Tag: faith

Faith Has Friends

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Faith was never intended to stand alone. In today’s culture we often hear in Christian and Secular rhetoric the phrase, “Have Faith!” And yet the Bible teaches that faith alone does not cut it. James tells us that faith without works is dead (James 2:13) and more specifically that a person is justified not by faith alone (James 2:24). Faith is no doubt instrumental in our ability to exist in the hope of our salvation through Jesus Christ. However, faith can be so much more than the whimsical emotion accompanying belief. Faith has friends. Faith has fortified compatriots. Peter encourages us, in escaping the corruption of our sinful desires, to:

amazing-736875_1280“…make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5-8)

What valuable teaching for us! The danger and often disaster of pursuing faith alone is the foundationless emotional dependency that is so “wishy-washy” in our lives. How can we grow in our sanctification when we anchor ourselves to our faith alone? No, it was not intended to be this way. 1 Corinthians 13:13 says, “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Both Paul and Peter knew that faith is necessary, but it is also just one element in our journey to indulging in and reflecting the love of God. So let us look at these valuable attributes that we are to aspire for in addition to our foundation of faith:

lake-801871_1280Virtue – The attribute of goodness. It is the quintessential effort of aspiring to think and act righteously.

Knowledge – The prize of discovery. This knowledge is acquired from the Holy Spirit as He teaches us through the Bible, prayer, people, and circumstances.

Self-Control – The fortitude of conviction. It is obtained by the recognition that all of our needs are satisfied through Jesus.

Steadfastness – The ability to persevere. Steadfastness exists with peace only when hope is on the forefront of our minds.

Godliness – The purity of our adoption. Because we are only clean by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our godliness exists as we point to Him.

Brotherly Affection – The fellowship of grateful co-heirs. Our ability to look on another and envision them with the grace and love that the Lord sees when He looks upon us.

Love – The greatest of aspirations. To live apart from fear. To live apart from hate. To live, aspiring that in every moment we are grateful for all that God the Father has created, thankful for our salvation through Jesus Christ, and honored that the Holy Spirit is within us, guiding us to become more like Christ.

These seven attributes that we are to aspire for in addition to faith give us a concrete lesson plan for our lives. Thus, when we face the “wishy-washy” nature of our emotions and wonder where the solid ground is, we can look at 2 Peter 1:5-8 and know that faith has friends and we would do well to aspire for them.

Welcome To My Revamped Website

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LandonM_042 RET-2Thank you for visiting my site. Please feel free to peruse and see my latest projects. I am an Actor and Christian Writer living in Atlanta, GA and I am invigorated, encouraged, and inspired by so many people that pursue their passions and genuinely seek to grow in truth and positivity. Reach out if you have a page or an interest that you would like me to check out and comment on. Thanks!

Landon Metts

What Virgil and Longfellow Can Teach Us About Pain

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“Through pain I’ve learned to comfort suffering men.” Virgil, The Aeneid.
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Sometimes rocky roads can leave us feeling broken and alone, not knowing all the while that they are shaping us to be better men and women for those the Lord puts before us. As Longfellow says:

 

“Footprints, that perhaps another, 
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main, 
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, 
Seeing, shall take heart again.” Longfellow, A Psalm of Life

The Christian Bubble

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There is a dome,
Under which contains,
A Christian home,
Beautiful yet strange.
The inhabitants vary,
In weakness and strength.
They are constantly wary,
Of what outsiders think.
Yet within this bubble,
Often worship will shine,
And influence troubled,
Hearts to incline.
They act so stable,
And socially secure,
They seek to enable,
Generations to be pure.
Wanderer, pass through.
Make a stop at this hamlet.
Let their healing renew,
But halt not your transit.
For the Gospel is out there,
Amongst thistles and thorns,
Amidst the thieves and the fallen,
Amidst the confused and the scorned.
Do not condemn,
The settled fellowship.
Pray for them,
For a faith dynamic.
And never stop coming,
To their place of meeting,
For the Lord is there,
Offering rest for the weary.

Introspection

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Stillness, silence, a somber gaze,
Three strands in one accord,
Melancholy utility,
In reflection of the adored.
And when said tenant afforded this state,
Arrives upon our visage,
Ne’er mockery should any relate,
Nor their image should we pillage.
For in but moments shall we be,
Candidates in succession,
By circumstance quite affected,
Thus instigating our reflection.
Let us not have one day pass,
Where such moments are ignored,
Sentiment is built to last,
And weather all the storms.
If we abandon introspection,
No solace shall there be,
No foundation will exist,
To enjoy the memories.

Oh Lord, Where were you?

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Oh Lord, Where were you,
When the villains came out,
When the evil afflicted,
And fear led to doubt?
Oh Lord, Where were you,
When they boarded the planes
When children lost parents
And death fell like rain?
Oh Lord, Where were you?
With a gun held high,
He entered the school,
And took their sweet lives.
Oh Lord, Where were you,
In the years of abduction,
While their families awaited,
Any kind of instruction?
Oh Lord, Where were you?
We ask and don’t know,
It shakes our faith,
Amidst fear and woe.
Oh Lord, Where were you?
We assume, Lord of Hosts,
That you were the foe,
Who neglected your post.
Oh Lord, Where were you?
We ask, blind and lost,
We can barely conceive,
The measure of sin’s cost.
Oh Lord, Where were you,
May be the wrong plea,
In this fear stricken world,
Oh Lord, Where were we?
Oh Lord, Where were you?
Surely there at the towers,
Under desks at the school,
Where the victims would cower.
Oh Lord, Where were you?
Always with us within,
Preparing and determining,
When this madness will end.

Temporary Loneliness

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Embarking now to solitude,
I’m left with one intent,
To establish lasting fortitude,
And seek to implement,
A demeanor of grace and kindness,
Devoid of expectation,
In their faults submit to blindness,
Without any hesitation.
Yet while lovely this may seem,
It does incur a loss,
For I do abandon a dream,
Unfulfilled and left to dross.
I’d hoped for association,
And a journey to the end,
With companions of inspiration,
Rightly vulnerable and genuine,
But alas it is not to be,
I am to venture forth alone,
Passionately free,
While marching towards my home.
I am hopeful for tomorrow,
In the light of Heaven’s promise,
There will surely be no sorrow,
Despair or loneliness.

The Repentant Narcissist

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Quite mistaken and living a lie,
A heart-wrenching truth I cannot deny.
I have lived these years upon a path,
Certain of vision, certain to last.
But such confidence not properly ground,
Caused me to fly and live in the clouds.
And this narcissism infecting the mass,
Is the thorn in my side, my burden, alas.
Like fuel to the fire of my sin within,
Self-interest permeates and I give in.
I was living with lenses warped and skewed,
Where I was the lead, while others construed,
As mere characters of foes and friends,
Objects of plot and means to an end.
Yet don’t get me wrong, though villain I am,
Not all of my efforts were so vilely planned.
The pain that is deepest and now in plain view,
Is the miserable fact that I never knew.
T’was my running thought and subtle intent,
To rise as a victor with benevolence.
But there lies the tell of my sinful disease,
Grace not mine to bestow, hearts not mine to ease.
And so I lay down my plight at the feet of the cross,
Self-interest condemned and my success a loss,
Knowing now full-well the best course for me:
Surrender my dreams and let You intercede,
Deciding the course, sustaining Your glory,
And me a mere character in Your magnificent story.