Summer and winter
And springtime and harvest
Sun moon and stars
In their courses above
Join with all nature
In manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness
Mercy and love 

Great Is Thy Faithfulness (1923)
By: Thomas Chisholm (1866–1960)

Listen to this version in a gospel style as you prepare to ponder this hymn. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.

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.

We begin our journey through this popular hymn which declares the faithfulness of our God, true in every season, experienced by hearts of faith. Let’s think about this.

Many and Various

So what part will you play in the great drama of worship that is unfolding across all creation?

In the opening portion of this stanza the writer lists cyclical seasons and celestial spheres as some of the things that bear witness to God’s faithfulness. Then he continues by expanding on that list with the many and various different witnesses that nature as a whole offers in praise of God. What a beautiful explanation of the activity of creation as a response to and declaration of the faithfulness of God.

Join with all nature
In manifold witness

O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Psalm 104:24 ESV

Not only do seasons and stars declare His glory, but also all nature. Every created thing proclaims the handiwork of God, in many and various ways. You are a part of that creation, so these lines also become an invitation and even an exhortation for you to find your place in the praise.

Maybe you are not a singer or an instrumentalist. Maybe you can not preach a sermon. Maybe you falter when you try to read or pray publicly. No matter. Those are just some of the expressions of worship of the church gathered. There are many more that allow the church dispersed to declare God’s faithfulness.

What are you good at? What do you enjoy doing? How might you be able to use that skill, gift, or talent in a way that blesses others and points them to God?

The seasons cycle along and reveal God’s glory. The stars shine and planets spin to the same end. Birds sings, and oceans roar. Tress grow and plants produce. You are not they, so their role is not yours. What part were you made to play? What were you made to do?

RESONATE!
Your life is a part of the witness of God’s creation. You have your own role to play in declaring God’s faithfulness on whatever stage He has given you. He has equipped you with everything you need to do, though you may need to develop it to use it well. Determine right now how you will exercise that opportunity to enter into the praise today. You are a unique expression of that witness. How will you exercise that privilege today? Ask Jesus to help you.Jesus, please show me how to join all nature and use my life as a witness.

For God’s Glory and Others Good

All these different, beautiful expressions of praise to God for His faithfulness come together in a grand crescendo for those who have ears to hear. Yet to some the silence is deafening. Many might walk through the forest and not hear what the trees and the leaves are bearing witness to: God’s faithfulness and mercy. How many fail to see the love in the center of it all?

This should challenge us to find the words and ways to reflect the reality of God to everyone around us. Not all will stop to consider our claims, but some will. And when they do, they will have the opportunity to discover the wonderful invitation to join the worship and find their place in the praise.

To Thy great faithfulness
Mercy and love 

To him who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures forever; Psalm 136:5 ESV

His love is steadfast. His mercy is unmerited. His faithfulness is great. This final phrase is a short litany of why we should give thanks to the Lord for His goodness. All around there are constant expressions of these truths but we often fail to recognize them, which leaves us incapable of declaring them.

RESONATE!
As you consider how you will join the worship today and invite others to do the same, take a moment to consider a few of the many reasons why you should. That consideration should provide you with ample inspiration. Ask the Father to help you see them all around you today, then find your place in the praise.

Father, thank You for using all of creation, including me, to put your faithfulness, mercy and love on display for all to see. Help me find my part in the great drama of worship today and may someone find some encouragement in how I live it out. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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.

Image Attributions
Join with All Nature in Manifold Witness – https://pixabay.com/photos/autumn-landscape-nature-golden-219972/
To Thy Great Faithfulness, Mercy and Love – https://pixabay.com/photos/heart-sweetheart-leaf-autumn-maple-1776746/

Great is Thy faithfulness
O God my Father
There is no shadow
Of turning with Thee
Thou changest not
Thy compassions they fail not
As Thou hast been
Thou forever wilt be

Great Is Thy Faithfulness (1923)
By: Thomas Chisholm (1866–1960)

Listen to this version in a gospel style as you prepare to ponder this hymn. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.

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.

We begin our journey through this popular hymn which declares the faithfulness of our God, true in every season, experienced by hearts of faith. Let’s think about this.

Tender Compassion

1. No shadow of turning
2. Thou changes not
3. As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be

Three different ways to say the same thing. The writer could just have easily said something far less poetic.

1. You don’t change
2. You don’t change
3. You don’t change

But the word choices of the hymn are far more interesting while driving that repeated point home. Still, nestled amongst those three different declarations of His unchanging nature is this little nugget: Thy compassions they fail not. And how thankful we are, like all the people of God, for that truth.

Thou changest not
Thy compassions they fail not

“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. Malachi 3:6 ESV

It is one thing for us to declare God does not change.  It is quite another when He declares that about Himself. In this verse He plainly states He does not change, and that His unchanging nature is what keeps us from being consumed.

Like Jacob, and the children who bear His name, we too often forsake God’s ways and choose our own. Yet He is compassionate and does not consume us in our rebellion. We are often self-reliant and treat Him in ways that demand His compassion. Fortunately for us it never fails.

Like the strong hand in the image above God is always ready to take our hand when we offer it to Him in need of compassion. We simply fail to invoke His compassion over some situations. By doing so we rob God and ourselves of the opportunity to feel His compassion. Take some time to rest in His compassion right now.

RESONATE!
Think about your words, thoughts and actions and search them for a time you know you rebelled against God’s will and ways. Place that before God and consider His compassion. Have you received it for that situation? If so, thank Him. If not, do so now. Simply ask for Him to be compassionate with you as you confess it and request His compassion. Then just rest in it for a few moments.

Eternally Constant

God is in those moments of compassion, because He is eternally constant. He was, and is, and is to come. The magnitude of His presence is frankly beyond of ability to grasp.

As you stand at the edge of eternity and look into what may seem like at first glance the swirling chaos of forever, you may by His grace come to realize there is a constant. That constant in the bright presence of our God. Amidst the darkness without and within, He is. And He always will be. Compassionate.

As Thou hast been
Thou forever wilt be

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 ESV

Nothing we do changes God. Or simply, nothing changes God. He is ever the same. He was, and is, and is to come, in every way, in every moment, everywhere. So even when we are not faithful, that’s right, He still is.

He has been faithful and He will continue to be faithful. What He has been, He will be forever. Everything in life changes, except God. He is the One constant on which we can depend. His faithfulness does not depend on us.

RESONATE!
Take a moment and in one spot try to imagine all the moments in forever past, present and future that have and will occur just in that one spot. It is more than our feeble minds can conceive. Now try to wrap your mind around every moment, every where. Now imagine being in control of all of it, and always showing compassion. WOW!

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.

Image Attributions
Thy Compassions They Fail Not – https://pixabay.com/photos/hands-compassion-help-old-care-699486/
Thou Forever Wilt Be – https://pixabay.com/photos/search/infinity/

All glory and praise
To the God of all grace,
Who hast brought us, and sought us,
And guided our ways.

Refrain:
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Hallelujah! Amen.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Revive us again.

Revive Us Again (1863)
By: Mackay, William Paton, M.D. (1839-1885)

Listen to this version in a gospel style as you prepare to ponder this hymn. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.

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.

We conclude our journey through this classic hymn sung across oceans and denominations for 150 years. Our prayer is the same as all the saints who have sung it before, “Revive us again”. Let’s think about this.

Filled with Hope

Ever have the feeling you are not sure which way to go? It slowly became more and more obvious that not only did you have no idea where you were, you had no idea where you were going? Truth is, we all have. Unfortunately many have not yet realized just how lost they are.

We who have been found certainly do though.

We were each wandering along hopeless and lost and we did not even realize it. God came after us and made a way back to Him through the sacrifice of His Son. No other reason motivates our praise any more than that.

Who hast brought us, and sought us,

He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 2 Corinthians 1:10 ESV

Indeed God has brought us through again and again. We did not even the vultures were circling above us. Deadly perils have not consumed us because He delivered us. Had has done so again and again.

Can you think of a time when God delivered you? You likely did not even realize you needed to be delivered. Maybe you only realized how perilous the situation was when looked back and saw they many ways that God delivered you.

Remembering, or looking back, is a very beneficial spiritual exercise. It allows us to appreciate and recall how good God has been to us. This is an important practice because our tendency is to forget, and to underemphasize the significance of what God has done for us.

Maybe you know of your need for deliverance today. You are keenly aware of how much you or someone you love needs God to deliver you or them. The situation may seem impossible. Remember, those are the very situations that put His glory on full display. For this reason we choose to set our hope on Him believing that He will deliver us again. 

RESONATE!
What is that situation that came to mind? What peril lies before you or someone you love? Just as you have recalled God’s deliverance before, do not be afraid to name the danger now. He wants to give you a reason to give Him glory and praise again today. Cry out to Him and wait for His deliverance.

Holy Fire

But your waiting may be active rather than passive. Actually it likely will be. Be mindful that your deliverance may take time and require something of you. It will most certainly give you the opportunity to learn how to follow God as He leads you out of the danger by revealing Himself, His purposes and His ways.

The most wonderful thing that occurs will likely be the experiential knowledge of being able to trust God for the next step, even when you can not see the end of the deliverance before you. Though it may take time, you will learn how to trust and follow Him in new ways. More often not that insight will be even more valuable than the deliverance itself.

And guided our ways.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Psalm 32:8 ESV

We have all stood at different crossroads in life, times we were not sure whether to turn left or right. When we look to God we can rest in the fact that He will guide us in the way we should go. Because we are His He has his eyes on us.

RESONATE!
Like a shepherd Jesus has guided us. Once we come to know His voice we can surrender to His influence in our lives. Are you seeking guidance in a particular matter today? Ask Jesus to help you discern His voice so you and follow His lead.

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.

Image Attributions
Who Hath Brought and Sought Us – https://pixabay.com/photos/lost-found-lost-and-found-searching-1605501/
And Guided Our Way – https://pixabay.com/photos/hand-light-compass-dark-nature-2586638/

Revive us again;
Fill each heart with Thy love;
May each soul be rekindled
With fire from above.

Refrain:
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Hallelujah! Amen.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Revive us again.

Revive Us Again (1863)
By: Mackay, William Paton, M.D. (1839-1885)

Listen to this version in a gospel style as you prepare to ponder this hymn. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.

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.

We continue our journey through this classic hymn sung across oceans and denominations for 150 years. Our prayer is the same as all the saints who have sung it before, “Revive us again”. Let’s think about this.

Filled with Hope

Have you ever been in love? Always thinking about someone. Trying to find ways to show your affection. Preoccupied with them. This is a part of our love for God, but it is so much more.

In Revelation 2, God affirms some things about the church of Ephesus, but has one thing against them. They had forsaken their first love, and He is calling them back to it. We have each experienced the waning of the heat of that early period when love consumed us, for God, and probably for another.

Life has a way of chipping away at our passions. It can make them cold, if not at least cool. It can be difficult to maintain the heat. Sometimes it simply must be rekindled. Even then, we must welcome and receive it.

How is the heat of your love for God? Does it need rekindling? If not now, it will someday. Considering how to see it rekindled right now may help you immensely then.

May each soul be rekindled

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13 ESV 

Here we have this idea of God taking the kindling of our souls and warming us with His love and light. How kind of Him to help us in this way. Our role is fairly passive, but we must open ourselves to it.

Has anything robbed your hope, or at least cooled it off  bit? Believe again that His purpose is for you to burn for His glory that joy and peace may consume you. Place your hope in His love for you and find yours rekindled.

RESONATE!
Something that was kindled but lost it’s flame must be rekindled so that flame may burn hot enough to catch the surrounding material on fire. Does your soul burn with a passion to give glory to God as it likely did at first? Ask the Spirit to rekindle your soul with a consuming love. “Spirit, rekindle my soul with all-consuming love.” Now take a few moments to allow Him to do just that.

Holy Fire

When we begin to earnestly pray like that, we must be ready for what may happen. God will answer. And fire, especially holy fire, is not easily controlled.

It is, however, absolutely worth the “risk”. Loosing control so that God can have His way with you is ALWAYS a good decision, even though it may be painful. God may just turn the heat up internally, in your soul, to prepare you for His fire: the presence, person and work of the Holy Spirit. Or He may allow the fire to fall to prepare you for external heat or pressure. Either way, His way is best.

The latter was the experience of the disciples in Acts 2. God has promised the Holy Spirit and then sent Him to empower them for what was to come, including the heat. Fire from on high came down and rested on them.

With fire from above.

And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. Acts 2:3 ESV

The Holy Spirit did that work of kindling the souls of the disciples on the day of Pentocost, and He wants to do the same in us every day. He wants not only to rest on us, but to fill us from on high with His divine fire. Will you let Him set your soul ablaze for God’s glory today?

RESONATE!
It is not an earthly kindling we seek, but a heavenly one. The flame that will truly spark the embers of our souls is one that comes from on high. His consuming love is the fire that will ignite an unquenchable desire for His glory. Ask God to give you that love. God, send Your fire down upon me. 

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.

Image Attributions
May Each Soul Be Rekindled – https://pixabay.com/photos/bread-furnace-firebox-kindling-4183105/
With FIre From Above – https://pixabay.com/photos/fire-bowl-fire-flame-burn-hot-1397839/

All glory and praise
To the Lamb that was slain,
Who hath borne all our sins,
And hath cleansed every stain.

Refrain:
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Hallelujah! Amen.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Revive us again.

Revive Us Again (1863)
By: Mackay, William Paton, M.D. (1839-1885)

Listen to this version in a gospel style as you prepare to ponder this hymn. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.

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.

We continue our journey through this classic hymn sung across oceans and denominations for 150 years. Our prayer is the same as all the saints who have sung it before, “Revive us again”. Let’s think about this.

Motivation for Adoration

I have been moved to tears a few times this week as I have reflected on why Jesus is worthy of all glory and praise. And here is the most worship-inducing truth of them all. Though He was perfect and never sinned, He bore all my sin, past, present and future. He did so for a reason.

Who hath borne all our sins,

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

There is a purpose in our redemption that goes beyond having our sins taken away and gives us the wholesomeness to exercise it. We are to live to righteousness. But what does that mean? It means living to do right, as opposed to wrong. Will you make that choice and live to do right today?

What will that mean for you? Often the Christian life is characterized by a list of “do not’s”. Things we are not supposed to do because we are professing to follow Christ. I think that the more accurate representation of life in Christ is a list of “do’s”.

The other difference between these lists is they are very different in length. The do not list tends to very long, while the do list I believe is actually quite short. We tend to want to complicate things, desiring a lengthy list of things we should not do. Jesus simplified things. He said “Love God and love your neighbor.” How many of the world’s ills, and our own besetting sins, would be remedied if we engage that short list?!?

And we do love Him. It is what prompts our living rightly. Not to pay Him back but simply living to righteousness.

We love Him because He has borne the penalty of our sins and made a way for us to come to the Father. Do you believe this? Do you live like you are free from them? You need not carry them or their guilt anymore. Bless the name of Jesus for bearing your sins.

RESONATE!
Take a few minutes right now to allow the truth of the forgiveness and redemption Jesus purchased on that tree to wash over you. Look at that image above with Him on the cross. Ask Him to reveal the wonder of what transpired there to wash over you again right now. Bless Him for bearing all your sins. Commit to living to righteousness. Admit you will need His help to do so, and receive it now and when you do.

Cleansed and Renewed

Jesus has transformed our relationship with the Father through His work as the Lamb of God. He shed His blood to cleanse every stain. One songwriter said, “Oh wash me in His cleansing blood.”

It is a strange thought being washed in blood until we are white as snow, but it is powerful imagery. He wore the crown of thorns and endured the cross to shed His blood. Your sin-stained garments cleansed by it. Hallelujah!

And hath cleansed every stain.

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. Isaiah 1:18 ESV 

What a change Jesus has wrought in our standing before God! Having cleansed every stain Jesus is worthy of all glory. We know that, but fail to live it out daily.

What is keeping you from living as one who has been made new? Think about it. Isaiah ask for us to reason together with him. We were covered in the scarlet of our sins, but have been cleansed by the blood and now they have been made white. Does that blow your mind? Can you believe it?

RESONATE!
Think about it for a minute. Set a timer if you have to. Read those words from Isaiah and let them sink in. Thank God for washing your stains in the blood of His Lamb, Jesus. Then ask the Lamb of God to revive you again today, and empower you to give Him the praise He alone deserves.

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.

Image Attributions
Who Hath Borne All Our Sins – https://pixabay.com/illustrations/cross-body-jesus-christ-death-red-4936603/
And Hath Cleansed Every Stain – https://pixabay.com/illustrations/chalice-cup-lamb-god-eucharist-4718251/