Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
 Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids His rise, Alleluia!
 Christ hath opened paradise, Alleluia!

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

Listen as you read.  This is a neat orchestral karaoke version.

The  first and last lines of this weeks stanza allude to a couple of Jesus’ last words from the cross.  He speaks a promise to a thief, and then quietly declares His work is done before taking his last breath.  Both of these “words” or phrases evoke a response in our hearts if we will let them.  Will you let them?

Finished

Jesus…said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.  John 19:30

Finished means complete or perfect in all details, as in a product.  The work the Father had for Jesus to do, “Love’s redeeming work”, was done.  Several times earlier in the book of John Jesus had referred to finishing the work the Father had for Him, using this same word translated finished.  He completed that cycle when He declared “It is finished”.

His sacrificial death satisfied the wrath of God.  As we considered a few entries ago, sin has a consequence.  Death.  Jesus paid in full the debt we owed to a Holy God.  Sin had to be atoned, and Jesus did just that.  He redeemed us, purchasing our forgiveness at a great price when He said, “It is finished.”

I wonder if the devil might have been confused thinking Jesus had misspoke.  Notice He did not say, “I am finished”.

I wonder how often we find ourselves confused thinking there is still something we need to do to finish our salvation.  There is nothing more we need to do.

Let me be clear.  Jesus still had to leave the tomb empty to demonstrate His victory over sin, death and the grave.  The unleashing of His resurrection power for all who believe had not yet occurred, but Love’s redeeming work was done.  He opened paradise, but before we consider the effect of His sacrifice, allow you heart to revel in the juxtaposition of these two extremes: death and life, suffering and paradise.

His going to Golgatha, while it purchased our access to paradise, was the antithesis of it.  This is the connection between these two.  So, once again, Jesus brings together two very disparate things.  Take a few moments and let the wonder of that sink deeply into your heart.   He took what we deserved to give us what we could not earn.

Paradise

(Jesus) said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”  Luke 23:43

What do think the thief on the cross felt when Jesus spoke those words to him?  I wonder what paradise would have meant to him?  Anything would be better than the anguish he was experiencing on the cross, but paradise?  I have a feeling he took Jesus at His word.  Was is that sometimes so hard for us to do?

How does the word paradise make you feel?  What words would describe those feelings?

• Joy
• Peace
• Hope
• Light
• Relief
• Security
• Safety
• Beauty

Our answers would probably be about as different as you could imagine because we would likely each define paradise very differently.  When you try to imagine paradise what comes to mind? Does it have some of the elements of this beautiful image?

This is actually a Thomas Kinkade work titled “Stairway to Paradise”.  I like some of the elements here.

• the light
• nature
• the warmth
• the mist

The most obvious thing it is missing is people.  I suppose you can imagine they are just out of view, but the idea of paradise without others to enjoy it makes it something less, even for introverts like me.  This is especially true for the Christian, which I suppose would describe the thief as well, since the very presence of Christ is the essential figure that makes any place a paradise.  After all, Jesus told the thief he would be with Him in paradise.

We should find great comfort in that we can not only face death knowing it has no dominion over Jesus, but that when we die we will be with Him, like the thief.  We can say with Paul,

“Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”  2 Corinthians 5:8

Alleluia!

Happy Tuning!

Jesus, thank You for completing the work the Father gave you to do.  Thank You for opening paradise for all who believe in You.  Help my hear to believe that Your work is finished and paradise is mine, today.  In Jesus name.  Amen.

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Below is content available only to Subscribers Free Members.  Want to learn more about accessing all the additional material in the Subscriber Content Library, click here, or the Free Member Content Library with some examples of the Subscribers content, click here.

Subscribers, please enjoy this video log!  And everyone else the transcript below.

Video 5.3 Transcript

Welcome to Tuesday Tunings at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s tune our hearts.

Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
 Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids His rise, Alleluia!
 Christ hath opened paradise, Alleluia!

Before He breathed His last Jesus said, “It is finished.”  He came to seek and save the lost, and with His death He completed that work.  You are redeemed because you are loved. Marvel at His gift of love today.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, as in anguish He sweat drops of blood, Jesus asked His Father “Let this cup pass from me. Yet not my will but Yours be done.”  In His surrender, He was victorious. How can you follow His lead today?

What a shock Death must have had on that Resurrection morning when Jesus rose to life.  Death tried, but could not hold Him down. Accordingly, Death will be equally unsuccessful with you.  Give Jesus praise for completing His Father’s assignment so powerfully.

One of the those who hung with Him on Calvary acknowledged who Jesus was and asked to be remembered when Christ would come into His kingdom.  Jesus rewarded his belief by responding, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” That promise echoes in every heart of faith. Listen, can you hear it?

Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has surfaced in your heart, or just listen to what He is saying to you, then we will sing once more

Sing

Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond.  Until next time, be Resonant.

Image Attribution
1 Love’s Redeeming Work – https://www.josephprince.org/blog/articles/the-passion-of-the-christwhy
2 It is Finished – https://thisissalvation.com/the-story
3 Christ and the Thief on the Cross – https://thereforegodexists.com/5-truths-we-can-learn-from-the-thief-on-the-cross/
4 Stairway to Paradise – https://thomaskinkade.com/shop/limited-edition-art/stairway-to-paradise-limited-edition-art/

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
 Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia!
 Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!

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

Listen as you read.  This is a short but beautiful cello version.

What incredible hope we have!  Because Jesus left His tomb empty, one day we will leave our grave the same, even if we taste death as He did.  He lives again and in so doing has taken away the sting of death.  It is difficult to wrap our hearts around this truth, but we must try for the hope it gives us as we face our own death, and deal with the loss of those we love.

The Stone

There must have been a jarring finality to the stone being rolled into place to seal Jesus’ tomb.  Most had fled, but Jospeh of Arimethea requested Jesus’ body and placed it in his tomb so the disciples knew where to return after the Sabbath on the third day.

It is hard for us to imagine what that morning was like as the women headed to the grave.  They were planning to prepare Jesus body for burial, but must have wondered how they would move the stone, if they had even thought of that.  We know what happened, so it is just tough to think about that approach to the tomb.  But their perspective was about to change.

Can you put yourself in their shoes as they approach the tomb and find the stone rolled away?  As they stood there in a flood of emotions, the angel answers the question they were thinking, “Where is Jesus?”  He answers them with his own question.

“Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but has risen.”  Luke 24:5b-6a

Your glorious King is alive again!  In that moment, everything changes.  Their understanding of Jesus’ work is changed.  Their thoughts about their lives moving forward changed.  Our ability to face the certainty of death changed.

Another Stone

My father passed away a little over a month ago.  Though I have believed in the resurrection for 27 years, never was it more important to me than in those first few days after my dad died and I began to grieve.  What I have declared for years to be true, found a deeper expression in my soul as I used it to help me find comfort.

There were many things to take care of as we made arrangements for my dad’s funeral, including the opening and closing of his burial plot.  There was a jarring finality to carrying his casket and placing it over his grave with my brother, sons, and nephews.  Many who had come to the funeral were not able to attend this ceremony as we gathered to say our last goodbyes here on earth.

Though I could not have imagined how hard those last moments would be, the sadness and sacredness were intermingled.  Everything was handled perfectly and created a wonderful moment honoring my dad, including a three-fold release of doves which took my breath away. There remains one detail though that we still need to care for, his tombstone.

At some point we will purchase a stone and have it engraved so that it can mark the final resting place of what remains of my father’s physical body.  His remains.  A part of him remains, but the best of him has gone on to his eternal home, because Jesus Christ has removed the sting of death.

For years when I thought of this, I had on my mind the way we think of death as we are looking toward and past it.  What I have thought of in the last few weeks as I prepared to celebrate Easter was how the song of death is removed particularly as we look back on it.  I have also thought of the different perspectives of our own death versus the death of those we love.

I find great comfort in knowing that my dad is better off by far, and the worst part is for those of us who have been left to mourn his loss. There is still a sting of death for us, but not so much for my dad.  The same will be true for all who are in Christ whenever we face death.

Those we leave behind may need to place a stone to mark our grave, but we will not remain there any more than Jesus remained in His.  If you have lost someone in the last year, or longer, find comfort in knowing that for them the sting of death has been removed, even though you can still feel it.   May the Holy Spirit be that comfort, for we do not grieve as those who have no hope.

Happy Tuning!

Jesus, thank You for leaving the tomb empty.  Thank You for removing the sting of death for those who have gone before us into the eternal rest You have promised all who trust in You.  Comfort us who grieve those losses, even as we wait to see our hope fulfilled.  In Jesus name.  Amen.

Like what you finding here?  Fill out the form to the right to get an email with each fresh post and updates of new tools to help you be Resonant.

Please comment below and share if you have found this helpful in your journey of being more resonant.

Below is content available only to Subscribers Free Members.  Want to learn more about accessing all the additional material in the Subscriber Content Library, click here, or the Free Member Content Library with some examples of the Subscribers content, click here.

Subscribers and Free Members, please enjoy this video log!  And everyone else the transcript below.

Video 5.2 Transcript

Welcome to Tuesday Tunings at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s tune our hearts.

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
 Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia!
 Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!

The angel asked, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”  Can you imagine what those women at the tomb must have been thinking? Praise Jesus for His victory over the grave.

Let there be no mistake, death is a painful experience, but truly only for the ones left behind, or unprepared.  He has removed the sting of death for all who are trusting His to cover their sin. Glory to His name!

Because His was a perfect sacrifice, He did not need to die over and over again, like the sacrifices at the Temple, to pay the penalty for our sins.  Once for all. Thank Him.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ rendered the grave defeated.  Because of His Resurrection, the grave will not be able to hold us either, since He was the firstborn from among the dead, and we will rise victorious like Him.  Praise our Glorious Resurrected King!

Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has surfaced in your heart, or just listen to what He is saying to you, then we will sing once more

Sing

Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond.  Until next time, be Resonant.

Christ the Lord is ris’n today, Alleluia!
 Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
 Sing, ye heav’ns, and earth, reply, Alleluia!

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

Listen as you read.  This is a short but beautiful cello version.

Having just celebrated the resurrection, we are going to spend the next four weeks considering this great Easter hymn.  If you were looking forward to the final stanza of When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,we will bring that to a conclusion as a fitting culmination and response to all these “Alleluias”. Speaking of…

Alleluia or Hallelujah!

Some of our traditions sweeten the “Alleluia” of Easter morning by not saying or singing that word for several weeks preceding Easter.  The intent is two-fold I would say.  First, it causes a sense of anticipation in the worshipper and second, it symbolizes a degree of the longing that the Hebrew people had as they awaited the coming of the Messiah, or Anointed One.  If you are from one of those traditions, you might not have even been aware of this intentional choice, but all the same have experienced the heightened joy when that first Alleluia is uttered Easter morning.

It is also heightened by the sheer fact that if there ever was a morning that the redeemed people of God want to say “Alleluia” it is this morning.  After all, Alleluia simply means “We praise You, God” and on this morning of mornings our praise rises rightly to our Redeemer King, for even though we celebrate His resurrection every time we gather, we absolutely do on Easter.

While “Alleluia” is an appropriate response to every line of this of hymn, and every other stanza for that matter,  there is something unique about the way it is used in this stanza.  This is particularly true of lines two and four, where, rather than simply being an exclamation at the end of the line, it is actually an integral part of those lines.  What are the sons of men and angels instructed to say?  Alleluia.  Even the very heavens and the earth are instructed to sing and reply this simple declaration of praise.  We will look at the first of those here, and the other Thursday, but we first will begin with our title line.

Risen

What we celebrate on Easter is nothing less than the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead after He had been crucified for our sins and buried.  Our faith hinges on this truth.  As Paul said in I Corinthians 15:3-4.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

We have become so accustomed to this eternity-altering reality, that, dare I say, we take it for granted.  And that is unfortunate not only because we loose the wonder of it, but we can actually begin to loose sight of the impact and implications.

In the resurrection, Jesus is demonstrating victory over not only the grave, but sin and death as well.  Not only that, but as you read further in 1 Corinthians 15, you realize that Jesus was the firstborn from among the dead, and that we too will rise for “death has been swallowed up in victory.”  I encourage you to read that passage at the link and allow it to refresh your perspective like this image refreshed mine.

Here, Jesus appears to be running out of the tomb, with grave clothes flying in every direction.  I love the energy of this.  I am not arguing that this is what it must have looked like, as much as I am challenging a fresh look at an ancient truth.  Did you nice the holes in His hand and foot?

As you walk along on this side of Easter, are you willing to see the resurrection of Jesus Christ in a new light?  If you are, I am confident it will do nothing but strengthen the “Alleluia” you offer with the angels, son (or daughter) of men.

Singing with the Angels

They have been offering Him praise since the dawn of creation.  We came along much later in the timeline.

They are ever-circling His throne to offer that same praise.  We often fail to do so even though we have the same access.

They really do not need to be told to praise Him since they are His servants.  We do, even though we are His sons and daughters.

Still, in response to His resurrection, we are instructed to offer the same simple word of worship, Alleluia!  So will you?

Happy Tuning!

Jesus, I know You are worthy of all the “Alleluias” I could bring.  Help me to sing them, say them, and live them, always in response to Your resurrection power.  I will praise You!   In Jesus name.  Amen.

Like what you finding here?  Fill out the form to the right to get an email with each fresh post and updates of new tools to help you be Resonant.

Please comment below and share if you have found this helpful in your journey of being more resonant.

Below is content available only to Subscribers.  Want to learn more about accessing all the additional material in the Subscriber Content Library, click here, or the Free Member Content Library with some examples of the Subscribers content, click here.

Subscribers, please enjoy this video log!  And everyone else the transcript below.

Video 5.1 Transcript

Welcome to Tuesday Tunings at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s tune our hearts.

Christ the Lord is ris’n today, Alleluia!
 Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
 Sing, ye heav’ns, and earth, reply, Alleluia!

Never has there been a line which should evoke the praises of God’s people more than that which declares our Savior and Lord is risen from the dead.  Give praise to God today for the Good News that death has been defeated!

When you offer your “Alleluia”, it becomes a part of the great cacophony of praise begun in ages past by other mere mortals like yourself, and even further back by those who have circled the throne since before the dawn of time.  Thank Him that you get to join that song.

If you have any joys or triumphs, they are, each and every one, demonstrations of God’s victory best displayed in Christ’s resurrection.  Recount a few right now, and lift them all to Him in praise for what He has done. Then spend the rest of your days adding to them.

Now that is a call to worship if there ever was one. “Start us off heaven, and earth, let’s hear your response.”  How will you echo the praises of heaven today?

Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has surfaced in your heart, or just listen to what He is saying to you, then we will sing once more.

Sing

Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond.  Until next time, be Resonant.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
 Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
 Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

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

Listen as you read.  This is a beautiful piano version by Norm Hastings.

Having considered our initial responses to surveying the cross, we now look more closely.  We have the powerful heart words of love and sorrow which set a context for our Tuning today and the rhetorical question which we will probe a bit in our Thoughts Thursday.  So let’s take a closer look to our Savior hung on that wondrous cross.

Head, Hands, Feet

For years I have said that in order to experience the joy of Easter morning, it is imperative to consider the sorrow of Good Friday.  In order to appreciate the victory of the Resurrection, we must contemplate the apparent defeat of Christ’s sacrificial death. I do believe our celebration of His triumph over sin, death and the grave are inextricably linked to our remembrance of His suffering.  I know it is difficult to ponder the dark side of these realities, but it is worthwhile because of the implications.

So we look at His head, hands, and feet.  A rereading of the different gospel accounts juxtaposed with mental images from The Passion of the Christ reminded me of objections at its release that it too graphically depicted the torture aspect of the crucifixion.  I can appreciate those objections, but I am remembering them against this backdrop.  

Those who yelled “Hosanna!” were some of the same ones yelling “Crucify him!” just days later. Why?  Because they imagined a different kind of King than Jesus actually was.  I wonder in our retelling and imagining the story if we have cleaned it up too much, and in so doing lost some of the ghastliness of Jesus’ last hours.  Though the entirety of Isaiah 53 allows us to fill in some of the details of the Gospel accounts, as an example, consider this verse from the end of the preceding chapter.  

As many were astonished at you—
    his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
    and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
 so shall he sprinkle many nations.  Isaiah 52:14-15a ESV

Semblance means the outward appearance.  So, His outward appearance barely resembled a human, and many were astonished.  It seems to me this is a very graphic in nature.  But my point is not to argue the veracity of the interpretation in that movie, but rather to cause
us to look at His sacrifice and see something we may have never seen before, or at least to a new extent.

When you “see” or visualize His crucifixion does it resemble the above depiction by Isaiah?  Have you sterilized His sacrifice and maybe lost at least a bit of the emotions of sorrow and love demonstrated?  To see the sorrow and love requires me to look at His head, hands and feet, even though I might rather not do so.

Will you take just a moment and ask the Holy Spirit to help you see the sacrifice of our Savior rightly?

Sorrow and Love Flow Mingled Down

Though this stanza begins by telling us to “see”, then advises us to focus on head hands and feet, what we are supposed to see is sorrow and love.  It is beautiful poetry, but may be more clearly rendered “See, sorrow and love flow mingled down from His head, His hands, His feet.”  Though I have taken the time to challenge your mental imagery of these events, what I really hope to accomplish is the development of a clearer and more accurate understanding of how His going to the cross vividly demonstrates His sorrow over sin and His love for us.  We will think about this a little more deeply in our Thursday Thoughts, The Richest Crown.

For now, allow your heart to be stirred by these two considerations.  Jesus taught the following truth then modeled it on the wondrous cross.

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.  John 15:13 ESV

His blood flowed down out of love.  He asked the Father to forgive those crucifying Him because “they know not what they do”. (Luke 23:34)  He died for those who do not even understand why, friends and foes alike.

His blood flowed down out of sorrow as well.  He had sorrow over our sin, our living for our selves and our misunderstanding the events of our lives.  One example of this was again on Palm Sunday when Jesus wept coming into Jerusalem, even as the crowds shouted His praise.  Luke 19:41 tells how he longed for us to know what was bringing peace, His sacrifice, but they could not see that any better than they could see the love and sorrow mingled in His blood shed just a few days later.

We unfortunately are similar in our inability to see things clearly, whether on the cross, or against the backdrop of it.  Whether His sorrow or love.  Watts is pleading with us to see.  As you go through this week remembering His Passion, ask Him to stir in you a new passion for Him, which more accurately reflects His for you.

Happy Tuning!

Jesus, I see Your head, Your hands, Your feet.  Help me to see the way they demonstrate Your sorrow and love for me.  Give me eyes to see the way these truths mingle together beautifully, even in the pain.   In Jesus name.  Amen.

Like what you finding here?  Fill out the form to the right to get an email with each fresh post and updates of new tools to help you be Resonant.

Please comment below and share if you have found this helpful in your journey of being more resonant.

Below is content available only to Subscribers.  Want to learn more about accessing all the additional material in the Subscriber Content Library, click here, or the Free Member Content Library with some examples of the Subscribers content, click here.

Subscribers, please enjoy this video log!  And everyone else the transcript below.

Video 4.3 Transcript

Welcome to Tuesday Tunings at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s tune our hearts.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
 Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
 Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Christ became sin for us and allowed his body to be broken to pay the penalty for our sins. Ask God to help you see the sacrifice of His son with new eyes today.

And He allowed His blood to be shed, portraying as never before or since a unique blending of sorrow for and love overcoming sin. Ask Jesus to lead you to a similar place of sorrow over your sin.

The answer to the rhetorical question in these last two lines is an emphatic “no”! It is interesting to note the change in the sequence with love leading the way in this line. Thank Jesus that his love led the way to Calvary.

His crown confirmed His willingness to become the suffering servant from Isaiah 53, wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities. Give praise to Jesus for His willingness to take the punishment for your sins.

Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has surfaced in your heart, or just listen to what He is saying to you, then we will sing once more.

Sing

Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond.  Until next time, be Resonant.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
 Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
 I sacrifice them to His blood.

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

Listen as you read.  This is a beautiful piano version by Norm Hastings.

We begin this stanza by picking up where we left off in the first.  Having counted our gains as losses, and poured contempt on our pride, Watts now invites us to ask our Lord to forbid us to boast of anything except the death of Christ our God.  So there are really two elements in play in the first part of the stanza which we will focus on in today’s Tuning.

Boasting in Christ

It is a very clever turn of phrases used here.  The first idea proposed is this notion that God would forbid us to boast, except about Jesus’ sacrifice.  I want to approach this instead by looking at that which he is actually implying we will boast.

Though this stanza seems to start off with this idea of desiring to be forbidden to boast, it is really a prayer that we will boast in something: the incredible sacrifice of Christ on the cross, His Death.  To someone who knows nothing of the efficacy of His sacrifice, this would seem like a remarkably macabre and morbid request.  Why would someone want to boast in the death of someone else?

Ah, but we do know of the impact of His laying down His life.  Or better yet, have begun to know it.  Though there are many Scriptures which speak of what Christ accomplished on the cross, consider this one.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit…1 Peter 3:18 ESV

What do we see in this one verse?

1. He suffered once for sins
2. He, the righteous One, did this for us, the unrighteous
3. He brought us to God
4. He was put to death
5. But made alive in the spirit

He took care of sin, brought us to God, died but was made alive.  If that is not something to boast in, then there never has been.

So it begs the question.  Why don’t we do it more often?  Sure, when we are gathered together singing His praises, boasting of Him comes easy.  But often outside of that gathering, not so much.

While I think the immediate defense of our actions more often stems from the opposition we might face, or the lack of interest people seem to have had in the past, I wonder if there might be a simpler explanation.  Do we really grasp the magnitude of what Jesus has already accomplished?

The answer is yes, and no.  Yes we have begun to grasp it, as only eyes of faith can, but do we really understand just how remarkable this all is?  That’s the no.

I believe if we did have a better grasp of it we would be more quick to boast.  And what makes me so sure?  Consider the things about which you easily boast.  I actually want you to allow a few to come to the surface of your heart before you read the second idea, but let me help.

Let’s first be clear about what boasting is.  To boast is to talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one’s achievements, possessions, or abilities.  Did that help clarify things, and maybe remind you of the last time you did that?  Most of us are probably more guilty of the old, “That’s nice, but I think my ______ is a little better than yours.”  We do this boasting without even noticing.

Boasting in Nothing Else

So let’s think about it this way.  Have you ever caught yourself sharing a litany of accomplishments and suddenly felt like you had gone a little too far?  Maybe it was not even about yourself, but someone of whom you are proud, or in whom have a vested interest?

Maybe you are thinking, “Far be it from me” to boast in what I have or can do, but this is something most of us struggle with on some level, even if the boasting is internal.  All a vain attempt to feel a little better about ourselves, compared to the person to whom we are boasting.

What we really long for is a place of rest where we do not need to boast.  That place of rest is found at the foot of the cross.  Looking up to behold what our Savior has accomplished, puts everything else into perspective.

I want to encourage you to take a few minutes with the video log below which will guide you through an experience of reorienting yourself to Jesus and His cross.   These are available every week to our Subscribers, less often to our Free Members, and only occasionally to everyone, like this one.  I pray it will help you boast in the work of Christ today, and keep you from boasting in anything else.

Happy Tuning!

Jesus, thank You for Your sacrifice on the cross.  I want to boast in it everyday so please show me the wonder of Your redeeming love again today.   May that awareness limit my willingness to boast in my accomplishments, until it disappears entirely.   In Jesus name.  Amen.

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Please enjoy this video log!  And the transcript below.

Video 4.2 Transcript

Welcome to Tuesday Tunings at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s tune our hearts.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
 Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
 I sacrifice them to His blood.

We continue the same theme from the end of the first stanza of disdain for our accomplishments.  As the prayer continues here it actually intensifies. Echo it by asking God to keep you from reveling in what you’ve done.

Now we fill the vacuum created by our unwillingness to speak of our accomplishments by making the deliberate choice to boast instead in what Christ has accomplished by His death. Ask Him to help you in this noble pursuit.

It is a good practice to routinely assess things in our lives which compete with our affection for Christ.  Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what those things might be for you today.

Armed with this fresh awareness, bring that brief inventory to God and denounce each item.  This will help you be unencumbered in your efforts to esteem His eternal achievements.

Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has surfaced in your heart, or just listen to what He is saying to you, then we will sing once more.

Sing

Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond.  Until next time, be Resonant.