God Plans (Trust and Obey) (song)

Note: Here's another old favourite from the archives. Just like one of my favourite hymns says, "Trust and obey for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey."

The Bible says that we are worth much more than the birds that are sold for a penny- we’re worth much more than a flock of seagulls even! So if God thinks of us and takes care of us (Luke 11)- why would we not just simply trust Him and obey Him? Don’t run away- trust and obey!

God Plans (Trust and Obey)
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(parody of “I Ran (So Far Away)” by A Flock of Seagulls) (copyright by Nathan Ludwick 6/9/2013)
(Genesis 1-3, Numbers 13-14, Jonah 1-4, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalms 33, Proverbs 19:21, Proverbs 16:33, Proverbs 16:25, Proverbs 16:1-3, Proverbs 16:9, Jeremiah 29:11, John 14:1, John 14:23)

I walk alone- Genesis dude
I never thought I’d meet a girl like you
Eve’s the girl I choose
We got ensnared by serpent’s lies
Opened our eyes and realized we’re nude
Heard God striding through

And we scrammed- we panicked and hid away
God just asked- He asked where we were- Hey!
We couldn’t get away

A cloud appears above our heads
And fire by night- both guiding our whole crew
Guides us to subdue
The Lord’s behooving- in Numbers read
The Lord says what is real is Canaan’s through
The Lord will conquer, dudes!

But we ran! We ran from God’s plan- Hey!
Promised Land- we’re banned ‘cause we didn’t obey!
40 year desert stay!

Received command to preach (to) this place
“You go to Nineveh now”- I refused
A big fish stopped my coup
Spat out on land to try again
Been floating in fish three days (and) nights- I’m through
God’s will will come through

When I ran, I ran so far away
I should have just done what’s right- obey!

When God plans, His plans come true always
So don’t run- just go trust and obey!
(Trust and obey!)

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Will You Believe and Ask Him? (song)

Note: Another favourite from the archives. One of my magic references in the song- "The Magician", a short-lived action/adventure show that utilized magic as a means of stopping the bad guys and starred Bill Bixby, recently finally got a DVD release! :-) And that deeper magic of Aslan is finally set to come back to theaters in the near future with things moving along nicely with "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair" movie! We must believe in (deeper) magic! Of course, it's always timely to consider Christ and His claims and what we will do with His offer of salvation. As 2 Corinthians 6:2 says, now is the day of salvation!
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This recounts a specific incident in The Bible. It’s about a certain magician who came face to face with the most powerful magic he’d ever seen. And when he got a lovin’ spoonful of that magic, he just had to have it at any price. But what he didn’t realize was that if you just believe and ask, this magic is totally free! (And yes- bonus points for catching the various magic references I just had to make- especially the one at the end! For Narnia- and The Lion of Judah!) 

“Will You Believe and Ask Him?” 
(parody of “Do You Believe in Magic?” by The Lovin’ Spoonful) 
(copyright by Nathan Ludwick 4/24/2010) 
(Acts 2:38, Acts 8:4-25) 

“Will you believe and ask Him right into your heart?” 
Now then Simon believed that sorcerer upstart 
And his magic- well, it used to be groovy 
Acts 8 reveals Simon’s like an old time news reel 
Philip tells him ‘bout The Master- how He’ll free your soul 
But it’s like Simon now felt a learner in a brave new world 

Yeah, Houdini’s magic- don’t bother to choose 
Earvin Johnson’s Lakers; Orlando and crew 
Bibxy’s “Magician”- or then Merlin beguiles 
They can’t buy off the faith no matter how hard they try 
The peeps start talking- Simon’s not The Divine 
Now they got Christ, so they get baptized 

Then they receive The Spirit- Pete and John laying 
Their hands on them wowing Simon- “Are you selling?” 
“And maybe, if the money is right” 
Well, Pete cuts him off now, stating, “You ain’t right” 
“Your sins- renounce them, baby, then you’ll see” 
“How the magic’s in The Spirit and The Spirit’s in me” 

Yeah, Will you believe and ask Him? 
Yeah, believe in the passion of God’s own Son 
Believe in the power of Resurrection 
Believe deeper magic that can set you free 
Ohh, talking ‘bout Aslan 

Do you believe in Aslan? (Do you believe like I believe?)[background vocal] 
Will you receive Redeemer? (Do you believe like I believe?)[background vocal] 
Will you believe and ask Him? (Do you believe like I believe?)[background vocal] 
(Fade) 
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A Dusting of Stargazing

I'm a bit late for All Saints' Day, but I had been thinking on this earlier and thought it fit well. Evolutionary theory says that we are stardust- that we are literally made of the atoms of exploding stars through the Big Bang and evolution. I've seen this explained in movies where it's made to sound all cosmic and romantic because the sense of eternity that we associate with stars, which can last for so many ages. It's like a touch of The Divine, you could say. And The Bible says that's halfway right. The Divine has made us with eternity in our hearts. (Ecclesiastes 3:11) We are made to be eternal beings. We are made of dust alright- but it's dust from the ground, not the stars. (Genesis 2 explains that God made Adam from the dust of the ground and then made Eve from one of his ribs.) The Bible mentions this a couple of times. Psalms 103:14, in detailing the depth of God's compassion, explains that He remembers how we are formed, that we are but dust. From ashes to ashes and from dust to dust- we are made from the dust and to the dust we will return. (Genesis 3:19 and Ecclesiastes 3:20)
Another passage talks about this, but I think it's one that gets buried in the midst of a super famous chapter about the Resurrection of Jesus and the resurrection of the dead.

1 Corinthians 15:35-49
English Standard Version (ESV)

The Resurrection Body
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36 You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”;[a] the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall[b] also bear the image of the man of heaven.

The evolutionary theory ascribes a divine composition to our bodies without acknowledging The Divine Being Who "infused us with holy". (To briefly quote Chris Rice's "The Final Move") It is true in that sense that we are made of the Bright Morning Star of Heaven (Revelation 22:16). He made us in His image. He is the only reason we can take wonder at our bodies and our creation. The glory is reflected in us the created but it reflects back to The Creator! When we marvel at the beauty of the moon's shimmering brightness at night, in one sense we are marveling at the moon, but ultimately we're marveling at the source of the moon's light- the sun. In the same way, when we marvel at humanity because we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalms 139:13-14), we are really marvelling at the source of our wonderfully made bodies- The Son.
Psalms 8 asks God, "What is man that You care for him?" We are but dust, yet God made us a little lower than the angels. In our search for wonder and meaning in that wonder, we must wonder as we wander about the wonder around us and within us and it should lead us to the One Whose Name is Wonderful Counselor and Mighty God.
And when we realize we are not as strong as we think we are (that's a Rich Mullins reference), we can acknowledge our need for The God Who created the cosmos and everything in it. He's the only One Who can bring new life to dying stars and planets. He Himself came from Heaven to die to pay for all sins. And because the Eternal One of Heaven rose, we know we will also rise in Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:14) Our faith in Him assures us of our place with Him. And then we become complete in Him- our frail forms of dust from the ground are transformed into Morning Stardust instead as we take our place beside The Ancient of Days in the heavens- in Heaven- forever. :-)
Praise God for His amazing love that fills us with wonder every time. Romans 5:8 is forever wondrous to me- Jesus, You are the Wonder and Mystery I seek to behold. May I ever be captivated by Your awesomeness too great for words.

Pre-Fallen (song)

Note: This is another favorite from the archives. I thought it was fitting to pull this one out in tribute to Mr. Tom Petty in light of his recent passing. I hope he truly loved Jesus as he mentions the girl in his "Free Fallin' " song does and I hope he's in Heaven now.

This one is a bit like John Milton’s works. It describes how we got a “Paradise Lost” but it also describes how we can get “Paradise Regained”. Jesus has already done the job! And though we still live in a fallen world, it doesn’t have to be a heartbreaker as the initial outlook was. Rather, Jesus is a heart saver and when we give Him our lives, it’s like we’re pre-fallen!

“Pre-Fallen”

(parody of “Free Fallin’ “ by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers)

(parody by Nathan Ludwick 12/31/2010)

(Romans 3, Romans 10, John 7:37-38, John 8:32-36, 1 Peter 1:18-23, Genesis 3, John 1:12, Matthew 11:28, John 14:1-6, Revelation 3:20, Matthew 10:8, Ezekiel 36:25-29)

In a good world, we’d love The Father,

Love Jesus and The Holy Ghost too

In a good world- baby, now sinless

Rejoices- it’s like Eden 2!

(And) it seems long away- living in Laodicea

There’s a tree with flaming sword to guard

What a sad day when we go and eat forbidden

We’ve been bad, boy- it’s breaking God’s heart

(Genesis) 3- the fall of man!

Adam (and) Eve- we’ve all sinned!

And it’s handed all down through Man’s family

Move east now- 1st. Peter 1- read on

And all the bad, oi- it’s planted in the marrow

But The Good Lord can form us brand new hearts

And now, uh- He’s – He’s calling!

Yeah, get a free- overhauling

He’s calling- it’s, uh- Jesus calling and uh,

We’ve fallen, read, uh- 3 Romans and uh,

I want ya right now- read in 10 Romans

In verse 9, get saved by The Christ

We’re gonna be called children of God then

Gonna leave this world far behind

[And we’re free

(Free falling into Jesus’ calling and uh)

We’re all in

(Free falling, I’m really all in and uh)

Yeah, we’re free

(Prefallen- it’s like we’re prefallen and uh)

We’re all in

(Free falling in uh, Matt. Eleven two eight (11:28)) ]

[Repeat above and fade]

(Recall in Matt. 10- free calling and uh)

Yeah, we’re free!

[alternate line for repeats]

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The Standard

Note: This is actually something I wrote for a graduate class. The essay is addressing the question of why schools have standards for curriculum, but in doing so I addressed the idea of standards in the world at large- including the moral standard, which points out to us our need for God because we know there is a standard of right and wrong in the world- and we don't naturally do what's right. We are sinners who need a Saviour- and God has provided the world the only One Who can save us-The Lord Jesus Christ. For further reading, see also
Romans 7:7-25, Romans 1-3 (and particularly verse 2:4), Ecclesiastes 3:11 and Galatians 3 in The Holy Bible.
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          As human beings, we are born into a world of standards that govern our lives and that we must adhere to in order to succeed. We are created to recognize the natural order of laws as well as the moral order. Though people disagree on some moral imperatives there are basic ones that most everyone in the world ascribes to and aspires to achieving. Drawn from these, each country has its own sets of civil laws that govern the citizens. In a world that now tends to sway toward chaos, we as a people generally desire some sense of order in order to not only make sense of the world but also since it helps draw us back to restoration of injustices. As teachers and librarians, we also desire to add to this process through education and thus we develop standards that will help all students reach their highest potential and equip them to help bring the change we want to see in the world.
         To this end, appointed bodies like the AASL, ISTE and Common Core creators have worked to establish the bottom line of learning for all students. Through careful observation and study, these entities have determined skills and knowledge deemed necessary for survival in the world and for contributing to society in a positive manner. Through ages of collected knowledge and observation, we as human beings know that the world is ordered in a certain way to ensure survival. We know that careless acts of litter of waste materials will bring damage to the world and ultimately to ourselves. Thus, encouraged and sobered by such findings, we share with students the scientific findings that have been made and help them learn how to discover still more. This is but one example of skills that help human beings develop into meaningful contributers to improvements in society. There is also social studies and history to be considered so that we may learn from the past and improve the present and help secure a better future. Mathematics are necessary to understand how to measure and order things, which also helps with medicine, which helps preserve human life. And English language arts contribute to our moral and spiritual components as we seek to know the human condition and share with each other our enlightenment and understanding of life and even reach transcendence of the temporal as well.
           Standards themselves are still different from objectives. Whereas the standard for driving on the highway may be to maintain a speed of no less than 45 mph and no greater than 70, individual drivers set their own objectives. The objective might be to reach a certain destination in optimal time and thus this is carried out by driving the maximum speed limit. Other drivers may prefer a leisurely drive for pleasure as they cruise and listen to music. These drivers may hover closer to the minimum speed limit. In either case, the standard is still met. It is much the same for educators. Objectives are developed differently by individual teachers to communicate certain aspects of the standard for the day, but these are distinct from the overarching standard itself. "When those standards are written in terms that are too broad, teachers have to unpack those standards and dissect them until they reach specific statements of the knowledge and skills that should be taught. From those statements, teachers can then develop their lesson objectives." (Tate 44) In presenting these objectives, teachers who start with the end in mind can more easily decipher how best to assess the knowledge of the skills in question as informed by the standards. The standards inform teachers as to the overall general knowledge that must be known in the end and the teacher develops the objectives to get to the nitty-gritty details that teach measurable skills that demonstrate not only knowledge but understanding of it as well. Thus, a teacher tasked with a general standard to teach the nuances of figurative language might make a goal of having students learn a specific example in the form of metaphors and be able to formulate their own to demonstrate knowledge so that the school might spawn its own.
          In our search for meaning and structure in life, the standards of nature, morality and civility are what shape us. They speak to to all of us on every level even if we only may recognize some on particular levels. They drive us to establish mandates that will aid us in aspiring to those standards and thus drive our individual objectives for how best to do this. We utilize the standards to decide how best to determine if we are meeting them and we allow the results to drive us further in this search. And in all these pursuits, we are ever restless as we continuously and tirelessly stretch for the infinite, which may seem so very far away yet it is not far from any one of us.

Work Cited

Tate, Marcia L. Formative Assessment in a Brain-Compatible Classroom. West Palm Beach, FL, Learning Sciences, 2016.

Transcending Transgendering

Note: I have previously addressed this topic and I wanted to talk on some other points with this issue here. As before, I always want to be very careful in discussing topics in general and particularly controversial ones. Thus, I'll reiterate what I said previously as a precursor. This piece is largely based in response to reading an excellent article from Christianity Today addressing this topic.

Yarhouse, Mark. “Understanding the Transgender Phenomenon.” ChristianityToday.com, Christianity Today, 8 June 2015, www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2015/july-august/understanding-transgender-gender-dysphoria.html. Accessed 24 Sept. 2017
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     I wanted to offer my thoughts here on a topic that has become of great public scrutiny and debate in America in recent years. It is one that (pun intended) engenders strong emotions on either side of things. As always, I hope to be gracious in talking about sensitive matters and always remember that there are always sinners behind the sin and I am just as sinful and in need of grace as anyone else. I also want to be very clear about what I am discussing here and what I am not saying here. I want to talk about the subject of transgenderism and a Christian response to it. One of the clearest verses in The Bible about this issue is found in Deuteronomy 22:5, wherein The Lord forbids men from wearing women's clothing and women from wearing men's clothing. I think any Christian struggling with these sexual identity questions must consider this verse, along with Jesus' words in Matthew 19, wherein He reiterates Genesis 1:26-27, wherein God made people male and female. God has put His design in place and I don't think it is our place to tamper with it.
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       I think society assigns certain qualities and tasks suited to particular sexes and that may be part of the problem. If a boy is interested in learning how to sew or pursue dance as a career (for example), he may get told those are somehow "feminine" pursuits. If a girl is interested in playing football for her school or working as a barber or car mechanic, she might get told those are somehow "masculine" pursuits. (And girls generally get the label "tomboy". Interesting how there doesn't seem to be a "tomgirl" equivalent- boys just usually get the label of "gay" instead.)

      I personally think boys and girls and men and women should be free to engage in whatever pursuits they are interested in doing. As for the cross-dressing angle, that may come from a natural curiosity about the opposite sex. I have heard some transgender people refer to their feelings as being like in clothes that don't fit- some sort of discomfort with who they are. Of course, I am not sure how those feelings manifest themselves for individual transgender people- I suppose everyone has different experiences though, as the article indicates.
       How does this mesh with Colossians 3:1-4 and Galatians 2:20 and 2 Corinthians 5:17 for a Christian though? If my identity is in Christ and no one else and nothing else- then does anything else matter? If there's no Jew or Greek or slave or free or male or female in Christ- but rather we are all one in Him (Galatians 3:28)- then maybe that is the answer. We focus on our identity in Christ and not in anything else, despite what our feelings may tell us. I know there are numerous times my feelings would have me identifying more with a hellbound sinner than a Heavenbound redeemed child of God, but I don't trust my feelings because I know they're fickle and often lie. I put my faith and trust in the facts of God's Word and His love for me instead and I trust that when I obeyed Romans 10:9 and confessed Christ as Lord and Saviour and decided to follow Him, He is faithful to do what He said He would do.
           And I believe we are all called to endure as followers of Christ. (Philippians 3:14 speaks to this- Yes, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. That word "do" there is better translated as "endure"- especially when read in the context of the rest of the chapter- and the context of the letter itself, written from a Philippian prison.)
Hebrews 12:1-3- Let's fix our eyes on Jesus and set aside every sin that so easily entangles us and run the race with endurance. (See also 2 Timothy 2:10-12, 2 Corinthians 1:6, Hebrews 13:12-14, Revelation 14:12)
            We do this even if it means it feels that we have to deny our feelings and yes, even our selves in order to do it. That's exactly what Jesus called us to do- deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Him. (Luke 9:23) And don't forget that in addressing transgender people, we must always greet them with both lenses of integrity and compassion, as the article talked about. Because, as 1 Corinthians 13 tells us, Love endures all things. And Jesus said we must love one another. (John 13:34-35) 

       To clarify my stance on sexual ethics regarding homosexuality, which I mention because it often gets brought up alongside transgenderism even though the two are not necessarily related- yes, I do believe The Bible condemns all homosexual relationships, loving and committed or otherwise. (Genesis 1-3, [particularly Genesis 1:26-27 and Genesis 2:24], Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, 1 Timothy 1:8-10, Matthew 5:17-20 and Matthew 5:27-32, Matthew 19, among others.)
One interesting thing to point out with this- "loving and committed" is a phrase often used to describe marriage and well it should be. People argue that same sex unions can be of the same descriptors. However, I don't know that whether a relationship is of a monogamous nature is the only determinant of whether it's right. People can also be loving and committed to worshiping and serving money, but that is the sin of idolatry and Jesus says you can't serve both money and God. (Matthew 6:24) The reason for this relationship being a sin is not about the level of love and commitment; rather, it's about the object of desire. We should have that kind of love for God alone. Indeed, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, as 1 Timothy 6:10 tells us.
Another point to consider is the meaning of the word "love" itself. The Bible defines God as love in 1 John 4:8. He is the One who sets the standard for what love really is- in fact, we only love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19) God's nature is complementarian within the Triune Godhead. God The Father, God The Son Jesus Christ and God The Holy Spirit- Three in One. (John 17 and Genesis 1 and others still speak to this.) God made human beings in His image- male and female He created them. Males and females model that image of complementarianism and are made to follow in the pattern He set in place. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two shall become one flesh." (Genesis 2:24, which Jesus quoted in Matthew 19)
        Of course, 1 Corinthians 13, a passage often quoted at weddings, gives us insight into the nature of love as well. One key verse here tells us that love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with The Truth. (see 1 Corinthians 13:6) Jesus said He is The Way, The Truth and The Life- No man comes to The Father but by Him. (John 14:6) God is Love. (1 John 4:8) There is complete harmony within the Godhead, thus Love rejoices with The Truth. Jesus said if we love Him, we will obey Him. (John 14:15) Jesus upheld the model of human sexuality as one man and one woman united in holy matrimony for life. Any other sexual union outside of that model is sin. Any form of homosexual relationship is sin, as The Bible plainly declares in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. (Note too that this whole chapter and the previous one deals with sexual immorality, so it's keeping in that context.)
           And if nature itself teaches us that it's a shame for men to have long hair (1 Corinthians 11:14), then I think nature can also teach us the order God has designed for sexuality, as procreation only works one way- between a man and a woman united in marriage.
(Which is in keeping with Romans 1, which also tells us that nature reveals the existence of God to us; the heavens declare His glory, as Psalms 19 says.)
         What do we say to those struggling with such things? If they are in Christ, they are a new creature- the old has gone and the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17) Our identity is found solely in Christ- He lives in us now. (Colossians 3:1-4, Galatians 2:20) Though God made us to be perfect and we sinned and went in search of many schemes (Ecclesiastes 7:29), Jesus came to pay for all sins through His death on the cross and Resurrection. When we put faith in Him, we have salvation from sin and hell and instead an eternity with Christ in Heaven! And Jesus came to give us life- and life abundant. (John 10:10) I believe He helps us live that life abundant in the here and now, though this life is surely beset with trials and troubles. That suffering comes with being human because of the curse of sin in the world, but it also comes with being a Christ follower, as it's something Jesus promised we would have when we follow Him. (Just see Matthew 5 for one such reference and John 15:18 and Matthew 10:22)
          Jesus speaks to the plight of eunuchs in Matthew 19 as well, and I think intersex people and all who struggle with gender dysphoria and homosexuality could fall in that category. There is a word there for them too and God loves them as He loves all people and has a good plan in mind for their lives as well. (Psalms 138:8, John 3:16, 2 Peter 3:8-9, 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 and 12:1-10, Philippians 4:1-14)
           But we also know that we can take heart because Jesus has overcome the world! (John 16:33) We have the victory in Him! And one day, we will have complete deliverance from these bodies that still stray into sin at times- one day we will be completely healed forever in our new bodies in Heaven! (see 1 Corinthians 15 and Revelation 21-22)
Until that time comes, we must continue to love as Jesus loves- love God first with all we've got and love our neighbours as ourselves and speak The Truth in Love as we preach The Gospel to all people! (Matthew 22:34-40, Ephesians 4:15, Matthew 28:18-20)

Mr. Joel (song)

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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