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 

..........................................................................

Waiting

 "But you will receive power when The Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

Amen! Our daily focus for all in Christ. Note that Jesus said this in context to the disciples asking about the times and dates God has set for establishing His kingdom. As we know from Matthew 24:36, no man knows the day or hour of Christ's return. And Jesus says here in Acts again that it's not for us to know that. Instead, what we are to do is to be His witnesses everywhere we go throughout the earth. And while we are faithful in doing that, we can certainly look forward to the day of His glorious return as we pray with John, "Come quickly, Lord Jesus!" :-)

    If I'm honest, sometimes I still have a mixture of anticipation on some days and trepidation on others. I think that's due to my own struggles I've had over the years with assurance of salvation, as well as a desire to see more goals accomplished in life here before that Day comes. And there is also the weight of knowing that so many still need to hear The Gospel and are still separated from God's love and bound to an eternity in Hell.

    As a coworker reminded me though, when Jesus comes and His kingdom is fully established on earth as it is in Heaven, those of us in Christ will experience life better than we could ever imagine! To think of a life free from sin, death, illness, violence, crime, pain and suffering- that's amazing! And that was a hopeful and helpful reminder to me. I know by my confession of faith in Jesus' death and Resurrection to pay for all my sins and my confession of Jesus Christ as Lord of all, I know my life is in Him and He is in my heart. 

And I trust by that faith that I will be with Him forever and His kingdom is so much infinitely better than any Earthly one. Heaven is infinitely better than Earth!

And Jesus is infinitely better than anything else I desire. Whether my earthly dreams and desires are fulfilled or not, God's thoughts and plans for me are infinitely higher and better than my own and I trust Him!

   So as I pray that He will find me to be the wise servant living in anticipation of His arrival, I strive to live each day for His glory in acknowledgement of the surety of His coming in His time. I want to want Jesus and nothing else. Lord, dispel my fears and bind my wandering heart to Thee! May I live each day for Your glory and do all You've called me to do. Thank You for Your promise to return and set everything right. I look forward to the day when everything sad will be made untrue. Help me to find all my joy and fulfillment in You and to do the good works You made to do for Your glory, that many others may come to know You and Your love for them in the time that is left. Whether Your second coming is in my lifetime or not, I join the earth in groaning for the renewal You will bring and I look to be used as an agent of change today to show the world what the kingdom of love and light looks like. Lord Jesus, shine through me and use me however You see fit. Forgive and cleanse me of all my sins and help me to keep living with eternity in mind each day. Please find me faithful when You come. :-)

Maranatha!

         Maranatha! (An Aramaic phrase combo meal [loaded with the good calories for energy though- so it's all cool] which translated can be interpreted as, "The Lord has come!" Of course, this is true- this is what we celebrate at Christmas and Easter. At the Ascension, we celebrate His promise to return. At this celebration, the more recent interpretation would be appropriate, "Come, Lord!"
Just as the last verses of The Bible say- "He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely, I am coming soon.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen." (Revelation 22:20-21) (This of course, being a seemingly Greek equivalent.)
          However, though in one sense, from God's view, The Lord has come and come again and everything is finished [since He exists outside of time and can see everything all at once- Yeah, He's way cool like that. I try not to think on that concept too long because then my finite little 3 1/2 pounds of brain explode! But I definitely like to think on the concept that The Lord God is awesome and worthy to be praised- and that's just one of the infinitely many cool reasons!].
          But from our limited, time-bound human perspective, though The Lord has come, we haven't seen The Lord come again yet. But He will come in His time- and thus, while we wait and watch expectantly, we must also work wholeheartedly for our wonderful Lord and worry not about such things [or anything] because this is what He commands. (As Jesus summarized- Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. [Matthew 22:34-40] And if you want an even simpler version, Jesus also gave us the Golden Rule- "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." (Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31. Note that Jesus says that this is The Law and The Prophets! And as Ephesians 4:15 notes, speak the Truth in Love. :-))
          So, all that was to say- First comes the marathon, then the maranatha. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27) But yes- Amen! Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!
          And since Wikipedia just informed me that that phrase only appears once in The New Testament (in Aramaic), and it's in 1 Corinthians 16:22, my last statement is even truer than I realized- lol. [Note: While I would not recommend Wikipedia as a source for research papers for school and such, I do recommend the reference links it provides- there are usually some quite interesting ones and I suggest checking the one listed there for further reading.]
        (Also, see this nice article from Compass Bible Church that explains it in more detail.)