Hymns of the Spirit: The Trinity Project, #3

By Cameron Frank, Preston Norman and Nathan Drake

Connect with the Spirit of God through daily devotions based on hymns you love.

 

In this one-month devotional, spend four weeks experiencing the comfort and hope of the Holy Spirit through a musical journey that begins with our restoration and ends with God revealed to us in His Word and by His Spirit.

 

Go deeper than the hymnal and learn the inspiring and encouraging stories behind familiar and perhaps unfamiliar hymns. Connect the words of the hymns to Scripture in a unique and thought-provoking way.

 

Each week is structured to take you through a specific element of the Spirit's character and reflect on Him: Restoration, Comforter, Helper, and Revelation.

Each day will focus on a different hymn, including the hymn's text, a brief history and testimony about the hymn, and a devotion based on truths found in the hymn and corresponding Scripture.

 

Includes links for music, recordings, and more resources. This devotional makes a great gift for any hymn lover and is a great supplement to your hymnal.

 

Restoration

• I Surrender All
• Just As I Am
• Jesus Thine All Victorious Love
• I Am Resolved
• Breathe on Me Breath of God

Comforter

• How Firm a Foundation
• It Is Well With My Soul
• He Leadeth Me
• Day by Day
• Be Still My Soul

Helper

• Take My Life and Let It Be
• I Am Thine O Lord
• I Need Thee Every Hour
• Near the Cross
• Abide with Me

Revelation

• Be Thou My Vision
• Come Thou Fount
• O the Deep Deep Love of Jesus
• The Love of God
• Doxology

 

Order today and begin your unique devotional journey with the Holy Spirit.

• Language: English
• Publisher: A Frank Voice Publishing
• Release date: Sep 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215506790

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

The Holy Spirit is sometimes the neglected member of the Trinity. Francis Chan called the Holy Spirit the forgotten God. And yet, any discussion of the Trinity would be entirely lacking if it didn’t include this elusive member of the godhead.

What is the Holy Spirit? A better question to ask would be who is the Holy Spirit.

We won’t delve too deeply into the theology of the Spirit, but there are a few things to know. The Holy Spirit is a person of the Trinity, as much as the Father and the Son. The Spirit is not some wispy, ethereal entity that manifests in smoke, haze, or glittery mysticism. The Spirit is God.

We see the Spirit throughout Scripture in many ways, perhaps even in more ways than the Father or the Son, depending on your interpretations. One of my favorite appearances of the Spirit is when Jesus is baptized. In this incredible moment, we are treated to the appearance of the entire godhead in one amazing moment. Jesus, the Son in the flesh, rises from the water and immediately the Spirit descended as a dove, while the Father called out from heaven, affirming the Christ.

Another important truth to remember is that the Spirit is the gift of God to all those who call upon His name. The Spirit is quite literally God’s presence within us. He is the promise of Jesus fulfilled. It’s through the Spirit that our continual restoration to God is enacted every day.

The Spirit is our Comforter. He is our Helper. He intercedes in prayer to the Father on our behalf. His Spirit is life. It’s through His Spirit that He continues to reveal Himself to us through understanding and through working in our very hearts.

It has been an absolute honor and a joy to collect these hymns (and the two other collections from the Trinity Project) over the last two years. As you spend the next month reflecting and meditating on familiar and unfamiliar hymns, I pray you are comforted, encouraged, inspired, and energized.

These are the Hymns of the Spirit.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Romans 15:13

WEEK I

RESTORATION

Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Psalm 51:12

DAY 1

I Surrender All

All to Jesus I surrender,

All to him I freely give;

I will ever love and trust him,

In his presence daily live.

---

Refrain

I surrender all,

I surrender all,

All to thee, my blessed Savior,

I surrender all.

---

All to Jesus I surrender;

Make me, Savior, wholly thine;

Let me feel the Holy Spirit,

Truly know that thou art mine.

---

All to Jesus I surrender,

Lord, I give myself to thee,

Fill me with thy love and power,

Let thy blessing fall on me.

History

This hymn was created out of a struggle between an aspiration to ministry and a dream of success. Judson W. Van DeVenter was born into a household of Christian farmers in Michigan in 1855. After attending a liberal arts college, he began teaching art himself. He eventually became the administrator of the art department at his school in Pennsylvania.

During his tenure as a teacher, he maintained a firm presence in his local Methodist Episcopal Church as a lay-leader, even leading some of the church’s evangelistic meetings. As his friends watched his passion and talent for the ministry grow, they encouraged him to consider full-time evangelism. At first unwilling to give up his love for teaching and a desire to excel in art, he toiled with the idea of a career change for some five years.

It was at a meeting in the home of George Sebring of Ohio that Van DeVenter finally came to fully embrace his desire and passion for ministry. After wrestling with whether to pursue evangelism or cultivate his art, he concluded he must surrender his all to the Lord’s service. He wrote the words to this hymn soon after, following the encouragement of his friend and associate, Winfield Weeden.

Van DeVenter and Weeden worked together for several years doing evangelistic work. Weeden became Van DeVenter’s associate and lead singer during meetings, while Van DeVenter served as the primary evangelist and speaker. Weeden composed the music for I Surrender All as a duet, a style which has been largely retained in traditional settings today. Billy Graham featured this hymn heavily in many of his crusades and meetings. Graham spent personal time with Van DeVenter near the end of the evangelist’s life, and cites the older man as a significant influence in his own ministry.

Graham went on to impact millions for the sake of the gospel during his crusades and evangelism tours, preaching in a style heavily influenced by Judson Van DeVenter and featuring this powerful and personal hymn in his services.

Devotion

One man over one hundred years ago who surrendered his entire life, talents, and abilities to the service of God became an influence for one of the most influential Christian faith leaders in the twentieth century. It came to one man who served faithfully in his church, and after years of toiling over a decision, committed to serving God’s kingdom with his whole life. How many souls have been won for the gospel because of that man’s obedience? It’s hard to say. And it’s hard to know just how God may have moved in other ways to fulfill his purpose for reaching people, but what we do with our time on this earth echoes far beyond what we could ever imagine.

All of our acts of obedience and all of our little (or big) mistakes may affect others in ways that we could never imagine. Judson Van DeVenter surrendered his all to serve God’s kingdom, and the impact over the years has been immeasurable. Have you ever thought about what sort of impact you might have?

For Judson Van DeVenter, his impact was global through a hymn that grew in popularity, and then a man that he mentored for a time became one of the most well-known evangelists. Your impact might not be as far-reaching (though don’t sell yourself short), but your impact is no less important. There are people you come into contact with every single day whose lives might change because of your devotion to God.

You see people at your job all the time who remain lost and need the love of Christ, or perhaps simply need a godly example. The friends that you share life with might be waiting for your invitation or your lead to help them on their faith journey. If you have a family, they are your important area of ministry. How are you leading your children closer to God instead of further from Him? Have you considered how you are affecting the faith journey of others?

This is a great opportunity to evaluate. Are there internal struggles that you have been facing? Are you wrestling with a big decision about your life’s plan, just like Van DeVenter did? When in doubt, choose the option that surrenders everything to Jesus. I am a firm believer that we are all called to a ministry of some sort. Not everyone will aspire to be a vocational minister or pastor, but we are all called to serve our neighbor. It is for this reason that the Holy Spirit works