Enrapture (song)

A thunderous sermon and exhortation has been given. The strains of Larry Norman's "I Wish We'd All Been Ready" can be heard pulsating in your ears. Hearts are racing, hairs are standing on end and goosebumps run up and down arms. And certainly The Holy Spirit is moving and drawing people to Himself.
    I fear though that someone may have a blondie moment and get caught up in rapture of emotions and have a response much like the seed that fell on rocky soil that sprang up quickly but died quickly because they didn't have a root! This song is addressing this very scenario and is intended to lightly lambaste (even though that's an oxymoron ;-)) the Southern Baptist stereotype of "Turn or Burn" style evangelism and seriously lambaste an evangelism built more on emotion and manipulation solely rather than on evoking the Scriptures and invoking the Spirit to work. (To be clear, I do believe an emotional experience can be part of the Spirit's moving but it's important to remember that God can work with or without it, as a train can run with or without a caboose. The engine of faith keeps things moving. (Thanks to Campus Crusade for Christ and Bill Bright's "The Four Spiritual Laws" for that analogy!)) As Rev. Tim Keller has said, "Truth without grace is not really truth and grace without truth is not really grace."

"Enrapture"
(Parody of "Rapture" by Blondie; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 8/11/2019)
(1 John 4 (especially verse 18), 2 Peter 1:5-11, Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15, Romans 11:29, 1 Corinthians 1:4-9, Jude 1:24-25, Philippians 1:6, John 6:35-40)

No one knows
Advancing very close
The unbelieving-
Those folks won't (a-)go
Trumpet call
Thief comes snatch in night
And lost are left behind then
Hang heads and cry- Oh! Snap!-ture
Baptist tack
Scare 'em out of wits
Spine-tingling music
And a riled up pack
Embrace Grace
Sadly some lack roots
Pulls heartstrings, hand-wringing
Emotion manipulating- Oh, Crap!-ture
Rapture ready party- everybody's high
Forsake sinning- get saved by Christ!
Circumstance- Flash- Which's true?
Rejoice- grow fast- But got no root
In Luke 8, (it's) taught by God
Go out to the garden plot
When you get out on the farm, then you find soils "thar" (there)
And you find 4 types defined by Jesus Christ
And seeds come right down and land on the ground
On (the) path come avian seed eaters
Plants are fried by (the) sun on the rocky ground
And the shoots are dead from the seeds that fed
Among thorns- their choking stunts growers
The soil that's just right's seeds are growers
The seeds mate and grow- hundredfold
Some sixty and thirtyfold
Matthew 13- you read also 4 Mark
Then what was sown in hearts
Devil on path dines on seeds and bars what lost people need
What of faith sprang great with speed?
Come undone by persecution
Plants no root, yo...
No room to grow 'cause the plant in thorns' seduced by cars and hedonism
Yeah, all in all, only growers are on good soil
Which one is fear's altar call?
Rapture obscures
Fake from pure, true faith made sure
Retrain your brain- faith's a train
Move the feelings to end of train
Engine won't stop if that's dropped
Well, now faith in facts is running it
Enraptured by our God's beauty
He emancipates hearts from fear that starts when good theology's gone
In 4 1st. John- cast out by Love
And God won't have His call cancelled- 11 Romans states
God don't flip flop; His love won't stop
Just grab on- sure shot!
Election made sure- 2nd. Peter 1:10-
Deeds prove you're
God's now- He always keeps what He starts- just trust!

The Rapture (song)

Note: (This is another entry from the archives. I do hope to eventually have all my previous writings (as much as possible) archived on this blog. That's still a work in progress.)

Given one of the recent topics of this blog, I thought this parody was only appropriate to post. I hope it doesn’t have a jagged edge for my Anglican friends (and any other Christian denominations that don’t believe in the Rapture as Southern Baptists particularly are famous for holding to.) I have tried to only mention what The Bible says about the end times events here- read the passages for yourself and let the Holy Spirit lead you as you read for understanding. I know some folks believe in pre-tribulation Rapture, some in mid-tribulation Rapture, some in post-tribulation Rapture and some who don’t believe in it at all. Regardless of what people believe regarding the timing of events, here’s what is clear from Scripture. Jesus will return one day! One day we who have put our faith in Christ will enjoy eternity with Him in Heaven. Those who have rejected Him will have to face God’s judgment and wrath in Hell. (And we’ll either get to either location through either our deaths or His return and judgment.) The only way I know to soften the blow of those truths is simply this- God loves us all so much that He sent Jesus to die for us and rise again- to endure God’s wrath for all of us so that we never have to. God wants everyone to trust in Jesus so they can avoid Hell and go to Heaven instead! And we don’t know when we’ll die or when Jesus will return. So don’t waste any time- today is the day of salvation! Trust Jesus in faith today! :-)

“The Rapture”
(parody of “The Rapper” by The Jaggerz)
(parody by Nathan Ludwick 11/8/2013)
(Hebrews 9:27-28, John 3:16-17, Matthew 24-25, 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 and 5:23-24, Acts 1:1-11, 2 Peter 3, 2 Corinthians 6:2, Revelation 3:20)

Hey world, Christ left but He’s coming back to get us!
He’ll find you unaware if Jesus has been barred ‘cause you won’t make Him Lord!
You’ll stay excluded, having to live through wrath of The Lord!

(Chorus 1)
Rap-a-rap-a-rap- we call it The Rapture
Rap, rap, rap- caught up to hereafter

So read 1st. Corinthians- Go in 15- translation!
Christ says there’ll be two work companions- one’s gone; one gets left, dude
He waits such (a) long time- He wants no one (to) be lost, dude

(Chorus 2)
Rap-a-rap-a-rap- He calls at The Rapture
Rap, rap, rap- Noah’s days encore

He’s made restitution- with His death and Resurrection
“Come up to My place,” Christ is calling, “By faith- on Me.”
He loves you and He wants you- World, you gotta face reality!

(Chorus 3)
Rap-a-rap-a-rap- Don’t know when’s The Rapture
Rap, rap, rap- nobody but Father!

Rap, rap, rap- Christ calls- what’s your answer?
……………………………………………………………………………………