O the deep deep love of Jesus
Love of every love the best
‘Tis an ocean vast of blessing
‘Tis a haven sweet of rest
O the deep deep love of Jesus
‘Tis a heaven of heavens to me
And it lifts me up to glory
For it lifts me up to Thee

O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus 1875
By: Samuel Trevor Francis (1834 – 1925)

Listen to this a cappella version of this hymn as you prepare to ponder the lyrics. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.

Below is video 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!!

Please enjoy this video and the transcript below.

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

As we begin our journey through this classic hymn give yourself some time to ponder this text and the riches it communicates of the love of Jesus. Soak it up and let it change your perspective. Let’s tune our hearts.

No Greater Love

I mean really. Is there any comparison at all? We try to find ways to represent the love of Jesus, but every single illustration falls short for none can match the depth of the love He displayed on the cross.

• A mother’s love for her children
• A husband’s love for his wife
• A sibling’s love for their brothers/sisters
• A person’s love for their friends

Each of these and so many more represent some of the love of which we speak, but no single one can capture it, or even come close. Jesus used the last as an example, then showed what it really meant. No greater love.

O the deep deep love of Jesus
Love of every love the best

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

Jesus is speaking again to His disciples. Just before these words He told them to love each other as He had loved them. He had not proven the full extent of His love at this point but knew that example was coming. What a different world this would be if we loved like Jesus!

There is simply no love like the love of Jesus. Every other love falls short in every way. After teaching what the greatest love was, He went and lived it, loving to death, or rather through or beyond it. Even in this way His love surpasses all others since not even death stops it.

RESONATE!
Take a few moments and consider how great and how deep is the love of Jesus. His was a love that led Him to lay down His life for His friends. Aren’t you glad He loved you that much? Make this your simple prayer “Jesus, thank You for loving me through death.” 

Blessing & Rest

Are you aware of how blessed the love of Jesus makes you? Do we even possess the capacity to begin to fathom it? No more than we can begin to grasp the volume of the oceans of the world combined, and yet that would be much easier to comprehend than God’s love for us.

Can you appreciate the depth of rest afforded you by the love of Jesus? It creates a haven that can protect us from the ill effects of living in a fallen world. That sounds pretty sweet, right? Then why don’t we spend more time nestling up under the refuge of those powerful wings?

‘Tis an ocean vast of blessing
‘Tis a haven sweet of rest

How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 36:7 ESV

The comfort of the wing comes not so much from the softness of the feathers, but the fierceness of the one protecting everything beneath them. What a comfort to know that God not only blesses us with His vast love, but creates under it a haven of rest sweeter than any other.

A vast ocean of blessing. A sweet haven of rest. More powerful imagery for the love of Jesus, but just focus on the adjectives, vast and sweet. Neither word can fully express His love but the combination of them helps. Immense and comfortable, yet so much more.

RESONATE
Take a few moments and reflect on the blessing and rest the love of Jesus provide. What is the haven of His rest sheltering you from today? Is His love precious to you? It certainly should be. Pray a simple prayer like this one, “Jesus, thank You for blessing and rest.” 

Jesus, thank You for Your deep, deep love. I confess I can not even begin to fathom it, and still acknowledge I should spend more time trying. Draw me deeper into it every day. In Jesus’ name. 

Restful Tuning!

Keep coming back, and we will work to help you remove the things that may hinder your longing for His return by cultivating an awareness of God’s presence. We will help you tune your heart to live out your worship by providing resources like this to help you acknowledge the greatness of God as you become more Resonant, 7 days a week.

Like what you’re 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.

Video 37.3 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.

O the deep deep love of Jesus
Love of every love the best
‘Tis an ocean vast of blessing
‘Tis a haven sweet of rest
O the deep deep love of Jesus
‘Tis a heaven of heavens to me
And it lifts me up to glory
For it lifts me up to Thee

There is simply no love like the love of Jesus. Every other love falls short in every way. After teaching what the greatest love was, He went and lived it, loving to death, or rather through or beyond it. Even in this way His love surpasses all others since not even death stops it.

Jesus, thank You for loving me through death.

A vast ocean of blessing. A sweet haven of rest. More powerful imagery for the love of Jesus, but just focus on the adjectives, vast and sweet. Neither word can fully express His love but the combination of them helps. Immense and comfortable, yet so much more. 

Jesus, thank You for blessing and rest.

Not just heaven, but a heaven of heavens. The highest heaven, the abode or seat of God. Where His throne may be found. In short, the very presence of God. That is what the  deep, deep love of Jesus is, the highest of heavens. It is both that place and what allows us access to it.

Jesus, thank You for giving access to Your presence.

Glory is being in His presence. His love lifts us to that place and becomes the door through which we can enter into it. The love of Jesus lifts us up to His presence, it lifts us up to glory. Deep, deep love that lifts us up. Seems counterintuitive but it is anything but that.

Jesus, thank You for deep love which lifts up.

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.

The post His Pain Purchasing Our Peace appeared first on Resonant 7.

Image Attributions
O the deep deep love of Jesus Love of every love the best – https://rootedandgrounded.me/2020/07/08/in-his-grip/nail-pierced-hand/
‘Tis an ocean vast of blessing ‘Tis a haven sweet of rest – https://pixabay.com/photos/wing-feather-bird-macaw-parrot-6861729/

O the deep deep love of Jesus
Spread His praise from shore to shore
How He loveth ever loveth
Changeth never nevermore
How He watches o’er His loved ones
Died to call them all His own
How for them He intercedeth
Watches over them from the throne

O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus 1875
By: Samuel Trevor Francis (1834 – 1925)

Listen to this a cappella version of this hymn as you prepare to ponder the lyrics. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.

Below is video 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!!

Please enjoy this video and the transcript below.

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

As we begin our journey through this classic hymn give yourself some time to ponder this text and the riches it communicates of the love of Jesus. Soak it up and let it change your perspective. Let’s tune our hearts.

Us, Ever Praising

We established in the first stanza the greatest reason to praise God, His deep deep love for us. Now the clear call is issued for that praise to be spread from shore to shore. He is worthy of all the praise we could ever bring.

• When you consider His work of creation, He is worthy of praise.
• When you consider His work of redemption, He is worthy of praise.
• When you consider His work in consummation, He is worthy of praise.

No matter how or when you consider it, He is worthy of praise, but most of all for His love. We should be constantly changing our behavior until it is characterized by the praise He deserves. Is your life becoming more and more consumed by this lofty pursuit?

O the deep deep love of Jesus
Spread His praise from shore to shore

O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great. Psalm 104:24-25 ESV

Jesus is worthy of praise. We spent the first stanza comparing His love to the ocean and now we declare that His praise should extend in a similar fashion with all participating who have come to know His love. Do you routinely spread the praise of Jesus for His great love for you?

After comparing His love to the ocean now the writer challenges us to cover those same waters with praise. Or he might be saying to cover the land between those waters with praise from one shore to another. Either way, we should be engaged in praising Jesus for His love.

RESONATE!
Take a few moments and consider how engaged you are in spreading the praise of Jesus. Is it something that you do, or does it characterize all you do? The latter is the answer you you want to be able to give. Make this your simple prayer “Spirit, help me spread the praise of Jesus.” 

God, Never Changing

While we are constantly changing, allowing our lives to be more and more consumed by the praise He deserves, God never is. Changing that is. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

One of the most remarkable ways He does not change is in His love for us. That is remarkable because we give Him plenty of reasons to change from a loving disposition to something else. Fortunately for us, nothing we can do changes Him. He is infinitely loving.

How He loveth ever loveth
Changeth never nevermore

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

God’s unchanging character is clearly put on display here. Because He loves us He has not consumed us. Though the Lord is speaking to the children of Jacob, we have been grafted in to that family. He loves us eternally and that will never change. Oh how He loves.

Ever loving. Never changing. What a beautiful side by side. His love is constant, eternal. Nothing will ever change Him. What could bring any more peace than simply trusting in these simple truths? But we must surrender to them, and that might not be so simple. Ask for help.

RESONATE
Take a few moments and reflect on the unchanging character of God’s love. Nothing can change his disposition toward us. You may struggle to believe God could love you that much, but because of Jesus work He can and does. Pray a simple prayer like this one, “Jesus, help me surrender to Your changeless love.” 

God, thank You for Your unchanging love. I wonder some times how You could love me like that, but I believe it is true, and am continually being changed by that truth. Help me to surrender to it and welcome others into it every day as I spread Your praise. In Jesus’ name. 

Continual Tuning!

Keep coming back, and we will work to help you remove the things that may hinder your longing for His return by cultivating an awareness of God’s presence. We will help you tune your heart to live out your worship by providing resources like this to help you acknowledge the greatness of God as you become more Resonant, 7 days a week.

Like what you’re 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.

Video 37.2 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.

O the deep deep love of Jesus
Spread His praise from shore to shore
How He loveth ever loveth
Changeth never nevermore
How He watches o’er His loved ones
Died to call them all His own
How for them He intercedeth
Watches over them from the throne

After comparing His love to the ocean now the writer challenges us to cover those same waters with praise. Or he might be saying to cover the land between those waters  with praise from one shore to another. Either way, we should be engaged in praising Jesus for His love.

Spirit, help me spread the praise of Jesus.

Ever loving. Never changing. What a beautiful side by side. His love is constant, eternal. Nothing will ever change Him. What could bring any more peace than simply trusting in these simple truths? But we must surrender to them, and that might not be so simple. Ask for help.

Jesus, help me surrender to Your changeless love.

Here is still more comfort. He watches over His loved ones. Good news if you are one of His. The great news is that Jesus died for us so that He could make us His own. All we have to do is believe it and confess His name. If you have not ever done that, do it today.

Father, I believe Jesus died for me.

One last bit of comfort, He is always praying for you, interceding to the Father on your behalf. What does He pray for? For you to be one with Him as He and the Father are one. His presence makes the difference in every circumstance. Pray you will know it more every day.

Jesus, help me know Your presence more every day.

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.

The post God, Never Changing. Us, Ever Praising. appeared first on Resonant 7.

Image Attributions
O the deep deep love of Jesus Spread His praise from shore to shore – https://giphy.com/gifs/beach-ocean-sea-13p0Be3pdJDnRm
How He loveth ever loveth Changeth never nevermore – https://www.spreadshirt.ie/shop/design/jesus+christ+eternal+love+religion+christianity+mens+premium+t-shirt-D5d81369f2225095f54a08581?sellable=309pLABD5Nu0JvXG4Dd4-812-7&view=D1

O the deep deep love of Jesus
Vast unmeasured boundless free
Rolling as a mighty ocean
In its fullness over me
Underneath me all around me
Is the current of Thy love
Leading onward leading homeward
To my glorious rest above

O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus 1875
By: Samuel Trevor Francis (1834 – 1925)

Listen to this a cappella version of this hymn as you prepare to ponder the lyrics. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.

Below is video 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!!

Please enjoy this video and the transcript below.

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

As we begin our journey through this classic hymn give yourself some time to ponder this text and the riches it communicates of the love of Jesus. Soak it up and let it change your perspective. Let’s tune our hearts.

Deep Deep Love

Knowing God’s love changes everything. We can face any trial knowing that His love will cover us. We can endure any hardship knowing His love will carry us. We fathom any depth of sadness knowing His love is deeper still, by far.

Only the Lord Himself can reveal the depths of His love to us. We do not have the capacity to grasp it on our own, any more than we have the ability to calculate the volume of the all the oceans combined. It is much more than a mathematical calculation. It is poetic imagery.

That is a helpful illustration for us: God’s love as an ocean. Though the ocean can not even begin to truly represent the eternal expanse of God’s limitless love, it may be the best expression on earth. Even still, we need His help.

O the deep deep love of Jesus
Vast unmeasured boundless free

So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19 ESV

This is the love of Jesus, vast and unmeasured. It is a common tool in writing to repeat things to emphasize their importance. There is nothing more important than the deep deep love of Jesus.

What a powerful, simple explanation of Jesus’ love. Vast. Unmeasured. Boundless. Free. As we press into the illustration of the ocean as a representation of God’s love the unmeasured nature comes to mind. Imagine standing on the shore. Ponder the expanse of His love.

RESONATE!
Take a few moments and think about the expanse of Christ’s love. Just gaze at the image above or another of the ocean and allow Jesus to reveal His love. Make this your simple prayer “Jesus, thank You for Your love.” 

Rolling Over Me

Not only is the magnitude God’s love represented well by the ocean, but also the fluid, moving quality of it. In this next line the writer invites us to consider the rolling, undulating nature of the ocean as an illustration of God’s love. It washes over us in its fullness.

Have you felt God’s love like that before? Maybe it seemed like your circumstance was about to overwhelm you, ready to swallow you up, when suddenly you became ever more aware of the love of God rolling over you instead. No situation is as powerful as the love of God.

Rolling as a mighty ocean
In its fullness over me

Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O Lord. Psalm 36:5-6 ESV

The ocean is one illustration of God’s love that helps us consider the boundless nature of it. You can see the beginning but not the end. Unlike the ocean there are no boundaries on God’s love like the shores of the sea, so it is able to roll over us regardless of our circumstances.

As we continue to think of the ocean, listen for the crashing of the waves against the shore. It is relentless. It simply does not stop. Are you thankful that God’s love is relentless, rolling over you in all of its fullness? It covers sin but can also feel overwhelming. Surrender to it.

RESONATE
Take a few moments and reflect on the relentless nature of God’s love. Maybe that thought is mingled with a bit of fear, but it need not be. The rolling waves of God’s love wash away our fears, not us. Pray a simple prayer like this one, “God, help me receive Your relentless love today.” 

God, thank You for the illustration of Your love that the ocean is. It fails to represent it perfectly, but it still challenges me to think bigger. Show me the depths of Your love as I ponder it these next few weeks. In Jesus’ name. 

Deep Tuning!

Keep coming back, and we will work to help you remove the things that may hinder your longing for His return by cultivating an awareness of God’s presence. We will help you tune your heart to live out your worship by providing resources like this to help you acknowledge the greatness of God as you become more Resonant, 7 days a week.

Like what you’re 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.

Video 37.1 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.

O the deep deep love of Jesus
Vast unmeasured boundless free
Rolling as a mighty ocean
In its fullness over me
Underneath me all around me
Is the current of Thy love
Leading onward leading homeward
To my glorious rest above

What a powerful, simple explanation of Jesus’ love. Vast. Unmeasured. Boundless. Free. As we press into the illustration of the ocean as a representation of God’s love the unmeasured nature comes to mind. Imagine standing on the shore. Ponder the expanse of His love.

Jesus, thank You for Your love.

As we continue to think of the ocean, listen for the crashing of the waves against the shore. It is relentless. It simply does not stop. Are you thankful that God’s love is relentless, rolling over you in all of its fullness? It covers sin but can also feel overwhelming. Surrender to it.

God, help me receive Your relentless love today.

Can you feel it? Not only rolling over you, but underneath you and all around you? Have you sat or stood in a current of water that tugged and pulled on you. The force of the rushing water pushing you in one direction is a good illustration for God’s love. Are you resisting it?

Spirit, give me awareness of the current of Your love.

Although it can seem at times to be swirling – over, around, underneath – it is ever moving you in one direction, onward,  homeward to glorious rest. Along the way it also allows respites of calmer, still waters which point to that great, glassy sea. Ask your Lord to lead you to it.

Lord, lead me to Your glorious rest.

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.

The post The Ocean of God’s Love appeared first on Resonant 7.

Image Attributions
O the deep deep love of Jesus Vast unmeasured boundless free – https://pixabay.com/illustrations/background-sunset-heaven-landscape-625662/
Rolling as a mighty ocean In its fullness over me – https://giphy.com/gifs/adventrgram-ocean-photography-cgtraveler-sunrise-wSYE7n6pk9dqRXzitR

Faith of our fathers we will love
Both friend and foe in all our strife
And preach Thee too as love knows how
By kindly words and virtuous life

Faith of Our Fathers 1849
By: Frederick William Faber (1814 – 1863)

Listen to this a cappella version of this hymn as you prepare to ponder the lyrics. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.

Below is video 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!!

Please enjoy this video and the transcript below.

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

As we conclude our journey through this hymn ask yourself if you can make the commitment of the refrain. “Faith of our father, holy faith, we will be true to Thee ’til death.” That is quite a commitment! Let’s tune our hearts.

Love All

When we choose to love as a way of living we are making a choice that will require sacrifice and surrender. There are times that require us to stand firm, courageous and strong, but even these must be done in love. Loving takes a lot of different forms, many that may seem unimaginable.

Loving in the midst of brokenness. Loving when someone has been nothing but cruel. Loving when someone can not remember your name and has little if anything to offer you.

What about dying as an act of love? Maybe for someone that you love, right? What about for someone you are pretty positive does not love you?

Faith of our fathers we will love

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV

One of the best ways we can show that the faith of our fathers is real is to do all in love. To be able to stand firm, be strong and courageous, but repay evil with love is a true mark of faith. Is there a situation in your life right now where you can love like this? Ask God for help.

It is a statement that is simple to make, but difficult to live. “We will love.” Even still, Jesus’ teaching requires that we commit to loving, and the faith of those who have entrusted that teaching to us inspires us to do the same. Make that commitment to love like them today.

RESONATE!
Take a few moments and think about what it may cost you to love. Have you determined that whatever it requires you will love. Make this your simple prayer “Father, help me to love.” 

Even Your Enemies

It is one thing to love those who love you, even though sometimes they make not act in loving ways. What about loving those who hate you? Those who curse you and abuse you. Your enemies.

That is an entirely different matter altogether.

We are not talking about someone who is just different than you. From a different place or a different culture. We are talking about people who know you and hate you, or simply hate you for what you believe.

Loving those people is not easy. But if we are going to follow the faith of our fathers. the faith Jesus entrusted to them, which they have imparted to us, we must. It is a non-negotiable.

Both friend and foe in all our strife

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” Luke 6:27-28 ESV

In these words Jesus is preparing His disciples, which includes us, for the times that taking a stand for our faith will bring ridicule, disdain, and even hatred. To love, do good, bless and pray for those who are creating our strife is no small task. Ask Jesus for help with this also.

What makes loving difficult is when people do not love us, or worse yet, hate us. When people create strife in your life, loving them becomes increasingly challenging. Is there anyone like that in your life right now? How will you love both friend and foe? Ask Jesus for His help.

RESONATE
Take a few moments and reflect on people who for you are difficult to love. Maybe they have done something to you, or profess something that is detestable to you. Can you still love them?  Pray a simple prayer like this one, “Jesus, help me love friend and foe.” 

God, thank You for reminding me that my life must be one filled with love. I can not love only those who love me, but those who do not. To love like this demonstrates the power of Your work in me, and the virility of the faith of our spiritual fathers. In Jesus’ name. 

Loving Tuning!

Keep coming back, and we will work to help you remove the things that may hinder your longing for His return by cultivating an awareness of God’s presence. We will help you tune your heart to live out your worship by providing resources like this to help you acknowledge the greatness of God as you become more Resonant, 7 days a week.

Like what you’re 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.

Video 36.4 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.

Faith of our fathers we will love
Both friend and foe in all our strife
And preach Thee too as love knows how
By kindly words and virtuous life

It is a statement that is simple to make, but difficult to live. “We will love.” Even still, Jesus’ teaching requires that we commit to loving, and the faith of those who have entrusted that teaching to us inspires us to do the same. Make that commitment to love like them today.

Father, help me to love.

What makes loving difficult is when people do not love us, or worse yet, hate us. When people create strife in your life, loving them becomes increasingly challenging. Is there anyone like that in your life right now? How will you love both friend and foe? Ask Jesus for His help.

Jesus, help me love friend and foe.

Love changes the way we preach. When we love friend and foe alike, we are compelled to share our faith with them using our words. But when we truly love, it changes the words we use and the way we use them. It is not only what we say but how we say it. Spirit help me.

Spirit, help me to preach with love.

Words and life that match. One version said “saving words” which I like even better because few people are saved by unkind words. Saving words imply kindness and care, but our lives must reinforce what we say or our words will be meaningless at best, and harmful at worst.

Lord, make my lips and my life congruent.

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.

The post Loving, Even If It Kills Me appeared first on Resonant 7.

Image Attributions
Faith of our fathers we will love – https://pixabay.com/photos/hands-old-old-age-elderly-2906458/
Both friend and foe in all our strife – https://pixabay.com/photos/migration-integration-migrants-3129340/

Faith of our fathers we will strive
To win all nations unto Thee
And through the truth that comes from God
Mankind shall then be truly free

Faith of Our Fathers 1849
By: Frederick William Faber (1814 – 1863)

Listen to this a cappella version of this hymn as you prepare to ponder the lyrics. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.

Below is video 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!!

Please enjoy this video and the transcript below.

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

As we continue our journey through this hymn ask yourself if you can make the commitment of the refrain. “Faith of our father, holy faith, we will be true to Thee ’til death.” That is quite a commitment! Let’s tune our hearts.

Striving

What are you putting your energy into? What are you trying to improve, accomplish or build? The lifter above is exerting an incredible amount of effort to build his body. He has already been tremendously successful but he is striving for even greater gains.

Forming a body like he is doing requires a remarkable amount of very focused energy. Have you ever been a part of something that was that demanding? The task that Jesus gave to His disciples, which has been entrusted to us, is similar in the the focus and intention that should go into it. After all, the King of Kings gave us this Great Commission and the eternal destiny of souls of the world hang in the balance.

In light of either one of those truths, this is a call worth striving to fulfill.

Faith of our fathers we will strive

And [Jesus] said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Mark 16:15 ESV

Jesus is speaking to those first disciples, who would entrust their faith to all who would come after them. He instructed them as to what they were to strive to do, and the same labor falls to us. So what are you striving to do? Are you pouring your energies into this or something else? Lessor things clamor for our attention and energies, but we should never sacrifice this one in pursuit of them.

After celebrating their faith and all they sacrificed, for some even their very lives,  now we focus on our response to their faith. What will we do? The chorus says “be true to [it] ‘til death”. But what does that mean? We must allow their faith to set an example which we will emulate. Will will live to be faithful as they were, even if it requires dying. That will require intentional effort. Are you ready?

RESONATE!
Take a few moments and think about what is consuming your energies. They strove to their own death to save others from eternal death. Make this your simple prayer “God, help me intentionally emulate their faith.” 

Yet Free

Our weight lifter above is lifting weight and putting it down again. You may be inclined to think you are responsible for the entire world, a weight that seems equally impossible to lift, but you are not. You are responsible simply for your little part of it.

But still, at times it can feel like you are carrying the weight of the world. When it does, recall the simple fact that you are a part of a much larger force. You have brothers and sisters in the faith, faith entrusted to them by their spiritual fathers and mothers, to the same end that has been entrusted to you. You get to be a part of the team that is winning the nations to God. And it is a winning team!

To win all nations unto Thee

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 28:18-20 ESV

Winning is making disciples, not converts. We are not trying to convince anyone to believe something intellectually, but to embrace something entirely. That something is a completely different way of living, for our neighbors and the nations. What a task we have been given!

Responding to the commission of Jesus we bring our energies to bear on this singular task, to win the nations to Him. Though you can not go to all the nations personally, you can commit to being a part of taking the gospel to nations, starting in your neighborhood. Will you do it?

RESONATE
Take a few moments and reflect on the invitation to become a part of winning the nations to God. You are not responsible for it all, but you are responsible for your part. Pray a simple prayer like this one, “Jesus, help me do my part.” 

God, thank You for sending someone to win my life to You. Help me to find my part on your team that is winning the nations to You. Help me prepare and train and make certain I am ready when that moment comes for me to do my part. In Jesus’ name. 

Intentional Tuning!

Keep coming back, and we will work to help you remove the things that may hinder your longing for His return by cultivating an awareness of God’s presence. We will help you tune your heart to live out your worship by providing resources like this to help you acknowledge the greatness of God as you become more Resonant, 7 days a week.

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Video 36.3 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.

Faith of our fathers we will strive
To win all nations unto Thee
And through the truth that comes from God
Mankind shall then be truly free

After celebrating their faith now we focus on our response to it. What will we do? The chorus says “be true to [it] ‘til death”. But what does that mean? We must allow their faith to set an example which we will emulate. That will require intentional effort. Are you ready?

God, help me intentionally emulate their faith.

Responding to the commission of Jesus we bring our energies to bear on this singular task, to win the nations to Him. Though you can not go to all the nations personally, you can commit to being a part of taking the gospel to nations, starting in your neighborhood. Will you do it?

Jesus, help me do my part.

It is the truth that comes from God that reveals the condition of our souls and informs us how to address that malady. We must live out that truth with grace everyday. How will you allow that truth to be seen in your life today? This week? Ask the Spirit for His help displaying it.

Spirit, help me display the truth of God.

Freedom comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God. We live out the truth of God before others as some did before us, and that truth sets them free. You are not responsible to live out your faith for the whole world to see God’s truth, just your little part of it. No pressure.

Lord, may people find freedom through the truth they see in me.

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.

The post Don’t Carry the Weight of the Whole World, Just Your World appeared first on Resonant 7.

Image Attributions
Faith of our fathers we will strive – https://pixabay.com/illustrations/man-person-power-strength-strong-1871631/
To win all nations unto Thee – https://pixabay.com/illustrations/concept-conceptual-man-person-1302873/