To Boldly Go Wherever God Leads

Just because you're flailing, it doesn't mean you're failing.
Hailing frequencies set to Heaven.... :-)
"Make haste, O God, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me!" (Psalms 70:1) (read the whole thing- it's only 5 verses.)

"I will remember the deeds of The LORD; yes, I will remember Your wonders of old. I will ponder all Your work, and meditate on Your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your might among the peoples. You with Your arm redeemed Your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. When the waters saw You, O God, when the waters saw You, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; Your arrows flashed on every side. The crash of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; Your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was through the sea, Your path through the great waters; yet Your footprints were unseen. You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron." (Psalms 77:11-20)

I love how Psalms 77 notes that when God cut His path through the sea and great waters, His footprints were unseen. But even when His footprints are unseen to us, we know He's there and He's working and making a way through the seas of troubles that meet us so often.
"Jump in the whirlwind- I'm letting go." :-)- Skillet

"For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, 'Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but My righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.' But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls." (Hebrews 10:36-39)
So don't shrink back from the challenge- entrust your soul to the Coming One who can do anything by merely willing it in order to make it so- and endure with Faith, Hope and Love. Don't shrink back- Engage. :-)

(Note: Try to catch all the faster than warp speed references. :-))

Have Your Way, Lord Jesus (Any Way You Want It) (song)

In this journey of life there are many paths to choose. Of course, all the various paths ultimately follow along only two roads- either the broad one to destruction or the narrow one to Life. There are so many choices to make and often we want to do things our own way. Of course, that's when things all go wrong. There are many plans in a man's mind but it's the Lord's will that prevails. He knows what's best and will work things out for our good in His time. It's so much better to say now to God, "Thy will be done" and leave things in His hands any way He wants it.


"Have Your Way, Lord Jesus (Any Way You Want It)"
(parody of "Any Way You Want It" by Journey; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 3/14/2017)
(Matthew 26:36-46, Mark 13:32-42, Luke 22:39-46, John 18:11, Job 13:15, Daniel 3:16-18, Philippians 2-3, Romans 8:28, Romans 12:1-2, Psalms 16, Psalms 20 (especially v. 4), Psalms 37, Proverbs 16, Romans 9, James 4:13-17, Psalms 73 (especially verses 23-28), Psalms 84 (especially verses 10-12), John 6:68, Luke 9:23, Proverbs 19:21)

Any way You want it
That's the way I need it
Any way You want it

I love to plan
I love to dream
I try everything
Proverbs behooves
God must approve
Entrust to God your dreams

All right! All right!
Oh, 16 writes
You roll dice- hold tight
(The) Lord places rolls right

It lands
Any way You want it
Have Your way, Lord Jesus
Any way You want it
I say, And the way I want it
Might not be how I need it
Any way You want it, (Lord)

Jesus alone
My mind renews
What would God have me do?
They're all just dung
My longings
If not for God my King

All right! Psalms writes
16:6 writes
(The) Lord holds tight- my life
Oh, the lines fall nice(ly)

Any way You want it
Have Your way, Lord Jesus
Any way You want it (oh)
I say, And the way I want it
Might not be how I need it
Any way You want it (Lord)

I said, "Whoa!" "Whoa!"
I'm done! Cross on! Roll on!
(Oh,) (Luke says)
Anyone who wants to
Travel with Lord Jesus
Deny oneself (and) wants- oh, oh!
And cross weighs- you're on it
Luke 9:23-yeah
Walk the way God's calling (Oh!)

He said- And the way you're walking
That's been laid by Jesus
Godly's ways are guarded
37 Psalms, yeah
That's line 23, yeah
Go the way God wants it

Give your way to God then
Trust Him, wait and be still
And your faith's rewarded
'Cause Yahweh you're wanting
That's verse 4- so delight
Your heart craves for God then (Ohh!)

20:4 in Psalms then
Watch the way you read it
Only if God wants it (Ohh!)
Any way you want it?
That's the way we lost Eden
Monkey's Paw and Faust- no!

Any way You want it
Have Your way, Lord Jesus
Any way You want it, (Lord)
Any way You want it..........
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Read 1st. John (song)

As Christmas approaches this year, the classic Christmas song that I have thought about a lot that I think really sums up the main point of the holiday so well comes to mind- "Love Came Down at Christmas". Indeed, God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (See John 3:16) There is no greater love than the love God has for us all. He proved that by sending Jesus to die for our sins and rise again. (Romans 5:8) And some of the most verses we have about love in The Bible come from the books of 1st. John, 2nd. John and 3rd. John. I have a trilogy of song parodies I've written about each book and I wanted to post that as a Christmas gift here this year. Funnily enough, I wrote them in reverse order- a song about 3rd. John, then one about 2nd. John and then one about 1st. John. They're all from the 1970s and so there's that theme common to them along with the theme of Love Divine. Read 1st. John and listen to this song and may the God Who holds the earth in His hands, moves and works in us like the wind blows where it wants to go and lights a fire in us as the Great Consuming Fire envelop you in His love. Merry Christmas!

Read 1st. John
(parody of "Sing a Song" by Earth, Wind and Fire; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 2/17/2017)
(1 John)

Sin concealed found you out
Read 1st. John 1:9- pray and He forgives- yeah, yeah
If you're in Christ, walk it out
(2:6) 1st. John- liars don't obey
Sometimes it's hard to care
(2:9) 1st. John- brother, hate's not The Way
Desires of world fade here
2 in 1st. John- 17- God's way

3:1 1st. John
See what love!
God gives us!
We're His sons! (and daughters too)

Love's not talk but good deeds then
3 in 1st. John- 18- our lives we lay- yeah, ah
Christ's love showing out's our reassuring
(3:20) 1st. John- condemnations fade
God is love- 4:8 reads
4:1 1st. John- Test spirits- many fakes
Liars hate bros they can see
(4:20) 1st. John- Christians, love all peeps

(5:13) 1st. John
Believe on
Son of God
Know you've got
Eternal long
Life with God
Just like John
Sing and praise God!

You need to read 1st. John today
Jesus Christ is The Way

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Building Down and Up (poem)

(Sometimes) annual reflection. :-)

Building Down and Up
(poem by Nathan Ludwick; copyright 6/1/2015)
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Habakkuk 1:5, Psalms 127, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Colossians 3:1-4, Galatians 2:20, John 12:20-26, Luke 6:46-49, Hebrews 13:12-16, Philippians 3:7-20, Luke 14:25-35, Philippians 1:21, Matthew 6:25-34, Proverbs 24:3-4, Proverbs 1:7, Job 13:15, Isaiah 2:22, Genesis 11, Matthew 7:12-14, Luke 9:23, John 6:68, John 14:6, John 10:10)

Thirty-three on the tree
For a life of debris
What a feat of carpentry!
A way of life made a way of death
But that death made The Way of Life
The straight and narrow Way of Life
That only a few ever find
The crossbeams of its firm foundation laid by Christ
The Lord is the Master Builder and Code Inspector
Without Whom the laborers build in vain
A vain tower of Babel
Built of all that man's capable
A towering monument to ill-placed confidence
And it seems the older you get the less sure of things you get
Every day I grow more sure that I'm not sure of anything but one
I put no trust in man who has but a breath and I put trust in God who gives the breath
The rubble of old towers and old dreams seem to be the same material
The material and substance of things hoped for of impermanence
Down goes what came up and down goes the day- like the old refrain- nothing gold can stay
Midas' touch can't touch this one gold thing that does stay
The Carpenter's luminescent streets- the real life yellow brick road I will one day say hello to in time
The only hope for the future that helps me move past the past and present myself to The Father's present for me
And what a present it is to have reached the same years of struggle our Lord endured
Together with Christ in His glory and Resurrection but first in His suffering
And shall I not accept both good and bad from The Lord's hand?
But let me only fall into the hands of The Lord-
The hands that wound and heal are the only ones I trust
Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him
One day I will also be together with Christ in death
Knowing that because of Him I am always with Him in Life.
Both seeds' and dreams' deaths bring much growth
And the suffering is not worth comparing to the glory to be revealed in the new coming.
The former things have passed- all is made new through the Catalyst of soils' and souls' contents.
The stuff of earth still competes for my allegiance but it joins me thirty-three on the tree
Dying to live and living to die daily- all only for Lord Jesus, my best thought.
Be Thou my vision, mission, blueprints, building and foundation- firm forever holding me together.

The Facts of Life and What to Do with Them (song)

Just a quick one here- I wrote this one pretty quickly for fun one day- and it's based on some of my favorite Bible verses. And yes- these are the facts of life that Christ taught us. :-)

"The Facts of Life and What to Do With Them"
(parody of "The Facts of Life" theme song by Alan Thicke, Gloria Loring and Al Burton; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 11/18/2014)
(1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 and John 14:6)

You take the good, discard the bad- You test 'em both and there you have- 1 Thess. 5: 21 line....
In next line we're taught avoid evil- We're growing-
now we know about the facts of life (from) the Word of Christ.
Well, the world always schemes- so be living up to His creed.
And suddenly, you're finding out the facts of life are all about Truth (all about Truth)- Truth! (All about Truth!)
We've only got One Way, Truth, Life- I've determined He's Jesus Christ! (Learning from 14 John) Learning the Word of Christ (Learning the Word of Christ) and learning the facts of Life!