Standing on the Promises of God

In Matthew 13:24-43, Jesus tells the parable of the weeds, also known as the parable of the wheat and tares. Thankfully, The Lord also offers an explanation of the parable, explaining that the weeds sown among the wheat are sons of the evil one, whom the devil has planted in the church. So this parable indicates that there sadly will be those who may claim to be Christ followers in the church but are really not and who only bring strife and division instead. God's angels will winnow out the weeds into the eternal fires of hell in the end. In light of this passage, there is legitimate reason to be concerned about the possibility of false converts in the church. Of course, this parable also indicates that the church should minister to everyone, preaching the Gospel to all, and let God sort it out in the end. 

     In relation to this, I know there are a number of pastors and evangelists who claim that saying the "sinner's prayer" is unBiblical. Many seem to think that many who said this prayer declaring their faith in Jesus to save them from their sins were not really sincere and thus are merely false converts. They tend to have a strong emphasis on the need for repentance and sometimes makes it seem like they are really preaching a reliance on works along with God's grace. And I also at least sometimes get the feeling like they're speaking with assuredness that they can't possibly be one of those false converts.

      To be fair though, there are other times when these evangelists are speaking where they make it very clear they believe we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And I don't doubt the sincerity of their faith in Christ or their zeal to see others come to salvation. I praise God for that! I am just stating the impression I get at times.

 I think the point is to emphasize that we can't just flippantly say a prayer that we don't really mean, claim our fire insurance policy and just go on living life as we please.

Of course we have to be careful of that- Jesus warned us in Matthew 7 of the many who will call to Him "Lord, Lord" who never really knew Him.

   But if we confess with our mouths, "Jesus is Lord" and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved. (See Romans 10:9) That sounds a lot like the "sinner's prayer" to me.

   If we invite Jesus metaphorically into our hearts to be Lord and Saviour, then we invite Him to metaphorically and literally in some sense as well to rule our lives. We invite Him not only to forgive us of all our sins that left us dead in our trespasses but also to make us into the people He intended us to be all along and do the good He wants us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

   We invite Him into our minds because He gives us the mind of Christ. We don't seem to often think of it in these terms but it's the antithesis of demon possession. Remember that even the demons acknowledge Jesus is Lord but clearly they aren't saved. They lead people to do evil things that hurt themselves and others. Jesus leads us to do good things that help others before ourselves. Ephesians 5:18 commands us not to be drunk with wine for this leads to dissipation but in contrast to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

   If the Holy Spirit is possessing and filling us, then we do as He leads. We become God's extensions on earth to do the righteous deeds He desires that bring Him glory. (To be clear, we don't become a god or God Himself, of course- but we do become His sons and daughters. And children imitate their mother and father, just as we imitate our Father. Thus, His children will look and act and talk more and more like Him every day.)

    Now kids are often given chores to do around the house and maybe they do them to earn an allowance. But they never to do them to earn the love of their parents (or shouldn't anyway) because their parents always love them and they are their children no matter what! Nothing they can do can ever change that! 

  Once God adopts us through our faith in Christ, we are no longer servants but sons! Anyone who sins is a slave to sin. The slave doesn't stay in the house forever but the son stays in the house forever! So if the Son sets us free, we are free indeed! (See John 8:32-36)

   We rest in the Son's completed work at Calvary and the empty tomb! The slaves in the Old Testament in Israel had the 7th. year as the Year of Jubilee when they were set free. Jesus is our Jubilee! (Thanks to Michael Card for that line. :-)) Jesus is our Sabbath rest! (See Hebrews 4)

    And out of gratitude to Him and love for Him, we obey His commands willingly. It makes such a world of difference when we are obeying because we want to out of love and not out of fear.

   As a librarian, I often describe my job as tricking kids into reading books. :-) (Really- I do every contest and promotion I can and so forth to make reading look like a fun game and pastime.) Now, I'm happy to some small degree for kids reading even begrudgingly because their teachers made them. What a HUGE joy it is instead though to see kids who genuinely want to read on their own amd who grow to love reading to the point that they are constantly hounding me about getting their book requests in so they can have more to read! :-)

    This is the same kind of response God wants to see in us with Jesus. We read The Bible because we want to hear from Him not because our pastor made us. We pray because we want to spend time with Him, not because it's like a courtesy call our parents made us make to our grandparents. 

   We go to church, tithe, love our neighbours as ourselves, sacrifice to help the least of these, speak the Truth in Love and share the Gospel with others- not because we have to do all these good deeds to earn our Cub Scout merit badges but because Akela has already made us one of the pack and the call of the Wild in our souls drives us to do these things to show we are His and to please Him. Ultimately, these actions and attitudes are all reflections of the fact that with our transformation by the renewing of our minds, we are conformed to Christ and our calling is confirmed in Christ by these good works, which are done to show that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

   The motivation is always key. We do it because He has saved us- NOT in order to get saved. The latter brings only exhaustion and frustration; the former brings rest, peace and trust.

    I say all this as things I have learned from God's Word and Spirit as one who has struggled numerous times throughout life wrestling back and forth, worrying if I have really been saved. I say it as one who said a sinner's prayer about the age of 5 or 7 and who has sought to follow Jesus ever since. I say it as one who has fended off attacks from the devil to make me doubt at times when I felt I was doing well- and as one who has been hit with accusations when I know I'm in sin. 

    Christians, sadly, often still choose to sin and thus continue to struggle with temptations through the sanctification process. This doesn't mean that we have lost our salvation when this happens. It means we've lost our fellowship with the Father temporarily, just like kids who know they've done wrong shrink in fear from their father who has the belt at the ready for discipline. We fear the rod of correction but we need not ever fear that we have made our Daddy too angry to love us anymore. The same is true with God. We don't need to ever fear that we have pushed His patience too far and that He's lost that loving feeling. We might lose that feeling of being loved but God never loses the feeling of giving love because He is love. It's more than a feeling, whether in Boston or anywhere else in the world. It's the Love of God that unconditionally reaches out to us and holds us forever! 

    This doesn't mean that we sin so grace may abound- by no means! Grace is not a license to sin, like it seems James Bond holds. But we trust that God's Word is His bond and He who does not lie keeps us stirred and not shaken. (Titus 1:2, Haggai 1:14, 2 Thessalonians 2:2, Hebrews 12:26-29) We got salvation for free from Yeshua with love! We can find way more than just a quantum leap of solace in knowing the Superman of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow never dies (again) and because He lives forever, we will live forever with Him! And we continue to use all the Spirit's gifts like Q's Inspector Gadget-gadgets on His Majesty's secret service!

Though of course, while we do keep acts of generosity secret and our Father who knows all secrets and sees what's done in secret rewards us, we should be in the open about letting people know that the reason for the Love, faith and hope they see in us is Jesus! 

    And we have this all because we are resting in His completed work and none of our own! (Matthew 5:17 and 11:25-30) And when Christ becomes our all consuming passion, His commands are not weary or burdensome. We delight in doing them because we want to please our loving, Saviour, Lord and Friend. 

    And that's where I rest. I trust that God is true and that He really does love me. He really loves everyone with an everlasting love! He longs for us all to be reconciled to Him if we'll let Him do it. He has forgiven all my sins because I have asked Him to do so by confessing my faith in Jesus and His death and Resurrection. I have repented of my sins and seek to follow Him but I often mess up and keep repenting of my sins and keep following Him. He picks me back up and keeps me going. As I said before, I have doubted a number of times but I've doubted myself more than I've ever doubted God. I think that was part of the point of praying the sinner's prayer 50 million times over to make sure I was really sincere like Linus' pumpkin patch that time. After spending times literally kneeling naked in the bathroom reading all of 1 John aloud and weeping and praying to God and claiming His promises yet again, I somewhere along the line realized that His promises are true and I really didn't have to try so hard. I believe He heard me the first time as a kid. Those many times of recommitment revealed and reconfirmed to me again how great my sin truly is and how infinitely greater His grace is as well. His grace is far greater than all my sin.

   I ran the 400m and 110m hurdles events on the Track and Field team in high school. Thankfully I didn't knock them down and subsequently fall down myself too often. If it does happen in a race though- it's okay. You can knock every single one down and as long as you get up and keep running and get to the finish line first, you can still win the race. It doesn't count against you in any way. You don't lose your place on the team. When we sin and fall down, Jesus picks up again when we come back to Him in Godly sorrow and repentance and He puts us back on track to run the race with perseverance. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Hebrews 12:1-2) We never lose our place on His team!

    When we are assured of our faith in Him, we can move forward in faith to be all He made us to be. He is still working out His plan for us. Keep trusting Him, keep fighting the good fight in the one day ending war on sin, and enduring and sharing His love with others! As the song says, 'til He returns or calls me Home, here in the power of Christ I'll stand. I love Him because He first loved me. May all I say, think or do bring Him glory. :-)

   

  

  

   

   

Sharing Lord Christ 'Til Heaven (song)

 It's been said that everyone wants to go to Heaven but no one wants to die. Of course, death is the door to eternity. Sadly though, many will enter that door to eternal condemnation and suffering separated from God in Hell. Sadder still, there are many who think they will enter into eternal peace and rest in Heaven but they will find they are mistaken and are still on the hook because they put faith in someone other than Jesus. It is only through faith in Jesus' death and Resurrection that pays for all sins that we can escape the Hell we deserve and instead enter the Heaven we don't deserve. 

     The only Doctor who can give us the right medicine for salvation is Jesus Christ. There is no other way. We need to share this Healing Balm with everyone we can. One thing we can't do in eternity is share The Gospel with lost people. We must witness and share The Gospel with all people- that's our Great Commission from The Lord Jesus. So let's make the most of every moment because the days are evil and start sharing Lord Christ 'til Heaven.

"Sharing Lord Christ 'Til Heaven" 

(parody of "Sharing The Night Together" by Ava Aldridge and Eddie Struzick as recorded by Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 7/25/2020)

(Romans 10:9-13, Revelation 20:15, 2 Kings 7:9, Acts 1:6-8, Matthew 7:12-23, Matthew 10:26-33, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 9:42-50, Luke 16, John 15:8)

You're looking at an unholy world

With your Bible unused as you walk through (Yet you claim Christ)

2 Kings 7:9- those dudes

Get a gold mine! Cannot sit on it- they've found food (Must share- Mark 9)

If Christ seems to come on too strong

Christ spoke The Truth- please understand

The lake burning- folks are dying and going

'Cause they don't know Jesus- but they can

That's if we try

Sharing The Light together- Oh yeah!

Sharing The Way to Heaven- Oh yeah!

Sharing Lord Christ

You should read all Christ's warnings, girl

In Luke 16- go Matt. 10

And on the broad road find many hell-bound

That there should change our bent

Matthew line

7:13- destruction! Oh yeah (Background vocals: Share about Christ)

7:14- To Heaven! Oh yeah (BGV: Share about Christ)

Heaven's through Christ

Well, Lord Christ commanded us, see, to go please

All nations- That's The Great Commission, dude

Matthew's last lines- 28:18-20, dude

Disciple and baptize

(In) Father, Son, Spirit Who are Three in One

Teaching them to obey Saviour

He's there with us always- behold!

So we won't be alone- no, never!

Eternal life's at stake so start sharing Lord Christ- (BGV: Share about Christ)(Repeat until end)- for Heaven's sake, yeah

Share that He died for sinners- Rose again

Trust in Lord Christ for Heaven

Romans 10:9 to get there

Sharing's too late in Heaven

(Keep) Sharing about Christ 'til Heaven 

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. :-)

Till We Have Facebooks of Love

 I think it's important sometimes to remind ourselves that social media is not real life. It's more like those Christmas cards you send out with little updates on your family where everything is picture perfect and rosy. We don't usually like to air all the dirty laundry and put the nitty gritty out there. But the funny thing is that this isn't always true. That's one extreme people can go to with maintaining a veneer of peaceful bliss, while hiding away the chaos- and thus not really being honest. (Reference Eleventyseven's song "MySpace" for more on that idea. Yes, the platform is different but the attitudes are the same. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SX2fv2KhMqs)

This harkens back to the social rule of not discussing religion or politics in mixed company. It's meant to avoid arguments but I've never liked that rule. Why can't we challenge ourselves to speak on those topics in mixed groups without losing tempers or friendships? I have seen far too much of both those two possibilities happen in online discussions. I just saw it again today, which prompted me to post this. And it's funny to see how the Pendulum has swung to the other extreme, where people unload everything on you without holding back and feel some sort of security in anonymity on the Internet or just the safety of distance where you don't have to worry about having the guts to something to someone's face and you don't have to worry about getting a black eye. (Not that you should have to worry about that even when in person.)

    It's good to have people with different views in your life just to help you keep open to different points of view and not get locked into your own echo chamber. And that even includes people with ideas you might consider immoral and/or repulsive.

    I'm sorry that to see people terminate their friendship- especially when it seems to be a reaction to finding that they have diametrically opposing views with someone else. And while I can understand trying to avoid negative influences, I don't think the mere fact of having a different opinion should be a reason to cut off a friendship.

    We need to be understanding and loving towards those with whom we disagree. Look for the places where you can agree and affirm their statements and them- and then talk calmly about places where you will have to agree to disagree.

   Loving people in the Name of Jesus and keeping the door open to share The Gospel- and actually sharing the Good News of God's love for all us hellbound sinners proved by Christ's death and Resurrection which provides salvation and entry to Heaven for all who put faith in Him and follow Him- are infinitely more important than winning arguments with them. I firmly believe no one has ever been argued or bullied or belittled into believing in Christ- or into even accepting a different point of view, for that matter. And they're definitely not won over by our stupid, insulting name-calling and memes. Why would God bless sinful methods? It's God's KINDNESS that leads us to repentance! (Yes, I am overemphasizing that here because I think it's a reminder we all need to hear.) It doesn't matter what rude or mean thing someone has said to us- our response is always to love and be kind and pray for them! We need to always be gracious- because God is infinitely gracious to us undeserving, ungrateful people. (Cue one of my favourite newer Apologetix songs- "A Loan For You".

https://youtu.be/7H1J6WbzYXk)

Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good. (Just read all of Romans 12, really.) And speak The Truth in Love. (Ephesians 4:15)

Father & Son & Spirit (song)

 One of the most basic tenets of the Christian faith is also one of the most incomprehensible to the human mind. "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, The Lord is one." (Deuteronomy 6:4) So states the Shema and it's certainly true. Yet The Lord reveals Himself in three Persons- God The Father, God The Son Jesus Christ and God The Holy Spirit (some translations would refer to the Third Person of The Holy Trinity as God The Holy Ghost.) The basis for belief in God as a Trinity is best evident from Jesus Himself, in the relationship He describes within the Triune Godhead in the Gospel of John, chapters 13-18. His Great Commission to us His followers in Matthew 28:18-20 also instructs us to baptize believers in the Name of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. 

    While each member of the Godhead has different roles, all three are equally God, so everything is always even stevens. A leopard can't change its spots; it's always a spotted member of the cat family. You can try to change its name but it's still a leopard. Whether you call to The Father, Son or Spirit, you're always calling to God. And God is always one- and His plan of redemption has already won through Christ's death and Resurrection. As the Sandi Patti Christmas classic song "The Gift Goes On" says, "The Father gave The Son. The Son gave The Spirit. The Spirit gives us life so we can give the gift of Love. And the gift goes on!"

"Father & Son & Spirit" (parody of "Father & Son" by Cat Stevens, now known as Yusuf Islam; parody lyrics copyright by Nathan Ludwick 12/10/2019)

(Deuteronomy 6:4, Acts 1-2, Philippians 2, Luke 12:40, Romans 11:29, John 8:12, Matthew 5:14, John 3:16-17, Galatians 4:4-7, John chapters 13-18, Romans 8, Matthew 28:18-20)

In God's time, the Saviour came 

That's a fact- Galatians 4 read

He had to come- that's our fault

Check Jesus' most famous quote

God loved world- Son came down

Whoso trusts will not perish

3:16 John- it goes- live eternally!

God's own Son's likeness of man's found

-and He lowered from God's throne seat

To become Son of Man- Son's still fully God

To take our crimes to the cross

Dying for everything we've done

And He's real deal Man of Tomorrow 'cause Lord Jesus rose up!

How come Lord Christ's going away? When He just did a "There and Back Again"?

It's to our benefit that He is going

So The Holy Ghost could bring the whole world conviction

Counselor Troi cannot hold candle (to) Holy Ghost- no way!

Christ goes- sends Holy Ghost

In God's time, The Spirit came

14 down to 18- go read!

Gospel of John- (The) Master taught

We're not just orphans of God though

Tell the world Gospel now

In time you've got while Lord tarries

Luke 12:40- Christ foretold- that He's returning

Of the times, (in) Acts 1- Christ's teaching

Those aren't things for you to know

His charge: Witness! Start here- to all world then

Our Aid resides in you and me-

His gifts then- revoked? Can't be

So share our faith and we'll glow like 5 Matthew 14 says

Little Christs- that's the goal 

The Simple Gospel

 Every human being has this fact in common- we will all die one day. And when that happens, we will all stand before God and be judged by Him. And we will then spend eternity either in Heaven or Hell. God has a standard for entry into Heaven- absolute perfection. (Leviticus 11:45, Matthew 5:48) None of us meet that standard. We have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory. (Romans 3:23, Psalms 14:3, Psalms 53:3)

    That's why God met the standard for us by sending His Son Jesus to live the perfect life we could never live and die the death we should have died for our sins. And then He rose again to prove He's God and give us a living Hope. We can all avoid the Hell we are bound to by default because of our sins against God and instead be welcomed into Heaven through putting our faith in Jesus to forgive us of our sins and following Him. He offers that for free to whosoever will call upon His Name! (Romans 10:9-13)

    With the eternal weight of the choice given to all humans about what to do with the salvation Christ offers, it is imperative that the Good News of Jesus is shared with everyone! I mean- if you had the cure for Covid-19 or AIDS or cancer, would you keep it to yourself? Those diseases can only kill the body, but the soul lives on for eternity. Jesus is the cure for the disease of sin and He saves our souls for eternity- if we'll let Him.

    And that's what it comes down to- if we're willing to listen to The Father drawing and The Spirit convicting and trust Him. 

   Sadly, too many will let pride and a love for self and evil keep them from coming to God. And God won't force anyone to come to Him. In the end, we either say "Thy will be done" to God and choose to follow Him or He says "thy will be done" to us and lets us choose to reject Him and go our own way instead. There is indeed a way that seems right to a man, but its end is destruction. 

   Logically, we can either be with God or away from God in eternity. To be with Him is Heaven and to be away from Him is Hell. 

    It's appointed unto man once to die- and then comes the judgment.

    We will all die one day. And it won't really matter then what objections people make now or what ridicule is raised in regards to God and The Bible. None of it changes God or the facts about eternity.

    Of course, people will scoff and laugh regardless and raise any number of objections but even so- the facts remain. And the eternal state of every human soul is worth telling everyone about Jesus. Everyone is free to do what they want with this and with Him. That is the choice given to everyone. But everyone will die one day and everyone needs to consider what will happen then and decide what they will do with Jesus and His free offer of grace and love. Jesus loves you- no matter what you've done and no matter what you do in reaction to this information- He loves you more than anything. And I love you through Him because He loved me first. 

  Everyone has to make their own choice on eternity and I respect their right to do so but everyone needs to remember that every choice has consequences. This one has eternal consequences. May God bless and guide you as you make your decision.

Setting the Record Straight

            I’m like one of those people with initials in their names.  Not “M.E.” like Quincy or “M.D.” like Doogie Howser, but PK and MK.  And I don’t know what you’ve heard about us, but pastor’s kids and missionary’s kids are not always the miscreants they’re made out to be.  But hey, I’m certainly not perfect because I’ve done and do plenty of stupid things in my life.  And having your dad as your pastor out on the mission field gives you plenty of stories to tell.

            I suppose at this point I should give you a little bit of background so you know where I’m coming from because after all, knowing is half the battle.  (I suppose actually fighting with all those fancy blue lasers and machine guns would be the other half.)  But I really hate doing this part.  Whenever people ask me that usually-simple-to-answer question for most people, I have no easy answer.  “Where are you from?”  Aaargh! There it is!  I don’t know.  I was born in Spain, grew up in Trinidad and now live in the United States. Take your pick.  This is both the frustration and joy that comes with being a global nomad of sorts. 

            I only spent about a year in Spain so I don’t remember anything of that.  I do remember growing up in the 1980s in the Caribbean twin island nation of Trinidad & Tobago.  (I was on the larger island, Trinidad.)  My parents were Christian missionaries and my father worked as the pastor of the church we were serving with in Trinidad.  I remember hearing about Jesus most all of my life!  I first came to know Him as Lord and Savior when I invited Him to live in my heart and take me as His own as a young child.  I had this great book that taught you the alphabet by giving you a verse for each letter.  I remember the first one was Isaiah 53:6.  “All we like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”  The text of that great hymn, “At the Cross”, was printed next to the verse with a picture of a little boy laying down this big burden from his back next to the cross at Calvary.  And one night during our family devotions I heard a story about a guy who took his pet pig with him on a cruise.  Apparently the pig fell overboard and the man dived into the ocean to rescue his pig from drowning.  This wasn’t a perfect picture by any means, but it drove home to me as a child just how much God loves us so much more than pigs because He sent Jesus to die for all the wrong and stupid things we’ve done and by rising again from the dead, He proved that He is God.  After seeing the good example of my older siblings, I made the decision myself to follow Jesus at the ripe age of about seven.  And that’s something I’ve been more and more thankful for every day since!

            There’re a couple of funny stories I remember from growing up in Trinidad.  There were all the different slang words that I had to get used to hearing.  When someone asks how you’re going, they just mean to see how you’re doing.  My parents, upon first hearing that phrase, once told a bank clerk that they had come by car and were going by car!  And then there’re those trips you take when you’re “going down the road to come back.”  Sounds like a likely plan.  It just means you’re taking a quick trip somewhere. 

And I sure remember some of the sermons.  As pastor’s kids, my siblings and I got to hear some of the messages over again and when we started hearing Dad preach from John 15 about staying in the Vine again, I remember leaning over to my brother and whispering, “Rerun!”  Or there was the oft-lampooned by our family infamous “hermeneutics” sermon series.  It was also known as “How to drive your church down to nothing” series by my family.  My father preached on Sunday nights about how to read and understand your Bible, which is definitely a good thing to learn.  Unfortunately, my father had a tendency to do a “quick review” of last week’s sermon throughout this series.  By the time the review was over and we had actually gotten into the current message, the service was definitely dragging on.  Sunday nights never tend to be a big attendance for many churches, but this series really drove away people.  What got me was when even one of our deacons, who had been coming each night and taking notes, stopped coming- then we knew we had hit the last straw.  There were some services where my whole family was the service!  My dad did the preaching, my mom played the piano, my sister led the worship songs, and my brothers and I prayed and took up the offering!  At the end of each of these messages, my dad would ask if anyone had questions.  My little brother would always crack us up by raising his hand to ask, “Are we finished yet?”  Though much as we joke about it now, I can still tell you to pray and ask God to give you understanding, keep the passage in context by reading what’s before and after it, and analyze the passage by finding the “Who”, “What”, “Where”, “When”, “Why” and “How” of it, when studying the Bible.  But I have to tell you the joke my father would always use.  Here’s how to make a case for suicide in The Bible. The Bible tells us, “Judas went out and hung himself.  Go and do likewise.  What you do, do quickly.”  The message here is to not take verses out of context!  (And I laughed every time at the absurdity of those verses out of context when he would tell this!)

            And let me just clear up this misconception that seems to float around about us PKs and MKs.  We’re not the finest Christians around, and we’re not necessarily the worst of the bunch either.  I am not perfect nor am I even good.  I do stupid and bad stuff all the time and there’s more instances than I care to recall.  The times I’ve lied, cheated, stolen, entertained sinful thoughts, lashed out in anger, fallen flat on my face in pride or said something really, really dumb all slip back into my consciousness from time to time.  And there’s still junk I did as a kid that I can remember that I’m still ashamed of.  On the other hand, I’ve never shoplifted, vandalized, done drugs, drunken alcohol, smoked a cigarette or cigar, and I’ve rarely used foul language.  (There was this one time as a young kid when I repeated a word I heard on television that I quickly found out was not cool like I thought it was!  I don’t believe I’ve ever said it or most any other swear word since.)  Oh yeah, and I’m proud to say that unlike Madonna’s song, I’m not like a virgin, but I am in fact a virgin and will remain so until I marry a Christian woman.  And I will be faithful to her and God alone.  All this I can do through Christ alone who strengthens me because apart from Him I’m nothing.

            So I guess you can say that life has been a bit different for me than many Americans.  I am an official American, but I’ll always be a Trinidadian in my heart.  I have fond memories of that country.  Growing up in a British school system with uniforms and playing cricket and football (soccer) during recess and lunch was great.  It’s also cool to be able to say I went swimming on Christmas Day!  I enjoyed weather from 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (or more) most every day!  I could go on about the many cultural differences from America, but I think one key thing I learned from living there is to respect and love everyone.  Everyone has an intrinsic value because “God don’t make no junk”, as the saying goes.  It makes no difference what color or gender you are because everyone is really the same.  And The Bible says that once you’ve committed one sin, it’s the same as doing all of them.  So I’m just as guilty as anyone else and can’t stand in judgment of them.  But Jesus calls us to love one another and be His witnesses and I try to do that as much as possible.  I think these are things I learned from The Bible that living in another country helped reinforce at an early age.  If only we could all learn to forget ourselves and think of others as better than ourselves, we would see that we’re all the same on the inside and God loves us all.  It hasn’t always been a normal and peaceful life, but I can’t think of a better one to have. Wherever He leads, I’ll go.

             

Copyright by Nathan Ludwick March 6, 2007

Stayin' Outta the Fire (Plan in Motion) (song)

 (Note: I'm pulling a few more classics out of the archive. My last post referenced the lines I used in this parody so it only seemed fitting to post this next. I've included my original introduction from 2009 below. Since I had two others that seemed in a similar category of lyric-tweaking that already seemed to be such a good fit to talk about The Lord, I have posted those other two in this post and the previous one.)

    And I've got one more '80s classic for you. And this one I've definitely been thinking of after hearing the pastor's sermon today in church. Some of the passion for this one was definitely burning hot like a certain fire that the Laodicean church was called to get going- or remain cold. But lukewarm gets you spat out of God's mouth! This one was another one that was just begging for some God-centered lyrics that would really help put His plan in motion when we follow His plan in The Bible. :-)

"Stayin' Outta the Fire (Plan in Motion)" (parody of "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" by John Parr)
(parody copyright by Nathan Ludwick 10/01/09)
(Romans 10:9, 15:20, Psalms 95, Hebrews 12:29, 1 Thessalonians 5:19, 1 Corinthians 3:12-14, Jude 1:22-25, Jeremiah 20:9, Ezekiel 1-2, Acts 2:1-4, Exodus 40:34-38, Revelation 20:14-15, Matthew 3:11-12, Luke 12:49, Matthew 17:20, Philippians 4:13, John 15:5-7, Revelation 3:15-16, Hebrews 9:27, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 6:2, Isaiah 40:28-31, Hebrews 10:19-25, Luke 15, John 3:3 and 3:16, John 14:6, Daniel 5, Philippians 1:6)

Going's tough- You don't see the writing on the wall
Passing by- Knew He'd save you then- you blew it off
But baby, sometime if you call His name
You'll find you're not alone- everything has changed
Stay the same- you know He won't quit on His lost son
Soldier on- only you can do what must be done
You know in some way you're like Six to me
You're just a Prisoner and you're trying to break free

I can see a new hope rising- all I need is faith in Christ
I'll be where the eagle's flying higher and higher
Gonna heed Your plan in Romans- as I read, I repent and kneel
10:9's where my Savior's Christ- I'm staying outta the fire!

Turning out, don't know just now where that I should go (just now where to go)
Truth be told, go look just a few miles down the road
I will make it- through God I can
He broke the old in me- so He could make (a) new man

I can see a new hope rising all replete by faith in Christ
I'll be where the eagle's flying higher and higher
Gonna heed Your plan in Romans- in 15:20 there reveals
Take me where witness is lacking- send down Your fire!

I can move the highest mountain- faith of a mustard seed
I can feel the Spirit's fire burning in me, burning in me

Just once in this life a man has to die
When my time comes 'round, I'm covered by Christ!

I can hear the music playing as I read Psalms 95
Kneel before God the King- extol Him on high
Gonna be Your man in motion- as I read Jeremiah's zeal
20:9- my heart's on fire by Consuming Fire!

I can see a new hope rising- all complete by faith in Christ
I'll be where the eagle's flying higher and higher
Gonna be Your man in motion- like Ezekiel's pairs of wheels
Take me there in 2 verse 5 and send down Your fire!

I can move the highest mountain- faith of a mustard seed
I can feel The Spirit's fire burning in me!
Burning, burning in me, I can feel it burning
Ooh- burning inside of me...

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

Life Goals

(Note: With my birthday coming up in about three weeks, this seems fitting for my sometimes annual reflection.)


   One thing that I think is important spiritually is stopping everything once in a while and taking stock of life. The prudent gives thought to his steps. (See Proverbs 14:8 and 14:15) While running/walking this evening, the thought came to mind for me in thinking about the ongoing struggle with sin and striving to live for Christ, as well as making choices for life's trajectory that are pleasing to Him-
Is my life about me or is it about Jesus? That was a sobering thought to ponder. How many times do I ask that in making a decision? How many times do I center my life around making decisions to do things that bring me pleasure rather than seeking to bring God pleasure and glory?
   If I am crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20) and I have died and my life is now hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:1-4), and God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever and I desire nothing on earth besides Him (Psalms 73:25-26) and The Lord is my shepherd and I shall not want (Psalms 23) and a day in His courts is better than thousands elsewhere (Psalms 84:10)- then why do I not always live like it?
    Far too often I identify with Ecclesiastes 2:11 "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." In the same book, it says in chapter 3 (verses 1-8) that there's a time and season for everything. The book concludes in 12:13-14 by saying that the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments. That's also the only place we really derive any meaning in life. As Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 says, apart from God, who can eat or have enjoyment?
    I have often found this with temporary goals on earth. There are things and pursuits that give me much pleasure and I enjoy them. There's nothing wrong with that, provided they are pleasing to The Lord. As Shakespeare said though, all good things must come to an end. I love reading and I can amuse myself with books, but eventually I finish a book series and that pleasure is gone. The same goes for watching every episode of a beloved television show or watching a favourite movie. The same goes for any life pursuit, whether it's marriage and raising children, career building, property acquisition or publishing of some sort. Even altruistic measures can fall into this pattern if the motivation is to make myself feel better and look good. What's the point of me saying something and bragging about something in the hopes that people will remember it and share it in the eulogy at my funeral? I won't even be there to enjoy that! (Which is all the more reason we should say all those nice things to people now rather than save them all up for the wake.)
    As one of my favourite poets, Robert Frost, has said, "Nothing gold can stay." I agree with him to a point. There is one gold thing that can and does stay- the streets of gold. Those are forever. And Heaven is where I want to always have my mindset. As C.S. Lewis has said, it is often those who thought the most of the next life that have done the greatest good in this life. Having a Heavenly mindset should cause me to do more good in this life for the sake of Jesus and others. That's where I find my joy- in The Lord and not in things. I can find fleeting happiness in some things but true joy only in The Lord. This is one reason I periodically do a purge of my belongings, as it helps remove idols from my life and makes sure I am focused on Jesus first.
    There's a certain panic and terror that comes at times when I have a quiet moment by myself to analyze my life. It especially weighs heavily as the clock keeps ticking onward and reminders of its passage come up, particularly birthdays. It feels more so that way to me as a single person. Perhaps this is due to having had an American ideal instilled through movies and TV shows of the American dream that everyone is supposed to have. After you get through school, you're supposed to go to college and get a degree and get a good job that pays a lot and get a house and get married and have children and eventually retire and enjoy your golden years together. I made it through school and got both a bachelor's and master's degree in college and I got a job I enjoy and I have a place of my own to live. But I am nearing the end of my 30s and I still have not gotten married and thus have not had any children.
     It feels bad to say but sometimes it is hard to be happy for the friends and family I have watched get married and have families of their own. I have gone to so many weddings and while I do celebrate with those who are rejoicing, there are twinges of jealousy and regret. I look back at times and think of opportunities for friendships that I pushed away at the time. I think of romantic possibilities not realized that I wish I had pursued more. I was never super interested in dating until my late '20s or so and I wonder if that wasn't partly because of subtle peer pressure when I saw what seemed like everyone around me getting married all of a sudden and it seemed like the thing to do. That's not to say I didn't have romantic thoughts about girls when I was younger and hitting puberty though. There have been a lot of women I have liked but few I have really dated and only one that I feel like I've truly fallen in love with though. And rejection can make you so introspective, desperately reliving every moment and analyzing them to see where a different choice could have been made so that things could have turned out differently and you could still be walking through the city hand in hand with her, feeling an excitement of euphoric exhilaration race through your body!
      Alas, when the relationship doesn't work out as you would like, it's hard to trust that God still has a good plan and knows best. It's hard to let go of that time when everything was right and you both felt like you and she loved each other more than anyone else on earth and that feeling of ecstasy felt so good.
There are moments in time I can flash back to and I just want to stay there for a while. But eventually I get awakened from my reverie by reality and I have to move on. And I wonder if I'll ever love another woman like that again and if I'll ever get married and have children. I do want to have all that for that experience and for the joy of loving someone like that and being loved by her like that and raising my own children. And to be really honest, I want to have sex and experience that beautiful union between husband and wife that is an intimate expression of their love for each other. I want to have that kind of intimacy that is honoured and guarded to the highest degree as my one and only who is my beloved and betrothed to me- and I am fully hers in body and mind and heart.
    It seems cruel at times in having those desires but not being at that place yet and knowing there is no morally correct way of having a release for that sex drive until that time of marriage comes. That's where temptation can hit so hard to give in to sexual fetishes and fantasies and enjoy the erotic pleasures of an erection, which themselves are also fleeting and short-lived, and lead to only shame and guilt afterwards. When I think of those I know who are Christ followers who struggle with homosexual tendencies, I can't imagine what an awful struggle that must be in that same scenario and knowing there is no release on this earth. And if I remain unmarried, then I am in the same place as them in that regard of dealing with the desires of a sex drive that can't be fulfilled. Passages like 1 Corinthians 6 and 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 make this very clear.
    All of this gets back to my original point and question though. Is my life about me or is it about Jesus? If I am to follow Jesus as I say I want to do, then I must lose my life to find it. Jesus says I must take up my cross, deny myself daily and follow Him. (Luke 9:23) I must believe that His lovingkindness is better than life. I must store up my treasures in Heaven because Jesus is my real treasure. Even if I do get married and have children, my real joy can never be found in my wife or kids. Jesus is better than my potential wife and kids. Jesus is better than sex. Jesus is better than possessions. Jesus is better than sin. Jesus is better than anything this world affords today. Would I really rather have Jesus than anything my heart desires? Is Jesus really my number one passion and desire? Is He the ultimate lover of my soul Whom I am so in love with above all others?
I know don't desire God as much as I should but I want to desire Him more. I want to want Jesus and want nothing else. As Rich Mullins wrote, "The stuff of earth competes for the allegiance I owe only to the Giver of all good things." "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ...." (Philippians 3:7-8)
     Matthew 6:33 tells me to seek first God's kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto me. What things? The things I need- not necessarily all the things I want. As I seek God more, I believe The Spirit will make the things of this earth to grow strangely dim (as the hymn "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" says) in the light of His glory and grace. Psalms 90:12 beseeches The Lord to teach us to number the days aright that we may gain a heart of wisdom. To be sure, this of course applies for every follower of Christ. Married couples have to decide how best their union can glorify The Lord. How do the husband and wife help each other grow closer to The Lord and be used more by Him for His glory? There are some advantages for the single person as there is no entanglement with trying to take care of a spouse and children. The time and energy that would be spent in that can be spent in other things. Am I using time just to indulge myself though or am I using it to serve God and others? (See 1 Corinthians 7 for a lot more on this.)
     Jesus gives us the ultimate example. Philippians 2 is such a beautiful picture of how He humbled Himself and put our needs before His own. He gave up His rights and didn't count equality with God something to be grasped but instead took the form of a bondservant in the likeness of men- and humbled Himself to the point of death on the cross! For this reason God raised Him up and gave Him the Name above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. We are commanded to have that same mindset. (1 Corinthians 2:16 indeed says that we have the mind of Christ.) We are to do nothing out of selfish ambition and conceit but in humility count others as better than ourselves! As Philippians 2:21 says, too many folks- and too many times we ourselves are in this number- seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. My interests are to be those of Jesus Christ. I am to look to others' interests before my own.
   Just as Jesus said in regards to the most important commandments, I am to love The Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and love my neighbour as myself. (Matthew 22:34-40) I try to keep those two directives constantly in mind, along with Ephesians 4:15's admonition to be "speaking the Truth in Love." Part of loving God and my neighbour is sharing The Gospel with others as Jesus commanded in Matthew 28:18-20. I tell others about God's love that pays for all sins through our faith in Jesus' death and Resurrection and I show others God's love through helping with their physical needs as well. (James 2:15-17, 1 John 3:18)
    What can be said in conclusion then? How is my life demonstrating God's love and grace to others as well as warning about His judgement? How is my life pursuing and displaying the needs and desires of others and ultimately Jesus first? "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of The Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with The Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to The Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God The Father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ." (Ephesians 5:15-21)
    I must give thanks to God in all things and for everything because it's all His blessings! He has me in exactly the time and place He wants me. (Acts 17:26) His plan for me will come through. (Psalms 138:8)
Thus, I must do all things without grumbling or disputing that I might be a blameless and innocent child of God without blemish, as Philippians 2:14-15 says. As it goes on to say, then I can be shining as a light in the world in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation. That is what I want my life to be doing and Jesus is who I want my life to be about always. I quote this next verse often as my writing goal but it's true of life in general: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." (Psalms 19:14) Lord Jesus, may that always be true of me in all I say or do. May I always find my contentment in You because I know godliness with contentment is great gain. (1 Timothy 6:6)
"For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21) 
 

 

Candle On A Stand (song)

Note: With tomorrow being the 21st. anniversary of the school shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO that took the lives of 15 people, I thought I would pull out of the archives this tribute I wrote some years ago for one of the victims. My original introduction and thoughts are below.
...................................


One other comment I wanted to make on spiritual matters here. This thought kinda came to me a while back and it just reminded me of 1 Corinthians 1:25. I LOVE this verse! I love how God’s kingdom is so backwards to this messed-up world. And I got to thinking- If beauty is all in the eye of the beholder, then so is ugliness. What God calls ugly, the world calls beautiful. What the world calls ugly, God calls beautiful.
I think one person who really exemplified this concept to me was someone who has recently been added to my pantheon of Christian heroes and heroines.
The first victim of the Columbine High School shootings on April 20, 1999- Rachel Joy Scott.  I read a book recently called “Rachel’s Tears” that her parents wrote about her life and spiritual lessons we can take from her life and the Columbine tragedy. I love that not only was Rachel committed to Christ to the very end, she was just such a great example of His love to so many people throughout her high school years especially. She just had such a great perspective- that it’s not about us at all but it’s about Christ. This is why she consistently put others’ needs ahead of her own and talked about losing self-esteem to find Christ-esteem instead. I love some of her quotes- “I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, it will start a chain reaction.” And another great one- “I will not defend my faith to them. I will not apologize for speaking the name of Jesus and I will not hide the light God has put in me. If I have to sacrifice everything, I will.” Wow- may we all be willing to say that.  Along with others like the people in The Bible of course and Jesus Himself- she’s among a group of people (Rich Mullins, Larry Norman, Keith Green, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Eric Liddle, Hudson Taylor, Lottie Moon, Dietrich Boenhoffer, Jim Elliot, Mister Rogers and others) I definitely can’t wait to meet in Heaven one day.
 So this is my little tribute to Rachel and the Lord Jesus that she so well exemplified.


“Candle on a Stand” (parody of “Candle in the Wind” by Elton John and Bernie Taupin; copyright Nathan Ludwick 7/26/2009)
(John 11:25, John 16:22, Matthew 5:1-16, John 12:24, Hebrews 11:1 and 32-40, Revelation 6:9-11)

Goodbye Rachel Joy
Though I never knew you at all
You had the faith to hold your stead
While knowing you’d be mauled
You called out to do God’s work
And you filtered into their pain
They said you were an angel
And your faith lived out your name

(Chorus 1)
(And) it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle on a stand
Ever glowing- 5 in Matthew
Then 15 says it
(And) I would have liked to have known you-
But I was just distant
Your candle burned out only for
Millions to begin

Loneliness was tough
The toughest role you ever played
Columbine greeted with a “New here?” smile
The pained saw The Christ you claimed
Even when you shined
Oh, your friends still turned on you
Oh, your faith just would not sway
‘Cause your Best Friend you’d found to be true

(Repeat Chorus 1)

Goodbye Rachel Joy
Though I never knew you at all
You had the faith to hold your stead
While knowing you’d be mauled
Goodbye Rachel Joy
Your compassion made a chain reaction and
Whose seeds you have sown like John 12:24 (two four)
Well done, good and faithful lamb

(Repeat Chorus 1)

(And) I would have liked to have known you-
But we’ll meet in Heaven
Your candle burned out only for
Millions to begin
……………………………………………………………..

How I Met My Saviour

    According to John 6:44, God The Father was drawing me to Himself long before I ever sought Him. He did the saving work about 2000 years ago when Jesus died and rose to pay for all sins for all time. The Holy Spirit did His work in my life millennia after to convict me of sin and show me my need for a Saviour.
    So even as I relay my personal circumstances, it's important to remember that God alone does the saving work. I relay this first because it's part of my story.
    Growing up as both a MK and PK, I got to hear The Gospel constantly in family devotions, Sunday School and church. I got to see the Gospel lived out in my parents and siblings.
   And when I was about 5 or 7 or so, I made a decision to ask Jesus into my heart as Lord and Saviour. There were a few other factors God used. One was an alphabet book that had a Bible verse for every letter. The first one was Isaiah 53:6- "All we like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way, and The Lord has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all." Next to the verse was an illustration of a boy putting a heavy burden down off his back at the foot of the cross, much like Christian in "The Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan. The text of "At the Cross" was also printed there- "At the cross, at the cross where I first saw The Light and the burden of my heart rolled away. It was there by faith I received my sight and now I am happy all the day."
    In a testament to the power of stories, the other factor that hit me was probably one of the goofiest stories ever written in a family Bible devotions book. (Which seems rather fitting for my generally goofy personality. :-)) It was a story about a man who loved his pet pig and apparently managed to take him on a cruise ship. The pig fell overboard and the man loved that pig so much that he risked his life by diving overboard to save him.
   Even in this simple form, it still got the heart of The Gospel across to me as a young kid. God went way overboard with us when He actually lowered Himself to become human, live among us and bear the same trials and struggles we bear for 33 years, knowing He could call legions of angels at His command and stop this whole shebang any time He wanted- but choosing to give up His superpowers (much like Superman did in "Superman II") just to be near us- and then to die for the sins of the world. That's crazy, dude! Especially growing up in a country surrounded by people with very different conceptions of God that said that man is supposed to work like crazy to appease an angry god and maybe if we're good enough we can hack it into Heaven. Nowhere in the script did it call for the Playwright to enter His own story and and save the whole universe by His own sacrifice! WOW!
    So I decided that night after hearing that story in family devotions to pray and receive Jesus so that He could save me from the Hell I deserve and instead take me to the Heaven I don't deserve.
   All that said, after about 3 decades out from that time, I have struggled a number of times throughout with worries and doubts about my salvation- about whether my pumpkin patch was as sincere as Linus' and if I did something wrong and so forth. As I've said before though, I've doubted myself more than I've ever doubted God. So yeah, there have been times of reaffirmation and renewing my vows and such. (As 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, such heart checks are good to do every so often.) I finally came to a place where I realized salvation is totally dependent upon God and not on me. I put faith in His saving work and just take Him at His Word.
   Though I am very thankful for the Christian family I have and being surrounded with The Gospel, I have also sometimes felt like it can be easy to fall into a cultural faith that becomes built on Pharisaical religiosity. I've felt like maybe at times I was hard-nosed on some things in Pharisee fashion, whether I meant to be or not. I found it extremely helpful reading theology books like C.S. Lewis ("Mere Christianity", "The Screwtape Letters" and "The Weight of Glory" are particular favourites) and Tim Keller ("The Prodigal God" particularly- a book that helped me learn to repent of any righteousness I thought I ever had on my own) and Philip Yancey ("What's So Amazing About Grace?" and "Disappointment with God" are both awesome!)- and definitely Brennan Manning's "The Ragamuffin Gospel". (A book I have read and reread and cried over many times! God loves us just as we are not as we should be- 'cause none of us are as we should be.)
I recognize that there is no good in me- Jesus is my only good.
    And that's where I am now. God is always faithful even when I'm not. When I fall back into sin, I go back to 1 John 1:9. He forgives and restores.
   I also believe, if people are honest, we've all struggled with doubts at some point. I think God uses them to help us have an even stronger faith in the end. 1 John 3 is an extremely helpful passage for that! Even when my heart condemns, God is greater than my heart and He knows everything. He tells me The Truth. He who The Son sets free is free indeed. And when we're adopted as sons and daughters of The King, we're His forever! (John 1:12 and Romans 8:12-17 and 11:29)
    I mentioned the power of stories earlier and I would definitely add reading "The Chronicles of Narnia" by C.S. Lewis as a kid was also influential. There is a great line in "The Silver Chair" where Puddleglum declares that He's going to live as a Narnian even if there isn't a Narnia! I felt much the same when it came to dealing with fickle, funny, Funky Winkerbean feelings- I'm going to live for Christ no matter what my feelings say at times. I know Whom I have believed in and He is Faithful and True. As Campus Crusade for Christ founder Bill Bright explained in the Four Spiritual Laws, the feelings are like the caboose on a train. The engine of faith drives it with or without the caboose. Thus, my faith rests in the facts of God's Word. My faith has found a resting place not in device or creed-I need no other argument or plea- it is enough that Jesus died and that He died for me.
    And Hallelujah- He rose and He lives and He's coming again! And because He lives, we can live also. :-)
   (Note: I know this may be somewhat long, but I thought someone else might appreciate hearing this, especially in regards to soteriology.) Jesus loves you! Don't ever forget that. God bless :-)

Season for the Reason: Old Testament Laws in New Testament times- Jesus is always Divine

Note: This is drawn from an online conversation I had and thus it's framed as such. I was trying to answer a multitude of questions and points raised by a skeptic. As the title says, it talks about the application of Old Testament Laws in New Testament times along with understanding the divinity of Jesus. I hope someone else may find this effort to help provide some answers to legitimate questions agnostics and/or atheists ask. As always, the best idea is to go to the Source- ask God Himself to reveal these things to you. As Jeremiah 29:13 says, you will seek Him and find Him when you seek Him with all your heart.
..............................................................................
 

      Hi! Thank you for your patience, sir. I knew this would likely be a long response and I wanted to have both wifi service and a computer keyboard available when I typed it. Let me say just a few things up front before I go any further. First of all, I wanted to note the limitations of this format for such conversations, as it does not allow for a real tet-a-tet where people can see each other face to face and observe facial expressions and tone of voice and so forth. And since this is someone else's Facebook wall, I don't want to bog down their wall with lengthy posts. I am happy to do my best to address your questions but I have absolutely no desire to argue or debate about them. Thus, I will do what I said I would do and try to cover each point one by one with a Biblical view. You are of course free to do whatever you want with that after that point. As you have already proved, the truth of 1 Corinthians 2:14 remains. If you're not in Christ, you will not understand the things that are discerned by the Spirit. Thus, the best way to really address your questions is to sincerely ask them to Creator God Himself- and the best way to do that is to sincerely put faith in Jesus and follow Him as Lord and Saviour. I certainly pray you might choose to do that but that is of course your choice to make. I respect everyone's right to their own religious choices. And every choice has consequences.         
       So- back to John 20:17. Jesus says to Mary in the garden that He's going back to her God and His God. You said you didn't question Jesus' use of the term "His Father and Mary's Father". Why's that? It seems Jesus answers your question in this same verse. He was clearly identifying His Father as God here. The grammar indicates He was talking about the same Person. Thus, His God is God the Father. The reason He can say this is because of the fact that He was fully God and fully man. Secondly- you asked about a proof text for that claim. There are a number of passages that speak about this but perhaps the best one I could point you to is Philippians 2. This passage notes that though Jesus was in the form of God, He did not count equality with God something to be grasped but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bondservant and being born in the likeness of men. (Some translations say He made Himself nothing and took on the form of a slave.) The term "servant" is important though as this references back to the prophecies God made about the coming of His servant in Isaiah. Isaiah 52 and 53 speak about this servant and clearly paint a picture of Jesus the Messiah, who came in human form and humbled Himself to the point of death, even death on a cross. (The "even" part is important too- this refers back to Old Testament writings in the Law that proclaimed such a death to be a curse. Galatians 3 speaks about this. Deuteronomy 21:23 declared everyone hanged on a tree to be cursed. This is why Galatians 3 speaks of Jesus redeeming us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us. Because of Christ's obedience, Philippians 2 goes on to say that God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the Name that is above every name so that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. It's also worth noting on this question that Jesus repeatedly referred to Himself as both the Son of Man and the Son of God. (Matthew 16:13-17- He affirms both titles here. See also John 5:17-18)
       Third point- There wasn't a really question here, but I would say that you should reinsert the mysticism and set it back in front of you because it is important. Jesus has always existed. The fact that He came into the world for a period of time as a human via a mystical working of the Holy Spirit in Mary's womb (see Matthew 1 and Luke 1) does not mean Jesus was created. Colossians 1 and John 8:58 both speak to Jesus' eternal existence. See also John 1:1, which says that in the beginning was The Word and The Word was with God and The Word was God. (John 1:14 goes on to clarify that The Word is Jesus.) God was not created- He has eternally existed and eternally exists and will eternally exist. Of course, this baffles the human mind and goes beyond our understanding. But that stands to reason- we shouldn't expect to understand God in totality; otherwise, He wouldn't be much of a God. Fourth point- I can show you a plethora of places in the synoptic Gospels where Jesus claimed divinity. For that, I will stop this post and post that separately. (See separate post-
http://wordapplelyspoken.blogspot.com/2017/03/season-for-reason-jesus-is-god-he-said.html?m=0)
       Fifth point- Again, not really a question here but as I said earlier, Leviticus 11:45 has everything to do with Jesus because Jesus quoted it in Matthew 5:48 and in Matthew 5:17 He stated that He came to fulfill that law and all the others. This is incredibly significant because none of us can keep that Law, which all humanity is held accountable to in the end. God did give this Law to the Hebrews first, but He gave it so that they could live in such a way to be set apart and be an example to the other nations of the truth of The Lord God. Romans 2 speaks of the Gentiles being a Law unto themselves as all of us have consciences as a remnant of being made in the image of God that instill in us the difference between right and wrong. Romans 1-6 speaks a lot to the tension between the Law and Grace. As John 1:17 says- "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." Jesus also affirmed the truth of all Scriptures as God's Word in John 17 and He spoke to the dudes on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24 about the numerous Scriptures throughout the Old Testament that speak directly of Him.
        Sixth point- The funny thing about the phrase "cherry picking" is that it makes perfect sense to speak of passages relevant to a point and not mention others that are not immediately relevant. That doesn't mean one ignores the other passages. I uphold the validity of all The Bible and I certainly believe in taking the full counsel of Scripture from all of God's Word. In cherry picking, I assume one would pick ripe cherries and not unripe ones; similarly, it makes sense to reference passages to support points while not mentioning ones that are not particularly relevant to those points. I previously addressed the question about Ezekiel 18, but to reiterate and clarify a bit more: that passage, along with all others, must be read in context to fully understand it. It's important to remember the people it was written to and the purpose it was written for and the time and language it was written in, as well as where it was written. This passage was written to the Jewish people at that time in history and its setting is within the Mosaic Law. The people were still under that Covenant and the only way they had of following The Lord was living by that Covenant and putting faith in the Messiah to come. God makes clear here that He will punish the the soul who sins with death. He later says in the same chapter that He will judge everyone according to his ways. And He exhorts Israel to turn from her wicked ways and repent! He asks them, "Why will you die?" As Ezekiel 18:32 says, God takes no pleasure in the death of anyone- so turn and live! As numerous other passages affirm, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23, Proverbs 20:9, Isaiah 64:6, Jeremiah 17:9, Psalms 14:1-3, Psalms 53:1-3) Hebrews 9:22 says that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. The whole book of Hebrews explains that the Law cannot save us because none of us keep the Law perfectly. It also explains that through Jesus we are saved by faith in His sacrifice and resurrection. The shedding of Christ's blood is absolutely necessary for our salvation. He is the final Passover Lamb. Jesus said what He said in Mark 10:18 for a reason as well. First of all, it's worth noting that it's recorded slightly differently in Matthew's account. In Matthew 19:16-17, Jesus tells the rich young ruler, "Why do you ask Me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." (It's interesting to note here that Jesus steers him to the keeping of the commandments and shows the ruler that he still lacks because he is unwilling to sell all he has and give to the poor and follow Jesus. This leads into Jesus' famous statement about how hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven; it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Yet even though with man this is impossible, with God all things are possible. (Thus, rich people can enter God's kingdom through God's help but their earthly riches are certainly stumbling blocks for them.) Jesus doesn't say that He isn't the One who is good in this passage. I personally think He is questioning the rich young ruler as to why He addresses Jesus in that manner. The rich young ruler refers to Jesus as an authority on good deeds and the way to have eternal life. I think in saying this Jesus is getting the guy to recognize what he's saying and understand why he's coming to Jesus with this question- because he does recognize Jesus as good. (And if Jesus is truly good, then He is God because only God is truly good.) Jesus is getting the guy to realize His divinity because in effect, He's telling the guy, "So you realize you're equating Me with God? You recognize that I'm the authority on good because I am good and that's because God is good and He and I are the same." (Here is a good article that speaks more to this point.
http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=10&article=4832&fbclid=IwAR2bMDN8CLW9IrnhwDkQIe1J3mY-siEcTnKKaDifNQEIcn0LURmkVIjZV6Q)

         Seventh- You say you don't believe in Heaven or Hell, original sin or total depravity. I assure you that all those notions are sound, Biblically based doctrine and not merely church tradition. If you want to say they are invented to control the masses, I suppose that's true in some sense. But it's not Christians who invented them- it's God. And He does want to control the masses because He wants control of all of our lives. He is our Creator and He knows best how our lives should run. That is why He came in the form of a human being- Jesus the Christ, who was both fully man and fully God at the same time- who died and rose and then left us who believe in Him the Holy Spirit, so that we could have Him living in us. It's all part of the redemptive story of The Bible. God created the world and everything and everyone in it to be perfect but man has gone off in search of many schemes. People decided to sin and rebel against God. This brought a curse on the whole world and separated us from God. God towered above the Israelites in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night and only Moses and the high priest could get anywhere near Him and live! He told them He was going to send a Prophet- later dudes like Isaiah said He was going to send His Servant- and this Prophet and suffering Servant would come and know us in a way God had never done before. He became one of us! Jesus is rightly called Emmanuel- God with us! And Jesus was tempted in all things just as we are- yet was without sin. And because He was the perfect sacrifice, He could be the final Passover Lamb- the spotless Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. And when Jesus died and rose and ascended, He didn't leave us as orphans but He sent the Holy Spirit. Now God draws closer still- He dwells inside our very bodies! The Holy Spirit lives in those who follow Christ and God uses His followers today to be a witness for Christ and show His love to the world and speak His truth to the world in love.             
       And in the end, we will be finally reunited with God face to face when Christ returns or whenever we die- whichever comes first. Those who know Christ as Saviour and Lord will be with Him in Heaven for eternity. Those who do not will be in Hell for eternity. And in the end, people get where they choose to be. Logically, one can either be with God or away from God in eternity. To be away from God is Hell and to be with God is Heaven. Jesus is Heaven because being with Him is what it's all about. It's getting back to our original design that was put in place in Eden and that we rebelled against. The devil and his demons long ago rebelled and made their choice and they love to take as many humans as they can with them to the lake of fire. Jesus wants everyone to be saved and come to Heaven with Him. (2 Peter 3:8-9) But He is not going to force anyone to come. People must make their own choice. That was the whole point of giving us free will- God wants us to choose to love and follow Him willingly and not by force. We understand that in the context of marriage. I don't think any husband wants to have a Stepford Wife who is robotically programmed to love him and do whatever he wants. In the end, the only love really worth having is the love that is freely given by choice and not by coercion. God could certainly make everyone love Him and follow Him- but He wants our love willingly given to Him. He loved us first and He wants us to love and follow Him in return. Everyone has their own choice on what to do with that.
       I'd rather people choose to follow Christ and be in Heaven instead of Hell and that's why I certainly exhort people to make that choice and pray that they will take that step of faith. I can't force them to do so though and I would never try. God is also not going to force anyone. Everyone must make their own choice. And people are welcome to believe as they want to believe. As I said before though, every choice has consequences. Jesus will return one day and the final judgement will take place for everyone. Whether that event happens in our lifetime or not, there is another day that we will all face and that is the day of death. One day we will all die. I believe there is an eternity we will face and only two options of where to spend it- in Heaven or in Hell. I also know the way to avoid Hell and to go to Heaven instead- and that's through faith in Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection on our behalf! It's trusting His perfection in living the life perfectly pleasing to God that we never could. And it's following Him because He loves us and wants us to be with Him. That's the reason I share this hope in Christ- because I know the truth of the eternal consequences of our choice on what to do with Christ and the only natural response to being enveloped by God's love is to share Him with everyone! I seek to do this in obedience to Jesus.
       If you knew a house was on fire and the people inside were asleep and were going to burn to death, would you do something about it and at least try to warn them or just walk on by and ignore it? What's the more loving thing to do? Certainly, it's more loving to rip someone out of their sleep and get them to safety out of the fire. Jude 1:22-23 says to have mercy on those who doubt and save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. Of course, I can't do this in my own strength. All I can do is share what Jesus says and what He did and how much He loves us all and how we can all be saved if we'll let Him. And I can seek to love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and love my neighbour as myself. Jesus said those are the two most important commands. I seek to do those first and foremost and also obey Ephesians 4:15 and speak The Truth in Love.
         In any case, I hope that helps answer your questions. Of course, it may still not all make sense to you. All I can say is that I would urge you to keep seeking Creator God earnestly because He's already seeking you. Bring these questions and any others to Him in sincerity and listen for His answer. You might also like to try reading through The Bible again for the 61st. time and try it with a fresh approach. Throw out everything you already think about God and go in with an approach that is willing to take God at His Word and believe the best about Him and trust that He is really there and really true in all He says. You may like to try this just with the Gospels first. Contemplate this- what if Jesus really is God and really died and really rose again and will really return and I really will have to stand before Him and give an account for everything I've ever said, thought or done in my life? What will I say to Him for Him to let me into Heaven? I know what I will say. I don't deserve to be in His presence because I am a sinner who has chosen his own way so many times and failed God so many numerous times. But God loves me so much He came and took the punishment I deserve on the cross and rose again to save me and I trust Him and His righteousness alone for salvation. May God bless you as you seek Him and make your decision.

Stuff Christian Culture Likes- and Stuff Christian Culture Needs to Repent From

I find it so sad to read through posts on the "Stuff Christian Culture Likes" Facebook page and see how so many people have been hurt by the Christian church and the Christianese culture that some people fall into that often does not really reflect the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I can't say I always agree with all the criticism leveled, but I can certainly admit there is validity to many of the points made and it's something all Christians and churches should consider. Whether you agree with everything or not, if you're a follower of Jesus, you should listen to what people have to say and take it to heart because there are many places the church so often fails and needs to address.
     It is some of these things that make the world see Christians as hypocrites and the church as an abusive manipulator rather than the loving solace it is supposed to be- a safe harbour for all people. It is a place where sinful people who have been transformed by the amazing grace of Jesus- demonstrated through His death and Resurrection to pay for all sins and save all who put faith in Him and follow Him- can congregate and help each other and not tear each other down. (see Ephesians 4:29 and 1 Corinthians 14:26. Use your spiritual gifts to build each other up and help them pursue holiness. Yes, there is a place to lovingly and humbly confront Christian brothers and sisters about sin in their lives- Jesus spoke about that in Matthew 18:17. But He also said that we better get the plank out of our eye before we try to help get the speck out of our brother's eye. [see Matthew 7:1-6])
      And above all- while speaking The Truth in Love (Ephesians 4:15), we must Love undergird all we do. "Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil, hold fast to what is good." (Romans 12:9) (Genuine love is reiterated in 2 Corinthians 6:6 and 8:8 too) "Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." (Romans 12:10) 1 Corinthians 8:1 says that love builds up. As 1 Corinthians 16:14 says, "Let all that you do be done in love." Galatians 5:13 says that through love we should serve one another. And as 1 Peter 4:8 says, "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins." I'm glad that God has covered me with His love and removed and forgiven my multitude of sins. As Jesus said- Freely you have received; freely give.
      When people don't see this, they can quickly become calloused with hardened hearts due to their hurts. It's easier to protect your heart than let it get broken again. I don't know the spiritual background of everyone on this site, so I'm not saying this about anyone in particular.
But I have found it to be an interesting linguistic observation that it's only one space away between an atheist and a theist. And the only way to make that space in their heart so it can be open to trusting God is through the Holy Spirit working- and He works through His children who seek to live out His love. So it's like Pete Townshend said, with a slight modification- Let Christ's Love open the door to your heart!
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxryzVVxFHI

I Wish We'd All Been Ready

(Note: I had to use Larry Norman's classic song title for this blog! :-)) 

     I've heard some say that they can't believe in God if such a nice person like so-and-so isn't in Heaven. (And admittedly, there are a number of nice people in the world that did some great, nice things in life- but that doesn't mean they're in Heaven. I had just watched a PBS documentary on John Denver when I wrote this and maybe that's why I was thinking on this. I have some heroes like him and Christopher Reeve and Jim Henson and Karen Carpenter and others that I certainly want to believe they're in Heaven. I love so much of their work, which conveyed some Biblical truths at times. I hope they are there and that everyone will be there, but I know that Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 7 that only a few ever get in, compared to the many on the broad road to destruction.)
     Ephesians 2:8-10 makes it clear that we're not saved by works but rather by grace through faith, both of which are the gifts of God- so no one can boast. Our faith in the completed work of Christ's death and Resurrection to pay for all our sins is what saves us and our obedience is what proves it. If so-and-so isn't in Heaven, it will be very sad indeed- but it will always be Heaven because Jesus is there. Without putting faith in Jesus, we are doomed to Hell. And a Heaven without Jesus is Hell.           God wants all to be in Heaven and I certainly do too (1 Peter 3:8-9, Revelation 7:9). But as Romans 1-3 talks about, everyone has a chance and is without excuse. And God loves us so much, He makes it so easy- just like a child trusting his daddy to catch him coming off the slide- that's the childlike faith we are called to have in Jesus. He's waiting- today's the day of salvation. And when we know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, we experience Heaven on earth with an abundant life (John 10:10) until we reach Heaven itself- because Heaven is Jesus. :-)

Prophet Man (song)

   Every so often, someone comes along with yet another doomsday prediction. It's not a new phenomena; people have been predicting things since Biblical times. Of course, The Bible gives us guidelines about prophets to follow. If what they say doesn't come to pass, it doesn't follow that they're a real prophet; they're a false prophet and we should not listen to them. Of all the prophecies out there about the end times, one thing we know for sure- Jesus Christ will return! However, no one knows the date- only the Father in Heaven. It may seem like pundits and prophets are just pelting out predictions at you, but John by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote down the final Revelation of Jesus on Patmos. Instead of worrying about what will be, we should focus on what is now- and do what Jesus told us to do, which is to be His witnesses wherever we go until He comes. Even so, come Lord Jesus!


"Prophet Man"
(parody of "Rocket Man" by Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin;
parody lyrics copyright by Nathan Ludwick 11/10/2018)
(1 Timothy 1:3-7 and 4:6-10 and 6:20-21, Titus 3:9-11, Matthew 24, Acts 1:1-11, Proverbs 21:28, Deuteronomy 4:2 and 12:32 and 18:15-22, 2 Timothy 4:1-5, the book of Jude, Revelation 1:1 and 22:16-21)

They've cracked His plans so many times
Midnight hour comes again
And we're gonna see Christ coming back by then
They've missed their dates so much; they just revise
They're throwing out new dates
They trust this time it's right

And in Deuteronomy 18- last line
Don't trust ramblings if found to be a lie
He's not God's man (or) mouthpiece- like online trolls
Oh no no no- he's a Profit Man!
Profit Man- churning out fake news- with fear controls

And I know he cannot be (uh) wrong one time
In Proverbs 21:28 (two eight)- he dies!
He's not the man they think he is- he's snowed
All of them so- a false prophet man!
Prophet Man?- Turn it now to Jude- abhor stained clothes!

Bars faithless minds from Grace and where's it end?
In fact, they go to Hell
But there's Someone here to save them- let Him in!
In all the signs Christ told of the end
AntiChrists come- don't be deceived!
False prophets, man! False prophets, man!

And you need to go 24 Matthew's lines
From east lightning comes down to west to shine
The Son of Man's coming like that, I know
I know, know, know- Christ has prophesied
Robber man- turning up while snoozing, we don't know

And we need to go 36 verse 'bout time
The touch down's privy now to just one mind
The Son of Man's coming's like days of Noah
Only God knows (when)- just The Father, man!
Bond servant- furnishing their food like "Home Alone"

And I read in 47- in charge guy!
And the wicked's gonna be (uh) ostracized!
And the wicked drunken beater's cut to size!
With hypocrites gnashing teeth-eternal cry!
And Christ's coming gonna be like thief in night
And we need to get ready, put faith in Christ
And it's not for me and you to know the time
Acts 1:8- we've gotta be witness for Christ!

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

This World's Not Worthy (Song)

Here is another parody song I've been wanting to share for a while now. It is a musical reminder of the truth of Hebrews 13 that tells us that those of us who follow Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour are sojourners in this land- aliens on this planet- and exiles in this time given. On our journey we seek to share God's love and truth with others and especially when we get depressed and disappointed in the passage of time, we always look to our true homeland in Heaven and remember that we are citizens of Heaven first. This world is not our home- we're just passing through. This is a song to encourage us in the wilderness and remember the great cloud of witnesses that have gone before us detailed in Hebrews 11. Keep soldiering on as a good soldier of The Lord Jesus Christ. And invite everyone in and trust the Holy Spirit to work from there- He's called out gypsies, tramps and thieves....

"This World's Not Worthy"
(parody of "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves" by Cher; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 9/24/2017) (Hebrews 11, Hebrews 13, Galatians 3:28, Revelation 21-22)

We're sojourners and vagabonds all travellin' now
We're wanderers like Cain for the Son of God now
Pop in Hebrews 11- read good
Preach and live The Gospel- tell 'em like Hall of Faith- our witness cloud

Fibs, thieves, vamps redeemed
You'll hear us from ol' Abel on all down
'Cause Jesus' blood speaks better word
God had the Christ die for sin and come back now
Use faith and get saved now

Enoch deployed without the death deal
Noah survived- filled ark with animals deal
Sarah's 90, but she had a son
(Abe) rode without a compass
Abe proffered his begotten like God would do with His Son

Crips, Bloods-- Gangs redeemed!
God's power to save people knows no bounds
He's called out hippies, drunks and kings
We're one in Christ- Galatians 3 spells it out
So lay bigotries down

The younger did fool him, but Isaac blessed them both
Jacob followed suit- young'uns blessed
Joe's bones- take 'em- Israel in travel
And he's hidden 3 months, Moses child- uh huh
He'd rather suffer as God's child- uh huh

Kept Passover- The Lamb's blood was sprinkled on post
His people had dry land through the Red Sea- Egypt? No
Jericho's through- Rahab welcomed spies
Picture of The Gospel- Christ's the Scarlet Ribbon- welcome Him inside!

Gideon, Barak- peeps
God's Spirit came on people for a time
He called out Jephthah, Samson- see?
And David right along with Samuel
There's more than I can tell

Swindling, pimps, sex fiends
Delivered- for the City coming down
Thank Jesus! City that we seek
Is there with Christ- all the sin's forever bound
By faith we're Heavenbound

(So come on) Gypsies, tramps and thieves...