Faith of a Child

(A short observation from a few years back. :-)) The sermon at church yesterday was about Jesus welcoming and blessing the children. :-) (Matthew 19:13-15, Mark 10:13-16, Luke 18:15-17) It was a good message but also one of those that seems hard to apply for a single dude. As a librarian who works with children though, I really appreciated it. The pastor talked about how kids grow up so fast. One of his comments gave me a great one-liner- It's like one day you're changing their diapers and the next day they're changing yours! ;-) Seriously though, this is one of my favorite Jesus encounters in The Bible because Jesus makes time for children, values and loves them and tells us to become like them if we want to enter the kingdom of God. (Jesus also has very harsh words for those who would lead children astray from faith in Christ- Matthew 18:1-14. It'd be better to have a millstone around your neck and get thrown into the sea than to do that.) And you have to receive Jesus' love with the faith of a little child. We must jump into Jesus' arms with no hesitation trusting that when He says He'll catch and save us- He'll do it. And so we hurtle down the slide of life that leads to physical death knowing that Jesus has saved us from spiritual death and when we get off the slide, our Father will be there to catch us and carry us Home. :-)

Biblical Sexual Purity Culture

 (Note: This is in response to a critique of what is referred to as "purity culture", posted on this blog.  

I can appreciate the points made and I do think the church needs to consider how best to Biblically address the issue of sexuality, especially with youth groups.)

Interesting blog post. I think the main problem there is that so much of what Is described as "purity culture" is not Biblical. If a church is teaching these things, then it needs to repent and correct its teaching.

To address them one by one:

1. Women are responsible for their sexual sin and men are responsible for their sexual sin.

It is worth noting that Romans 14 does warn about being a stumbling block for others and thus, it is worth considering that factor in the way we dress, along with everything else. 1 Peter 3 speaks to this point for women. Both men and women should be cognizant of how our dress- and everything else we say or do- can either turn someone towards Christ or repel them.

2. Neither women nor men should feel shame about their bodies. We both cover up appropriately according to the Spirit's leading out of love, both for our own bodies and for other people. It should not be a shame-based thing.

3. Both men and women have sexual desire (for the most part- I recognize that some identify as asexual and honestly have no libido). Both men and women are sinners. This is why both fail to control their sexual urges at times. Men are equally prone to be deceived as are women. Sexual desire is not the sin- lust is, along with sexual abuse, and sexual relations outside of the marriage of one man to one woman for life.

We all struggle with sin- and that's why we all need Christ.

4. Every single girl, boy, man and woman Is eternally valuable and loved by God because we are all made in His image. Women are more than just their sexuality, as are men. Our worth is found in Christ, not in our virginity. If a man or woman has fallen into sin with pre- or extra- marital sex, that value has not changed one iota. They are not damaged goods. They are sinners who are still eternally valuable. And Christ restores us when we come to Him in repentance. We must find our value and worth in Him. And because we love Him, we will obey His commands.

5. I'm not sure what this has to do with anything. I am pretty sure I can safely say, for the most part, men and women both enjoy sex equally. I am pretty sure most people find sex to be fun. I am also bewildered that women are evidently not familiar with their anatomy. It would seem to be a failing on the part of biology instruction in schools. Both men and women should have a basic understanding of human anatomy.

6. If men and women have sex before marriage, yes- many things can go wrong. Thankfully, God is still willing to forgive us when we come to Him in repentance. This sexual sin does not ruin one's entire life forever. God can still bring restoration and forgiveness. The lives of those who fall to this sin are still infinitely important and valuable.

7. There is no difference between sexual abuse and sex before marriage in the sense that both are sins. That aside, of course there's a difference between these acts. Consent should certainly be in place before any sex act and it should come in the form of a two word phrase that both man and woman repeat before man and God- "I do". (And yes, even within the context of marriage, the husband and wife should have each other's consent before engaging in coitus. Your spouse is not your sex toy.)

If a woman is raped, then the man is guilty of rape. The woman is not guilty of pre-marital sex here. The Bible speaks to this point in Deuteronomy 22.

I agree that these teachings can and have been used to marginalize and subjugate women. This is not right.

The church needs to teach Biblical teachings on sexual purity and encourage love and respect for all people. There is no male or female in Christ- we are all one in Him. (Galatians 3:26)

Love Comes Knocking (poem)

I wanted to get one more poem in under the wire for National Poetry Month in April and so here is this entry. The last minute nature of it seems appropriate since it talks about how love can seem the same way at times. It never seems to come at an opportune time but the opportunities for love are there all the time, if we take time to follow the Spirit's lead and engage them. This poem is inspired by a real life encounter with one such opportunity.

"Love Comes Knocking"
(poem copyright by Nathan Ludwick 3/23/2018)
(2 Corinthians 4:7, Revelation 3:20, Philippians 2, 1 Corinthians 13, Song of Songs 8:6-7, Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 25, Luke 15, John 13:34-35, Hebrews 13:2, 1 John 3:16-18)

Love comes knocking
Throughout each day
And at all hours of the night
Never pushing and demanding
Just wishing and hoping with a hand out
It's never on time but it's never too late
It takes you by surprise with its weight
You're hit with it at your lowest time
Right when you feel you can't take any more
It's always inconvenient for those who don't have time to take time
But it's a giver not a taker
And it gives you more than you could ever give
Nothing you lose compares to what you gain
Its every appointment is divinely ordained
It's the only thing you get more of when you give it all away
Love crosses the street to reach out and pull up
Love pours itself all out- not just half way
Love is the greatest and it always abides
Love is what makes life truly life
It pulls its wool over our hides
It clothes us with its brand so others can believe their eyes
Love knows no stranger- only long lost friends
Love invites all to come on in
Love declares all of infinite value
Love gives in sacrifice to show by action that it is real and alive
Love never gives out and never gives up
And Love is as strong as death
And rises to forgive in extravagance
Love is the answer and the antidote to all the world's evils
Love flows deep and wide like a river at the base of a tree
Love changes your whole world and it's what the world needs now
Love is true and right and the only Good in this world
And when you open your heart
Love comes in quietly, softly and tenderly
Love never fails- He is forever!
Let Love give and give Love- for free
Love won't force the locked in
- Love comes knocking

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

Review of Switchfoot's song "If The House Burns Down Tonight"

"If The House Burns Down Tonight" by Switchfoot

(analysis of Biblical allusions in the lyrics. Lyrics quoted from Switchfoot's 2016 album, "Where The Light Shines Through"- read the full lyrics on the band's site. The Bible verses in parentheses are added by me; these are some verses that came to mind upon hearing the song or are ones that I think add to what the song is saying to me.)
(First- some key theme Bible verses.)

("You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's." Exodus 20:17
"For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness." Psalms 84:10
"And behold, a man came up to Him, saying, 'Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life? And He said to him, 'Why do you ask Me about what is good? There is only One who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.' He said to Him, 'Which ones?' And Jesus said, 'You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.' The young man said to Him, 'All these I have kept. What do I still lack?' Jesus said to him, 'If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me.' When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to His disciples, 'Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of Heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.' When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, 'Who then can be saved?' But Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.' Then Peter said in reply, 'See, we have left everything and followed You. What then will we have?' Jesus said to them, 'Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for My Name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will and inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first." Matthew 19:16-30)
"As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life." 1 Timothy 6:17-19)

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

"Ashes from the flames- the Truth is what remains- the Truth is what you save from the fire and you fight for what you love- Don't matter if it hurts- you find out what it's worth and you let the rest burn......

(2 Corinthians 13:8- "For we can do nothing against the Truth, but only for the Truth.")
("I am The Way, The Truth and The Life. No man comes to The Father but by Me."- Jesus in John 14:6)

If the house burns down tonight- I've got everything I need when I got You by my side- and let the rest burn....

I've given too much of my heart away- my soul's holding on like a house divided

(Matthew 12:25, Mark 3:25 Luke 11:17- "A house divided against itself cannot stand."- Jesus)

Holding you and the wheel, it occurs to me- we're driving down the edge of eternity...

("He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end." Ecclesiastes 3:11)

Put your hand in mine and put your heart in driving

("Ye shall seek Me and ye shall find Me when ye shall seek for Me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13)

- we got everything we need, yeah- we got everything we need, yeah.
Left it all behind us- what we need will find us.

("And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19)

And all those lies that mattered most to me
Were draining me dry, making a ghost of me

("Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun." Ecclesiastes 2:11)

And if the house burns down tonight
I got everything I need, everything I need
There’s a fire coming that we all will go through

("According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw- each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire." 1 Corinthians 3:10-15)

You possess your possessions or they possess you

("And He said to them, 'Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.' And He told them a parable, saying, 'The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.' " (Luke 12:15-21)

And if the house burns down tonight
I got everything I need when I got You by my side

("I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity." Ecclesiastes 2:18
"There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?" Ecclesiastes 2:24-25
"Whom have I in Heaven by You? And there is nothing on earth than I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalms 73:25-26

And let the rest burn

("The kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it." Matthew 13:44-46
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." Matthew 6:19-24)

Ashes from the flames- the Truth is what remains"

("And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14
"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." John 1:17
"And you will know The Truth and The Truth will set you free." John 8:32
"I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by Me."- Jesus Christ in John 14:6
"...Because of the Truth that abides in us and will be with us forever." 2 John 1:2)