Mary, and Joseph, to name a few.  The greatest angel visit so far in history though was undoubtedly that over the manger in Bethlehem that heralded our Savior’s birth.

Angels Over Bethlehem

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ““Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”  Luke 2:13-14 ESV

No Opening Skies

This angelic appearance was also an opening of the skies, like the time Jacob saw angels going up and down a ladder out of heaven, but there are other times when the skies opened where no angels are mentioned.  The skies opened up for Moses when God came down on the mountain during the Exodus.  The skies opened at Jesus’ baptism, a voice from was heard and the Holy Spirit settled on Him, but no angels.  After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus.  And there are more.

Opening Skies

What they all have in common, open skies with or without angels, is that God is doing something extraordinary in each occurrence to reveal something about Himself, His purposes or His.  Maybe if an angel visited us, or God suddenly pulled the heavenly curtain back so we could see His glory, that would solve our problem.  What the hymn is saying again though is to NOT ask for these things, extraordinary as they may be.  Instead ask for something even better.

What do you think?  If angel appeared to you, or the skies opened, do you think you could continually draw off that experience to discern the Spirit’s work?  I think I would be inclined to let the wonder of that moment fade.  As clearly as I may have seen God in that moment, I think I would loose that clarity over time.  So I would agree with the prayer of this hymn that there is something better.

Clarity of Soul

And finally here it is.  The problem is not external, but internal.  So the solution will not manifest initially externally, but internally.

God reveals Himself in a myriad of ways every single day. Our soul simply often fails to be aware enough to grasp it.  What we really need is to have the dimness of our soul replaced with a keenness of soul.

Brightness of Soul

With regard to the eyes, dimness often means not bright or clear.  With regard to the soul, in similar fashion to the mind, dimness means slow to understand, or simply lacking the capacity to discern.

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.  1 Corinthians 2:14 ESV

So the writer gets to what he does want, clarity of soul, something that is impossible apart from the work of the Holy Spirit.  Our souls are dim, slow to grasp the surpassing greatness of our God.  Ask the Spirit to help you understand His work and ways by sharpening the aptitude or brightness of your soul.

Spirit, I acknowledge that I do not need angel visits or opening skies.  What I need is clarity of soul.  Remove the things that cause my soul to be dim so that I may live with a keen awareness of Your presence with me.  In Jesus name.   Amen.

Bright Thinking!

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Below is content available only to Subscribers and Free Members.  Want to learn more about accessing all the additional material in the Subscriber Content Library, click here.  Or check out some 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!!

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

Podcast 6.2 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 ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies,

Acts 2:17 ESV

“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;

This stanza contrasts the things for which we often long because they appear so desirable, with the thing for which we should truly long.  The first three lines focused on the things we determine to not ask for, in this first line, dreams and visions. Determine to not seek them.

 No sudden rending of the veil of clay,

1 Corinthians 13:9-10-12 ESV

For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away…For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

Our flesh impairs our ability to clearly see the things of the Spirit.  Though it would be wonderful to experience an abrupt tearing of the curtain the flesh creates so we could discern the things of the Spirit, like we will one day, the hymn chooses not to ask for this either.  Can you come to terms with having to deal with the weaknesses of the flesh?

No angel visitant, no opening skies,

Luke 2:13-14 ESV

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ““Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Angels are often mentioned in the Scriptures, and the skies opened to show something of God’s purposes on more than one occasion, never quite like this moment over Bethlehem pastures.  Even still, there is something we would prefer even more in regard to the Spirit’s work. Can you imagine that?

 But take the dimness of my soul away.

1 Corinthians 2:14 ESV

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

And finally the writer gets to what he does want, clarity of soul, something that is impossible beyond the work of the Spirit.  Our souls are dim, slow to grasp the surpassing greatness of our God. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand His work and ways.

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.

I ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies,
 No sudden rending of the veil of clay,
No angel visitant, no opening skies,
 But take the dimness of my soul away.

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
Angel Visitant – https://weheartit.com/entry/294691343
Angels Over Bethlehem – https://iamnotashamedofthegospelofchrist.com/2015/12/26/the-angels-worshipped-him/
Opening Skies – https://www.wattpad.com/story/70090487-opening-skies
Brightness of Soul – https://www.crosswalk.com/video-q-a/what-does-john-16-teach-us-about-the-holy-spirit.html

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Power from on High

Spirit Descend

Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;
  Wean it from earth; through all its pulses move.
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art,
  And make me love Thee as I ought to love.

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

Listen as you read.  This is a nice string quartet version.

On Tuesday we considered the first and last lines of this stanza, centered in on inviting the Spirit to come and pour God’s love into our hearts.  Today as we examine the middle two lines we will wrestle with the our weakness and the opportunity it presents for the allures of this world, even as we continue the invite the Spirit to move in every pulse of our hearts.  Let’s think about this.

Weaned from Earth

Weaning is a painful process.  It speaks to the gradual removal of something that we felt at some point and in some measure we had to have, but have since realized otherwise.  It is like working to break a bad habit, at least in terms of the effort required and the pain caused.

One use of wean means to free from an unusually unwholesome habit or interest.  This gets a little closer to what the writer is asking of the Holy Spirit.  The flesh is inclined to unwholesome habits and interests and pursues them diligently among the materials of earth.

Weaned Through Affliction

I think to some extent we really do not know what we are asking for in this noble, earnest prayer.  The end will be truly beneficial, but the means by which we will likely get there will likely be difficult.  Charles Spurgeon put it this way,  “The Lord’s mercy often rides to the door on the black horse of affliction.  Jesus uses the whole range of our experiences to wean us from earth and woo us to Heaven.”

So we ask the Holy Spirit to wean us from earth and His answer just may come in the form of affliction.  That experience generally strips away what we thought mattered and gets us to desire what actually does.  As we transfer our longing from earthly things to Heavenly ones, we find a very different rhythm to living.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  Galatians 5:16 ESV

Those longings for the things of earth effectively make us sick, without even knowing it.  Walking in the Spirit, allowing Him to direct every pulse of our intellect, will and emotions, is the antidote for this malady.  Ask Him to be that for you today.

Pulsating with the Spirit

Pulse of the Spirit

Being weaned from earth and pulsating with the Holy Spirit are two sides of the same coin.  The more we invite the Spirit to beat in our hearts, the less we are inclined to long for the things of earth.  But conversely, the more we long for the things of earth, the less we are inclined to invite the Spirit to beat in our hearts.  

So it becomes a decision of the mind, an act of the will, to pursue a better path.  One marked by the rhythm of the Spirit.  Oh, that the Holy Spirit would help our hearts to manage without some of the things of earth of which we have become increasingly fond.  Oh, that we would sense His presence moving through every pulse of our hearts. Ask Him for these things.

Sounds easy, right?  Wrong!

If you have walked with Jesus for any length of time you know better.  How? By experience.

Stoop to My Weakness

The Spirit Stoops Like Lincoln Here

You have likely experienced the frustration of knowing what to do, but lacking the power to do so.  But the truth is we do not lack the power, we simply fail to tap into it.  Because the Spirit is like Abraham Lincoln in this image.  This quote has been attributed to numerous people so I am uncertain as to who said it, but it illustrates what God has already done and is continually willing to do:  stoop down to help us since He is familiar with how weak we are.

We are weak, but He is strong.  What perfect vessels to put His glory on full display, ones that can truly take no credit for the work He does in them!  Humble yourself, by admitting your weakness, and His strength.  Receive the power He has already made available to you.  Not certain that power is available to you?  Consider this Scripture.

All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.   1 Corinthians 12:11 ESV

The Spirit works in us to produce fruit that is beneficial for our lives and those around us, including the Church.  We need His empowering because we are weak. He gives to each according to His will. Ask Him to give you power from on high to engage in God’s will and work.

Spirit, I realize I do not really know what I am asking for when I express my desire to be weaned from earth, knowing You pulsing through every beat of my heart, but I know I need it.  I know I am weak, and that I need Your strength.  Put it on display in my life as I learn daily to depend on You.  In Jesus name.   Amen.

Deliberate 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.

Below is content available only to Subscribers and Free Members.  Want to learn more about accessing all the additional material in the Subscriber Content Library, click here.  Or check out some 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!!

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

Podcast 6.1 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.

Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;

John 14:26 ESV

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

The heart is the seat of our intellect, will and emotions.  When we ask the Holy Spirit to settle on our hearts, we are asking Him to teach us, and bring to remembrance everything Jesus said.  Ask the Spirit to instruct your intellect, will and emotions.

 Wean it from earth; through all its pulses move.

Galatians 5:16 ESV

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

One use of wean means to free from an unusually unwholesome habit or interest.  The flesh is inclined to those very things and searches for them among the materials of earth.  Walking in the Spirit, allowing Him to direct every pulse of our intellect, will and emotions, is the antidote for this malady.  Ask Him to be that for you today.

Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art,

1 Corinthians 12:11 ESV

All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

The Spirit works in us to produce fruit that is beneficial for our lives and those around us, including the Church.  We need His empowering because we are weak. He gives to each according to His will Ask Him to give you power from on high to engage in God’s will and work.

 And make me love Thee as I ought to love.

Romans 5:5 ESV

And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

What a beautiful image this evokes!  God’s love poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.  We are incapable of loving God as we ought to without His help.  We may approximate it but we will always fall short. Ask the Spirit to help you love Him.

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.

Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;
  Wean it from earth; through all its pulses move.
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art,
  And make me love Thee as I ought to love.

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
Spirit Descend – https://gifer.com/en/Gs03
Wean From Earth – https://imgur.com/gallery/OxBxCLI
Though All Its Pulses Move – https://gifer.com/en/9lfa
Lincoln Stoops – http://www.abelincoln.com/cliffhangers/1-68.htm

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Offering Everything I Am

Cross Over Chasm

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
  That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
  Demands my soul, my life, my all.

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
 By: Isaac Watts, 1674-1748

Listen as you read.  This is a nice instrumental version.

On Tuesday we considered the first two lines of this very poetic stanza, acknowledging that even if all nature were ours to present as an offering in response to the cross it would be insufficient.  Today as we examine the last two lines we will wrestle with the only appropriate response we can give to God’s amazing love for us.  Let’s think about this.

Amazing Love

We were separated from God by our sin.  The Father sent His Son to bridge that divide.  He initiated the solution to our problem with sin by sending Christ to the cross to demonstrate His love, pay the penalty for our sin, and provide a way back to Him.

Love so Divine

Like this image, God reaches out to us in the cross and makes the way for us to reach back to Him.  We would never have been able to span the chasm between us and God were it not for the cross.  The wondrous cross.

Though our last line will talk about the demand that love places on us, in order to understand the context of that demand we must consider the demand of justice.  Our Holy God can have nothing to do with sin.  We will each stand before Him to give an account for our lives, particularly to answer for all the things we did contrary to God’s commands.  Our sin.  (See Revelation 20:11-13.)

God will be justified in calling us to account for every wrong thing we have ever done, if we want to live in His glorious presence forever.  His perfection demands it.  Unfortunately, we have no excuse, and simply are guilty of every accusation that would be brought against us.  Fortunately, Jesus changed the entire scenario.

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  1 John 4:10 ESV

Propitiation is a big theological word.  It means to appease a deity, thus incurring divine favor or avoiding divine retribution. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross allowed Him to become that for us.  It satisfied the laws demands allowing us to experience the favor of God and escape His retribution.  It was the greatest expression of Love in history.  It demands a response.

My Soul, My Life, My All

The Demand of Love

With authority Love claims the response of everything we are, but not in the normal sense of the word demand.  When I think of the word demand, there is a sense that I have no choice, and while that may be true when we consider the rightness of God’s demand He always allows us to choose.

There is still the very real sense that God’s love displayed on the cross demands a response.  It demands my soul, my life, my all, in that it is calling for that all-encompassing response with authority.  We must continually live out this response.

Why continually?  Partly because the extravagance of God’s sacrifice.  Partly because of the way that line is written.  Love demands.  Not Love demanded, past tense.  Or Love will demand, future tense.  But demands, present tense.  We all called to continually live out our response of offering everything we are to God.

So how are you responding?  Undoubtedly, you probably made a decision at some point to offer your life in exchange for the one Jesus offered you.  The issue for us arises when we fail to continue to offer our life to God.  Something in our soul holds back, not sure of risking everything for Jesus.  We live most moments with an awareness of Christ’s presence, but those moments when we do not our life drifts from Him.  We offered our all to God in the initial transaction, but along the way have taken little bits back so that He does not have the fullness of what Love demands anymore.

Take a few moments and identify what those things might be that are keeping you from offering your soul, your life, your all to Jesus right now.  Ask for His forgiveness, and then His help to keep offering everything you are.

Jesus, thank You for offering Your life so completely for us, becoming the propitiation for our sin.  Your sacrifice satisfied the laws demands, and now demands a response from us. Give us the courage and continually offer our lives, our souls, our all to You, ever remaining in a state of wonder at Your work on the cross.  In Jesus name.   Amen.

Constant 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.

Below is content available only to Subscribers and Free Members.  Want to learn more about accessing all the additional material in the Subscriber Content Library, click here.  Or check out some 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!!

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

Podcast 4.4 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.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,

Colossians 1:16 ESV

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

Well, everything in all of creation does not belong to me, but to Christ.  He is the One who made all things, and through His sacrifice on the cross is remaking all things.  Praise Him for His work of creation and re-creation.

 That were a present far too small;

1 Chronicles 16:29 ESV

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;

If it were all mine, giving it all to my Lord who has redeemed me from my sins would be an appropriate response, but would simply still not be enough.  He is worthy, so what offering or present will You bring to worship Him?

Love so amazing, so divine,

1 John 4:10 ESV

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Propitiation means to appease a deity, thus incurring divine favor or avoiding divine retribution. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross allowed Him to become that for us.  Only His life could be a worthy sacrifice, and in love He willingly laid that life down for our sins.  Thank Him.

 Demands my soul, my life, my all.

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.

In response to Christ offering His life for us, we offer everything we are.  But we do not climb up on an altar to die, instead we determine to live out our worship, through holy and acceptable lives.  Ask Him to help you do just that.

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.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
  That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
  Demands my soul, my life, my all.

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
Cross Over Chasm – http://vkpatriarhat.org/en/?p=11217
Love So Divine – Pixabay
My Soul, My Life My All – https://thepassionists.org/daily-reflections?page=46

by 2 Comments

Like Him? Like Him!

Exalted Head

Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!
  Foll’wing our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
  Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

Christ the Lord is Risen Today
By: Charles Wesley, 1707-1778

Listen as you read.  This is a nice instrumental ambient version.

On Tuesday we tuned our hearts with the wonder of what is in store for us one day we soar into the skies to join our Resurrected King!  Today we are going to think again about how He accomplished that, and what the implications of that are for us.  Glad you could join us as we ponder these things.

Exalted Head

When we go soaring on high we will do so by following our “exalted head”.  There are a number of things that come to mind with these words.  The first to ponder I believe is what does it mean by saying Christ is our head.  Next how exactly He earned that exalted position.  Finally, how we will follow.

And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. Colossians 1:18 ESV 

Jesus was the firstborn from among the dead, but many more will follow His lead.  Those who will follow are His church, His blood-bought bride. They are the ones who are trusting Christ’s work to make us right with the Father.  He is our Head, and we His body will follow Him, just like every body follows wherever its head goes.  He has ascended to the Father, and so shall we.

But that right to ascend was not easily acquired, even though He had willingly and voluntarily laid down His glory to become one of us and perfectly obey the Father.  When I think of Christ as head, my mind often goes to this translation of an old German hymn.  It alludes to the glory He had laid down to walk among us, “once…bright as morn!”

O Sacred Head

O sacred Head, now wounded,
with grief and shame weighed down,
now scornfully surrounded
with thorns, thine only crown:
how pale thou art with anguish,
with sore abuse and scorn!
How does that visage languish
which once was bright as morn!
Anonymous

That self-sacrifice not only paved the way for Christ’s exaltation, but shows us our path to follow as well.  We must be willing to lay down our lives and take up our cross just like Jesus. This is what it means to follow our exalted Head.  Though we will not be offered as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, we must follow His example to deny our selves that we may fully pursue the path our Father has marked out for us.

Like Him

When there is repetition in any form of literature the author is always emphasizing something.   It is a very deliberate choice to repeat the words “like Him” in this line.  “Made like Him, like Him we rise.”  Colossians 3:1, 4 puts it like this.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God…When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Made Like Him

Since we have been made like Him in His resurrection, we will rise as He did, not only from the dead, but also on high to join Him in glory.  As the last line says, “Our the cross, the grave, the skies”.  We are made like Him so when He appears we will appear with Him in glory.  What an incredible promise!  But with it comes an exhortation to “seek the things that are above”.

So often we get mired in daily living, the rudiments of our earthly existence, that we forget we have something coming that far surpasses the best of these days.  We must daily remind ourselves to “seek the things that are above”.  How do we do that?  By setting on mind on them, and allowing the reality of them to shape not only our thoughts but our behavior as well.

Reflect on the fact that you are made like Him, but acknowledge you would like to be more even more like Him.  Then ask Jesus to show you today how you can practice that.

Jesus, thank You for making me like You.  I know that I am a work in progress, but I welcome Your transforming power into my life today.  Show me how I can be more like you today, even as I long to “appear with you in glory” one day.  In Jesus name.   Amen.

Deliberate Thinking!

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

Podcast 5.4 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.

Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!

Acts 1:9 ESV

And when (Jesus)  had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

This account is from the Ascension of Christ, when He was taken up into glory.  After His resurrection Jesus appeared to His disciples many times, but this was the final time.  He led the way and one day we will join Him. What if were today? Are you ready?

 Foll’wing our exalted Head, Alleluia!

Colossians 1:18 ESV

And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

He was the firstborn from among the dead, but many more will follow.  Who are they? His church, His blood-bought bride. All who are trusting Christ’s work to make us right with the Father.  He is our Head, and we His body will follow Him. Are you following Him today?

Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!

Colossians 3:1, 4 ESV

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God…When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Our having been raised with Christ, enables us to be made like Him in resurrection glory.  Being made like Him ensures that we will appear with Him in glory. The wonders that await us are beyond comprehension.  Thank Him for making you like Him.

 Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

Hebrews 12:2 ESV

Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

So let’s keep our eyes on Jesus.  That makes it much easier to follow Him, and since we want the skies, like Him, we must take up our cross and die to ourselves, so we can live for Him.  Ask Him to help you take up your cross today and die to sin.

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.

Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!
  Foll’wing our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
  Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

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
Exalted Head – https://gfycat.com/speedyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5QgWH5GY1Uweakchrysalis
O Sacred Head – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/326370304240768829/?lp=true
Made Like Him – https://gfycat.com/speedyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=https://www.crosswalk.com/special-coverage/easter/three-reasons-the-resurrection-is-important-today.html

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