My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
It Is Well with My Soul (1873)
By: Horatio G. Spafford, (1828-1888)
Listen to this beautiful version as you prepare to ponder this hymn. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.
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Transcript may be found below, at the end of the blog.
We continue our journey through one of the most beloved of all hymns, with one of the most poignant, yet inspiring, stories. If you do not know the story, you may watch more about it here. Wellness of soul was made available when Jesus fulfilled the righteous deeds of the law. Let’s tune our hearts.
To Miss the Mark
The stanza focuses on the effect that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross has on our soul’s wellness. He satisfied the law’s demands by becoming sin for us. Let’s make sure we understand what sin is.
To sin effectively means to miss the mark, like missing the bullseye in archery. In spiritual or bilabial terms, it means to fall short of God’s commands, literally an immoral act considered to be a transgression of divine law. Simply, Jesus said to love God and love others, so, any action that does not fulfill those demands could be considered sin. Here is an interesting video that illustrates this.
We all sin. We all fall short of the mark of the God’s righteousness. But thanks be to God, there is a remedy for sin.
My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:7-8 ESV
So let’s spend a little bit of time thinking about this. It is a glorious thought, indeed, that we can walk in the light and have fellowship with God, all because the blood of Jesus cleanses us from our sin. The bliss is the great joy that aptly describes what we feel when we realize we are free in Christ from the crushing weight of sin. Unfortunately, we grow accustomed to the bliss, so let’s do a little exercise.
RESONATE!
I do not want you to entertain the paths of sin, even in your thought life, but I want to invite you to take a quick inventory. What sins trouble you? Anger, malice, envy, jealousy, lying, stealing, covetousness, etc. Think of what you have struggled with or maybe are still struggling with and make a mental list. We will deal with it below.
Every Miss, Covered
Now bring to mind not only that brief inventory, but every sin: past, present and future. All of them are dealt with by our gracious Lord. Every time we have ever missed the mark of God’s righteousness, the cross of Christ has addressed it. Not just some of the misses, but every single one.
My sin, not in part but the whole,
This is truly remarkable. God’s grace has no bounds. We simply must confess that we have missed the mark, and He forgives and cleanses. More than that, it is as if He takes our misses and not only puts them on the target, but makes them bullseyes. He sees us through the perfection of His Son.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 ESV
You probably believe that but take a minute to let it soak in. Deep down in your soul. Nothing you have ever done is too far off the target for God to cover, if you will humble yourself and confess it. He has done all the work. You simply need to ask.
RESONATE!
So do you have any asking to do? Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. We are forgiven when we surrender our lives to Christ and ask, but we should also learn the freedom of asking God to forgive us any other times the Spirit brings conviction. We have been invited to walk in the light. Whenever you become aware of any darkness, confess it so you can walk in His forgiveness. Make this a way of life.
Jesus, thank You for dealing with all the times I have missed the mark of righteousness. I have sinned, but You have forgiven me and cleansed me. Teach me how to walk in the light and confess my sin whenever You shine Your light on it. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
Blissful 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 18.3 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.
My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
Truly the first three lines of this stanza are one thought, with the fourth being the only appropriate response. This is a glorious thought, not our sin, but that it is taken care of completely. Do a quick inventory of your sins just the last few hours or days.
Now bring to mind not only that brief inventory but every sin past, present and future, all of them, all dealt with by our gracious Lord. Wellness of soul can only be enjoyed when the sickness of soul caused by sin is remedied. Ask the Spirit to apply that remedy again today.
Every sin we have ever committed, in word, thought, and deed – the entire terrible record – is nailed to the cross which satisfies the legal demands of the law. We bear it no more. It is just as if we had never sinned. Thank Jesus for taking the punishment you deserved.
This last phrase is a quote of Psalm 146:1. We echo the psalmist’s instruction to our own souls, for they can be fickle at times and our forgiving God is worthy of praise. Instruct your soul to praise the name of Your Redeemer today and evey 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
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
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 What To Do When You Miss the Mark? appeared first on Resonant 7.
Image Attributions
Both images captured from this video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn-MxtZLxI8
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