What's really most important in life? What do we spend most of our time in pursuit of throughout our days? Are we focused on storing up our treasures on Earth or in Heaven? This song expounds on all those questions and offers some things to think on as well. It's kind of inspired by Jesus' parables of foolish rich farmer and the Pharisee and the tax collector at the temple. It's also a reminder that we can't live for both God and money. We will never find satisfaction in seeking to satisfy ourselves. It's ultimately a reminder that we should live life all for Jesus and His glory above all. His words hit like a karate chop to remind us that a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. As Rich Mullins said, "the stuff of earth competes for the allegiance I owe only to the Giver of all good things." (One of my favourite lines in his classic song, "If I Stand".) By God's grace, let's confess to Him the idols we have made of money, fame and things and find the true blessings that come from walking humbly with The Lord. He is truly all we need.
"You're So Blessed"
(parody of "You're The Best" by Joe Esposito; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 1/14/2022)
(1 Timothy 6:6-12, 1 Timothy 6:17-21, Job 1-2, Psalms 2, Psalms 73:23-28, Hebrews 13:5, Romans 14:10, 1 Corinthians 3, Philippians 3:1-14, 2 Corinthians 8:9, 2 Corinthians 5:5-10, 2 Corinthians 5:14-21, Luke 18:9-17, Luke 18:18-34, Luke 12:13-34, Matthew 6:19-24, Matthew 6:33, Matthew 16:24-28, Matthew 7:24-29, Ecclesiastes 1:9, Ecclesiastes 2:11, Ecclesiastes 9:11, Ecclesiastes 2:25, Ecclesiastes 5:5-10, Ecclesiastes chapter 12, Amos 4:1-3)
Try to please Self
'Cause you only live once
Solomon's got a Word to players
Ecclesiastes
12- we're going to dust
For our God, He will judge- obey Him!
History repeats itself
Nothing new sun sees
Allies rout Napoleon
And you stand wavering
You're the best!
Around!
Nothing's gonna ever keep you down
You've been blessed!
And how!
Nothing's gonna ever sweep you now
You're the best!
For now!
Someone's gonna one day beat you out
Midas, my friend
Pause your life for a min.
All the things that you have define you
(Of) what you got, you're so proud
Storing up- what about
When Lord God calls today? Read 12 Luke
Time and chance still whip us all
And one day fire will tell
1 Corinthians 3- Christians there
Unbelievers are in Hell
You're obsessed
With clout!
None of that will even mean squat now
You invest
Cash cow!
Money's got your heart- it's fleeting now
Hedonists
Will bow
Something's humbled Epicurus now!
Job was best
Around!
Satan wanted to just bring him down
So he'd test
Him out
Nothing that Job had couldn't leave him now
He confessed
Faith now
Nothing come in or we'll leave with now
Christ said life's not
All made up
Of your stuff
Don't thrill to greed- keep guard! (Yikes!)
Pull the thread, camel (Eye!)
Rich men- Who'll save soul?
Forgive your sins?- Leave all to God
He favours meek, not proud
Beat your breasts!
And bow!
Nothing but a Pharisee, fat cow
4 Amos-
Read now!
Publican's cleared by Jesus now
Thorns were pressed
On crown
Blood has covered everything broke now
Lord Jesus
Paid out
Nothing's gonna ever keep us out
Just confess
Pray now!
Jewel's worth it-
Sell everything you've got
He's The Best!
I've found
Nothing but The Lord completes me now!
Showing posts with label worship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label worship. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 7, 2024
You're So Blessed (Song)
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Artistry, Association and Arresting of Spirits by Love
I have long wanted to write a blog like this....(I still may at some point; here you go ;-))- Billy Smiley of the classic Christian rock band Whiteheart pretty much nailed a lot of what I've wanted to say on the state of Christian music today. This is exactly why I love artists like Larry Norman, Keith Green, Rich Mullins, Mark Heard, Chris Rice and Carolyn Arends, Andrew Peterson and some others-who have been true poets willing to tackle things that don't always make it to the Christian radio playlists.....(and of course, bands like Petra, Stryper, ApologetiX, Supertones, Switchfoot and Relient K- and perhaps a few others)
I was pleasantly surprised and thrilled to hear a Rich Mullins song on a Christian radio station recently- and I LOVE all of his songs, but immediately I was thinking, "I bet they're going to play 'Awesome God'." And, of course, I was right. (And I LOVE that song, mind you.) But it would be great to hear even more of his songs that ponder deep questions- like one of my favorites from his last album, "Hard to Get"- an incredible song, but not one that would fit in the worship category- and not one I would expect to hear on Christian radio. (And by the way, don't get me wrong on this either- I also LOVE Christian radio- I am very glad for those it reaches with the Gospel of Jesus. I do enjoy listening to the Christian stations fairly often- but I honestly listen more for sermons now than I do for music.) I have my CDs and tapes for that- and a fairly wide range of Christian and very select secular artists.....
A lot of what this blog says resonated with me. Every now and then I imagine if Jesus had actually commanded us to do what we tend to do with Christian music now- "And thou shalt create music and entertainment for thyselves to sound as like unto the world so that thou mayest be not of the world and not even really in it either. Shelter thyselves from the masses with these creations, lest thou be forced to connect with the unbelievers in an authentic manner and thereby allow them to see a real love and hope in you. Preach My Gospel at them with the cold distance of uncaring and thereby fulfill thy sacred duties as a watchman who need not be concerned with the affairs of this world."
The Jesus I know doesn't have problems mingling with the sinners and saints and helping both realize they're not nearly as good or as far gone as they think they are. I'm so glad Jesus loves every single one of us, even the woebegone wretched sinners who don't even realize just how truly sinful they are, but know they need help- and the hypocritical, self-righteous jerks who every now and then might have a true moment of clarity to realize they're never good enough- yes, He loves us all. And all of us are both at times. All of us need Jesus. "Freely you have received; freely give." (Matthew 10:8)
And remember that if we are going to be like Jesus, the One who freely gave His life to pay for all sins and rise again- and give salvation to those who put faith in Him- we must associate with those He associated with on earth. And that's everyone. He loved the tax collectors and sinners- and the Pharisees. He spoke The Truth in Love to them all.
"The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look at Him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by all her children. One of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him, and He went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that He was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed His feet and anointed them with the ointment." (Luke 7:34-38)
Jesus loves the sinners and the saints and reaches out to both- and calls both to repent and follow Him. The sinner repenting of his sin and the saint repenting of his righteousness. We are both the sinner and the saint- we must repent of our sin and our righteousness. We have no righteousness of our own- even that which we think is good of our own accord is but filthy rags before the holy God. (Isaiah 64:6)
Be honest with God and with others- and humbly associate with all and love all- because Jesus does. (Philippians 2:1-13)
https://m.facebook.com/notes/the-union-of-sinners-and-saints/the-musings-of-an-artist-and-producer-in-todays-music-culture/1050469308334288/?ref=bookmarks&__tn__=HH
(*Also- let me shout to Tim Keller and "The Prodigal God" once more- SUCH a great book!)
(*This also seems to be a great post to point you to this song by T-Bone called "Name Droppin' " where he names a lot of great Christian artists of various genres. The music video is great too, with cameos from John Schlitt of Petra, Geoff Moore and others.
https://youtu.be/0TeDvPOl9UA )
(*One other favourite I wanted to mention. This amazing song by Andrew Peterson and largely written by Gloria Gaither is another great tribute to so many artists who have inspired me in my walk with Christ
Thank God for poets I have known!
"To All The Poets" by Andrew Peterson
https://youtu.be/uF3dEdXzFxw )
I was pleasantly surprised and thrilled to hear a Rich Mullins song on a Christian radio station recently- and I LOVE all of his songs, but immediately I was thinking, "I bet they're going to play 'Awesome God'." And, of course, I was right. (And I LOVE that song, mind you.) But it would be great to hear even more of his songs that ponder deep questions- like one of my favorites from his last album, "Hard to Get"- an incredible song, but not one that would fit in the worship category- and not one I would expect to hear on Christian radio. (And by the way, don't get me wrong on this either- I also LOVE Christian radio- I am very glad for those it reaches with the Gospel of Jesus. I do enjoy listening to the Christian stations fairly often- but I honestly listen more for sermons now than I do for music.) I have my CDs and tapes for that- and a fairly wide range of Christian and very select secular artists.....
A lot of what this blog says resonated with me. Every now and then I imagine if Jesus had actually commanded us to do what we tend to do with Christian music now- "And thou shalt create music and entertainment for thyselves to sound as like unto the world so that thou mayest be not of the world and not even really in it either. Shelter thyselves from the masses with these creations, lest thou be forced to connect with the unbelievers in an authentic manner and thereby allow them to see a real love and hope in you. Preach My Gospel at them with the cold distance of uncaring and thereby fulfill thy sacred duties as a watchman who need not be concerned with the affairs of this world."
The Jesus I know doesn't have problems mingling with the sinners and saints and helping both realize they're not nearly as good or as far gone as they think they are. I'm so glad Jesus loves every single one of us, even the woebegone wretched sinners who don't even realize just how truly sinful they are, but know they need help- and the hypocritical, self-righteous jerks who every now and then might have a true moment of clarity to realize they're never good enough- yes, He loves us all. And all of us are both at times. All of us need Jesus. "Freely you have received; freely give." (Matthew 10:8)
And remember that if we are going to be like Jesus, the One who freely gave His life to pay for all sins and rise again- and give salvation to those who put faith in Him- we must associate with those He associated with on earth. And that's everyone. He loved the tax collectors and sinners- and the Pharisees. He spoke The Truth in Love to them all.
"The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look at Him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by all her children. One of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him, and He went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that He was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed His feet and anointed them with the ointment." (Luke 7:34-38)
Jesus loves the sinners and the saints and reaches out to both- and calls both to repent and follow Him. The sinner repenting of his sin and the saint repenting of his righteousness. We are both the sinner and the saint- we must repent of our sin and our righteousness. We have no righteousness of our own- even that which we think is good of our own accord is but filthy rags before the holy God. (Isaiah 64:6)
Be honest with God and with others- and humbly associate with all and love all- because Jesus does. (Philippians 2:1-13)
https://m.facebook.com/notes/the-union-of-sinners-and-saints/the-musings-of-an-artist-and-producer-in-todays-music-culture/1050469308334288/?ref=bookmarks&__tn__=HH
(*Also- let me shout to Tim Keller and "The Prodigal God" once more- SUCH a great book!)
(*This also seems to be a great post to point you to this song by T-Bone called "Name Droppin' " where he names a lot of great Christian artists of various genres. The music video is great too, with cameos from John Schlitt of Petra, Geoff Moore and others.
https://youtu.be/0TeDvPOl9UA )
(*One other favourite I wanted to mention. This amazing song by Andrew Peterson and largely written by Gloria Gaither is another great tribute to so many artists who have inspired me in my walk with Christ
Thank God for poets I have known!
"To All The Poets" by Andrew Peterson
https://youtu.be/uF3dEdXzFxw )
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Lord, You're The Inspiration! (song)
(Note: Another favourite from the archives. It's always a good day to praise The Lord! Psalms 118:24)
This one is a favorite of mine by, by far, the best rock band with a brass section that I’ve ever heard! And Relient K did an awesome cover of the original classic on their “Is For Karaoke” album in 2011. (Which I do believe is what really introduced me to this song, though I had been familiar with the band for much longer.) And The Lord gave me a blessing in getting to visit the namesake of this band the year I wrote this along with some beloved friends. And through it all- He is the One who makes all things work together for the good of those who love Him. And He’s the One who drives me to write, live and do anything. He’s The Inspiration!
“Lord, You’re The Inspiration”
(parody of “You’re The Inspiration” by Chicago)
(parody copyright by Nathan Ludwick 3/1/2013)
(John 10:1-16, John 10:27-30, John 6:37, Isaiah 61:10-11, Luke 19:10, Psalms 27:10, Jude 1:20-25, John 15, Hosea 1-3, Hosea 11, Jeremiah 31:3, Isaiah 26:3, 1 John 3:16, Romans 10:8-13, John 3:16-17, Psalms 25, Psalms 103, Psalms 19, Psalms 104, Psalms 189, Psalms 73:22-26, 1 John 4:19, Colossians 3:1-4, Psalms 8, Malachi 3:6, Titus 3:4-8, 1 John 3:1)
I know our love is meant to be
The kind of love that lasts forever
And I want You here with me
From tonight on past the end of time
You sure know everywhere I go
You’re always on my mind, in my heart, in my soul
Savior- You’re the Meaning in my life (Lord,) You’re The Inspiration!
You bring feeling to my life
You’re The Inspiration!
Wanna have You near me
I wanna have You hear me saying
You know I need You, Lord- yes, I need You!
And I know, and I know, yes I know- 1 John 4:19
We only love ‘cause You first loved us!
Now I know, now I know, that I need You here with me
I’m with Christ on past the end of time
You sure know everywhere I go
You’re always on my mind,
(You’re) in my heart, (You’re) in my soul
You’re The Meaning in my life
You’re The Inspiration!
You bring feeling to my life
You’re The Inspiration!
Gonna have You near me
Gonna have You hear me saying
You know I need You, Lord- yes, I need You!
Ohhh…….
Always have You near me
Always want You (to) hear me saying
You know I need You, Lord- yes, I need You! You’re The Meaning in my life
You’re The Inspiration!
You bring feeling to my life
You’re The Inspiration! (Always have You near me)- [background vocal]
When you love Somebody- Past the end of time
When you love Somebody- Always on my mind
You know I need You, Lord- tonight
When you love Somebody- Past the end of time
When you love Somebody- Always on my mind
(I need You, Lord- tonight)[background vocal] ………………………………………………………………………………..
Praise God from Whom all blessings flow! Praise Him all creatures here below! Praise Him above, ye Heavenly hosts! Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost! Amen! Peace and love of Christ to you. Hebrews 13:20-22 (especially verse 22- you guys know how short I keep these things. ;-))
This one is a favorite of mine by, by far, the best rock band with a brass section that I’ve ever heard! And Relient K did an awesome cover of the original classic on their “Is For Karaoke” album in 2011. (Which I do believe is what really introduced me to this song, though I had been familiar with the band for much longer.) And The Lord gave me a blessing in getting to visit the namesake of this band the year I wrote this along with some beloved friends. And through it all- He is the One who makes all things work together for the good of those who love Him. And He’s the One who drives me to write, live and do anything. He’s The Inspiration!
“Lord, You’re The Inspiration”
(parody of “You’re The Inspiration” by Chicago)
(parody copyright by Nathan Ludwick 3/1/2013)
(John 10:1-16, John 10:27-30, John 6:37, Isaiah 61:10-11, Luke 19:10, Psalms 27:10, Jude 1:20-25, John 15, Hosea 1-3, Hosea 11, Jeremiah 31:3, Isaiah 26:3, 1 John 3:16, Romans 10:8-13, John 3:16-17, Psalms 25, Psalms 103, Psalms 19, Psalms 104, Psalms 189, Psalms 73:22-26, 1 John 4:19, Colossians 3:1-4, Psalms 8, Malachi 3:6, Titus 3:4-8, 1 John 3:1)
I know our love is meant to be
The kind of love that lasts forever
And I want You here with me
From tonight on past the end of time
You sure know everywhere I go
You’re always on my mind, in my heart, in my soul
Savior- You’re the Meaning in my life (Lord,) You’re The Inspiration!
You bring feeling to my life
You’re The Inspiration!
Wanna have You near me
I wanna have You hear me saying
You know I need You, Lord- yes, I need You!
And I know, and I know, yes I know- 1 John 4:19
We only love ‘cause You first loved us!
Now I know, now I know, that I need You here with me
I’m with Christ on past the end of time
You sure know everywhere I go
You’re always on my mind,
(You’re) in my heart, (You’re) in my soul
You’re The Meaning in my life
You’re The Inspiration!
You bring feeling to my life
You’re The Inspiration!
Gonna have You near me
Gonna have You hear me saying
You know I need You, Lord- yes, I need You!
Ohhh…….
Always have You near me
Always want You (to) hear me saying
You know I need You, Lord- yes, I need You! You’re The Meaning in my life
You’re The Inspiration!
You bring feeling to my life
You’re The Inspiration! (Always have You near me)- [background vocal]
When you love Somebody- Past the end of time
When you love Somebody- Always on my mind
You know I need You, Lord- tonight
When you love Somebody- Past the end of time
When you love Somebody- Always on my mind
(I need You, Lord- tonight)[background vocal] ………………………………………………………………………………..
Praise God from Whom all blessings flow! Praise Him all creatures here below! Praise Him above, ye Heavenly hosts! Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost! Amen! Peace and love of Christ to you. Hebrews 13:20-22 (especially verse 22- you guys know how short I keep these things. ;-))
God's Love (song)
(Note: Another favourite from the archives. It's always a good day to praise The Lord! Psalms 118:24)
And now for something we hope You’ll really like! These next two posts are love songs to God- to the God of my life who fills my life with His life and makes life worth living! And it’s all through God’s Love shown to us in Jesus. Praise God for His love!
“God’s Love” (parody of “My Love” by Petula Clark)
(parody copyright by Nathan Ludwick 3/1/2013)
(Malachi 3:6, Psalms 25, Psalms 8, Psalms 73:22-26, Psalms 139:17-18, Psalms 103, Zephaniah 3:17, Psalms 104, Psalms 19, Hosea 1-3, Hosea 11, Isaiah 61:10-11, Luke 19:10, Psalms 27:10, Matthew 23:37, John 15:9-17, Romans 8:37-39, Romans 8:1-4, John 6:37, John 10:1-16, John 10:27-30, 1 John 4:19, Isaiah 49, 1 John 4:7-21, Romans 10:8-13, Titus 3:4-8, 1 John 3:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Jeremiah 31:3, John 3:16-17, 2 Peter 3:8-9, 1 John 3:1, Jude 1:20-25, Revelation 20-22)
My God is warmer than the warmest sunshine
Softer than a sigh
My God is deeper than the deepest ocean Wider than the sky
My God is brighter than the brightest star That shines every night above
And there is nothing in this world
That can ever change my God!
Something happened to my heart the day that I met You
Something that I never felt before
You are always in my life no matter what I do
And every day I see that I want You, Lord
My God is warmer than the warmest sunshine
Softer than a sigh
My God is deeper than the deepest ocean Wider than the sky
My God is brighter than the brightest star That shines every night above
And there is nothing in this world
That can ever change my God!
Once I thought Your Love was meant for anyone else but me
Once I thought You’d never call my name Now I always know like Gomer found, You still love me
For now I hear You tell me every page
My Love is warmer than the warmest sunshine
Softer than a sigh
My Love is deeper than the deepest ocean Wider than the sky
My Love is brighter than the brightest star That shines every night above
And there is nothing in this world
That can ever change My Love!
My Love is warmer than the warmest sunshine
Softer than a sigh
My Love is deeper than the deepest ocean Wider than the sky
My Love is brighter than the brightest star That shines every night above
And there is nothing in the world
That can ever change My Love!
.................................................................
Praise God from Whom all blessings flow! Praise Him all creatures here below! Praise Him above, ye Heavenly hosts! Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost! Amen! Peace and love of Christ to you. Hebrews 13:20-22 (especially verse 22- you guys know how short I keep these things. ;-))
And now for something we hope You’ll really like! These next two posts are love songs to God- to the God of my life who fills my life with His life and makes life worth living! And it’s all through God’s Love shown to us in Jesus. Praise God for His love!
“God’s Love” (parody of “My Love” by Petula Clark)
(parody copyright by Nathan Ludwick 3/1/2013)
(Malachi 3:6, Psalms 25, Psalms 8, Psalms 73:22-26, Psalms 139:17-18, Psalms 103, Zephaniah 3:17, Psalms 104, Psalms 19, Hosea 1-3, Hosea 11, Isaiah 61:10-11, Luke 19:10, Psalms 27:10, Matthew 23:37, John 15:9-17, Romans 8:37-39, Romans 8:1-4, John 6:37, John 10:1-16, John 10:27-30, 1 John 4:19, Isaiah 49, 1 John 4:7-21, Romans 10:8-13, Titus 3:4-8, 1 John 3:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Jeremiah 31:3, John 3:16-17, 2 Peter 3:8-9, 1 John 3:1, Jude 1:20-25, Revelation 20-22)
My God is warmer than the warmest sunshine
Softer than a sigh
My God is deeper than the deepest ocean Wider than the sky
My God is brighter than the brightest star That shines every night above
And there is nothing in this world
That can ever change my God!
Something happened to my heart the day that I met You
Something that I never felt before
You are always in my life no matter what I do
And every day I see that I want You, Lord
My God is warmer than the warmest sunshine
Softer than a sigh
My God is deeper than the deepest ocean Wider than the sky
My God is brighter than the brightest star That shines every night above
And there is nothing in this world
That can ever change my God!
Once I thought Your Love was meant for anyone else but me
Once I thought You’d never call my name Now I always know like Gomer found, You still love me
For now I hear You tell me every page
My Love is warmer than the warmest sunshine
Softer than a sigh
My Love is deeper than the deepest ocean Wider than the sky
My Love is brighter than the brightest star That shines every night above
And there is nothing in this world
That can ever change My Love!
My Love is warmer than the warmest sunshine
Softer than a sigh
My Love is deeper than the deepest ocean Wider than the sky
My Love is brighter than the brightest star That shines every night above
And there is nothing in the world
That can ever change My Love!
.................................................................
Praise God from Whom all blessings flow! Praise Him all creatures here below! Praise Him above, ye Heavenly hosts! Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost! Amen! Peace and love of Christ to you. Hebrews 13:20-22 (especially verse 22- you guys know how short I keep these things. ;-))
Raise a Praise to the God Who Saves! (Thank You and Love You, Lord Jesus)
My God is warmer than the warmest sunshine- Softer than a sigh- My God is deeper than the deepest ocean- Wider than the sky- My God is brighter than the brightest star that shines every night above And there is nothing in this world that can ever change my God or His love. :-) (thanks to Petula Clark for help with the words. ;-)) I hear You tell me every page of Your Word, Lord Jesus- I have loved you with an everlasting love. (Jeremiah 31:3- and I hear it echoed in every other verse too.) Your love never fails and Your mercy endures forever. (Psalms 136). Thank You for saving me and knowing me, Jesus. I know You have always loved me- I love You too because You first loved me. (1 John 4:19) And You proved it by taking my place and dying for me and rising again- You are the risen King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Nothing happens except that You allow it to happen. Thank You for being in control, Lord God Jesus. Thank You for Your friendship and for never leaving me and always holding on to me no matter what. Thank You for family and friends and for all those whose lives radiate with Your Spirit! It's so beautiful to see (Psalms 133). Thank You for the ways You have shined Your light through my life- keep using it and all I have and am for Your glory. Thank You for Your presence, guidance, justice, and jugment and wrath- and thank You that in Your wrath and judgment, You remember Your love, mercy and grace. You don't treat me as my sins deserve, but You shower me with love instead, just like the prodigal son's Dad. :-) (Psalms 103, Luke 15:20) Bless The Lord, O my soul- let all that is within me praise His holy Name- and forget not all His benefits. Thank You for all Your blessings, Lord Jesus and Your Holy Spirit Who guides and counsels me. Father God, use me to be a blessing to others. Our Father, Who art in Heaven. Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come- Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever- Amen. :-)
I'll tell the world that I'm a Christian- I'm not ashamed to bear Christ's Name- He's not ashamed to call me His brother. (Hebrews 2:11, Romans 1:16) It's the power of God to save for all who will call upon His Name. "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9) Thank You for loving us all, Lord Jesus. :-)
I'll tell the world that I'm a Christian- I'm not ashamed to bear Christ's Name- He's not ashamed to call me His brother. (Hebrews 2:11, Romans 1:16) It's the power of God to save for all who will call upon His Name. "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9) Thank You for loving us all, Lord Jesus. :-)
Sunday, January 13, 2019
No Other One Like Jesus (song)
NOTE: Here is a parody song from the archives. I'm still slowly working on pulling together a lot of classics into one place on this blog. Enjoy one from the Queen of rock & roll that points us to The King of Kings over all. :-)
........................
This one just emphatically reminds us that there’s no other one like Jesus! All other competitors to His title just bite the dust- but He stands alone as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. :-)
“No Other One Like Jesus”
(parody of “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen)
(parody by Nathan Ludwick 2/7/2010)
(1 Timothy 2:5, 1 Corinthians 8:6, Isaiah 43:3, Isaiah 43:10-13, Isaiah 44:8-10, Isaiah 44:15-23, Micah 7:18-20, Isaiah 49:26, Isaiah 46:3-5, Isaiah 46:9-13, Isaiah 45:5, Isaiah 45:18, Isaiah 45:21-22, Proverbs 16:25, Proverbs 14:12, 1 Corinthians 10:18-22, Job 36:22-26, 1 Kings 18:39, Exodus 20:1-6, Psalms 89:5-8, Luke 11:9-10, Jeremiah 29:11-13, Acts 4:12, 2 Peter 3:9, Revelation 3:20)
Ooh, let’s go
Seems talk’s wavering on the street
When they been polled- “We don’t know”
Ain’t no how from the sound of things
I mean, son- “How can you know?”
Are you ready- hey, are you real serious?
Are you banging and asking as you seek?
He won’t ignore, babe- the honest wish
God is found when you reach- yeah!
No other god like Jesus!
No other god but Jesus!
Ain’t no other one now, ain’t no other one now
No other one like Jesus!
Hey- in Acts four one two (4:12)
No other one but Jesus!
How do you think you’re going to get along
Without Christ on the throne?
You’re looking to everything that you can
To fill that hole in your soul
Are you happy? Are you satisfied?
How long ‘til you sound defeat?
Out at the doorway The Savior knocks
To sit down and then eat
Look now!
No other god like Jesus!
No other god but Jesus!
Ain’t no other one now, ain’t no other one now
No other one like Jesus!
Hey- He’s gonna get to you
No other one but Jesus!
Hey
Oh, trust Him!
Like Jesus- I like Jesus, hey
Hey!
No other one like Jesus!
No other one like Jesus, ow!
No other one like Jesus, hey hey!
No other one like Jesus, heeey!
Ooh, look now
There are plenty of ways that seem right to a man
But bring him to the grave
They will beat him
They will cheat him
They will treat him bad
And leave him there to drown, yeah
But God’s ready- yes, He’s waiting for you
Commanding ‘cause He can’t be beat
Out at the doorway The Savior knocks
Revelation (verse) 20 in 3
Oh yeah
No other god like Jesus!
No other god but Jesus!
Ain’t no other one now, ain’t no other one now
No other one like Jesus, yeah!
Hey- Isaiah 43
No other one but Jesus!
Look now!
Hey, alright!
…………………………………………………………………………………….
........................
This one just emphatically reminds us that there’s no other one like Jesus! All other competitors to His title just bite the dust- but He stands alone as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. :-)
“No Other One Like Jesus”
(parody of “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen)
(parody by Nathan Ludwick 2/7/2010)
(1 Timothy 2:5, 1 Corinthians 8:6, Isaiah 43:3, Isaiah 43:10-13, Isaiah 44:8-10, Isaiah 44:15-23, Micah 7:18-20, Isaiah 49:26, Isaiah 46:3-5, Isaiah 46:9-13, Isaiah 45:5, Isaiah 45:18, Isaiah 45:21-22, Proverbs 16:25, Proverbs 14:12, 1 Corinthians 10:18-22, Job 36:22-26, 1 Kings 18:39, Exodus 20:1-6, Psalms 89:5-8, Luke 11:9-10, Jeremiah 29:11-13, Acts 4:12, 2 Peter 3:9, Revelation 3:20)
Ooh, let’s go
Seems talk’s wavering on the street
When they been polled- “We don’t know”
Ain’t no how from the sound of things
I mean, son- “How can you know?”
Are you ready- hey, are you real serious?
Are you banging and asking as you seek?
He won’t ignore, babe- the honest wish
God is found when you reach- yeah!
No other god like Jesus!
No other god but Jesus!
Ain’t no other one now, ain’t no other one now
No other one like Jesus!
Hey- in Acts four one two (4:12)
No other one but Jesus!
How do you think you’re going to get along
Without Christ on the throne?
You’re looking to everything that you can
To fill that hole in your soul
Are you happy? Are you satisfied?
How long ‘til you sound defeat?
Out at the doorway The Savior knocks
To sit down and then eat
Look now!
No other god like Jesus!
No other god but Jesus!
Ain’t no other one now, ain’t no other one now
No other one like Jesus!
Hey- He’s gonna get to you
No other one but Jesus!
Hey
Oh, trust Him!
Like Jesus- I like Jesus, hey
Hey!
No other one like Jesus!
No other one like Jesus, ow!
No other one like Jesus, hey hey!
No other one like Jesus, heeey!
Ooh, look now
There are plenty of ways that seem right to a man
But bring him to the grave
They will beat him
They will cheat him
They will treat him bad
And leave him there to drown, yeah
But God’s ready- yes, He’s waiting for you
Commanding ‘cause He can’t be beat
Out at the doorway The Savior knocks
Revelation (verse) 20 in 3
Oh yeah
No other god like Jesus!
No other god but Jesus!
Ain’t no other one now, ain’t no other one now
No other one like Jesus, yeah!
Hey- Isaiah 43
No other one but Jesus!
Look now!
Hey, alright!
…………………………………………………………………………………….
Sunday, January 7, 2018
A Prayer for the New Year
"And even though I've never seen Your face- I'm missin' You. 'Cause somewhere behind those stars is Someone who belongs to me and I know in my deepest heart- there's a place for You. Until I find the place You've made for me, I'm missin' You."
- "Missin' You" by Chris Rice
...........
"I'll be running to Your throne with every nation, tribe and tongue- To Your arms I'll fly, I'll gaze into Your eyes- then I'll know as I am known- and Your praise goes on."
- "And Your Praise Goes On" by Chris Rice
:-)
I love You, Jesus. Thank You for loving and knowing me. Help me as I seek to know You better, Lord. (1 John 4:10-11 and 4:19, 1 Corinthians 13:12) Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. (Matthew 6:9-13) Help me to be more like You each day and to represent better to the world what Your kingdom of peace looks like even as we anticipate and pray for You to come and bring Your kingdom of peace to earth one day. (Revelation 21:1-5, Revelation 22:20-21). Help us to continue in the struggle and through the suffering, knowing You went through far, far worse for our sakes- and knowing that the suffering is not worth comparing to the glory coming. (Romans 8:18-30, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 5:1-11) Help us to wait with patience and to endure with joy and peace, the joy and peace that only You give. (Nehemiah 8:10, John 14:27) And help us to never tire of doing what's right. (2 Thessalonians 3:13). It's all for You and for Your glory (1 Corinthians 10:31 and Colossians 3:23)- and by Your strength alone. (2 Corinthians 12:1-10) Use me to bring Your Name glory and to help show others Your love so that they may come to know and follow You too. (2 Peter 3:9, Acts 4:20) Thank You and praise You for all Your many blessings and the comfort of knowing You are in control always and even in the midst of Your righteous justice, You also remember Your lovingkindness that is better than life and Your steadfast everlasting love that never fails. (Jeremiah 31:3, Psalms 136) And thank You for family and friends that help encourage me along the narrow path. (Psalms 133, Proverbs 17:17, Proverbs 18:24) Thank You for never abandoning us and for always providing for us and for leading us all the way. (Hebrews 13:5, Philippians 4:19, Psalms 23) :-)
Love,
Thy faithful servant I fain would be- Lord, I believe- help Thou my unbelief- Thank You that You never let go (John 10:28)
Yours- Nathan.
(Romans 14:8)
- "Missin' You" by Chris Rice
...........
"I'll be running to Your throne with every nation, tribe and tongue- To Your arms I'll fly, I'll gaze into Your eyes- then I'll know as I am known- and Your praise goes on."
- "And Your Praise Goes On" by Chris Rice
:-)
I love You, Jesus. Thank You for loving and knowing me. Help me as I seek to know You better, Lord. (1 John 4:10-11 and 4:19, 1 Corinthians 13:12) Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. (Matthew 6:9-13) Help me to be more like You each day and to represent better to the world what Your kingdom of peace looks like even as we anticipate and pray for You to come and bring Your kingdom of peace to earth one day. (Revelation 21:1-5, Revelation 22:20-21). Help us to continue in the struggle and through the suffering, knowing You went through far, far worse for our sakes- and knowing that the suffering is not worth comparing to the glory coming. (Romans 8:18-30, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 5:1-11) Help us to wait with patience and to endure with joy and peace, the joy and peace that only You give. (Nehemiah 8:10, John 14:27) And help us to never tire of doing what's right. (2 Thessalonians 3:13). It's all for You and for Your glory (1 Corinthians 10:31 and Colossians 3:23)- and by Your strength alone. (2 Corinthians 12:1-10) Use me to bring Your Name glory and to help show others Your love so that they may come to know and follow You too. (2 Peter 3:9, Acts 4:20) Thank You and praise You for all Your many blessings and the comfort of knowing You are in control always and even in the midst of Your righteous justice, You also remember Your lovingkindness that is better than life and Your steadfast everlasting love that never fails. (Jeremiah 31:3, Psalms 136) And thank You for family and friends that help encourage me along the narrow path. (Psalms 133, Proverbs 17:17, Proverbs 18:24) Thank You for never abandoning us and for always providing for us and for leading us all the way. (Hebrews 13:5, Philippians 4:19, Psalms 23) :-)
Love,
Thy faithful servant I fain would be- Lord, I believe- help Thou my unbelief- Thank You that You never let go (John 10:28)
Yours- Nathan.
(Romans 14:8)
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Season for the Reason: Jesus is God- He said it and I believe it!
Note: This is another apologetics entry in the "Season for the Reason" writings that I like to do at times. As with most all of these entries, this is written in response to a question from a skeptic. In this case, I am answering a common question from Muslims, who do acknowledge Jesus as a great prophet, but don't believe in His crucifixion or Resurrection or His position as God Almighty. This is actually a challenge that a number of people of other religious views as well as atheistic views raise. When did Jesus Christ declare Himself to be God and command people to worship Him? Let's look at what The Gospels in The Bible (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) actually say.
Yes, I know that Islam views Jesus quite differently from Christianity. However, He is revered as a prophet doing many miracles as Muslims assert. However, if Jesus healed the blind, made birds out of clay and raised the dead to life as recorded in the Quran- how could He do this without the power of God? The Quran also commands Muslims to obey Jesus in surah 43:63. Yet how can a good Muslim follow this without knowing Jesus' commands? One needs to read The Bible for that. And in the New Testament, Jesus gives us commands and does indeed state His equality with God.
Yes, I know that Islam views Jesus quite differently from Christianity. However, He is revered as a prophet doing many miracles as Muslims assert. However, if Jesus healed the blind, made birds out of clay and raised the dead to life as recorded in the Quran- how could He do this without the power of God? The Quran also commands Muslims to obey Jesus in surah 43:63. Yet how can a good Muslim follow this without knowing Jesus' commands? One needs to read The Bible for that. And in the New Testament, Jesus gives us commands and does indeed state His equality with God.
John 10:30-33 records Jesus as flat out saying that He and The Father are one. And the Pharisees clearly recognize His claim to divinity here, as they raised stones to stone Him. (In fact, this is what got Jesus crucified- the Pharisees pegged Him as a troublemaker who claimed to be God.) John 14 records Jesus stating Himself to be The Way, The Truth and the Life- no man comes to The Father but by Him. When Philip then asks for Him to show the disciples the Father, Jesus says that when they've seen Him they've seen the Father. After Jesus' death and Resurrection, He appears to the disciples- and in John 20, He appears again when Thomas is there (who had been doubting Jesus' Resurrection)- but when faced with the proof in his face, Thomas exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus asked if he now believed because he saw- and then says that those who have not seen and believed are blessed. Note that Jesus does not correct Thomas, but rather accepts the praise as God and says that those who haven't seen Him and believe in Him as Lord and God are blessed.
Jesus assumes the title of Lord in Matthew 7:21-23 and makes clear that He will be the One to judge whether people enter the kingdom of Heaven or not. (See also Luke 6:46.) In fact, Jesus is often called Lord throughout the Gospels- Matthew 8:2 and Matthew 8:6 both record people calling Him Lord- right as Jesus is doing miracles by restoring a leper to clean health and healing a Roman centurion's servant. His disciples called Him Lord- Matthew 8:25 records one such instance, when Jesus told the winds and the waves to be still and they did it. (Also in Mark 4:35-41 and Luke 8:22-25). In Luke 12:41-42, Peter first addresses Jesus as Lord and then Luke goes on to identify Jesus as The Lord in the next verse. This is significant to note since The LORD is the name of God given in Exodus 3:15. (Luke does this again in Luke 13:15, identifying Jesus as The Lord.) It is also interesting to note that Jesus asserts that David, in the Holy Spirit, called Christ The Lord in Psalms 110:1. (Jesus specifically says this in Mark 12:35-37. See also Matthew 22:41-46 and Luke 20:41-44.) And in Matthew 22:34-40, Jesus states that the most important commandments are to love The Lord our God with all our hearts, all our souls and all our minds. The second is like it- we must love our neighbours as ourselves. And in Matthew 4:10, Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy to the devil when He told him that, "You shall worship The Lord your God and Him only shall you serve." Thus, we have Jesus' command to worship Him as God.
In Matthew 9:1-8, Jesus again faces a blasphemy charge from scribes who are taken aback when Jesus forgives the sins of a paralytic- since only God can forgive sins. However, Jesus proves His divinity and identity as God when He both forgives sins and heals the paralytic. (This is also in Mark 2:1-12 and Luke 5:17-26. See also John 5 for a similar incident.) In Luke 7:36-50, there is an incident of a sinful woman who comes to worship at Jesus' feet and anoint His feet with an alabaster jar of ointment as well as her tears, which she wiped with her own hair. Jesus sees her show of repentance and forgives her sins. Again, people talk and balk, asking, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?"
In Matthew 16:13-20, Jesus asks His disciples to tell Him who people say that He is- and they tell Him that some call Him John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But then Jesus asks- "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter replies- "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus declares Simon blessed because the Father Himself has revealed this to him. In this passage, Jesus distinguishes Himself as the Messiah- the Christ- the Son of the living God- and more than just a prophet. (See also Mark 8:27-30 and Luke 9:18-20.)
Jesus often identifies Himself as the Son of Man (see Matthew 8:18-22 for one such instance). In Matthew 24 and 25, He states that the Son of Man will come on the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory and will send out His angels to do His work. Matthew 25 again depicts the Son of Man (Jesus) as having glory and angels at His command and seated on the throne as King- and He judges all people at the end of time. (Jesus also states this in Mark 8:38. See also Mark 13 and Luke 9:23-27 and Luke 13 and Luke 21.) In Matthew 26:63-68, Jesus again affirms His title of the Christ, the Son of God. (See also Mark 14:61-62 where Jesus confirms that He is the Christ, the Son of the Blessed. In Luke 22:70-71, Jesus again affirms Himself to be the Son of God.) He affirms His title as King of the Jews in Matthew 27:11-14. And in Matthew 28:16-20, when Jesus has been crucified and has risen again- He appears to His disciples one last time to commission them to preach the Gospel in all the world. He states in Matthew 28:18 that all authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to Him. Who else but God could make that claim?
Of course, there are other incidents that happened that prove Jesus to be God. In a beautiful picture of the Triune God, at Jesus' baptism, we see Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist, with the Holy Spirit descending on Him like a dove and the voice of God the Father declaring Him as His beloved Son in Whom He's well pleased. (See Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22 and John 1:29-34) Even the demons and devil recognize Him as the "Holy One of God" and the "Son of God" and the Christ (see Mark 1:24 and Matthew 4 and Mark 3:7-12 and Mark 5 and Luke 4:31-37) A similar scene happens in Matthew 17, which is reiterated in Mark 9 and Luke 9, wherein Jesus is glorified in an event known as the "Transfiguration of Christ". James, John and Peter get a glimpse of Jesus' glory as God on a mountain with Him, when Moses and Elijah appear to talk with Jesus and God the Father's voice again identifies Christ as His beloved Son and commands us to listen to Him. In another similar incident of God The Father speaking from Heaven, in John 12:27-36, Jesus asks God The Father to glorify His Name to which God The Father replies, "I have glorified it and I will glorify it again." Jesus states that the voice was for the benefit of the people with Him listening and not for His. It's yet another scene to help people believe in Jesus as the God Who came to save us all.
In Mark 2:27, Jesus declares Himself (again using the Son of Man title that He often uses) as Lord even of the Sabbath. [The "even" here is important, as it implies that He already is Lord of everything else too.] In Mark 5, when Jesus is healing a man with a horde of demons (who identify themselves as Legion because they are many)- the demons both identify Jesus as the Son of the Most High God and implore Him not to torment them. Again- only God has the power to torment demons and their leader the devil in hell. Jesus demonstrates His power as God here and drives the demons out of the man and into a herd of 2000 pigs. (See also Luke 8.)
In Luke 4:16-30, Jesus attends synagogue and reads from Isaiah 61:1-2 for the congregation- a prophetic passage about the Messiah. He affirms Himself as the fulfillment of that passage- the One Whom The Spirit of The Lord is upon. The One who proclaims good news to the poor and liberty to the captives- who recovers sight for the blind and sets at liberty those who are oppressed and proclaims the year of the Lord's favor. Note too that again people try to kill Him here, doubtless due to His outrageous claim to be God, which would be blasphemous- unless He's telling the truth.
Luke 7:18-35 records an interesting incident where John the Baptist's disciples come to question Jesus and ask if He's One who is to come- the Messiah. Jesus tells them to report to John what they've seen and heard- the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the poor have good news preached to them. (Just as Isaiah 61:1-2 and many other Old Testament passages predicted the Messiah would do.) And Jesus says this in Luke 7:23- "And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me." This is a quote that has an Old Testament connection as well, as the image of the Messiah as the "stone the builders rejected who has become the capstone [or cornerstone]" is one used in a couple of places- Psalms 118:22 and Isaiah 28:16 to name a few. Jesus Himself quotes Psalms 118:22 in Matthew 21:42 and this is reiterated in Romans 9:33 and 1 Peter 2:6. Isaiah 8:14 says that this stone is a "stone of stumbling and a rock of offense."
Hence, Jesus' reference to Himself as the stone of stumbling and the rock of offense and His blessings offered to all who are not offended by Him. (i.e. He blesses all who are not scandalized by His offer of grace and who are not offended by the Truth He presents- the Way to God- the only Way by acknowledging our sins to Him and trusting His death and Resurrection for forgiveness of them.) (See also Luke 20:9-18.)
In Luke 9:37-43, we read of Jesus casting a demon out of a boy. It's interesting to note that verse 42 states that Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy- and verse 43 goes on to stay that all were astonished at the majesty of God. In these two verses, we again have an equating of Jesus with God. In Luke 10:17-20, the disciples rejoice because the demons are subject to them in Jesus' Name. Jesus then states that He saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven and Jesus has given the disciples authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall hurt them. Of course, He also said not to rejoice because the spirits are subject to them, but rather because their names are written in Heaven. Again, we have a claim from Jesus to have authority over the demons and Satan and poisonous animals and all power of the enemy. And who else but God has that authority?
In Luke 11:29-32, Jesus declares Himself to be something greater than Solomon and Jonah. And He declares Himself to be a sign to that generation. In Luke 12:8-12, He goes on to tell us that everyone who acknowledges Him before men, the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. Everyone who denies Him will be denied before the angels of God. We again have another passage equating Jesus with God, as the Name that must be acknowledged for entry into God's presence.
In Luke 18:35-43, we have yet another healing, wherein Jesus makes a blind beggar to see again. Verse 43 tells us that immediately after Jesus said for him to recover his sight, it happened- and he followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. (Again in these successions of verses, we see Jesus being linked with God.)
In Luke 19:28-40, Jesus is hailed during the triumphal entry to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday as "the King who comes in the Name of The Lord." Peace in Heaven and glory in the highest are ascribed to Him. Glory in the highest should only be reserved for God. The Pharisees recognize this and tell Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples." Jesus tells them that if they were silent, the very stones would cry out. Even the stones would cry out that Jesus is the King who comes in the Name of The Lord- the One worthy of glory in the highest! (See also John 12:12-19.)
In Luke 21:28-30, Jesus speaks of the kingdom that His Father has assigned to Him- another example of His alignment with God. Jesus has authority to let people into that kingdom because He does so even while on the cross in Luke 23:39-43. While one criminal on the cross next to Him rails at Him and demands that He as the Christ save Himself and them, the other criminal asks him the pointed question, "Do you not fear God?" Clearly this thief on the cross recognizes Jesus as God and again, Jesus does not correct him. When he asks Jesus to remember him when He comes into His kingdom, Jesus assures him that that day he would be with Him in Paradise. After that day, when Jesus had risen again, He appeared to two men on the road to Emmaus and in Luke 24:25-27, He again identifies Himself as the Christ and goes through Moses and the Prophets and interprets to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. After Jesus leaves them, they declare to the other disciples that The Lord has risen indeed and appeared to them. While all this is going on, Jesus shows up again and confirms to the disciples that He is the Christ Who had to fulfill all that's written about Him in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms. He opens the Scriptures to them again and explains how they speak about Him.
In the book of John, John opens up by first identifying Jesus as God Himself in John 1:1. "In the beginning was The Word and The Word was with God and the Word was God." As John 1:14 goes on to say, "And The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." As John 1:17-18 go on to tell us, the law was given through Moses and grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. While no one has ever seen God- the only God, who is at the Father's side- He has made Him known. How did He do this? By sending Jesus Christ- God in the flesh.
Jesus is identified by John the Baptist as The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and Andrew identifies Him as the Messiah. Nathanael identifies Jesus as the Son of God and King of Israel. (See John 1:29-51.) Jesus tells him that he will see greater things than Jesus' ability to see him under the fig tree before he had even met Jesus. He would see Heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.
In one of the most famous passages in The Bible, Jesus states to Nicodemus that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus identifies belief in His Name as necessary for eternal life- something that only God can grant. In another incident, in John 4, in talking with a Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus confirms her identification of Him as The Messiah- The Christ. Because of her testimony, others come to believe in Him and declare Jesus to be the Saviour of the world- again, a role that only God can fill.
In John 5:17-18, Jesus calls God His own Father and makes Himself equal with God, inspiring the Jews to want to kill Him, because of His apparent blasphemy. (Unless, of course, He was telling the truth and He is in fact God.) In John 5:30-46, Jesus goes on to explain the works He has done (His miracles) bear witness about Him that The Father has sent Him. Jesus says that while the Jews search the Scriptures for eternal life and it's they that bear witness about Him, the Jews refuse to come to Jesus so that He can give them life. Verses 43 and 44 are telling- "I have come in My Father's Name, and you do not receive Me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?" Then Jesus really sticks it to them. He tells them that Moses himself will accuse them- the one on whom they've set their hope. If they really believed Moses, they should believe Jesus- because Moses wrote of Jesus.
In John 6:35-59, Jesus declares Himself to be the bread of life- whoever comes to Him shall not hunger and whoever believes in Him shall never thirst. All that The Father has given Him will come to Him and whoever comes to Him He will never cast out. While the Pharisees doubt that Jesus has really come from Heaven, Jesus explains that no one can come to The Father unless He draw them. And Jesus will raise them up on the last day. (A power only God possesses.) Jesus then says that it's written in the Prophets, "And they will all be taught by God." (Isaiah 54:13). Jesus goes on to say that everyone who has heard and learned from The Father comes to Him. Thus, Jesus is the fulfillment of this verse as the people are being taught by God- Jesus Himself. Peter again affirms Jesus as the One who has the words of eternal life, the Holy One of God in John 6:68. In John 7, Jesus again affirms that His teaching is from God and by God's authority He teaches. John 7:31 records the people who saw Jesus' miracles as saying, "When the Christ appears, will He do more signs than this man has done?"
Jesus declares Himself to be the Light of the world in John 8:12. Jesus goes on to say that He is from above and not of this world in John 8:23. In verse 24, He insists to the Pharisees that they must believe He is who He says He is or they will die in their sins. In verses 25-59, He goes on to say that if they abide in His Word and are truly His disciples, then they will know The Truth and The Truth will set them free. (Note that Jesus identifies Himself as The Truth in John 14:6.) The discussion turns to Abraham and some more outrageous claims from Jesus, including the claim that if anyone keeps His word, they will never taste death. (Which is only outrageous if Jesus isn't who He says He is, of course.) Jesus says that Abraham rejoiced to see Jesus' day- He saw it and was glad. Jesus goes on to tell the Pharisees, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." At this, the Pharisees pick up stones to stone Him, but Jesus escapes them. This is incredibly significant to point out because Jesus uses a phrase that correlates to Exodus 3:14, where The Lord God identifies Himself with the Name, "I AM WHO I AM." The Pharisees recognize that Jesus has just equated Himself with this Name, thus, again stating Himself to be God.
In John 9, Jesus heals a man who was born blind. He asks him if he believes in the Son of Man. The man asks who is the Son of Man and Jesus affirms that it is Him. The man then says to Him, "Lord, I believe." (John 9:35-39) Again we have someone not only calling Jesus the Son of Man but also using the title of Lord with Him. In John 10, Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd and the Door for the sheep that all must come through to receive abundant life. In John 10:30-33, He makes one of the clearest statements in The Bible of His divinity when He plainly states that He and the Father are one. The Pharisees again try to stone Him because they recognize that He is equating Himself with God. In John 11:4, Jesus declares Himself to be the Son of God and demonstrates His power as God over life and death when He raises Lazarus back to life. In John 11:25, Jesus says He is the Resurrection and the Life. Everyone who lives and believes in Him shall never die. Martha confirms that she believes this; she believes He is The Lord- The Christ- The Son of God.
In John 12:44-45, Jesus says that whoever believes in Him believes not in Him, but in the One who sent Him. Whoever sees Him sees the One who sent Him. Here we have another statement that whoever has seen Jesus has seen God. In John 13:13, Jesus is having The Last Supper with His disciples, which is also known as The Lord's Supper. This is a fitting name as in that verse, Jesus says that the disciples call Him Teacher and Lord and they're right because He is indeed. In another verses that supports The Trinity, in John 13:20 Jesus says that whoever receives The One He sends (The Holy Spirit) receives Him and whoever receives Him (Jesus) receives the One who sent Him (God The Father).
In another famous passage in The Bible, John 14:1-14, Jesus reveals Himself as The Way, The Truth and The Life- no man comes to The Father but by Him. Philip asks Jesus to show them The Father and that will be enough for them. Jesus then asks Philip, "Don't you know Who I AM?" Whoever has seen Jesus has seen The Father. Jesus again states Himself to be God in this passage a number of times. (John 14:6-7, 14:9-10, 14:11 and 14:20 and 14:24) John 15-17 repeatedly speaks of the Triune nature of God and Jesus explains the relationship between God The Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Spirit- the Blessed Three-in-One. In John 16:2-3, Jesus says there will come a time when whoever kills His disciples will think they are offering service to God. Jesus then says they will do these things because they have not known The Father nor Him. (Yet another identification of Jesus as God.) In John 16:26-27, Jesus again states that He came from God the Father- The Father sent Him and He is with The Father. (see John 16:32)
John 17 is a very interesting insight into the nature of God and the relationship within The Trinity, as Jesus prays to God the Father- stating that He glorified God the Father on earth and then asks that The Father glorify Him in His presence with the glory He had with Him before the world existed. In John 17:11, Jesus says that He and The Father are one. In John 17:20-21, Jesus says that The Father is in Him and He is in The Father. He repeats this in verses 22-23.
Later, when Jesus is before Pilate, He tells Pilate that His kingdom is not of this world and that He bears witness to The Truth. (see John 18:33-40). John 19:7 records the Jews as saying that Jesus made Himself the Son of God (and thus He must die, according to their rules). In John 20:17, after Jesus has been crucified to pay for the sins of the world and been resurrected, He appears to Mary Magdalene. He tells her to tell His brothers that He is ascending to His Father and their Father- to His God and their God. (Again, we have another equation of God The Father with Jesus.) And in John 20:28, we have Thomas' confession of Jesus as Lord and God. John 20:30-31 tell us that Jesus did a lot of other signs that aren't written in John's book- but the ones that are written are written so that we would believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in His Name.
And, of course, that is the purpose of the whole Bible. There are numerous other verses that could be mentioned, but I tried to stick only to the ones recorded in The Gospels- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. (I could also mention Saul's encounter with Jesus in Acts 9, wherein he calls Him Lord. Of course, The Lord set him straight on Straight Street and changed his heart forever- so that he became known as Paul- the greatest missionary for the Gospel of Christ. In Revelation, John has a vision of Jesus Christ, wherein He reveals the final days of the world and God's ultimate plan of redemption, where those who reject Christ remain bound in hell and those who receive the grace and mercy He has offered freely through the cross and the empty tomb are welcomed into eternal happiness and joy with Jesus in Heaven. In Revelation 1:8, Jesus identifies Himself as the Alpha and the Omega- the One Who Is and Who Was and Who Is To Come- The Almighty. John also calls Jesus The Lord God in that verse. Revelation 19:16 calls Him the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.) But all these verses are written so that we would believe that Jesus is Who He said He was- that He is indeed God and that He alone can save us and that He loves us all so much that He died to pay for all our sins and rose again to give us salvation. All we need to do is put our faith in His completed work and accept Him by faith. He who has an ear, let him hear.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
It is Well with my Soul
Yep- in the Well of Souls [where The Ark of the Covenant was kept, according to the Indiana Jones movies ;-)], it is well with my soul because my soul is well into the Mercy Seat through Christ's death and Resurrection. :-)
Here's another [slightly updated] archival entry for the blog; from July 22, 2007.
........................................................................
"Then we'll both die."
"My soul's prepared, Dr. Jones. How's yours?"
(A scene from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" that just came to mind.)
Of course, I'm not totally sure that the dude from the Brotherhood of the Crucified Sword or something like that was really prepared-but anyway.....
Good question though. How's your soul doing? As we sing in church, "It is well with my soul".
I visited at Clearview Baptist Church this morning. It was a pretty nice service and I enjoyed singing some of the hymns and all that we sang there. We also sang "Oh God, Our Help in Ages Past", which is almost directly lifted from Psalms 90. And that was the main Scripture for the sermon today too. Every day is a gift from God- make the most of all of them. But apart from belief in God, the world is a cemetery! It is well with my soul because I know Whom I have believed in. Jesus died on the cross to pay for all the bad, wrong stupid things we've done (which many times feels like 99.99% of them have been done by me!) and He rose again from the dead!!! He's alive forevermore! And He's coming back one day! And I know that through asking Him to be my Savior and Lord, I know that I have eternal life with Him in Heaven! And that makes every day worth living and death is nothing to be scared of. "Death's not so scary. I don't think it's the end of anything- more like, just another step along the way."- MacGyver in "Passages" And MacGyver's right- for a Christian, death is just the step along the narrow way to Heaven! :-)
"My sin- O the bliss of this glorious thought- my sin, not in part, but the whole is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more- Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord- O my soul!" Amen!!! :-)
And I just finished reading a devotional type book by David Wilkerson called "I'm Not Mad at God". (He's the guy who wrote "The Cross and the Switchblade", about his experiences as a country preacher that God sent to reach the gangs of 1960s New York- and one gang leader in particular became a Christian through his preaching- his name is Nicky Cruz and he currently pastors a church himself! Wow- God rocks! :-)) This is a 1967 book I picked up for free from the tons of donations the library gets that they wind up throwing out and thereby leaving up for grabs. It's actually really good and still very current for 2007! God's Word never changes! But I must say, I don't know what's up with the cover. I guess they're trying to reach the hippie generation of that day, but why is that so many of these books from the late 60s and early 70s (and I'm talking about Christian books, that is)- have these covers with fonts and colors and drawings that look like the artist was high on LSD or something?!!!? - I mean, I feel like the cover should read "I'm Not Mad at God (But I am high!)" - I mean, really! LOL ;-) (j/k- I'm sure that was just meant to get people's attention...but there are definitely some rather psychedelic book covers out there from this time period....)
Anyway- here's one entry that I thought was pretty dead on target (reference to The Hardy Boys Casefiles 1 totally unintended, but quite cool nonetheless!) ;-)
.....
"Our Golden Calf?"
Can you imagine a archaeologist of 2000 years hence digging up the ruins of this barren materialistic age? What would they point to as representing the God we worshipped? The formless art? The meaningless steeple crosses? The gigantic rockets stored in deep silos underground? Would they be far wrong?
This is a generation with few real values. An age of phonies, cheap politics and insincere Christians. An age that seeks movement without grace and calls it music, money without purpose and calls it security, sex without sympathy and calls it love.
Let us not act bewildered by the apparent ignorance of those who danced around Aaron's golden calf. History will expose us for our ignorance and for falling at the feet of idols and golden calves far more ridiculous.
Lesson: Spend all your time developing true values. Compromise and conformity form the base upon which golden calves are built.
.........
WOW!- like I said, this is still very much current to our society (though I gather the reference to "movement without grace" is probably referring to rock and roll music- which is NOT evil, by the way- though there are plenty of evil lyrics. But that's a whole 'nother debate right there.) See Exodus 32 for more on the golden calf, if you're wondering. But this is something to ponder. I might post a few other entries from this book later on that especially hit me hard.
"Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring Word of God. For, 'All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of the Lord stands forever.' And this is the Word that was preached to you." (1 Peter 1:22-25)
Have a great week walking with Jesus! And remember the words of the psalmist- (in this case, Moses- being inspired by God!)
"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." (Psalms 90:12)
Here's another [slightly updated] archival entry for the blog; from July 22, 2007.
........................................................................
"Then we'll both die."
"My soul's prepared, Dr. Jones. How's yours?"
(A scene from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" that just came to mind.)
Of course, I'm not totally sure that the dude from the Brotherhood of the Crucified Sword or something like that was really prepared-but anyway.....
Good question though. How's your soul doing? As we sing in church, "It is well with my soul".
I visited at Clearview Baptist Church this morning. It was a pretty nice service and I enjoyed singing some of the hymns and all that we sang there. We also sang "Oh God, Our Help in Ages Past", which is almost directly lifted from Psalms 90. And that was the main Scripture for the sermon today too. Every day is a gift from God- make the most of all of them. But apart from belief in God, the world is a cemetery! It is well with my soul because I know Whom I have believed in. Jesus died on the cross to pay for all the bad, wrong stupid things we've done (which many times feels like 99.99% of them have been done by me!) and He rose again from the dead!!! He's alive forevermore! And He's coming back one day! And I know that through asking Him to be my Savior and Lord, I know that I have eternal life with Him in Heaven! And that makes every day worth living and death is nothing to be scared of. "Death's not so scary. I don't think it's the end of anything- more like, just another step along the way."- MacGyver in "Passages" And MacGyver's right- for a Christian, death is just the step along the narrow way to Heaven! :-)
"My sin- O the bliss of this glorious thought- my sin, not in part, but the whole is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more- Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord- O my soul!" Amen!!! :-)
And I just finished reading a devotional type book by David Wilkerson called "I'm Not Mad at God". (He's the guy who wrote "The Cross and the Switchblade", about his experiences as a country preacher that God sent to reach the gangs of 1960s New York- and one gang leader in particular became a Christian through his preaching- his name is Nicky Cruz and he currently pastors a church himself! Wow- God rocks! :-)) This is a 1967 book I picked up for free from the tons of donations the library gets that they wind up throwing out and thereby leaving up for grabs. It's actually really good and still very current for 2007! God's Word never changes! But I must say, I don't know what's up with the cover. I guess they're trying to reach the hippie generation of that day, but why is that so many of these books from the late 60s and early 70s (and I'm talking about Christian books, that is)- have these covers with fonts and colors and drawings that look like the artist was high on LSD or something?!!!? - I mean, I feel like the cover should read "I'm Not Mad at God (But I am high!)" - I mean, really! LOL ;-) (j/k- I'm sure that was just meant to get people's attention...but there are definitely some rather psychedelic book covers out there from this time period....)
Anyway- here's one entry that I thought was pretty dead on target (reference to The Hardy Boys Casefiles 1 totally unintended, but quite cool nonetheless!) ;-)
.....
"Our Golden Calf?"
Can you imagine a archaeologist of 2000 years hence digging up the ruins of this barren materialistic age? What would they point to as representing the God we worshipped? The formless art? The meaningless steeple crosses? The gigantic rockets stored in deep silos underground? Would they be far wrong?
This is a generation with few real values. An age of phonies, cheap politics and insincere Christians. An age that seeks movement without grace and calls it music, money without purpose and calls it security, sex without sympathy and calls it love.
Let us not act bewildered by the apparent ignorance of those who danced around Aaron's golden calf. History will expose us for our ignorance and for falling at the feet of idols and golden calves far more ridiculous.
Lesson: Spend all your time developing true values. Compromise and conformity form the base upon which golden calves are built.
.........
WOW!- like I said, this is still very much current to our society (though I gather the reference to "movement without grace" is probably referring to rock and roll music- which is NOT evil, by the way- though there are plenty of evil lyrics. But that's a whole 'nother debate right there.) See Exodus 32 for more on the golden calf, if you're wondering. But this is something to ponder. I might post a few other entries from this book later on that especially hit me hard.
"Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring Word of God. For, 'All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of the Lord stands forever.' And this is the Word that was preached to you." (1 Peter 1:22-25)
Have a great week walking with Jesus! And remember the words of the psalmist- (in this case, Moses- being inspired by God!)
"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." (Psalms 90:12)
Friday, December 5, 2014
What Music Honors God?
[Note: Another addition from the archives on a topic that still continues to be a hot topic of contention for some churches and Christians at times. And I'm a big fan of music in general and so I wanted to repost this one particularly. I may do a follow-up piece at some point about Christian music in general and some of my thoughts on that. Enjoy and rock (or Gregorian chant) on- for Jesus! :-)]
Okay- whoa! I ran across this video on Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LQTP6Ad5Og&mode=related&search=
(Now to be fair, this is a 10 minute video that's edited down from a 45 minute sermon- so apparently all the Scriptural references are somewhere in those other 35 minutes...)
But this was interesting to watch. I have experienced many styles of worship at churches, especially considering the church I grew up going to (good old Chaguanas Evangelical Bible Church in Trinidad [http://cebctt.com/])- the one I was at for most of my teen years (http://web.archive.org/web/20070502183429/http://www.pelionbaptist.com/)- and the "megachurch" Newspring (www.newspring.cc) that I went to for a while and my current church, which offers a blend of classic and contemporary styles. (www.brushycreek.org)
I don't agree with the views in the video- because I think it's most important that your heart is truly worshipping Jesus and I don't think He really cares what kind of music you're playing- (and you know He must be God if He can stand country music and actually enjoy it when it's praising Him!![]()
)
Yeah, I'm definitely NOT God. I can stand country music when it's praising God- but enjoy it? ....I don't think so! (lol- I've learned to put up with it a little more over the years- still one of my least favorite styles of music, but there are a few country songs that I like.)
I recently read through a book at the library called "Why I Left the Contemporary Christian Music Movement". Very interesting read- written by a guy who was into secular rock music, led worship at a church that did a lot of contemporary Christian music- and is now at a very traditional church that only uses traditional music- i.e. hymns.
http://www.amazon.com/Left-Contemporary-Christian-Music-Movement/dp/0852345178/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-6198925-3183029?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174948872&sr=8-1
Anyway, I guess this is to say that I've been to both ends of the spectrum to some degree. I've been at churches that stick closely to traditional hymns (and by the way- "And Can It Be?" by Charles Wesley still rocks my socks off! :-)) and my current church likes to use more recent worship music (like that great song that goes "And I know that You're alive- You came to fix my broken life- And I will sing to glorify- Your Holy Name- Jesus Christ!" :-))
And I wanted to be fair and listen to the author's points. And the author of the book at least, does have some valid points. He does bring out 1 Thessalonians 5:22 "Avoid every kind of evil." - Absolutely! We should definitely do this because we should do everything in The Bible. Of course, if you read the verse right before that it says this - "Test everything. Hold on to the good." (1 Thessalonians 5:21)
I guess I grew up as a kid singing hymns in church, along with worship choruses (like Rich Mullins' "Awesome God", "What a Mighty God We Serve", "Seek Ye First", and lots of others you probably don't know for geographic reasons ...)
Of course, as a kid we also sang the hymns A LOT faster than the way they're sung in some of the churches I've been to in the USA.
What I don't get is where these guys see that The Bible ever says rock and roll is evil? I've yet to find that verse. (And not to brag, but I have read them all at least twice- working on the third go round now....)
Who decided what was God's style of music?
I think the heart of worship is WAY more important to God than the style of music. This is the same reason God doesn't care if you sing like a nightingale or crow like a...well, crow. The important thing is not so much how pretty your voice sounds- but how pretty your heart looks. If you're truly worshipping God, I really don't think He cares beans about what style of music you're using. I mean, this is the God who created like a gazillion kinds of bugs! He made people different shades of skin. I mean, the same style of music (yes, even that beloved country-rap ) does get boring after a while. So I don't personally have any problem with different styles of music- as long as it's truly worshipping God. The lyrics really make the song for me- not the music (though having good fun music you can rock out to is cool too)
Now keep in mind that I fully believe you can sing "How Great Thou Art" every single Sunday and God would never get tired of it. I never get tired of singing it- it ROCKS!!! Because God ROCKS!!!!!
But there's nothing wrong with playing blue's licks! As Larry Norman put it "Why should the devil have all the good music?"
I can also sing "What's In a Name?" by Petra and totally rock out to it- and it definitely praises Jesus- Name above all names!![]()
I think we do need to not be a stumbling block to our brothers and sisters (1 Corinthians 10:32- "Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God")- but at the same time Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians 9:22 "To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some."
And then there's the Psalms.
"Let them praise His name with dancing and make music to Him with tambourine and harp." (Psalms 149:3)
"Praise the Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens. Praise Him for His acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness. Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise Him with the harp and the lyre, praise Him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise Him with the clash of cymbals, praise Him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord." (Psalms 150)
Note that "Praise Him" is the most frequently repeated phrase here. That's the most important thing. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ- with the Gregorian chants, with the pipe organs, with the baby grand piano, with the acoustic guitar, with the electric guitar, with the harp, with the drums, with the violin, with the flute, with the trumpet, with the tambourine, with your own dancing- and most importantly with your life! Praise God with everything you've got!
If hymns are reaching people and bringing them to salvation in Christ- AWESOME! If Gregorian chants are reaching people and bringing them to salvation in Christ-AWESOME! If rock and roll is reaching people and bringing them to Christ-AWESOME!
Because ultimately it really doesn't matter what music you use or if you use any at all. The Holy Spirit is what draws people to Jesus and brings them to salvation. Not the music, the pews, carpet, pastor's preaching or anything else. Just the Holy Spirit. We get the awesome privilege of being His tools to witness for Him - and when we just share the Good News that Jesus Christ loves you to death- (literally on His part- but don't worry- He rose again! Talk about a love that really reaches from beyond the grave! ) then that's all that matters. The Holy Spirit uses us and helps us get the right words out and brings people to salvation. And we see that everything is about God- and we are used by Him for His purposes if we're open to Him.
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31)
Okay- whoa! I ran across this video on Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LQTP6Ad5Og&mode=related&search=
(Now to be fair, this is a 10 minute video that's edited down from a 45 minute sermon- so apparently all the Scriptural references are somewhere in those other 35 minutes...)
But this was interesting to watch. I have experienced many styles of worship at churches, especially considering the church I grew up going to (good old Chaguanas Evangelical Bible Church in Trinidad [http://cebctt.com/])- the one I was at for most of my teen years (http://web.archive.org/web/20070502183429/http://www.pelionbaptist.com/)- and the "megachurch" Newspring (www.newspring.cc) that I went to for a while and my current church, which offers a blend of classic and contemporary styles. (www.brushycreek.org)
I don't agree with the views in the video- because I think it's most important that your heart is truly worshipping Jesus and I don't think He really cares what kind of music you're playing- (and you know He must be God if He can stand country music and actually enjoy it when it's praising Him!
Yeah, I'm definitely NOT God. I can stand country music when it's praising God- but enjoy it? ....I don't think so! (lol- I've learned to put up with it a little more over the years- still one of my least favorite styles of music, but there are a few country songs that I like.)
I recently read through a book at the library called "Why I Left the Contemporary Christian Music Movement". Very interesting read- written by a guy who was into secular rock music, led worship at a church that did a lot of contemporary Christian music- and is now at a very traditional church that only uses traditional music- i.e. hymns.
http://www.amazon.com/Left-Contemporary-Christian-Music-Movement/dp/0852345178/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-6198925-3183029?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174948872&sr=8-1
Anyway, I guess this is to say that I've been to both ends of the spectrum to some degree. I've been at churches that stick closely to traditional hymns (and by the way- "And Can It Be?" by Charles Wesley still rocks my socks off! :-)) and my current church likes to use more recent worship music (like that great song that goes "And I know that You're alive- You came to fix my broken life- And I will sing to glorify- Your Holy Name- Jesus Christ!" :-))
And I wanted to be fair and listen to the author's points. And the author of the book at least, does have some valid points. He does bring out 1 Thessalonians 5:22 "Avoid every kind of evil." - Absolutely! We should definitely do this because we should do everything in The Bible. Of course, if you read the verse right before that it says this - "Test everything. Hold on to the good." (1 Thessalonians 5:21)
I guess I grew up as a kid singing hymns in church, along with worship choruses (like Rich Mullins' "Awesome God", "What a Mighty God We Serve", "Seek Ye First", and lots of others you probably don't know for geographic reasons ...)
Of course, as a kid we also sang the hymns A LOT faster than the way they're sung in some of the churches I've been to in the USA.
What I don't get is where these guys see that The Bible ever says rock and roll is evil? I've yet to find that verse. (And not to brag, but I have read them all at least twice- working on the third go round now....)
Who decided what was God's style of music?
I think the heart of worship is WAY more important to God than the style of music. This is the same reason God doesn't care if you sing like a nightingale or crow like a...well, crow. The important thing is not so much how pretty your voice sounds- but how pretty your heart looks. If you're truly worshipping God, I really don't think He cares beans about what style of music you're using. I mean, this is the God who created like a gazillion kinds of bugs! He made people different shades of skin. I mean, the same style of music (yes, even that beloved country-rap ) does get boring after a while. So I don't personally have any problem with different styles of music- as long as it's truly worshipping God. The lyrics really make the song for me- not the music (though having good fun music you can rock out to is cool too)
Now keep in mind that I fully believe you can sing "How Great Thou Art" every single Sunday and God would never get tired of it. I never get tired of singing it- it ROCKS!!! Because God ROCKS!!!!!
But there's nothing wrong with playing blue's licks! As Larry Norman put it "Why should the devil have all the good music?"
I can also sing "What's In a Name?" by Petra and totally rock out to it- and it definitely praises Jesus- Name above all names!
I think we do need to not be a stumbling block to our brothers and sisters (1 Corinthians 10:32- "Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God")- but at the same time Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians 9:22 "To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some."
And then there's the Psalms.
"Let them praise His name with dancing and make music to Him with tambourine and harp." (Psalms 149:3)
"Praise the Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens. Praise Him for His acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness. Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise Him with the harp and the lyre, praise Him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise Him with the clash of cymbals, praise Him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord." (Psalms 150)
Note that "Praise Him" is the most frequently repeated phrase here. That's the most important thing. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ- with the Gregorian chants, with the pipe organs, with the baby grand piano, with the acoustic guitar, with the electric guitar, with the harp, with the drums, with the violin, with the flute, with the trumpet, with the tambourine, with your own dancing- and most importantly with your life! Praise God with everything you've got!
If hymns are reaching people and bringing them to salvation in Christ- AWESOME! If Gregorian chants are reaching people and bringing them to salvation in Christ-AWESOME! If rock and roll is reaching people and bringing them to Christ-AWESOME!
Because ultimately it really doesn't matter what music you use or if you use any at all. The Holy Spirit is what draws people to Jesus and brings them to salvation. Not the music, the pews, carpet, pastor's preaching or anything else. Just the Holy Spirit. We get the awesome privilege of being His tools to witness for Him - and when we just share the Good News that Jesus Christ loves you to death- (literally on His part- but don't worry- He rose again! Talk about a love that really reaches from beyond the grave! ) then that's all that matters. The Holy Spirit uses us and helps us get the right words out and brings people to salvation. And we see that everything is about God- and we are used by Him for His purposes if we're open to Him.
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)