Wednesday Wanderings is biweekly and a time we set aside to wander in the Presence of Jesus and ponder His truths. When you are ready, prepare your mind, body, and soul to have a transformational encounter with Jesus.

Watch the Wednesday Wanderings Welcome for this week.

Now that we have cleared our minds of the clutter, we can wander on the journey with Jesus.

PREPARATION: In our last Wandering, we welcomed the divine light of the Holy Spirit to illumine our darkness. This week we are inviting His power to help us overcome it. When you are ready, you may begin the dialogue with Jesus and state: “Jesus, I invite you to help me to leisurely wander into your Presence. Prepare my heart to receive, and illuminate my spiritual senses to encounter you.”

PROMISE: Micah 3:8 ESV
But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.

It is the Spirit who first helps us understand our guilt in light of the justice and might of God, and it is also the Spirit who ushers in His emercy. Let’s take a few minutes today to turn from the bondage of sin and embrace the freedom available in His presence. Will you join us on the journey?

PSALM:Holy Spirit, Light Divine (1817)
By: Andrew Reed, (1787-1862)

Reed turns the power of the Holy Spirit inward again in this stanza, using it to undo the effects of sin on us.  Take a few moments to apply His power to any guilt you may be carrying today and bask in the unrivaled mercy of our God to you. How mighty He is!

PARABLE: Guilt. All of us struggle with some of this. Things we know we have done which we should not have. Things we have left undone that we know we should have done. Sometimes things happen accidentally and impact others, but other times we are guilty of designing something to go our way. All of these kinds of things can cause guilt, and none of us is immune from having to deal with some of this.

I tend to differentiate between guilt and conviction though. I think the enemy of our souls wants to make us feel guilty at times when the Spirit may not be bringing conviction. I believe if we ask the Spirit He will reveal to us things for which we need mercy, things that have bond us to a sinful path.

Either way, I believe both can be dealt with in the power of the Holy Spirit. Are you dealing with any guilt or conviction today? If it is from the Lord there is a purpose for it.  Will you let it have its intended result, which ultimately is to bring you to repentance, a  turning from whatever is the source of it? This turning leads you to cry out to God to have mercy on you and set you free from the bondage of sin. It changes that guilty heart into on the is no longer chained to the source of that guilt.

You can be free. But you must ask. This stanza is a simple but beautiful prayer. Will you make it yours today?

PONDER and WANDER:  If you choose, Ponder the question: How can I routinely welcome the freedom available through God’s power into my life?

The power of the Holy Spirit wants to set you free.  We must be willing to welcome that power every day. He has His part which you can not do, but you must do you part and invite Him to come and partner with you and help you with yours. The exercise below expands the simple prayer of this stanza.  Use it and continue to develop resonance as you remove things that hinder the demonstration of His power in your soul.

Soul care training exercise: If you choose, complete this week’s soul training exercise.

• When you are ready, clear your mind and acknowledge that the Spirit is the power of God.  We must begin there so we are prepared to accept what His power reveals.
• Next, invite the Holy Spirit to come and empower you to embrace the reality of God and what it reveals about your heart.
• As He shows you the guilt that needs to be brought into His mercy, do not hesitate to ask Him to pity you.
• Finally, thank Him that He can set you free from sin’s bondage, then trust Him to do it today and every day. 

PRAYER: Jesus, thank you for sending Your Spirit to help me deal with my sin. I need His help every day. Help me to remember this and be quick to ask for it. In Your name I pray, Amen. 

PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your soul of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to worship Him and let the work of your wandering fill you with the praise of Christ.

Then take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.

Until next time, be Resonant.

The post What Do You Mean I Can Be Free? appeared first on Resonant 7.

_{Image Attributions:}
Power Divine – https://pixabay.com/photos/industry-strommast-power-line-pylon-3112436/
_{My Heart and Sin’s Bondage – https://pixabay.com/photos/love-symbol-love-bridge-padlock-4177156/}

Wednesday Wanderings is biweekly and a time we set aside to wander in the Presence of Jesus and ponder His truths. When you are ready, prepare your mind, body, and soul to have a transformational encounter with Jesus.

Watch the Wednesday Wanderings Welcome for this week.

Now that we have cleared our minds of the clutter, we can wander on the journey with Jesus.

PREPARATION: In our last Wandering with Dr. Sherri, we considered our response to the fact that the Lord of heaven is Entitled to our praise. This week we will welcome the divine light of His Holy Spirit to illumine our darkness. When you are ready, you may begin the dialogue with Jesus and state: “Jesus, I invite you to help me to leisurely wander into your Presence. Prepare my heart to receive, and illuminate my spiritual senses to encounter you.”

PROMISE: Numbers 5:24-26 ESV

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

We are far more desperate for that light to shine on us than we often realize.  Let’s take a few minutes today to turn from our darkness and welcome the light of His presence. Will you join us on the journey?

PSALM:Holy Spirit, Light Divine (1817)
By: Andrew Reed, (1787-1862)

Reed finds the perfect words to express what we often feel, yet either fail to express or simply struggle to find the right words.  Even when our hearts are overcome with darkness He is still desiring to shine His light in upon them and chase the shades of night away. How kind He is!

PARABLE: Darkness. It is something with which every one of us battles. Sometimes it is the lingering doubt of a disappointment.  Sometimes the way a hope unfulfilled can sap our faith, and leave our soul gloomy.  Sometimes is the result of something someone said or did that has left a grievous wound.  And sometimes that someone is us.

I am struggling with some darkness right now.  I am facing the season of greatest uncertainty of any in my life thus far.  Sure, COVID-19 is a contributor, but I had a number of things threatening to cloud the light in my soul even before this all broke loose.  Struggles relational and vocational have brought me to the end of myself, but they have not yet kept me from asking the Spirit to work and move in me.

I must admit, when I chose this hymn two months ago, I was looking for something to express our soul to the Spirit as we approached Pentecost and our celebration again of His coming to us, and living in us who believe, but I did not realize what a personal cry this opening hymn in particular would be.  Even so, I must give Him glory for He has continued to give me the faith to ask Him to do His illuminating work in me every day.  I am absolutely a work in progress, but only because of the grace of God have I not succumb to the darkness.

The same can be true of you. But we must ask. This stanza is a simple but beautiful prayer. Will you make it yours today?

PONDER and WANDER:  If you choose, Ponder the question: How can I routinely welcome the light of God’s presence into my life?

The light of the Holy Spirit wants to shine upon you.  We must be willing to welcome that illumination every day. He has His part which you can not do, but you must invite Him to come and partner with you and help you with yours. The exercise below expands the simple prayer that is this stanza.  Use it and continue to develop resonance as you remove that hinder the shining of His light in your soul.

Soul care training exercise: If you choose, complete this week’s soul training exercise.

• When you are ready, clear your mind and acknowledge that the Spirit is the light of God.  We must begin there so we are prepared to accept what His light reveals.
• Next, invite the Holy Spirit to come and illumine the reality of God and your heart and soul before Him.
• As He shows you the shadows that need to be brought into His brightness, to do hesitate to ask Him to chase them away.
• Finally, thank Him that He can turn your darkness into day, then trust Him to do it today and every day. 

PRAYER: Jesus, thank you for sending Your Spirit to help me deal with my darkness. I need His help every day. Help me to remember this and be quick to ask for it. In Your name I pray, Amen. 

PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your soul of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to worship Him and let the work of your wandering fill you with the praise of Christ.

Then take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.

Until next time, be Resonant.

The post Ready to Deal with Your Darkness? appeared first on Resonant 7.

_{Image Attributions:}
Holy Spirit, Light Divine – https://pixabay.com/photos/heart-love-romance-romantic-3125812/
_{Shine Upon This Heart of Mine – https://pixabay.com/photos/heart-love-romance-romantic-3124330/}

Wednesday Wanderings with Dr. Sherri is biweekly and a time we set aside to wander in the Presence of Jesus and ponder His truths. When you are ready, prepare your mind, body, and soul to have a transformational encounter with Jesus.

Watch the Wednesday Wanderings Welcome for this week.

Now that we have cleared our minds of the clutter, we can wander on the journey with Jesus.

PREPARATION: In our last Wandering with Dr. Sherri, we Crowned Christ in the Crisis. This week we will see what it means to be entitled. When you are ready, you may begin the dialogue with Jesus and state: “Jesus, I invite you to help me to leisurely wander into your Presence. Prepare my heart to receive, and illuminate my spiritual senses to encounter you.”

PROMISE: Jeremiah 31:3

The Lord appeared to me (Israel) from ages past, saying,
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you.

The love of Jesus is everlasting, endless, and entitled to a response.

PSALM: Crown Him with Many Crowns
by Matthew Bridges (1851)

Bridges response to the endless love of Jesus is to crown Him as the Lord of Heaven. He adorns Christ because He is one with God and one with the Spirit whom we receive because of Him. Bridges sets his intention of praise on who Jesus is and concludes that the eternal love of Jesus is deserving of being magnified and adored without end.

PARABLE: Adoration is about consistency and intention. On April 30, 2020 my husband and I will celebrate 28 years of marriage. Those who know us would say that Troy adores me. I confess that at times I’ve become complacent and taken Troy’s doting acts for granted. While he is patient, there are times when he has “gone on strike” in response to my ingratitude and life has stopped being about me. When this occurs, I have to warm up and clean the snow off my own car, pump my own gas, and clean up the kitchen after I cook. This quickly reminds me that I am not entitled to his acts of loving kindness. Then I strategically demonstrate my appreciation by purchasing Twizzlers for his sugar addiction or buying ginger beer for his non-alcoholic urges. He soon returns to his default of  demonstrating his admiration stating that “A mere “Thank You”  is sufficient.”

Sometimes I treat Jesus the same way I treat Troy. I take for granted the fact that He loves me with an everlasting love (Jermiah 31:3) , sings songs of deliverance over me (Zephaniah 3:17),  and that there is nothing that will make Him stop loving me or go on strike from His doting acts (Romans 8:38). I do not consistently adorn Jesus with my gratitude. I am grateful that Jesus does not go on strike with His graces and gifts even when I am exercising spiritual entitlement and being inconsistent with offering Him endless praise.

PONDER and WANDER:  If you choose, Ponder the questions: How can I remember to consistently adore and magnify Jesus?

The love of Jesus is everlasting and demonstrative and He is worthy of a response of adoration. The way I remember to adore and magnify Jesus is that I set my intention of gratitude on WHO Jesus is, practice the discipline of gratitude, deliberately contemplate who Jesus is, and make it a habit to SAY so. 

Soul care training exercise: If you choose, complete this week’s soul training exercise.

• When you are ready, clear your mind and invite the Holy Spirit to help you Select which characteristic of Jesus you will focus on for this exercise.
• Next,  let your spiritual imagination produce a slide show of the character of Jesus that will provoke you to praise and magnify Him.
• Then, take the time to adore Jesus and Say Thank you, love on Him, and tell Him what you want to say to Him. 

PRAYER: Jesus, Thank you that you are intentional about your perpetual love for me. Help me to be intentional in displaying my love for you. I can always find shelter in your promises. Even when my mind chooses to forget, thank you that the Holy Spirit guides my soul to easily remember that only you are entitled to be adored and magnified. Help me not to take for granted or to leave you My First Love and to eagerly seek the fragrance of your presence. In Your name I pray, Amen. 

PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to Say So, and let the work of your wandering fill you with the praise of Christ.

Then take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.

Until next time, be Resonant.

If you’d like, take a look at this Bonus reflection and read my response to the soul training exercise. 

I chose to focus on the characteristics depicted in the popular song Way Maker. During my contemplative time at a park, the Holy Spirit showed me my slide show through these trees and I selected to focus on Jesus as the Waymaker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, and Light in the Darkness. There were many incidents that flooded my mind of Jesus completing these acts in my life. However the greatest awareness I reached was the fact that these attributes depict Jesus’ character not just His actions. His love is demonstrative. Will you choose to make Jesus your object of affection and adoration?

The post Entitled appeared first on Resonant 7.

_{Image Attributions:
Love tic tac: https”//pixabay.com/photos/tic-tac-toe-love-heart-play-1777857/
Way Maker: GoogleImages
Say so: Https://pixabay.com/photos/rose-petals-floral-flowers-flower-1215314}

Wednesday Wanderings is time we set aside to wander in the Presence of Jesus and ponder His truths. When you are ready, prepare your mind, body, and soul to have a transformational encounter with Jesus.

Watch the Wednesday Wanderings Welcome for this week.

Now that we have cleared our minds of the clutter, we can wander on the journey with our Holy Jesus.

PREPARATION: In our last Wandering with Dr. Sherri, we reviewed how to Crown Christ in the Crisis. This week we will consider our Wondering Eyes. When you are ready, you may begin the dialogue with Jesus and state: “Jesus, I invite you to help me to leisurely wander into your Presence. Prepare my heart to receive, and illuminate my spiritual senses to encounter you.”

PROMISE: Matthew 6:22-23  “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”

PARABLE: I definitely do not think this is what Jesus had in mind when He taught that one eyes are lamps to our bodies!  What He was teaching was the our eyes allow things into us that influence who we are and what ultimately comes out of us. We are going to look at a bit of juxtaposition of the two words, wondering and wandering as prompted by the hymn text for the day and the meandering with Jesus we hope to do together here.

The angels are described to have wondering eyes.  They are overcome with the scars of the Savior as we will see below.  That left them overwhelmed and in awe of His sacrifice.  Those are the kinds of eyes we need.  Eyes that flood our souls with the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. [2 Corinthians 4:6]

The kind of eyes we do not need are wandering eyes.  This describes eyes that end up looking at things or in places that generally create trouble for us.  Wandering eyes are more prone to invite darkness in, rather than light, or so the phrase normally goes as it refers to someone in a relationship who has eyes that wander away toward someone other than the person with whom they are in relationship.

PSALM: Crown Him with Many Crowns
by Matthew Bridges,(1851), v. 3 by Godfrey Thring, pub.1874

Crown Him the Lord of love!
Behold His hands and side—
Rich wounds, yet visible above,
In beauty glorified.
No angel in the sky
Can fully bear that sight,
But downward bends His wond’ring eye
At mysteries so bright.

Thring proclaims he will crown Christ as Lord of love.  We could learn from the angels who bend their wondering eyes downward.  Seeing Jesus and His love rightly help us to fill our souls with the light of this transforming truth. We must cultivate wondering eyes. But how do we do that?

PONDER and WANDER:  If you choose, Ponder the question: How can I develop wondering eyes?
Trying to formulate this answer makes me think about the difference between different kinds of meditation, in the simplest form.  While some forms focus on emptying our minds, which can be a very dangerous practice, I believe Christian meditation is a filling of the mind with the ways and will of God, by way of His Word in particular and His Spirit in general.

What does this mean practically?  In this context I believe it means asking God to reveal to the eyes of our souls Himself, His purposes and His ways.  Start with Scripture and use that as a solid foundation for creating God a context to speak to you.  We could return to our Scripture above and use it as framework for prayer asking God to fill our eyes and our souls with His light, as in the exercise below.

Soul care training exercise: If you choose, complete this week’s soul training exercise and consider taking time to let the B.R.I.G.H.T. mystery of God to flood your soul as you seek to develop wondering eyes.

• When you are ready, clear your mind and invite the Holy Spirit to Begin by helping you center in on God a passage of God’s word.  We will use Matthew 6:22-23 for this exercise.
• Next, Read the passage and ask the Holy Spirit to make it come alive for you.
• Then, begin to pray the Scripture. Inject yourself into the passage by personalizing it. For example, “Lord I confess my eye is the lamp of my body. Make my eye is healthy, so my whole body will be full of light.  Keep my eye from looking at things that are bad, so my whole body will not be full of darkness. May the light in my body be the light of your glory, so as to escape the darkness of this world!”
• Give the Holy Spirit time to speak to you as you wait quietly, silently before the Lord.
• Hold your soul before God and ask Him to reveal any darkness, then be quick to confess it and determine to welcome light in its place.
• Lastly, Thank God for the light of His Word and His presence, and the forgiveness and mercy that allow you to walk in them.

PRAYER: Lord of love, I bless you for the light of Your glorious sacrifice for me. You will ever bear the scars that purchased it for me, and want to always be quick to give you praise for doing so. Fill my soul with the B.R.I.G.H.T. mystery of Your incredible love for me.  In the wonderful name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to crown Jesus with your praise. Let the work of your wandering fill you with the love of Christ.

Then take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.

Until next time, be Resonant.

The post Do Your Eyes Wonder or Wander? appeared first on Resonant 7.

Image Attributions
Eye is a Lamp – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/282741682826220610/
Downward Bend – https://pixabay.com/illustrations/fantasy-angel-mystical-wing-magic-4122152/

Wednesday Wanderings with Dr. Sherri is biweekly and a time we set aside to wander in the Presence of Jesus and ponder His truths. When you are ready, prepare your mind, body, and soul to have a transformational encounter with Jesus.

Watch the Wednesday Wanderings Welcome for this week.

Now that we have cleared our minds of the clutter, we can wander on the journey with our Holy Jesus.

PREPARATION: In our last Wandering with Dr. Sherri, we reviewed being True to the Cross. This week we will consider a Praise Pause. When you are ready, you may begin the dialogue with Jesus and state: “Jesus, I invite you to help me to leisurely wander into your Presence. Prepare my heart to receive, and illuminate my spiritual senses to encounter you.”

PROMISE: Psalm 57:9 Amplified Bible:

I will praise and give thanks to You, O Lord, among the people; I will sing praises to You among the nations.

 Crown him the Lord of life,
who triumphed o’er the grave,
and rose victorious in the strife
for those he came to save;
his glories now we sing
who died and rose on high,
who died eternal life to bring,
and lives that death may die

Bridges proclaims he will crown Christ as Lord of life. Why? Because He triumphed over death, rose victoriously IN the strife, saved him, and lives so death may die.  How? With an attitude of gratitude reflective in his singing.

PARABLE: During Easter we remember the crown of thorns that was placed upon the head of Jesus that represented His victorious resurrection power and his honor and glory. There is a way we can rightly crown Jesus. We can crown Jesus as Lord of our Life by adorning Him with praise. Even in a crisis!

I admit that my praise was held captive by the catastrophic 12:00 noonday update, 2:00 Governor update, and the 6:30 World news. As the media counted the number infected and the death toll, I forgot to count my blessings.

On Good Friday, as the dots popped up on the map showing the number infected, my spiritual sight was refocused. All of a sudden, I could see dots of blessings. When I zoomed in, the dots represented the people all over the world who are taking an opportunity to  praise and pray through our panic. Facebook Live and Youtube has become a place to share God’s word. Church People are church hopping without the judgement and watching multiple services daily in cities they could never physically visit on the same day. Non-churched people are listening to “Real Talks” and contemplating Christ. Those whose gifts and talents have been dormant are taking to the streets singing, dancing, miming, and teaching. Even the Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, a state employee, read Galations 6:9  and encouraged us to not grow weary. All over the world people are uniting to crown Christ with praise IN the Crisis.

PONDER and WANDER:  If you choose, Ponder the questions: What crown of praise can I give Christ during this crisis?

When I pondered this question, God brought back to my remembrance my encounter with Him in Haiti where there is the plague of malnutrition. His mesmerizing presence at The Sea of Galilee and the burial slab of Christ in Israel even while two rockets were fired at Tel Aviv from the Gaza strip. His protection from COVID 19 as borders closed and we were evacuated from Rwanda and shoulder to shoulder with thousands of people. Our God of the Nations has always blessed in the midst of suffering.

Easter is the perfect time to crown Christ with praise for the victory of His suffering. We can offer praise and thanksgiving and count my blessings in the crisis because our faithful God WILL turn this around just like he has always done. Thank God that the blood will always win every battle.  Yes, if I choose to offer thanksgiving for my blessings in spite of the dreariness of the circumstantial rain.

Soul care training exercise: If you choose, complete this week’s soul training exercise and consider taking time to let the R.A.I.N. clear the path to help you crown Christ with praise in the crisis.

• When you are ready, clear your mind and invite the Holy Spirit to Recognize what is distracting you from praising God and offering Him thanks.
• Next, Allow the Holy Spirit to help you to remember specific blessings.
• Then, begin to pray with the grace of Christ. Investigate and implement a time each day to dedicate to contemplating thanksgiving and how you can share your attitude of gratitude (text a friend, Facebook, call a friend, tell a family member, or journal your blessings).
• Lastly, Nurture your praise (read a praise scripture, listen to a praise song, or look at a movie that reminds you of your blessings).

PRAYER: Daddy Jesus, I adorn your head with my crown of gratitude. I thank you for the crisis you endured on the cross so that I could have victory in my crisis. Corona is not a surprise to you. You arose with all power in your hand to conquer COVID 19 and any other crisis. RAIN on me on the dry days and keep my eyes on all the blessings that are being bestowed upon us during this time of pause. In the victorious name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to crown Jesus with your praise. Let the work of your wandering fill you with the love of Christ.

Then take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.

Until next time, be Resonant.

The post Crown Christ in the Crisis  appeared first on Resonant 7.