Poems, Prayers and Promises- and Praises

As the title of the post says, this is a collection of a few writings I've done in the last few days. And since it fits the title, I thought I'd borrow and slightly amend the classic John Denver song title. :-) (I love this song and so many others by him.) And these are some of things that I believe in- how sweet it is to love someone- and even sweeter still, to be loved by Someone. How right it is to care! And it's so good to know that I am invited by The Lord of all- Jesus Christ Himself- to cast all my cares on Him because He cares for me. (1 Peter 5:7) So this is a poem and a prayer inspired by His many promises- and they all help to compose a love song for my Savior from my heart. I hope it touches and inspires yours to be drawn closer to His.

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The Wait of Glory
(poem by Nathan Ludwick; copyright 1/6/2015)
(Romans 8, Ecclesiastes 1 and 3:1-11, Jude 1:24-25, Galatians 6:9, Hebrews 11-12, Hebrews 2 and 3:1-6, Psalms 23, Psalms 73, Romans 5:1-11, Psalms 8, 1 Peter 5:1-4, 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, 1 Thessalonians 4-5, 1 Corinthians 13:12, 2 Thessalonians 3:13, Revelation 21:1-5 and 22:20-21)
(*Much thanks to C.S. Lewis for being awesome and writing "The Weight of Glory")


If everyone I encounter is no mere mortal-
Like the angels, but a little lower
Then the weight of glory weighs heavy upon each crown.
And no matter how rough the edges, a diamond still lies within us each.
And like the glowing orb of the night must go through its phases,
The moon's Maker must put us through our paces to get to new places.
The pressure cooker of life shapes our malleable coal all throughout
As we travail in this mortal coil that constantly unwinds
Even as we frantically try to rewind each frame.
We either rise to each occasion or lie our heads down in defeat.
And even when we do stand and fight, do we pose and posture
only for our own posterity and prosperity
Or is there a deeper passion pressing us on towards the paternal Power we truly desire,
whether we know it or not?
The planet pants with pangs like childbirth beneath a flustered façade of pleasure in pursuits.
It's the suffering that our all wise Teacher uses to bring the truth to light.
All is vanity- everything is meaningless- nothing is sound.
Our hollow pursuits distract us in a race against time to chase the wind-
And that's exactly what we inherit as well.
Oh, hollow men- beat your empty chests in despair
But only One Rock shapes a heart of stone into a heart of flesh.
Of the making of books there is no end- and no end of study can even get us close.
Come with weary bodies and souls to rest in the eternal arms of a Friend.
Let The Holy Wind whistle in your ear and whisper in your heart.
The chase is on but gentle North Wind has pursued us before we even began to run-
and with the taste of blood in our mouth, He's won.
The groans of glory are carried before our tired lips can utter them right to the throne.
And while our crown weighs heavy in life and heads hang low,
we bear the thorns in our side like the thorns another crown composed.
And The One who bore it knew the glory coming when all His brothers were gathered to Him.
The Paragon of Love bequeathed to us our share in His kingdom purchased by His suffering.
And we take our share in the suffering too,
knowing the Godliness and goodness it produces in due time.
And while our weeping may endure for a night, our Joy cometh in the morning.
And though we doubt, question and cry in agony at the pain,
we pray for the day it ends once for all-
and continue in the cross-marked path with the cheers of our ragamuffin pilgrim peers in our ears.
We hope in The One Who loves us beyond all measure with no end.
And we know the suffering we bear together with all our foibles, worries and cares
will have its end at the end.
And He Whose heart is eternally, wonderfully kind doles to each day its part of toil and trouble,
knowing the crop they bring that He desires.
And as our mortal coal gets refined into a diamond,
we glow ever more like the Precious Jewel- the Pricely Pearl Whose reflection we are.
And though we may never understand it all, we trust Him through it all to the glory we shall share-
to which the suffering can't compare.
And through the wait of glory to the Blessed Day, Jesus leads me all the way.

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The only One Whose power, awesomeness and importance can never be overstated is Jesus. Heaven and earth can't contain Him (2 Chronicles 6:14-18). Indeed, of all the many praises sung of Him in the Psalms and throughout The Bible and the ages- even through all the worship and praise that we will ascribe to Him for eternity (Philippians 2:10-11 -Everyone will bow to Him and praise Him as Lord of all- and Hell will forever praise His justice and righteous judgment and Heaven will forever praise His loving mercy and amazing grace.)- Even as the four living beings continually cry, 'Holy, Holy, Holy' without ceasing (Revelation 4)- even with all this plethora of words of worship and prostrate bows of praise and songs of thanksgiving and adoration evidenced by righteous living- amidst all this through all history and beyond, ad infinitum- 'Who can utter the mighty deeds of The Lord, or declare all His praise?' (Psalms 106:2) God The Father Himself glorifies His Name in all His works (John 12:28, 10:54)- Our words are not enough and they fall woefully short, but with all that is in us we will offer them for infinity and praise His holy Name. Bless The Lord, all my soul and all that is within me- bless His holy Name. He has done great things and has become my salvation. (Psalms 103) 'Praise The Lord! Oh give thanks to The Lord for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.' (Psalms 106:1) Thank You, Lord Jesus for being awesome and loving us so much that You died and rose to give us salvation when we put faith in You and follow You. Thank You, Holy Spirit for Your wise counsel and for expressing the groans of my heart that my words cannot. (Romans 8:26-27). Thank You, Heavenly Father for life and abundant life and a beautiful planet with wonderful plants, animals and people to share it with. All praise to Thee, Blessed Trinity. It's never enough, Father, so I'll just keep saying, 'Thank You' and 'Praise You' for all eternity with all my love that You gave to me first. (1John 4:10-19) Thank You for Your everlasting love. (Jeremiah 31:3)- And Your praise goes on...


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"And even though I've never seen Your face- I'm missin' You. 'Cause somewhere behind those stars is Someone who belongs to me and I know in my deepest heart- there's a place for You. Until I find the place You've made for me, I'm missin' You."- "Missin' You" by Chris Rice
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"I'll be running to Your throne with every nation, tribe and tongue- To Your arms I'll fly, I'll gaze into Your eyes- then I'll know as I am known- and Your praise goes on." - "And Your Praise Goes On" by Chris Rice

I love You, Jesus. Thank You for loving and knowing me. Help me as I seek to know You better, Lord. (1 John 4:10-11 and 4:19, 1 Corinthians 13:12) Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. (Matthew 6:9-13) Help me to be more like You each day and to represent better to the world what Your kingdom of peace looks like even as we anticipate and pray for You to come and bring Your kingdom of peace to earth one day. (Revelation 21:1-5, Revelation 22:20-21). Help us to continue in the struggle and through the suffering, knowing You went through far, far worse for our sakes- and knowing that the suffering is not worth comparing to the glory coming. (Romans 8:18-30, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 5:1-11) Help us to wait with patience and to endure with joy and peace, the joy and peace that only You give. (Nehemiah 8:10, John 14:27) And help us to never tire of doing what's right. (2 Thessalonians 3:13). It's all for You and for Your glory (1 Corinthians 10:31 and Colossians 3:23)- and by Your strength alone. (2 Corinthians 12:1-10) Use me to bring Your Name glory and to help show others Your love so that they may come to know and follow You too. (2 Peter 3:9, Acts 4:20) Thank You and praise You for all Your many blessings and the comfort of knowing You are in control always and even in the midst of Your righteous justice, You also remember Your lovingkindness that is better than life and Your steadfast everlasting love that never fails. (Jeremiah 31:3, Psalms 136) And thank You for family and friends that help encourage me along the narrow path. (Psalms 133, Proverbs 17:17, Proverbs 18:24) Thank You for never abandoning us and for always providing for us and for leading us all the way. (Hebrews 13:5, Philippians 4:19, Psalms 23)
Love,
Thy faithful servant I fain would be- Lord, I believe- help Thou my unbelief- Thank You that You never let go (John 10:28)
Yours- Nathan.

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BONUS! :-)
Some links to some totally awesome songs that inspired some of these writings:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkGCmrjzJJ0
("Missin' You" by Chris Rice)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPwYyj6uR1U
("And Your Praise Goes On" by Chris Rice)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMPUpBkpp9o
("Land of my Sojourn" by Rich Mullins)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3l_LlfsZmI
("All the Way My Savior Leads Me" as covered by Rich Mullins)

Forever Loved (song)

I just very recently completed this song and it's become very fitting for this next post. A dear friend that I've known since childhood succumbed to a battle with cancer and died just the other day. It was interesting to me that it happened I was celebrating my day of birth on that day- and then I also found myself mourning her day of death on the same day. It reminds me of Ecclesiastes 7:2 "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart." A sober reminder indeed.
      But I take heart in knowing that as a follower of Christ, I mourn with hope. I know that my Redeemer lives and He will stand upon the earth at last. He died to pay for all sins and defeated death when He rose again. And because He lives, I know that those who put faith in Him will live too. And I know I will see my friend in Heaven again one day because we both put our faith in Jesus as Savior. Thank You, Lord!
        Thank You for Your eternal love that takes us out of Alphaville or whatever other town we live in and at the end of the ride of life takes us by Your side forever in Heaven. Hallelujah! :-)

Forever Loved
(parody of "Forever Young" by Alphaville; copyright by Nathan Ludwick June 2014)
(Acts 26:14-19, Jude 1:24-25, Philippians 1:6, Hebrews 9:27-28, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, James 4:13-17, Psalms 8, 1 John 4:10, Romans 5:8, Romans 10:8-13, Jeremiah 31:3, John 10 [especially verse 10], Zechariah 1:1-6, 1 Peter 1:23-25, Psalms 103, Psalms 136, 1 Corinthians 15:50-58, John 3:16-17)

Life's dance is wild- we dance for a while
Heaven is waiting- we are watching the skies
Hoping for the best, but expecting the worst
When they go and drop the bomb, we're gone
We all die once but want to live forever
We don't have the power but we think science delivers
Flitting away like mist, life is a short trip
The funeral's where the ride ends
Can you but fathom when this race is done
Through the Pearly Gates into Heaven
Praising my Jesus He's getting me in too
My dues are paid by His cross, man

So there with God, I'm going to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever? John 3 verse, 16 yeah!
For God so loved, He sent us Jesus for our wrongs
If you believe- going to live forever
Forever, son!

Mother and father, brother and sister (and) me
We fade to memories and on goes the beat
Sooner or later we all will be gone
It don't take that long
It's so hard to kick goads without our God
You don't have to perish while you fade to dust
New life abundant (in) 10:10 John
Abundant now and forever
Eternity's adventures- more than we can say
As we read on- better than the last page
So trust in Jesus- He's taking all of our blues
In Heaven, they're untrue

Jeremiah- Love! 31:3- Forever loved!
Did you read it? You are loved forever by God the Good Shepherd
So there with God, we can all be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, and ever, in Heaven?
Go there now, bud- You need to read in Romans 10
If you believe Jesus rose by Father, confess Him as Lord, yeah!
Forever God's- you then are saved forever!

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