Note: Though I didn't really write anything with a Christmas theme for the blog this year, these last three entries were all written in some ways as gifts for others, so consider them as Christmas presents to remember the Giver of all good gifts Who gave us the very best when He sent Christ that first Christmas to save us all from our sins. Merry Christmas! Praise God for His love. :-)
It seems that Christianity has some paradoxes that we will just never fully understand even though both are true. The age old question of faith vs. good works is one that has long confounded me in the course of my walk with Jesus. Of course, I know that we are saved by grace through faith and it's not of ourselves- it's all God's work so no one can boast. Of course, the very next verse where all this is stated (over in Ephesians 2:8-10) says that we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do the good works He intended us to do all along! So, let's be clear- good works don't save anyone because none of us have enough good works to meet God's standard of absolute perfection. (Leviticus 11:45, Matthew 5:48) Jesus Christ is the only One who has met that standard- because He is absolute perfection. Of course, once He saves us by His grace, we will naturally start to do good works because we are being molded into the shape of our Saviour- and the fruit of the Spirit is just who He is! Naturally, we're going to start looking like our Father. Good works show that we belong to God and that He is working in us to make us more like Himself all the time. But we lean wholly for our salvation on the good work that Jesus performed by dying and rising to pay for our sins. We don't do anything to earn salvation and we can never pay God back for what He's done. We can only humbly accept it with gratitude and praise Him for eternity for His amazing grace and love for us! I have struggled with assurance of salvation time and again throughout my walk with Christ, but as this song mentions- He sent me a special friend named Carmen (just as the original song speaks of a Carmen!) who reminded me of a simple truth that is sometimes hard for me and others to accept- God loves me for me! I don't have to be anything special or do anything special to make Him love me- He already loves me because I am His creation. And His love came down at Christmas so that He could save us all on Good Friday and Easter. I am very thankful for my friend who has been so helpful to me in reminding me of these truths. And I am eternally thankful that the weight of my sins is on Jesus who has paid for them all and has adopted me into the band of followers like Martin Luther (whom I reference in the song) and so many others who enter Heaven one way- through Jesus by faith.
"By Faith"
(parody of "The Weight" by The Band; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 10/29/2018)
(Isaiah 64:6, Isaiah 1:18, Isaiah 61:1-2, Ephesians 2:1-10, Ephesians 3:14-21, Hebrews 8-11, James 2, Luke 15, 1 John 2:15-17, John 6:40, Luke 4:16-30, Leviticus 11:45, Matthew 5 (particularly v. 48), Deuteronomy 18:13, Deuteronomy 30-33, Luke 6:20-49 (particularly v. 36), Galatians 3, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, Matthew 11:28-30, Matthew 5:17, Romans chapters 1-7 (particularly 3:21-31; basically, just read the whole book), Jude 1:24-25)
He pulled into Nazareth- was reading out battle plan
He just reads the place where Isaiah- it says
"Lord's Spirit is upon Me- (to) share Good News and free oppressed"
Jesus then just shook them up- Yo! "Fulfilled," He said
61 Isaiah- take the scroll to read
It foretold His ministry- Covenant of Old- Christ completes
Like Nicodemus, I was looking not to grace, but pride
Got that flaw in garden with the devil- bought in to pride to life
God sent me Carmen- lightened the load of self-doubt
She said, "Our God loves us- 3 Ephesians- good works aren't how."
(You) take a load off, Nathan- Christ loves me for me!
Take a load off, Carmen- and we put the load right on Jesus!
I'm down with Moses- ain't under Law but Grace
It's 8 Hebrews- our new High Priest of the Covenant of Grace
6 Luke, Matt. 5- what about Deuteronomy?
He said, "You need My perfection (perfect Son)-
Once you're saved by Me- can't you see? It's done for thee!"
Take a load off, weary- in Matt. 11 read
Take My yoke on- easy
And you get a load light from Me.
Christ- He gestured "Follow Me" and He sought me when I was lost
Said, "I will trade your ash for beauty, Nate My dog"
I said, "Wait a minute, Master- You know I can't pay You back"
He said, "That's okay, boy- It's a free gift- no strings attached."
Take 3 Romans and read- Take Galatians 3
Take a note of James 2- saved by faith alone for good deeds!
Catch the prodigal's bro- Luke 15- such was I
My rags are stinking though- when I do "good deeds" it's a lie
Take me back, Jesus- Lord please! You know You're the only One
Who's sinless here- it's Your righteousness I rely on
Take a load off, Martin- Christ's reformed you- see?
24 in Jude and 1 Thessalonians 5- read!
Showing posts with label worry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label worry. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
Sunday, July 28, 2019
Feeling the Slough of Despond? - Faith is the Victory!
I know I have expressed this notion on separate posts, but it's been heart check time again lately. I'm just going to give a full disclosure on some things here. I have been reading "The Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan as part of an online book reading club. I was on vacation for a while and had a lot of time to read at points and so I read through the whole book already a week or two back. I actually also read the second part as well (which details what happens to Christian's family.)
This point I'm going to make again hit me recently and so I wanted to note something that hit me from both books and something that encouraged me a lot. "The Pilgrim's Progress" is a journey with Christ and we go through many trials and temptations along the way. And no matter what our feelings may say at times, God is ALWAYS faithful! This is a journey He has wrought and He will get us safely to the end and usher us into His presence for eternity through our faith because we're saved by His grace and His grace alone! His saving work leads us to do the good works He made for us to do all along- and those fruit of the Spirit manifesting in us are evidence of the salvific work He has already done! (Ephesians 2:8-10 and Philippians 2:12-13 say this really well.)
There is a character in the second part who feels like he may well be my patron saint at times. (Though I've already claimed Gonzo of The Muppets as my patron saint of weirdos. ;-)) Mr. Fearing is a pilgrim who trembles along the way, struggling with doubts and fears- who ENDURES and is brought all the way to Heaven and released from those fears by The Lord. (Sorry for the spoiler.) ("Endure" is one of my favourite most repeated words in Revelation. Of course, we do this through the Holy Spirit's power- not our own.)
I say this as one who first called upon Jesus to save me as a child of about 5 or 7. In growing in my faith in Christ, I have prayed numerous prayers of reaffirmation even after baptism. I have felt like Mr. Fearing as one who has struggled with doubts and fears about the judgment and terrible events of the end times- and about security of salvation itself. Even tonight I wrestled with this again and reread through 1 John yet again and again put my weight and trust fully upon the truth of God's Word, who doesn't lie.
I am thankful that I don't struggle with this nearly as much as I did in previous years but it still plagues me at times. I have found a few things that have helped me with this. The truth of God's Word and a right understanding of salvation and the work of Christ- these have been instrumental. I can't lose something I didn't earn and didn't buy- it was given to me and all who will believe as a free gift. God gave it and He will sustain it. My faith is built solely on Christ and His righteousness because I have none of my own.
My faith is based on facts- not feelings. Feelings are fickle and lie. I have worried about that before- I didn't have the right "feelings" and experience others said they had when they got saved- thus, I must have done something wrong. Was I really repentant and sorry enough for my sins? Am I just trying to do good works to be saved instead of relying on Jesus' righteousness alone? I read passages like Matthew 7 and Matthew 25 and I know I don't want to be a goat who didn't really love God and people. I don't want to be the one Jesus tells, "Depart from Me- I never knew you!"
Believe me- I've carried out 2 Corinthians 13:5's test a number of times. And it in the end drives me back to my knees before Jesus, acknowledging Him alone as Lord and Saviour, confessing any sin to Him and again putting my trust back in Him. And God is gracious and loving and He has given me reassurances many times and I know I've seen Him working in me and changing my heart. The times when I slip back into old sins that I don't want to do- and get callous about it and do it for the pleasure of it even though I know it's wrong- those times can become scary and make me think I must not really be saved when I do those things.
Again- the truth is that 1 John 1:9 is in The Bible for a reason. God still forgives me when I repent and come back to Him. He holds me eternally and will never let go! (John 6:35-40) And I fully believe Jesus is exactly who He said He is and that His Word is 100 percent true. As I've said before, I've doubted myself more than I've ever doubted God. The most profound truth in The Bible is still the simplest and sometimes the hardest to believe- "Jesus loves me- this I know for The Bible tells me so."
I am thankful for Jesus' love for ragamuffins like me who know that we are all only beggars at the door of God's mercy. And God loves all of us just as we are, not as we should be- because none of us are as we should be. And I praise Him that He's still working to make me the man He wants me to be.
(Shout out in Heaven to Brennan Manning for most of the thoughts in the above paragraph.)
I don't know if anyone else relates to this but I hope it's helpful for someone. It's cathartic for me to write stuff out, so I hope you all don't mind me gushing on and on here. Some other things that help me a lot are reading good books and listening to good music.
For anyone else that may struggle with legalism and learning to accept and rest in Grace, I have some book recommendations that I have read and cried over many times. I'm a huge fan of C.S. Lewis and so I would include all his books- particularly "Mere Christianity", "The Weight of Glory" and "The Chronicles of Narnia" and "The Screwtape Letters" and "The Great Divorce" and "The Problem of Pain" and "A Grief Observed" and "Miracles". But the book that has helped me A TON is "The Ragamuffin Gospel" by Brennan Manning! (The paragraph where I mention ragamuffins two paragraphs back is largely taken from his writings.)
I also LOVE Philip Yancey! "Disappointment with God", "What's So Amazing About Grace?", "Vanishing Grace" and "The Jesus I Never Knew" have all been incredible!
Two articles I found helpful just today-
(https://unlockingthebible.org/.../seven-truths-to-fight.../)
and
(https://jdgreear.com/blog/2-ways-to-know-you-are-saved/)
I'll post a few beloved songs below. -I'm a HUGE fan of Chris Rice and he has written a couple of songs about doubts and faith that I have found immensely helpful! In the end, either God is true or a liar. I believe He is true and He will do what He said He will do and thus I simply trust Him with everything. This one is called "Big Enough" and has long been a favourite for me, mainly because he dares to ask some questions- but also admits that he is not big enough- but God is big enough.
I don't know if anyone else relates to this but I hope it's helpful for someone. It's cathartic for me to write stuff out, so I hope you all don't mind me gushing on and on here. Some other things that help me a lot are reading good books and listening to good music.
For anyone else that may struggle with legalism and learning to accept and rest in Grace, I have some book recommendations that I have read and cried over many times. I'm a huge fan of C.S. Lewis and so I would include all his books- particularly "Mere Christianity", "The Weight of Glory" and "The Chronicles of Narnia" and "The Screwtape Letters" and "The Great Divorce" and "The Problem of Pain" and "A Grief Observed" and "Miracles". But the book that has helped me A TON is "The Ragamuffin Gospel" by Brennan Manning! (The paragraph where I mention ragamuffins two paragraphs back is largely taken from his writings.)
I also LOVE Philip Yancey! "Disappointment with God", "What's So Amazing About Grace?", "Vanishing Grace" and "The Jesus I Never Knew" have all been incredible!
Two articles I found helpful just today-
(https://unlockingthebible.org/.../seven-truths-to-fight.../)
and
(https://jdgreear.com/blog/2-ways-to-know-you-are-saved/)
I'll post a few beloved songs below. -I'm a HUGE fan of Chris Rice and he has written a couple of songs about doubts and faith that I have found immensely helpful! In the end, either God is true or a liar. I believe He is true and He will do what He said He will do and thus I simply trust Him with everything. This one is called "Big Enough" and has long been a favourite for me, mainly because he dares to ask some questions- but also admits that he is not big enough- but God is big enough.
"Live by Faith" by Chris Rice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUgUUoqKAz4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUgUUoqKAz4
"Sam's Song" by Chris Rice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_O7xXyD1Iw
"Smell the Color 9" by Chris Rice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNUmoSHavLc "One of Those Days" by Chris Rice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNUmoSHavLc "One of Those Days" by Chris Rice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5V30p-sPww
Rich Mullins is still one of my all-time favourite artists and so I definitely have to include at least one of his classics that I LOVE-
"If I Stand"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jj0ZTzgmGM
And since July 28 is the anniversary of Keith Green's death and subsequent passage into Heaven, it seems only fitting to post one of my favourite songs from him-
"Grace By Which I Stand"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF2xD2bNkts
And a few from another recent favourite for me- Andrew Peterson! (Who is a huge Rich Mullins fan himself!)
This song deals more with grief and sorrow along the way but it's an incredible encouragement too.
"The Silence of God"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvytewIxll0
And this one speaks directly to the issue- "Just As I Am" by Andrew Peterson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csaxuRPitS0 And I could post tons others but I'll just stop with one more from AP- the worship song I've been singing SO much for the last year and a half or so since it first released-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csaxuRPitS0 And I could post tons others but I'll just stop with one more from AP- the worship song I've been singing SO much for the last year and a half or so since it first released-
"Is He Worthy?" (HE IS! :-))
Sunday, November 16, 2014
The Worrier (song)
"And tho' this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us...We will not fear for God hath willed His Truth to triumph through us- Dost ask who this might be? Christ Jesus- it is He! Lord Sabaoth is His Name- From age to age the same- And He must win the battle!" - ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" by Martin Luther)
There are all kinds of scandals out in the world and fears and concerns and trials and tribulations to worry about- but The One who has conquered the world tells us to take heart- He is in control and when we know Jesus as Savior and follow Him- there's no need to worry about anything. Quit being the worrier and become the warrior that Romans 8 declares followers of Christ to be! :-)
"The Worrier"
(parody of "The Warrior" by Scandal featuring Patty Smyth; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 9/12/2014)
(Psalms 37:23-29, Psalms 104:24-28, Psalms 81:16, Psalms 145:13-21, 1 Peter 5:6-7, Philippians 4:19, Matthew 6:25-34, 2 Timothy 1:6-7, 1 John 4:18, Luke 10:38-42, Philippians 4:4-8, Hebrews 11:1-6, 2 Corinthians 5:7, Habakkuk 2:4, John 16:33, Proverbs 28:1, John 14:1, Psalms 23, John 10, Romans 8)
Ohhh! Ohhh!
We've sung "Trust And Obey"
It's so hard to do in faith
Feeding all those hungry guys
Big Macs tonight; can't get French fries
Well, isn't God providing?
So why's my worldview so negative?
Break out the Ramen please
That's all we eat like stereotypical guys
Love pays no bills
I'm Martha's child
Luke 10:41- my namesake
Good grief!
I am a worrywart
Well, I am the Worrier!
And Father knows our needs
He will provide- Don't worry, sir- Don't worry, girl
Well, talk's easy and cheap
4:19 (in) Philippians- read
It's easy when things are nice
Life crashing makes it rather trite (Ohhh!)
Who, by worry, adds or gains?
God knows my needs- (I'll) call His Name
Behold, He clothes the field lilies
Solomon's array's got zilch on this style
So don't be afraid- God's got all of us, child
Fretting brings me only heartburn
Aw, sheesh!
I am the worrier
Well, I am the worrier
So fearful heart, trust Him!
He will provide- Good Shepherd, yeah- Psalms 23!
He's God- Jehovah Jireh!
Hebrews 11- it's faith-based (Hebrews 11 verse 6 says)
The righteous one- by faith- to please The Lord
So fearful heart, trust Him! (Fearful heart, trust Him!)
He will provide- Don't worry, sir- Don't worry, girl
Working out good- all things- God makes
Rom. 8
I've been the worrier
Now I'm more than conqueror!
Got victory through Christ!
(Seeking God first- all things added- yay!)
6 Matthew- yeah- Trust Him- The Lord Savior!
Shooting down the walls that fear made
Bang, bang
He is The Warrior
Well, I trust my Lord Savior!
(fade)
.............................................................
(I thought it was worth nothing that this parody song was directly inspired by a sermon from my home church circa September 2014- my pastor used the exact phrase that I used for the name of this song- and it brought to mind this classic '80s song and the parody quickly came together from there. And as always, ultimately, it's God who brings all these things to mind and I trust He uses them all for His glory. :-))
There are all kinds of scandals out in the world and fears and concerns and trials and tribulations to worry about- but The One who has conquered the world tells us to take heart- He is in control and when we know Jesus as Savior and follow Him- there's no need to worry about anything. Quit being the worrier and become the warrior that Romans 8 declares followers of Christ to be! :-)
"The Worrier"
(parody of "The Warrior" by Scandal featuring Patty Smyth; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 9/12/2014)
(Psalms 37:23-29, Psalms 104:24-28, Psalms 81:16, Psalms 145:13-21, 1 Peter 5:6-7, Philippians 4:19, Matthew 6:25-34, 2 Timothy 1:6-7, 1 John 4:18, Luke 10:38-42, Philippians 4:4-8, Hebrews 11:1-6, 2 Corinthians 5:7, Habakkuk 2:4, John 16:33, Proverbs 28:1, John 14:1, Psalms 23, John 10, Romans 8)
Ohhh! Ohhh!
We've sung "Trust And Obey"
It's so hard to do in faith
Feeding all those hungry guys
Big Macs tonight; can't get French fries
Well, isn't God providing?
So why's my worldview so negative?
Break out the Ramen please
That's all we eat like stereotypical guys
Love pays no bills
I'm Martha's child
Luke 10:41- my namesake
Good grief!
I am a worrywart
Well, I am the Worrier!
And Father knows our needs
He will provide- Don't worry, sir- Don't worry, girl
Well, talk's easy and cheap
4:19 (in) Philippians- read
It's easy when things are nice
Life crashing makes it rather trite (Ohhh!)
Who, by worry, adds or gains?
God knows my needs- (I'll) call His Name
Behold, He clothes the field lilies
Solomon's array's got zilch on this style
So don't be afraid- God's got all of us, child
Fretting brings me only heartburn
Aw, sheesh!
I am the worrier
Well, I am the worrier
So fearful heart, trust Him!
He will provide- Good Shepherd, yeah- Psalms 23!
He's God- Jehovah Jireh!
Hebrews 11- it's faith-based (Hebrews 11 verse 6 says)
The righteous one- by faith- to please The Lord
So fearful heart, trust Him! (Fearful heart, trust Him!)
He will provide- Don't worry, sir- Don't worry, girl
Working out good- all things- God makes
Rom. 8
I've been the worrier
Now I'm more than conqueror!
Got victory through Christ!
(Seeking God first- all things added- yay!)
6 Matthew- yeah- Trust Him- The Lord Savior!
Shooting down the walls that fear made
Bang, bang
He is The Warrior
Well, I trust my Lord Savior!
(fade)
.............................................................
(I thought it was worth nothing that this parody song was directly inspired by a sermon from my home church circa September 2014- my pastor used the exact phrase that I used for the name of this song- and it brought to mind this classic '80s song and the parody quickly came together from there. And as always, ultimately, it's God who brings all these things to mind and I trust He uses them all for His glory. :-))
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