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!
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
In Big Sky Country (song)
Note: Though I didn't really write anything with a Christmas theme for the blog this year, these next 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. :-)
Life is so very hard. Yes, there are times when it has its moments of joy but it also has so many moments of pain. And while we all face our fair share of it all, there are some people groups who have gotten hit so hard and others often don't even see it or ignore. In a big country, it's easy to ignore the plight of others. This song was written as an encouragement for the beautiful Native American people of Montana especially, as well as those throughout America. I had the blessing and privilege to serve these people in helping host basketball camps during the last two summers and in so doing seek to share the love of Christ with people there. There are a lot of hardships that face the people there, largely stemming from the past misdeeds of history- all of which ultimately comes down to the perniciousness of sin that still pervades the whole world. The state of Montana has one of the highest suicide rates in the country and that number is sadly particularly high among the Native American Indian people. I pray that the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine people may come to know the eternal Hope of Christ. If you are interested in learning more and supporting these people groups there, check out Montana Indian Ministries and the work God is doing through Pastor Bruce Plummer there. Give if you feel led, but most of all- pray for God to move and use His servants there to reach many there in Big Sky Country with Jesus' love.
"In Big Sky Country"
(parody of "In A Big Country" by Big Country; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 8/23/2019)
(Jeremiah 1:5, Jeremiah 31:3, Philippians 1:6, 2 Peter 3:8-9, Romans 6-7, Romans 10:8-13, Psalms 139, John 3:16-17, Joshua 24:14-15, John 10:10, John 14:6, 1 John 4:18-20, Isaiah 43:1-7, Isaiah 42:1-4, 2 Samuel 22:30, Psalms 18:29, Psalms 27:13, Deuteronomy 30:15-20, John 6:44, Luke 19:10, Luke 4:14-21, Song of Songs 8:6-7, 1 Corinthians 13, Isaiah 35, Revelation 5:9)
Wake up screaming? Keep on dreaming!
You always seem to look listless- but what's the reason?
Another promise fallen through
Another season passes- life's cruel
Life's often taken smiles away from everybody's face
And there's real desperation- look!
Leads some to suicide- O child!
In Big Sky Country, drinks take our youth
Like our drug of choice tries to satisfy-
They all lie!
I think the painful truth's for things that really matter
You must persevere when every dream or hope in you shatters
I am expecting to grow flowers in the desert
In Isaiah figuratively
We see Heaven in 35
In Big Sky Country dreams can come true
The Creator's voice fills the mountainside
Stay alive!
In a big valley- we can do this too!
You are loved- rejoice! Scale the mountainside!
(Put) Faith in Christ!
Mistakes, life's hooks- so severe! They don't define you
Because they've happened doesn't mean you've been discarded
Put hope in Him 'cause The Lord conquers demons
Christ died for every sin! Creator Sets Free wants you!
Christ's God- The Way, Life, Truth- rising proved that He's Master
His love casts out fear- through everything there's Hope-
Your life matters! Niya!
I am expecting to grow flowers in the desert
And there flow rivers, streams
And see The Son then bring new life!
In Deuteronomy 30- we choose!
God our Father's voice draws us to His side
Please choose Life! (hashtag)
Assiniboine, Gros Ventre- Peace I pray for you
Christ's own blood ransomed folks from every tribe
Rev. 5:9
In Big Sky Country- dreams made like hoops
Through The Lover's choice find in Christ new life
Stay alive!
(Note: "Big Sky Country" is one of the state nicknames for Montana. "Creator Sets Free" is a term for Jesus used in the First Nations Version translation of The Bible, a translation specifically written with First Nation (Native American) people in mind! :-)
"Niya" is a term used by the Lakota people used to refer to the "life-breath". I am using it here to reflect back to the One who gives us both the first life breath with physical life (Genesis 2:7) and a second life breath with spiritual life when we put faith in Christ. (John 20:22))
Life is so very hard. Yes, there are times when it has its moments of joy but it also has so many moments of pain. And while we all face our fair share of it all, there are some people groups who have gotten hit so hard and others often don't even see it or ignore. In a big country, it's easy to ignore the plight of others. This song was written as an encouragement for the beautiful Native American people of Montana especially, as well as those throughout America. I had the blessing and privilege to serve these people in helping host basketball camps during the last two summers and in so doing seek to share the love of Christ with people there. There are a lot of hardships that face the people there, largely stemming from the past misdeeds of history- all of which ultimately comes down to the perniciousness of sin that still pervades the whole world. The state of Montana has one of the highest suicide rates in the country and that number is sadly particularly high among the Native American Indian people. I pray that the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine people may come to know the eternal Hope of Christ. If you are interested in learning more and supporting these people groups there, check out Montana Indian Ministries and the work God is doing through Pastor Bruce Plummer there. Give if you feel led, but most of all- pray for God to move and use His servants there to reach many there in Big Sky Country with Jesus' love.
"In Big Sky Country"
(parody of "In A Big Country" by Big Country; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 8/23/2019)
(Jeremiah 1:5, Jeremiah 31:3, Philippians 1:6, 2 Peter 3:8-9, Romans 6-7, Romans 10:8-13, Psalms 139, John 3:16-17, Joshua 24:14-15, John 10:10, John 14:6, 1 John 4:18-20, Isaiah 43:1-7, Isaiah 42:1-4, 2 Samuel 22:30, Psalms 18:29, Psalms 27:13, Deuteronomy 30:15-20, John 6:44, Luke 19:10, Luke 4:14-21, Song of Songs 8:6-7, 1 Corinthians 13, Isaiah 35, Revelation 5:9)
Wake up screaming? Keep on dreaming!
You always seem to look listless- but what's the reason?
Another promise fallen through
Another season passes- life's cruel
Life's often taken smiles away from everybody's face
And there's real desperation- look!
Leads some to suicide- O child!
In Big Sky Country, drinks take our youth
Like our drug of choice tries to satisfy-
They all lie!
I think the painful truth's for things that really matter
You must persevere when every dream or hope in you shatters
I am expecting to grow flowers in the desert
In Isaiah figuratively
We see Heaven in 35
In Big Sky Country dreams can come true
The Creator's voice fills the mountainside
Stay alive!
In a big valley- we can do this too!
You are loved- rejoice! Scale the mountainside!
(Put) Faith in Christ!
Mistakes, life's hooks- so severe! They don't define you
Because they've happened doesn't mean you've been discarded
Put hope in Him 'cause The Lord conquers demons
Christ died for every sin! Creator Sets Free wants you!
Christ's God- The Way, Life, Truth- rising proved that He's Master
His love casts out fear- through everything there's Hope-
Your life matters! Niya!
I am expecting to grow flowers in the desert
And there flow rivers, streams
And see The Son then bring new life!
In Deuteronomy 30- we choose!
God our Father's voice draws us to His side
Please choose Life! (hashtag)
Assiniboine, Gros Ventre- Peace I pray for you
Christ's own blood ransomed folks from every tribe
Rev. 5:9
In Big Sky Country- dreams made like hoops
Through The Lover's choice find in Christ new life
Stay alive!
(Note: "Big Sky Country" is one of the state nicknames for Montana. "Creator Sets Free" is a term for Jesus used in the First Nations Version translation of The Bible, a translation specifically written with First Nation (Native American) people in mind! :-)
"Niya" is a term used by the Lakota people used to refer to the "life-breath". I am using it here to reflect back to the One who gives us both the first life breath with physical life (Genesis 2:7) and a second life breath with spiritual life when we put faith in Christ. (John 20:22))
Contextual Reading (song)
Note: Though I didn't really write anything with a Christmas theme for the blog this year, these next 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. :-)
There are lots of preachers out there telling us and selling us all kinds of takes on God and the Gospel. Jesus said there would be false teachers who would come and we must be ready to see through and past them to the only real Gospel that Jesus Himself taught. (See Matthew 24) One of the best ways to defend against such mars on Christ's teachings is to engage in His Word and read it in the right context. This means reading The Bible with the Holy Spirit's guidance, first of all. Ask Him to be leading you in reading it right. Keep in mind the time and place the Scriptures were written and to whom they were originally written- and read the passages immediately before and after the passage you're reading- and then ask Him to help you see how they fit to our lives today. This song is largely inspired by one of my friends who has studied a lot on these things in seminary and has continually been an encouragement and reminder to employ contextual reading. (Hence the line referencing my friend Thaddeus- "When you get Thad preaching, you get contextual reading." ;-) Check out his awesome contextual readings and analyses of the Scriptures at his "Liberating Lions" blog that I have linked to on this site.)
There are lots of preachers out there telling us and selling us all kinds of takes on God and the Gospel. Jesus said there would be false teachers who would come and we must be ready to see through and past them to the only real Gospel that Jesus Himself taught. (See Matthew 24) One of the best ways to defend against such mars on Christ's teachings is to engage in His Word and read it in the right context. This means reading The Bible with the Holy Spirit's guidance, first of all. Ask Him to be leading you in reading it right. Keep in mind the time and place the Scriptures were written and to whom they were originally written- and read the passages immediately before and after the passage you're reading- and then ask Him to help you see how they fit to our lives today. This song is largely inspired by one of my friends who has studied a lot on these things in seminary and has continually been an encouragement and reminder to employ contextual reading. (Hence the line referencing my friend Thaddeus- "When you get Thad preaching, you get contextual reading." ;-) Check out his awesome contextual readings and analyses of the Scriptures at his "Liberating Lions" blog that I have linked to on this site.)
"Contextual Reading"
(parody of "Sexual Healing" by Marvin Gaye; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 6/26/2016)
(Romans 16:17-18, Luke 24, John 16:3, book of Jude, 2 Peter 3:14-18, John 14:15-31, 1 Corinthians 2:12-16, 1 Timothy 6:3-6, 1 Timothy 1:3-7, 2 Timothy 2:15, 2 Corinthians 8:9, Galatians 1:6-10)
Get up, get up, read up, read up
Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up!
Be wary now- (of) prophets falsified
(Ohh!)
They're saying that God judges like sin's nothing
He's just all-loving
And all peeps, we can go in all roads there
To Heaven; Scripture says "Wrong there!"
And when I get bad teaching
(I) use contextual reading
(Con)textual reading; and Spirit
Makes me read it right
Helper, just teach and guide
Spirit-filled reading, baby, does good for me
Spirit-filled reading enlightens- that's good for me
Whenever bad dudes drop bad doctrine
Then my devotional's 1st. Timothy- I read 6:3
They know nothing of The Truth
They can get a word quarrel on and rile you up, baby
And Holy Ghost, You'll be there to just lead me
('Cause) Folks love to give, baby, bad teaching
But they don't know the thing they're dealing
Ohh- you can tell that, darling- use contextual reading
Get up, read up, get up, read up
Galatians 1 verse 9
Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up
Those fake dudes get fried
Baby, we've gotta check this warning
Just read 1:7 1st. Timothy
They teach 8:9 (Two) 2 Corinthians-
Says Name, claim- God's giving earthly riches
And when we get bad teaching
(We) use contextual reading
Spirit-filled reading- it guides our read
It reveals these lines pack such a punch
Helps to go read the lines- after and previous
Contextual reading takes in geography
Contextual reading knows culture and history
Takes all God's teachings and He grows us rich spiritually (Oh!)
He took control and saved my soul
Now I've got the mind of Christ; 2:16 1 Corinthians
I'll be reading right
Take the medicine, open up and let Him in
And when you are saved, Christ opens for you what Scriptures say
Get up, read up, get up, read up
24 Luke tonight
Wake up, read up, wake up, read up
32- that line
1 Corinthians 2:13, mate
(So) When you get bad teaching
Use contextual reading
And when you get Thad preaching
(You) get contextual reading
I want my contextual reading, darling
Or it all goes wrong
Spirit-filled reading, darling
Teach me in 14 John
Please don't extrapolate
Read it good- stay on same page
(parody of "Sexual Healing" by Marvin Gaye; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 6/26/2016)
(Romans 16:17-18, Luke 24, John 16:3, book of Jude, 2 Peter 3:14-18, John 14:15-31, 1 Corinthians 2:12-16, 1 Timothy 6:3-6, 1 Timothy 1:3-7, 2 Timothy 2:15, 2 Corinthians 8:9, Galatians 1:6-10)
Get up, get up, read up, read up
Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up!
Be wary now- (of) prophets falsified
(Ohh!)
They're saying that God judges like sin's nothing
He's just all-loving
And all peeps, we can go in all roads there
To Heaven; Scripture says "Wrong there!"
And when I get bad teaching
(I) use contextual reading
(Con)textual reading; and Spirit
Makes me read it right
Helper, just teach and guide
Spirit-filled reading, baby, does good for me
Spirit-filled reading enlightens- that's good for me
Whenever bad dudes drop bad doctrine
Then my devotional's 1st. Timothy- I read 6:3
They know nothing of The Truth
They can get a word quarrel on and rile you up, baby
And Holy Ghost, You'll be there to just lead me
('Cause) Folks love to give, baby, bad teaching
But they don't know the thing they're dealing
Ohh- you can tell that, darling- use contextual reading
Get up, read up, get up, read up
Galatians 1 verse 9
Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up
Those fake dudes get fried
Baby, we've gotta check this warning
Just read 1:7 1st. Timothy
They teach 8:9 (Two) 2 Corinthians-
Says Name, claim- God's giving earthly riches
And when we get bad teaching
(We) use contextual reading
Spirit-filled reading- it guides our read
It reveals these lines pack such a punch
Helps to go read the lines- after and previous
Contextual reading takes in geography
Contextual reading knows culture and history
Takes all God's teachings and He grows us rich spiritually (Oh!)
He took control and saved my soul
Now I've got the mind of Christ; 2:16 1 Corinthians
I'll be reading right
Take the medicine, open up and let Him in
And when you are saved, Christ opens for you what Scriptures say
Get up, read up, get up, read up
24 Luke tonight
Wake up, read up, wake up, read up
32- that line
1 Corinthians 2:13, mate
(So) When you get bad teaching
Use contextual reading
And when you get Thad preaching
(You) get contextual reading
I want my contextual reading, darling
Or it all goes wrong
Spirit-filled reading, darling
Teach me in 14 John
Please don't extrapolate
Read it good- stay on same page
Sunday, December 8, 2019
Season for the Reason: Old Testament Laws in New Testament times- Jesus is always Divine
Note: This is drawn from an online conversation I had and thus it's framed as such. I was trying to answer a multitude of questions and points raised by a skeptic. As the title says, it talks about the application of Old Testament Laws in New Testament times along with understanding the divinity of Jesus. I hope someone else may find this effort to help provide some answers to legitimate questions agnostics and/or atheists ask. As always, the best idea is to go to the Source- ask God Himself to reveal these things to you. As Jeremiah 29:13 says, you will seek Him and find Him when you seek Him with all your heart.
..............................................................................
Hi! Thank you for your patience, sir. I knew this would likely be a long response and I wanted to have both wifi service and a computer keyboard available when I typed it. Let me say just a few things up front before I go any further. First of all, I wanted to note the limitations of this format for such conversations, as it does not allow for a real tet-a-tet where people can see each other face to face and observe facial expressions and tone of voice and so forth. And since this is someone else's Facebook wall, I don't want to bog down their wall with lengthy posts. I am happy to do my best to address your questions but I have absolutely no desire to argue or debate about them. Thus, I will do what I said I would do and try to cover each point one by one with a Biblical view. You are of course free to do whatever you want with that after that point. As you have already proved, the truth of 1 Corinthians 2:14 remains. If you're not in Christ, you will not understand the things that are discerned by the Spirit. Thus, the best way to really address your questions is to sincerely ask them to Creator God Himself- and the best way to do that is to sincerely put faith in Jesus and follow Him as Lord and Saviour. I certainly pray you might choose to do that but that is of course your choice to make. I respect everyone's right to their own religious choices. And every choice has consequences.
So- back to John 20:17. Jesus says to Mary in the garden that He's going back to her God and His God. You said you didn't question Jesus' use of the term "His Father and Mary's Father". Why's that? It seems Jesus answers your question in this same verse. He was clearly identifying His Father as God here. The grammar indicates He was talking about the same Person. Thus, His God is God the Father. The reason He can say this is because of the fact that He was fully God and fully man. Secondly- you asked about a proof text for that claim. There are a number of passages that speak about this but perhaps the best one I could point you to is Philippians 2. This passage notes that though Jesus was in the form of God, He did not count equality with God something to be grasped but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bondservant and being born in the likeness of men. (Some translations say He made Himself nothing and took on the form of a slave.) The term "servant" is important though as this references back to the prophecies God made about the coming of His servant in Isaiah. Isaiah 52 and 53 speak about this servant and clearly paint a picture of Jesus the Messiah, who came in human form and humbled Himself to the point of death, even death on a cross. (The "even" part is important too- this refers back to Old Testament writings in the Law that proclaimed such a death to be a curse. Galatians 3 speaks about this. Deuteronomy 21:23 declared everyone hanged on a tree to be cursed. This is why Galatians 3 speaks of Jesus redeeming us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us. Because of Christ's obedience, Philippians 2 goes on to say that God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the Name that is above every name so that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. It's also worth noting on this question that Jesus repeatedly referred to Himself as both the Son of Man and the Son of God. (Matthew 16:13-17- He affirms both titles here. See also John 5:17-18)
Third point- There wasn't a really question here, but I would say that you should reinsert the mysticism and set it back in front of you because it is important. Jesus has always existed. The fact that He came into the world for a period of time as a human via a mystical working of the Holy Spirit in Mary's womb (see Matthew 1 and Luke 1) does not mean Jesus was created. Colossians 1 and John 8:58 both speak to Jesus' eternal existence. See also John 1:1, which says that in the beginning was The Word and The Word was with God and The Word was God. (John 1:14 goes on to clarify that The Word is Jesus.) God was not created- He has eternally existed and eternally exists and will eternally exist. Of course, this baffles the human mind and goes beyond our understanding. But that stands to reason- we shouldn't expect to understand God in totality; otherwise, He wouldn't be much of a God. Fourth point- I can show you a plethora of places in the synoptic Gospels where Jesus claimed divinity. For that, I will stop this post and post that separately. (See separate post-
http://wordapplelyspoken.blogspot.com/2017/03/season-for-reason-jesus-is-god-he-said.html?m=0)
Fifth point- Again, not really a question here but as I said earlier, Leviticus 11:45 has everything to do with Jesus because Jesus quoted it in Matthew 5:48 and in Matthew 5:17 He stated that He came to fulfill that law and all the others. This is incredibly significant because none of us can keep that Law, which all humanity is held accountable to in the end. God did give this Law to the Hebrews first, but He gave it so that they could live in such a way to be set apart and be an example to the other nations of the truth of The Lord God. Romans 2 speaks of the Gentiles being a Law unto themselves as all of us have consciences as a remnant of being made in the image of God that instill in us the difference between right and wrong. Romans 1-6 speaks a lot to the tension between the Law and Grace. As John 1:17 says- "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." Jesus also affirmed the truth of all Scriptures as God's Word in John 17 and He spoke to the dudes on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24 about the numerous Scriptures throughout the Old Testament that speak directly of Him.
Sixth point- The funny thing about the phrase "cherry picking" is that it makes perfect sense to speak of passages relevant to a point and not mention others that are not immediately relevant. That doesn't mean one ignores the other passages. I uphold the validity of all The Bible and I certainly believe in taking the full counsel of Scripture from all of God's Word. In cherry picking, I assume one would pick ripe cherries and not unripe ones; similarly, it makes sense to reference passages to support points while not mentioning ones that are not particularly relevant to those points. I previously addressed the question about Ezekiel 18, but to reiterate and clarify a bit more: that passage, along with all others, must be read in context to fully understand it. It's important to remember the people it was written to and the purpose it was written for and the time and language it was written in, as well as where it was written. This passage was written to the Jewish people at that time in history and its setting is within the Mosaic Law. The people were still under that Covenant and the only way they had of following The Lord was living by that Covenant and putting faith in the Messiah to come. God makes clear here that He will punish the the soul who sins with death. He later says in the same chapter that He will judge everyone according to his ways. And He exhorts Israel to turn from her wicked ways and repent! He asks them, "Why will you die?" As Ezekiel 18:32 says, God takes no pleasure in the death of anyone- so turn and live! As numerous other passages affirm, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23, Proverbs 20:9, Isaiah 64:6, Jeremiah 17:9, Psalms 14:1-3, Psalms 53:1-3) Hebrews 9:22 says that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. The whole book of Hebrews explains that the Law cannot save us because none of us keep the Law perfectly. It also explains that through Jesus we are saved by faith in His sacrifice and resurrection. The shedding of Christ's blood is absolutely necessary for our salvation. He is the final Passover Lamb. Jesus said what He said in Mark 10:18 for a reason as well. First of all, it's worth noting that it's recorded slightly differently in Matthew's account. In Matthew 19:16-17, Jesus tells the rich young ruler, "Why do you ask Me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." (It's interesting to note here that Jesus steers him to the keeping of the commandments and shows the ruler that he still lacks because he is unwilling to sell all he has and give to the poor and follow Jesus. This leads into Jesus' famous statement about how hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven; it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Yet even though with man this is impossible, with God all things are possible. (Thus, rich people can enter God's kingdom through God's help but their earthly riches are certainly stumbling blocks for them.) Jesus doesn't say that He isn't the One who is good in this passage. I personally think He is questioning the rich young ruler as to why He addresses Jesus in that manner. The rich young ruler refers to Jesus as an authority on good deeds and the way to have eternal life. I think in saying this Jesus is getting the guy to recognize what he's saying and understand why he's coming to Jesus with this question- because he does recognize Jesus as good. (And if Jesus is truly good, then He is God because only God is truly good.) Jesus is getting the guy to realize His divinity because in effect, He's telling the guy, "So you realize you're equating Me with God? You recognize that I'm the authority on good because I am good and that's because God is good and He and I are the same." (Here is a good article that speaks more to this point.
http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=10&article=4832&fbclid=IwAR2bMDN8CLW9IrnhwDkQIe1J3mY-siEcTnKKaDifNQEIcn0LURmkVIjZV6Q)
Seventh- You say you don't believe in Heaven or Hell, original sin or total depravity. I assure you that all those notions are sound, Biblically based doctrine and not merely church tradition. If you want to say they are invented to control the masses, I suppose that's true in some sense. But it's not Christians who invented them- it's God. And He does want to control the masses because He wants control of all of our lives. He is our Creator and He knows best how our lives should run. That is why He came in the form of a human being- Jesus the Christ, who was both fully man and fully God at the same time- who died and rose and then left us who believe in Him the Holy Spirit, so that we could have Him living in us. It's all part of the redemptive story of The Bible. God created the world and everything and everyone in it to be perfect but man has gone off in search of many schemes. People decided to sin and rebel against God. This brought a curse on the whole world and separated us from God. God towered above the Israelites in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night and only Moses and the high priest could get anywhere near Him and live! He told them He was going to send a Prophet- later dudes like Isaiah said He was going to send His Servant- and this Prophet and suffering Servant would come and know us in a way God had never done before. He became one of us! Jesus is rightly called Emmanuel- God with us! And Jesus was tempted in all things just as we are- yet was without sin. And because He was the perfect sacrifice, He could be the final Passover Lamb- the spotless Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. And when Jesus died and rose and ascended, He didn't leave us as orphans but He sent the Holy Spirit. Now God draws closer still- He dwells inside our very bodies! The Holy Spirit lives in those who follow Christ and God uses His followers today to be a witness for Christ and show His love to the world and speak His truth to the world in love.
And in the end, we will be finally reunited with God face to face when Christ returns or whenever we die- whichever comes first. Those who know Christ as Saviour and Lord will be with Him in Heaven for eternity. Those who do not will be in Hell for eternity. And in the end, people get where they choose to be. Logically, one can either be with God or away from God in eternity. To be away from God is Hell and to be with God is Heaven. Jesus is Heaven because being with Him is what it's all about. It's getting back to our original design that was put in place in Eden and that we rebelled against. The devil and his demons long ago rebelled and made their choice and they love to take as many humans as they can with them to the lake of fire. Jesus wants everyone to be saved and come to Heaven with Him. (2 Peter 3:8-9) But He is not going to force anyone to come. People must make their own choice. That was the whole point of giving us free will- God wants us to choose to love and follow Him willingly and not by force. We understand that in the context of marriage. I don't think any husband wants to have a Stepford Wife who is robotically programmed to love him and do whatever he wants. In the end, the only love really worth having is the love that is freely given by choice and not by coercion. God could certainly make everyone love Him and follow Him- but He wants our love willingly given to Him. He loved us first and He wants us to love and follow Him in return. Everyone has their own choice on what to do with that.
I'd rather people choose to follow Christ and be in Heaven instead of Hell and that's why I certainly exhort people to make that choice and pray that they will take that step of faith. I can't force them to do so though and I would never try. God is also not going to force anyone. Everyone must make their own choice. And people are welcome to believe as they want to believe. As I said before though, every choice has consequences. Jesus will return one day and the final judgement will take place for everyone. Whether that event happens in our lifetime or not, there is another day that we will all face and that is the day of death. One day we will all die. I believe there is an eternity we will face and only two options of where to spend it- in Heaven or in Hell. I also know the way to avoid Hell and to go to Heaven instead- and that's through faith in Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection on our behalf! It's trusting His perfection in living the life perfectly pleasing to God that we never could. And it's following Him because He loves us and wants us to be with Him. That's the reason I share this hope in Christ- because I know the truth of the eternal consequences of our choice on what to do with Christ and the only natural response to being enveloped by God's love is to share Him with everyone! I seek to do this in obedience to Jesus.
If you knew a house was on fire and the people inside were asleep and were going to burn to death, would you do something about it and at least try to warn them or just walk on by and ignore it? What's the more loving thing to do? Certainly, it's more loving to rip someone out of their sleep and get them to safety out of the fire. Jude 1:22-23 says to have mercy on those who doubt and save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. Of course, I can't do this in my own strength. All I can do is share what Jesus says and what He did and how much He loves us all and how we can all be saved if we'll let Him. And I can seek to love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and love my neighbour as myself. Jesus said those are the two most important commands. I seek to do those first and foremost and also obey Ephesians 4:15 and speak The Truth in Love.
In any case, I hope that helps answer your questions. Of course, it may still not all make sense to you. All I can say is that I would urge you to keep seeking Creator God earnestly because He's already seeking you. Bring these questions and any others to Him in sincerity and listen for His answer. You might also like to try reading through The Bible again for the 61st. time and try it with a fresh approach. Throw out everything you already think about God and go in with an approach that is willing to take God at His Word and believe the best about Him and trust that He is really there and really true in all He says. You may like to try this just with the Gospels first. Contemplate this- what if Jesus really is God and really died and really rose again and will really return and I really will have to stand before Him and give an account for everything I've ever said, thought or done in my life? What will I say to Him for Him to let me into Heaven? I know what I will say. I don't deserve to be in His presence because I am a sinner who has chosen his own way so many times and failed God so many numerous times. But God loves me so much He came and took the punishment I deserve on the cross and rose again to save me and I trust Him and His righteousness alone for salvation. May God bless you as you seek Him and make your decision.
..............................................................................
Hi! Thank you for your patience, sir. I knew this would likely be a long response and I wanted to have both wifi service and a computer keyboard available when I typed it. Let me say just a few things up front before I go any further. First of all, I wanted to note the limitations of this format for such conversations, as it does not allow for a real tet-a-tet where people can see each other face to face and observe facial expressions and tone of voice and so forth. And since this is someone else's Facebook wall, I don't want to bog down their wall with lengthy posts. I am happy to do my best to address your questions but I have absolutely no desire to argue or debate about them. Thus, I will do what I said I would do and try to cover each point one by one with a Biblical view. You are of course free to do whatever you want with that after that point. As you have already proved, the truth of 1 Corinthians 2:14 remains. If you're not in Christ, you will not understand the things that are discerned by the Spirit. Thus, the best way to really address your questions is to sincerely ask them to Creator God Himself- and the best way to do that is to sincerely put faith in Jesus and follow Him as Lord and Saviour. I certainly pray you might choose to do that but that is of course your choice to make. I respect everyone's right to their own religious choices. And every choice has consequences.
So- back to John 20:17. Jesus says to Mary in the garden that He's going back to her God and His God. You said you didn't question Jesus' use of the term "His Father and Mary's Father". Why's that? It seems Jesus answers your question in this same verse. He was clearly identifying His Father as God here. The grammar indicates He was talking about the same Person. Thus, His God is God the Father. The reason He can say this is because of the fact that He was fully God and fully man. Secondly- you asked about a proof text for that claim. There are a number of passages that speak about this but perhaps the best one I could point you to is Philippians 2. This passage notes that though Jesus was in the form of God, He did not count equality with God something to be grasped but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bondservant and being born in the likeness of men. (Some translations say He made Himself nothing and took on the form of a slave.) The term "servant" is important though as this references back to the prophecies God made about the coming of His servant in Isaiah. Isaiah 52 and 53 speak about this servant and clearly paint a picture of Jesus the Messiah, who came in human form and humbled Himself to the point of death, even death on a cross. (The "even" part is important too- this refers back to Old Testament writings in the Law that proclaimed such a death to be a curse. Galatians 3 speaks about this. Deuteronomy 21:23 declared everyone hanged on a tree to be cursed. This is why Galatians 3 speaks of Jesus redeeming us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us. Because of Christ's obedience, Philippians 2 goes on to say that God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the Name that is above every name so that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. It's also worth noting on this question that Jesus repeatedly referred to Himself as both the Son of Man and the Son of God. (Matthew 16:13-17- He affirms both titles here. See also John 5:17-18)
Third point- There wasn't a really question here, but I would say that you should reinsert the mysticism and set it back in front of you because it is important. Jesus has always existed. The fact that He came into the world for a period of time as a human via a mystical working of the Holy Spirit in Mary's womb (see Matthew 1 and Luke 1) does not mean Jesus was created. Colossians 1 and John 8:58 both speak to Jesus' eternal existence. See also John 1:1, which says that in the beginning was The Word and The Word was with God and The Word was God. (John 1:14 goes on to clarify that The Word is Jesus.) God was not created- He has eternally existed and eternally exists and will eternally exist. Of course, this baffles the human mind and goes beyond our understanding. But that stands to reason- we shouldn't expect to understand God in totality; otherwise, He wouldn't be much of a God. Fourth point- I can show you a plethora of places in the synoptic Gospels where Jesus claimed divinity. For that, I will stop this post and post that separately. (See separate post-
http://wordapplelyspoken.blogspot.com/2017/03/season-for-reason-jesus-is-god-he-said.html?m=0)
Fifth point- Again, not really a question here but as I said earlier, Leviticus 11:45 has everything to do with Jesus because Jesus quoted it in Matthew 5:48 and in Matthew 5:17 He stated that He came to fulfill that law and all the others. This is incredibly significant because none of us can keep that Law, which all humanity is held accountable to in the end. God did give this Law to the Hebrews first, but He gave it so that they could live in such a way to be set apart and be an example to the other nations of the truth of The Lord God. Romans 2 speaks of the Gentiles being a Law unto themselves as all of us have consciences as a remnant of being made in the image of God that instill in us the difference between right and wrong. Romans 1-6 speaks a lot to the tension between the Law and Grace. As John 1:17 says- "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." Jesus also affirmed the truth of all Scriptures as God's Word in John 17 and He spoke to the dudes on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24 about the numerous Scriptures throughout the Old Testament that speak directly of Him.
Sixth point- The funny thing about the phrase "cherry picking" is that it makes perfect sense to speak of passages relevant to a point and not mention others that are not immediately relevant. That doesn't mean one ignores the other passages. I uphold the validity of all The Bible and I certainly believe in taking the full counsel of Scripture from all of God's Word. In cherry picking, I assume one would pick ripe cherries and not unripe ones; similarly, it makes sense to reference passages to support points while not mentioning ones that are not particularly relevant to those points. I previously addressed the question about Ezekiel 18, but to reiterate and clarify a bit more: that passage, along with all others, must be read in context to fully understand it. It's important to remember the people it was written to and the purpose it was written for and the time and language it was written in, as well as where it was written. This passage was written to the Jewish people at that time in history and its setting is within the Mosaic Law. The people were still under that Covenant and the only way they had of following The Lord was living by that Covenant and putting faith in the Messiah to come. God makes clear here that He will punish the the soul who sins with death. He later says in the same chapter that He will judge everyone according to his ways. And He exhorts Israel to turn from her wicked ways and repent! He asks them, "Why will you die?" As Ezekiel 18:32 says, God takes no pleasure in the death of anyone- so turn and live! As numerous other passages affirm, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23, Proverbs 20:9, Isaiah 64:6, Jeremiah 17:9, Psalms 14:1-3, Psalms 53:1-3) Hebrews 9:22 says that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. The whole book of Hebrews explains that the Law cannot save us because none of us keep the Law perfectly. It also explains that through Jesus we are saved by faith in His sacrifice and resurrection. The shedding of Christ's blood is absolutely necessary for our salvation. He is the final Passover Lamb. Jesus said what He said in Mark 10:18 for a reason as well. First of all, it's worth noting that it's recorded slightly differently in Matthew's account. In Matthew 19:16-17, Jesus tells the rich young ruler, "Why do you ask Me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." (It's interesting to note here that Jesus steers him to the keeping of the commandments and shows the ruler that he still lacks because he is unwilling to sell all he has and give to the poor and follow Jesus. This leads into Jesus' famous statement about how hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven; it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Yet even though with man this is impossible, with God all things are possible. (Thus, rich people can enter God's kingdom through God's help but their earthly riches are certainly stumbling blocks for them.) Jesus doesn't say that He isn't the One who is good in this passage. I personally think He is questioning the rich young ruler as to why He addresses Jesus in that manner. The rich young ruler refers to Jesus as an authority on good deeds and the way to have eternal life. I think in saying this Jesus is getting the guy to recognize what he's saying and understand why he's coming to Jesus with this question- because he does recognize Jesus as good. (And if Jesus is truly good, then He is God because only God is truly good.) Jesus is getting the guy to realize His divinity because in effect, He's telling the guy, "So you realize you're equating Me with God? You recognize that I'm the authority on good because I am good and that's because God is good and He and I are the same." (Here is a good article that speaks more to this point.
http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=10&article=4832&fbclid=IwAR2bMDN8CLW9IrnhwDkQIe1J3mY-siEcTnKKaDifNQEIcn0LURmkVIjZV6Q)
Seventh- You say you don't believe in Heaven or Hell, original sin or total depravity. I assure you that all those notions are sound, Biblically based doctrine and not merely church tradition. If you want to say they are invented to control the masses, I suppose that's true in some sense. But it's not Christians who invented them- it's God. And He does want to control the masses because He wants control of all of our lives. He is our Creator and He knows best how our lives should run. That is why He came in the form of a human being- Jesus the Christ, who was both fully man and fully God at the same time- who died and rose and then left us who believe in Him the Holy Spirit, so that we could have Him living in us. It's all part of the redemptive story of The Bible. God created the world and everything and everyone in it to be perfect but man has gone off in search of many schemes. People decided to sin and rebel against God. This brought a curse on the whole world and separated us from God. God towered above the Israelites in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night and only Moses and the high priest could get anywhere near Him and live! He told them He was going to send a Prophet- later dudes like Isaiah said He was going to send His Servant- and this Prophet and suffering Servant would come and know us in a way God had never done before. He became one of us! Jesus is rightly called Emmanuel- God with us! And Jesus was tempted in all things just as we are- yet was without sin. And because He was the perfect sacrifice, He could be the final Passover Lamb- the spotless Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. And when Jesus died and rose and ascended, He didn't leave us as orphans but He sent the Holy Spirit. Now God draws closer still- He dwells inside our very bodies! The Holy Spirit lives in those who follow Christ and God uses His followers today to be a witness for Christ and show His love to the world and speak His truth to the world in love.
And in the end, we will be finally reunited with God face to face when Christ returns or whenever we die- whichever comes first. Those who know Christ as Saviour and Lord will be with Him in Heaven for eternity. Those who do not will be in Hell for eternity. And in the end, people get where they choose to be. Logically, one can either be with God or away from God in eternity. To be away from God is Hell and to be with God is Heaven. Jesus is Heaven because being with Him is what it's all about. It's getting back to our original design that was put in place in Eden and that we rebelled against. The devil and his demons long ago rebelled and made their choice and they love to take as many humans as they can with them to the lake of fire. Jesus wants everyone to be saved and come to Heaven with Him. (2 Peter 3:8-9) But He is not going to force anyone to come. People must make their own choice. That was the whole point of giving us free will- God wants us to choose to love and follow Him willingly and not by force. We understand that in the context of marriage. I don't think any husband wants to have a Stepford Wife who is robotically programmed to love him and do whatever he wants. In the end, the only love really worth having is the love that is freely given by choice and not by coercion. God could certainly make everyone love Him and follow Him- but He wants our love willingly given to Him. He loved us first and He wants us to love and follow Him in return. Everyone has their own choice on what to do with that.
I'd rather people choose to follow Christ and be in Heaven instead of Hell and that's why I certainly exhort people to make that choice and pray that they will take that step of faith. I can't force them to do so though and I would never try. God is also not going to force anyone. Everyone must make their own choice. And people are welcome to believe as they want to believe. As I said before though, every choice has consequences. Jesus will return one day and the final judgement will take place for everyone. Whether that event happens in our lifetime or not, there is another day that we will all face and that is the day of death. One day we will all die. I believe there is an eternity we will face and only two options of where to spend it- in Heaven or in Hell. I also know the way to avoid Hell and to go to Heaven instead- and that's through faith in Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection on our behalf! It's trusting His perfection in living the life perfectly pleasing to God that we never could. And it's following Him because He loves us and wants us to be with Him. That's the reason I share this hope in Christ- because I know the truth of the eternal consequences of our choice on what to do with Christ and the only natural response to being enveloped by God's love is to share Him with everyone! I seek to do this in obedience to Jesus.
If you knew a house was on fire and the people inside were asleep and were going to burn to death, would you do something about it and at least try to warn them or just walk on by and ignore it? What's the more loving thing to do? Certainly, it's more loving to rip someone out of their sleep and get them to safety out of the fire. Jude 1:22-23 says to have mercy on those who doubt and save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. Of course, I can't do this in my own strength. All I can do is share what Jesus says and what He did and how much He loves us all and how we can all be saved if we'll let Him. And I can seek to love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and love my neighbour as myself. Jesus said those are the two most important commands. I seek to do those first and foremost and also obey Ephesians 4:15 and speak The Truth in Love.
In any case, I hope that helps answer your questions. Of course, it may still not all make sense to you. All I can say is that I would urge you to keep seeking Creator God earnestly because He's already seeking you. Bring these questions and any others to Him in sincerity and listen for His answer. You might also like to try reading through The Bible again for the 61st. time and try it with a fresh approach. Throw out everything you already think about God and go in with an approach that is willing to take God at His Word and believe the best about Him and trust that He is really there and really true in all He says. You may like to try this just with the Gospels first. Contemplate this- what if Jesus really is God and really died and really rose again and will really return and I really will have to stand before Him and give an account for everything I've ever said, thought or done in my life? What will I say to Him for Him to let me into Heaven? I know what I will say. I don't deserve to be in His presence because I am a sinner who has chosen his own way so many times and failed God so many numerous times. But God loves me so much He came and took the punishment I deserve on the cross and rose again to save me and I trust Him and His righteousness alone for salvation. May God bless you as you seek Him and make your decision.
Yemana's First Class (Barney Miller's Roll) (song)
Note: This is an older archive entry that I just thought was funny. :-)
This one I just had the idea for one day and just had to do it because it was too funny not to. This is another one of my favorite classic ‘70s rock tunes that even if your mama don’t dance and your daddy don’t rock and roll to- you’ll probably enjoy it. And it was just too fitting that I was able to fit one of my favorite characters’ names in from one of my recently newly engrossed in ‘70s sitcom favorites. (I’d known about the show but never really watched it until watching the first few seasons on DVD from the library. :-)) Even if I have to watch the show in a crumbling old building with questionable plumbing and a diverse group of wacky but hilarious and dedicated cops- Barney Miller keeps it all under control somehow and helps make it bearable. :-)
“Yemana’s First Class (Barney Miller’s Roll)”
Copyright by Nathan Ludwick 7/31/2011
(parody of “Your Mama Don’t Dance” by Loggins & Messina)
(Proverbs 15:30 seems to be about the only applicable Bible reference here- lol.)
Yemana’s first class
And the sergeant’s no-go, Wojo
Yemana gambles
And uh, Harris just rocks the clothes
Then Dietrich comes around
And it’s time to lay Fish down
Where’s Chano?
He’s off the roll
Well, in New York state
There’s a lot to fill the plate for them
If they’re out on a stake
For muggers-(they’re) homely dates as women
You know there’s more confusion
You know whenever Luger (just) comes on in
I’ll say it again
And it’s all because
Yemana’s coffee’s bad
And Wojciehowicz just rocks the boat
Yemana’s work-challenged
And uh, Harris just writes novels
What Dietrich knows abounds
And it’s time to go (to) the john
For Fish is old
He’s not dead though
They pile into 12th. precinct
And type up their reports
They often do without things
‘Cause they know NY’s so poor
They’re just about, uh, losing
Patience- wanna scream!
There’s a lot on these guys
Haul in the suspects
“You got one call, Longhair”
“Marty- you’re coming with me”
“And no bargain pleas”
And it’s all on Barn
Yemana’s right hand
Man to Barney Miller, you know
Carl Levitt wants a chance
And finally gets it down the road
What Dietrich knows abounds
And he’s tied with Harris now
There’s ol’ Wojo
He rocks the boat
What do you know?
He got sarge- yo!
Where do they go?
To Barney’s roll!
………………………………………………….
This one I just had the idea for one day and just had to do it because it was too funny not to. This is another one of my favorite classic ‘70s rock tunes that even if your mama don’t dance and your daddy don’t rock and roll to- you’ll probably enjoy it. And it was just too fitting that I was able to fit one of my favorite characters’ names in from one of my recently newly engrossed in ‘70s sitcom favorites. (I’d known about the show but never really watched it until watching the first few seasons on DVD from the library. :-)) Even if I have to watch the show in a crumbling old building with questionable plumbing and a diverse group of wacky but hilarious and dedicated cops- Barney Miller keeps it all under control somehow and helps make it bearable. :-)
“Yemana’s First Class (Barney Miller’s Roll)”
Copyright by Nathan Ludwick 7/31/2011
(parody of “Your Mama Don’t Dance” by Loggins & Messina)
(Proverbs 15:30 seems to be about the only applicable Bible reference here- lol.)
Yemana’s first class
And the sergeant’s no-go, Wojo
Yemana gambles
And uh, Harris just rocks the clothes
Then Dietrich comes around
And it’s time to lay Fish down
Where’s Chano?
He’s off the roll
Well, in New York state
There’s a lot to fill the plate for them
If they’re out on a stake
For muggers-(they’re) homely dates as women
You know there’s more confusion
You know whenever Luger (just) comes on in
I’ll say it again
And it’s all because
Yemana’s coffee’s bad
And Wojciehowicz just rocks the boat
Yemana’s work-challenged
And uh, Harris just writes novels
What Dietrich knows abounds
And it’s time to go (to) the john
For Fish is old
He’s not dead though
They pile into 12th. precinct
And type up their reports
They often do without things
‘Cause they know NY’s so poor
They’re just about, uh, losing
Patience- wanna scream!
There’s a lot on these guys
Haul in the suspects
“You got one call, Longhair”
“Marty- you’re coming with me”
“And no bargain pleas”
And it’s all on Barn
Yemana’s right hand
Man to Barney Miller, you know
Carl Levitt wants a chance
And finally gets it down the road
What Dietrich knows abounds
And he’s tied with Harris now
There’s ol’ Wojo
He rocks the boat
What do you know?
He got sarge- yo!
Where do they go?
To Barney’s roll!
………………………………………………….
Sunday, November 24, 2019
Season for the Reason: Transpirings and True Transforming
Note: This was written in response to a claim sometimes made in regards to choices about sexuality. If people see orthodontists to straighten crooked teeth and eye doctors to correct impaired vision, why should someone not also seek to have surgery to alter one's sexual identity on a physical level to match one's internal sense of sexual identity for those struggling with gender dysphoria?
To be clear, as 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 says, "what have I to do with judging outsiders?" Everyone is free to do as they wish. Those outside of Christ will not consider themselves bound to The Bible and thus wouldn't be following it anyway. While of course I think they should, first I think they should get saved by Jesus as they won't be able to fully understand or adhere to His Word otherwise anyway. There is of course much more that could be said on this but this is my concise summary of some of what The Bible says on this. This is an attempt at a Biblical view of the subject and why I believe it's best to accept the sexual identity God has given us rather than fight it.
..............................................................................
A trans person 18 and over is free to do as he or she wishes with his or her body, in regards to body modification via reassignment surgery.
I don't think a child should be allowed to make such a life-altering decision as a child is still mentally developing and may have a change of feelings down the road.
In regards to the common rejoinder mentioned earlier here, I would say this. God did not make anyone with bad vision or crooked teeth. When God saw His creation on the 6th. day, He said it was very good. (Genesis 1:26-31)
Ecclesiastes 7:29 says that God made man to be perfect but man has gone off in search of many schemes.
When man sinned and rebelled against God, the whole was cursed with sin and subjected to futility, as Romans 8 explains. (See also Genesis 3.) This is when bad vision and crooked teeth and other ailments started cropping up. I believe this is also where proclivities toward forbidden sexual relations came up as well. (It's important to note here that being born with a particularity proclivity for a particular sin is of course beyond any person's control. Temptation itself is not sin; acting upon it is though.)
For the other example, if God made someone a brunette, then that person is a brunette. Dying hair to make it blonde does not make that person a blonde. Eventually the dye wears off and the natural roots will grow back out.
The same is true with transgenderism. A person can change outer and inner genitalia and hormone levels but this doesn't change who that person is ultimately. The chromosomes are still the same. Their identity doesn't change in God's eyes.
That said, I don't think it's wrong to dye hair (though I have no desire to do so, particularly because I believe I should be happy with what God has given me in hair color. That is something God gives me. The moral weight of changing sex is quite different from changing hair color, as I don't think there is any for that.) Fixing bad vision and bad teeth is an attempt to temporarily address products of the fall that will one day permanently be fixed with a new body in Heaven for all those in Christ.
The distinction with transgenderism is that God has forbidden sexual relations with the same sex. (Romans 1 is a particularly good passage for this but note also Jesus' words in Matthew 19.) A transgender person engaging in sexual relations with his or her birth sex after transition would thus be violating the command against homosexual relations.
And in Deuteronomy 22:5, The Bible also forbids cross-dressing. Thus, it would follow that a transgender person wearing clothing of the opposite sex, even after having had transitional surgery, would still be violating this command.
This is simply not God's design and trying to rebel against it simply continues to subject transgender people to futility. Note what God says in Romans 9:20-24. Does He not have the right as Creator to make His creation as He sees fit? The clay can't tell the potter that it doesn't like the design- the clay has no say in the matter.
2 Corinthians 4:7 says we have this treasure- that each person made in God's image is- in jars of clay. The surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. Jesus says we can find rest for our souls in Him. (Matthew 11:28) Ultimately, He is the One we can and should take our dsyphorias in life to so we can have that rest in trusting our lives to the hands of our loving Creator.
In the end, when we are saved through faith in Jesus' death and Resurrection, we'll find the restoration and satisfaction we desire through Him in Heaven. Until we get to Heaven, He helps us along the way here in the far country in dealing with these groanings. There is a day coming when all shall be well eternally and that's what I look forward to in the midst of this present suffering, knowing that the weight of glory coming far outweighs anything I go through here.
(For further reading, I found this article from "Christianity Today" extremely helpful and gracious in talking about and understanding a Christian response to this topic.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2015/july-august/understanding-transgender-gender-dysphoria.html )
To be clear, as 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 says, "what have I to do with judging outsiders?" Everyone is free to do as they wish. Those outside of Christ will not consider themselves bound to The Bible and thus wouldn't be following it anyway. While of course I think they should, first I think they should get saved by Jesus as they won't be able to fully understand or adhere to His Word otherwise anyway. There is of course much more that could be said on this but this is my concise summary of some of what The Bible says on this. This is an attempt at a Biblical view of the subject and why I believe it's best to accept the sexual identity God has given us rather than fight it.
..............................................................................
A trans person 18 and over is free to do as he or she wishes with his or her body, in regards to body modification via reassignment surgery.
I don't think a child should be allowed to make such a life-altering decision as a child is still mentally developing and may have a change of feelings down the road.
In regards to the common rejoinder mentioned earlier here, I would say this. God did not make anyone with bad vision or crooked teeth. When God saw His creation on the 6th. day, He said it was very good. (Genesis 1:26-31)
Ecclesiastes 7:29 says that God made man to be perfect but man has gone off in search of many schemes.
When man sinned and rebelled against God, the whole was cursed with sin and subjected to futility, as Romans 8 explains. (See also Genesis 3.) This is when bad vision and crooked teeth and other ailments started cropping up. I believe this is also where proclivities toward forbidden sexual relations came up as well. (It's important to note here that being born with a particularity proclivity for a particular sin is of course beyond any person's control. Temptation itself is not sin; acting upon it is though.)
For the other example, if God made someone a brunette, then that person is a brunette. Dying hair to make it blonde does not make that person a blonde. Eventually the dye wears off and the natural roots will grow back out.
The same is true with transgenderism. A person can change outer and inner genitalia and hormone levels but this doesn't change who that person is ultimately. The chromosomes are still the same. Their identity doesn't change in God's eyes.
That said, I don't think it's wrong to dye hair (though I have no desire to do so, particularly because I believe I should be happy with what God has given me in hair color. That is something God gives me. The moral weight of changing sex is quite different from changing hair color, as I don't think there is any for that.) Fixing bad vision and bad teeth is an attempt to temporarily address products of the fall that will one day permanently be fixed with a new body in Heaven for all those in Christ.
The distinction with transgenderism is that God has forbidden sexual relations with the same sex. (Romans 1 is a particularly good passage for this but note also Jesus' words in Matthew 19.) A transgender person engaging in sexual relations with his or her birth sex after transition would thus be violating the command against homosexual relations.
And in Deuteronomy 22:5, The Bible also forbids cross-dressing. Thus, it would follow that a transgender person wearing clothing of the opposite sex, even after having had transitional surgery, would still be violating this command.
This is simply not God's design and trying to rebel against it simply continues to subject transgender people to futility. Note what God says in Romans 9:20-24. Does He not have the right as Creator to make His creation as He sees fit? The clay can't tell the potter that it doesn't like the design- the clay has no say in the matter.
2 Corinthians 4:7 says we have this treasure- that each person made in God's image is- in jars of clay. The surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. Jesus says we can find rest for our souls in Him. (Matthew 11:28) Ultimately, He is the One we can and should take our dsyphorias in life to so we can have that rest in trusting our lives to the hands of our loving Creator.
In the end, when we are saved through faith in Jesus' death and Resurrection, we'll find the restoration and satisfaction we desire through Him in Heaven. Until we get to Heaven, He helps us along the way here in the far country in dealing with these groanings. There is a day coming when all shall be well eternally and that's what I look forward to in the midst of this present suffering, knowing that the weight of glory coming far outweighs anything I go through here.
(For further reading, I found this article from "Christianity Today" extremely helpful and gracious in talking about and understanding a Christian response to this topic.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2015/july-august/understanding-transgender-gender-dysphoria.html )
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Keturah, Wife-maid (Song)
Note: Here's an apologetics-based entry from the archives about a very well known Biblical patriarch and a part of his life that probably is not nearly as well known. And it is a point of contention some skeptics raise; this song addresses that and offers reasons to trust the Biblical account.
.............................................................................
Okay- and this next one dips back into some ‘70s Americana! There’s been an infomercial I’ve seen filled with classic songs from the classic and legendary song and storytellers of the ‘70s and I love listening to it just to see the vintage clips and listen to the music. And the subject of this song dips back in time as well to differentiate different word usages from different times- and it explains how when God wrote His Book- He didn’t make any errors! So venture down through this ditty and reacquaint yourselves with one of the lesser known folks in The Bible. (This was also sort of a belated birthday gift for a friend from Sunday School since her name inspired it.)
“Keturah, Wife-maid”
copyright by Nathan Ludwick 7/25/2011
(parody of “Ventura Highway” by America
)
(Genesis 24:67, Genesis 25:1-11, 1 Chronicles 1:28-34, Isaiah 40:8, 2 Timothy 2:15, 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
(I’m gonna recommend a good Bible commentary like Matthew Henry’s for this one too. ;-) Check this site- http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=6&article=804)
You remember Abraham
Walking down the aisle
Married so long ago to Sarah, so
Some people say records don’t look good, you know
If you care to know
Keturah wifey- Genesis line
25:1 ponder
But writes- 1 Chronicles- concubine
1:32, you know
‘Cause the meaning is throwing humans here
Who make claims surrounding, “Who’s right here?”
Seems they’re trying for error
And they say, “Your Scripture’s in error, in error!”
Did di di di dit…………………..
Wishin’ it’d all fall apart
Debating to throw God away
Sorry boy, but you can’t win- the Truth remains
In time maybe Abe remarries
Changed her name
There’s no problem- just the same
Keturah’s wife and Abe’s concubine
In the days of (the) fathers
The words are different than king times
So she was both, you know
But to Sarah, well Kitty’s no compare
Abe still gave gifts for her kids right there
Eastbound riding postal mail
Allegations listed, au contraire- God won’t err!
Did di di di dit……………………..
…………………………………………………………………
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Don't Let The Sun Go Down Angry (Song)
Note: This is an entry from the archives that I started thinking on again recently after hearing the original song again. Since the singer, Sir Elton John, recently had a successful biographical movie ("Rocketman") come to theatres, it seemed like a good time to bring this one to the light of day again. Of course, it's all about dealing with things in the light of day- and not letting anger linger into the night but instead dealing with it while it's still called today. Don't let the sun go down angry- but let The Son shine on you and cleanse you of unrighteousness.
.....................................
Okay! And now for a serious one and one of my favourite ones! This one was actually largely inspired from a Sunday sermon that I heard when I wrote this. The title was just there and just perfect for one of the Bible verses I heard almost verbatim! And it’s from yet another favorite ‘70s song- though the pianist continues to make hits today of course.
But this song is all about ending each day on the right note and not letting the sun go down angry- but rather, making peace.
(Note: In an effort to be poetic and because it just seemed to fit the rhyme scheme of the song best, this song is actually sung from the point of view of anger personified.)
“Don’t Let the Sun Go Down Angry”
Copyright by Nathan Ludwick 8/4/2011
(parody of “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” by Elton John)
(Ephesians 4:26-32, Ephesians 5:8, Proverbs 19:11, Proverbs 29:11, Ecclesiastes 7:8-9, Romans 12:19, James 1:19-21, Colossians 3:7-9, 1 Corinthians 13, Hebrews 3:13)
I can’t light no more of your darkness
Read the Scriptures- Ephesians 5:8- stay in the light
You’re growing tired and time instills abhorring
Satan’s there on the ladder of your life
Your hate enslaves yourself to falling
You seek vengeance- it changed your peace to strife
If you’d just read Ephesians 26 verse (in)
Chapter 4 and left me binded by The Christ
Chorus:
Don’t let the sun go down angry (Don’t let the sun)
You only hurt yourself and all while someone else is free
Christ disallows a fragment of your life to writhe and seethe
But choosing your sulking is like the sun going down on me
Eleventh line- oh, it’s right- Proverbs 29 [two nine]
Fools seethe full brunt but see the wise conceal
Go on, discard me hon’ because it grieves Spirit of God
Now these cuts you have- they need God’s Love (to) help them heal
(Repeat Chorus twice)
……………………………………………………………………………..
For now, keep redeeming the time for the days are evil- but don’t get angry and complain and don’t curse out your brothers while blessing Christ’s name. Rather, keep showing the love of Christ to everyone each day and make the most of every day that God has given us for His glory.
May His face shine upon you and give you peace. God bless. :-)
.....................................
Okay! And now for a serious one and one of my favourite ones! This one was actually largely inspired from a Sunday sermon that I heard when I wrote this. The title was just there and just perfect for one of the Bible verses I heard almost verbatim! And it’s from yet another favorite ‘70s song- though the pianist continues to make hits today of course.
But this song is all about ending each day on the right note and not letting the sun go down angry- but rather, making peace.
(Note: In an effort to be poetic and because it just seemed to fit the rhyme scheme of the song best, this song is actually sung from the point of view of anger personified.)
“Don’t Let the Sun Go Down Angry”
Copyright by Nathan Ludwick 8/4/2011
(parody of “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” by Elton John)
(Ephesians 4:26-32, Ephesians 5:8, Proverbs 19:11, Proverbs 29:11, Ecclesiastes 7:8-9, Romans 12:19, James 1:19-21, Colossians 3:7-9, 1 Corinthians 13, Hebrews 3:13)
I can’t light no more of your darkness
Read the Scriptures- Ephesians 5:8- stay in the light
You’re growing tired and time instills abhorring
Satan’s there on the ladder of your life
Your hate enslaves yourself to falling
You seek vengeance- it changed your peace to strife
If you’d just read Ephesians 26 verse (in)
Chapter 4 and left me binded by The Christ
Chorus:
Don’t let the sun go down angry (Don’t let the sun)
You only hurt yourself and all while someone else is free
Christ disallows a fragment of your life to writhe and seethe
But choosing your sulking is like the sun going down on me
Eleventh line- oh, it’s right- Proverbs 29 [two nine]
Fools seethe full brunt but see the wise conceal
Go on, discard me hon’ because it grieves Spirit of God
Now these cuts you have- they need God’s Love (to) help them heal
(Repeat Chorus twice)
……………………………………………………………………………..
For now, keep redeeming the time for the days are evil- but don’t get angry and complain and don’t curse out your brothers while blessing Christ’s name. Rather, keep showing the love of Christ to everyone each day and make the most of every day that God has given us for His glory.
May His face shine upon you and give you peace. God bless. :-)
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Truth Springs Free (Glory Days) (song)
Note: This is an entry from the archives that I thought was appropriate with the new Mister Rogers movie out now, who is one of my modern Christian heroes! :-) This song pays tribute to a few of the saints who have gone before me that I can't wait to meet in glory days in Heaven!
...........................................
This one is my probably my third or fourth favorite from the boss of ‘80s rock. And it’s all about a number of my Christian heroes that have inspired me (although there are many others I could list than the song lists- like Rich Mullins, Keith Green, St. Francis of Assisi, Larry Norman, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Jim Elliot, my parents and family and friends and tons others. :-))
But since I mentioned Mister Rogers earlier many times on this blog and I’ve espoused on something that was close on his heart (which you can read more about in “The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers” by Amy Hollingsworth- seriously, get it. I cry on certain passages in that book- so good!)- I definitely wanted to present this song of Christian heroes of the faith. I would have liked to known them, oh, but I was just distant- their candles burned out only for millions to begin. :-)) But we’ll meet in Heaven- and what a day- a glorious day- that will be!
“Truth Springs Free (Glory Days)”
by Nathan Ludwick copyright 6/25/2011
(parody of “Glory Days” by Bruce Springsteen)
(Hebrews 11, John 13:35, Hebrews 12:1-4,1 Corinthians 15:51-58, John 3:16-17)
I had a friend-Was a good next door neighbor
Back in pre-school
He would show that Jesus loves you
Make you look to your true worth
Saw him embody Christ- Mister Fred Rogers
I was watching him; he was walking out
13:35 in John- Francis (of) Assisi
Gospel he kept preaching without words
Chorus:
Glory Days- (in) the sweet by and by
Glory days- well, we’ll meet on a golden shoreline
Glory days, glory days
Well, there’s a girl that stood up for God
Cassie, you did good- gun took ya (to) Heaven
Columbine- I cry- Rachel Scott- sigh!
God has those two kids and their steadfast witness lives on
There was a woman- Corrie Ten Boom- yup yup
She hid the Jews from Germans- wow!
Jesus got her out Nazi camps of genocide
She went- Chinese people smiling
She was a tramp for The Lord now
(Repeat Chorus)
(Now, I) think ‘bout going up to go dwell with Christ
And I’m going to meet Paul and Eric Liddell
And I hope ‘till I get Home I won’t just sit ‘round thinking about it
But do God’s clear will
Yeah, just sitting back waiting for The Rapture
Belittles all The Savior’s love while lives slip away
In Hebrews 11, list of
Godly warriors in
Hall of Faith
Yeah, (in) the sweet by and by
Glory days- well, we’ll meet on a golden shoreline
Glory days, glory days
I’ll be there praising Christ
Glory days- in the twinkling of an eye
Glory days, glory days!
(Background vocals)
(How ‘bout this? It’s alright! Ooh yeah!
For all time! With Christ! Come on up! Oh yeah!
Get real life in Christ! Ooh yeah! Oh yeah!
All right! All right! Come on up! Ohh!
Woohoo! Uh huh! Woohoo! Oh yeah! Woohoo! Ooh! Woohoo! Oh!
All right- Joy! Keeps up rocking now!
Keep on going! ‘Cause we’ll be Home now!
Bring us Home! Yeah! Bring us Home! Oohh! Hold on! All right!
Yeah!
[We’re in Christ! (Woo!) x5]
-With Christ! Let’s Go!)
…………………………………………………………
...........................................
This one is my probably my third or fourth favorite from the boss of ‘80s rock. And it’s all about a number of my Christian heroes that have inspired me (although there are many others I could list than the song lists- like Rich Mullins, Keith Green, St. Francis of Assisi, Larry Norman, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Jim Elliot, my parents and family and friends and tons others. :-))
But since I mentioned Mister Rogers earlier many times on this blog and I’ve espoused on something that was close on his heart (which you can read more about in “The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers” by Amy Hollingsworth- seriously, get it. I cry on certain passages in that book- so good!)- I definitely wanted to present this song of Christian heroes of the faith. I would have liked to known them, oh, but I was just distant- their candles burned out only for millions to begin. :-)) But we’ll meet in Heaven- and what a day- a glorious day- that will be!
“Truth Springs Free (Glory Days)”
by Nathan Ludwick copyright 6/25/2011
(parody of “Glory Days” by Bruce Springsteen)
(Hebrews 11, John 13:35, Hebrews 12:1-4,1 Corinthians 15:51-58, John 3:16-17)
I had a friend-Was a good next door neighbor
Back in pre-school
He would show that Jesus loves you
Make you look to your true worth
Saw him embody Christ- Mister Fred Rogers
I was watching him; he was walking out
13:35 in John- Francis (of) Assisi
Gospel he kept preaching without words
Chorus:
Glory Days- (in) the sweet by and by
Glory days- well, we’ll meet on a golden shoreline
Glory days, glory days
Well, there’s a girl that stood up for God
Cassie, you did good- gun took ya (to) Heaven
Columbine- I cry- Rachel Scott- sigh!
God has those two kids and their steadfast witness lives on
There was a woman- Corrie Ten Boom- yup yup
She hid the Jews from Germans- wow!
Jesus got her out Nazi camps of genocide
She went- Chinese people smiling
She was a tramp for The Lord now
(Repeat Chorus)
(Now, I) think ‘bout going up to go dwell with Christ
And I’m going to meet Paul and Eric Liddell
And I hope ‘till I get Home I won’t just sit ‘round thinking about it
But do God’s clear will
Yeah, just sitting back waiting for The Rapture
Belittles all The Savior’s love while lives slip away
In Hebrews 11, list of
Godly warriors in
Hall of Faith
Yeah, (in) the sweet by and by
Glory days- well, we’ll meet on a golden shoreline
Glory days, glory days
I’ll be there praising Christ
Glory days- in the twinkling of an eye
Glory days, glory days!
(Background vocals)
(How ‘bout this? It’s alright! Ooh yeah!
For all time! With Christ! Come on up! Oh yeah!
Get real life in Christ! Ooh yeah! Oh yeah!
All right! All right! Come on up! Ohh!
Woohoo! Uh huh! Woohoo! Oh yeah! Woohoo! Ooh! Woohoo! Oh!
All right- Joy! Keeps up rocking now!
Keep on going! ‘Cause we’ll be Home now!
Bring us Home! Yeah! Bring us Home! Oohh! Hold on! All right!
Yeah!
[We’re in Christ! (Woo!) x5]
-With Christ! Let’s Go!)
…………………………………………………………
Stuff Christian Culture Likes- and Stuff Christian Culture Needs to Repent From
I find it so sad to read through posts on the "Stuff Christian Culture Likes" Facebook page and see how so many people have been hurt by the Christian church and the Christianese culture that some people fall into that often does not really reflect the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I can't say I always agree with all the criticism leveled, but I can certainly admit there is validity to many of the points made and it's something all Christians and churches should consider. Whether you agree with everything or not, if you're a follower of Jesus, you should listen to what people have to say and take it to heart because there are many places the church so often fails and needs to address.
It is some of these things that make the world see Christians as hypocrites and the church as an abusive manipulator rather than the loving solace it is supposed to be- a safe harbour for all people. It is a place where sinful people who have been transformed by the amazing grace of Jesus- demonstrated through His death and Resurrection to pay for all sins and save all who put faith in Him and follow Him- can congregate and help each other and not tear each other down. (see Ephesians 4:29 and 1 Corinthians 14:26. Use your spiritual gifts to build each other up and help them pursue holiness. Yes, there is a place to lovingly and humbly confront Christian brothers and sisters about sin in their lives- Jesus spoke about that in Matthew 18:17. But He also said that we better get the plank out of our eye before we try to help get the speck out of our brother's eye. [see Matthew 7:1-6])
And above all- while speaking The Truth in Love (Ephesians 4:15), we must Love undergird all we do. "Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil, hold fast to what is good." (Romans 12:9) (Genuine love is reiterated in 2 Corinthians 6:6 and 8:8 too) "Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." (Romans 12:10) 1 Corinthians 8:1 says that love builds up. As 1 Corinthians 16:14 says, "Let all that you do be done in love." Galatians 5:13 says that through love we should serve one another. And as 1 Peter 4:8 says, "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins." I'm glad that God has covered me with His love and removed and forgiven my multitude of sins. As Jesus said- Freely you have received; freely give.
When people don't see this, they can quickly become calloused with hardened hearts due to their hurts. It's easier to protect your heart than let it get broken again. I don't know the spiritual background of everyone on this site, so I'm not saying this about anyone in particular.
But I have found it to be an interesting linguistic observation that it's only one space away between an atheist and a theist. And the only way to make that space in their heart so it can be open to trusting God is through the Holy Spirit working- and He works through His children who seek to live out His love. So it's like Pete Townshend said, with a slight modification- Let Christ's Love open the door to your heart!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxryzVVxFHI
It is some of these things that make the world see Christians as hypocrites and the church as an abusive manipulator rather than the loving solace it is supposed to be- a safe harbour for all people. It is a place where sinful people who have been transformed by the amazing grace of Jesus- demonstrated through His death and Resurrection to pay for all sins and save all who put faith in Him and follow Him- can congregate and help each other and not tear each other down. (see Ephesians 4:29 and 1 Corinthians 14:26. Use your spiritual gifts to build each other up and help them pursue holiness. Yes, there is a place to lovingly and humbly confront Christian brothers and sisters about sin in their lives- Jesus spoke about that in Matthew 18:17. But He also said that we better get the plank out of our eye before we try to help get the speck out of our brother's eye. [see Matthew 7:1-6])
And above all- while speaking The Truth in Love (Ephesians 4:15), we must Love undergird all we do. "Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil, hold fast to what is good." (Romans 12:9) (Genuine love is reiterated in 2 Corinthians 6:6 and 8:8 too) "Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." (Romans 12:10) 1 Corinthians 8:1 says that love builds up. As 1 Corinthians 16:14 says, "Let all that you do be done in love." Galatians 5:13 says that through love we should serve one another. And as 1 Peter 4:8 says, "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins." I'm glad that God has covered me with His love and removed and forgiven my multitude of sins. As Jesus said- Freely you have received; freely give.
When people don't see this, they can quickly become calloused with hardened hearts due to their hurts. It's easier to protect your heart than let it get broken again. I don't know the spiritual background of everyone on this site, so I'm not saying this about anyone in particular.
But I have found it to be an interesting linguistic observation that it's only one space away between an atheist and a theist. And the only way to make that space in their heart so it can be open to trusting God is through the Holy Spirit working- and He works through His children who seek to live out His love. So it's like Pete Townshend said, with a slight modification- Let Christ's Love open the door to your heart!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxryzVVxFHI
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Longing to Belong to a World Without Wrong
Do you want a world without dishonesty, theft, rape, murder, hatred and prejudice, greed, selfishness, rudeness, laziness, foul language, demeaning words and name calling, sexual immorality, unfaithfulness, alcoholism, lust, unwanted babies, starving people, poverty-stricken folks, unloved least of these, injustice and to sum it all up in one three-letter word- sin?
Well, this world isn't it. And everyone fighting on their own battle to change the world for the better is fighting a losing battle. We can't change the world in our own strength- we don't truly have any. We ourselves are the problem. We all like sheep have gone astray; each of us have turned to our own way and The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (As Isaiah 53:6 says.) We and our entire world are cursed with sin.
There is only one cure and God has provided Him as the verse above says. Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God, came and died and rose again so we would never have to face death and separation from God in Hell. When we put all our weight- pin all our hopes and faith on Jesus for salvation- He saves us and leads us so we can follow Him on the straight and narrow path to Heaven.
Thus, why do the nations rage and the people plot in vain? (Psalms 2:1) They don't know it's all for naught.
That perfect world we all want does exist- it's called Heaven! God describes it for us in Revelation 21-22, where there's no more tears, no more death and no more pain. The old has gone- the new has come! :-)
As C.S. Lewis said in "Mere Christianity", "If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world." This is precisely the longing that Hebrews talks about in chapters 11 and 13. Thy kingdom come, Lord Jesus! I know You are coming soon but even so- come, Lord Jesus!
In Christ's Kingdom, "after the last tear falls, there is Love, Love, Love, Love...there is Love, Love, Love, Love- there is Love. And in the end, the end is oceans and oceans of Love and Love again. We'll see how the tears that have fallen were caught in the hands of the Giver of Love and the Lover of all and we'll look back on these tears as old tales...." ("After The Last Tear Falls" by Andrew Peterson)
That is where we must always have our eternal Hope. And until that Blessed Hope of Glory, Christ Jesus, returns to take His people Home and make all things new- we who know and love Jesus must continue to shine His love upon this dark world, so that the world may see the Light of Life living in us- see our good works- and glorify our Father in Heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16, Philippians 2:14-16, Ephesians 2:8-10)
Jesus has already started making things new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that anyone in Christ is a new creation! The old has gone and the new has come! And the rest of the chapter calls us to be ambassadors for God, urging people to be reconciled to Him through Christ. We as Christ followers must work to extend grace and seek justice to show people a taste of God's Kingdom. The redeeming work has started and one day will be complete. (Philippians 1:6)
Keep shining like stars in a dark world and (to briefly quote Peterson again, "All Things New") hold on to the Promise- the stories are true. My Jesus makes all things new. :-) Praise Him forever!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YTbUhEHOaWs
Well, this world isn't it. And everyone fighting on their own battle to change the world for the better is fighting a losing battle. We can't change the world in our own strength- we don't truly have any. We ourselves are the problem. We all like sheep have gone astray; each of us have turned to our own way and The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (As Isaiah 53:6 says.) We and our entire world are cursed with sin.
There is only one cure and God has provided Him as the verse above says. Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God, came and died and rose again so we would never have to face death and separation from God in Hell. When we put all our weight- pin all our hopes and faith on Jesus for salvation- He saves us and leads us so we can follow Him on the straight and narrow path to Heaven.
Thus, why do the nations rage and the people plot in vain? (Psalms 2:1) They don't know it's all for naught.
That perfect world we all want does exist- it's called Heaven! God describes it for us in Revelation 21-22, where there's no more tears, no more death and no more pain. The old has gone- the new has come! :-)
As C.S. Lewis said in "Mere Christianity", "If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world." This is precisely the longing that Hebrews talks about in chapters 11 and 13. Thy kingdom come, Lord Jesus! I know You are coming soon but even so- come, Lord Jesus!
In Christ's Kingdom, "after the last tear falls, there is Love, Love, Love, Love...there is Love, Love, Love, Love- there is Love. And in the end, the end is oceans and oceans of Love and Love again. We'll see how the tears that have fallen were caught in the hands of the Giver of Love and the Lover of all and we'll look back on these tears as old tales...." ("After The Last Tear Falls" by Andrew Peterson)
That is where we must always have our eternal Hope. And until that Blessed Hope of Glory, Christ Jesus, returns to take His people Home and make all things new- we who know and love Jesus must continue to shine His love upon this dark world, so that the world may see the Light of Life living in us- see our good works- and glorify our Father in Heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16, Philippians 2:14-16, Ephesians 2:8-10)
Jesus has already started making things new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that anyone in Christ is a new creation! The old has gone and the new has come! And the rest of the chapter calls us to be ambassadors for God, urging people to be reconciled to Him through Christ. We as Christ followers must work to extend grace and seek justice to show people a taste of God's Kingdom. The redeeming work has started and one day will be complete. (Philippians 1:6)
Keep shining like stars in a dark world and (to briefly quote Peterson again, "All Things New") hold on to the Promise- the stories are true. My Jesus makes all things new. :-) Praise Him forever!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YTbUhEHOaWs
Sunday, October 20, 2019
The Power is Yours! (Forgetting What's Behind)
Don't ask, "Why were the old days better than today?" It's not good to ask such things.... (see Ecclesiastes 7:10-18 and chapter 12).... As Acts 17:24-28 tells us, God set men and women in history at exactly when and where He wanted them to be for His purposes.... (which doesn't mean that God won't move you at some point too though ;-))- But part of finding our identity in Jesus as His follower means being happy with who God made us to be- boy or girl, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, Pacific Islander, African descent, Indian descent, Caucasian, mixed, etc., Spanish, Trinidadian, American, German, Swiss, South African, Ukrainian, Canadian, Argentinan, Brazilian, Peruvian, Eritrean, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Australian, Indian, Senegalese, Antarctican, etc.- whatever the social class- whatever other label we put on each other....... God made us above all those things in His image (Genesis 1:26-31). And when we're in Christ, none of those things matter anyway! (Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:1-4, John 13:34-35, Galatians 3:25-29) And as Colossians 3:11 says, "Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all."
We are all infinitely important and infinitely loved by God. (Jeremiah 31:3) And we are all valuable in His kingdom, where the elder learns to serve the younger and the younger cares for the elder- where each thinks of others as better than themselves and each seeks to love each other truly and forgive from the heart...
No, these aren't the "good ol' days"- but as I like to say, the only good ol' days this planet has ever seen were Genesis 1-2. We won't have any more truly good ol' days until Revelation 21-22 come to pass. But Jesus makes the in-between time more abundant when we follow Him, as John 10:10 says. :-) And during our faith journey with Him, He shapes us to be more and more like Him in character and empowers us with spiritual gifts to bring a touch of The Divine to a fallen world so badly needing of redemption. To be sure, the final Redemption culminates with the coming of The Lord- but until then, we're like the Planeteers with our power rings, sent forth to bring God's restoration to the world through our love and good deeds and sharing of the Greatest Love of all shown to us on the cross and in the empty tomb (Romans 5:8). And way better than Captain Planet, and the Avengers who "have a Hulk"- we have Someone Real Who can do something about our situation (Hebrews 11:1-6)- we have a Savior- Jesus Christ- Whom we eagerly await to come back from Heaven! We have The One Who alone bears the title of King of Kings and Lord of Lords! We have The One God Who holds all things together and by Him all things exist!
And as Jesus said in Acts 1:8 (in essence)- The Power is yours! :-) (So use His gifts and be His witness in all the world.)
We are all infinitely important and infinitely loved by God. (Jeremiah 31:3) And we are all valuable in His kingdom, where the elder learns to serve the younger and the younger cares for the elder- where each thinks of others as better than themselves and each seeks to love each other truly and forgive from the heart...
No, these aren't the "good ol' days"- but as I like to say, the only good ol' days this planet has ever seen were Genesis 1-2. We won't have any more truly good ol' days until Revelation 21-22 come to pass. But Jesus makes the in-between time more abundant when we follow Him, as John 10:10 says. :-) And during our faith journey with Him, He shapes us to be more and more like Him in character and empowers us with spiritual gifts to bring a touch of The Divine to a fallen world so badly needing of redemption. To be sure, the final Redemption culminates with the coming of The Lord- but until then, we're like the Planeteers with our power rings, sent forth to bring God's restoration to the world through our love and good deeds and sharing of the Greatest Love of all shown to us on the cross and in the empty tomb (Romans 5:8). And way better than Captain Planet, and the Avengers who "have a Hulk"- we have Someone Real Who can do something about our situation (Hebrews 11:1-6)- we have a Savior- Jesus Christ- Whom we eagerly await to come back from Heaven! We have The One Who alone bears the title of King of Kings and Lord of Lords! We have The One God Who holds all things together and by Him all things exist!
And as Jesus said in Acts 1:8 (in essence)- The Power is yours! :-) (So use His gifts and be His witness in all the world.)
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 )
Unrighteous sinfulness and Sinful righteousness
An oft-repeated scene in the New Testament- Jesus is sitting down to dinner with an assorted group of people and He insists on hanging out with those tax collectors and sinners.... The Pharisees and scribes bust in with grumbling asking Jesus and His disciples why they keep doing this. In Luke 5:31-32, Jesus tells us His reasoning- "And Jesus answered them, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." (See also what Jesus said in Matthew 21:31)
This is precisely the point Jesus was trying to get across with His parables in Luke 15- The Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Parable of the Lost Coin and The Parable of the Lost Son. (Also known as The Parable of the Prodigal Son). That parable would be better called The Parable of the Lost Sons, for both the younger and elder brother were lost and needed Father's forgiveness.
And the Good News is that God our Father offers us absolution absolutely free- before we do anything. He gives us amazing love and grace for free. It's there for the taking. To be sure, the repentance follows afterwards- but it never precedes the accepting of God's hand-out of amazing grace. But the two brothers had two different things to repent of in the parable.
The younger son needs to repent of his unrighteous sinfulness and the elder son needs to repent of his sinful righteousness. (Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:10-11, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Romans 5:8, Romans 10:9-13)
(* I would be extremely remiss if I didn't acknowledge Rev. Tim Keller and his book "The Prodigal God" for informing and inspiring these observations. This post is largely the crux of his book. Do yourself a favour and go read it! :-))
This is precisely the point Jesus was trying to get across with His parables in Luke 15- The Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Parable of the Lost Coin and The Parable of the Lost Son. (Also known as The Parable of the Prodigal Son). That parable would be better called The Parable of the Lost Sons, for both the younger and elder brother were lost and needed Father's forgiveness.
And the Good News is that God our Father offers us absolution absolutely free- before we do anything. He gives us amazing love and grace for free. It's there for the taking. To be sure, the repentance follows afterwards- but it never precedes the accepting of God's hand-out of amazing grace. But the two brothers had two different things to repent of in the parable.
The younger son needs to repent of his unrighteous sinfulness and the elder son needs to repent of his sinful righteousness. (Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:10-11, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Romans 5:8, Romans 10:9-13)
(* I would be extremely remiss if I didn't acknowledge Rev. Tim Keller and his book "The Prodigal God" for informing and inspiring these observations. This post is largely the crux of his book. Do yourself a favour and go read it! :-))
Rock of Offense
It's still better to offend people into Heaven than to tolerate them into Hell. (But yes, offend them with The Truth in Love. Ephesians 4:15, 2 Timothy 4:1-8, Revelation 20:15, 1 Peter 2:1-12)
1 John 2:1-2 Jesus' death and Resurrection is the atonement for all the sins of the world. The only way we can avoid Hell and go to Heaven instead is to trust Jesus in faith and follow Him. God loves you and I love you (and that's the way it should be :-))- and because of that, I just want you to know...
"Scandalon" by Michael Card
https://youtu.be/uaVTcVNQxms
1 John 2:1-2 Jesus' death and Resurrection is the atonement for all the sins of the world. The only way we can avoid Hell and go to Heaven instead is to trust Jesus in faith and follow Him. God loves you and I love you (and that's the way it should be :-))- and because of that, I just want you to know...
"Scandalon" by Michael Card
https://youtu.be/uaVTcVNQxms
Sunday, September 29, 2019
To Boldly Go Wherever God Leads
Just because you're flailing, it doesn't mean you're failing.
Hailing frequencies set to Heaven.... :-)
"Make haste, O God, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me!" (Psalms 70:1) (read the whole thing- it's only 5 verses.)
"I will remember the deeds of The LORD; yes, I will remember Your wonders of old. I will ponder all Your work, and meditate on Your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your might among the peoples. You with Your arm redeemed Your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. When the waters saw You, O God, when the waters saw You, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; Your arrows flashed on every side. The crash of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; Your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was through the sea, Your path through the great waters; yet Your footprints were unseen. You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron." (Psalms 77:11-20)
I love how Psalms 77 notes that when God cut His path through the sea and great waters, His footprints were unseen. But even when His footprints are unseen to us, we know He's there and He's working and making a way through the seas of troubles that meet us so often.
"Jump in the whirlwind- I'm letting go." :-)- Skillet
"For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, 'Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but My righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.' But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls." (Hebrews 10:36-39)
So don't shrink back from the challenge- entrust your soul to the Coming One who can do anything by merely willing it in order to make it so- and endure with Faith, Hope and Love. Don't shrink back- Engage. :-)
(Note: Try to catch all the faster than warp speed references. :-))
Hailing frequencies set to Heaven.... :-)
"Make haste, O God, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me!" (Psalms 70:1) (read the whole thing- it's only 5 verses.)
"I will remember the deeds of The LORD; yes, I will remember Your wonders of old. I will ponder all Your work, and meditate on Your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your might among the peoples. You with Your arm redeemed Your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. When the waters saw You, O God, when the waters saw You, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; Your arrows flashed on every side. The crash of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; Your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was through the sea, Your path through the great waters; yet Your footprints were unseen. You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron." (Psalms 77:11-20)
I love how Psalms 77 notes that when God cut His path through the sea and great waters, His footprints were unseen. But even when His footprints are unseen to us, we know He's there and He's working and making a way through the seas of troubles that meet us so often.
"Jump in the whirlwind- I'm letting go." :-)- Skillet
"For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, 'Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but My righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.' But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls." (Hebrews 10:36-39)
So don't shrink back from the challenge- entrust your soul to the Coming One who can do anything by merely willing it in order to make it so- and endure with Faith, Hope and Love. Don't shrink back- Engage. :-)
(Note: Try to catch all the faster than warp speed references. :-))
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. :-)
Wednesday, August 7, 2019
Green, Dumb, But Still Growing :-)
Job 3:23, "Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in?" - Thankfully, God does provide a hedge of protection for His children. But hedges have to be trimmed at times. It not only helps them look better but helps it and the garden to grow at the right rate.
As Jesus tells us in John 15, God prunes the branches that don't bear fruit. And sometimes He brings in some discipline, like Hebrews 12 talks about, but He does it for those He loves. It doesn't mean it's fun to go through, but the Master Gardener will grow us to perfection here (Philippians 1:6) so he can transplant us to that New Eden one day. :-)
As Jesus tells us in John 15, God prunes the branches that don't bear fruit. And sometimes He brings in some discipline, like Hebrews 12 talks about, but He does it for those He loves. It doesn't mean it's fun to go through, but the Master Gardener will grow us to perfection here (Philippians 1:6) so he can transplant us to that New Eden one day. :-)
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! :-))
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