My God Brings Healing (song)

NOTE: This is one of my favourites from the archives! The original song is a great party song that gets a lot of energy quickly flowing so it seems quite appropriate for the parody version I did, which is essentially a praise and worship song to God for all the many ways, physically, emotionally and most importantly spiritually, that He brings healing. :-)
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Well, here's another parody for you. It's a lengthy one, but it’s all about how my God brings healing. And it offers many examples in The Bible of how Jesus brought physical healing to people and of course- it also shows how The Bible explains how Jesus brings spiritual healing through salvation!  You may not like this parody any better than eating your black eyed peas at dinner, but I got a feeling you’re gonna like this one. ;-)

“My God Brings Healing”
(parody of “I Gotta Feeling” by The Black Eyed Peas”)
(parody lyrics copyright by Nathan Ludwick 5/27/2012)
(Matthew 11:1-6, Luke 4:14-21, Isaiah 61:1-2, Psalms 147:1-5, John 8:31-36, John 5:1-15, John 9, Mark 5, Luke 5:12-16, Psalms 23, Mark 7:31-37, Matthew 8:14-17, Isaiah 53, Exodus 15, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Psalms 103, Romans 5, Romans 10:4-13, John 20:30-31, John 21:25)

My God brings healing
In my life- go and read in John 9
I was blind, now I see all through Christ
I was blind when conceived so God could shine

For healing
Well, go right there and read in John 5
Paralyzed and I need some pool time
That’s when Christ came to me- made me walk right

It’s healing (Ooo-hoo)
Well, go right there and read in Luke 5
Leprosized and I need Jesus Christ
That’s when Christ came to me- sent it goodbye!

He’s healing (Ooo-hoo)
Well, go right there and read in Mark 5
Demonized and I need Jesus Christ
That’s when Christ came to me- sent it goodbye!

That’s why The Christ
Came live with us
Luke 4 now, honey
Get Kindles up (read)

Hearts’ wounds to bandage
Christ is my God!
Pump out that shofar
Let’s get Word out (for real)

I know that He’ll heal us all
If we get down and just bow
Jesus- move us all (kneel)

I feel blessed and
I wanna let you know
Just go pray now, “Save me now”
And give Him all control (feel)

Fills up your cup
Mazel tov!
Look how it’s spilling
Just shake it up (spill)

Christ saved us now
His love abounds!
We learned The Truth
Amen- look to 8 John then (free)

Let’s do it- look to it- just do it
32 [three two] in 8 John then- learn Truth and
He frees us up (free)

The Truth is like glue- it, resumes, renews, improves us
Christ Jesus re-dos us brand new- He (heals!)

‘Cause my God brings healing (Ooo-hoo)
Well, go right 7 read in Mark, a’ight?
Deaf and I really need Jesus Christ
That’s when Christ worked on me- (I) hear and talk right!

He’s healing (Ooo-hoo)
Well, go right there and read in Mark 5
“She is dying,” Jairus pleads, “Give her life”
And when Christ’s on the scene- raised her alive!

That’s why The Christ (Yay!)
Came live with us (He’s Christ Jesus!)
Matt. 8 now honey (17)
He took hurts up (Diseased for us!) (Real)

Took out our rashes! (Trashed it)
Christ is my God! (Christ is my God!)
Pump out that shofar (Come on)
Let’s get Word out (peal)

Fills up my cup (Read!)
Twenty-three (Psalms)
Look at it spilling (Oozing! Oozing!)
Just shake it up (Spill)

Christ saved me- wow! (Saved me- wow!)
His love abounds (Love abounds!)
I learned The Truth (Woooo!)
Amen- look to 8 John then

Let’s do it- look to it- just do it (Just do it!)
32 [three two] in- 8 John then (Read it) Learn Truth and
He frees us up (free)

The Truth is (Truth is)
Like glue- it (Like glue- it)
Renews us, improves us, resumes us (anew, yeah!)
Christ Jesus (reviews us), renews us (renews us), re-dos us (Yay!)
New in (Hey!) 2 Cor. (5:) 17!

He’s The One- He heals, yo!
Jehovah Rapha! (Psalms 103)

Read in Psalms- Healing flows
147 [one four seven] : (3- binds us up!) (heal)

Exodus 15- rock
Read it, don’t stop (26 rocks!)

You’ve looked ‘round, up and down
Around for God (God is in the Dock) (Real)

God came to save all names from burning (Choose Him!)
Died on Calvary but was raised on Sunday (Choose Him!) (Real)

Get-get-get-get-get Jesus!
I know you’ll be saved (saved!)
Pardoned for always
P-p-p- pardoned ‘cause He paid! (deal)

And He’s dealing (Ooo-hoo)
So tonight go and read God’s invite
Act tonight when you read Romans 5
That The Christ’s own obedience makes right (real)

He’s healing (Ooo-hoo)
So tonight go and read in verse 9 (read)
Romans 10- go and kneel- pray to Christ
Confess Christ and receive eternal life!

Woohoo!
………………………………………………………………..

Season for the Reason: Riches and Righteousness- Do They Add Up on Earth as it is in Heaven?

(Note: This entry is derived from conversations with a friend about what can seem to be a blind spot for Christianity at times. While the church is always concerned for the spiritual needs of people- and thus makes sharing the love of Jesus top priority- is it always as concerned about the physical needs of people in the here and now? Are we too full of ourselves and our earthly riches and not emptying ourselves enough to help others in the name of Jesus and through His power? We need to be concerned about both physical and spiritual needs because both are important. And people are not going to listen to you much when you're preaching The Gospel to them and they're starving to death. As James 2:14-17 gives us the example, what good does it do to tell someone poorly clothed and lacking food to go in peace and be warm and filled- but not do a thing to help them with those needs? That's why faith without works is dead. Show your faith by your works.)


James 5:1-6

"Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of The Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you."


         Amen! Important warning here. This passage in James echoes Jesus' warning to those who are rich in this life- don't lay up treasures for yourself on earth but lay up treasures in Heaven instead. (Matthew 6:19-24 talks about this.) In Matthew 16:24-28, Jesus says that to follow Him, we must deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for Christ's sake will find it. What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? You can't serve both God and money. The Bible talks numerous times about money and wealth and how they are a reflection of our hearts.In Matthew 19, Jesus encounters the rich young ruler who refused to give up all his riches and give to the poor and follow Jesus. Jesus then tells His disciples it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.
         The disciples then ask who can be saved and Jesus tells them that with man this is impossible but with God all things are possible.Of course, we have evidence of this in Luke 19 as a chief tax collector who was rich (as verse 2 plainly says) named Zacchaeus was saved by Jesus. (He is, of course, the short guy who climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Jesus over the crowds). Jesus broke all kinds of rules of the religious Pharisees when He went to stay at the house of Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector and sinner. (He took taxes from his own people for the Romans and he profited handsomely off his fellow Jews by cheating and charging them way more than they owed.) Zack proved he had truly repented though by pledging to The Lord to give half his goods to the poor and paying back anyone he cheated 4 times over!Then Jesus said salvation had come to his house that day.In Luke 12, Jesus tells the parable of the rich fool who stored up things for himself on earth but God crashed his party when He told him his soul was required that night- who gets all his stuff then? Jesus said that's how it is for the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.And all 4 Gospels record Jesus flipping over the tables of the moneylenders at the Temple and chasing them out with a whip He made because they were cheating people and making The Lord's House of prayer for all people into a den of thieves.I think one thing is key in all these verses- we must always be rich toward God. Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven" but He didn't mean physically poor here. He meant spiritually poor- those who know they have fallen short of God's righteousness because of sin and know they need the Saviour.How we use money is a great indicator of where our heart is- that's for sure.
           1 Timothy 6:10 warns us that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils and some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs because of this craving.Verses 17-19 go on to command the rich in this present age as to what they should do with the wealth God blessed them with- first of all, don't be haughty. Second- don't set your hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God,who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.Third- The rich in this present age are to do good, be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, this storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life! Again- another reminder that lasting true treasure is in Heaven, not on earth. Jesus told a parablein Matthew 13 of a hidden treasure in a field. When a man finds it, he sells all he has in order to buy the field with the treasure. That's what the kingdom of Heaven is like. Jesus also used the picture of a merchant in search of fine pearls and when he finds the pearl of great price, he sells all he has and buys it. That's what the kingdom of Heaven is like.That is the call Jesus puts forth to those who would follow Him- forsake all you have in this life and focus on the treasure of Him instead. For those who follow Him, our passion should not be in heaping up stuff on earth that will all burn one day anyway but rather on storing up treasure in Heaven by living for Jesus each day and sharing His love and forgiveness with everyone.That's why I'm not real worried about making a ton of money or if others make lots more than I do. Where people are being cheated and defrauded, I certainly try to help stop that if I can and I definitely don't support corruption. But I can't control what others do- only what I do. So I try to use every good and perfect gift that my Father gives me to help others. And I try to stand up for the poor and those in need. God is the One who provides everything for me and it's all His to begin with and He loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 8 and 9 talk a lot about this.) I definitely need to remind myself of this often and verses like these are a big reason why I try to do a purge of my belongings every so often because I don't them to become an idol before God to me. I want God first and I want to want Him and want nothing else. (Psalms 23:1)
         I appreciate people sharing their views on these issues that can become blind spots for the church. I have said many times that the church sometimes needs to have a mirror held up to itself to really see ourselves and see places where we need to repent and be more Christlike. (Psalms 139:23-24) One place that is often mentioned is the disconnect in the pro-life position that Christians generally hold. I also disdain the hypocrisy of pro-life stances that are really just about unborn children and don't seem to care about others too. As the saying goes, I am concerned about life at all stages- from the womb to the tomb. I'm glad to live in a country that affords us the chance to vote our conscience and advocate for our views with free speech rights. I think it's important to clarify a few terms though on other matters. I get the argument about churches being only concerned with conversion and not with people's physical needs and this is not Biblical- and I'm concerned about that too. Both the spiritual and physical needs are important. And it should be noted that no Christian converts anyone. This is only the work of The Holy Spirit. This is important to note because it changes the approach to missions quite a bit. Yes, I want people to hear the Good News of The Gospel of Jesus Christ, how He paid for all sins by His death and Resurrection and how we can have forgiveness of our sins by faith in Him. But I just present information. Everyone must make their own choices about it.
        People are free to listen, receive, believe and act on it in faith or dismiss it in derision and disgust or maybe store it away to think about later. My job is to be faithful in telling people since Jesus commanded it (Matthew 28:18-20) and to love God with all I've got and to love my neighbour as myself. I have a number of friends of many religious backgrounds and some of none and some agnostic or atheistic- and they are all still friends regardless of their stance on Christ. My care and concern for them doesn't change. While of course there have been examples of the church using friendship evangelism as social control and manipulation, like the papacy did (which is one reason Martin Luther led the Reformation against it), there are lots of examples of Christians who are true friends and evangelists without seeking to manipulate.
         For example, consider Jim Elliott and his team, who gave gifts to the Waodoni of Ecuador to build a friendship. They were eventually killed for their efforts. The work continued though and the children of some of those killed went on to forgive and befriend the very people who had killed their parents when The Gospel changed these murderers into new people who were now friends. Consider also Mother Teresa and Lottie Moon, missionary ladies who lived lives of poverty, serving the poor in Asia, motivated by their faith in Christ. (Lottie Moon gave away her own food to the poor so much so that she starved to death herself as a result!)
       Many churches worldwide, if not all, have ministries to meet people's physical needs along with the spiritual needs. As it's been said, it's hard to tell someone God loves them when they're starving to death. Feed them something nourishing for the body before trying to feed them something nourishing for the soul.
Charities like The Salvation Army, Red Cross, YMCA and YWCA and World Vision were all started by Christians because of their faith in Christ and who seek to help all people. I love how World Vision responds to disasters the world over and helps everyone regardless of religious belief. They are very much concerned about aiding those in need and stopping human suffering because of their faith in Christ. Yes, The Gospel is preached too because sin is the root of the world's problems. Corruption, selfish practices, greed- it all is sin. That's one reason Jesus made clear we can't serve both God and money.
         It's worth noting that Jesus loved His enemies too and healed those who didn't believe in Him. He healed 10 lepers and only 1 foreigner returned to thank Him- the other 9 Jewish guys didn't. Judas Iscariot betrayed Him but he was still one of Jesus' disciples and Jesus still washed his feet. Jesus replaced the ear of Malchus (part of the arresting party) when one of Jesus' disciples cut it off. Luke 9:51-56 relates the account of a time when a Samaritan village did not accept Jesus and in retaliation, James and John asked Jesus if He wanted them to tell fire to come down from Heaven and consume them! I love Jesus' response here! "But He turned and rebuked them. 'You do not know what manner of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man came not to destroy people's lives but to save them.' " (Luke 9:55- for translations newer than KJV, make sure to read the footnotes for that verse. Some manuscripts add it, so it's listed that way in many newer translations. And I'm SO glad it was included because I LOVE it!)
         And when the stakes are eternal, it's worth sharing the Gospel for that reason too. As I was saying earlier, I present this information to people about Heaven and Hell and what Jesus did to make sure we could be with Him in Heaven if we'll choose to go. Logically speaking, we can either be in God's presence in eternity or away from Him. As C.S. Lewis said in "The Great Divorce" (I'm paraphrasing here)- In the end, there are two kinds of people. Those who say to God, "Thou will be done" and those to whom God says, "Thy will be done".
Thus, God gives people their choice as to where they want to be. But God always loves them and wants them to be with Him- Jeremiah 31:3 says He loves us with an everlasting love. But Love doesn't insist on its own way- Love bears all things.
          Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller fame- an excellent magician and noted atheist) said something interesting about proselytizing. He said he has a real beef with religious people who don't do this.

          “I’ve always said that I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there’s a heaven and a hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward—and atheists who think people shouldn’t proselytize and who say just leave me along and keep your religion to yourself—how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? I mean, if I believed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that.”

           I believe Mr. Jillette is absolutely right. Thus, the eternal stakes motivate me to share my faith in Christ in love because Christ commanded me to do so. Jesus has saved me and changed my life infinitely for the better and I want others to experience that and know that joy for eternity. As Jesus said in John 10:10, the thief (i.e. devil) comes only to steal, kill and destroy, but He's come so that we might have life and life abundantly! I believe that starts now and goes through eternity. And thus, I believe it's important for Christians to be good stewards of the earth God has entrusted us with and to work to alleviate and end human suffering. Christians are the hands and feet of Jesus on earth and a suffering, dying world should see His love in us in practical ways.
C.S. Lewis said in "Mere Christianity"-

      "Hope is one of the Theological virtues. This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth 'thrown in': aim at earth and you will get neither."
          The point of Heaven is union with God for eternity, as God intended all along. A belief in Heaven and concern for eternity and faith in Christ is actually what motivates me all the more to actively show Jesus' love to all in need here on earth right now. Heaven will bring the ultimate healing but it also reaches to the world today through Christians as a healing balm to the nations. In a sense, Heaven is only for a few people though, since Jesus said that the road to destruction is broad and many are on it. The road to Life is straight and narrow and hard and only a few ever find it. Yet Heaven is open to whosoever will put their faith in Christ. 
I do hope and pray everyone reading might decide to do so one day but I hope you know that you are eternally loved and infinitely valuable regardless. And I will be your friend and help you in any way I can no matter what you decide to believe about that. 
          I hope that helps some some in any case. I am certainly not the best example and I fully agree with those who point out that the church has often failed miserably at living out Christ's Gospel.  And it is important to keep charities and certainly Christian ones accountable. (https://religionnews.com/2016/11/23/ministries-and-money-christian-charities-that-use-your-money-wisely/) That is one reason I urge people to consider Jesus' perfection and the way that He does work in His followers to do a lot of good in this world when we are obedient to Him. To love one another is a mandate that is always in place regardless of the response. Christians are commanded to love and pray for enemies too, after all. That is always foremost among the commands- love God first with all we've got, love neighbours as ourselves- and speak The Truth in Love. May God's will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

Season for the Reason: Free At Last (The Scriptures, Slavery and The Saviour)

       The Bible includes passages to govern a number of things that at first glance might seem weird and disconcerting to a modern sense of justice. One such scenario includes a number of Old Testament and New Testament verses where The Bible seems to endorse slavery. Read Exodus 21, Leviticus 25, Deuteronomy 15, 1 Corinthians 7 and others in The Bible and you will find a lot of verses that deal with this topic.  I admit that to a Western mode of thinking, specifically an American mode of thinking, some of those Bible verses might sound indeed like an endorsement of slavery. However, there are some things we should remember in reading those passages.

         First of all, there is this question to consider. Did God create slavery or did sin create slavery? In those verses and all the others in The Bible regarding slavery, I don't see any where God is commanding the institution of slavery as Americans know it from the very sad history of American colonialism and the Atlantic slave trade. However, The Lord God does lay out rules to the Israelites regulating how they must operate within the slavery system that already existed. Laying out rules to govern an institution is not the same as instituting it. (A good example for comparison here is when Israel decided they wanted to have a king like other nations, rather than the theocracy already in place with God as their King and Master. It was not God's desire to have this in place- He directly warned them what would happen with an earthly king, but they chose to do it anyway- and so He allowed them to have a king- and they got Saul. And then David and Solomon and then the kingdom split in two. [see 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel and 1 Kings and 2 Kings and 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles for the history on that.] God gave Saul instructions on what to do in his role as king, but this doesn't mean God initiated the kingship rule in Israel- He clearly gave that choice to the people.) Sin led the Israelites to reject God as their ultimate King and choose an earthly ruler instead just as sin led people to take others against their will into slavery.

        Secondly, there are Bible passages that condemn slavery. (see Exodus 21:16 and 1 Timothy 1:8-11 for some.) When we read The Bible, we must take the totality of Scripture into account. 2 Timothy 3:16 says that all Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, correcting and rebuking. How does the view of God allowing slavery and even encouraging it square up with all the rest of Scripture where God clearly condemns slave-trading in some verses as I just mentioned and makes clear that we are to "Do unto others as we would have done unto us"? (Jesus says this in Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31) Remember also that God repeatedly reminds Israel how He brought them out of slavery in Egypt. Surely Israelites of all people would know the misery and horrible injustice of unjustly forced servitude and would not look to inflict such pain on someone else. That would go against the command to love our neighbors as ourselves, both those who are of our family and those who are strangers, as Leviticus 19:18 and Leviticus 19:33-34 show.

          Thirdly, we must also consider that The Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic and it was written primarily to Jews. Thus, it's important to read The Bible in that context and read it in the mindset of Jewish people from thousands of years back. We need to understand the history, geography and culture of the people the Bible books were written to in contemplating its meaning. And it's important in this case to consider the customs of surrounding pagan nations as well. Israel was a stark contrast to the prevailing ideas and customs of its day in that time. What exactly is meant by the word "slave" in The Bible? The Hebrew word used in the Old Testament passages mentioned at the start of this piece is "eved ivri", which had two categories- a robber paying off his crimes and someone selling himself into slavery out of desperation and destitution.

          The reasons for slavery were different than ones Americans might readily think of, in regards to forced servitude against one's will for reasons of pure cruelty and sin. (Something The Bible condemns in Exodus 21:16) It is also significant to note that there is a continual theme in The Bible, moving from the Old Testament to the New Testament, in pushing for freedom from slavery; however, such movements don't happen overnight, but rather over the course of time. (See Leviticus 25, which outlines The Lord's commands for the Year of Jubilee, when slaves were set free in the seventh year of servitude. For a beautiful spiritual comparison, see Romans 6, which talks about being freed from being slaves to sin and becoming slaves to righteousness- slaves to Christ- instead. And then see the book of Philemon where these two concepts- physical and spiritual- come together in the person of Onesimus and Paul's pleadings to Philemon to accept him as a brother in The Lord and no longer as a bondservant- so that he might be both free spiritually and physically. And of course, as Galatians 3:28 tells us, there is no slave or free [or Jew or Greek or male or female]- but we are all one in Christ.)

        This redemptive story of setting physical slaves free reflects the heart of the Gospel in setting spiritual slaves free. We are either slaves to Jesus or slaves to sin. Jesus Christ Himself became as a slave for us, as Philippians 2 says. Though He was God He made Himself nothing and became a slave and humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death- even death on a cross! (It's significant to note this because Deuteronomy 21:22-23 and Galatians 3 both say that a hanged man on a tree is cursed. Christ became the curse of sin for us- see also 2 Corinthians 5:21.) For this reason, God has highly exalted Him and given Him the Name above all names that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. God raised Jesus back up from the dead, as Romans 10:9 says. And by our faith in His completed work of righteousness, He saves us from all our sins and will raise us up from the dead as well to be forever with Him in Heaven instead of hell as we deserve. Praise God for His love! His love reaches to all and desires to save all us slaves from the hopelessness of our own sins and set us all free instead to be forever in His presence in eternal joy in Heaven praising Him! And, as John 8:36 says, He who the Son sets free is free indeed! :-)

(See also these excellent articles that I drew some of the above points from for this writing. This article offers a Jewish perspective on the topic of slavery in The Old Testament. It's from the "Jewish Bible Quarterly" and authored by Dr. Shimon Bakon, Editor Emeritus of the magazine.

Here is also a Christian perspective on this question from Andrew Schmidt, a writer for "The Bearing", a leading Australian evangelical publication for over 20 years from Matthias Media.)

Season for the Reason: Lifting Rocks and Rolling Stones

             There is an age-old paradox that is asked at times regarding the existence of an omnipotent God. "If an omnipotent being has the power to create a stone He cannot lift, how can He be omnipotent?" Of course, the inherent problem with the wording in this question is that it ignores the fact that God's thoughts and ways are above our own and in fact, are not our own. (Isaiah 55:8-9) God is capable of doing anything He wants- including, if He so desired, creating a stone that He could not lift and still be omnipotent. How could this be done? Since the definition of omnipotence means being all-powerful, God would have to lower Himself and limit Himself in order to perform this feat. Just because we can't understand something doesn't mean it can't be done. In the case of creating and lifting a stone heavier than an omnipotent being can lift, the Omnipotent God did this when He came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ. Though Jesus was fully God, He was also fully human. "...though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the Name that is above every name, so that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:6-11)
     Though Jesus often showed displays of His power as God (see Matthew, Mark, Luke and John for accounts of the numerous miracles He did of healing the sick, miraculously changing water into wine, feeding 5000+ with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread, walking on water, raising Lazarus and others from the dead, etc.), He also limited Himself and did not use all His power. Jesus tells Peter to put away his sword in the garden of Gethsemane when He was arrested and reminds him of His power. "Do you think that I cannot appeal to my father, and He will at once send Me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?" (Matthew 26:53-54)
        Because of the heart of stone in our flesh that we all have that is bent towards sin, God needed to do a heart transplant for all of us to give us a heart of flesh instead. (Ezekiel 36:26) He accomplished that by having His own heart broken for us (figuratively and literally) when Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for all our sins. He then was buried in a tomb with a huge stone to guard the entrance. Mary Magdalene and other women wondered to each other who would roll away the stone for them, in order for them to anoint Jesus' body with spices. (see Mark 16:1-7) But, of course, they didn't have to worry about that because God used His power to roll the stone back via one of His angels, as Matthew 28:1-10 talks about.
          Beyond the physical, the greatest stone God lifts is a spiritual one. As 2 Corinthians 3:3 talks about, people's lives changed by Christ are the greatest testimony to His power, as written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tables of stone but on tables of human hearts. The stone tablets of The Ten Commandments Moses received brought us the ministry of death because the Law condemns us, as we have all broken it many times over- and our hearts are already tainted by the sin nature handed down from Adam and Eve from the start. We have all been condemned to Hell as a result, "for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23) However, the ministry of the Spirit has even more glory than the Law's ministry of condemnation. Moses had a glow on his face because of The Lord's glory shining through that Old Testament covenant of the Law that he had to put a veil on. That veil still lies on people's hearts today because they are hardened. When one turns to The Lord, it is removed. With unveiled face, we behold the glory of Christ and begin the process of being transformed into His image (more so than our physical creation in His image) from one degree of glory to another. (see all of Exodus 34 and 2 Corinthians 3.)
            This spiritual stone is one that God moves when we ask Him to do so- He doesn't force it upon us. "Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God." (John 1:12) Somewhat ironically, when that spiritual stone is removed- after we make the choice to call on the Name of The Lord to save us (Romans 10:9, Acts 2:21, Joel 2:32)- we then become a living stone that God uses to build up His church. (2 Peter 2:4-10) Of course, Jesus is the Stone the builders rejected Who became the cornerstone. Whoever believes in this cornerstone laid in Zion will not be put to shame. (see Isaiah 40:6-8, Isaiah 28:16, Isaiah 8:14 and Psalms 118:22) And as 1 Corinthians 3:11 tells us, this Cornerstone Jesus is the foundation laid that God builds His church upon. Those of whose who are living stones get built and molded together upon that Foundation- the church's one foundation, in fact, as the hymn says. 　
         And as Jesus says in Matthew 16:18 to another living stone (Simon Bar-Jonah, nicknamed Peter by Jesus- which means rock)- He's going to build His church upon the rock of Peter's confession of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And as Revelation 21 tells us, The Lord has 12 precious stones that He uses to adorn the wall of New Jerusalem in Heaven. The only way to get to see those stones in a kingdom that can never be shaken is to put faith in the Cornerstone Jesus and build your life upon His foundation. That requires having a stone of blindness and doubt moved from our hearts, which we can't do on our own, but God can do for us if we'll let Him. All we need do is ask.

God's Child in The Temple (song)

Childhood is such a creative and imaginative time, full of wonder and growth and learning. Children get plenty of nicks and bruises along the way of learning, but eventually they take those experiences and get shaped to be the grown-ups they become in the end. "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways." (1 Corinthians 13:11) In the same way that we grow physically from children to adults, we grow in the faith spiritually from newborn babes to mature believers in Christ. (1 Peter 2:2-3) Just as The Bible tells us through the gilded pages, we must learn to grow more and more like Jesus. And if God's Child's in the temple and in the Scriptures and in prayer, how much more must we be!

"God's Child in The Temple"
(parody of "Hot Child in the City" by Nick Gilder; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 12/7/2015)
(Luke 2, 1 John 1:6, Acts 4:27, 1 Samuel 2:26, 1 Corinthians 13:11, 1 Peter 2:2-3)

Manger- where they laid down God's own Child
Saviour- dressed in swaddling clothes- meek and mild
Go on, bro- Luke 2 is just what this is based on
Mary and Joseph- they gave Him- for presentation

God's Child's in the city
God smiled on ol' Simeon
Saw God's Child- Anna's on (the) scene
Yeah
God's Child got a blessing

So long! He cut loose out on His own
Young Boy! Feast is done, they take off for home
When Jesus is found, the priests all stop and stare
While search is going down, they gawk- tween Jesus schooled 'em there
Yeah

God's Child's in the city
God's Child has gone missing
(They're) runnin' wild and looking for Him
Yeah
God's Child's in Dave's city

When He's found at God's House, baby- they balk at this stunt
"Knowest thou not My place must be (My) Father's House?"
(Dad's on the brain for Jesus) God's Child's on a mission! God's Child's in the city!
God's Child- He went missing! (Found Child) Found God's Child- just look in temple
(Found Child at the temple) God's Child 's in (the) vicinity!
(God's Child left with family) God's Child left with family
(God's Child was submitting) God's Child was submitting
(Grew wise and in favor) Grew wise and in favour
( (So) God's child- grow like Saviour!) - (So) God's child- grow like Saviour! (Oh!)
(God's Child!)
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