Sunday, March 10, 2013

{HSCRC13} Hymn #5, Cleanse Me

Hymn Challenge #5: Cleanse Me (also known as Search Me O God)
Words Written by: James Edwin Orr
b. January 15, 1912; d. April 22, 1987

James Edwin Orr was born in Belfast, Ireland. His father had both U.S. and British citizenship so Dr. Orr did also. He was an evangelist that has a very lengthy list of countries and places where he traveled to share Christ. During his life he was a U.S. Air Force chaplain, an evangelist, author, and received his doctorate in 1949. He was also an adviser of Billy Graham. He married is wife, Ivy Muriel Carol Carlson, on January 15, 1937 (his 25th birthday). They eventually had 4 children2 girls and 2 boys. To see the lengthy story of J. Edwin Orr, please click here.

The latter part of this week has not been a good week for me. I have had things said to me that hurt me, and I have just ended up being very sad which is very unlike me. As I was sitting here at my laptop considering what song we might focus on, I thought that though I may not think there is truth to anything said to me, I also felt God might want me to examine myself too. He then whispered to me "Search Me O God." What a perfect hymn! Then Friday morning, I got up and headed to my BSF leader's meeting. The first hymn we began to sing at 5:15 a.m. was none other than "Cleanse Me." I actually started laughing, and the leader next to me asked me what I was chuckling at. I love when God speaks to me so clearly.

So, let's look at this hymn with the intention of looking at ourselves. This can be hard, and sometimes our toes get stepped on but if we are going to grow into the image of Christ and into what He wants us to be, then this is certainly a necessary task though not always pleasant.

Verse 1
Search me, O God, and know my heart today; 
Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray. 
See if there be some wicked way in me; 
Cleanse me from ev'ry sin and set me free.

Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

Now this can be painful—ask God to show you where you might be sinning. When He points it out, repent and ask for His forgiveness. Then change your ways and move forward in that everlasting relationship with Him. This would make a very beautiful daily prayer.

Psalm 19:12 "But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults."

God completely forgives even the sins we commit unknowingly. Don't be eaten up by guilt. Jesus went to the cross to take away your sin and guilt.

Psalm 139:1 "You have searched me, Lord, and you know me."

God knows you more intimately than anyone on this earthmaybe even yourself. He knows all of your faults, and He still loves you completely!

Acts 1:24a "Lord, you know everyone’s heart."

As the disciples were choosing a replacement for Judas, they knew that God knows each person's heart. God knew who was right for the job. God knows your heart too. I don't know about you but that is a very powerful statement to me. He knows all of the good and bad hidden within me, and He loves me!

Verse 2
I praise You, Lord, for cleansing me from sin; 
Fulfill Your Word and make me pure within. 
Fill me with fire where once I burned with shame; 
Grant my desire to magnify Your name.

Romans 8:2 "because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death."

Are you relying on the power of the Holy Spirit to help you through each day? It is an amazing power that God has given to you. Will you rely on Him instead of self? And are you tolerating your own sinful behavior? Ask for His forgiveness. His death on the cross set you free!

Psalm 34:3 "Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together."

Verse 3
Lord, take my life, for I would live for You;
Fill my poor heart with Your great love so true.
Take all my will, my passion, self, and pride;
I now surrender; Lord, in me abide.

John 15:7-9 "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 'As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.'"

Filling our minds with His Word and truths is key to abiding in Christ. The more time we spend with Him, His presence begins to take over our lives. His Word takes root and changes our lives, reveals sin, and gives us a passion to live to please Him and serve others.

John 2:25 "He did not need any testimony about mankind, for He knew what was in each person."

Jesus knows each of us intimately. We have seen that from the verses already studied. Stand firm and follow your faith in Him even when you may be the only one that seems to believe. God knows your heart. We are to be all about Jesus Christ no matter what situation we are in!

1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

As we confess our sin, it enables us to enjoy a right relationship with God. Will you do that today?

Verse 4
O Holy Spirit, revival comes from You; 
Send a revival, my own heart renew. 
Your Word declares You will supply our need; 
For blessings now, O Lord, I humbly plead.

Psalm 51:12 "Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."

Our joy can only be fully restored when we confess our sins. It makes it impossible to come before our Holy God when we have unconfessed sin. Confess and feel His joy!

John 8:36 "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

Jesus can break the power of any sin over your life. Remove the old sin, replace it with a Godly habit, or else that old sin will continue to creep back in. Will you give it to Him and ask Him to remove it completely?

Below you will find the sheet music to "Cleanse Me." Please note that in the indexes of three of my hymnals, I found this hymn both under the title "Cleanse Me" and "Search Me O God." You may see it both ways if you are searching. Also, be sure to check out the link I have below for you today.

To listen here to the first verse of this song, please click here.

For my 6x6 page today, I used this bright butterfly paper from Magenta called Dancing Butterfly. I thought the colors and the butterflies were such great reminders of being set free in Christ. I also used a Blue Fern Studios Blooming Flourish that I covered in Golden Glass Bead Gel with a little turquoise paint to give it some fun texture. I think I may need to try that technique again. :) The scripture I chose was the Psalm 139:23-24 verse used above.
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Papers: Magenta Dancing Butterfly, Memory Box lagoon cs, Prima Lifetime Collection Familia
Stamp: Memory Box Index Card G1781
Stamp Ink: SU tempting torquoise
Embellishments: Blue Fern Studios blooming flourish (painted with Golden teal acrylic and Golden glass bead gel); Cheery Lynn French Pastry Tiny doily die; Zva Creative white flower; Prima Overature C flower, Zephyr Papillon, Corine flower, and resin frame; Divine Twine; leaves from Wild Orchid Crafts; sewing machine


Remember to use Keyword HSCRC13 when posting your creations in any online galleries. Also, please leave a link to your creation here using Inlinkz! To see all of the information regarding this challenge and the previous studies, please see this post here. Blessings to each of you!
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16 comments:

Unknown said...

Dear Patter...Thank you for sharing your weekly hymns and stories (both personal and about the hymnist sp?) You are so very talented both in your artistry and spirituality. I always look forward to seeing an e-mail from you and I pray that this next week is a much better one!!

Sincerely
Gina

Ruth Packard said...

Dear Patter,
What a beautiful message in your post today. I really needed to hear your thoughts and most importantly...what The Lord was saying through His Word!

Ruth
http://thememoryforever.com

Anonymous said...

Sorry you've had a difficult week, but praying for a better one soon. Our current hymnal does not include this one, but older ones do....though to another tune, "ELLERS." Hmmmm~and the first couple of verses are more familiar since it has often been the invitation hymn, and if no visible response we don't always sing the last two verses. In this case, that's a significant loss.
I appreciated your comments, Bible verses, and the lovely creative work. Beautiful reminders of timely truths---Jennifer in Ohio

Jonia said...

Oh Patter, what a blessing this devotion and song was for me today. God has been showing me so much lately and I am asking him to show me where I need to change. It is hard at times, but I want to be everything I can be for Christ. Sorry you have been sad this week, but those are the times I have learned that we grow in The Lord. Thanks fo the wonderful devotion and a beautiful page to go along with it.

Natalie said...

Hope you are being encouraged today! It's amazing how quickly God answers and confirms things so quickly, especially when we have a broken and contrite heart. I know this song as "Search Me O God" and it is definitely one you really need to pay close attention to the words because do we really want God to search us? He knows everything anyway but it's an act of submission to Him when we can pray that prayer with an open and obedient heart to Him.
May God abundantly bless you this week and heal the hurts.

Natalie said...

PS Your page is beautiful, too!!

Unknown said...

Precious Patter,
What you provide for us out here in Bloggerville is a veritable feast from the Lord.
I love this Hymn it was our second selection in the early 80's at Trinity Bible church.
Three unlikely people with 4 chords plunked away and led the congregation.
I also knew it as Search me O God.

Stephanie said...

Patter, what a beautiful page. But, more importantly, what a wonderful devotional. Thanks so much for being so transparent and sharing from your heart. I love this hymn and yet also find it so convicting. I sure hope this is a better week for you. May you feel the Lord's comfort & guidance as you follow Him. {{hugs}}

Anne-Marie said...

Dear Patter,
I pray that the hurt you have experienced has healed by now.
Thankyou for your wonderful teaching and your beautiful art.

After reading what hymn, I searched on Bible Gateway and chose my scripture for my page and then the next night when I sat to do my Bible Study for the ladies group I attend - yes, the study was on the very Psalm I had chosen.
God's timing is always perfect.

Bless You

Crafting With Jack said...

Hello Patter, you create such beautiful work. You are truly an inspiration. This is my second page of my book. I really feel as if I have done something for God when I am doing this. I so hope it has an effect on somebody! http://craftingwithjack.weebly.com/1/post/2013/03/the-ten-commandments-and-free-digi-for-easter.html

Crafting With Jack said...

oh Patter I should have read the whole post first! I am sorry you have been hurt. I was watching TV the other day and the advice was to smile even though you may not feel like it, it does seem to make difference on the inside when you smile on the outside. Another thing I do is play my worship music - amazing how you hear the words you really need sometimes. Bless you my dear.

Stamping With Bibiana said...

Hello patter; so sorry to hear that you had a bad week...I do not have the words to comfort you...the only thing that I can say is that I hope that crafting has giving you some positive"breaths" and I see that your faith is holding you ...
here bibiana just saying hello and truly hoping for better days...
bibiana

Crafting With Jack said...

Hi Patter, how are you today? I had to go and get new tyres yesterday and on the way passed a church with the sign "Give God what is right - not what is left". I thought I might use it in some way!

Crafting With Jack said...

I'm back again! I often comeback and re- read your page! A thought occurred to me - is this hymn still under copyright? I wanted to make some book marks to give out out church using the hymn " One more step along the world I go" and show it on my blog. I emailed the copyright owners to ask if this was alright and they wanted to charge me £25 plus VAT for a license!

Patter Cross said...

Angela, I LOVE the church sign. Thanks for sharing that. I know several that I will share that with too. That's awesome!

And as far as it still being under copyright, eeek, I never thought of that. I get all of the page scans from a hymn site that I know churches use so I never thought about it but it could be. Oh my. The copy on my page is torn out from my hymnal I use so I know I can use that for myself but don't know about the page scan. I will look into it to see if it's public domain or not. Thank you VERY much for the heads up! Blessings,

Robyn said...

Patter, thank you so much for sharing your love of Christ and encouraging others to create to honor him. Blessings for a peaceful weeks and full recovery and forgiveness.(BTW I am subscribed under an old email. need to correct that!

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