Single-Minded

         "He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the LORD." (Proverbs 18:22)
"I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion." (1 Corinthians 7:7-9)
(And just to clarify, I'm speaking as a single man.)
            Marriage is awesome! Of course, marriage is also a ton of hard work! Marriage can actually have some pretty awful, strifeful moments at times and seem horrendous! But the vow of love before God helps hold a man and woman together and a cord of three strands is not quickly broken. (as Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 talks about.) If The Lord decides to let me have a wife- cool. If The Lord decides for me to remain single- cool. As Romans 14:8 says, whether I live or die- I'm The Lord's- I live and die to Him.
        As to all the business about being called to be single and such- I know Jesus refers to this some in Matthew 19. And I don't know that I feel "called" to be single (I don't know that I feel particularly "called" to anything other than called to obey God and preach The Gospel, as God commands in His Word in The Bible)- but I do know that whether I feel called to be celibate or not, I sure better be celibate as long as I'm single because sex outside of marriage is a sin.
        So I can understand the despair and discouragement and despondency and depression (wow- a lot of "d" words are rather dreary....) for the unwilling single person- I go through that some at times myself. But I honestly usually don't care- it's not that I particularly desire to be single or whatever- I would like to be married to the right woman someday- but until such time that God grants me a wife, I'll be a single virgin man who seeks to serve Christ with all his heart, soul, mind and strength even though he fails miserably quite often but still keeps trusting Jesus to work in him as Philippians 1:6 promises that Jesus will do until I'm there with Him in Heaven.
         Here's another "d" word that's a bit more cheery- Delight yourself in The Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalms 37:4) Which doesn't necessarily mean that you'll get married. It may mean that you truly do find your joy solely in The Lord (Nehemiah 8:10) and that you're not really all that worried about getting married.
         And let's not make marriage to be more than it is. Our society in the world at large tends to worship it to some degree and elevate it to a wrong status. If we're looking to marriage to fulfill all of our longings and desires for company and companionship, we're going to be sorely disappointed when we finally get it. Jesus Christ is the only One who truly can fulfill all desires of the heart- but even that will not be fully realized until we're in Heaven.
          So I just try to keep my focus on Jesus and not worry too much about marriage and such- there's no marriage in Heaven anyway [in the sense of a man and woman uniting as one before God], so why should I worry about the mistful vapor years I've got on Earth with that when I've got eternity ahead of me with more important things of the Kingdom to consider? (Not to say that marriage on earth is not important though- as I said before, it's awesome! And it can be pretty horrible at times too. It's certainly never easy.) But there is the marriage supper of The Lamb in Heaven, so I'm glad to be on the invitation list for that. And yes- the church is the bride of Christ, but it really doesn't work too well for single men to say Jesus is my husband. wink emoticon But He is my Lord, Savior and Best Friend Forever (yes- He really is my BFF and yes, I really made that cultural reference- lol) :-) and that's the most important thing.
          And I must say I really thank Him for family and friends and brothers and sisters in Christ who remind me of the fellowship that we all enjoy together in Christ now and will enjoy eternally and more so than we've ever experienced here when we all get to Heaven. :-)
           So just remember God loves you and it'll be alright. And take your pain and loneliness to The Lord- Job and David and Habakkuk and Hannah and Naomi and Jeremiah and tons of others sure weren't shy about it- and God knows all of our needs and He will provide for them all according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19) He may not provide all our wants, but it may be that He'll help us learn to be content in all situations (as Philippians 4 talks about right before that famous verse in 13- the one about how I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me- the one that might be better read as I can endure all things through Christ who strengthens me.) And don't forget that those who have given up families for Christ's sake in this life will receive 100-fold times in the next. I think sometimes God is saying to us- I want you to want Me. :-) And that's no cheap trick- look at all that God has done for us- He wants us so badly He went to Hell and back for us when Christ died and rose to pay for our sins! 1 Corinthians 10:31 commands us to do everything as unto The Lord and not just unto men. Thus, whatever I do, I want to be single-minded in purpose as I focus on bringing God glory. If I can do that better as a married man, praise God! If I can do that better as a single man, praise God! :-) (God is praised always regardless.)
I know I don't want God as much as I should- but I want to want Him and want nothing else. And I pray as Thomas Merton did that even that in itself is pleasing to Him. And He'll take care of the rest, as Keith Green said.
         Hope those ramblings help someone else who was born a rambling man (or a rambling woman, as the case may be.) Take care and God bless.

What If You Believe? (song)

The world is often dubious, brothers and sisters. The world is dubious of the claims of Christ and His followers. There are so many things that are listed as excuses. The world at large finds the tenets of Christianity to be only what a fool believes. Of course, if we're out of our minds, it's for Christ. And He takes the vain and foolish things of the world and confounds the wise. Yes, it may seem like foolishness to believe that God would love us all so much that He became a man and died on the cross for us and rose again in order that we might have forgiveness of sins and eternal life in Heaven instead of the eternal damnation in hell we deserve. But what if you believe what the world calls foolishness? Explore the evidence and truly consider the words of Christ- and you might find it making more and more sense minute by minute as God reveals Himself to you. This song talks about the encounters of Jesus with His first disciples and the miracles He showed to Nathanael and all the others who dared to believe. They left what they knew and believed on Christ. Now what if you believe?

"What If You Believe?"
(parody of "What A Fool Believes" performed by The Doobie Brothers and written by Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 2/11/2017)
(John 1)

He came in somewhere back 2000 years ago
The quintessential Yule log scene
Triune God is incarnate
Creator joins the created- Here comes Jesus Christ

His cousin's so wild-
Jesus' Messianic herald
Saw Him coming near- Johnny called out to say
"Behold, the Lamb of God
Who takes sins away"- Jesus!

They seek the place of the Christ
The Baptist's made ID twice
And disciples move there- (both) following
Son of God asks what they want to know
They're wanting to go

"Well, come and you will see"- They see
What wise men and the prophets all so longed to see
Andrew then leads
His own ol' brother (named Simon)
To Jesus Who calls Peter- fisher of men

Come way back in here- John 1- go!
Where in Galilee Jesus just states His invite
"Come follow Me"- Philip's on board

He went to Nate- "We've found Christ"
Nathanael balked but went to Christ
He surprises him, "Saw you under fig tree"
"Son of God," Nate says- How else would He know?
"You're the King of Israel!"

But what if you believe? You will see
Some wild things- so much powers far greater than these
Angels ascending
Come down like a ladder on Son of Man
With Heaven opened
Now that all you believe- you will see!

But what if you believe? You will see
Some wild things- so much powers far greater than these
Angels ascending
Come down like a ladder on Son of Man
With Heaven opened
Now that all you believe- you will see!

Why not? (poem)

To the brothers and sisters of the Dispersion in the time of their exile....

"I will sing His song in the land of my sojourn....."- Rich Mullins

"So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through His own blood. Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp and bear the reproach He endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Though Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His Name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." (Hebrews 13:12-16)


Why not?
(copyright by Nathan Ludwick 1/16/2017)
(Job 38-40, Hebrews 11-12, Psalms 73, 84 and 137, the book of Ecclesiastes, Romans 8, 1 Peter 1:17-19, Matthew 13, Psalms 119:19, Hebrews 13:10-16, Revelation 21:5, Revelation 21-22)

Why shouldn't I expect suffering in the world?
What makes me special and exempt?
Why do I expect perfection in a quite imperfect world?
Sometimes I feel so restless- I can't sit down or stand up or lie down
I've got to run around or I'll explode...
Restless legs and a reckless heart
Are a wanderer's trademark
Not all who wander are lost,
but not all who are lost wonder while they wander.
Some trade priceless treasure for their precious things
Some pierce themselves with many griefs in search of so many schemes.
The wind flitters and floats this way and that
We think we're walking on air as we strive and strain for it
But even on Cloud 9, it's still just beyond our grasp
If we ever caught it, we'd find that it's just empty air
Just like the pinnacle of our lives' pursuits have only an empty heir
Vanity, vanity- everything is vanity!
If a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions,
Why do we strive after wind and wind up reaping the whirlwind?
If anything, we should labor like Ruth in the Kinsman-Redeemer's harvest
So that our thorny soil might get pruned and yet bear fruit
Fruit that The Lord of the Harvest can use to sow what He reaps
But rather than grow spiritual cucumbers, the cares of this life
Keep us encumbered instead.
We want our best life now on our terms rather than waiting
for the coming glory.
Why do I want this world to be perfect when I have a perfect one waiting?
Now is the winter of our discontent and rather than bury it in the snow
we must embrace it.
Hug tight all the scars and bruises of this world and flick off
all our rotting bandages.
There's only One who holds all things together and He's still got
the whole world in His hands.
And while we look forward to standing with Him in Heaven
First we must stand with Him in Gethsemane.
Let us weep with Him who weeps rather than just fall asleep.
In our struggles with sin, we haven't yet resisted to the
point of shedding our blood- but He did.
The Father poured the cup of His wrath on His Son
And the blood-stained cross speaks a better word than the blood of Abel or any of us.
Yes, by faith we share His glory in the Resurrection, but first we bear His reproach.
As Moses left Egypt's palace and chose to suffer alongside his people,
So Christ left Heaven's throne and chose to suffer alongside His people.
Thou didst leave Thy throne, O Lord- help me to leave my throne as well.
Like captives in Babylon, we are exiles on this planet- wanderers
looking for a new city- a real home.
May the restlessness in our hearts keep us from ever being
content with poor substitutes on earth.
We're all panning for gold in life, but let us pan the fool's gold that abounds.
Let's sell it all to buy the field and get the real gold treasure we've found.
He is the abundant life that flows in us and reminds us of what
this world was made to be before sin's catastrophe.
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
We all live in our present suffering, but we dream of the restoration coming.
And while we live so that His love might leave others with
the mark of the Divine that points us all back to Christ,
may we all solider on, steady further up and further in-
aliens and strangers on the road that's straight and narrow, all the way to Him!
We must solider on in the land of our sojourn
and fight the good fight, knowing that He's already won the battle.
Even amidst all our struggles and sorrows, we know
The Man of Sorrows knows and feels every one and helps us through them
And one day He will take all those old battle scars and
give them a full healing through and through when He makes all things new!

The Truth's Lying in Plain Sight

         As a precursor, I want to note that I generally strive to avoid political posts and this one is no different. I don't hold to any particular party (just Jesus above all)- and this is not about parties and politics- it's about purity.
         I was thinking earlier today about the truth and how it has so many interesting manipulations, particularly by American presidents in recent memory. President Nixon- "Tricky Dick"- claimed boldly, "I am not a crook." Maybe not, but he was unfortunately a liar. (He was smart enough to resign before he got impeached.) President Clinton- "Slick Willy"- needed clarification on the meaning of the word "is" during his impeachment hearings. (He was eventually acquitted, as there were not enough votes for the perjury and obstruction of justice charges to stick.) Of course, President Bush (I'm not aware of pejorative nicknames for him, though I'm sure people assigned him some) sold the whole Iraq war on what was shown to be a false presumption about the presence of weapons of mass destruction there. Numerous charges of questioned truth claims were leveled at President Obama and I suppose his biggest faux pas would be the whole debacle over the handling of the healthcare bill. President Trump's administration talks about the plethora of "fake news" floating around, but also talks about the existence of "alternative facts". How does that even work?
          In years past, we had President "Honest Abe" Abraham Lincoln and President George Washington, who had the famous story about cutting down cherry trees- "I cannot tell a lie. I chopped down the cherry tree." Of course, I'm sure one could find untruths true of all political leaders and people in general at some point or another. The point here is that we are all sinners and all in need of The Truth. Romans 1:25 says that we exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. That is indeed the problem- we've moved from a picture of grace and nature being held as the ideas guiding our society to non-rationality and rationality being the two guiding ideas- and we escape from reason as the basis for truth to embracing feelings as the basis for truth instead. [Note: I've been reading Francis Schaeffer lately. ;-) I have to credit him for a lot of this post, and ultimately to God for inspiration for both of us.]
As Relient K said, "Sometimes when you're trying to sleep and all your doubts and your faith don't agree, it's cause sometimes the hardest thing to believe is the truth."
         It's important to note that Jesus identifies Himself not only as The Way and The Life (in John 14:6) but also The Truth. When we come into relationship with Him through faith in His death and Resurrection, we find ourselves in The Truth and come to understand that our identity in Christ is our true selves that the Fall has driven us away from. We live now as shells- men with hollow chests as T.S. Eliot said and C.S. Lewis alluded to as well. Colossians 3:1-4 says that when we come to Christ, we die and our true life is then hidden with Christ in God. His Way of Life really is the only Life- living in line with the design God had for us all along- to be loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Romans 2:9-18 makes it abundantly clear that none of us are righteous- none of us are pure. Yet it's the pure in heart who shall see God, according to Jesus in Matthew 5:8.
        That's exactly why Jesus, the pure and spotless Lamb of God, had to intervene and live out the requirements of the Law that we could never keep. And when we put all our faith into Christ's righteousness and completed work, our falsehoods are recognized for what they are and our eyes are unveiled and we can see the Truth of Jesus for Who He is- and know The Truth who sets us free. (John 8:32-36) "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:1-4)

He's Gone (song)

Psalms 126:6 says that those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. I hope this parody song that's hauling oates will bear some seeds for sowing and see sheaves brought about that I and those who let the seed of God's Word grow in them will all come Home with shouts of joy! :-) And this is definitely a song of joy as, though it starts on a dour note, the sour taste of death sweetens into a triumph of life and life eternal over death. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? Jesus has conquered you forever and He's gone from that tomb! And because He lives, we can live also. :-)

 "He's Gone" (parody of "She's Gone" by Hall & Oates; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 12/11/2016)
(Matthew 26-28, Mark 14-16, Luke 22-24, John 13-21, (particularly John 20), Romans 10:13, Romans 6:1-11, 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Corinthians 6:14)

Everybody's crying- needs consolation
Son of God's dying to save me
But The Christ must bleed, yeah
Receives a drink and He yields His spirit
Now we're scattered sheep, ooh, what will be?

Chorus 1:
He's gone, He's gone
Oh, why?
Oh, why?
I better learn how to face it
He's gone, He's gone
Oh, why?
Oh, why?
I'd say the devil's celebrating
He's gone, He's gone
Oh, why?
What went wrong?

Get up Sunday morning- look in on Saviour
Empty tomb- just linen- Mary's sad
About face and thinking it's the gardener
Woman, why do you weep?
Lord's taken away from me

Chorus 2:
He's gone, He's gone
Oh, why?
Oh, why?
She said, "Sir, where have you laid Him?"
In John, in John
20- Rabboni!
You see, the devil only bruised Him
Praise God! Praise God!
He's alive!
God has won!

Now I'll spend eternity in the Heavenlies
'Cause the cross of the Crucified took my wrongs away
And anybody that will call His Name is saved
Grave- where's your victory? 'Cause Jesus' gone from thee!

Chorus 3:
He's gone! He's gone!
The Christ did rise!
And in our turn, He will raise us!
He's God! He's God!
The Lord Jesus Christ!
One day the devil's gonna say it
Then he's gone
And we're gone
With Christ
In Heaven!

(Repeat Chorus 3)
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Hosanna (song)

Note: Here is another entry from the archives, just barely in time for Palm Sunday, depending on what part of the world you're in. :-) And I just thought it might be worth noting- I wrote this song back in 2009 or so and then about 2 years later, I heard ApologetiX release their own take on this same song with the same parody title. (And theirs is a great version too, of course!) But just for the record- I wrote this before I ever heard their version. And if you haven't heard this group- go check them out!

This is a classic early 1980s song. This is a song of praise to Jesus, describing the reaction of one who greeted Him at His triumphal entry on Palm Sunday. God so loved the world that He gave His Son to die for us and rise again! I can never get over God's love for us! It's so amazing! :-) Jesus Christ is worthy of all praise! Enjoy this musical account of the events of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem- how quickly the crowds went from shouts of praise to shouts of "Crucify!" Thankfully, the story continues past there. Like Toto and Dorothy got home at the end of the story, Jesus made it back from the grave so that He could one day take us all Home in the end!

(Note: "bg vocal" just means "background vocal")

"Hosanna" (parody of "Rosanna" by Toto; copyright by Nathan Ludwick circa March 2009)
(Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19, John 12, Psalms 84, James 1:17, Luke 6:23)

All I wanna do when I wake up in the morning is feel alive!
Hosanna, Hosanna
I never thought that a God like You could ever care for me- Hosanna

All I wanna do in the middle of the evening- behold Your might!
Hosanna, Hosanna
I didn't know You were looking to be all I could ever need!

Chorus 1:
Not quite a cheer since it meant "Lord, save"- Hosanna, yeah!
Twenty-one Matthew has to say:
Greet You on the way- Greet You Palm Sunday-Hosanna, yeah!
He comes in the Name- Greet You, Son of Dave- Hosanna, yeah!

I can see God's grace still riding through Jerusalem on a donkey's hide
Hosanna, Hosanna
I didn't know that a God like you would take a humble ride- Hosanna!
All I have will praise You- now You'll never ever have to bleed stones dry
Hosanna, Hosanna
11 Mark, 19 in Luke and 12 John- so rad!

(Repeat Chorus 1)

(Instrumental break)

Chorus 2:
Not quite a cheer since it meant "Lord, save"- Hosanna, yeah!
Now read on and I have to say:
Read through all of James (Yeah!)- One, one seven (1:17) says- Hosanna, yeah
He gives all good things (Hoo!)-Give Him all the praise-Hosanna, yeah!
Read Luke 6 today- Twenty-three- it's a Bonanza, yeah!
Leap pews- Jesus saves! Need You all my days- Hosanna, yeah!

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Sweet Ol' King James (1611 mix) (song)

This song felt appropriate to post around April Fool's Day, even though I'm a day off. (April Fool's! Not that being late in posting something counts as much of a joke.) And even though I do treat this song in something of a joking manner, I do want to make clear that I don't mean it with any disrespect. The reason I feel that this kind of song is almost, dare I say, Taylor-made for this holiday, is because it's a parody of a song by a guy called James singing about another James- and my version sings about yet another James- King James. Some Christians feel very strongly about his Bible translation and hold to it to the point of excluding any other translation- to the point of even denouncing other translations as demonic works of some sort because they don't render God's Word exactly as the good ol' Textus Receptus. I just find the argumentation to be ridiculous at times because it's only divisive to the church. Sometimes we have to just agree to disagree agreeably.
 2 Timothy 3:16 says that all of Scripture is God-breathed and it's useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. And I believe all the translations of The Holy Bible are useful for the same purposes as well. In 1 Corinthians 1, the issue is raised about some following Paul, and some Apollos, and some Cephas (i.e. Peter) and still others saying, "I follow Christ." I think that's the important thing to remember- we who follow Christ above all else need to love each other and serve as one united body of believers in Christ, just like Jesus prayed in John 17- and as yet another James wrote about, by the Holy Spirit's guidance. (see James 3)
So whether you dig the New Living Translation or you're down with the New International Version or the North American Standard Bible or the English Standard Version- or you're rocking out with 1611 King James Version- come together as one in Christ and let's seek to love each other above all. After all, Jesus said the most important commands for us- "Thou shalt love The Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind and strength and love thy neighbor as thyself."

"Sweet Ol' King James (1611 mix)" (parody of "Sweet Baby James" by James Taylor; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 1/29/2017)
(Proverbs 30:5-6, Psalms 119:89-90, Psalms 119:96-97, Psalms 119:160, Romans 13:8-14, 1 Corinthians 9:15-23, Psalms 18:30, Matthew 18:15-20, Matthew 5:38-42, Matthew 5:9-15, Matthew 7:1-6, Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31, John 15:12, James 1:19-20, Hebrews 12:14, Psalms 133, Philippians 1:15-18, James 3, John 17, Mark 9:38-41, Luke 9:49-50, 2 Timothy 3:16, Luke 9:55 (in the footnotes), Romans 14, Romans 12:9-21, 1 Corinthians 3, 1 Corinthians 14:20, Galatians 5, Ephesians 2:18-22, Ephesians 4, 1 Peter 4:8, John 15:8, John 13:34-35, Titus 3:1-11,1 Thessalonians 5:12-28, Colossians 3:11-17, 1 Corinthians 10:23-33, 1 Corinthians 1, 1 Corinthians 8, 1 Corinthians 11:1, 2 Corinthians 10:7)

There was this one Calvinist, in England he reigned
He ordered a Bible- KJV-only folks champion
He spoke in the natural good King's English canon
Writing for commoners, translators arranged
Erasmus dude's write-up assists all the scribes there
52 top men- about 7 years
In 1609, then the whole thing's reviewed there
The chief one of all, Rich Bancroft- overseer
And then came 400 odd years

Chorus 1
Goodbye, all you new translations
Rocking out (with) sweet ol' King James
"Thees", "thous", "verilys" too- vernacular I use
Won't just let you read out of NIV
I'm rocking out 1611 James

Now there're verses you remember because of the flow
Jesus spoke just like in Cambridge sixteen oughts then (i.e. 1600s)
His birth, prayer, baptism- we recount like that James king
It's been filed inside thee- 'cause the Western mores did mold

Philippians 1:18- well, we praise when Lord Christ's preached
They're wrong if using NASB (or) ESV(?)
It's wrong 'cause they leave off verses most others can't find(?)
They're included in footnotes? If it helps you to read-
Olde English works just fine for me

Chorus 2
So, goodbye, all you new translations
What about wisdom?- 3 James
133 in Psalms- united brothers- How cool!
Can't we just please agree to disagree?
Be unified like Jesus prayed

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