Works vs. Faith!

Most religions in the world like to complicate things. We like to make it difficult, just so that we can let people look at us and say how good we are. Look at what I accomplished. The simple gospel is too simple for most people. We want to throw works into the system, because it sometimes makes us feel better about ourselves. We don’t really enjoy charity or rather we don’t enjoy really needing charity.


But the truth is we cannot save ourselves. We are completely powerless to save ourselves. No amount of good we could do would ever make up for the bad we have done. The only thing we are worthy of is death. The wages of sin is death; death is what we have earned. Thank God for the gift of eternal life. I could not survive if it were not for that gift. Pride stands in the way of the gospel.

Pride in thinking that we can do it all on our own. We have pride in thinking that we don’t ever need any help from anyone or anything. The simple truth is that Jesus paid the price for us. We have to simply accept His payment on our behalf. Pride would keep us from doing that. Pride would hold us back from His abundance.

Many of you reading this might have gotten past that particular pride, already accepted the gift that can only be accepted never earned. We are sometimes more like the Galatians, in Galatians 3:3 he asks the simple question are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect in the flesh?

In this passage he was talking about the people picking back up circumcision which represented the Old Testament law. They had freely accepted the gift of salvation but then they started teaching that to maintain your salvation you had to perform. In other words Jesus your sacrifice was good enough to start me off, thank you for that, now it is time for me to take back over. We also might demonstrate this by doing things to please God or get Him to do something good for us based on our good works. Instead of acting from a position, that I am already accepted by God, any good that I do is because of God and His goodness to me.

A few years ago (close to 10 years ago) I was talking with someone at the hotel in a hot tub. As strange a place as it may seem to have this kind of conversation, I’ve actually had several conversations like it, in hot tubs. I actually joked one time that we should start a hot tub ministry. We were actually talking about, the whole, “all roads lead to heaven” teaching. I was sharing how Christianity, at its core, is different than all the other religions out there. As a Christian we do good works not as a way of earning our way into heaven, but because of what God has done for us, it creates in us a desire to do well. He is a Good God who wants what is best for us and it is because of that we do what is right. We only love Him because He first loved us.

This other person felt that since we all ended up at the same place of doing good that it really didn’t matter how we got there. After all, either way we end up doing what is right anyway, right? One of the problems, not the only one, is that it puts a burden on us that we cannot bear. We find ourselves exhausted from always trying to do our best, and especially when things are not going well, striving even harder and still coming up short. We end up frustrated and hating ourselves, because we always keep coming up short. It is completely freeing to work from a position where I know that I am loved by a merciful God, who will not just strike me down the very first time I make a mistake. We operate from a position of love not out of, “I have to or else.”

Which position are you working from?

Waiting on the Lord

Psalm 27:14


Wait on the LORD; be of good courage,
and He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!  (NKJV)

If you are anything like me, waiting is never an easy task. I recently ordered a headset so that I could get better sound quality for my videos and so that my Dragon Naturally Speaking would work a little better. I could get the headset cheaper online, but I would have to wait for it to be shipped to me.


Waiting seems to be much harder when it is a life and death type of situation. David was faced with very difficult situations throughout his life. He understood that the Lord was his refuge when things weren’t working out in his favor. People did things to him that he didn’t deserve and he had learned to trust in the Lord.


There is always a cost to not waiting. I would have had to pay quite a bit more for the exact headphones I wanted if I would have went to the store and purchased them, instead of purchasing them online. The alternative to not waiting or trusting in the Lord is to try doing it with our own strength, talent, or abilities, placing our trust in ourselves or others.


The Lord is gracious and may even help us when we do this, but we just create a lot of extra unneeded stress. He wants us to place our trust in Him and rest in His presence. In life this is not always easy to do, after all we like to be independent. Even though there are many things we are absolutely powerless to do anything about or change.


Matthew chapter 6:25-34 speaks to us about all the things that we are not to worry about, but to simply put our trust in Him. I mean like major things, like what am I going to wear, or eat, drink. These are some of our most basic needs, after all you cannot live if you do not eat or drink.


The main point is that God, who created us, knows that we need those things to survive and he will take care of us as we learn to trust in Him. It will not always be easy, especially if you lose your job, like I did, but God is always faithful. Learning to trust is a fantastic journey that has some ups and downs. Trust is not always something that we want to do, but it is something that we must learn to do.


On a final note to close this post I would encourage you to read Matthew 6:25-34 and be encouraged. Better yet begin memorizing this verse and bury it deep within your heart.

May,

"The LORD bless you and keep you;

The LORD make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace."

Opening Prayer post

My very first post on here is going to be a prayer request to the Lord. Lord, give me the creativity that I need to say and do whatever would be glorifying unto you. I am doing this, because I believe it is what you want me to do and I just want to bring glory to Your, Holy and Precious Name.


Thank you Father for Your Grace and Mercy towards me and all those who read, listen, and watch all the things that are posted to this blog. May you bless us all with your presence; this is what I desire more than anything in this world. Let everything that is said and done through this blog glorify You Lord and encourage others.

May, "The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace."