Well, if this doesn't beat all- another parody song! :-) Of course, I think that could have been just what the subject of this song was saying too. God told Jonah to go and preach a message. Okay- he was a prophet; he's up for preaching God's Word, of course. But wait- God told him to go and preach to the Ninevites! But they're enemies- they don't even worship The Lord! And God wants him to go preach to them? Doesn't that beat all? Of course, it was a message of destruction for the town. But Jonah knew about God's mercy and His slowness to anger- and He didn't want to see that applied to his enemies. Jonah is an interesting book in The Bible where the message seems to be more about the messenger and what he learned rather than the message he preached. And in the end, Jonah learned more than he thought he knew about God's love and mercy. It reaches to all people- even him in the midst of his sin. Even for times when both he and Nineveh looked like they were going nowhere, man- nowhere but down- God still showed that He had a plan in mind for good and it will be accomplished one way or the other. And though there is an unfortunate sequel where Nineveh was eventually judged down the road (see the book of Nahum)- at this point in history, God saw the people humble themselves and was moved with compassion and stayed His hand. And I know this with this Biblical account about a big fish swallowing a man can be a lot to swallow for some folks. And no matter what kind of seafaring creature it was, it still is definitely a whale of a tale. And it's one that you can't just spit out and aside because Jesus upheld it as a true account. And Jonah is also referenced as an historical prophet elsewhere in The Bible. There are a lot of spiritual lessons we can learn from this book- so dive in, ride it out to the end and sail on with the Banner of Love flying. Jonah, man- isn't he a lot like you and me?
One of my favorite lines in this song: God is not a BIT like you and me- praise God for that!
Lord, help us to be more like You and show Your mercy, grace and love.
"Jonah Man"
(parody of "Nowhere Man" by The Beatles; copyright Nathan Ludwick 1/27/2015)
(The book of Jonah, 2 Kings 14:25, Matthew 12:38-42, Romans 9:14-18, Revelation 7:9-10)
He's a real Jonah, man
Getting out to Joppa land
Making all his Tarshish plans to go by sea
Running when God told him to
Go and share, "Nineveh's doomed"
Isn't he a lot like you and me?
Jonah, man- please listen (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
You won't blow off your mission (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
Big fish, man (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
The Lord has got at command (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
They're as blind as they can be
Nineveh- God has pity
Jonah, man- he don't pity at all
3 days in fish's tummy (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
Prayed inside- Fish hurled thee (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
Preach it now (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
And from the king down- repent and fast (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
The Lord's wrath's appointment's moved
Jonah glares; God loves him too
God is not a bit like you and me
Jonah, man- please listen (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
They don't know right from left hand (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
Jonah, man (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
The Lord's got love for all lands (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
He's for real- Jonah, man
He's the sign from Son of Man
Matthew 12- it is there, man- for all to see
2 [Two] Kings 14:25- in history!
Go read all of Romans 9- God has mercy!
....................................................................................
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Separated- I cut myself clean
[Another (slightly updated) entry from the archives- March 17, 2008 to be exact. Some of the references in here are from one of my previous workplaces- and the experiences related here are fairly typical of me. LOL. :-) And yes- of course that's a DC Talk reference in the subject line. :-)]
Another weekend has ended and another week has begun. Tomorrow is our prayer meeting at work. I always look forward to that! :-) I managed to get lost not once, but twice this weekend!!! LOL- Friday night I wound up driving all through Maudlin and Simpsonville and out towards Belton and Honea Path before I finally turned around and got back home. So that was an interesting drive. Then on Sunday afternoon/evening/night I drove way out towards Marietta and Cleveland (the one in SC, apparently- not Ohio!) and eventually out by Table Rock- which is a beautiful state park, by the way. My uncle and aunt’s family go there for vacation fairly often. And so I wound up going to Rocky Creek Baptist Church Sunday morning and had a great sermon taken mainly from Joshua 23, all about following God’s call to be holy and separate from the world. And then in the evening, in a totally different county (I was somewhere near Pickens or Pumpkintown or something by this point)- I visited at Holly Springs Baptist Church and heard a great sermon taken mainly from 1 Peter 1:13-16, all about following God’s call to be holy and separate from the world. Talk about deja vu, huh?![]()
Wow! I just find it so awesome how God weaves together stuff like that to flow together so smoothly- even though I wasn’t even at the church I’d intended to go to that evening- but instead got way lost and went to a church in another county- and yet both messages I’d heard that day were very much on the same lines of being holy. It was also interesting talking about being separate from the world- note that Jesus said we were to be "in the world- but not of". (See John 17:15-17) We don’t have a choice about being in the world, obviously (I mean, unless you’re dead or you volunteer for that NASA mission to Mars or something ;-)) - BUT, we don’t have to be of the world- and if you’re in Christ, then you’re not of this world! (as Petra pointed out in an awesome 1983 album and song! :-))
In fact, as both sermons talked about, Christians need to be separate from the world and its influence and instead surround ourselves with friends who will help build us up in the faith. But there is a slight caveat here. This verse came to mind during church on Sunday- and I’ve just now been able to track down where it’s located (as I’d been trying to remember and racking through the New Testament)-
"I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people- not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world." (1 Corinthians 5:9-10) Right- there’s no way you can fully get away from the immoral people in the world because as it says here, you’d have to leave this world to do that! But if you read on in verse 11, it says to not associate with someone who calls himself a "brother" (i.e. Christian) but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. In fact, it says with such a man, do not even eat. God will judge those outside the church- but expel the wicked man from among you (within the church). But as one pastor pointed out, we should love everyone because God loves everyone. The example of homosexuals was brought up, as it’s continuing to be a big issue in America today- yes, we should love those who identify as homosexual because God loves them [and of course, we should love everyone because God loves everyone] - but we can’t condone their lifestyle because God doesn’t. [i.e. Just to clarify, while I do believe, due to our fallen world, people can be and are born with homosexual tendencies- but the sin comes in when people choose to act on these tendencies and engage in lust, same sex relationships and sexual encounters.] And we should definitely befriend unsaved gay people and all lost people so that we can share the Gospel with them. [Also to note: I specifically mentioned gay people here because of the example raised in the service, but also to address a tendency some Christians have of avoiding those with particular temptations to sins that we perhaps may not deal with nearly as strongly or just don't understand and perhaps feel uncertain of how to relate with them as a friend. Of course, I think this is exactly how we should relate to all people- in a manner of friendship driven by a sincere love of Christ, which in turn drives us to sincerely love one another.] (Now I know my brother Kevin would probably interject at this point- so let me clarify. I don’t think that you should ever establish a superficial relationship for the sole reason of "converting" someone to Christ. People can (and will) see right through that. People are people- not prizes. Establish friendships with people to be friends with them- and through that window, by all means show the love of Christ to them- and as God opens up opportunities- share with them about Christ. And always remember that it’s the Holy Spirit who does the work of converting- we just share the Good News.)
Anyway- I just thought both sermons were great- and that it was cool to hear some of the things that one pastor mentioned- because it’s some that I must admit don’t always get addressed very often in Southern Baptist churches- but at least one pastor went there! We looked at 1 Corinthians 6:17-20 to focus on sexual purity in particular, and also the Biblical prohibitions we have in place via The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17 or Deuteronomy 5:1-21 - it’s in both places!) - And it’s also good to remember that they are prohibitions in some aspects, but there’s also things that we should do as well. And ultimately, the laws enable us to truly live the good life that God wants us to live if we follow them as we should. So they only prohibit us from destruction and woe.
We also hit on 1 Corinthians 8:8-13 (talking about being careful not to be a stumbling block to a weaker brother) and 1 Peter 5:8-9 (watch out for the devil- a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour!)
And we looked at 2 Corinthians 6:14-18- and here, let me get back to what the pastor mentioned that doesn’t always get addressed too often. Smoking is harmful to the body- so don’t do it! God tells us to take care of our bodies because they’re His temple- so smoking, drugs, alcohol and any other substances or lifestyles that are destructive to our bodies should be avoided. (The pastor said- "I know some of you will say, ’I have an uncle who smoked all his life and he lived to be 90.’ Well, he might have lived to be 100 if he hadn’t smoked!"- :-)) And the pastor also talked about gluttony- which is eating too much. And it’s a sin just as much as anything else. Americans are killing themselves because of eating too much. People are getting heart attacks because they’re too fat. I know that sounds harsh, but it’s the truth- and that’s why I need to be careful myself of being gluttonous and making sure to get out and get some exercise!
Well- I know I’ve been going on for a while here- I just thought there was a lot of good stuff in there.
So anyway- be separate from the world- not by "shunning all evildoers"- but by not allowing the world’s influence to be your main influence- that should be God and His Word. Let your life stand out so starkly from the rest of the world that people take notice- and as the Sanhedrin noted of Peter and John, let the world take note that "these men had been with Jesus". I trust that everyone can say of us who follow Christ that we have been with Jesus and are walking with Him
Another weekend has ended and another week has begun. Tomorrow is our prayer meeting at work. I always look forward to that! :-) I managed to get lost not once, but twice this weekend!!! LOL- Friday night I wound up driving all through Maudlin and Simpsonville and out towards Belton and Honea Path before I finally turned around and got back home. So that was an interesting drive. Then on Sunday afternoon/evening/night I drove way out towards Marietta and Cleveland (the one in SC, apparently- not Ohio!) and eventually out by Table Rock- which is a beautiful state park, by the way. My uncle and aunt’s family go there for vacation fairly often. And so I wound up going to Rocky Creek Baptist Church Sunday morning and had a great sermon taken mainly from Joshua 23, all about following God’s call to be holy and separate from the world. And then in the evening, in a totally different county (I was somewhere near Pickens or Pumpkintown or something by this point)- I visited at Holly Springs Baptist Church and heard a great sermon taken mainly from 1 Peter 1:13-16, all about following God’s call to be holy and separate from the world. Talk about deja vu, huh?
Wow! I just find it so awesome how God weaves together stuff like that to flow together so smoothly- even though I wasn’t even at the church I’d intended to go to that evening- but instead got way lost and went to a church in another county- and yet both messages I’d heard that day were very much on the same lines of being holy. It was also interesting talking about being separate from the world- note that Jesus said we were to be "in the world- but not of". (See John 17:15-17) We don’t have a choice about being in the world, obviously (I mean, unless you’re dead or you volunteer for that NASA mission to Mars or something ;-)) - BUT, we don’t have to be of the world- and if you’re in Christ, then you’re not of this world! (as Petra pointed out in an awesome 1983 album and song! :-))
In fact, as both sermons talked about, Christians need to be separate from the world and its influence and instead surround ourselves with friends who will help build us up in the faith. But there is a slight caveat here. This verse came to mind during church on Sunday- and I’ve just now been able to track down where it’s located (as I’d been trying to remember and racking through the New Testament)-
"I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people- not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world." (1 Corinthians 5:9-10) Right- there’s no way you can fully get away from the immoral people in the world because as it says here, you’d have to leave this world to do that! But if you read on in verse 11, it says to not associate with someone who calls himself a "brother" (i.e. Christian) but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. In fact, it says with such a man, do not even eat. God will judge those outside the church- but expel the wicked man from among you (within the church). But as one pastor pointed out, we should love everyone because God loves everyone. The example of homosexuals was brought up, as it’s continuing to be a big issue in America today- yes, we should love those who identify as homosexual because God loves them [and of course, we should love everyone because God loves everyone] - but we can’t condone their lifestyle because God doesn’t. [i.e. Just to clarify, while I do believe, due to our fallen world, people can be and are born with homosexual tendencies- but the sin comes in when people choose to act on these tendencies and engage in lust, same sex relationships and sexual encounters.] And we should definitely befriend unsaved gay people and all lost people so that we can share the Gospel with them. [Also to note: I specifically mentioned gay people here because of the example raised in the service, but also to address a tendency some Christians have of avoiding those with particular temptations to sins that we perhaps may not deal with nearly as strongly or just don't understand and perhaps feel uncertain of how to relate with them as a friend. Of course, I think this is exactly how we should relate to all people- in a manner of friendship driven by a sincere love of Christ, which in turn drives us to sincerely love one another.] (Now I know my brother Kevin would probably interject at this point- so let me clarify. I don’t think that you should ever establish a superficial relationship for the sole reason of "converting" someone to Christ. People can (and will) see right through that. People are people- not prizes. Establish friendships with people to be friends with them- and through that window, by all means show the love of Christ to them- and as God opens up opportunities- share with them about Christ. And always remember that it’s the Holy Spirit who does the work of converting- we just share the Good News.)
Anyway- I just thought both sermons were great- and that it was cool to hear some of the things that one pastor mentioned- because it’s some that I must admit don’t always get addressed very often in Southern Baptist churches- but at least one pastor went there! We looked at 1 Corinthians 6:17-20 to focus on sexual purity in particular, and also the Biblical prohibitions we have in place via The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17 or Deuteronomy 5:1-21 - it’s in both places!) - And it’s also good to remember that they are prohibitions in some aspects, but there’s also things that we should do as well. And ultimately, the laws enable us to truly live the good life that God wants us to live if we follow them as we should. So they only prohibit us from destruction and woe.
We also hit on 1 Corinthians 8:8-13 (talking about being careful not to be a stumbling block to a weaker brother) and 1 Peter 5:8-9 (watch out for the devil- a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour!)
And we looked at 2 Corinthians 6:14-18- and here, let me get back to what the pastor mentioned that doesn’t always get addressed too often. Smoking is harmful to the body- so don’t do it! God tells us to take care of our bodies because they’re His temple- so smoking, drugs, alcohol and any other substances or lifestyles that are destructive to our bodies should be avoided. (The pastor said- "I know some of you will say, ’I have an uncle who smoked all his life and he lived to be 90.’ Well, he might have lived to be 100 if he hadn’t smoked!"- :-)) And the pastor also talked about gluttony- which is eating too much. And it’s a sin just as much as anything else. Americans are killing themselves because of eating too much. People are getting heart attacks because they’re too fat. I know that sounds harsh, but it’s the truth- and that’s why I need to be careful myself of being gluttonous and making sure to get out and get some exercise!
Well- I know I’ve been going on for a while here- I just thought there was a lot of good stuff in there.
So anyway- be separate from the world- not by "shunning all evildoers"- but by not allowing the world’s influence to be your main influence- that should be God and His Word. Let your life stand out so starkly from the rest of the world that people take notice- and as the Sanhedrin noted of Peter and John, let the world take note that "these men had been with Jesus". I trust that everyone can say of us who follow Christ that we have been with Jesus and are walking with Him
Sunday, March 8, 2015
The Glory's So Bright, He's Gotta Wear Shades (song)
So I thought I'd give you not just one, and not just two, but three posts in one day! Yeah- this is better than Timbuktu even- it's Timbuk 3! :-)
This is yet another parody song for you- a fairly new one that I finished a while back and have been holding off on posting. This is one of these songs that it helps to have some background on first, so I'm going to try to quickly go over that first- it may get a bit lengthy, so hang with me on this.
Let me set up the scene first- Moses and the Israelites have been in the desert on their way to the Promised Land, after a dramatic and miraculous deliverance by The Lord from the hand of the Egyptians by crossing through the Red Sea on dry land! God rolled the river back up on either side like a scroll and gave them a safe, dry passage to walk through. And in the desert, they didn't remember God's Name. Moses went up on Mt. Sinai to get The Ten Commandments and Aaron and the crew decided to ditch The Lord and make a golden calf to worship instead. After Moses came back and the Israelites faced God's chastisement (which included about 3000 people dying), Moses went back to talk with God again and interceded for the people. God spared the remaining Israelites and renewed His promises to them again. And after Moses spent time in God's presence- and even got to see God's back! (God covered him in the cleft of the rock on the mountain when He passed by, so that He only saw God's back- as The Lord tells us in Exodus 33:20 that no man can see His face and live.)
Moses gets a new set of tablets to replace the original copy of The Ten Commandments that he had smashed in anger during the whole golden calf incident. And when Moses came back down off the mountain, all the people were freaking out because Moses' face was glowing bright. As Exodus 34:29 tells us, Moses' face was glowing because he had been talking with God. God's glory was reflected off his face now and it was so bright, he had to wear shades! :-) (Okay- so he didn't actually wear his sunglasses at night- or at day, for that matter- but he did wear a veil. ;-))
Now fast forward to 2 Corinthians chapters 3 and 4. Paul talks about these events when he, under The Holy Spirit's inspiration, writes to tell us that it's like this with every person in the world. The god of this age (i.e. Satan) has blinded the eyes of unbelievers so that they can't see the Truth of Christ. In fact, 2 Corinthians 3:14-15 says that their minds are hardened and a veil is over their hearts. And it's only through Christ that it's removed and they are able to see His glory and come to salvation. And then they join the ranks of those of us who have put their faith in Jesus after having had the veil removed from our hearts so that we can see Him and know Him. "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of The Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from The Lord Who is The Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:18)
I particularly love how Old Testament passages like this that we might forget come up again in the New Testament. The more we read and understand all of God's Word, all the different passages speak to each other and help increase our understanding of The Bible as a whole- of course, we have to be listening to The Holy Spirit's gentle instruction as He leads us into all Truth. :-)
And, as another quick note of reference, my brother Ryan and I have been reading through different books of The Bible together and that's helped fuel this all the more. (Hence the reference at the start of the song, which I used Twitter language to explain, even though I don't really dig all the hash tag stuff- unless it's a tag to indicate where the hash and grits are in the buffet line. ;-)) We haven't studied Exodus yet, but we'll probably get to that one soon enough. :-)
The Glory's So Bright- He's Gotta Wear Shades
(parody of "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" by Timbuk 3; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 12/5/2014)
(Exodus 34, 2 Corinthians 3 and 4:1-6, Philemon 1:6)
Let's study Exodus, Ryan
(#mybrother#- hashtag)
It's got a famous feature
The Ten Commandments
Things were going great
But they made a graven image
After doing their time
Tablets replaced
The glory's so bright
Moe's gotta wear a veil
He's gotta wear shades
He talked with God stationed
On Mt. Sinai patient
34 is where
Moses just got that glare
He negotiates
And The Lord just set new charter
They do what's right
Get His good graces
They choose sin- those times
God's gotta send plagues
He's gotta send plagues
Well, we're Heavenly blessed
With good things in Christ
In a peeping Tom world, we
Live X-rayed lives
If old glory's great
Then Spirit's glory's that much better
The Spirit gives life
The letter kills, babe
Its glory was bright-
Moe had to wear a veil
He had to wear a shade
Let's study 2 (two) Corinthians
All of 3rd. chapter
World's got a great deceiver-
his ware's dark glasses
Keeps The Gospel veiled
And there's only One Unveiler
It's through Him- Lord Christ
Get His good grace
His glory's so bright
I gotta just praise
I got (an) unveiled face
And God effects change
So I gotta share Grace.
..............................................
This is yet another parody song for you- a fairly new one that I finished a while back and have been holding off on posting. This is one of these songs that it helps to have some background on first, so I'm going to try to quickly go over that first- it may get a bit lengthy, so hang with me on this.
Let me set up the scene first- Moses and the Israelites have been in the desert on their way to the Promised Land, after a dramatic and miraculous deliverance by The Lord from the hand of the Egyptians by crossing through the Red Sea on dry land! God rolled the river back up on either side like a scroll and gave them a safe, dry passage to walk through. And in the desert, they didn't remember God's Name. Moses went up on Mt. Sinai to get The Ten Commandments and Aaron and the crew decided to ditch The Lord and make a golden calf to worship instead. After Moses came back and the Israelites faced God's chastisement (which included about 3000 people dying), Moses went back to talk with God again and interceded for the people. God spared the remaining Israelites and renewed His promises to them again. And after Moses spent time in God's presence- and even got to see God's back! (God covered him in the cleft of the rock on the mountain when He passed by, so that He only saw God's back- as The Lord tells us in Exodus 33:20 that no man can see His face and live.)
Moses gets a new set of tablets to replace the original copy of The Ten Commandments that he had smashed in anger during the whole golden calf incident. And when Moses came back down off the mountain, all the people were freaking out because Moses' face was glowing bright. As Exodus 34:29 tells us, Moses' face was glowing because he had been talking with God. God's glory was reflected off his face now and it was so bright, he had to wear shades! :-) (Okay- so he didn't actually wear his sunglasses at night- or at day, for that matter- but he did wear a veil. ;-))
Now fast forward to 2 Corinthians chapters 3 and 4. Paul talks about these events when he, under The Holy Spirit's inspiration, writes to tell us that it's like this with every person in the world. The god of this age (i.e. Satan) has blinded the eyes of unbelievers so that they can't see the Truth of Christ. In fact, 2 Corinthians 3:14-15 says that their minds are hardened and a veil is over their hearts. And it's only through Christ that it's removed and they are able to see His glory and come to salvation. And then they join the ranks of those of us who have put their faith in Jesus after having had the veil removed from our hearts so that we can see Him and know Him. "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of The Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from The Lord Who is The Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:18)
I particularly love how Old Testament passages like this that we might forget come up again in the New Testament. The more we read and understand all of God's Word, all the different passages speak to each other and help increase our understanding of The Bible as a whole- of course, we have to be listening to The Holy Spirit's gentle instruction as He leads us into all Truth. :-)
And, as another quick note of reference, my brother Ryan and I have been reading through different books of The Bible together and that's helped fuel this all the more. (Hence the reference at the start of the song, which I used Twitter language to explain, even though I don't really dig all the hash tag stuff- unless it's a tag to indicate where the hash and grits are in the buffet line. ;-)) We haven't studied Exodus yet, but we'll probably get to that one soon enough. :-)
The Glory's So Bright- He's Gotta Wear Shades
(parody of "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" by Timbuk 3; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 12/5/2014)
(Exodus 34, 2 Corinthians 3 and 4:1-6, Philemon 1:6)
Let's study Exodus, Ryan
(#mybrother#- hashtag)
It's got a famous feature
The Ten Commandments
Things were going great
But they made a graven image
After doing their time
Tablets replaced
The glory's so bright
Moe's gotta wear a veil
He's gotta wear shades
He talked with God stationed
On Mt. Sinai patient
34 is where
Moses just got that glare
He negotiates
And The Lord just set new charter
They do what's right
Get His good graces
They choose sin- those times
God's gotta send plagues
He's gotta send plagues
Well, we're Heavenly blessed
With good things in Christ
In a peeping Tom world, we
Live X-rayed lives
If old glory's great
Then Spirit's glory's that much better
The Spirit gives life
The letter kills, babe
Its glory was bright-
Moe had to wear a veil
He had to wear a shade
Let's study 2 (two) Corinthians
All of 3rd. chapter
World's got a great deceiver-
his ware's dark glasses
Keeps The Gospel veiled
And there's only One Unveiler
It's through Him- Lord Christ
Get His good grace
His glory's so bright
I gotta just praise
I got (an) unveiled face
And God effects change
So I gotta share Grace.
..............................................
The Saved (song)
With my last post in mind, I thought I'd share a related parody that I did a while back that I thought you all might like.
This one relays the account of two guys in the New Testament who spoke up and led some dudes to Christ. (Philip and Paul) And it also talks about Christ's charge to us to preach the Gospel in all the world as He told us in Acts 1:8
So I hope this will be encouraging to us all.
"The Saved"
(parody of "How to Save a Life" by The Fray; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 2/16/2008)
(Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8, Acts 8:26-40, Acts 16:22-34, Matthew 6:19-21, Matthew 9:35-38, 1 Peter 3:15, Isaiah 53, Jeremiah 20:9, Isaiah 55:11)
Verse 1
...........
Step One, He says, I need to walk
I walk- He says, Stick now to the chariot
Inside it rides (an) Ethiopian dude
Eunuch of rightly counting dues
What more of a window could you find?
"And He was led" and "He was silent"
Reading the lines (of) 53 Isaiah
I don't even wonder why I came
Chorus 1
............
There before too long, I found a friend
That's where I launched in my witness
And I wound up leading the eunuch to Christ
And I know now he's saved for life
Verse 2
..........
Let him know that we've not left
'Cause after all it means his death
-Try to slip past his defense
Without granting innocence
Laid down and this is what he longs
Asking, How to be saved, now Paul?
Pray to God- He hears you
And pray to God- He heals you
Chorus 2
............
There before too long, Paul got a friend
That's where he launched into witness
And he wound up leading the dude to Christ
And his house now is saved for life
Verse 3
..........
As He begins to raise, His voice
Empowers you- commands you one last chore
Wait until the Holy Ghost
Just breaks on the ones who've followed
He will move- a tongue descending
We will witness to everyone
(From) our home base to all surrounding place
Gospel will then to all Earth be proclaimed
Chorus 3
............
Where did I go wrong? I long to mend
Somewhere alone in the wilderness
And I could have spoke up- led you to Christ
Had I known- you would take your life
Chorus 4
............
Why did I prolong? Well, my lost friend
Somewhere he longs for some tenderness
And I should have laid up- Matthew 6, line
Twenty shows what to save in life
(What to save in life)
(What to save in life)
Chorus 5
............
Share before they're gone- it's a Godsend
Look here- how large is the harvest
And I should have read up in Matthew 9
Send out those laboring for Christ
Chorus 6
............
There, before they're gone- the lost befriend
That's where you launch into witness
And God would have you love and do like Christ
Now you know how to save a life
(Vow to share of Christ)
(It's how to save a life)
(Now we're saved through Christ)
..........................
This one relays the account of two guys in the New Testament who spoke up and led some dudes to Christ. (Philip and Paul) And it also talks about Christ's charge to us to preach the Gospel in all the world as He told us in Acts 1:8
So I hope this will be encouraging to us all.
"The Saved"
(parody of "How to Save a Life" by The Fray; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 2/16/2008)
(Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8, Acts 8:26-40, Acts 16:22-34, Matthew 6:19-21, Matthew 9:35-38, 1 Peter 3:15, Isaiah 53, Jeremiah 20:9, Isaiah 55:11)
Verse 1
...........
Step One, He says, I need to walk
I walk- He says, Stick now to the chariot
Inside it rides (an) Ethiopian dude
Eunuch of rightly counting dues
What more of a window could you find?
"And He was led" and "He was silent"
Reading the lines (of) 53 Isaiah
I don't even wonder why I came
Chorus 1
............
There before too long, I found a friend
That's where I launched in my witness
And I wound up leading the eunuch to Christ
And I know now he's saved for life
Verse 2
..........
Let him know that we've not left
'Cause after all it means his death
-Try to slip past his defense
Without granting innocence
Laid down and this is what he longs
Asking, How to be saved, now Paul?
Pray to God- He hears you
And pray to God- He heals you
Chorus 2
............
There before too long, Paul got a friend
That's where he launched into witness
And he wound up leading the dude to Christ
And his house now is saved for life
Verse 3
..........
As He begins to raise, His voice
Empowers you- commands you one last chore
Wait until the Holy Ghost
Just breaks on the ones who've followed
He will move- a tongue descending
We will witness to everyone
(From) our home base to all surrounding place
Gospel will then to all Earth be proclaimed
Chorus 3
............
Where did I go wrong? I long to mend
Somewhere alone in the wilderness
And I could have spoke up- led you to Christ
Had I known- you would take your life
Chorus 4
............
Why did I prolong? Well, my lost friend
Somewhere he longs for some tenderness
And I should have laid up- Matthew 6, line
Twenty shows what to save in life
(What to save in life)
(What to save in life)
Chorus 5
............
Share before they're gone- it's a Godsend
Look here- how large is the harvest
And I should have read up in Matthew 9
Send out those laboring for Christ
Chorus 6
............
There, before they're gone- the lost befriend
That's where you launch into witness
And God would have you love and do like Christ
Now you know how to save a life
(Vow to share of Christ)
(It's how to save a life)
(Now we're saved through Christ)
..........................
I can't keep it in- my soul is screaming!
[Note: This is another entry from the archives, which I'm slowly converting all over to this blog. Considering that I've heard some great sermons on God's transformative power today, from Ezekiel 37 and Isaiah 6, respectively- and evangelism has definitely been part of the emphasis today- this blog post seemed particularly appropriate for today. This one I originally posted back on February 26, 2008. It's slightly updated and edited here. Enjoy!]
"Hey you! I'm into Jesus! I've seen the truth- and I believe!" :-)
(I've been listening to DC Talk's "Supernatural" album again some at work whenever I can- wow, I love this album!)
And of course, as some may know- this is the song I got my email address from. (With a "N" for the initial for my first name- so it still carries the same meaning, but it's like saying "Nathan's into Jesus" :-))
Yeah- Jesus rules! (And I mean that literally!) He's Lord, God and Savior. And He loved us all so much that He died on the cross for us and rose again from the dead. He made the ONLY Way for us to get into Heaven! WOW! I can never praise Jesus enough- or ever stop talking about how AWESOME He is! :-)
Lately, it's something that's been hitting at me. I think witnessing is something every Christian struggles with- and I certainly feel like it's something that I've always felt when I was younger that I wasn't as vocal about Christ sometimes as I could have been- and I've wanted to be bolder for God.
And it's something that we don't have a choice on- Jesus commands us to go! (As a great Keith Green song says- not to mention Matthew 28:18-20!)
And Acts 1:8 tells how to go- first preach in Jerusalem, then move on to Judea and Samaria- and eventually to the whole world! If we take the geographical aspect into mind, we basically have this parallel for us. Start telling people about Christ right where you are in your own neighborhood! Because people everywhere need to hear about God's love. And then you can start reaching out to the rest of the state and all the 50 States that make up the United States of America! (God bless America! Woohoo! Yay for America, its founders and leaders! And while its faults are many, I certainly pray that God will "mend thine every flaw." 'Cause it's still America the Beautiful as far as I'm concered. And God rules over it and the whole world!- yeah, I'm really patriotic- just threw that in there. :-))
And eventually we are called to take the Gospel out to the whole world!
The fields are white with harvest- beseech The Lord of the harvest to send more workers into His fields!
Okay- well, as I'm saying all this, I thought I'd also share a few encounters here. Just the other week I was at a gas station and my bill happened to be $7.77 (not to fill up my tank- wow, I wish! ;-)) Anyway, I just mentioned to the dude that it's the perfect number. (The number 7 in The Bible is associated with completeness and perfection. 7 days in the week, 7 marches around Jericho's walls in 7 days with 7 marches and 7 blasts of the trumpet on the last day- 7 seals, 7 trumpets and 7 bowls of God's wrath in Revelation)- and there's probably other examples. And it's really neat when you get three 7s, because that can also signify the Holy Trinity- God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
So I thought it was neat that the dude actually knew what I was talking about and mentioned, "Oh yeah, like in the book of Daniel?" So I told him, "Yeah. It's a good book. Have you read it?" And then he told me that he read The Bible and that he considers himself something of a Christian (it sounded a bit shaky to me, but I think maybe he was just not where he needed to be with God at the moment)- but he did tell me that he went to the charismatic-type church nearby my apartment. So that's way cool. And that was the extent of the conversation, but I prayed for him after I left.
Not a real big deal necessarily- but it was an opportunity to talk about God with the guy. And maybe that little conversation helped give him the spark he needed to get back closer to God. I hope so.
Anyway- this was just to say that God presents us with all kinds of chances to talk to people about Christ- and that's why we have to be ready at all times to share the reason for our hope in Jesus like 1 Peter 3:15 talks about. (in the Greek- apologia- which is where we get apologetics from in English- and where ApologetiX gets their name!)
And interesting that I should mention That Christian Parody Band- because this is kinda where this is all going. Lately I've just been excited to see God moving in the lives of people I've been praying for and I continue to pray and trust that God will work to bring people I care about to know Him as Savior.
(And let me also state that there are plenty of times where I've blown it and felt awful as I'm left thinking- I should have done something more- I should have specifically told them about Jesus.) But share what you can where you can- and definitely share God's Word whenever you can! Isaiah 55:11 tells us that God's Word never returns to Him void but it accomplishes the purpose for which He sent it out! :-)
Ive been reading in Jeremiah lately and this is a great read to show you the compassion and desperation Jeremiah felt for his own people- and the fervence with which he prayed for them and tried to warn them of God's impending wrath and destruction He would bring. And this just got me thinking of how much America (and the world in general for that matter) still needs to hear that message- that God is a God of wrath and will punish sin with finality one day- but that He's also a God of unending love who longs for every single person in the history of the world to be with Him in Heaven- and that's why He paid the price of sin for us by dying in our place!
Look at the all the other religions of the world- there's no other god who's ever been so personal with people that he would die for them to pay for their own sins! Jesus is that personal of a God! He loves us!
Amazing love! How can it be that thou my God shouldst die for me?
Charles Wesley asked that question in a rocking hymn called "And Can It Be?" and wow- that song and question still blows me away every time!
And check out this verse in Jeremiah 20:9
"But if I say, 'I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,' His Word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot."
WOW! We've got a message to give to the nations- so let's get busy for Christ! (And remember that witnessing is equally important in the areas of your vocal witness- AND your lifestyle witness! Both have to match up!)
"Hey you! I'm into Jesus! I've seen the truth- and I believe!" :-)
(I've been listening to DC Talk's "Supernatural" album again some at work whenever I can- wow, I love this album!)
And of course, as some may know- this is the song I got my email address from. (With a "N" for the initial for my first name- so it still carries the same meaning, but it's like saying "Nathan's into Jesus" :-))
Yeah- Jesus rules! (And I mean that literally!) He's Lord, God and Savior. And He loved us all so much that He died on the cross for us and rose again from the dead. He made the ONLY Way for us to get into Heaven! WOW! I can never praise Jesus enough- or ever stop talking about how AWESOME He is! :-)
Lately, it's something that's been hitting at me. I think witnessing is something every Christian struggles with- and I certainly feel like it's something that I've always felt when I was younger that I wasn't as vocal about Christ sometimes as I could have been- and I've wanted to be bolder for God.
And it's something that we don't have a choice on- Jesus commands us to go! (As a great Keith Green song says- not to mention Matthew 28:18-20!)
And Acts 1:8 tells how to go- first preach in Jerusalem, then move on to Judea and Samaria- and eventually to the whole world! If we take the geographical aspect into mind, we basically have this parallel for us. Start telling people about Christ right where you are in your own neighborhood! Because people everywhere need to hear about God's love. And then you can start reaching out to the rest of the state and all the 50 States that make up the United States of America! (God bless America! Woohoo! Yay for America, its founders and leaders! And while its faults are many, I certainly pray that God will "mend thine every flaw." 'Cause it's still America the Beautiful as far as I'm concered. And God rules over it and the whole world!- yeah, I'm really patriotic- just threw that in there. :-))
And eventually we are called to take the Gospel out to the whole world!
The fields are white with harvest- beseech The Lord of the harvest to send more workers into His fields!
Okay- well, as I'm saying all this, I thought I'd also share a few encounters here. Just the other week I was at a gas station and my bill happened to be $7.77 (not to fill up my tank- wow, I wish! ;-)) Anyway, I just mentioned to the dude that it's the perfect number. (The number 7 in The Bible is associated with completeness and perfection. 7 days in the week, 7 marches around Jericho's walls in 7 days with 7 marches and 7 blasts of the trumpet on the last day- 7 seals, 7 trumpets and 7 bowls of God's wrath in Revelation)- and there's probably other examples. And it's really neat when you get three 7s, because that can also signify the Holy Trinity- God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
So I thought it was neat that the dude actually knew what I was talking about and mentioned, "Oh yeah, like in the book of Daniel?" So I told him, "Yeah. It's a good book. Have you read it?" And then he told me that he read The Bible and that he considers himself something of a Christian (it sounded a bit shaky to me, but I think maybe he was just not where he needed to be with God at the moment)- but he did tell me that he went to the charismatic-type church nearby my apartment. So that's way cool. And that was the extent of the conversation, but I prayed for him after I left.
Not a real big deal necessarily- but it was an opportunity to talk about God with the guy. And maybe that little conversation helped give him the spark he needed to get back closer to God. I hope so.
Anyway- this was just to say that God presents us with all kinds of chances to talk to people about Christ- and that's why we have to be ready at all times to share the reason for our hope in Jesus like 1 Peter 3:15 talks about. (in the Greek- apologia- which is where we get apologetics from in English- and where ApologetiX gets their name!)
And interesting that I should mention That Christian Parody Band- because this is kinda where this is all going. Lately I've just been excited to see God moving in the lives of people I've been praying for and I continue to pray and trust that God will work to bring people I care about to know Him as Savior.
(And let me also state that there are plenty of times where I've blown it and felt awful as I'm left thinking- I should have done something more- I should have specifically told them about Jesus.) But share what you can where you can- and definitely share God's Word whenever you can! Isaiah 55:11 tells us that God's Word never returns to Him void but it accomplishes the purpose for which He sent it out! :-)
Ive been reading in Jeremiah lately and this is a great read to show you the compassion and desperation Jeremiah felt for his own people- and the fervence with which he prayed for them and tried to warn them of God's impending wrath and destruction He would bring. And this just got me thinking of how much America (and the world in general for that matter) still needs to hear that message- that God is a God of wrath and will punish sin with finality one day- but that He's also a God of unending love who longs for every single person in the history of the world to be with Him in Heaven- and that's why He paid the price of sin for us by dying in our place!
Look at the all the other religions of the world- there's no other god who's ever been so personal with people that he would die for them to pay for their own sins! Jesus is that personal of a God! He loves us!
Amazing love! How can it be that thou my God shouldst die for me?
Charles Wesley asked that question in a rocking hymn called "And Can It Be?" and wow- that song and question still blows me away every time!
And check out this verse in Jeremiah 20:9
"But if I say, 'I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,' His Word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot."
WOW! We've got a message to give to the nations- so let's get busy for Christ! (And remember that witnessing is equally important in the areas of your vocal witness- AND your lifestyle witness! Both have to match up!)
Friday, February 27, 2015
Trending World-Wide: Jesus Christ is Lord of All
“The stuff of earth competes for the allegiance I owe only
to the Giver of all good things.”- Rich Mullins
"And all of our hopes and our dreams of worldly pleasure won't amount to anything of any measure. And all the world will fall to its knees- His Name forever. All the world will fall to its knees...And He'll take me Home."- Kevin Ludwick
I was just thinking that I get so tired of seeing "news
stories" online about trending topics of transient, banal things. (This is
not to denigrate the concerns of anyone, as Philippians 2:3-4 commands me to
think of others as better than myself and to be concerned about others' affairs
and not just my own.) However, I am not overly concerned about the trivial
fluff that seems to make up so many news stories. (I suppose I'm particularly
thinking now about some dress with inconclusive color patterns apparently. But
there have been plenty of other stupid things that have occupied quite a few
bytes of memory on computer screens and phones- and more importantly, brain
cells in people's minds and space in their hearts. The shark at the SuperBowl
also comes to mind.) I am not against fun at all- some things are just funny
and it's okay to laugh about them.
And I can't say I'm always perfect about keeping my thoughts and mindset on things above and not just below. But Colossians 3:2-3 commands me to set my thoughts on things above and not on the stuff of earth. 'Cause I've died and my life is hidden with Christ in God. According to Romans 8:1-11, if we set our mind on the flesh- that's death. But to set our mind on the Spirit- well, that's life and peace- 'cause then we walk according to the Spirit and when we obey the Spirit of God, He makes peace out of our chaos as we know we are pleasing God and walking with Him. As 1 Timothy 6:20-21 says, "O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called 'knowledge', for by professing it some have swerved from the faith. Grace be with you."
Paul reiterated this in 2 Timothy 2:16-17 which tells us, we must "avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene." Ugh!
Note that the concern in both cases is that such foolish talk can lead people to swerve from the faith and into ungodliness instead. And with the fickleness of our minds and particularly our sinful human nature, it's quite easy to take a detour on the straight and narrow road of life into the crooked, broad way of destruction. Those off-ramps always look so inviting though! But we have to remember that the road they take us to is a dead end. The only way of life is on that straight and narrow road Jesus told us about in Matthew 7.
What should we do instead? "But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in His testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will display at the proper time- He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen." (1 Timothy 6:11-16)
But wait a second! Aren't we called to be salt and light in this world? Certainly. Jesus Himself commanded us to do that in Matthew 5:13-16. He prayed for us in John 17 and asked The Father not to take us out of the world but that He would keep us from the evil one. He also clarified that we are not of the world, just as He is not of the world. (see verses 15 and 16). And then see the next verse. Jesus asked God to sanctify us in the Truth; His Word is Truth. And just keep reading while you're at it. Christ goes on to say that as God sent Him into the world, He has sent us into the world. And for our sake, Christ consecrated Himself that we may also may be sanctified in truth.
That's our daily spiritual bath right there. Christ has already permanently cleansed us through His death and Resurrection and our faith in Him- but that is where the healing started. It is completed when we reach Heaven. (Philippians 1:6) All along the way, we undergo the sanctification Jesus talked about in His prayer. And part of this means unlearning all the old things we had learned. God has to redo our minds, hearts, bodies, spirits and souls- He's power-washing the whole system until we take on His likeness in completion. "As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with Your likeness." (Psalms 17:15) That's what I want to see; not only when I gaze upon the glory of The Lord in His creation and in His Word- but also when I look in the mirror. Genesis1:26-27 says that He made males and females in His image. We tainted that image in Genesis 3 with sin and the fall of man. Yet God is working to restore that image back to what it was meant to be all along. And it's a continual process working in us, which is ultimately the work of The Holy Spirit in the end. Yet God still calls us to submit to Him in this work and, as our spiritual act of worship, to offer our bodies as living sacrifices and thereby be no longer conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. (Romans 12:1-2)
How do we effectively do this? God does call us to be separate from the world in one sense. "Come out of them and be clean and separate." "'Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate,' saith the Lord, 'and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.'" (2 Corinthians 6:17)
But we can’t effectively run away and hide from the whole world. And I don’t think that’s what God has called us to do. However, there are some things of the world that we can separate ourselves from- we don’t have to keep up with every trend of the world. We don’t have to keep up with all the entertainment of the world (especially since so very little of it is worth watching. That is a separate matter for each believer, of course, as The Spirit leads them. I’ll just say to check Philippians 4:8 and seek to find entertainment that fits those guidelines. Of course, there are some things that pretty blatantly go against all those guidelines- thus, don’t take this quick summary to excuse things God expressly forbids, like say- looking lustfully at people. That alone might eliminate the vast majority of television shows today.) And we don’t have to be consumed with the same things the world consumes its time with, as we have weightier matters for our concern. We have the eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison that our light and momentary afflictions are preparing us for, as 2 Corinthians 4:17 tells us. And again, verse 18 reminds us to look not to the things that are seen but rather to the things that are unseen. What’s seen is transient, but what’s unseen is eternal. As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry echoes in “The Little Prince”: “What’s essential is invisible to the eye.”
We can’t avoid everything sinful in the world though. We still have to go to school and go to work and go to the grocery store and bank and post office and live life. We have to associate with some people- how else are we going to obey Jesus’ command to take The Gospel into all the world? (Matthew 28:18-20) As Paul instructs the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 5:9-10, we can’t get away from every sin and sinner in the world- we’d have to sign up for that mission to Mars and literally go out of this world to do that! (And of course, if human beings do one day colonize Mars, then we’ll just spread the sickness of sin there since we carry that death in our bodies anyway. Of course, when we’re saved through Christ, then we carry the death of Jesus in our bodies so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our bodies! [see 2 Corinthians 4:10]) Now if we go on to read 1 Corinthians 5:11-13, we will see that Paul is talking about addressing the sin that is within the church- confronting those who claim to follow Christ yet continue in sexual immorality, greed, idolatry, reviling, being a drunkard or swindling, etc. That is a place where we do need to lovingly confront such people and if they refuse to listen, then we need to purge the evil from among us.
I suppose the thing that frustrates me so much in the labyrinth of distractions and delights that tempt and ensnare us is not the fact that there is so much of it. That is only to be expected in a fallen world that’s blinded by the god of this age because the God of the universe, who is the same from age to age, has allowed us to be free to make choices. (See 2 Corinthians 4:1-6). And that sinful choice in Genesis 3 is still playing out. And it has a final end that will be reached one day. One day the final count will be tallied, the tares and the wheat will be separated, the lambs and goats divided and sent to the right and left and Christ will reign over all. He and His people will enjoy eternal life in Heaven, where there is eternal fullness of joy in His presence and pleasures forevermore at His right hand. (Psalms 16:11) And all those who reject Christ will be in Hell for all eternity. That is the only two destinations. No, the thing that frustrates me is how quickly I and others of Christ’s flock trade those eternal joys for the fleeting pleasures of sin. And let’s be honest- there is some amount of pleasure that comes with sin. And sometimes we even still hide that longing for the forbidden, even as we seek to have our minds retrained and aligned with God’s Spirit- and desire what He desires above all. Indeed, if we delight ourselves in The Lord, then He will give us the desires of our heart. (Psalms 37:4) And we must continue in the struggle- it’s the paradox and balance of Christian life, as Paul described it in Romans 7. The old man of sin continues to battle the new man of the Spirit. And, in moments of Spirit-led clarity, we are reminded that there is no greater joy than The Lord Jesus Himself. May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I forget Him and if I make anything other than Him and His kingdom my highest joy! (To paraphrase Psalms 137:6) C.S. Lewis said it quite well in his classic “The Weight of Glory: "If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” (emphasis added)
Here is a scene I would love to see occur on all the online news sites, social media and on television news shows and the radio programs and newspapers.
World-wide trending: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save it.” (John 3:16-17)
I’d love to see people posting about how much today they have been enraptured and captured by God’s love. I’d love to see people talking about the majesty and wonder of the God of the universe, Who created everything, yet loves us so much out of all His creation! (Psalms 8). I’d love to see people marveling in amazement at the grace that God has bestowed upon us through the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the salvation He has made freely available to all through faith in Him! “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.” (1 John 3:1-3)
And praise God! This is a scene that we will see one day. Philippians 2:10-11 promises that there is coming a day when every knee will bow and every knee will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of all, to the glory of God the Father! Even those who deny this now on Earth will one day confess it in eternity- but it will be too late then and they will be taken into judgment in Hell. And knowing this truth and knowing that we serve The soon and coming King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16), then we should all the more seek to think about Him and His goodness and righteousness and praise Him and declare Him, His love, righteous judgment and salvation to all the world! We can enjoy the pleasures God gives us in this life- our family, friends and the beauty of creation and recreation that He gives us that is pleasing to Him. (As James 1:17 reminds us, every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of lights.) But let us not become so consumed with the temporary things of this world that we forget to keep our thoughts centered on the eternal- on Jesus and His kingdom. As Matthew 6:33 tells us, we must keep His kingdom and His righteousness first- and then He will add all the things we need unto us. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of The Father is not in him. For all that is in the world- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life- is not from The Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”(1 John 2:15-17) Amen.
These two favorite Rich Mullins songs sum up some of what I'm trying to say in this post:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jj0ZTzgmGM
("If I Stand" by Rich Mullins)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEiXrRmtDIk
("Land of my Sojourn" by Rich Mullins)
And this totally awesome song by my brother of the same descriptor also sums it all up very well (This may well be my favorite of his songs):
http://kevinludwick.bandcamp.com/track/come-home
And I can't say I'm always perfect about keeping my thoughts and mindset on things above and not just below. But Colossians 3:2-3 commands me to set my thoughts on things above and not on the stuff of earth. 'Cause I've died and my life is hidden with Christ in God. According to Romans 8:1-11, if we set our mind on the flesh- that's death. But to set our mind on the Spirit- well, that's life and peace- 'cause then we walk according to the Spirit and when we obey the Spirit of God, He makes peace out of our chaos as we know we are pleasing God and walking with Him. As 1 Timothy 6:20-21 says, "O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called 'knowledge', for by professing it some have swerved from the faith. Grace be with you."
Paul reiterated this in 2 Timothy 2:16-17 which tells us, we must "avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene." Ugh!
Note that the concern in both cases is that such foolish talk can lead people to swerve from the faith and into ungodliness instead. And with the fickleness of our minds and particularly our sinful human nature, it's quite easy to take a detour on the straight and narrow road of life into the crooked, broad way of destruction. Those off-ramps always look so inviting though! But we have to remember that the road they take us to is a dead end. The only way of life is on that straight and narrow road Jesus told us about in Matthew 7.
What should we do instead? "But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in His testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will display at the proper time- He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen." (1 Timothy 6:11-16)
But wait a second! Aren't we called to be salt and light in this world? Certainly. Jesus Himself commanded us to do that in Matthew 5:13-16. He prayed for us in John 17 and asked The Father not to take us out of the world but that He would keep us from the evil one. He also clarified that we are not of the world, just as He is not of the world. (see verses 15 and 16). And then see the next verse. Jesus asked God to sanctify us in the Truth; His Word is Truth. And just keep reading while you're at it. Christ goes on to say that as God sent Him into the world, He has sent us into the world. And for our sake, Christ consecrated Himself that we may also may be sanctified in truth.
That's our daily spiritual bath right there. Christ has already permanently cleansed us through His death and Resurrection and our faith in Him- but that is where the healing started. It is completed when we reach Heaven. (Philippians 1:6) All along the way, we undergo the sanctification Jesus talked about in His prayer. And part of this means unlearning all the old things we had learned. God has to redo our minds, hearts, bodies, spirits and souls- He's power-washing the whole system until we take on His likeness in completion. "As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with Your likeness." (Psalms 17:15) That's what I want to see; not only when I gaze upon the glory of The Lord in His creation and in His Word- but also when I look in the mirror. Genesis1:26-27 says that He made males and females in His image. We tainted that image in Genesis 3 with sin and the fall of man. Yet God is working to restore that image back to what it was meant to be all along. And it's a continual process working in us, which is ultimately the work of The Holy Spirit in the end. Yet God still calls us to submit to Him in this work and, as our spiritual act of worship, to offer our bodies as living sacrifices and thereby be no longer conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. (Romans 12:1-2)
How do we effectively do this? God does call us to be separate from the world in one sense. "Come out of them and be clean and separate." "'Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate,' saith the Lord, 'and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.'" (2 Corinthians 6:17)
But we can’t effectively run away and hide from the whole world. And I don’t think that’s what God has called us to do. However, there are some things of the world that we can separate ourselves from- we don’t have to keep up with every trend of the world. We don’t have to keep up with all the entertainment of the world (especially since so very little of it is worth watching. That is a separate matter for each believer, of course, as The Spirit leads them. I’ll just say to check Philippians 4:8 and seek to find entertainment that fits those guidelines. Of course, there are some things that pretty blatantly go against all those guidelines- thus, don’t take this quick summary to excuse things God expressly forbids, like say- looking lustfully at people. That alone might eliminate the vast majority of television shows today.) And we don’t have to be consumed with the same things the world consumes its time with, as we have weightier matters for our concern. We have the eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison that our light and momentary afflictions are preparing us for, as 2 Corinthians 4:17 tells us. And again, verse 18 reminds us to look not to the things that are seen but rather to the things that are unseen. What’s seen is transient, but what’s unseen is eternal. As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry echoes in “The Little Prince”: “What’s essential is invisible to the eye.”
We can’t avoid everything sinful in the world though. We still have to go to school and go to work and go to the grocery store and bank and post office and live life. We have to associate with some people- how else are we going to obey Jesus’ command to take The Gospel into all the world? (Matthew 28:18-20) As Paul instructs the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 5:9-10, we can’t get away from every sin and sinner in the world- we’d have to sign up for that mission to Mars and literally go out of this world to do that! (And of course, if human beings do one day colonize Mars, then we’ll just spread the sickness of sin there since we carry that death in our bodies anyway. Of course, when we’re saved through Christ, then we carry the death of Jesus in our bodies so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our bodies! [see 2 Corinthians 4:10]) Now if we go on to read 1 Corinthians 5:11-13, we will see that Paul is talking about addressing the sin that is within the church- confronting those who claim to follow Christ yet continue in sexual immorality, greed, idolatry, reviling, being a drunkard or swindling, etc. That is a place where we do need to lovingly confront such people and if they refuse to listen, then we need to purge the evil from among us.
I suppose the thing that frustrates me so much in the labyrinth of distractions and delights that tempt and ensnare us is not the fact that there is so much of it. That is only to be expected in a fallen world that’s blinded by the god of this age because the God of the universe, who is the same from age to age, has allowed us to be free to make choices. (See 2 Corinthians 4:1-6). And that sinful choice in Genesis 3 is still playing out. And it has a final end that will be reached one day. One day the final count will be tallied, the tares and the wheat will be separated, the lambs and goats divided and sent to the right and left and Christ will reign over all. He and His people will enjoy eternal life in Heaven, where there is eternal fullness of joy in His presence and pleasures forevermore at His right hand. (Psalms 16:11) And all those who reject Christ will be in Hell for all eternity. That is the only two destinations. No, the thing that frustrates me is how quickly I and others of Christ’s flock trade those eternal joys for the fleeting pleasures of sin. And let’s be honest- there is some amount of pleasure that comes with sin. And sometimes we even still hide that longing for the forbidden, even as we seek to have our minds retrained and aligned with God’s Spirit- and desire what He desires above all. Indeed, if we delight ourselves in The Lord, then He will give us the desires of our heart. (Psalms 37:4) And we must continue in the struggle- it’s the paradox and balance of Christian life, as Paul described it in Romans 7. The old man of sin continues to battle the new man of the Spirit. And, in moments of Spirit-led clarity, we are reminded that there is no greater joy than The Lord Jesus Himself. May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I forget Him and if I make anything other than Him and His kingdom my highest joy! (To paraphrase Psalms 137:6) C.S. Lewis said it quite well in his classic “The Weight of Glory: "If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” (emphasis added)
Here is a scene I would love to see occur on all the online news sites, social media and on television news shows and the radio programs and newspapers.
World-wide trending: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save it.” (John 3:16-17)
I’d love to see people posting about how much today they have been enraptured and captured by God’s love. I’d love to see people talking about the majesty and wonder of the God of the universe, Who created everything, yet loves us so much out of all His creation! (Psalms 8). I’d love to see people marveling in amazement at the grace that God has bestowed upon us through the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the salvation He has made freely available to all through faith in Him! “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.” (1 John 3:1-3)
And praise God! This is a scene that we will see one day. Philippians 2:10-11 promises that there is coming a day when every knee will bow and every knee will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of all, to the glory of God the Father! Even those who deny this now on Earth will one day confess it in eternity- but it will be too late then and they will be taken into judgment in Hell. And knowing this truth and knowing that we serve The soon and coming King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16), then we should all the more seek to think about Him and His goodness and righteousness and praise Him and declare Him, His love, righteous judgment and salvation to all the world! We can enjoy the pleasures God gives us in this life- our family, friends and the beauty of creation and recreation that He gives us that is pleasing to Him. (As James 1:17 reminds us, every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of lights.) But let us not become so consumed with the temporary things of this world that we forget to keep our thoughts centered on the eternal- on Jesus and His kingdom. As Matthew 6:33 tells us, we must keep His kingdom and His righteousness first- and then He will add all the things we need unto us. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of The Father is not in him. For all that is in the world- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life- is not from The Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”(1 John 2:15-17) Amen.
These two favorite Rich Mullins songs sum up some of what I'm trying to say in this post:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jj0ZTzgmGM
("If I Stand" by Rich Mullins)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEiXrRmtDIk
("Land of my Sojourn" by Rich Mullins)
And this totally awesome song by my brother of the same descriptor also sums it all up very well (This may well be my favorite of his songs):
http://kevinludwick.bandcamp.com/track/come-home
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Jesus Alone Above All
"Christ did not die to forgive sinners who go on treasuring anything above seeing and savoring God. And people who would be happy in Heaven if Christ were not there, will not be there. The Gospel is not a way to get people to Heaven; it is a way to get people to God. It's a way of overcoming every obstacle to everlasting joy in God. If we don't want God above all things, we have not been converted by the Gospel."- John Piper
Wow- challenging indeed, but so true. It brings Psalms 137 to mind for me- it's about the Israelites lamenting being able to rejoice and sing The Lord's song while in captivity in Babylon- and longing for Jerusalem. Of course, what a perfect picture of our residence on Earth, as we long for New Jerusalem. (Revelation 21:2)
"How shall we sing The Lord's song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! Let my tongue stick to the roof of
my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy!" (Psalms 137:4-6) Oh, may that be true of me, Lord Jesus. You are the Pearl of Great Price, the Jewel that the merchant sells everything to own. "Whom have I in Heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Psalms 73:25-26) "For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness." (Psalms 84:10) Lord, forgive me for making an idol of anything and for desiring anything more than You. Help me to want You and seek You and love You and follow You all the more. You alone are worthy, Lord Christ. You deserve all attention and praise.
You are the hidden treasure in a field. You are the Pearl of Great Price. You are the Prize, the Treasure, the Dream- You alone are above all. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of all! (Philippians 2:9-11)
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it." (Matthew 13:44-46)
All to Jesus, I surrender- all to Him I freely give. ("I Surrender All" by Judson W. Van DeVenter)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K2yuZtVfLg
You are the hidden treasure in a field. You are the Pearl of Great Price. You are the Prize, the Treasure, the Dream- You alone are above all. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of all! (Philippians 2:9-11)
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it." (Matthew 13:44-46)
All to Jesus, I surrender- all to Him I freely give. ("I Surrender All" by Judson W. Van DeVenter)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K2yuZtVfLg
Who have I in Heaven but You, Jesus? And what better could I hope to find down here on earth? I could search the most distant reaches of this world but I'd just be wasting my time 'cause I'm certain already I'm sure I'd find You're my one thing! ("My One Thing" by Rich Mullins)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aqP-A4tKCA
"Blessed are the pure in heart."- Jesus
"Purity of heart is to will one thing."- Kierkegaard
Jesus, You're my one thing.
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