Wednesday Wanderings is 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 considered the Old Rugged Cross and the concept of being despised because of our association with it. This week we will consider the beautiful grace that flows down from the cross and what it accomplishes. 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: Ephesians 1:7 ESV In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
The Old Rugged Cross invites us to remember Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and the grace that flows down from it which covers our sin and shame. His blood accomplishes our redemption, ushering in forgiveness for every wrong, and all this according to His grace. We get what we could have never deserved. The cross reminds us of this remarkable truth.
PSALM: The Old Rugged Cross was written by 1912 by Evangelist and song leader George Bennard who was a native of Youngstown, Ohio.
In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged cross and
Exchange it one day for a crown
PARABLE: So what is your story and how does it relate to the cross today? Maybe you first experienced the flow of grace year ago and have learned to walk in its mighty streams. Maybe you are just beginning to realize just how great that grace was which you have received for the first time only recently. Wherever you are in that continuum, you need His grace today.
We know that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) But we must acknowledge that as long as we are on this side of glory, the temptations of the flesh remain very real. We are all guilty of choosing our own desires over God’s at times, some of those times being after we have been pardoned and sanctified. It is the difference of our standing before God and our experience of it.
For as much as we endeavor to live cherishing the old rugged cross, there are times when the allure of other things pull us away. We cling to the cross with one hand and reach for something else with the other.
What is your something else? What competes with the cross in your heart?
PONDER and WANDER: If you choose, Ponder the question: What do I need His blood to cover today, or this season?
Thankfully, it already has and it will. When Jesus died for you, He was paying for everything wrong you would ever do. Everything. You are covered. That is good news.
It reminds me of the words of another song, Grace Glows Down.
Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
Amazing love
Now flowing down
From hands and feet
That were nailed to the tree
As grace flows down and covers meIt covers me
It covers me
It covers me
And it covers me
Soul care training exercise: I invite you to take some time to let His grace cover you today.
If you choose, complete this week’s soul training exercise by setting aside time to think about what needs covered. Maybe listen to Grace Flows Down as you are praying, or just reflect on the text.
- When you are ready, clear your mind and focus on the pardon of the cross.
- Next, allow the Holy Spirit to bring the guilt of any unconfessed sin from deep within your soul.
- Begin to ask for forgiveness. List the things that come to mind and believe that Jesus has covered them. Declare that in faith as things come to mind.
- Then, thank God for covering you.
- Lastly, ask Him for the strength to walk in that flow.
PRAYER: Jesus, thank You for giving your life for me knowing I would sin, even after I have been pardoned. Sanctify me by continuing to invite me into a life of surrender where I cherish your cross above all the things that might otherwise tempt me to choose my way. Empower me to cling to my cross, until the day I exchange it for a crown. Amen.
PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to thank our loving God for the Old Rugged Cross. 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 What Needs Covered Today? appeared first on Resonant 7.
Image attributions
Grace Flows Down – https://www.dreamstime.com/christ-cross-shining-sun-heart-drops-water-blood-image149917168
And Covers Me – https://pixabay.com/illustrations/guilty-imprisonment-for-debt-sinful-3096227/
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