Slam Dunk Sin

"Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 3 For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. 4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; 5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.

7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." (1 Peter 4:1-11)

 I wanted to offer some commentary here but first I thought it better to let the Scripture speak for itself and I didn't want to distract from it, so that's up front and center.

    I read through both 1 Peter and 2 Peter recently and some convicting words hit me in 1 Peter 4. Christ has suffered for us to reconcile us to Him. Now that we have come to faith in Him through accepting His death and rise to pay for our sins, we must live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but instead for the will of God. The time that is past suffices for all the stuff the world wants us to do- we've already spent more than enough time in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. The world is surprised when we don't join them in debauchery and thus they malign us; but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 

   To be sure, we will all stand before Lord Christ's judgment seat, but those not in Christ will be judged on their deeds in the body and found guilty of sin that only Christ can forgive and erase- and thus rightly receive the punishment of the Hell they chose by rejecting God's offer of love. Those of us in Christ will be judged for the deeds in the body after receiving Christ, to determine what rewards we should receive, like the unfading crown of glory mentioned in 1 Peter 5:4.

     With the end of all things at hand, we suddenly seem to get a lot more serious about the way we live. Though none of us knows the day or hour of Christ's return, we know He will come and we will be in His presence that way or we will die one day and pass into eternity and in His presence that way. One of those two events will happen in our lifetime. Whichever comes first, we must be good stewards of God's varied grace. Be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of our prayers. Above all, keep loving each other earnestly! Love covers a multitude of sins! Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. Use the gifts God has given us to serve one another- so that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ! To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen!

    In other words- we've spent enough time goofing off and making errors and turnovers. It may be fun to clown around like the Harlem Globetrotters for a while but the first half is over. The pep talk from Coach Jesus in the locker room is to let Him ice up your sores and wounds and then get your head in the game! We have to work and play as a team and keep our eyes on the prize for which we have been called Heavenward. We already know the Coach has won the game for us! He's got an unfading championship ring (for the purposes of this metaphor :-)) waiting for us! We need to play hard until the clock runs out though and be faithful to play the best game we can, not only looking to sink baskets for our stats, but to make assists to help the team's stats as a whole and ultimately give all the credit back to our Coach! And let the way we play the game be reflective of His coaching so that others want to join the team! :-)

    The best part about this team is that there are no try outs- it's entirely a team of walk-ons. And no one ever gets cut once they're called by the Coach to join the team. :-)

     So keep playing a good, steady D (1 Peter 3:15) and no trash talking (also 1 Peter 3:15 ;-)), and keep dribbling and making good passes and taking good shots as the Coach leads. And make like Jesus in Mark 8 when He healed the blind dude at Bethsaida- make sure to dribble but no double dribble! ;-) If that happens, call a time out and you may even have to sit out a bit as a reminder to play the game right but then get back in there when the Coach trades you and the sixth man back out.

   Like Hebrews 11, we've got a great crowd in the stands cheering us on. And like Pistol Pete, Larry Legend, Magic, Air Jordan, etc. (insert your favourite B-baller here ;-)) on a hot streak, we've got the Holy Spirit setting us on fire to make the plays that He has called for us to make, according to our Playbook, all along. Follow His lead and make good passes and take good shots, and we will see some baskets drop, knowing we win in the end! :-)

    Slam dunk! 

Pride's Deceit- Downward Leads (Song)

 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth- and things were good. Everything went downward quickly when humans chose to rebel against God. And though we bear our own blame for sin, there's one individual in particular responsible for putting all evil things in motion. He slinks around, prowling for prey like a lion. His pride drove him out from God's presence and he's been on the outs ever since, battling back in a war he'll never win all through the timeline from B.C. to A.D. and to eternity. Lo, his doom is sure- one little word shall fell him. The Lord will ultimately have the victory.

"Pride's Deceit- Downward Leads"

(Parody of "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" by AC/DC; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 8/21/2020)

(Proverbs 16:18, Romans 16:20, Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28, Genesis 3, Revelation 12, Job 1-2, Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13, John 10:10, John 8:42-47, Matthew 26-28, Mark 14-16, Luke 22-24, John 18-21, 1 Peter 5:8-9, James 4:7, Revelation 20)

Is. 14- read; Trouble (in) Paradise began

He's given you all jewels

You want to escalate past God and ascend

How cut to ground are you!

Kicked out by God

Pride falls Day Star

Ezekiel line

Just read

Verse 12 in 28 (two eight) (to) finish- Hey!

Defeated by your pride

There in E-den - how sweet!

Holy scene- mountain peak!

Eternal peace- undone so cheap!

Dirty deeds- well, they're now your thing

Luke 10:18- you fell down (like) lightning

You came trawling- Genesis 3:1

New gods age garden plot

The devil's dealing lies as serpent

We sin; the teardrop start from that

Pick up in Job

O'er sphere, you roam

You make a social call

"Don't fence him in!"

Permits it- God's in

We'll have a test here, y'all 

Tragedies come bring grief

Devil thinks Job will speak

Curse but he won't - just read

Verse 2:10, 1:21 - shift scene

Turn to Rev-elation 12- read

The dragon and lady that he wanted gone 

'Cause her Babe's God Jesus!

Mike beat dragon and crew- Fight's end kicks

Demon crew out on butts 

Picked up chase- Won't

Leave her alone 

With Christ you faced off and

Your temptings

He slapped down- just read

In Matt. 4, man

Dirty deeds- God's Word beats

Verses repeat- Sword swings deep

Devil schemes- Son's defeat

Strike the heel- Enters Judas- sees priests, yeah

Thirty pieces (of) silver- one lost sheep!

King of Jews crucified on the tree

Come Day Three

Son's rise- come back- crush snake's head

Sinners redeemed!

Roaring beast

Who's a lying thief who wants our doom

John 10:10- read

Rev. 20

Your defeat 

Burn eternally

Done- you're beat!

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

Die Here or Recant (song)

In keeping with the theme of persecution in my last post, this song seemed appropriate. Some may doubt the reality of what feels like the year of attacks on Christian faith at times but that may be because they are viewing the world through an American lens. Even the USA and North America in general are experiencing a number of subtle (and some not-so-subtle) acts of persecution and affronts to the faith. The degree is not nearly to the level that brothers and sisters in The Lord face the world over, particularly in China and Middle Eastern countries. That doesn't mean that North America and the Western world will be spared persecution that involves not only loss of rights and freedom but maybe even to the point of death. And as we face such things in the body of Christ, though no one necessarily wants to face that, we know that the weight of glory is worth more and weighs more than any of our light and momentary sufferings. I'll steward God's grace and blessings well enough; I must also steward the trials and persecutions He allows to come. If it comes down to the government vs. God, I choose God above all. Thus, when the choice is to die here or recant, go tell Nero I can't. To live is Christ and to die is gain! (Philippians 1:21)


"Die Here or Recant"
(parody of "Year of the Cat" by Al Stewart; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 9/7/2018)
(Matthew 10:26-33, Matthew 24:4-14, John 15:18-27 and 16:1-4, Proverbs 28:1, Acts 1-12, Acts 5:29, Romans 8, Hebrews 11:32-40, Philippians 1:21, Philippians 3, Revelation 2:10-11, Revelation 5:9-11, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 20-22)

With a warning from a bogus jury
In a council that says, "Don't preach Christ"
You go scrolling through Acts now for Pete's retort
In Acts 5:29
Lord God raised up The Son that you killed by hanging (on the cross)
God our Father over men obey!
Our Father gave our Lord exaltation
We must tell you in His Name
That we fear God, not man
"They will not give up Christ!" - "Arrest them!"
But we've locked up behind bars before
And The Lord's angel opened doors of the prison
(They) completely disappeared
It's a futile cause; they're at temple walls
There's no prison door they fear, you dudes
We'll take that Gamaliel's advice
Just like the wicked run but these dudes
(Are) Bagheera the cat!
Signs and wonders, dude- so cool, Steve!
They tell lies that cite the dude's blaspheming!
He wants forgiveness for bad jury
When they stone him- if it's forsake Him for life
To adhere I just can't
More mourning comes when James' killed after
And Jesus said persecutions (would) come!
It won't go away- His voice or cross or mission
So we have to hold on
Until trumpet sounds and in The Light remain!
And the minute persecutors say
"Avow Lord Christ or now go meet Him!"
To live is Christ (and) die is gain!
So tell Nero I can't
There's no recant
.................................................

A Call for Endurance

"Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what The Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death." (Revelation 2:10-11)

"Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from Heaven saying, 'Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in The Lord from now on.' 'Blessed indeed,' says The Spirit, 'that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!' " (Revelation 14:12-13)

Let us keep praying for the Iraqi saints and followers of Christ all over the world who are facing such tribulation and persecution that they would be faithful to Jesus no matter what and that they would keep loving their enemies, praying for them, speaking The Truth in Love, and faithfully obeying Jesus. And may we all heed the call to be faithful to Jesus and endure no matter what may come. The temporal life and its pains are temporary, but the celestial life and its joys are eternal. And let's keep praying for those who are so opposed to Jesus who need to know that He loves them too and only wants them to repent, trust Him and live.

The Scriptures here and the situation going on with the persecuted church around the world made me think of a very spiritually true and sound line from "The Dark Knight"- "What would you have me do?"- Bruce Wayne/Batman.... "Endure."- Alfred Pennyworth...... It's just as Jesus said in Matthew 24:13-14, "But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this Gospel of the Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." ..... So, as Matthew 24:44-46 tell us, "Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over the household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes."   Note that the passage clearly tells us that the Son of Man is coming at a time we don't expect-therefore, we must be ready. Ready-not standing around speculating on His return or just bemoaning the state of the world and wringing our hands. We also can't be disinterested bystanders sitting back comfortable in our faith and waiting for our sweet chariot to swing low and take us home. We should be a faithful and wise servant of The Master-we have been set over His household as members of the body of Christ and we are to work together to care for His body and give food to His household at the proper time. This of course includes all of His domain-the whole earth and universe. Speak The Gospel Truth-the Words of Life to edify the church and to throw out the lifeline to resuce the perishing. We must be faithful in obeying Jesus and sharing His love with others that they might come to salvation too. And until Christ does come, we must be the face of His Love on the earth and His agents of change to help keep the peace and show grace and mercy and love to a lost and cold, uncaring world. Keep looking up, for our redemption draweth nigh-in His time, which may or may not be in our lifetime (we don't know and don't need to know and don't need to worry about trying to know)- and keep enduring and being faithful. And don't worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Be faithful with what God has given you today.

Mr. Joel (song)

           The Hebrew name Joel means "Yahweh is God" and the son of Pethuel sure lived up to proclaiming the meaning of his name through the Bible book named after him. A recurring phrase in the book of Joel is "The LORD your God", which does literally translate to "Yahweh is God", as "The LORD" is the Name rendered as Yahweh or Jehovah in Hebrew. And Joel was calling Israel to return to The Lord our God and repent of sin because the day of The Lord was coming to punish Israel as well as all nations that sinned against Him. And in Joel 2, we are given prophecy about the coming of The Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which we see fulfilled in Acts 2. God filled His people with His Spirit to empower them to go out and preach the Gospel. The day of The Lord is coming for us as it did in Joel's time and ravaged the land. While Mr. Jones might be busy counting crows, Joel could have been busy counting locusts as they wreaked destruction on Israel. But God promised that He would restore what the locusts destroyed. Of course, if we don't want to be eating crows, we need to repent of our pride and unfaithfulness as well and return to God Who sent the abundant latter rain to heal Israel just as He does for us through Christ's completed work on the cross and in the empty tomb. So read Ephesians 1-2 for more on the work Jesus did for us, read Acts 2 to see how God's Spirit works through us to share the Good News with others and then turn to Mr. Joel and read!


 Mr. Joel
(parody of "Mr. Jones" by Counting Crows; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 5/20/2017)
(The book of Joel, Acts 2)

Sha, la, la, la, la, la, la
Mmm
Uh huh

It is found in the New Testament
There- 2 Acts, this fellow shared Joel
Peter zones in on their declarations
In 2 Acts- there fulfilled Joel chapter 2
Holy Ghost landing- sons and daughters prophesiers
They're suddenly multilingual
"They're all on something-alcohol"
It's 9 AM- not drunk on alcohol

He's enhanced us- The Spirit- down through God's pouring

Shalom, Hola, Bonjour, Hi ya!
Yeah
Uh huh
Yeah

Come on now, Peter
Show us some of that Arabic and Egyptian
Turn in your Bible to (the) book of Joel
(And) get reading
Can you believe this locust scene?
Call a fast and weep- Joel 1- it just pleads
Yeah

Mr. Joel- read
Tell sons and daughters grisly tale
As you stare and view destruction
The locusts have chewed
Now no food! The locusts did eat
Crying 'cause the crops died
Coming through in sackcloth
Lamenting priests of God- dude!
Look, man, it's near- The Lord's Day

Joel is gonna paint a picture
Look yourself in 2- moon's red, sun's black- Great Day!
All of the dutiful dreamers know it's very, very meaningful
Yeah, well The Lord's Day comes with signs and wonders
Literal or symbolic- it'll be plain
Go review Revelation
You would find 6:12 just says much of the same

Mr. Joel- read!
Look into the future
Don't despair at the total destruction
Verse 2:32
Romans 10 quotes
Go look in 13
Acts 2:21 writes
And God Himself will save us all
For all who on His Name call
Call a solemn assembly
Let's all return to The Lord please
Rend our hearts and not our garments- see

Blow the trumpet in Zion
Ah, everybody declare a holy fast
Oh, return to Me with all your heart
Says The Lord God- what locusts've eaten- I'll pay back
Rejoice in Me- 'cause you can believe I'll send the rain
And I- I want all peeps to come to Me and believe
So believe and receive- yeah

Mr. Joel- read! Judging's due- 3rd. chapter- yo!
So prepare for the Doomsday, all nations
Hey Egypt- you're through
Man, you've got to read in Joel 3:19
You're a goner, Edom- called it
In there Joel chapter 3, there's comeuppance all given out swiftly
For every violence you do
Sidon, Tyre- turnabout is fair play- as you will see
Mr. Joel- read! Pay Me back? Thus says The Lord
What are you to Me, Philistia?
If you're paying Me, it's coming right back to thee
Beat your pruning hooks into spears
'Cause we both know why that you folks're going down
And there is nobody like Me
You're gonna see just that now when My people are redeemed
Pictured in Joel- end scenes- (well) God and His peeps are victorious!

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

Who Do You Trust?

            We should always be speaking The Truth in Love. (Ephesians 4:15). I want only to lovingly speak the Truth of The Bible here and comment on some things I have noticed in public discourse over the last number of years. I do not to seek to pronounce, suggest or proffer any political candidates in any way. I do not seek to cajole anyone to any particular political party or point of view. I don’t claim to be of any particular political party and I don’t think it’s my position to push political candidates or parties or tell people how to vote and who to vote for. (I also don’t think churches and other places of influence need to be doing this, but particularly for the church.)
            I want to make it clear from the outset what this post is about and what it’s not about. It’s much more about attitudes and the states of our hearts and trust levels more so than about voting or elections- but it is certainly based in relation to elections and the level of power we afford to them. While this is in some ways specific to America in this piece, the principles are applicable for all countries of the world. I have spoken in more detail on the topic of voting as it relates to the Christian and what The Bible says to this matter. That’s not exactly the angle I’m focusing on with this piece. This is devoted to addressing our level of devotion to the political system versus our devotion to God.
         As many others have stated, I’ll add my voice to those saying this about the state of politics in America in 2016- I’m disheartened to see the cacophony of noise and malicious, venomous poison barbs it has become. I’m equally disheartened to see what the level of discourse in general has become, but that has been a downward spiral for a long time coming- since Genesis 3 at least. I’m speaking this as a rebuke to all the political parties that continue the pattern of mudslinging that seems to be carried out with each election season. It seems that each party constantly builds its own candidate up to sound better than they are while concurrently denigrates, vilifies and demonizes its opponent. Of course, that is the sad nature of politics, it seems. However, it is certainly not the nature of Christ. Colossians 3:5-17 tells us that we must put off anger, wrath, malice, slander and obscene talk from our mouths- and instead, put on kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness and compassionate hearts! And above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And when we remember that Jesus Himself is Love (as 1 John 4:8 tells us), then we can say with The Beatles, truly- “Love is all you need”.
           To address the elephant and the donkey in the room (and whatever symbol you want to use for third parties ;-)), I'm definitely also not saying who to vote for- I just encourage everyone to follow 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 - "Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid all appearance of evil.") And I would encourage people to also read about all the independent candidates and candidates of other parties (like the Green Party, Libertarian Party, Prohibition Party, America's Party and more.) Vote for who you think God wants you to vote for. And in the end, trust Him above ANY person. (Isaiah 2:22) That’s really briefly all I care to say about the voting process. (For more thoughts on this, see my previous blog entry on this matter.)
               I hope the 2016 elections can help people in America learn to unite as Americans rather than be divided over ideologies. My personal goal is generally to try to look for the positive first- try to find something I can applaud, compliment and agree with first and talk about that first- and thank the person for sharing their thoughts. And then politely state my differences where needs be. I firmly believe that no matter what we have to say, there is always a nice way to say it. We can disagree about policies and ideas without insulting each other, whether directly or subtly.
(This is of course, modeled after 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22- "Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid all appearance of evil." You may notice I repeat these verses many times over- they are so practical and such good reminders!) In the end, we can never forget the wonder of the created being that we are conversing with- this is another human being who is fearfully and wonderfully made in God's image- and we are called to love them as we love ourselves! It doesn't matter how vile they are or how much we think their beliefs are vulgar and wrong- our first call is always to love with the love of Christ above all else. (This doesn't mean we can't disagree and lovingly correct when needs be- particularly in spiritual matters of eternal importance- but we must speak the Truth in Love. (Ephesians 4:15) This one is another favorite- I can never say it enough!)
          As I've said many times before, when it comes to politics- vote for who you think God wants you to vote for. Let the Holy Spirit guide you. But don't hail them like they're going to magically make everything better...they won't. All the candidates are human and they fail just like we do. And we're also called to love all of them like Jesus does. (John 13:35) Yes, God is in control and He sets rulers up and takes them down. (Daniel 4) And as Isaiah 2:22 reminds us, quit putting your trust in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Put your trust in The Lord! His will will be done. :-)                          
           I've said much the same thing for a while now and I’ll probably keep repeating myself through this writing as some things I need to hear over and over again- as we all do at times. :-) Fix your eyes on Jesus- not on this world and its political system. Stop putting trust in man who has but a breath in his nostrils (that God gave him.) (see Isaiah 2:22) Put your faith in God. He's always in control. No one gets political power unless Jesus lets them. And no matter what happens on earth in our own power struggles, there's One who reigns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords- and we who know Him as Savior and Lord don't have to fear- we've got another King coming. :-) As Jesus told Pilate in John 19:11, he wouldn’t have had any power over Him except that it was given to him from above.
        Whoever God decides to put in power, we are commanded to respect them, love them and pray for them! (1 Timothy 2:1-4, 2 Peter 2:11-17, Romans 13). We should also remember the context of when these verses were written- the leader Christians were commanded to love, respect, honor and pray for at that time was Nero- the guy who was using Christians for nightlights and lion snacks. If the church could obey these commands for him, I think we can do the same in America- thankfully, we’re not quite there with our leaders. (Sadly, there are some Christians around the world who suffer similar barbarities in the world today though…. And these verses must be even tougher for them to carry out- but they are still God’s Word nonetheless, no matter what our situation might be.)
        There are two errors I think we commonly tend to fall into when it comes to elections. Sometimes we believe that our chosen candidate is the one to bring balance to the Force and restore peace to the land- he or she is “the Golden Child”- “the Chosen One”- and everything will be all right once they are elected. We also sometimes tend to believe that the opponent of our chosen candidate is somehow the destroyer of worlds- the one who will make our living experience a hell on earth. I think either extreme is the wrong view. There is absolutely nothing that happens in this universe without being run by God first and getting His okay for happening! If God chooses for something to not happen- it will simply cease to be before it ever comes into existence. All things are held up by Him and in Him suspended- just check Colossians 1:17. Also, see John 1- nothing exists except that He made it and allowed it to be. The Lord is absolutely sovereign at all times. (Romans 9) If we truly believe this, then why do we act like a particular election is somehow going to be either the start of a new era of awesomeness or indeed the very end of the world? Yes, it’s true that God is always in control and everything will be all right because He rules the world. But why do we only say that when our chosen candidate loses? Somehow, I don’t seem to hear it being said when our chosen candidate wins. Yet it’s true regardless- and we sure better be looking to Him above any other human being in all things. (By this, I don’t mean that we should disregard our leaders and ignore them- we should be thankful for their service and pray for them- but we don’t hail them as the one who will fix everything.) Insert the Godliest person you can think of into the role of President. Anyone less than Jesus Christ will utterly fail in the end. There is only One who can put this world back together to what it should be and restore it from its fallen state- and that’s Jesus alone! He does that by forgiving people and changing their hearts when they ask Him to do so. He’s provided for this by dying on the cross for all our sins and rising again. We must always keep our eyes and minds fixed on Him and know that He is the only One we can trust to always be faithful. (2 Timothy 2:11-13, Psalms 136)
           As a bit of a side note, I also think America tends to be very egocentric at times. (Though, to be fair, some of this comes from its status as a world leader. There’s no denying that a lot of the world looks to the USA to set the tone for other nations.) However, I think it’s important to note that everything does not revolve around the United States of America. (This is getting into a separate matter that I might write more on later; for now, suffice it to say that I tire of hearing people make comparisons of America and Israel. God loves all countries, of course- but the USA is not His chosen people.) My point here is just to say that if some feel that America is in a bad place because of a politician elected as President- this doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. I don’t particularly want to see America fall as a nation and I don’t seek to make any predictions whatsoever regarding that- but I don’t want to act like it’s so important that the rest of the world can’t go on without it. In the end, God alone determines all nations’ fates- and nothing happens outside of His permissive will.
         I saw this article (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2016/november/year-of-living-hopelessly.html) in Christianity Today a while back about how 2016 has pushed some people towards nihilism- and how we don’t need to let that happen to us. (It’s a great article, by the way!) This is also something I grow weary of seeing- the despair of so many because of the state of the world. Yes, things are bleak in many ways. I’m well aware of the travails that sin brings upon us. But this has been happening since Genesis 3. The world is fallen and will continue to revel in sin until Christ returns and restores all things to the way He designed them to be originally. Until then, we as Christians must be His agents of change to show people the way of His kingdom, which is perfect love. We must boldly proclaim the Gospel and must live as people of Hope. We have an everlasting Hope in Jesus and we need not be scared of the future. We know the One who holds the past, present and future all in His hands- and we know the end of The Book- and “the Good Book says we win!” (as Stryper reminds us in “Soldiers Under Command”) We must be strong and courageous. (Joshua 1:9) We must be of good cheer because Christ has overcome the world! (John 16:33) Everything will be just as God has ordained it. (Psalms 139, Acts 27:25)He keeps the earth's pillars steady. (Psalms 75:3-4) We must hope in God alone. (Psalms 42) We find our peace in Him alone. (Romans 15:13) Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the Name of The Lord our God! (Psalms 20)
        So as we face the future with calm assurance in our Father God, let’s remember this about elections and their outcomes. It’s not a brave new world, it’s not a whole new world- it’s my Father’s world- and He’s got the whole world in His hands.

Look at the stars- look how they shine for you

May the 4th. verses of Micah 5, 2 Corinthians 5 and 1 John 5 be with you.
"And He shall stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of The Lord, in the majesty of the Name of The Lord His God. And they shall dwell secure, for now He shall be great to the ends of the earth." (Micah 5:4)
"For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened- not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up ...by life." (2 Corinthians 5:4)
"For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world- our faith." (1 John 5:4)
The wars of the stars is over. ("From the heavens the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera."- Judges 5:20)
And all the stars will praise The Victor- The Lord Jesus Christ who rules over all and binds the whole universe together. (Colossians 1:15-17)
"This is what the Lord says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the Lord Almighty is his name:" (Jeremiah 31:35)
"Praise Him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars." (Psalms 148:3)
And though the dark side may feel like its won at times, that phantom menace will fall one day for good- it is under attack and though it may be allowed to have revenge for a brief while- there is a new hope. The dark and light have been battling since the one who tried to ascend above the stars had his fall. ("Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord." [Obadiah 1:4])
And that Babylonian empire struck back at Calvary, but the return of Jesus from the grave won the war for good. Sin and its penalty is defeated. And one day, He will come again and the dead in Christ will be awakened and those alive who have put faith in Him will be together with Him forever.
The One who holds the seven stars in His hand also holds the keys of death and Hades and He is alive forevermore! He has won the cosmic battle of the ages and those of us on His side know that we will enjoy peace with Him, both now in our hearts and lives and throughout the galaxy forever in eternity.
Until that final day, Jesus is continuing to work in us "so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky" (Philippians 2:15)
"Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever." (Daniel 12:3)

Paramount (story)

"Thus says the prophecy." :-) Here's a quick flash fiction story I wrote with the aim of teaching vocabulary words (so you may notice a certain theme in words.) The idea came to me seeing the words in mind and I thought it worked well for a futuristic sci-fi story set perhaps on a distant planet or even a dystopian Earth. And yeah- there's a bit of an allegory in there too. Enjoy. :-)
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"Paramount" (by Nathan Ludwick; copyright 2/8/2015)

“Thus says the prophecy,” the elder proclaimed as he shut the book. As his hooded disciples solemnly nodded in silent agreement, a single young voice pierced the quiet in the darkness of the night. “Wait! How can this be?” new would-be member Turner asked. “Could you please paraphrase the message so I might better understand it? If I could hear it in your own words, Sir, then I could know its meaning better.” There was a murmur arising at this outcry, but the elder quickly quieted everyone.
“You are young yet, but there are still some who remember how our planet used to be in the days of old. There was peace at one time when our people lived in harmony with each other and The Design. But the time came when we sought to better ourselves and go beyond our limitations- and beyond The Design. We thought we would make ourselves and our world greater- but we became fools instead. And when we no longer followed The Design and lost that delicate balance of peace and harmony with each other, it was then that the invaders came. The alien parasites turned us into a parody of what we once were. We became but hollow shells- a mockery of our former selves with empty chests where our lifeblood once beat. Yet many stayed blinded to these changes and even thought them to be improvements. The invaders fooled many of us, even those who claimed to still follow the old ways."

The elder looked gravely around the gathering for a moment and then continued.
“We are the few left that still resist. We choose to fight against these forces in the hopes of seeing peace and harmony restored. While the paranoia of the others increases, we remain calm and hopeful because of the prophecy. When the invaders convinced the people of the planet to seek only their good and no one else’s, their fears continued to mount as they worried that everyone else was out to get them and their belongings.”

Turner excitedly implored the elder. “What does the prophecy say we can do to escape?”
The elder smiled knowingly as he gave the answer.
“Therein lies the paradox, my son. The prophecy says there is nothing we can do to escape.”
In despair, Turner replied, “Then how can we be saved from the invaders? How can we be saved from ourselves?” The elder lifted his head and hands to the sky reverently as he answered.
“It doesn’t seem to make sense but it’s the truest thing in the universe and in the end, it’s the only thing that does make sense. The prophecy says The Paragon will come. He will be the truest, most pure of all, uninfected by the invaders- the best of what we used to be. He will bear The Design in fullness once more.”

“And The Paragon will lead us back to peace and harmony by destroying the invaders?” Turner happily interjected.
“Yes,” the elder answered. “But all of the invaders will attack The Paragon first and will seem to defeat and destroy him- but it won’t be true. Only by sacrificing himself to the invaders can they be destroyed. And he will arise in power once more and free all of us who have followed him and believed the prophecy. Peace and harmony will be restored and we will be transformed to The Design once more. Thus says the prophecy.”

The disciples all cheered as the first few golden rays of sunlight started to emerge. As the group began to disperse, Turner called to the elder once more. “What do I do as I trust the prophecy and resist the invaders?”
With a glance to the skies, the elder smiled and said, “Wait and watch and work in hope.”