I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
  And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
  If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

My Jesus, I Love Thee
By: William Ralph Featherston (1848–1875)

Listen to this simple piano arrangement as you read.  And be sure to experience the worship-cultivating podcast below.

Today we consider the “now” of those moments surrounding our death.  Maybe just before, maybe just after, but either way, we declare our intention and even expectation that we will continue to express our love to Jesus.  Let’s think about that.

And Say

The previous line was a declaration that as long as Jesus lends us breath we will use it to give Him praise.  This next line is the natural next step in that process, the moments when He no longer lends breath to our mortal body, and its existence ceases.  Having no breath to praise, the writer now affirms he will still somehow speak forth his undying love for Jesus.  That is an incredible confidence.  So let’s consider that.

When this life is over, the Scripture teaches there is much more.

In fact, we are confident, and we would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.  2 Corinthians 5:8 (CSB)

When this physical body dies, the spiritual does not. We will live on past the expiration date of our earth suit.  You see, even when we no longer have the breath here, we will still be able to say to Jesus we love Him as we breath in the air on celestial shores.  When we are absent or away from our body, we will finally be at home with the Lord.

Thank Jesus that there is more than what our eyes can see and our ears can hear.  That even when life here ceases, there is much more to come.

Death Dew

Having established that we fully expect to be able to continue to tell Jesus we love Him even after we die, now let’s take a few moments to consider this very curious imagery of “death dew”.  Obviously it is a poetic rendering of the last throes of death, and the body itself growing cold along with the possible perspiration exerted in those last heated moments of battle with death.  Someone has referred to this phenomenon as a cold, clammy, waxy moisture left after a person goes through their death agony and dies.

From the air in our lungs to the sweat on our brow we are determined to keep the praise going, even after we die.  This is extraordinary imagery utilizing very ordinary things.

Having just evoked the awareness that our lended breath provides the means to give praise, the writer goes a step further in declaring our dependency on eternal life in God by squarely putting the possibility of our continuing to speak our adoration to Jesus upon it, even when the death dew goes cold on our forehead.  Otherwise, when the breath stops, so does our praise.

Stop and ponder that marvelous hope for a few moments.  Even when your breath runs out, your praise can continue.  Ask Jesus to drive that truth deep into your being, and commit to eternally let it take root and bear fruit.

If ever…it’s now!

Not only is there the confidence that we will be able to love Him through our death, but it is accompanied by the willingness to do so.  Many of the hymns deal plainly with the reality of death as a part of this age and our hope for life beyond it.  This stanza continues the crescendo of our affection which started with that moment of salvation, deepened with our growing understanding of Christ’s sacrifice, and now builds through our living and even past our dying, into an ever intensifying cacophony of delight.

We will leave this existence behind one day and enter into an experience of endless delight.  That is what the last stanza speaks about and we will press into that next week.  Before we go, linger in the “now” of these moments of living, loving Jesus, even as we draw daily closer to the love etched into our hearts and written in the skies.

Tell Him, “If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus ’tis now!”

Eternal 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 always available to Subscribers, sometimes to Free Members, but today 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! It features meditative music and moments to contemplate the Scriptures shared.

Image Attributions
And Say – https://pixabay.com/photos/say-goodbye-old-man-man-away-2890801/
Death Dew – https://pixabay.com/illustrations/fairy-tale-portrait-night-girl-1081151/
Tis Now – https://pixabay.com/photos/heart-sky-clouds-blue-sky-love-1213475/

I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me,
  And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
  If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

My Jesus, I Love Thee
By: William Ralph Featherston (1848–1875)

Listen to this simple piano arrangement as you read.  And be sure to experience the worship-cultivating podcast below.

We take some time today to consider the now of those moments which purchased our redemption.  It did not seem convenient for Jesus, but He wore the thorns and we Calvary anyway.  Are we committed to loving even when it is inconvenient?  Let’s think about that.

I Love Thee…

And here we are again repeating our commitment to love Jesus.  It is still a response to what we have just sung and what is contained in the latter part of this stanza, but it is just as much a continual declaration to drive us along it our response.  We love Him because He loved us first.

As we transition to loving in response to His wearing the crown of thorns, stop and take another moment here at the foot of Calvary’s tree.  Humble yourself there to receive the pardon purchased with His broken body and shed blood.  Let it wash over your soul with waves of unmerited grace.  Let it illumine your heart as it pushes back the long night with the gentle glow of its eternal light.

Tell Jesus you love Him, and will keep loving Him for purchasing your pardon.  Thank Him for laying down His life and ask Him to help you learn from and model that self-sacrifice.

For Wearing…

…the thorns on Thy brow.  The symbol of mocking was simultaneously an unwitting tacit acknowledgement of His kingship.  We gladly adore Him for His willingness to wear that crown, even though He was worthy of an entirely different one.  How gracious of Him to do so, especially since He had done nothing to deserve such punishment and humiliation!

Can you imagine how excruciatingly painful wearing those thorns must have been to his physical body?  Isaiah 52:14 says we would not have recognized Him, so brutal was their treatment of Him, this being one example of that torture.  Even still it was but a weak illustration of the agony Christ must have felt in His spirit as the Father turned His face away. [Psalm 22:1]

He was worthy of sincere adoration, and will receive it eternally from grateful hearts, but those moments in which He wore that thorny crown He only received mocking and ridicule from his tormentors.

And twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”  Matthew 27:29 ESV

What love!

If ever…it’s now!

In response to that extravagant expression of love for us and obedience to the Father, we love Him.

We love because he first loved us.  1 John 4:19 ESV 

Make that choice again today.  Determine you will love Him because He loved you first.  Ask Him to show you what that love should look like as you walk through your day.  How can you reflect that kind of sacrificial love today?  Do not put off to tomorrow what you can do today.

Responsive Thinking!

Are these thoughts helping you to develop greater spiritual awareness?  Sign-up in the form to the right above to get updates of new tools to help you be Resonant.

Below is content always available to Subscribers, sometimes to Free Members, but today 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! It features meditative music and moments to contemplate the Scriptures shared.

Image Attributions
I Love Thee… – https://pixabay.com/photos/cross-sunset-humility-devotion-1448946/
Thorns on Thy Brow – https://pixabay.com/photos/jesus-christ-clinic-jesus-christ-2437571/
If Ever I Loved Thee – https://pixabay.com/illustrations/good-friday-clipart-christ-easter-3249566/

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
  For Thee all the follies of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
  If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

My Jesus, I Love Thee
By: William Ralph Featherston (1848–1875)

Listen to this simple piano arrangement as you read.  And be sure to experience the worship-cultivating podcast below.

We take some time today to consider the now of those moments of redemption.  We saw Jesus clearly and responded to His offer of forgiveness.  Let’s think about that.

Gracious Redeemer

Having just declared our resignation from sin, we confess the grace of our Redeemer.  Though it comes before acknowledging Him as our gracious Redeemer in the hymn our determining to refrain from sin is truly a response to His grace.  He showed the grace before we made our determination, which makes His redeeming grace all the more remarkable.  He did not wait for us to act first, he initiated.  And good thing, because we would never have moved toward Him without Him making the way.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, Ephesians 1:7 ESV 

Can you recall those moments when you first realized God’s redeeming grace was being offered freely to you through the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ?  I am not talking about when you first heard the name of Jesus, or first began to consider the work on the cross, I mean that moment when you realized you needed to be redeemed from your sin, and Jesus was willing to do it.  Take a few moments and remember what that “now” felt like.

Thank Jesus for His unmerited grace which made your redemption, the forgiveness of all your sins, possible.  He is your Redeemer, according to the riches of His grace.  Give Him praise.

My Savior

Not just the Savior of the world, but my Savior.  I needed saving and Jesus did the work for me.  Reflect for just a minute what that required of Him.

The Father affirmed on several occasions that He was pleased with Jesus, but sin had to be dealt with once and for all which required a perfect sacrifice.  Jesus became that sacrifice out of obedience to the Father.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21ESV

He endured the cross for the glory of God and for our good.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.  1 Peter 2:24 ESV

Jesus not only purchased a position for us, but a way of living.  Dead to sin and alive to righteousness.  When the Holy Spirit reveals these truths to us the only appropriate response is one of love.

Thank Jesus for becoming your Savior, by becoming sin and making you the righteousness of God.  Give Him glory.

If ever…it’s now!

Here we find clarity regarding the “now” of this first stanza.  When do I love Jesus? That moment when I first believed and placed my faith in His gracious redeeming, saving work in me.

I have a very clear recollection of that “now”.  I had been wrestling with the claims of Christ and trying to reconcile them with what I thought I knew.  It was becoming obvious to me that I needed a Savior, and that Jesus was willing to be mine.  I remember that Sunday night service when the pastor preached a message based on this Scripture.

For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.  2 Corinthians 6:2 ESV

You may not have been sitting in a pew in a church like I was, but you can probably recall when you first responded to Jesus’ love for you.  What happened in that moment?  You began to love Jesus with an eternal love.  Recall that “now” again and allow the love first kindled in those moments to fan into flame your affection for Jesus in these, and on into forever.

Affectionate 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 always available to Subscribers, sometimes to Free Members, but today 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! It features meditative music and moments to contemplate the Scriptures shared.

Image Attributions
Gracious Redeemer – https://pixabay.com/illustrations/love-jesus-prophet-holy-man-christ-1221444/
My Savior – https://pixabay.com/illustrations/love-jesus-prophet-holy-man-christ-1221455/
If ever I loved Thee, it was then – https://pixabay.com/photos/church-pew-bible-catholic-faith-3120081/

Just a closer walk with Thee,
  Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
  Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

Just a Closer Walk with Thee
By: Anonymous

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

As we close out our walking/talking journey here, the simplicity of this final prayer is striking.  We are pleading for a closer walk with Jesus.  But I wonder if we can even grasp what that may mean.  Let’s think about that.

On the Move

These last two lines focus in on a few key principles that bring some clarity to what it means to walk close to Jesus, with the first being movement.  The image above portrays this well.  It is not so much about a lot of movement, as much as continual.  There is implied in this prayer of daily walking close to Jesus the awareness that there is a journey we are invited to join.

One of the things I have noticed with the passing of the years is a proclivity to move less.  Whether it is because there is some pain in the moving or simply that it takes a little more effort to get going, it is easy to live a sedentary lifestyle.  The same can be said at any age of our spiritual lives.  It is easier to remain stationary.  It requires energy to move.  But the benefits are staggering.

Are you willing to move every day as Jesus moves?  There are two parts to that question.  Are you ready to move, and will you model your moving after Jesus.  It reminds me of Jesus instruction to the disciples, which we must strive to emulate.

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.”  John 5:19 (ESV)

Ask Jesus to give you that same ability and willingness to identify His movements and mimic them.  Commit to moving every day with Jesus.

Like Jesus

Here is where things get really interesting.  Let’s make it clear.  Jesus taught it this way.

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  Luke 9:23 ESV

If we are going to walk closely with Jesus, we will have to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily.  This is what it means to follow Him.  No part of this is easy.

• Denying ourselves.  Ouch!  I will not pursue what my natural inclinations would be.  Instead I will pursue the supernatural desires which Jesus introduces me to.  All those things you want, you must lay them aside.  Why?  Because carrying a cross requires you carry nothing else.  Look at the image of Jesus.  He is only carrying His cross.  What must you lay down today to follow Jesus?
• Taking up your cross.  Not Jesus’ cross.  Your cross.  You will likely not be crucified, but you will have some opportunity to learn obedience through suffering like Jesus did.  [Hebrews 5:8] Are you able to identify what your cross may be today?  If so, ask Jesus for the grace to bear it.  If not, ask Him first for the grace to identify it.

Amen

As Jesus reveals to you what you need to lay down and what you need to pick up, be prepared to surrender to them.  “So be it” is the meaning behind this closing line, which is so important the writer encourages us to say it twice. And that is also effectively what the word means we often use to close our prayers, “Amen”.   All that stuff I just prayed Lord, so be it, Amen.

How does the prayer of this final stanza stack up against the things you have been praying about lately?  A quick recap.

• Just let me walk closer to You Jesus
• That is all I am asking
• Daily walking close to You
• Amen

If you were to hear my recent prayers, there might have been some of that, but there are a whole lot of other things.  Mostly for others, but a good bit for me, and not enough of this.

Ask Jesus to help you adjust your talking with Him, so that it reflects a deeper desire to be walking with Him daily.  As you do, prepare to surrender as He reveals what you need to lay down and what you need to take up.  It is not the easy road, but it is the far better one.

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 always available to Subscribers, sometimes to Free Members, but today 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! It features meditative music and moments to contemplate the Scriptures shared.

Image Attributions
Daily Walking – https://pixabay.com/photos/movement-run-go-walk-autumn-536650/
Close to Thee – https://pixabay.com/photos/jesus-christ-cross-cross-carry-1248835/
Let It Be – https://pixabay.com/photos/amen-message-notice-letters-1510175/

Now let us have a little talk with Jesus
Let us tell Him all about our trouble
  He will hear our faintest cry, He will answer by and by
And when you feel a little prayer wheel turnin’
And you will know a little fire is burnin’
  Find a little talk with Jesus makes it right.

Just a Little Talk with Jesus
By: Cleavant Derricks (1909-1977)

Listen as you read.  This is an updated version of this old hymn.

On Tuesday we continued our walking and talking journey with Jesus by rehearsing the advantages of taking all our troubles to Him.  Today we consider the effect that such confidence can have on the intensity of our prayers.  We find things made right as we let the practice of taking things to Jesus become the norm in our experience.  Let’s think about this.

Prayer Wheel Turning

The second half of this chorus introduces a very unusual illustration.  It is odd to see a reference to prayer wheels in a Christian hymn since they are very common in Buddhism, originating in Nepal or Tibet.  What are they?  Important prayers are written on metal or wooden wheels and it is believed that spinning the wheels has the same meritorious effect of orally reciting the prayers.  I honestly wonder if the author was familiar with this Buddhist tradition.

What I imagine he is actually making reference to is the momentum that grows as we increase the fervency of our prayers.  Think of it like this.  You begin to talk with Jesus about your troubles.  You are moved to tears as you speak about the burden you are carrying.  Even as you are praying you begin to get a sense that the answer is on the way.  That sense encourages you to pray even more fervently as a zeal not only for your answer but the glory of God in it begins to burn within you.

Momentum.  Energy.  Heat.  These things can all build on each other.  And so can prayer.

Have you ever had the experience of your heart burning within you as you waited in a group for the opportunity to pray?  The Lord was putting things on your heart that you just had to express.  Maybe your heart rate increased?  It may have even effected your breathing.

Fire Burning

Or maybe that has happened as you read the Bible and it begin to come alive to you, seemingly opening up before your very eyes.  I like to read the Bible and then leave it open before me as I begin to pray.  One of the ways Jesus speaks to us is through the Word of God.  Never was that more true than on the Emmaus road after His resurrection as He walked along with two unaware disciples.

They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”  Luke 24:32 ESV

It was not until Jesus blessed their meal and broke the bread that their eyes were opened to reality of who He really was. They asked Him a few questions and Jesus talked to them.  Can you imagine what that must have been like?  

This reminds us that prayer is not a monologue, but a dialogue. When we have a little talk with Jesus, we need to be quiet and let Him do at least some of the talking, otherwise we are talking to Jesus and not with Him, like those disciples on the road to Emmaus. Take a few moments and try that right now.  Have a little talk with Jesus.

A Little Talk With Jesus Makes It Right

Those disciples on the road were sad.  They were talking as they walked along about all that had happened surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus.  Jesus entered into that conversation with them.  That little talk with Jesus had a remarkable impact on them.

Though these words come from a different encounter, this is effectively what He was saying to them.  It is effectively what He wants to say to all of us as we face troubles of many kinds.  As you read them,  know that Jesus is speaking them directly to You right now.  Let them begin to give you a different perspective on all the things in your life are are going wrong.

“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

Let peace begin to settle your mind.  What are the tribulations that you facing?  Talk with Jesus about them.  Ask Him to cause His  peace to well up within you.  As it does, trust Him to cause a new day to dawn as He begins to make things right.

Peaceful 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 normally only available only to Subscribers and Free Members, but today to EVERYONE.  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 options designed to help you be Resonant!  Check them out today!!

Everyone enjoy this podcast and the transcript below!

Image Attributions
Prayer Wheel Turning – https://pixabay.com/photos/kathmandu-nepal-old-cylinder-3205674/
A Little Fire is Burning – https://pixabay.com/photos/christmas-love-romance-heart-red-2141493/
Peace Coming Like the Dawn – https://pixabay.com/photos/nature-landscape-kaçkars-mountains-3048299/