Ransomed

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Grateful astonishment

     Sometimes we know particular passages from Scripture so well that we almost become immune to their impact. We hear them in our heads almost in a singsong voice. New believers can read the same verses and say,

“What? That’s astonishing! Wow!” 

We’re like, 

“That? Oh yeah, sure. I’ve known that since I was a kid. Are you excited about that? Yep…it’s true.”

New believer: 

“So when it says God loves me so much He left the awesomeness of Heaven and came to be brutally tortured and smashed beyond recognition and slowly suffocated in agonizing pain, carrying ever evil thing ever thought, said, or done, on Himself…..This was all to save me here and now and eternally….as into the eternity of eternities……that’s all true?”

“Ummm, yeah. Maybe I better look at that John 3:16 thing again myself. Wooooh…..”

So….this morning I was reading Psalm 139 in The Passion Translation*. I actually almost skipped it, because I know it pretty much by heart. Da, da da, da da, da da.. However, because it was from TPT, it was like hearing it anew. It was astounding, once again.

“You know every step I will take before my journey even begins. You’ve gone into my future to prepare the way, and in kindness you follow behind me to spare me from the harm of my past. You have laid your hand on me! You impart a blessing to me.” ——Psalm 139:5

To sit, to camp, to rest in the bottomless yet rock-solid knowledge that my ADONAI knows every last thought I have…every negative attitude; every lie or omission or crafted retelling; every selfish motive; every bit of pride or vanity. In fact, He endured severe torture and agonizing death because of it. Yet He still loves me and wants me to live an abundant life. Wants to give me more than I can ask or even imagine. How incomprehensible is that? There is nowhere I can hide from Him when shame overcomes me. Nowhere He isn’t. He even descended to Hell to take its keys back for my sake. 

How have we let that knowledge become humdrum in our lives, as we pursue our daily activities and focus on what my mother used to call ‘the tyranny of the urgent’? I know I am guilty of losing my ‘third heaven’ perspective. Not that I think our Heavenly Father wants us to be ‘so heavenly minded we’re no earthly good,’ as the saying goes. However, have we become dulled to the wonder of Who He is and what He is doing and has done? In living years or decades away from our first-found romance with our Bridegroom, have we relegated Him to the background, taking Him for granted, as He supports us every single day and moment of our lives, steadfastly present and aware of our every word and thought? Longing to truly commune with us and have us partner with Him for HIS Kingdom to come on earth as it is in Heaven?

“Do the riches of His extraordinary kindness make you take Him for granted…?” —Romans 2:4 TPT

I know I can be guilty of this. Guilty of jumping into my day, prioritizing both the seemingly urgent and even the mundane over communing with Him; delving into His Word; agreeing with and praying for the things most on His heart; declaring my love for Him and my deep thankfulness for all He has done, is doing, and will do. Sometimes He calls me Jumping Bean, because of all the times I start to pray and listen to Him and then jump up to do ‘just this one thing before I forget’. That one thing can become another and another. Or I just want to check this one text or post or phone call. Sometimes I never even begin my devotional time in the first place. I ‘stand Him up’ in our meeting place. Never even say “Good Morning Father, Good morning, Yeshua, Good Morning, Holy Spirit.” Never even a hug or an “I love You” or a “thankYou”. How is this possible? Though it’s true, I don’t want it to ever to be so.

If you are at times like me, let us both be determined from this day forward never to allow the incredible depth and extent of His love and mercy to excuse the shallowness of our daily devotion to Him. 

So be it.

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**Note on TPT: Brian Simmons, by the way, did not just create his own modern paraphrase of ‘the real Scripture’. He is a Bible translator for many languages and a scholar of Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic His is not just an accessible, feel-good retelling of the Word. What it is, however, is a refreshing translation, based on linguistic research and choices from various possible English synonyms, most in keeping with the context, historical background, and heart of the original languages, under the guidance of Holy Spirit.

Kneeling in the sand

    I have once again been reading through the Acts of the Apostles, and, as always, have been struck by something new. This time Holy Spirit stopped me as I read about Peter, Paul, and others kneeling in prayer.. [See Acts 21:5; Acts 9:40; Acts 20:36; Luke 5:8; Luke 7:37] In Acts 21:5, for example, Paul kneels in the sand with all the members of a new church to pray together before he leaves them. I thought about how seldom most of us kneel to pray, individually or corporately, anymore. Why didn’t Paul and crew just stand in a circle praying?

This brought to mind the fact that, in worship, I can tell when Jesus is standing before me, because I find myself on my knees.

Have we lost this type of manifestation of reverence in the church?  I was raised as an Episcopalian.* Humor regarding this denomination (also referred to as ‘the frozen chosen’) often referenced the ‘up and down, up and down’ movements of our congregations. Yet there is meaning behind this practice: Stand to praise; sit to listen (attitude of being teachable); kneel to humbly, reverentially, pray and worship.  There are times at a beloved non-denominational church, where I find myself kneeling down at some point during opening worship. I sense the need to be as close to ‘on my face’ as I can get in my space between the chair in front of me and my seat. I know that I am not doing what everyone else is doing, but I know I must overcome the need to fit in and instead do what I sense Holy Spirit is prompting me to do. [As I get older, it is harder for me to actually kneel, but If I can’t kneel, I at least sit with my knees close to the floor and my head bowed.] 

If Jesus is before me, I don’t think about it at all. I just find myself on my knees.. 

There are a couple churches I’ve attended in which all kinds of people are worshiping all kinds of ways. People don’t seem to be as aware of each other, as much as they are aware of the God they have come to please. Flags, shofars, dance, kneeling, standing, sitting, prostrated on the floor, resting in Holy Spirit on their backs, hands up, hands down…. The freedom to worship ADONAI in sincerity, truth, enthusiasm, loud praise, quietness, or silence. The giving of one’s whole self in various forms at various times, I believe, is pleasing to our Heavenly Father. As is refraining from criticizing or judging others for how they are expressing their worship.

Let’ take a look at ‘the other side of the worship coin’ from what we’re used to in our own churches. Do we always praise loudly and never become quiet in worship? Are we always quiet in worship and never ‘shout with a voice of triumph’? Do we criticize in our hearts (or even forbid) praising with flags or dancing? Do we flag and dance but criticize those who quietly kneel? Are we open to everything God says in His Word is pleasing to Him, both the overt and the hidden? Do we make a place for and encompass it all? 

I personally find it difficult to find a church that intentionally does so. A place with both historicity, lively worship both ancient and modern, a place where you feel free to kneel or jump up and down, sit in reverence without moving, lie facedown on the carpet; dance and wave a flag, or sit cross-legged with head bowed. 

A wonderful trend I see emerging, however, is denominational blindness, with ‘my church’ talk being replaced by ‘Jesus’ Body’ talk. A unification (without compromise on the Word) of the Ekklesia, praying and standing together as one for God’s kingdom to come on earth as it is in Heaven.’ Alleluia! Let’s make our worship, in all its expressions, do the same. 

While we’re at it, let’s not lose the power of reverentially kneeling together before Him. 

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Take a moment to enjoy this song, “Find Me”, from Jonathan and Melissa Heiser): 

https://youtu.be/G_LFvzKsbfw?si=21eVCO5dfINB4gOp

Is this seat saved?

    

We used to joke around sometimes when someone asked if the seat next to us was saved. We would say,

“I’m not sure,” shake the chair, and ask, “Are you saved?” 

The humor was based in a time when people might well have asked you, or any stranger, if you had truly received salvation.

Last Sunday I had an empty seat next to me in a thankfully very full church, where late arrivals were searching for a spot. (I wish all our Bible-believing churches were that full for 4 services.) The one empty seat made me think of our old joke. It also prompted me to think who should have been in it. Who was God calling to take his or her place there? 

The pastor spoke of Lazarus and the fact that Jesus was not the one to actually roll away the stone or even unwrap his grave-cloths. He asked the others to do it. “Unbind him and set him free!” (Luke 11). The pastor’s message had to do with our role in ‘unbinding’ others and the power we have to do so, even though Jesus is the One Who brings the actual resurrection.

He spoke of people ‘being dead to one another.’ Of the binding cloths of unforgiveness and judgment. Of the lonely ones, the hurt ones, to whom we could be reaching out and drawing into our life circle. He spoke especially about the ones who have severely wounded us or continually taken wrong paths until we have finally given up on them. The ones of whom people say, “He’ll never change!” [Never speak a prophetic word that opposes God’s will!] Even those whose prickly personalities cause us to avoid contact with them whenever possible. The ones who often need ‘unbinding’ much more than those vulnerable-seeming, humble ones who are much easier to love.

Whom have we written off?

Whom have we ignored and left in the cold, while cozy in our own warm circles?

Whom do we intensely (or even moderately) dislike and avoid reaching out to, whose presence in our friendship groups could sabotage our comfort levels and pleasant interactions? (Martha: “but Lord, there’ll be an odor!” Luke 11:44)

Whose reserved seat may be empty because we ourselves have fallen short of doing the hard thing? 

Or perhaps we’re the stone-removing forgiver or renouncer of condemning prophecies. (Speak ‘crop failure’ to those spoken words!) Yet God then plans to call someone else to draw that person to his saved seat?  All we need to do is be obedient to our part. 

It seems unfair that we should be considered responsible, especially when we have been the recipient of someone’s unkind, disrespectful, neglectful, or even abusive treatment. It may be a jolt to our self-righteousness that we are even seen by our Lord as having the ‘job’ or the capability of helping to bring that change about. We’re ‘only human,’ right? 

We absolutely need to set boundaries in cases of potentially harmful relationships. However, that is not what I’m referring to above. It’s the large stones blocking the tomb, the boulders of refusal to forgive, the walls of a back turned against another, and even the pebbles of rejection due to our discomfort with those annoying personalities, that make it challenging to reach out to another, whether stranger, acquaintance, or even family member.. 

So many reasons for a seat sacrificially saved by our Savior to remain empty. Sometimes it’s self-loathing masquerading as arrogance. Sometimes it’s straight-forward intellectual arrogance. Sometimes it’s a spirit of rejection that whispers to a mind, “You’re unwanted, unsuccessful, unworthy, unknowledgeable, unloved, unforgiveable.” 

If you find yourself, like me, putting your hands over your ears and saying to the Lord, “I can’t hear You!”…you’re in good company. Hence, so many empty ‘saved’ seats. Let’s determine that the next time there is an empty seat next to us at church, we take our hands off our ears and ask Him for whom it’s reserved….and what He might want us to do to help fill it. We might be one of several on a team or in a series, whom our Father is asking. Yet if no one else answers His call to roll away the stone, let it not be we who refuse.

Accumulated Grief

   

   One of the prophets and apostles I listen to regularly is Tim Sheets. You may be more familiar with his brother, Dutch (“Give Him 15”), whom I also respect greatly. A humble man with profound insights from Scripture and Holy Spirit, Tim has been enduring much that most of us, until recently, were ignorant. He has been battling both cancer and rashes of painful welts from a reaction to medication. All the while we have seen him faithfully preaching, pursuing God’s heart and listening to His messages to share with us. Learning what he has silently been enduring affected me greatly, especially when I considered the way even small irritations and annoyances can cause me to grumble, if only in my mind. 

   For several years, I have been reading and decreeing from several of his books, as well as listening to his sermons at Oasis Church. His knowledge of God’s Logos (Scripture) and his sharing of God’s Rhema Word have kept alive my hope for our chaotic and corrupted times. Neither he nor I believe we are in the end times. So much of God’s Word, including promises to His Son, have yet to be fulfilled. I do believe, however, we need to fight like never before, in partnership with Him, to defeat the enemy’s plans to hasten those End Times. There is a widespread harvest and time of great blessing coming before then.

   We have been fighting, in prayer, decreeS, and actions, for years now. We have been believing and speaking forth both God’s written will and His Rhema promises. These have concernd what He has been doing, is doing, and will do, to rescue us and bring about a massive Revival. This word’s very denotation, He says, is totally insufficient for the magnitude of what He is bringing about. In essence, we can’t even fathom it. This will include worldwide healings, signs, and miracles so great that even the previous individual revivals around the world were merely a presage.. 

   You may not believe it now, as you look about you at the mess we are in, However, I encourage you to listen to GOD’S streaming, instead of that of secular media. Truly believe and declare “His Kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” If that were not possible, why would Jesus have told us to pray it? Was He just messing with us when He said it, as well as declaring “you will do greater works than these…”?

   Proverbs 13:12 says “HOPE DEFERRED makes the heart sick”. It can also encourage us to give up and resign ourselves to ‘whatever’. One prophet describes this as sitting immobile on our Rapture rug, waiting to be taken out of the craziness.. Multiple experiences of GRIEF can also cause us to give up. . The combination of these two (hope deferred and multiple griefs) can be geometrically devastating. Often we aren’t even aware of why we feel so ‘down; why we lack our previous energy and enthusiasm. All the more so if we’ve always been an upbeat, hopeful person. [If we’ve always tended toward “Eeyoreness,” it may not cause us to ponder as much. 😅 🫏]

   This morning, on a repeated journey through a book of prayers, commentary, and decrees by Tim, I read the following. It hit a deep chord within me, and tears came unexpectedly to my eyes. 

“I woke up in the middle of the night with God speaking to me about accumulated grief. I had never thought about the concept of grief accumulating, but the more I thought about it the more I realized it does happen. The older you get, the more grief in life seems to accumulate. This happens, that happens, and you think you’ve laid it down but really it’s still sticking to the soul and you need someone bigger than you to come along and take it away. Thankfully, the promise of our great Lord Jesus is that He came to take away grief that accumulates—the divorce, the loss of a loved one, the bankruptcy, the broken relationship. These things can accumulate in our lives, but Jesus comes to unwrap our soul and set us free, healing our emotions, feelings, and minds.”  —Tim Sheets*

    I thought about ‘hope deferred’ as an additional type of grief and realized how ADONAI is able to heal that also, especially when we ask Him for a a large dose of faithfulness and trust. Everything is healed by looking up into HIS tender countenance. So let’s ask Him to show us the ‘accumulated grief’ that may be weighing us down. Griefs we hadn’t even thought of as such. Griefs we didn’t even think about offering up to Him for healing. He is able. He wants us free to live ‘life abundant.’ According to His Word, that is why He came! 

“The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it [a]overflows). “ —John 10:10

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Prayers and Decrees That Activate Angel Armies, Tim Sheets

Cleanse and detox…beyond prunes

 

Prunes? Say what?

All right, if you’re not in the ‘senior’ category, this might not exactly be on your mind. Trust me, it will still apply, no matter your age group.

God’s sense of humor never ceases to amaze me. He can take any mundane, so-very-down-to-earth issue and make a lesson out of it. I was struggling with serious constipation, as many seniors do. To the point I’d started praying about it. God knows our bodies inside out, so to speak, since He created them. He also knows when things go awry from His original plan. 

I had begun reading David Herzog’s book, Jumpstart, Your Way to Healthy Living. [FYI David also operates in the prophetic.] He suggested, before attempting a weight loss plan, to pursue a cleanse of parasites from your body. These evidently can be picked up in any number of places

After trying assorted natural remedies, including certain foods, hydration, exercise, etc., all to no avail, I asked God for help. As He often does, He took me beyond the physical realm and opened my eyes to a similar issue of the soul. A deep belly laugh was my response. “Really? You’re going to teach me something theological related to constipation?” 

“Yes, indeed.!”

Here’s the gist of what He shared with me, as best I can summarize. 

• In addition to physical parasites, whose ultimate effect is to clog up and slow down your system and thus begin to poison your body, there are parasites which clog and begin to poison your soul. 
• The ‘unhealthy’ things you watch, listen to, and read for entertainment and distraction
• Resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness, judgment, criticism, condemnation, and a desire for vengeance
• Sometimes we’ve unknowingly picked up parasites from our own family members or friends, who may have long ago taken up an offense and passed it on.
• We may also have received them from lying media sources or even trusted teachers, who served up deception and corrupt attitudes masquerading as truth
• Constipation of the soul blocks His Spirit from flowing freely through us. This hinders blessing both to ourselves and others.
• It makes us uncomfortable, grumpy, irritable, and ‘cranky,’ just as does physical constipation. We take offense easily, as Scripture plainly decries. [1Cor 13:5]
• We become distracted from focusing on what is important, what God is saying to us. We become distracted from DOING what He wants us to do..
• Spiritual constipation poisons our thoughts, as we find ourselves dwelling on hurts, whether recent or long-standing. We rehearse old wounds, even when we have no overt desire to do so. We search for an eraser to cleanse our minds and a brand-new ✏️ to write what is pleasing to God there, instead. Yet the rehearsal keeps starting back at the beginning. A groundhog day unhealthy for the soul. 

God’s CLEANSE can be found in 1 John 1:9“, which most of you know well:

    “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and CLEANSE us from all unrighteousness.”

We’ve heard it so often, it may have lost its profound life-changing effect. Sometimes we think of this verse for ‘sins-in-bulk’ We’re saved! Alleluia! Oh wait, what’s the first part again? “If we confess our sins…” Have we asked God to cleanse us of unforgiveness, of bitterness, of resentment, of judging and criticizing others, of watching things no Christian has any business watching…things that grieve our Lord? Have we confessed arrogance, a Jezebel spirit of spiritual superiority, of knowing better than everyone else, of trying to manipulate others into doing what we want done? Ooohhhh,  now we’re getting down to more deeply impacted bowels of the soul. 

Root it all out, Holy Spirit! I want none of it! Whatever it takes! I want a whistle-clean colon of the soul! Part of me is afraid to ask; afraid to let go; afraid to give up favorite sins; afraid to admit to those thoughts, words, and deeds that will otherwise remain hidden. But You already know it all. There is no hiding anything from You. I want to be clean and pure, pleasing in Your sight more than I want to hang onto unhealthy things. “See if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:24)

How to access all my posts (2015 to the present)

 To see all my Morning Manna posts, you can either:

1) Click “See Web Version” at the bottom of a post viewed on a phone or…

2) Open my blog home page or post on a computer or tablet large enough to show the list of years and related posts on the bottom right-hand side of the screen. Once you click on a year, a list of months will appear, with that month’s posts listed underneath.

3) Direct blog address: TennyandI.blogspot.com (as in Tenny and I). “Tenny” is short for Tennessee, my traveling bear.) 🤓🧸

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My most most recent posts are also available as tabs on the following websites :

* BearfootArtsfortheShepherd.com (my art website)

* TheChapelDowntown.org (Church fellowship in Hillsboro, OR)

* TheRightspot.Life (my friend’s Guest House Retreat in NC, dedicated to encouraging people to draw closer to Jesus)

Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee

Remember, our praise not only glorifies God and lifts us up, it is also spiritual warfare against the enemy of our souls and our land.

 “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee,” (also known as the Ode to Joy). Lyrics written in 1907 by Henry J Van Dyke. Composer, Ludwig Von Beethoven, adapted in 1827 for the hymn version by Edward Hodges. I give you the classic choir version first, and then a variety of joyful options and adaptations. Praise away!

 https://youtu.be/NML640yBoKE?si=8BjhaPNkKe4dmOSd

Tommy Walker: https://youtu.be/OYKP2p6uEkM?si=nuKuADiBZlNqDGi9 

Reawaken Hymns:  https://youtu.be/2yZVweZ2Cvg?si=Hgn_-iLc55F5HLDr

Fun Variations:

• Michael W. Smith: https://youtu.be/NHm_p7xj5uQ?si=1tpdq6iMrzRjEn4U
• Casting Crowns: https://youtu.be/MsBtbCMSY-w?si=TbGloyw3b3IGIDaF
• IHOPU: https://youtu.be/xc8BRReglnc?si=jG8p0tm2l9M0kR4G

1. 
   
2. Take a few minutes to really absorb this amazing poem.
3. 
   
4. Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee,
   God of glory, Lord of love;
   Hearts unfold like flow’rs before Thee,
   Op’ning to the sun above.
   Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
   Drive the dark of doubt away;
   Giver of immortal gladness,
   Fill us with the light of day!
5. All Thy works with joy surround Thee,
   Earth and heav’n reflect Thy rays,
   Stars and angels sing around Thee,
   Center of unbroken praise.
   Field and forest, vale and mountain,
   Flow’ry meadow, flashing sea,
   Singing bird and flowing fountain
   Call us to rejoice in Thee.
6. Thou art giving and forgiving,
   Ever blessing, ever blest,
   Wellspring of the joy of living,
   Ocean depth of happy rest!
   Thou our Father, Christ our Brother,
   All who live in love are Thine;
   Teach us how to love each other,
   Lift us to the joy divine.
7. Mortals, join the happy chorus,
   Which the morning stars began;
   Father love is reigning o’er us,
   Brother love binds man to man.
   Ever singing, march we onward,
   Victors in the midst of strife,
   Joyful music leads us Sunward
   In the triumph song of life.

Great is Thy Faithfulness

 “Great is Thy Faithfulness” (Thomas Chisholm, 1923); music William M. Runyan

Overall playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-2DzbrW5IS1Zc2XOERvYRMq0gqvZbesd&si=yiu-0PurGUcZLIiS

• Chorale” https://youtu.be/r4ox4es1jo8?si=Fbyh3lez70jXdqSU
• Austin Stone: https://youtu.be/8gmrjTnHs3o?si=x1bQ1jx2WWzRgQ4z

21st Century:

• You Are Faithful (Hillsong): https://youtu.be/2GpsOoMPLrA?si=uzu4Jq84_xeQZz8g
• My Redeemer is Faithful and True (Steven Curtis Chapman) https://youtu.be/-pHhfe4tVSo?si=6ELc8uxm0FAf9UlR 

• Do It Again (Elevation Worship) https://youtu.be/scV2Isa1M84?si=946uDcF1isTIXAdm
• You Never Let Go (Matt Redman) https://youtu.be/NM14VZVu0og?si=DYijQLfBSz5ppHxC 

Psalm 115 

Psalm 117 

1Let everyone everywhere shine with praise to Yahweh!a Let it all out! Go ahead and praise him! 2For he has conquered us with his great love, and his kindness has melted our hearts. His faithfulness lasts forever, and he will never fail you. So go ahead, let it all out! Praise Yah!

 

 

I Believe

Today’s hymn highlight:

 “The Church’s One Foundation” (Samuel J. Stone, 1866)

 [Lyrics at end of post] Music by Samuel Wesley.

https://youtu.be/bCdASxyPIKE?si=AZrNba8S3DDceFlN

I don’t know why this hymn has always made me cry. Weird, huh? Tears are rising now, even as I write. I can remember singing it in church, standing next to my mother, and seeing tears in her eyes. We looked at each other and laughed at our common emotional state. I don’t even know if other denominations sang this. I guess maybe as children we all thought everyone sang the same hymns. Later, we realized no one had ever even heard of some of our favorites. I know a large number of hymns by heart, including most all the verses (a gift from God of a strong auditory memory). Yet for a while I visited a midweek prayer group in Oregon whose entire hymnal was practically unknown to me. 

At any rate… I hope if this hymn is one of which you’ve never heard or only vaguely remember, you will be moved by both its impressive lyrics and its hopeful tune. It was evidently written in response to current heresies attacking the veracity of Scripture. Sound familiar?

Rise up, Ekklesia! Unify without compromise!

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Overall playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-2DzbrW5IS2MmYK-Egk-fSFCpPzr0_Ax&si=CkuEZSbziBDD4_u7

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21st Century:

• This I Believe (Hillsong) https://youtu.be/VRzI_FbWTkg?si=Uq8Wd_dnp3fYMaMn
• I Believe (Phil Wickham) https://youtu.be/E6CT0RWhe24?si=KOJroZ02r1mExAcD 
• I Believe (Charity Gayle) https://youtu.be/l9Zs0TfZ8BY?si=nk1GpjsR2ufJV2x-  

If you are interested in an earlier post about the difference between faith and belief, click below. [I also recommend Andrew Wommack’s teaching on this topic. I just can’t find it now on his awmi.net website. When I do, I’ll edit this post with a link]

My short post on the struggle between faith and belief:  Should we be expecting another one?

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See the Hymnal text of The Church’s One Foundation here, with the original text written out below:  https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/833

1. Original text: 
2. The church has one foundation
3. ’Tis Jesus Christ her Lord;
   She is His new creation,
   Through water by the word.
   From heav’n He came and sought her
   To be His holy bride;
   With His own blood He bought her,
   And for her life He died.
4. Elect from every nation,
   Yet one o’er all the earth,
   Her charter of salvation—
   One Lord, one faith, one birth.
   One holy name she blesses,
   Partakes one holy food;
   And to one hope she presses,
   With every grace endued.
5. Long with a scornful wonder
   Men saw her sore oppressed,
   By schisms rent asunder,
   By heresies distressed.
   Yet saints their watch were keeping
   To hail a brighter day,
   When God should stop their weeping,
   Take their reproach away.
6. The evening sun is shining,
   The cloudy day is past;
   The time of their repining
   Is at an end at last.
   The voice of God is calling
   To unity again;
   Division walls are falling,
   With all the creeds of men.
7. Back to the one foundation,
   From sects and creeds made free,
   Come saints of every nation
   To blessed unity.
   Once more the ancient glory
   Shines as in days of old,
   And tells the wondrous story—
   One God, one faith, one fold

Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring

   Many of us know the song “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.” Yet how many of us have ever really read the whole of the deep, worshipful lyrics? If you’re like me, you probably can’t make it past the first stanza by memory, or even the first few lines. We know the music well because it was composed by JS Bach, This 1723 chorale was part of an Advent cantata, originally in German. The English text we sing is actually  different from the original German (and written by another). Either way, both sets of lyrics are profoundly beautiful. Two of the original stanzas were titled, “Blessed am I, that I have Jesus” and ‘Jesus remains My Joy.” Need I say more? Below you will find the entire lyrics from both sources. Let them sink into the deep places of your soul this day. Also, enjoy listening to several renditions of the English text. [I wish I could have found better videos with lyrics for these, but…]

Overall playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-2DzbrW5IS3qWT9v3-XwPA-jp3yNs63g&si=nrEESZBAPBWRrOk-

Chorale: https://youtu.be/S6OgZCCoXWc?si=uCC0mJu099guaC7M

Josh Groban: https://youtu.be/4kbdoaNwuwA?si=Jz1rBZ0GivzKw0ES

Celtic Woman https://youtu.be/KZj8HoUe-G4?si=UUL7wuWVL7dEivZ_

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English Text: “The following is a version with words attributed to the poet laureate Robert Bridges.^[5] It is not a translation of the stanzas used within Bach's original version, but is inspired by stanzas of the same hymn that Bach had drawn upon: "Jesu, meiner Seelen Wonne", the lyrics of which were written in 1661 by Martin Janus (or Jahn), and which was sung to Johann Schop's 1642 "Werde munter, mein Gemüte" hymn tune.” [see footnote citation]

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Jesu, joy of man's desiring,
Holy wisdom, love most bright;
Drawn by Thee, our souls aspiring
Soar to uncreated light.

Word of God, our flesh that fashioned,
With the fire of life impassioned,
Striving still to truth unknown,
Soaring, dying round Thy throne.

Through the way where hope is guiding,
Hark, what peaceful music rings;
Where the flock, in Thee confiding,
Drink of joy from deathless springs.

Theirs is beauty's fairest pleasure;
Theirs is wisdom's holiest treasure.
Thou dost ever lead Thine own
In the love of joys unknown

Original German Text: ❤️ (love this)

Well for me that I have Jesus,
O how tightly I hold him
that he might refresh my heart,
when I'm sick and sad.
Jesus I have, who loves me
and gives himself to me,
ah, therefore I will not leave Jesus,
even when my heart breaks.
—from BWV 147, chorale movement no. 6

Jesus remains my joy,
my heart's consolation and sap,
Jesus fends off all suffering,
He is my life's strength,
my eyes' lust [voluntarism meaning: reason of being] and sun,
my soul's treasure and pleasure;
Therefore I will not leave Jesus
out of heart and sight.
—from BWV 147, chorale movement no. 10

*Wikipedia contributors. "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 21 Mar. 2024. Web. 14 Apr. 2024.

Divine Love

   

 Today’s highlighted hymn is “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” (Charles Wesley, 1747). There is more than one tune for this hymn, but my favorite is Rowland Hugh Pritchard’s Hyfrydol. This same tune is used for other great hymns, as well. Better known, however, by those not connected to the UK, is Beecher’s Zundel. (Evidently the earliest tune used for this hymn might have been one composed by Henry Purcell in 1691.)

   One of the beautiful things about great hymns is the poetry of their lyrics. It is difficult to truly ponder them while actually singing, so I sometimes like to speak them as praise or declarations of God’s character. (Lyrics below)

Enjoy!

Overall playlist: 

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-2DzbrW5IS3XolOORxDkajfiqqnT83OL&si=ehOefL5MknAClkMq

Hyfrydol: https://youtu.be/Ij7R_qgeBj0?si=FCBY42_lb4ejvsDo

Zundel (Beecher) https://youtu.be/J-6PMvgJHG0?si=A4iup7W49apkWNoe

20th Century: “We Fall Down” https://youtu.be/A9jhLNDfAKQ?si=Zl8Pow1RUv35nEPM

21st Century: His Name is Jesus (Jeremy Riddle)  

 https://youtu.be/MHhi1m-35r8?si=B3gLkiYdIFCOXC7j

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1. Love divine, all loves excelling,
   Joy of Heav’n to earth come down;
   Fix in us thy humble dwelling;
   All thy faithful mercies crown!
   Jesus, Thou art all compassion,
   Pure unbounded love Thou art;
   Visit us with Thy salvation,
   Enter every trembling heart.
2. Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit
   Into every troubled breast!
   Let us all in Thee inherit;
   Let us find that second rest.
   Take away our bent to sinning;
   Alpha and Omega be;
   End of faith, as its beginning,
   Set our hearts at liberty.
3. Come, Almighty to deliver,
   Let us all Thy life receive;
   Suddenly return, and never,
   Nevermore Thy temples leave.
   Thee we would be always blessing,
   Serve Thee as Thy hosts above,
   Pray and praise Thee without ceasing,
   Glory in Thy perfect love.
4. Finish, then, Thy new creation;
   Pure and spotless let us be;
   Let us see Thy great salvation
   Perfectly restored in Thee;
   Changed from glory into glory,
   Till in Heav’n we take our place,
   Till we cast our crowns before Thee,
   Lost in wonder, love, and praise.