Pride's Deceit- Downward Leads (Song)

 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth- and things were good. Everything went downward quickly when humans chose to rebel against God. And though we bear our own blame for sin, there's one individual in particular responsible for putting all evil things in motion. He slinks around, prowling for prey like a lion. His pride drove him out from God's presence and he's been on the outs ever since, battling back in a war he'll never win all through the timeline from B.C. to A.D. and to eternity. Lo, his doom is sure- one little word shall fell him. The Lord will ultimately have the victory.

"Pride's Deceit- Downward Leads"

(Parody of "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" by AC/DC; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 8/21/2020)

(Proverbs 16:18, Romans 16:20, Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28, Genesis 3, Revelation 12, Job 1-2, Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13, John 10:10, John 8:42-47, Matthew 26-28, Mark 14-16, Luke 22-24, John 18-21, 1 Peter 5:8-9, James 4:7, Revelation 20)

Is. 14- read; Trouble (in) Paradise began

He's given you all jewels

You want to escalate past God and ascend

How cut to ground are you!

Kicked out by God

Pride falls Day Star

Ezekiel line

Just read

Verse 12 in 28 (two eight) (to) finish- Hey!

Defeated by your pride

There in E-den - how sweet!

Holy scene- mountain peak!

Eternal peace- undone so cheap!

Dirty deeds- well, they're now your thing

Luke 10:18- you fell down (like) lightning

You came trawling- Genesis 3:1

New gods age garden plot

The devil's dealing lies as serpent

We sin; the teardrop start from that

Pick up in Job

O'er sphere, you roam

You make a social call

"Don't fence him in!"

Permits it- God's in

We'll have a test here, y'all 

Tragedies come bring grief

Devil thinks Job will speak

Curse but he won't - just read

Verse 2:10, 1:21 - shift scene

Turn to Rev-elation 12- read

The dragon and lady that he wanted gone 

'Cause her Babe's God Jesus!

Mike beat dragon and crew- Fight's end kicks

Demon crew out on butts 

Picked up chase- Won't

Leave her alone 

With Christ you faced off and

Your temptings

He slapped down- just read

In Matt. 4, man

Dirty deeds- God's Word beats

Verses repeat- Sword swings deep

Devil schemes- Son's defeat

Strike the heel- Enters Judas- sees priests, yeah

Thirty pieces (of) silver- one lost sheep!

King of Jews crucified on the tree

Come Day Three

Son's rise- come back- crush snake's head

Sinners redeemed!

Roaring beast

Who's a lying thief who wants our doom

John 10:10- read

Rev. 20

Your defeat 

Burn eternally

Done- you're beat!

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Contextual Reading (song)

Note: Though I didn't really write anything with a Christmas theme for the blog this year, these next three entries were all written in some ways as gifts for others, so consider them as Christmas presents to remember the Giver of all good gifts Who gave us the very best when He sent Christ that first Christmas to save us all from our sins. Merry Christmas! Praise God for His love. :-)

There are lots of preachers out there telling us and selling us all kinds of takes on God and the Gospel. Jesus said there would be false teachers who would come and we must be ready to see through and past them to the only real Gospel that Jesus Himself taught. (See Matthew 24) One of the best ways to defend against such mars on Christ's teachings is to engage in His Word and read it in the right context. This means reading The Bible with the Holy Spirit's guidance, first of all. Ask Him to be leading you in reading it right. Keep in mind the time and place the Scriptures were written and to whom they were originally written- and read the passages immediately before and after the passage you're reading- and then ask Him to help you see how they fit to our lives today. This song is largely inspired by one of my friends who has studied a lot on these things in seminary and has continually been an encouragement and reminder to employ contextual reading. (Hence the line referencing my friend Thaddeus- "When you get Thad preaching, you get contextual reading." ;-) Check out his awesome contextual readings and analyses of the Scriptures at his "Liberating Lions" blog that I have linked to on this site.)

"Contextual Reading"
(parody of "Sexual Healing" by Marvin Gaye; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 6/26/2016)
(Romans 16:17-18, Luke 24, John 16:3, book of Jude, 2 Peter 3:14-18, John 14:15-31, 1 Corinthians 2:12-16, 1 Timothy 6:3-6, 1 Timothy 1:3-7, 2 Timothy 2:15, 2 Corinthians 8:9, Galatians 1:6-10)

Get up, get up, read up, read up
Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up!

Be wary now- (of) prophets falsified
(Ohh!)
They're saying that God judges like sin's nothing
He's just all-loving
And all peeps, we can go in all roads there
To Heaven; Scripture says "Wrong there!"

And when I get bad teaching
(I) use contextual reading
(Con)textual reading; and Spirit
Makes me read it right

Helper, just teach and guide
Spirit-filled reading, baby, does good for me
Spirit-filled reading enlightens- that's good for me

Whenever bad dudes drop bad doctrine
Then my devotional's 1st. Timothy- I read 6:3
They know nothing of The Truth
They can get a word quarrel on and rile you up, baby

And Holy Ghost, You'll be there to just lead me
('Cause) Folks love to give, baby, bad teaching
But they don't know the thing they're dealing
Ohh- you can tell that, darling- use contextual reading

Get up, read up, get up, read up
Galatians 1 verse 9
Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up
Those fake dudes get fried

Baby, we've gotta check this warning
Just read 1:7 1st. Timothy
They teach 8:9 (Two) 2 Corinthians-
Says Name, claim- God's giving earthly riches

And when we get bad teaching
(We) use contextual reading
Spirit-filled reading- it guides our read
It reveals these lines pack such a punch
Helps to go read the lines- after and previous

Contextual reading takes in geography
Contextual reading knows culture and history
Takes all God's teachings and He grows us rich spiritually (Oh!)

He took control and saved my soul
Now I've got the mind of Christ; 2:16 1 Corinthians
I'll be reading right
Take the medicine, open up and let Him in
And when you are saved, Christ opens for you what Scriptures say

Get up, read up, get up, read up
24 Luke tonight
Wake up, read up, wake up, read up
32- that line

1 Corinthians 2:13, mate

(So) When you get bad teaching
Use contextual reading
And when you get Thad preaching
(You) get contextual reading
I want my contextual reading, darling
Or it all goes wrong
Spirit-filled reading, darling
Teach me in 14 John
Please don't extrapolate
Read it good- stay on same page

Keturah, Wife-maid (Song)

Note: Here's an apologetics-based entry from the archives about a very well known Biblical patriarch and a part of his life that probably is not nearly as well known. And it is a point of contention some skeptics raise; this song addresses that and offers reasons to trust the Biblical account.
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Okay- and this next one dips back into some ‘70s Americana! There’s been an infomercial I’ve seen filled with classic songs from the classic and legendary song and storytellers of the ‘70s and I love listening to it just to see the vintage clips and listen to the music. And the subject of this song dips back in time as well to differentiate different word usages from different times- and it explains how when God wrote His Book- He didn’t make any errors! So venture down through this ditty and reacquaint yourselves with one of the lesser known folks in The Bible. (This was also sort of a belated birthday gift for a friend from Sunday School since her name inspired it.)

“Keturah, Wife-maid”
copyright by Nathan Ludwick 7/25/2011
(parody of “Ventura Highway” by America
)
(Genesis 24:67, Genesis 25:1-11, 1 Chronicles 1:28-34, Isaiah 40:8, 2 Timothy 2:15, 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
(I’m gonna recommend a good Bible commentary like Matthew Henry’s for this one too. ;-) Check this site- http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=6&article=804)

You remember Abraham
Walking down the aisle
Married so long ago to Sarah, so
Some people say records don’t look good, you know
If you care to know

Keturah wifey- Genesis line
25:1 ponder
But writes- 1 Chronicles- concubine
1:32, you know

‘Cause the meaning is throwing humans here
Who make claims surrounding, “Who’s right here?”
Seems they’re trying for error
And they say, “Your Scripture’s in error, in error!”

Did di di di dit…………………..

Wishin’ it’d all fall apart
Debating to throw God away
Sorry boy, but you can’t win- the Truth remains
In time maybe Abe remarries
Changed her name
There’s no problem- just the same
Keturah’s wife and Abe’s concubine
In the days of (the) fathers
The words are different than king times
So she was both, you know

But to Sarah, well Kitty’s no compare
Abe still gave gifts for her kids right there
Eastbound riding postal mail
Allegations listed, au contraire- God won’t err!

Did di di di dit……………………..

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The Truth's Lying in Plain Sight

         As a precursor, I want to note that I generally strive to avoid political posts and this one is no different. I don't hold to any particular party (just Jesus above all)- and this is not about parties and politics- it's about purity.
         I was thinking earlier today about the truth and how it has so many interesting manipulations, particularly by American presidents in recent memory. President Nixon- "Tricky Dick"- claimed boldly, "I am not a crook." Maybe not, but he was unfortunately a liar. (He was smart enough to resign before he got impeached.) President Clinton- "Slick Willy"- needed clarification on the meaning of the word "is" during his impeachment hearings. (He was eventually acquitted, as there were not enough votes for the perjury and obstruction of justice charges to stick.) Of course, President Bush (I'm not aware of pejorative nicknames for him, though I'm sure people assigned him some) sold the whole Iraq war on what was shown to be a false presumption about the presence of weapons of mass destruction there. Numerous charges of questioned truth claims were leveled at President Obama and I suppose his biggest faux pas would be the whole debacle over the handling of the healthcare bill. President Trump's administration talks about the plethora of "fake news" floating around, but also talks about the existence of "alternative facts". How does that even work?
          In years past, we had President "Honest Abe" Abraham Lincoln and President George Washington, who had the famous story about cutting down cherry trees- "I cannot tell a lie. I chopped down the cherry tree." Of course, I'm sure one could find untruths true of all political leaders and people in general at some point or another. The point here is that we are all sinners and all in need of The Truth. Romans 1:25 says that we exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. That is indeed the problem- we've moved from a picture of grace and nature being held as the ideas guiding our society to non-rationality and rationality being the two guiding ideas- and we escape from reason as the basis for truth to embracing feelings as the basis for truth instead. [Note: I've been reading Francis Schaeffer lately. ;-) I have to credit him for a lot of this post, and ultimately to God for inspiration for both of us.]
As Relient K said, "Sometimes when you're trying to sleep and all your doubts and your faith don't agree, it's cause sometimes the hardest thing to believe is the truth."
         It's important to note that Jesus identifies Himself not only as The Way and The Life (in John 14:6) but also The Truth. When we come into relationship with Him through faith in His death and Resurrection, we find ourselves in The Truth and come to understand that our identity in Christ is our true selves that the Fall has driven us away from. We live now as shells- men with hollow chests as T.S. Eliot said and C.S. Lewis alluded to as well. Colossians 3:1-4 says that when we come to Christ, we die and our true life is then hidden with Christ in God. His Way of Life really is the only Life- living in line with the design God had for us all along- to be loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Romans 2:9-18 makes it abundantly clear that none of us are righteous- none of us are pure. Yet it's the pure in heart who shall see God, according to Jesus in Matthew 5:8.
        That's exactly why Jesus, the pure and spotless Lamb of God, had to intervene and live out the requirements of the Law that we could never keep. And when we put all our faith into Christ's righteousness and completed work, our falsehoods are recognized for what they are and our eyes are unveiled and we can see the Truth of Jesus for Who He is- and know The Truth who sets us free. (John 8:32-36) "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:1-4)

In The Year of Our Lord (Alpha and Omega) (song)

As we wind down another year and get ready to start another one, it seems a good time to review things and remember some history as we consider the present and how to make a better future. For some, 2016 seems to have felt like a zig zag roller coaster ride that's left some sick with all the twists and turns. Of course, I think it all evens out when we consider the course of human history- where we've been, where we are and where we're going. I'm not a doomsayer. However, I do say we're doomed from the start for Hell because of the sin nature of our hearts. We've all been living under the curse of sin that's infected the entire world since the fall of man when Adam and Eve got kicked out of Eden. When people talk about the "good ol' days" of their earlier years, I like to say that the only "good ol' days" this Earth has ever had was back in Genesis 1-2. We won't have any more truly "good ol' days" until Revelation 21-22. And that's the Hope that I continue to hold to through it all. Because of the one God who came into the world, became one of us, died for us and rose again- I know that I have an eternal Hope. My faith is in Jesus Christ, who has promised to forgive me of all my sins and make me into the man He wants me to be and to give me an eternal Home with Him in Heaven. When my life is terminated, I make my exodus from this world into His eternal world of light and love and peace. (Read Romans 10:9 to see how you can do this too! :-)) He's the Alpha and Omega and the Beginning and the End. He's the only One Who makes existence worthwhile. He makes life and life abundant! Though our world has become horribly broken, Jesus still makes beautiful things out of broken things. He still gives us beauty for ashes. He makes all things new! As it's been said before, history is His story! And one day He will come back to make everything right. Until such time comes, may He help us all to live out the redemption He has brought by shining like stars in a dark world and showing others what His kingdom of love looks like to all.

"In The Year of Our Lord (Alpha and Omega)"
(parody of "In The Year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus)" by Zager and Evans;
copyright by Nathan Ludwick 7/8/2016)
(Genesis 1-3, Jude 1:20-25, John 13:31-35, Hebrews 10:19-25, 1 John 4:18-21, Philippians 2:13-16, Matthew 5:16, Romans 10:9-13, Esther 4:14, Acts 17:26, 1 John 2:15-17, 1 Peter 5:4-11, 2 Peter 3:1-14, Revelation 1:4-8, Revelation 21-22)

In the year of 1925,
Did man from apes arrive?
Evolution or design?
Monkey trial
And the year of 1939's
When Germany started World War II- took Poland
All bad things- they think Jews to blame
So them they kill- they're dogs, they say

In the year of 1942
Interning Japanese- might be spies, dude
Lot more nice than Nazis did to Jews
Almost Reservations II!

In the year of 1955
Black bodies hanging- lynched by "white pride"
We're segregated in two
Rosa Parks just sparked off a coup

In the year of 1969
Free love don't need 1 husband with just 1 wife
You pick your love, pick your gender too
We're sex objects on a stone walled moon- UFO!

In a year God only knows when
Well, God's a-coming- He's going to make things right then
Baby, you're booked Hellbound if self-sustained
Say yes to Christ- you're from judgment saved!

In the verse 9 in Romans 10
God is gonna save us if we ask Him
We'll either say, "Thy will be done" to Him
Or flip it 'round and hear it from Him
(Whoah!)

Revelation in 21:5
Now God is dwelling with man- New Jerusalem bride
He's making everything that's spoiled new again
And He's made new earth and Heaven
(Whoah!)

When we've been there 10,000 years
No more dying and no more tears
Former things are gone through
Our God reigns always too
And through eternal light
Redeemed kin praise Lord Christ
So, Lord please haste the day
Make me Your instrument today!

In the year right this time, right here then
In Matthew 5:16
Good works done- Light's shining
God's glory sheen!
Like the verse Esther 4:14, guys
Acts 17:26 too- for such a time
Everything we think, do or say
May it be filled with Christ's love and grace

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Jonah Man (song)

Well, if this doesn't beat all- another parody song! :-) Of course, I think that could have been just what the subject of this song was saying too. God told Jonah to go and preach a message. Okay- he was a prophet; he's up for preaching God's Word, of course. But wait- God told him to go and preach to the Ninevites! But they're enemies- they don't even worship The Lord! And God wants him to go preach to them? Doesn't that beat all? Of course, it was a message of destruction for the town. But Jonah knew about God's mercy and His slowness to anger- and He didn't want to see that applied to his enemies. Jonah is an interesting book in The Bible where the message seems to be more about the messenger and what he learned rather than the message he preached. And in the end, Jonah learned more than he thought he knew about God's love and mercy. It reaches to all people- even him in the midst of his sin. Even for times when both he and Nineveh looked like they were going nowhere, man- nowhere but down- God still showed that He had a plan in mind for good and it will be accomplished one way or the other. And though there is an unfortunate sequel where Nineveh was eventually judged down the road (see the book of Nahum)- at this point in history, God saw the people humble themselves and was moved with compassion and stayed His hand. And I know this with this Biblical account about a big fish swallowing a man can be a lot to swallow for some folks. And no matter what kind of seafaring creature it was, it still is definitely a whale of a tale. And it's one that you can't just spit out and aside because Jesus upheld it as a true account. And Jonah is also referenced as an historical prophet elsewhere in The Bible. There are a lot of spiritual lessons we can learn from this book- so dive in, ride it out to the end and sail on with the Banner of Love flying. Jonah, man- isn't he a lot like you and me?
One of my favorite lines in this song: God is not a BIT like you and me- praise God for that!
 Lord, help us to be more like You and show Your mercy, grace and love.

"Jonah Man"
(parody of "Nowhere Man" by The Beatles; copyright Nathan Ludwick 1/27/2015)
(The book of Jonah, 2 Kings 14:25, Matthew 12:38-42, Romans 9:14-18, Revelation 7:9-10)

He's a real Jonah, man
Getting out to Joppa land
Making all his Tarshish plans to go by sea

Running when God told him to
Go and share, "Nineveh's doomed"
Isn't he a lot like you and me?

Jonah, man- please listen (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
You won't blow off your mission (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
Big fish, man (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
The Lord has got at command (aaah-ah-la-la-la)

They're as blind as they can be
Nineveh- God has pity
Jonah, man- he don't pity at all

3 days in fish's tummy (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
Prayed inside- Fish hurled thee (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
Preach it now (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
And from the king down- repent and fast (aaah-ah-la-la-la)

The Lord's wrath's appointment's moved
Jonah glares; God loves him too
God is not a bit like you and me

Jonah, man- please listen (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
They don't know right from left hand (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
Jonah, man (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
The Lord's got love for all lands (aaah-ah-la-la-la)

He's for real- Jonah, man
He's the sign from Son of Man
Matthew 12- it is there, man- for all to see
2 [Two] Kings 14:25- in history!
Go read all of Romans 9- God has mercy!

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The "Good Ol' Days"

(NOTE:  Okay- just a forewarning for those who mightst darest to readest this collection of words and punctuation marks (hopefully in some semblance of order.) This particular collection of my next two posts is composed from various writings from different time periods and kinda thrown together. It is on a range of topics that I have thought on at different times and as usual, I have a creative output post following. And as always, I trust everything I say and do is seasoned with grace and whether the preaching is in season or out of season that I'm always proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord, Savior and God and speaking and living His truth in love. :-)

        So here's a quick catch-you-up catechism for you. (Hopefully it will lead you to proper theology and doctrine, but you probably don't need to use it as such. And I should probably not be using Catholic terms that my Protestant understanding is not as familiar with- lol. But I love my Catholic/Anglican peeps too- they have a lot of cool liturgical practices that I think we can learn a lot from.) Speaking of which, I had kind of an ecumenical experience when I went to an Episcopal church a while back to see Handel's "The Messiah" performed. AWESOME! I don't know if you're supposed to do this at an Episcopal church (but since it is certainly Biblical- Psalms 134:2), I was raising my hands in worship on the Hallelujah Chorus! The LORD God omnipotent reigneth forever! Jesus Christ- The King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Amen! :-) (I was just imagining singing that with billions of others before the glorious throne of the only Holy God for all eternity! One day- one glorious day! :-))

       I've said this before, but it bears repeating. I heard someone on the radio say, "We need Jesus now more than ever." And that's not really true. It implies that there's been a time when we didn't need Jesus as much, and that's not true either. I'm not trying to be a wiseguy about this, but there is an important point here. Sometimes people lament the state of the world today and say things were better back in "the good ol' days". What days were that? The days of war? The days of civil unrest? The days of hatred and murder? The days of disease and natural disaster? The days of dishonesty and theft? The days of sexual immorality? I think it's easy to gloss over history sometimes, particularly our childhood, since we generally weren't paying much attention to the news as kids and so just remember things as being good. (And remember what Ecclesiastes 7:8-10 says about this.) The truth is- things have been bad and are still bad. We are still living in a fallen world that will never be totally fair and right until the day of The Lord Christ! The only "good ol' days" we've had were from Genesis 1-2. It's all been bad since then. We won't have truly "good ol' days" again until Revelation 21-22.
Oh, curse-reversing day of Jesus! He completed the work at Calvary through His death and Resurrection. Through our faith, hope and love in Him we can join Him in His great Kingdom of love and light.