What's really most important in life? What do we spend most of our time in pursuit of throughout our days? Are we focused on storing up our treasures on Earth or in Heaven? This song expounds on all those questions and offers some things to think on as well. It's kind of inspired by Jesus' parables of foolish rich farmer and the Pharisee and the tax collector at the temple. It's also a reminder that we can't live for both God and money. We will never find satisfaction in seeking to satisfy ourselves. It's ultimately a reminder that we should live life all for Jesus and His glory above all. His words hit like a karate chop to remind us that a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. As Rich Mullins said, "the stuff of earth competes for the allegiance I owe only to the Giver of all good things." (One of my favourite lines in his classic song, "If I Stand".) By God's grace, let's confess to Him the idols we have made of money, fame and things and find the true blessings that come from walking humbly with The Lord. He is truly all we need.
"You're So Blessed"
(parody of "You're The Best" by Joe Esposito; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 1/14/2022)
(1 Timothy 6:6-12, 1 Timothy 6:17-21, Job 1-2, Psalms 2, Psalms 73:23-28, Hebrews 13:5, Romans 14:10, 1 Corinthians 3, Philippians 3:1-14, 2 Corinthians 8:9, 2 Corinthians 5:5-10, 2 Corinthians 5:14-21, Luke 18:9-17, Luke 18:18-34, Luke 12:13-34, Matthew 6:19-24, Matthew 6:33, Matthew 16:24-28, Matthew 7:24-29, Ecclesiastes 1:9, Ecclesiastes 2:11, Ecclesiastes 9:11, Ecclesiastes 2:25, Ecclesiastes 5:5-10, Ecclesiastes chapter 12, Amos 4:1-3)
Try to please Self
'Cause you only live once
Solomon's got a Word to players
Ecclesiastes
12- we're going to dust
For our God, He will judge- obey Him!
History repeats itself
Nothing new sun sees
Allies rout Napoleon
And you stand wavering
You're the best!
Around!
Nothing's gonna ever keep you down
You've been blessed!
And how!
Nothing's gonna ever sweep you now
You're the best!
For now!
Someone's gonna one day beat you out
Midas, my friend
Pause your life for a min.
All the things that you have define you
(Of) what you got, you're so proud
Storing up- what about
When Lord God calls today? Read 12 Luke
Time and chance still whip us all
And one day fire will tell
1 Corinthians 3- Christians there
Unbelievers are in Hell
You're obsessed
With clout!
None of that will even mean squat now
You invest
Cash cow!
Money's got your heart- it's fleeting now
Hedonists
Will bow
Something's humbled Epicurus now!
Job was best
Around!
Satan wanted to just bring him down
So he'd test
Him out
Nothing that Job had couldn't leave him now
He confessed
Faith now
Nothing come in or we'll leave with now
Christ said life's not
All made up
Of your stuff
Don't thrill to greed- keep guard! (Yikes!)
Pull the thread, camel (Eye!)
Rich men- Who'll save soul?
Forgive your sins?- Leave all to God
He favours meek, not proud
Beat your breasts!
And bow!
Nothing but a Pharisee, fat cow
4 Amos-
Read now!
Publican's cleared by Jesus now
Thorns were pressed
On crown
Blood has covered everything broke now
Lord Jesus
Paid out
Nothing's gonna ever keep us out
Just confess
Pray now!
Jewel's worth it-
Sell everything you've got
He's The Best!
I've found
Nothing but The Lord completes me now!
Wednesday, August 7, 2024
You're So Blessed (Song)
Glory of God (song)
..
As part of a leadership training program at work recently, I was asked to write my personal mission statement. In thinking upon this directive, I wrote down the main goals I have long held dear. These are still my guiding principles for all of life and I want to be doing them all the more each day. Ultimately, as Colossians 3:1-4 talks about, my life is hidden with Christ in God. I wanted to present my personal mission statement here because it is a good summary of what this song is about as well. Though I wrote the parody song a few years ago in 2021, it lines up nicely with the statement I wrote towards the end of July 2024. It's essentially my personal mission statement in song form. Here's the one I wrote recently in prose form first though.
"I want to live my life for the glory of God above all. In doing this, by faith in Jesus Christ's death and Resurrection for salvation from sins and Hell, and through the power of The Holy Spirit, I seek to obey Christ's commands summarizing The Law.
Love The Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind, soul and strength. And love thy neighbour as thyself. I want to also always be speaking The Truth in Love. Thus, I am bold in being a witness for Christ in both how I speak and live and I share Truth with love and grace."
Certainly, there are many other commands in The Bible that could be listed, along with warnings, admonitions, promises and so forth, et cetera. Yet Jesus summarized all The Law and Prophets with those two commands, so I just seek to hold to Him and ask His help in fulfilling His top two commands that govern our relationship with God and with man. Like Peter said in John 6:68, where else can we go? Jesus alone has the words of eternal life. And as I cling to Him for life in both this life and the next, I want to do it all for the glory of God.
"Glory of God"
(parody of "Glory of Love" by Peter Cetera; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 9/28/2021)
(2 Peter 3:14-18, Jude 1:24-25, Philippians 1:21, 1 Peter 1:15-25, Colossians 3:1-4, Galatians 2:20, Romans 12:1-2, Hebrews 13:8-16, Philippians 4:4-13, Philippians 3:7-21, 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, Hebrews 13:5-6, Hebrews 11:1-3, Hebrews 11:6, Hebrews 11:13-16, Habakkuk 2:4, 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, 1 Corinthians 15:50-58, 1 Corinthians 9:19-27, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Colossians 3:23-24, Psalms 19:14, 2 Timothy 2:8-13, 2 Timothy 4:1-8, 2 Corinthians 7:1, 1 John 2:1-6, 1 Corinthians 1:23-31, Hebrews 12:1-15)
In life it's very clear that we're all dying here
There's so many things I want post-haste
(A) wife to always love true
(And) have a family of my own
My life's not over yet- past things I might regret
That make it hard to see new growth then
I don't want to lose time
Can't recover- wasted time's gone
I'm just a man saved by Christ through His offer
He died and He rose for misdeeds I'd done
We'll live forever- (but) now until Heaven
Grant I'd give my all for the glory of God
Philippians 3 calls all else loss for Christ's call
I'm pressing on then toward Heavenlies
I have all I need in Christ
I'll forever praise Him alone
2 Galatians- crucified with Lord Christ there
Go read what He wrote- Colossians 3:3, bud
He lives instead there- old man's no longer
My life's hidden with for the glory of God
I live for Christ but sinning harbours
Cumbersome vines that hold
Run for prize- lay aside all weights
Looking to my Saviour all by faith
12 in Romans- sacrifice for God's honour
Lord, keep me near You 'cause world leads me off
I wanna live for Jesus- only by His strength
19:14 Psalms- may I glorify God
I'll live for Christ- yeah- knowing that whether
Longings come or not- my life's work is for God
He gave His all for Love
I'm living all for God
City coming above
I'm living all for God
Friday, April 28, 2023
Kind to the Ungrateful and Wicked
Here's a poem for National Poetry Month! It is largely inspired by the account of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount that is given in Luke 6. I am particularly moved by The Lord's radical command to not only love those who love us but to go beyond that and love our enemies and pray for them! Just as God our Father is kind and merciful to the ungrateful and wicked, so we must be too. And it's even easier to do that when we realize that so often we ourselves are the ungrateful and wicked. Yet God's rich mercy and grace still reaches to us despite this and brings us back to restoration when we return to Him in repentance. We who are forgiven so much must be willing to forgive others as well. Let us follow our Lord's example and command to show love to all, especially those we think deserve it least.
Kind To The Ungrateful and Wicked
(poem copyright by Nathan Ludwick 7/12/2022)
(Genesis 1:14-19, Genesis 1:26-31, Psalms 8, Psalms 139, Psalms 118:24, Matthew 5:38-48, Luke 6:27-38, James 1:17, Colossians 1:13-17, Job 38-42, Psalms 90, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Romans 5:8, John 15:12-17, John 13:1-20, Matthew 5:13-16, James 1:19-20, Romans 2:1-4, Ephesians 4:29-32, Ephesians 5:1-2, Revelation 19:11-16, Luke 7:40-50, Psalms 103, Psalms 150, Matthew 7:12, Romans 13:8-14, Romans 12, 1 Peter 2:9-12, Malachi 4:2, Galatians 6:2, 1 Peter 4:8, 1 John 4:7-21, 1 John 3:16-22, 2 Thessalonians 3:13, Jeremiah 31:3)
Welcome to My morning- welcome to My day
The blue sky and sunshine a backdrop to birds' refrain
The morning dew on each petal like a mint on your hotel pillow
Everything about today's been prepared for you in advance
Blink your eyes open in bed, roll down the window and stick out your head
Take in a big breath of fresh air- the same breathed since ages past
Go forth to face the day made for you and written before time
Filled with its share of toil mingling with peace and rest
Carefully arranged by The One Whose heart is kind beyond all measure
How many walk oblivious to the obvious blessings that surround them
Every breath that fills their lungs a fresh gesture of grace
Every heartbeat is one more that they weren't obligated to receive
And people go on their merry ways with nary an upward gaze
Choices are made in twenty four hour spans with after effects that still send shock waves for days or maybe years
Some even echo in eternity, bathed in blackness or light
The Eternal Time Keeper watches it all play out on Earth
As He holds everything together and intervenes with Divine authority and supreme knowledge both here and across the universe
The Giver of all good gifts makes every day like Christmas
The Gift given that day can still be unwrapped afresh each new day
Though sadly some stubbornly refuse but this never sways His mood
His eyes still look eternally with love on them through tears
He sends the sun each dawn to shine on the wicked and righteous alike
He sends the rain in its season on both the good and bad
Yet the ugly is in all of humanity and only The Beautiful One can transform it
The Beauty became the beast after Snow White bit the poison apple
The silver bullet crisscrossed His heart to render Him dead to pay for all misdeeds
Grace personified walked out of the grave with a real life fairy tale ending
All those who give themselves over to endless Love's entreaty
Can live each day with joy looking forward to living happily ever after in Love's kingdom
And in each staggering step of this race that inches ever closer to eternity's edge
Mercy's transformed miscreants must administer mercy to all just like The Father of Mercy
For even though the ungrateful and wicked spurn His open arms with sneers
He exudes kindness on them relentlessly throughout life and beyond
Even in eternity, His kindness won't force folks to be with Him who reject Him
And in the time allotted before the final breaths are lent to frames of dust and rib
Every moment is the time for lovingkindness to lavishly wash each other's feet
No matter the response, the seeds must still get water and sunshine that they might yet grow
Only God decides on the growth in accordance with the willingness of human beans
And as His kindness brought us to repentance who grow in His vine
May we continually extend olive branches of love that overwhelm all like a flood
Those who are forgiven much also love both God and man much
Man's anger accomplisheth not God's righteousness- and man can't control outcomes
Faithful obedience calls for trust in The Faithful and True one who is always good
Let Mercy lead us to never respond to hostility in kind- but in tireless kindness
That the world might know and give thanks to the embodiment of Good
Who still welcomes us each morning to the new day He has made that we
Should rejoice and be glad in it and shine like the Sun of righteousness
That the world might see our good deeds, love and kindness and glorify the
Author of all Good and Love and Joy Whose heart is wonderfully kind.
Monday, June 13, 2022
Life
Friday, January 21, 2022
Death
Death has been happening a lot lately, it seems. Deaths in the news of people from disease, celebrity deaths- even among family and friends. It seems funny how we often can't even bring ourselves to say the word but use euphemisms like "passed away" or "transitioned". I don't mean to be callous here; I understand why grieving people might prefer those terms at the time.
I find it funny though how so many just choose not to think about it. We think about death indirectly though through the numerous things we do to try to preserve our lives. We take every precaution, eat healthy, exercise and check in with the doctor regularly. Why do we do so much to avoid our death instead of prepare for it? That's not to say it's bad to do those things. It is bad if we do those things thinking they will extend our lives and ignore the reality that our bodies will one day stop breathing, die and decompose.
It's better to go to a man's funeral than to celebrate the day of his birth. (See Ecclesiastes 9.) And unless Christ returns first, we will all die one day. It's appointed once unto man to die and then comes the judgment. (Hebrews 9:27)
And we all will exist eternally because our souls are made for eternity. And not thinking about it is an incredibly bad strategy for dealing with eternity. What will you say when you're faced with all the brilliant glory of God and He takes you through a review of your life? What would you answer when faced with this question from God- "Why should I let you into My Heaven?"
There is only one answer we all would have to give if God had done nothing else. There is no reason at all. We are all deserving of Hell, where the worm and fire never die. That is the wages of sin we have all earned.
Yet we get so myopically focused on this temporal life that we even have the nerve to blow off the Holy Spirit's conviction. We are so wrapped up in ourselves that we get mad at God for suffering we endure in this life because of our own sin. We act like God is somehow obligated to spare us of all pain, not even considering how we have brought it on ourselves as a species ever since we decided to defy God in the garden.
I think we sometimes get the mistaken idea that some have with preventative medicines like vaccines. We think we're not supposed to get sick at all. In reality, we should only expect that the disease will be mitigated as to its effects and we will hopefully be spared hospitalization and death. Of course, when we're in Jesus, we know we will be spared from death in Hell and that He will help us through our trials here on Earth.
This is an assurance obtained through faith in Christ alone. God loves us all so much that He sent Jesus to pay the penalty of our sins by dying on the cross and rising again. Because He lives, we can live also- both now and forever in Heaven. All we need do is believe in Him and receive His gift of salvation by faith. Then follow Him in repentance.
It doesn't matter what you do- death will comes to us all, unless The Lord returns first. Either way, we will all stand before Him in judgment. (See Matthew 25, 1 Corinthians 3, and Revelation 20.) And just like the snow makes the fall look like it's washed clean, The Lord says He can wash us clean too. (See Psalms 51.) As Isaiah 1:18 says, though our sins be like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
What will you say to God to answer why He should let you into Heaven? My answer is that though my sins make me deserving of Hell, Jesus said I could come to the Heaven I don't deserve because He paid for all my sins and I have put all my faith in Him. It is Christ's death and Resurrection alone that pardons and forgives my sins. All my Hope is in Jesus- and I trust that He is faithful to do just what He said.
Call upon The Lord now while He may be found, while you are still alive. It is too late after you are dead. We will all be dead one day physically but Christ can keep us alive spiritually for eternity. He has given that choice to us. What is your answer? God bless and guide you as you make your decision.
Friday, October 1, 2021
Lost People (song)
Friday, July 2, 2021
Civil War (of Words) and Peace Speech
Tuesday, June 15, 2021
Silent Lament
Job's friends are rightly criticized for getting a lot of things wrong in their comfort of Job, but they should be commended for one thing they got exactly right. Sometimes as Christians seeking to comfort others, we need to learn to shut up already. We need to be a listening ear and not offer any sage advice, explanations or promises. "I loathe my life; I will give free utterance to my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. I will say to God, 'Do not condemn me; let me know why You contend against me. Does it seem good to You to oppress, to despise the work of Your hands and favor the designs of the wicked? Have You eyes of flesh? Do You see as man sees? Are Your days as the days of man, or Your years as a man's years,...' " (Job 10:1-5) (Not verses you see quoted and claimed and liked on Facebook too much). Look what Job goes on to say in Job 10:18-22 "Why did You bring me out from the womb? Would that I had died before any eye had seen me and were as though I had not been, carried from the womb to the grave. Are not my days few? Then cease, and leave me alone, that I may find a little cheer before I go- and I shall not return- to the land of darkness and deep shadow, the land of gloom like thick darkness, like deep shadow without any order, where light is as thick as darkness." (Remember that Job is saying all this to God.)
This is the deep despair of a man who has been devastated. In the same day, he has had most all of his cattle and animals (i.e. means of income and food) destroyed and all of his children killed. Then he gets struck with a horrible and painful skin disease on top of that (in a time with little medicine available- no Neosporin to rub on those sores- scraping at them with broken pottery will have to do). And the one person who should have been the most comfort, his wife, only offers this advice- "Curse God and die!" Wow! Thanks a lot, wife. Of course, Job doesn't do this, but he definitely lets God have a barrage of his angry, hurt, pained and torturous feelings, with a lot of feelings of being betrayed and feeling hugely disappointed with God mixed in. Job had just had his whole worldview shattered too. Doesn't God bring good to the good and bad to the bad? I mean, God Himself said Job was blameless and upright! (Job 1:8) But bad befalls us all at times. We can't explain it. Sometimes, like Jonah, we feel angry enough to die! (Jonah 4:9) In the end, hopefully we learn that God never does wickedness and doesn't pervert justice. (Job 34:10-12) And as Job acknowledges, there are some things we just can't understand. Brokenness, pain, suffering and hurting is part of the experience now in this fallen world. And our every cry of "Why?" and every tear is an echo of the feeling that all of humanity shares- there is something horribly wrong in the world and we live in a vastly cruel parody of what this world should be. Of course, ultimately it is a world of our own making and we are the ones who have brought the decimation by our sin. And God has identified with our suffering in the person of Jesus Christ and His death on the cross. His Resurrection brings us hope that we will be resurrected through our faith in Him to the life that He meant for us to live- in a new Heaven and new earth where God Himself will wipe away all our tears. (Revelation 21-22). Until that glorious day, while we do live in light of eternity, we also live in recognition of the hurt and pain of our day-to-day life in this world and seek to assuage people's pain and bring them the balm of Gilead that alone can ultimately cure their ails.
Let's do as Job's friends did. "Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great." (Job 2:11-13) Yes, as much criticism as we can rightly level at these guys later on in the book (which God mentions in Job 42 and they repent of with sacrifices and Job graciously prays for his friends as God commands so they can be forgiven too)- there is one thing they got exactly right. No casseroles and dinners brought for Job (not saying there's anything wrong in offering food to the suffering though), but most importantly, no pithy sayings and no attempts at words of comfort. Instead, they did just what The Bible says elsewhere- they mourned with Job as he mourned. And they suffered in silence together with their friend. May we all learn to show the love of Christ to the hurting in the same manner.
Yes, there is a time to encourage one another and spur one another on toward love and good deeds and help comfort others with the comfort God has given us in our times of distress, but there is also a time to be silent and listen and lament and weep. (as Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 attests. See also Hebrews 10:23-25 and 2 Corinthians 1:1-11).
"Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." (Romans 12:15)
Saturday, May 1, 2021
Confessions of a Forgiven Hypocrite
Do you ever feel like such a huge hypocrite? You get hit with something out of nowhere- you know exactly where that road goes- and you get on it anyway and make it even worse- and before you know it, you're sinning up a storm over the weekend. And you know it's wrong because you blow off Bible reading and prayer for the day because you're definitely not in the right frame of mind for that. You're having way too much fun with sin right now- you can't face God right now. And it gets to the point where you feel like such a failure and jerk heading off to church.
(Confession: This was a good portion of my weekend, except that this portion was anything but good. For a single guy striving to follow Christ but failing a number of times, while seeing victories at others, the battlefield of the mind and maintaining sexual purity there is such a struggle oftentimes. Even if it's not straight up pornography, there are a plethora of images readily available online that help satisfy curiosity for a time. The problem is the eyes never get their fill of seeing. - Ecclesiastes 1:8
As James 1:12-18 tells us, sin always grows exponentially into more and more with a neverending appetite for destruction, even if it seems like Paradise City at the time.)
When you feel like that, don't run away; run to God. Go to church anyway. You're not a hypocrite- you're a sinner admitting your need for Jesus The Saviour and Lord. And you'll find that you haven't messed up beyond the measure of grace after all. When you come in faith and repentance, you'll find The Lord is right there waiting for you with open arms, ready to forgive and absolve you of all sins once more. The Father is always watching for us. 1 John 1:9 is still true for Christ followers who have run off that narrow trail over to the hollow pursuits of the broad way and gotten sick on its short-lived pleasures. He puts us back on the path, clears the guilt from our consciences and restores to us the joy of our salvation in Christ once more and reminds us how much infinitely better Jesus is than sin!
It's crazy how the worship music and the sermon was targeted right at me today at church and spoke to just what I needed. (Not so crazy- hat tip to The Holy Spirit for His work. :-)) The pastor quoted from "Love Lifted Me" and we sang "How Great Thou Art" at the end, both of which I could happily sing after confessing my sins to God, asking His forgiveness and help to not do it again. And we also sang this beautiful, new-to-me worship song I have linked below. The lyrics are amazingly powerful and just what I needed today, along with the sermon from Ephesians 4:17-24, reminding me to put off my old self that's corrupt through deceitful desires and to instead be renewed in the spirit of my mind and put on my new self, created after God's likeness in true righteousness and holiness. That's what He has called me to do and that's what I want to do all the time.
I am sorry for the many times I fail God in so many ways. I confess that I am far too often a lazy, undisciplined, gluttonous, lustful, lascivious, prideful, jealous, wrathful, fearful, lying, cheating, thieving, covetous old sinner- and likely much more could be named if everyone saw the depths of my heart and soul like The Lord does. For those of my friends who see the man of God I want to be on here and in my life, please know that I have no place to be on any pedestal or to cast any stones. I struggle with the old man of sin constantly and while I know Jesus has won the war already, it still hurts to lose battles along the way. Yet I continue on in the fight knowing it's not I but Christ through me. There is no good in me of my own. Any good in me is Jesus. Pray that I might continue to fling aside the garments stained by the flesh and instead put on the garment of praise that is the new robe of righteousness God The Father gives His prodigals who repent with an amazing Grace and love that overwhelms me.
May this encourage you to keep standing with God, even enduring mistreatment over the fleeting pleasures of sin, as Moses did. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. (See Hebrews 11:23-28) Let's also go to Christ outside the camp and gladly bear the reproach He endured as we look for the lasting City to come! (See Hebrews 13:10-16) And when we fall and start to sink like Peter, let us immediately turn our eyes back unto Jesus and cry out to Him for salvation- He's always there to pull us back up and set us on the narrow path again because He loves us with an everlasting love! (Jeremiah 31:3) And He removes our sins as far as the east is from the west! Bless The Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- He forgives all our iniquities when we ask! He heals all our diseases and redeems our lives from the pit! Praise God for His love and forgiveness! If you don't know this kind of Love, put faith in His death and Resurrection that pays for all sins for all time and follow Him in faith and repentance to receive His Grace and salvation today! If you do know Him and His love, be encouraged today as we traverse the narrow road together, fellow brother and sister pilgrims. Be blessed, be a blessing and most of all- be God's. (Romans 14:8) :-)
https://youtu.be/zundjUFazfg
("Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me" by City Alight)
Thursday, April 22, 2021
The Law of Love
The problem with basing public policy on public opinion is that the public changes its mind- sometimes with good reason and sometimes seemingly on a whim. This is why we need standards common to all that do not change- without that, we slide into chaos where everyone does what's right in their own eyes. (Judges 17:6 and 21:25) However, we have one Top 10 list that never changes and is not subjective but objective and is for all people- The Ten Commandments. (Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5) God has set His standards and He never changes. (Malachi 4:6) But The Law calls for absolute perfection. (Leviticus 11:45) None of us can attain that. (Proverbs 20:9, Psalms 14:3) Thankfully, Jesus did that for us. (Matthew 5:17, Hebrews 4:14-15, Hebrews 10:10-23) Because Jesus met all the requirements of God's Law and died as the ultimate righteous sacrifice for our sins, we can go free while He pays the toll. Earthly comparisons pale in explaining, but it's like Jesus paid our bail so that we could get out of prison. Better still, it's like we were on death row and Jesus volunteered to take our place in the electric chair. And ever The Good Samaritan, Jesus did for those who considered Him as an enemy and who had no way of paying Him back- but Jesus doesn't want even our useless attempts. He wants our freely offered love. He died on the cross and rose again and now The Law that was our schoolmaster and showed us our need for Christ is no longer necessary because we are now under grace. (Galatians 3) And in this new covenant with Christ by faith, we receive His Holy Spirit when we ask Him in. And He Himself guides us into all Truth and to the good that we should do. (Romans 8:5-11) And His Word in The Bible guides us too. And now we desire to do right out of love and gratitude to Jesus. And as imitators of God, we walk in Love and grow up every way into Christ. (Ephesians 4:15-16 and 5:1-2)
As Colossians 3:1-17 tell us, we have died and our lives are now hidden with Christ in God. And we seek to do everything in the Name of The Lord Jesus. And now following Jesus is all we need to do. As Romans 12:8-14 says, Love is the fulfilling of The Law. As Jesus told us, the summary of The Law is this: Love The Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:34-40) As Ephesians 4:15 reminds us, speak The Truth in Love. As Jesus tells us in John 14:6, He is The Way, The Truth and The Life. No man comes to The Father but by Him. (Any other leads to Hell; only Jesus leads to Heaven). 1 John 4:8 says that God is love. John 10:30-33 and many others affirm that Jesus is God. Thus, we must speak Jesus in Jesus/(Love) and have the same relationship Jesus had with His Father and be as Jesus to our neighbor. That's the only policy that changes all the public- Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of The Law and the embodiment of Love. :-)
For those who seek to establish standards of "good" and "evil" and "right" and "wrong" outside of the authority of Christ- (and who deny the existence of any god and any moral standards upheld over all that apply to all)- this is the dilemma. God has taken care of this by setting firm moral standards that don't change. And best of all- He has kept all these standards perfectly Himself. When we recognize that we can never do this and we look to Jesus for our righteousness, we get His perfection imputed to us- and therein we ride into Heaven on His coattails.
What Would You Do? (In Responding to LGBTQ)
(Note: This is written in response to a question from a LGBTQ study regarding the benefits and harms of conversion therapy which asked the question, "What would you do if someone you knew came out to you as LGBTQ?")
To answer the question posed here, I will tell you what I have done with those I know who have announced their LGBT inclinations- Love my neighbour as myself and speak the Truth in Love to them. (Matthew 22:34-40 and Ephesians 4:15)
I would first want to ask what exactly is meant when they identify with any of the terms encompassed in that acronym. (i.e. I want to hear their story first of all- truly listen and try to understand.)
I would assure them that they are loved no matter what- every person is made in God's image and eternally loved by Him- and they are infinitely important and eternally valuable and worthy of love and respect. Because of my faith in Christ and the love and forgiveness I have experienced from Him, I also love all people and seek to extend His grace to them.
I would also want to understand what their spiritual beliefs are regarding Jesus. If the person is not a Christ follower, I would tell them about the love God has for all of us and the sin in our lives that have separated us from Him. Adam and Eve sinned in the beginning and brought the curse of sin upon the planet and people. The wages of sin is death- spiritual death eternally separated from The Lord in Hell. God doesn't desire any to perish but for all to come to repentance. He loves us all so much He sent His Son to take the punishment we deserve by dying on the cross in our place. Jesus then rose again to prove He's God. If we will turn to Him in faith and trust Him for forgiveness of all our sins and follow Him in repentance, He will save us from the penalty of Hell we deserve and receive us into eternal joy in His presence in Heaven instead.
And if the person already is a Christian or if not, the message is still the same. The Gospel is our greatest need and that's what we need to focus on first. No matter gay, straight or bi, lesbian or transgendered- all bow to Christ on the last day so let's make Him Lord while there's time. (Philippians 2:9-11)
Yes, we all have our struggles in this life and we all deal with temptations to sin. And I do believe the question is not about what orientation one feels drawn towards- it's about what one does with it.
I can empathize with friends who have unwanted same sex attractions who also strive to serve and obey The Lord Jesus with everything, including their sexuality. I can empathize as a heterosexual single man who is celibate just like them because I know sex outside of marriage is a sin and God has defined marriage as the union of one man to one woman for life. (Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19, Hebrews 13:4)
And I know the community of those who hold to faith in Christ and also identify as LGBTQ+ veer to different paths on this issue. I have friends who affirm faith in Jesus yet some choose to engage in homosexual relations and others choose to be celibate in keeping with their convictions. For the former, I have had to gently and respectfully explain why I cannot agree with them that God permits homosexual relationships or lust. This doesn't mean I don't love them or respect them. I am still happy to do anything I can to help them but I can't enable them in perpetuating sin. I would not want them to do that for me, so this is just what Matthew 7:12 commands me to do in the Golden Rule.
For the latter, I commiserate with them and try to encourage them in their walk with Christ and commitment to celibacy. And I pray for those in both camps.
Above all, I want to remind them that Love doesn't rejoice with evil but it rejoices with the Truth. And the Truth is Jesus- He's the Way, Truth and Life. And Jesus is better than sin. Jesus is better than lust. Jesus is better than sex. Jesus is better than any human relationship. Jesus is better than anything else I desire.
I want to want Him and want nothing else. I confess I am certainly not all I should be but by the grace of God, I am not who I once was either. I am a sinner saved by God's grace and because I have been set free by His forgiveness and love, I can do no less than to love others and extend the same grace I have received.
And regardless of one's choice about Jesus, the love remains and the respect remains and the prayers remain.
I look forward to the day when Jesus will return and set everything wrong right again and all our desires will be rightly oriented for Him and His kingdom. He is our ultimate Hope as we look forward to Heaven where everything sad will come untrue and all the light and momentary troubles we go through here will not even compare to the glory to be revealed.
(Note: Here are a few articles that offer Christian perspectives on these ideas.
https://www.equip.org/article/whats-the-problem-with-conversion-therapy/
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-lgbt-movements-dangerous-hypocrisy-on-conversion-therapy/?amp
The Spiritual Friendship Web site is another great resource too. https://www.spiritualfriendship.org)
Sunday, March 21, 2021
Ever Read Ecclesiastes? (Song)
Meaningless! Everything is meaningless! Does the world ever feel that way? Do you feel driven to despair? Many have felt that way for a long time since things on Earth first fell apart so long ago back in Genesis 3, when sin made everything get hairy. When you get down with these blues and get down to kneel, son- remember to look up to God alone who brings order out of the chaos, adds Life to our days and makes meaning in the midst of mediocrity. Everybody's talking at you saying all kinds of things about how to make your life meaningful. In the middle of all your searching for significance, ever read Ecclesiastes? Listen to what The Lord has to say about life and follow Him and let Him give you eternal meaning and Hope.
"Ever Read Ecclesiastes?" (parody of "Everybody's Talking" by Harry Nilsson; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 10/17/2020) (book of Ecclesiastes; particularly 1:1-2, 1:9, 1:14, 2:9-11, 2:24-26, 3:1-11, 3:16-22, 4:9-12, 5:1-7, 5:18-20, 6:7-12, 7:1-4, 7:10-13, 8:10-13, 9:7-12, 10:1-4, 10:10-15, 11:1-7, 12:1-8, 12:11-14)
Everything's all vanity
Under sun there's no innovations
Go read Ecclesiastes 1:9
People shopping, striving
I can see they're chasing
Only the wind blows- passes them by
Ongoings have seasons and timing
That The Lord ordains
(We're) going to forever recompose
Breaking's hard for the cord of three strands
So fear God in utter awe please
When living's over we're going by His throne
(Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!)
All toiling under sun- keep smiling
Due to 5:18
Don't call old days better- dude, sin's old!
Banking all on The Lord brings wins
Assails us all- time, whimsy
Foolishness pours forth but wisdom's a stepping stone
Ecclesiastes 11:6 reads
Can't know what works- keep sowing
Only The Lord knows- (so) enjoy Life
Guys, don't let age leave Lord God behind
'Cause God will judge all deeds
(Whoa!)
Life's found in man's duty- keep God's commands!
Saturday, March 13, 2021
Standing on the Promises of God
In Matthew 13:24-43, Jesus tells the parable of the weeds, also known as the parable of the wheat and tares. Thankfully, The Lord also offers an explanation of the parable, explaining that the weeds sown among the wheat are sons of the evil one, whom the devil has planted in the church. So this parable indicates that there sadly will be those who may claim to be Christ followers in the church but are really not and who only bring strife and division instead. God's angels will winnow out the weeds into the eternal fires of hell in the end. In light of this passage, there is legitimate reason to be concerned about the possibility of false converts in the church. Of course, this parable also indicates that the church should minister to everyone, preaching the Gospel to all, and let God sort it out in the end.
In relation to this, I know there are a number of pastors and evangelists who claim that saying the "sinner's prayer" is unBiblical. Many seem to think that many who said this prayer declaring their faith in Jesus to save them from their sins were not really sincere and thus are merely false converts. They tend to have a strong emphasis on the need for repentance and sometimes makes it seem like they are really preaching a reliance on works along with God's grace. And I also at least sometimes get the feeling like they're speaking with assuredness that they can't possibly be one of those false converts.
To be fair though, there are other times when these evangelists are speaking where they make it very clear they believe we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And I don't doubt the sincerity of their faith in Christ or their zeal to see others come to salvation. I praise God for that! I am just stating the impression I get at times.
I think the point is to emphasize that we can't just flippantly say a prayer that we don't really mean, claim our fire insurance policy and just go on living life as we please.
Of course we have to be careful of that- Jesus warned us in Matthew 7 of the many who will call to Him "Lord, Lord" who never really knew Him.
But if we confess with our mouths, "Jesus is Lord" and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved. (See Romans 10:9) That sounds a lot like the "sinner's prayer" to me.
If we invite Jesus metaphorically into our hearts to be Lord and Saviour, then we invite Him to metaphorically and literally in some sense as well to rule our lives. We invite Him not only to forgive us of all our sins that left us dead in our trespasses but also to make us into the people He intended us to be all along and do the good He wants us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10)
We invite Him into our minds because He gives us the mind of Christ. We don't seem to often think of it in these terms but it's the antithesis of demon possession. Remember that even the demons acknowledge Jesus is Lord but clearly they aren't saved. They lead people to do evil things that hurt themselves and others. Jesus leads us to do good things that help others before ourselves. Ephesians 5:18 commands us not to be drunk with wine for this leads to dissipation but in contrast to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
If the Holy Spirit is possessing and filling us, then we do as He leads. We become God's extensions on earth to do the righteous deeds He desires that bring Him glory. (To be clear, we don't become a god or God Himself, of course- but we do become His sons and daughters. And children imitate their mother and father, just as we imitate our Father. Thus, His children will look and act and talk more and more like Him every day.)
Now kids are often given chores to do around the house and maybe they do them to earn an allowance. But they never to do them to earn the love of their parents (or shouldn't anyway) because their parents always love them and they are their children no matter what! Nothing they can do can ever change that!
Once God adopts us through our faith in Christ, we are no longer servants but sons! Anyone who sins is a slave to sin. The slave doesn't stay in the house forever but the son stays in the house forever! So if the Son sets us free, we are free indeed! (See John 8:32-36)
We rest in the Son's completed work at Calvary and the empty tomb! The slaves in the Old Testament in Israel had the 7th. year as the Year of Jubilee when they were set free. Jesus is our Jubilee! (Thanks to Michael Card for that line. :-)) Jesus is our Sabbath rest! (See Hebrews 4)
And out of gratitude to Him and love for Him, we obey His commands willingly. It makes such a world of difference when we are obeying because we want to out of love and not out of fear.
As a librarian, I often describe my job as tricking kids into reading books. :-) (Really- I do every contest and promotion I can and so forth to make reading look like a fun game and pastime.) Now, I'm happy to some small degree for kids reading even begrudgingly because their teachers made them. What a HUGE joy it is instead though to see kids who genuinely want to read on their own amd who grow to love reading to the point that they are constantly hounding me about getting their book requests in so they can have more to read! :-)
This is the same kind of response God wants to see in us with Jesus. We read The Bible because we want to hear from Him not because our pastor made us. We pray because we want to spend time with Him, not because it's like a courtesy call our parents made us make to our grandparents.
We go to church, tithe, love our neighbours as ourselves, sacrifice to help the least of these, speak the Truth in Love and share the Gospel with others- not because we have to do all these good deeds to earn our Cub Scout merit badges but because Akela has already made us one of the pack and the call of the Wild in our souls drives us to do these things to show we are His and to please Him. Ultimately, these actions and attitudes are all reflections of the fact that with our transformation by the renewing of our minds, we are conformed to Christ and our calling is confirmed in Christ by these good works, which are done to show that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
The motivation is always key. We do it because He has saved us- NOT in order to get saved. The latter brings only exhaustion and frustration; the former brings rest, peace and trust.
I say all this as things I have learned from God's Word and Spirit as one who has struggled numerous times throughout life wrestling back and forth, worrying if I have really been saved. I say it as one who said a sinner's prayer about the age of 5 or 7 and who has sought to follow Jesus ever since. I say it as one who has fended off attacks from the devil to make me doubt at times when I felt I was doing well- and as one who has been hit with accusations when I know I'm in sin.
Christians, sadly, often still choose to sin and thus continue to struggle with temptations through the sanctification process. This doesn't mean that we have lost our salvation when this happens. It means we've lost our fellowship with the Father temporarily, just like kids who know they've done wrong shrink in fear from their father who has the belt at the ready for discipline. We fear the rod of correction but we need not ever fear that we have made our Daddy too angry to love us anymore. The same is true with God. We don't need to ever fear that we have pushed His patience too far and that He's lost that loving feeling. We might lose that feeling of being loved but God never loses the feeling of giving love because He is love. It's more than a feeling, whether in Boston or anywhere else in the world. It's the Love of God that unconditionally reaches out to us and holds us forever!
This doesn't mean that we sin so grace may abound- by no means! Grace is not a license to sin, like it seems James Bond holds. But we trust that God's Word is His bond and He who does not lie keeps us stirred and not shaken. (Titus 1:2, Haggai 1:14, 2 Thessalonians 2:2, Hebrews 12:26-29) We got salvation for free from Yeshua with love! We can find way more than just a quantum leap of solace in knowing the Superman of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow never dies (again) and because He lives forever, we will live forever with Him! And we continue to use all the Spirit's gifts like Q's Inspector Gadget-gadgets on His Majesty's secret service!
Though of course, while we do keep acts of generosity secret and our Father who knows all secrets and sees what's done in secret rewards us, we should be in the open about letting people know that the reason for the Love, faith and hope they see in us is Jesus!
And we have this all because we are resting in His completed work and none of our own! (Matthew 5:17 and 11:25-30) And when Christ becomes our all consuming passion, His commands are not weary or burdensome. We delight in doing them because we want to please our loving, Saviour, Lord and Friend.
And that's where I rest. I trust that God is true and that He really does love me. He really loves everyone with an everlasting love! He longs for us all to be reconciled to Him if we'll let Him do it. He has forgiven all my sins because I have asked Him to do so by confessing my faith in Jesus and His death and Resurrection. I have repented of my sins and seek to follow Him but I often mess up and keep repenting of my sins and keep following Him. He picks me back up and keeps me going. As I said before, I have doubted a number of times but I've doubted myself more than I've ever doubted God. I think that was part of the point of praying the sinner's prayer 50 million times over to make sure I was really sincere like Linus' pumpkin patch that time. After spending times literally kneeling naked in the bathroom reading all of 1 John aloud and weeping and praying to God and claiming His promises yet again, I somewhere along the line realized that His promises are true and I really didn't have to try so hard. I believe He heard me the first time as a kid. Those many times of recommitment revealed and reconfirmed to me again how great my sin truly is and how infinitely greater His grace is as well. His grace is far greater than all my sin.
I ran the 400m and 110m hurdles events on the Track and Field team in high school. Thankfully I didn't knock them down and subsequently fall down myself too often. If it does happen in a race though- it's okay. You can knock every single one down and as long as you get up and keep running and get to the finish line first, you can still win the race. It doesn't count against you in any way. You don't lose your place on the team. When we sin and fall down, Jesus picks up again when we come back to Him in Godly sorrow and repentance and He puts us back on track to run the race with perseverance. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Hebrews 12:1-2) We never lose our place on His team!
When we are assured of our faith in Him, we can move forward in faith to be all He made us to be. He is still working out His plan for us. Keep trusting Him, keep fighting the good fight in the one day ending war on sin, and enduring and sharing His love with others! As the song says, 'til He returns or calls me Home, here in the power of Christ I'll stand. I love Him because He first loved me. May all I say, think or do bring Him glory. :-)
Friday, February 12, 2021
Slam Dunk Sin
"Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 3 For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. 4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; 5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.
7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." (1 Peter 4:1-11)
I wanted to offer some commentary here but first I thought it better to let the Scripture speak for itself and I didn't want to distract from it, so that's up front and center.
I read through both 1 Peter and 2 Peter recently and some convicting words hit me in 1 Peter 4. Christ has suffered for us to reconcile us to Him. Now that we have come to faith in Him through accepting His death and rise to pay for our sins, we must live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but instead for the will of God. The time that is past suffices for all the stuff the world wants us to do- we've already spent more than enough time in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. The world is surprised when we don't join them in debauchery and thus they malign us; but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
To be sure, we will all stand before Lord Christ's judgment seat, but those not in Christ will be judged on their deeds in the body and found guilty of sin that only Christ can forgive and erase- and thus rightly receive the punishment of the Hell they chose by rejecting God's offer of love. Those of us in Christ will be judged for the deeds in the body after receiving Christ, to determine what rewards we should receive, like the unfading crown of glory mentioned in 1 Peter 5:4.
With the end of all things at hand, we suddenly seem to get a lot more serious about the way we live. Though none of us knows the day or hour of Christ's return, we know He will come and we will be in His presence that way or we will die one day and pass into eternity and in His presence that way. One of those two events will happen in our lifetime. Whichever comes first, we must be good stewards of God's varied grace. Be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of our prayers. Above all, keep loving each other earnestly! Love covers a multitude of sins! Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. Use the gifts God has given us to serve one another- so that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ! To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen!
In other words- we've spent enough time goofing off and making errors and turnovers. It may be fun to clown around like the Harlem Globetrotters for a while but the first half is over. The pep talk from Coach Jesus in the locker room is to let Him ice up your sores and wounds and then get your head in the game! We have to work and play as a team and keep our eyes on the prize for which we have been called Heavenward. We already know the Coach has won the game for us! He's got an unfading championship ring (for the purposes of this metaphor :-)) waiting for us! We need to play hard until the clock runs out though and be faithful to play the best game we can, not only looking to sink baskets for our stats, but to make assists to help the team's stats as a whole and ultimately give all the credit back to our Coach! And let the way we play the game be reflective of His coaching so that others want to join the team! :-)
The best part about this team is that there are no try outs- it's entirely a team of walk-ons. And no one ever gets cut once they're called by the Coach to join the team. :-)
So keep playing a good, steady D (1 Peter 3:15) and no trash talking (also 1 Peter 3:15 ;-)), and keep dribbling and making good passes and taking good shots as the Coach leads. And make like Jesus in Mark 8 when He healed the blind dude at Bethsaida- make sure to dribble but no double dribble! ;-) If that happens, call a time out and you may even have to sit out a bit as a reminder to play the game right but then get back in there when the Coach trades you and the sixth man back out.
Like Hebrews 11, we've got a great crowd in the stands cheering us on. And like Pistol Pete, Larry Legend, Magic, Air Jordan, etc. (insert your favourite B-baller here ;-)) on a hot streak, we've got the Holy Spirit setting us on fire to make the plays that He has called for us to make, according to our Playbook, all along. Follow His lead and make good passes and take good shots, and we will see some baskets drop, knowing we win in the end! :-)
Slam dunk!
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Everybody Wants to Save the World (Song)
If there was one goal for villains on '80s cartoons especially, it seems like it was to rule the world! Cobra Commander, Shredder, Lex Luthor and their ilk all had their own plans for the world to give them pleasure. Of course, thankfully superheroes like G.I. Joe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Superman are always there to stop them. It also seems everybody wants to save the world. In a world where our flitting emotions have us constantly trading tears for fears it seems, it's hard to find peace. This was true in the '80s where the guys might have worn a pink tux to the prom and it's true today where it seems like there's constantly a panic at the disco. Yet in this crazy life, The Lord bottles our tears (Psalms 56:8-11) and gives us a faith stronger than our fears. And He has ultimately given us the solution the whole world is desperate to have to cure all the world's ills- His Son Jesus! Christ has died and Christ is risen and Christ will come again. He is our only Hope in this world and the next. We all deal with the spiritual problem of sin and we need the spiritual solution, which is faith in Jesus. When we follow Him in repentance, we are filled with The Holy Spirit and empowered to live as He would want us to live so that we bring glory to Him and be the spiritual change we long to see in the world. Eden sank to grief- and the whole world's been crying ever since. Let The Messiah trade your tears and fears for peace and joy in Him- and endure with patience as we await His return, which will truly wipe away all tears and fears forever.
"Everybody Wants to Save the World" (Parody of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 9/4/2020)
(Psalms 73, Psalms 2, Psalms 137, Hebrews 12:22-29, Romans 5, Romans 10:9-13, 2 Corinthians 5:14-21, 2 Corinthians 6:2, 1 Peter 4:18, John 16:33, John 14:27, Matthew 11:28-30, Matthew 6:25-34, Romans 8, Ephesians 6:10-24, Haggai 2:6-9, Habakkuk 3:1-6, Genesis 1-3, Revelation 20-22)
Adam, choose your life- there's a curse unpacked
Eden- our lost dream. We will find you
Acting on our best behaviour
Turn your back on baser nature
Everybody wants to heal the World
It's our groaning sigh- This we moan, "Rebirth!"
Help us look inside- Help us take out mote
8 Romans- where we're set free
Suffering is surpassed- Glory be
Everybody wants renewed, healed world
Share The Truth- let The Light just shine through
Shaking man's things- it all comes tumbling down
In Hebrews 12, read line 27, dude
So glad God can't be shaken
So sad for (the) mess we made then
Everybody knows it's a screwed-up world
Science can't end hate and division
Buried by a lack of vision
Ideology- man's way to soothe the world
Haystack- we'll never, never find the needle
One has died and rose- Lord Jesus
Reconciling lost to Him- saved world!
All our problems (are) spiritual in nature
Solve them with a spiritual answer
2nd. Cor. 5- God still rules the world
..........................................................................
Thursday, December 24, 2020
Gloria in Excelsis Deo (song)
The wonder and mystery of the Incarnation is always so startling and overwhelming when I truly contemplate it. Romans 5:8 is a Bible verses that always blows me away when I consider its truth. "But God demonstrated His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." It's crazy to think that God Almighty Himself loves us all so much that He would deign to lower Himself in such great humility and strap on human skin and bones for 33 years! One of my favourite Christmas carols captures it well. "Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown when Thou camest to Earth for me. But in Bethlehem's home was there found no room for Thy holy nativity! O come to my heart, Lord Jesus! There is room in my heart for Thee." ("Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne" by E.S. Elliot) It's amazing to think that God would leave His throne and set aside His glory in Heaven and come to Earth for me! Thank You, Lord Jesus for coming to save me from my sins so that I could be born again! Thank You that are risen and returning as well! That kind of amazing love and grace drives me to sing with the angels, "Gloria!" All glory to Lord Jesus! Grazie, Signore!
"Gloria in Excelsis Deo" (parody of "Gloria" as performed by Laura Branigan; written by Umberto Tozzi, Giancarlo Bigazzi and Trevor Veitch) (copyright by Nathan Ludwick 12/16/2020)
(Isaiah 7:14, Micah 5:2, Genesis 3:15, Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 1:26-56, Luke 2:1-21)
Story of what took place with God's Son now
Coming after prophecy
Isaiah 7:14 (now)
1 Matthew's got this quote now
The Lord Himself foretold it
Virgin gets pregnant- forthcomes Babe out
So the angel said to Joseph
He nearly broke it off with her
But he stuck with Mary instead
And her Boy's God Incarnate
Called Emmanuel! God with us!
Going to save us from sin!
And Mary's God's servant- cool!
Got visit by angel Gabriel in
Luke in the first chapter
Read where she then magnified
Oh-oh-oh, Holy Lord our God!
Magnificat! (Background Vocals: Magnificat!)
Decree says go be numbered
(BGV: Go read up!) 5:2 Micah- birthplace (of) Jesus
(BGV: Word of God!) But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah
(BGV: You're little!) But you shall bring forth Israel's ruler
Joseph's from line of David
Got no choice 'cause inn's full- then- swaddling cloths, manger
Ah-ah-ah! Ah-ah-ah!
Glory of Lord our God- it shone 'round
Shepherds keeping watch that same night
Oh, still Bethlehem's 'bout to be loud!
Time's due- Mary births God's Son- read
Take a look there in Luke chapter 2
"Fear not!" angel said (to) shepherds who quake
"For all people, I'm bringing Good News!
Unto you this day is born a Saviour
Well, He's born in city of David
Christ The Lord- sign you'll get- swaddling cloths, manger"
Gloria (BGV: Gloria) Angel is joined by numbers
(BGV: Gloria) They speak to God these praises thus
(BGV: Gloria) Luke 2 verse 14- (thanks, Linus)
(BGV: Gloria) "To God glory in the highest
Peace on earth, good will to men
On whom God's favour rests"- calling Gloria!
(BGV: Gloria) (x3)
...............................................................................
Saturday, December 5, 2020
I'm Too Nerdy (song)
It's been said that sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. This saying is really not true because words do hurt. The teasing and unkind words from others can really penetrate our thoughts and shake us from a place of security.
If you want a saying that is right said, Fred, try this one- "The evil men do lives after them." We can be crushed by the evil deeds other do to us- if we let them. When we ground ourselves in faith in Jesus though, we don't have to be shaken by the mean things others and say do to us. When we know our eternal worth in Christ and know His love for us, it doesn't matter. If God be for us, who can be against us? No one!
And even though I have been identified with the nerds and geeks quite often, I'm not bothered by it because I know who I am and Whose I am in Christ. And I am commanded to love my enemies and pray for them and that is what I strive to do. As 1 Corinthians chapter 1 tells us, God loves to use the nerdy and geeky people in the world to shame the popular and cool kids. I am thankful that even if the world thinks I'm too nerdy, God thinks I'm infinitely valuable and loves me just as I am.
"I'm Too Nerdy"
(parody of "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 7/27/2020)
(2 Corinthians 12:9-11, Philippians 2:1-18, John 15:18-19, Matthew 5:10-12, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, Romans 12:9-21, Psalms 139, Matthew 5:38-48, 1 Peter 4:12-19, 1 Peter 3:17)
I'm Poindexter- seem unloved
Who's President (of) Bug Club
Bugs never leave me
I'm too nerdy for these jerks
Assess me and my worth
So nerdy it hurts!
And I'm so nerdy- mow my lawn
Szalinski automaton
"You dork!" they deadpan
I'm too nerdy for their party
Poindexter throws own party
Yes, way I'm disco dancing
I'm Steve Urkel and though they're all mean
And they glued this little nerd to the toilet!
Yeah- want a prank war!
But I can't walk out
"Salute your shorts, you nerd, on the flagpole!"
I'm so nerdy that Picard, Spock, Kirk, LaForge, Riker
(Are) insects on ant farm!
And I'm obsessing on Screech's hat
For chess scene- need that hat
One from Violet Bickerstaff
I'm very model (of) modern major geek
I'm a Simon Seville nerd good with school work
Dilton the bookworm
Do jocks' homework, yeah
All A's in Calculus, Science, et. all
That nerdy, weird guy
Science geek Bill Nye
Tom Edison- smart guy
I'm Arvid Engen- you know IHP
And I do other cheek turn when they slap one
Yeah- in St. Matthew
5:39 (yeah)
Yeah, I'm saved by Lord Jesus- and I walk talk
Enemies in my prayers
For them I love and care
Jesus, He
Purposed me here
1 Corinthians in 1
God picks weak (to) shame the strong
Love's going to lead me
'Cause I'm eternally loved by God!
Sunday, November 29, 2020
Sharing Lord Christ 'Til Heaven (song)
It's been said that everyone wants to go to Heaven but no one wants to die. Of course, death is the door to eternity. Sadly though, many will enter that door to eternal condemnation and suffering separated from God in Hell. Sadder still, there are many who think they will enter into eternal peace and rest in Heaven but they will find they are mistaken and are still on the hook because they put faith in someone other than Jesus. It is only through faith in Jesus' death and Resurrection that pays for all sins that we can escape the Hell we deserve and instead enter the Heaven we don't deserve.
The only Doctor who can give us the right medicine for salvation is Jesus Christ. There is no other way. We need to share this Healing Balm with everyone we can. One thing we can't do in eternity is share The Gospel with lost people. We must witness and share The Gospel with all people- that's our Great Commission from The Lord Jesus. So let's make the most of every moment because the days are evil and start sharing Lord Christ 'til Heaven.
"Sharing Lord Christ 'Til Heaven"
(parody of "Sharing The Night Together" by Ava Aldridge and Eddie Struzick as recorded by Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 7/25/2020)
(Romans 10:9-13, Revelation 20:15, 2 Kings 7:9, Acts 1:6-8, Matthew 7:12-23, Matthew 10:26-33, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 9:42-50, Luke 16, John 15:8)
You're looking at an unholy world
With your Bible unused as you walk through (Yet you claim Christ)
2 Kings 7:9- those dudes
Get a gold mine! Cannot sit on it- they've found food (Must share- Mark 9)
If Christ seems to come on too strong
Christ spoke The Truth- please understand
The lake burning- folks are dying and going
'Cause they don't know Jesus- but they can
That's if we try
Sharing The Light together- Oh yeah!
Sharing The Way to Heaven- Oh yeah!
Sharing Lord Christ
You should read all Christ's warnings, girl
In Luke 16- go Matt. 10
And on the broad road find many hell-bound
That there should change our bent
Matthew line
7:13- destruction! Oh yeah (Background vocals: Share about Christ)
7:14- To Heaven! Oh yeah (BGV: Share about Christ)
Heaven's through Christ
Well, Lord Christ commanded us, see, to go please
All nations- That's The Great Commission, dude
Matthew's last lines- 28:18-20, dude
Disciple and baptize
(In) Father, Son, Spirit Who are Three in One
Teaching them to obey Saviour
He's there with us always- behold!
So we won't be alone- no, never!
Eternal life's at stake so start sharing Lord Christ- (BGV: Share about Christ)(Repeat until end)- for Heaven's sake, yeah
Share that He died for sinners- Rose again
Trust in Lord Christ for Heaven
Romans 10:9 to get there
Sharing's too late in Heaven
(Keep) Sharing about Christ 'til Heaven
Thursday, November 12, 2020
Whose Law is it Anyway?
(Note: This entry contains comments based on questions raised by a friend about an article. As such, this entry is divided into sections for various parts of this discussion.)
https://www.npr.org/2020/10/05/920416357/justices-thomas-alito-blast-supreme-court-decision-on-gay-marriage-rights)
First of all, I commend you for reading and researching to be well informed on issues! :-)
This is a thorny topic and there are a lot of things that could be said on it. I will try to answer some questions raised here as briefly as I can.
Why is the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling considered to be "ruinous" for religious liberty? If those who oppose same sex unions based on religious views, (which would include Orthodox Jews, Muslims, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons and Christians), are forced to perform and endorse such ceremonies or ostracized because of their beliefs, then yes- those are ruinous effects on religious liberty.
To the point about the divorce rate among straight couples, it is true that it is a 50% or more rate and that is very sad. That is certainly not part of God's design for marriage. In Matthew 19, Jesus says the only allowance God makes for divorce is for marital unfaithfulness.
Of course, just because the sanctity of marriage has been cheapened by this sin does not mean that it should be further compounded with more sin.
To be clear, the phrase "separation of church and state" is not actually in The U.S. Constitution. I agree the state should not tell the church what to do. The church doesn't tell the state what to do though; God tells everyone what to do in The Bible.
Laws man puts in place must still be based on something beyond himself otherwise it's just popular opinion.
Marriage is indeed a religious institution as God performed the first marriage in Genesis 2 in giving Eve to Adam. Genesis 2:24 defines God's standard for marriage, as Jesus quotes in Matthew 19- "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two shall become one flesh." (Note the order there of leaving parents, joining in holy matrimony and then having sexual relations as husband and wife. Note also that God's design is one man joined with one woman for life.)
That is the primary reason for objecting to the idea of a same sex union, though one could argue biology speaks to this as well, which would be a non-religious reason.
To hold to this belief only makes a religious person bigoted against sin, as is God for that matter. Of course, God doesn't say things arbitrarily. As the Creator and Designer of all life, He has the right and authority to lay down laws for everyone.
No one wants their freedoms taken away but I don't believe that has happened. People who identify as having homosexual tendencies have always been free to marry. However, marriage is still defined as the "institution whereby men and women are joined in a special kind of social and legal dependence for the purpose of founding and maintaining a family." It's "the mutual relation of husband and wife in wedlock." (That's from the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition, copyrighted 1999.) The word "marriage" itself dates at least to the 14th. century in the English language. And the institution is as old as the beginning of time.
What the 2015 US Court case does is redefine the meaning of marriage to be expanded to include partners of the same sex. And that directly goes against God's Word, both in violating the design laid out in Genesis 2:24, as well as in violating the commands against homosexual coitus (Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, among others). (Since many people enter into marriage with the expectation of having sex at some point with their spouse.)
Yes, we should all be concerned about our walk with God. Part of that requires Christians to speak out against wrong doing and warn people about the wages of sin, which is death. (Romans 6:23) But the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus died and rose to pay for all sins for all time, including the sin of homosexual relations. He wants to save everyone who will let Him. All one needs to do is to confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead. (see Romans 10:9-13) Put faith in Jesus and Jesus alone for forgiveness of all sins and follow Him in repenting of those sins and asking Him to help you in obedience to Him. We are saved by faith alone in His grace alone through Christ alone- and that salvation changes us to do the good deeds He made us to do all along in gratitude to Him for what He's done.
All that said, everyone has to make their choice. We all have free will. America must base its laws on something. It has largely been based on the moral precepts of The Bible due to the Judeo-Christian heritage of many of the founders. How does one distinguish which laws Americans deem acceptable? What is the moral basis for those laws?
The standard of "do no harm to self or others" seems to be what I often hear. If that's the standard used, I would say that homosexual unions do hurt someone- they hurt God and they hurt the people who engage in them.
Of course, even if one wanted to argue that a particular action could not be hurting any human- like choosing to kill one's own pet animal- I would still say it's wrong because it is a violation of the higher law that God has put on all of us to take care of all His creation.
1 Corinthians 10:31 says that whatever we do must be done for God's glory. Thus, any sin that one engages in would be violating that command.
That's what it comes to in the end. Either we will choose to follow Christ and live for His glory or reject Him and live for our own. I personally don't agree with the 2015 court ruling but I also recognize I can't force anyone to live according to The Bible. All I can do is lovingly tell people about Jesus' grace and the salvation He offers that gives us a peace and joy and satisfaction infinitely better than the hell our sins lead us to and any temporary enjoyment they might bring before then. Jesus is better than anything else I desire. I choose to follow Him. All I want to do is love The Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and love my neighbour as myself and speak the Truth in Love.
(Follow up comments)
Those are some good questions. Should people of different religious beliefs (or none) be forced to comply with rules they may not agree with? Perhaps that comes across as unfair to some but everyone has to deal with that though. The law applies equally to everyone. Thus, there are things the law allows that I don't believe in but I am still forced to abide by the laws of the country.
(This is a bit of a different conversation, but this is where Romans 13 and its call for me to respect the government authorities God put in place would come into play. However, at the same time, I must obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:29) As I've long said, if it ever comes down to God vs. the government, I choose God over the government.
As to the way people are born, I would agree that there are people born with homosexual inclinations. That doesn't mean God made them to be that way. In fact, Ecclesiastes 7:29 says God made man upright but they have sought out many schemes. God made Adam and Eve morally perfect but He also gave them free will. They chose to sin and cursed the whole world to be subjected to sin ever since. Thus, those born with homosexual inclinations are born that way because we're all born into sin. (Psalms 51:5)
(One could say the same for someone born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and a proclivity to drunkenness as a result. Getting drunk is a sin (Ephesians 5:18) but such a person still has a choice over whether to pick up the bottle or not. The same is true for homosexual people in choosing whether to engage in such relations or not.)
In fact, there are a number of Christ followers who struggle with that inclination who choose to deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Christ in a life of celibacy in order to be obedient to the sexual ethos God lays out in The Bible. (Check out
https://spiritualfriendship.org/ if you're interested in hearing their testimonies and writings on these matters.)
And of course, I don't expect you to agree with everything I say and that's okay; that's your right to do so, just as I don't agree with all your points either but I respect your right to them.
That is sad that some would be disadvantaged financially with healthcare because of a marriage by law. It's a shame that our laws are not made to incentivize marriage more.
I don't mean to be harsh but if one wants an answer to God's view of marriage, I would point one to Jesus' words in Matthew 19 about one man being united to one woman for life in holy matrimony.
I do believe God understands and cares about people in such conditions though as well. I would also suggest considering Jesus' words to the Samaritan woman in John 4. Philippians 4:19 says God will provide for all our needs for those who are in Christ. Oftentimes following Jesus means going against human wisdom but we must also trust that His thoughts and ways are higher than ours. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
I am sorry for those facing trying circumstances in relationships and I pray that God might bring them aid in dealing with those and wisdom in regards to marital status. I would also suggest seeking counsel with a church pastor, who might be able to help with further resources. ❤
There are a number of Christian ministries that help with such concerns. Here is one such example. (http://www.coopmin.org)
(Other comments)
Every person's beliefs guide their work (and life in general). That goes for religious and non-religious people.
The Supreme Court justices are supposed to rule based on the Constitution, even if it's at odds with their religious or non-religious beliefs.
Of course, it's worth noting that the framers of the Constitution certainly at least to some degree relied on the moral precepts of The Bible, given the Judeo-Christian heritage of many of the USA's founders.
Whatever laws man puts in place are based on something- either God's Word or popular consensus.
I can understand people's concerns on this and I appreciate the sentiment that Supreme Court Justices should be interpreting the Constitution and not seeking to work their own particular religious beliefs into law. They are not supposed to be lawmakers in the first place.
And yes, I am thankful for the First Amendment that guarantees the freedom of religion for all (as well as the freedom to not hold to a religion too.)