The Salvation That We Get (song)

It can never be overstated how much salvation is all the free gift of God. While I do believe there is a call upon humanity to respond to the offer He's made, it's important to note that even that response is something The Holy Spirit evokes as a result of The Father drawing us to The Son as He is lifted up. We contribute absolutely nothing to our salvation in the way of works. Sometimes this can become a mighty, mighty stumbling stone, boss- but it's something we must accept. And that is a very good thing indeed because none of us are good enough on our own strength to make it to Heaven. God says the requirement for entry is perfection (Matthew 5:48) and only Jesus has met that. He died and rose to pay for our sins. There's no need to scavenge about to scrape up good deeds to earn anything from God because we can't do enough. We never have to knock on wood because The Saviour got on wood for us- we just have to receive by faith the salvation that we get.

"The Salvation That We Get"
(Parody of "The Impression That I Get" by The Mighty, Mighty Bosstones; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 5/7/2019)
(John 3:16-17, Romans 10:9, 2 Corinthians 5:18-21, Psalms 14, Psalms 53, Psalms 130, Matthew 5:48, Leviticus 11:45, Romans 3 (particularly verse 23), Romans 6, Romans 5:1-11, 1 Corinthians 10:12, 2 Peter 3, Isaiah 2:22, Isaiah 64:6, Isaiah 53:6, Hebrews 12)

Have you ever friend zoned a (child) prodigy?
Wanda chose that fork- Doog's sad
Have you ever felt they're vain (and) infallible?
Hey, Vinnie- how do you match? Oh!
Well, they've never actually walked on water
But I know Someone who has
Which makes Him One above the rest
It means He's the One Direction
Everyone else- not so good
And I'm glad for Romans 5 and 6
Because though we're all nothing good
Justification is God's gift
Tall you may now stand but God's stacked up so high
Your puny strength won't pass the test
Or as Leviticus 11:45
You've got to be like our God- perfect! Yo!
Well, I measure up as not so good
And I know everyone is bad
It makes me wonder how we could
Put faith in blundering I-
There's the bad news- no one's good
And I'm sad some haven't read
Psalms- 53rd.- there is none good
With one Exception- God Jesus!
If God was counting our sins, no one would be standing
I'd like to thank The Lord Jesus He holds fast
Look at the text- 2 Peter 3- grow in grace of Christ
Might think you tower
Be afraid of that- you might fall down
(I've) never had to knock on wood
'Cause I know Romans 5 says
(By) His grace I stand here 'cause He's good
Amazing wonderful grace- (I'm) ever bad so God's my good
(In) resisting bad, I haven't bled
But rest assured He has withstood
The crucifixion I should get
Never sinned but our Saviour got on wood
'Cause you know Son of God Jesus
Replaced me on the cross of wood
He took my sin there and I'm reconciled through what the Saviour accomplished good
To restore us back to good
(He) took all bad and conquered death
That's the salvation that we get!

To Boldly Go Wherever God Leads

Just because you're flailing, it doesn't mean you're failing.
Hailing frequencies set to Heaven.... :-)
"Make haste, O God, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me!" (Psalms 70:1) (read the whole thing- it's only 5 verses.)

"I will remember the deeds of The LORD; yes, I will remember Your wonders of old. I will ponder all Your work, and meditate on Your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your might among the peoples. You with Your arm redeemed Your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. When the waters saw You, O God, when the waters saw You, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; Your arrows flashed on every side. The crash of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; Your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was through the sea, Your path through the great waters; yet Your footprints were unseen. You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron." (Psalms 77:11-20)

I love how Psalms 77 notes that when God cut His path through the sea and great waters, His footprints were unseen. But even when His footprints are unseen to us, we know He's there and He's working and making a way through the seas of troubles that meet us so often.
"Jump in the whirlwind- I'm letting go." :-)- Skillet

"For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, 'Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but My righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.' But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls." (Hebrews 10:36-39)
So don't shrink back from the challenge- entrust your soul to the Coming One who can do anything by merely willing it in order to make it so- and endure with Faith, Hope and Love. Don't shrink back- Engage. :-)

(Note: Try to catch all the faster than warp speed references. :-))

Will You Believe and Ask Him? (song)

Note: Another favourite from the archives. One of my magic references in the song- "The Magician", a short-lived action/adventure show that utilized magic as a means of stopping the bad guys and starred Bill Bixby, recently finally got a DVD release! :-) And that deeper magic of Aslan is finally set to come back to theaters in the near future with things moving along nicely with "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair" movie! We must believe in (deeper) magic! Of course, it's always timely to consider Christ and His claims and what we will do with His offer of salvation. As 2 Corinthians 6:2 says, now is the day of salvation!
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This recounts a specific incident in The Bible. It’s about a certain magician who came face to face with the most powerful magic he’d ever seen. And when he got a lovin’ spoonful of that magic, he just had to have it at any price. But what he didn’t realize was that if you just believe and ask, this magic is totally free! (And yes- bonus points for catching the various magic references I just had to make- especially the one at the end! For Narnia- and The Lion of Judah!) 

“Will You Believe and Ask Him?” 
(parody of “Do You Believe in Magic?” by The Lovin’ Spoonful) 
(copyright by Nathan Ludwick 4/24/2010) 
(Acts 2:38, Acts 8:4-25) 

“Will you believe and ask Him right into your heart?” 
Now then Simon believed that sorcerer upstart 
And his magic- well, it used to be groovy 
Acts 8 reveals Simon’s like an old time news reel 
Philip tells him ‘bout The Master- how He’ll free your soul 
But it’s like Simon now felt a learner in a brave new world 

Yeah, Houdini’s magic- don’t bother to choose 
Earvin Johnson’s Lakers; Orlando and crew 
Bibxy’s “Magician”- or then Merlin beguiles 
They can’t buy off the faith no matter how hard they try 
The peeps start talking- Simon’s not The Divine 
Now they got Christ, so they get baptized 

Then they receive The Spirit- Pete and John laying 
Their hands on them wowing Simon- “Are you selling?” 
“And maybe, if the money is right” 
Well, Pete cuts him off now, stating, “You ain’t right” 
“Your sins- renounce them, baby, then you’ll see” 
“How the magic’s in The Spirit and The Spirit’s in me” 

Yeah, Will you believe and ask Him? 
Yeah, believe in the passion of God’s own Son 
Believe in the power of Resurrection 
Believe deeper magic that can set you free 
Ohh, talking ‘bout Aslan 

Do you believe in Aslan? (Do you believe like I believe?)[background vocal] 
Will you receive Redeemer? (Do you believe like I believe?)[background vocal] 
Will you believe and ask Him? (Do you believe like I believe?)[background vocal] 
(Fade) 
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Paradise in God's Time (song)

Do you ever dream about Heaven? Not just in the metaphorical sense, but also in the literal sense- do you ever have dreams of Heaven? I have dreamt about Heaven and the return of Jesus Christ at times. I know that my ultimate Home is there with Christ and that though I take comfort in knowing God is always with me here on earth, I know I am always a wandering stranger and foreigner passing through this alien land gone crazily awry with sin. I know God has taken care of that problem through Christ. I await the better promise of life with Christ in Heaven. And until such time, I live on earth seeking to do His will and be an agent of His change for the world, to show the world the kingdom of God as it reigns now and always has and will in the future. And that calls for endurance on the part of the saints. As James 1:12 says, "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him." And I know that everything that happens to me is tailor-made by God and is all part of His plan. One day, I will be walking the streets of gold by the sea of glass in eternal peace and joy knowing as I am known and serving The Lord forevermore infinitely better than I try to now- and it's all only through faith in Jesus, Who loved me and gave Himself for me. He died on the cross to pay for all sins for all time and all who put their faith in Him and follow Him have crossed from death to life and can know that they have been rescued from Hell and are instead destined for Heaven. And Jesus makes all things new!
I know that because of Jesus' grace and my demonstrated faith in Him, I will one day be in Paradise in God's time. Of course, there are times in the here and now on earth when I like to think of what it will be like and I'm gone to Paradise in my mind. :-) One day the faith will be sight- praise The Lord!

"Paradise in God's Time"
(parody of "Carolina in my Mind" by James Taylor; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 4/7/2015)
(James 1:2-4 and 12, 2 Corinthians 6:2, 2 Peter 3:8-9, Romans 10:8-9, Philippians 1:21-30 and 3:8-21, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1 Corinthians 15:49-58, Luke 23:39-43, 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 and 17, Romans 13:11-12, Hebrews 12:1-4, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Romans 8, 1 Corinthians 2:9, Revelation 21-22)

In my mind I'm gone to Paradise- yeah!
Can't you see The Son shine?
Can't you just feel all good inside?
And it's just like the ending line
To "Once Upon a Time"
Yes, I'm going to Paradise, yeah- in God's time

Heaven- read Revelation
First earth passed away and like a bride
New Jerusalem in 21
God wipes all tears away from us
No crying when we're
Gone to Paradise, yeah- in God's time

There ain't no pain and no one's dying
With God, the former things are gone
He makes all things new- verse 5
And we'll praise Lord Christ forever
No dying when we're
Gone to Paradise, yeah- in God's time

And the light is God in Paradise, yeah
We don't need the sun to shine
'Cause Jesus is the Lamp light
Me and Jesus- we've been friends (a) long time
To see Him for first time-
Yes, I'm agog in Paradise (yeah) in God's time

Guarding angels at gates outside
12 tribes inscribed on them by a high, great wall
It keeps outside the dogs and liars
The seers, killers, immoral- won't
Be going- not going
They're gone to lake of fire for all time

With The Holy Ghost just constantly hounding
While I was in darkness and aloof
And I reached to Him, throwing all my sins to Calvary
Jesus forgave me- now I'm up and going to
Paradise, yeah- for all time

In God's time, I'm going to Paradise, yeah!
Can't you see the Son shine?
Can't you just feel all good inside?
And it's just like the ending line
To "Once Upon a Time"
Yes, I'm going to Paradise, yeah- in God's time
Going to Paradise, yeah- all through Christ
And I'm going to Paradise, yeah- for all time
Going to Paradise, yeah- in God's time
Home with God- I'm going!
Take Christ's grace and join me- come and go Home now
Got to carry on 'til last day- then I'm gone

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The Ragamuffin Gospel of Grace!

" 'If we but turn to God,' said St. Augustine, 'that itself is a gift of God.' My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it.....The Good News of the Gospel of grace cries out: We are all equally, privileged but unentitled beggars at the door of God's mercy!" - Brennan Manning in "The Ragamuffin Gospel"
"God loves us as we are, not as we should be, for we will never be as we should be."- Brennan Manning
As Brennan Manning preached so beautifully, God's grace is bigger than we can ever imagine and it is poured out on so freely. Why would we ever try to earn God's love by being good? We can never be good enough- we'll never be as we should be until Heaven. (As Philippians 1:6 tells us, He who began a good work in us will continue it until the day of completion in Jesus Christ.) Man looks at the outward appearance, but The Lord looks at the heart. (see 1 Samuel 16:7) "For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:12-13)
As John 2:24-25 tells us, Jesus knows all people and doesn't need anyone to bear witness about man to Him because He Himself knows what is in man. And Jeremiah 17:9 tells us what is at the heart of man- deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it? But God understands and knows the real human condition. In Isaiah 64:6 He tells us that we have all become like one who is unclean and the righteous deeds we think we've done are like filthy rags to Him.
         Yet through it all, God tells us that He has loved us with an everlasting love! (Jeremiah 31:3) He says that He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked; He only wants for them to repent and live! (Ezekiel 18:23) Hosea 11 gives us a beautiful picture of God's love for us, as He leads us with cords of kindness and the bands of love. In the greatest display of love ever, God demonstrated His love in this, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) And Christ died and rose to prove He's God and to give us a living Hope. So why do we spend so much energy trying to be good and worrying about our track record and performance rates when they are worthless and unnecessary in God's economy of mercy? The price has been paid for all sin for all time! (Hebrews 10:12) Stop working yourself into a frenzy with fear and doubt, trying to do good in a vain attempt to coax God into somehow actually loving you and accepting you. God's acceptance and love calls out to you before you even try to do any good works. Just read the parable of the Lost Son in Luke 15- The Father looks down in love for us prodigals even when we are a long way off, covered in filth and pig dung. And The Father's love compels Him to run to us and sweep us up in His arms of love, with hugs and kissing, and rich jewels thrust upon our hands and new, clean clothes put upon us.
        Yes, the call of the Gospel of grace does include the repentance that the prodigal son so obviously displayed in admitting his sins and his desire to come back- but God's grace and love is lavished upon us beforehand. (To be very clear, I am not saying here that God takes us willingly back without any expectation of acknowledgement of sin and rejection of it. And be sure that rejection of His free offer of love and forgiveness will result in eternal punishment in Hell. But God desires for no one to go to that place- He wants all to come to repentance! 2 Peter 3:8-9) But I am saying that the reason for this should be starkly different from that of rote, routine religion of a pious purity and moral code that is no better than the elder brother's resume of righteousness that he presents to his father.
       Accepting God's grace means agreeing with God that we are sinners who are nothing more than ragamuffins in desperate need of His grace- who have messed up more often than we can count, who feel like a vast disappointment to God- but yet, through our tears of repentance and overwhelming wonder at God's love in spite of it all, gratefully grasp firmly God's outstretched hand of love, trusting Him to help us change into the people He wants us to be. We're not as we should be, but by God's grace alone for salvation and our faith in Him, He is making us who we should be in His time! Praise The Lord!
To paraphrase some more of Brennan Manning's "The Ragamuffin Gospel"-
"Thank God! I am wonderfully content with a God Who doesn't deal with me as my sins deserve. On the last day when Jesus calls me by name, 'Come, Nathan, blessed of My Father,' it will not be because Abba is just, but because His Name is mercy."
       We don't need to be good- we can't be good. There is no good in me- any good in me is Jesus. We have to taste and see that, like a doctor's medicine, Jesus IS good for us! (literally and figuratively! :-) Psalms 34:8)
Praise God for His love! :-)

"Promised Land, By Faith Receive" (song)

Well, time to open another can of creativity (and/or inanity) and listen to it fizz. I know you've been bucking for another parody song and of course, there's no passing the buck (or bucks) here. ;-)
It's all for free and fun and ultimately for God's glory- just as Jesus made Heaven to be. We all start in sin and follow after that path until God intervenes and sends someone to tell us about Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. When we are presented with the facts ...of our sinfulness and need for the Savior, we have to make a choice- it's time for making our minds up. We can either choose to ignore God's free offer of salvation through faith in Jesus' death and Resurrection (and thus inherit death and punishment in Hell) or we can choose to accept God's free offer and an inheritance in the Promised Land of Heaven; I implore you- by faith, receive!

"Promised Land, By Faith Receive"
(parody of "Land of Make Believe" by Bucks Fizz; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 11/13/2014)
(Matthew 19:16-30, 2 Peter 3:8-15, 2 Corinthians 6:2, Romans 5:8, Revelation 3:20, Romans 10:8-13, John 10:1-18, Matthew 5:17, Matthew 7:12-14, Joshua 24:15, Matthew 10:28, Romans 10:4, Romans 1:16-17, Romans 2-3, Matthew 25, Habakkuk 2:4, Matthew 13:1-30, John 12:24-26, John 3:16-21, Romans 3:23 and Romans 6:23)

Start- you arrive, little one
Where do you want to be?
Heaven's gates- we all hope
To land on golden streets

Shepherd's rapping at your heart's door
Goatly voices prick your will to come and play

But for straw, the wheat must die first
So you're torn with cares all lined up
Tempter's ever after
he's gunning out for you, babe

Run with The Son, little one
You're an outlaw 'cause of sin
Christ will save- Take His hand
He's redeemed us by His plan
(For) Promised Land, by faith believe!

Something nasty in the Garden baiting
Adam (and) Eve- sin came and grabbed their hearts

Try to go but it won't let you
Don't you know thief's out to kill you, honey?
Steal (and) destroy you
he's running after you, babe

Run with The Son, little one
You're without law- still in sin
Time to change- choose your stand
Either with God or with sin
Play your hand and make beliefs

The Lord's returning-
Trust Christ today!
Or be in burning fire for always

Then, no excuse- you and I
We deserve this- just to die
Romans 10- rescue plan!
Win the Treasure close at hand
Beforehand He's paid- believe!

Take His hand- by faith believe!

Run for The Son, little one!
Christ lived out Law once for all
Christ the real Superman
He died for us while we sinned
Rose again and made our peace

Run with The Son, little one
He's end of Law- Romans 10
Righteousness- imputed to man
Trust in Jesus while you can
(For) Promised Land, by faith believe!

(Spoken:) (But God commends His love for we,
In Romans 5 verse 8 you'll see
He gave His Son who died and rose
For sinners too- praise Christ The Lord!)

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