"The Light Has Dawned" (song)

Note: This is the third of three blog posts that are entries that I submitted for my church's Art Exhibit earlier this year and they were first originally published August 5, 2015 in the commemorative booklet detailing all the artists' work. :-) The theme was God's creation.

Man! This may be a low blow, but there is some legitimacy to parody as an art form, I think. (Just ask Elijah in 1 Kings 18 or God Himself throughout Exodus when He sent plagues to parody, in a sense, the pagan gods of Egypt. ;-)) Before you bury your head into your hands in a groan, let me direct you to the One who really writes the songs and everything else good- Jesus Christ.

“The Light Has Dawned”
(parody of “I Write The Songs” by Bruce Johnston, as performed by Barry Manilow; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 7/13/2015)

(Genesis 1-3, Genesis 3:15, Genesis 18:17, Romans 5:12-21, Malachi 4:2, Psalms 16:10-11, 1 Corinthians 15:35-58, Romans 10:1-17, Isaiah 9:1-2, Luke 1:76-79, Colossians 1:9-20, Ephesians 1 [especially v. 10], John 1:1-18, Job 38-41, Psalms 65, Psalms 77:11-14, Psalms 89:5-18, Psalms 121:1-2, Revelation 13:8, Revelation 21-22)

He’s been alive forever
And He spoke the very first words
He put the world and the Heavenlies together
In Genesis- it’s right in 1:1

He made the earth and Heavens in beginning
And without God nothing was ever made
1:3 in John; He made Heaven and earth
It’s right in Psalms- 121

Day one- light’s first agenda
The dark’s night and light’s day; uno, dos
Second day- sort out waters and sky
God spoke again- made land and seas- son buenos!

Moving right along- He made plants- all day 3!
Made lights called sun and moon and stars to sing
4^th. day was done; God made birds and fish- day 5
Literal ones or millennia

And on day 6, beasts on (the) land
And in His image, God makes us- man
And He gave us plants for food; earth to subdue
Finished work of art
And it’s all real good- How great Thou art!
It’s for me, it’s for you- it’s from God- what a treat!
It’s a world of creativity!

In six days long, God made the whole world- see?
He rested on day 7- made it holy
He made it good- we made it go awry
And all along, God knew we’d fall

He sent His Son through Abe- the world’s blessing
The Son was slain before the world’s founding
16:10 Psalms- Won’t let The Son just die
Son’s rise means all can get right with God

He is Jesus and He rights all wrongs!

"You and You Alone" (poem)

Note:  This is the second of three blog posts that are entries that I submitted for my church's Art Exhibit earlier this year and they were first originally published August 5, 2015 in the commemorative booklet detailing all the artists' work. :-) The theme was God's creation.

This last one is just simply a hymn of praise to The Lord Jesus Christ for being my All and truly my One Thing I need.
“Purity of heart is to will one thing”- Soren Kierkegaard  
“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God”- Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:8)
Thank You, Lord Jesus- You are my Everything. I praise You for You are worthy to be praised- You reign above all others!

 
“You and You Alone”

(original poem by Nathan Ludwick; copyright 7/14/2013)

(John 15:5, Psalms 50, Romans 11:35, Job 41:11, 1 Chronicles 29:10-20, Job 42:2, John 3:16-17, Psalms 68:35, Psalms 84:10, Psalms 85:9-13, Psalms 63, Psalms 96, Psalms 98, Psalms 40, Psalms 150, Psalms 45:1, Matthew 5:8, Psalms 100, Psalms 42:1-2, Psalms 139, Psalms 73:24-26, Philippians 1:21 and 3:8, the book of Ecclesiastes)

There’s nothing new under the sun… it’s all been said and done
What can I do that is ever truly original?
Even in asking this, I know I’m not the only one.
All these musings were recorded ages ago by Solomon.
Yet as Thy Spirit moved his quill to pen, Your Spirit moves my pen to do the same.
You are The Inspiration and The Meaning- The Only One that makes Life anything.
You are The Newness we all crave.
Your Word commands us to sing a new song unto The Lord.
Strive as we may there’s nothing really new we can say.
It’s only You who puts a new song in our heart- a song born of gratitude for the legs quickened from the quicksand of miry clay now standing firm on The Rock.
From the New Heart and Spirit You transplant into our edifices,
a new song of praise will flow to The Holy Christ.
There’s nothing I can give You that’s not already Yours.
You who own the cattle on a thousand hills seek the one thing we can give that You gave
but will not reclaim at force- our free wills.
Your will will come through anyway- no plan of Yours can be thwarted.
I am nothing and can do nothing without You.
I give my life and will back to The One who gave it first.
Thy love is enough for me, Lord- You are good enough for me.
As I pray to You, clutching my Bible close like I’m holding a love letter to my heart
Take and make me all Yours- to You alone do I lift up my soul- all praise to You alone!

"Written Right In My Heart" (song)

Note: The next three blog posts are entries that I submitted for my church's Art Exhibit earlier this year and they were first originally published August 5, 2015 in the commemorative booklet detailing all the artists' work. :-) The theme was God's creation.

I have this creative output I want to share. This one is an actual original song (OK- original song lyrics anyway- I have no tune other than those famous “dah, dah, duh, dah dee” chords). But I felt inspired to write one night and had to rush to get pen and paper to commit it to page. It’s kind of talking about my vision as a writer and what I hope to accomplish in any communications. It’s also about the drive to write and Who really puts it there and hopefully uses it for His purposes. It’s all for You, Lord Jesus- and it’s all from You and because of You. Thank You.
(I borrowed a quote from Rachel Joy Scott about her reason for writing and I agree- it’s for the sake of my soul. There’s a play on words from “The Man of La Mancha” too. )

  

“Written Right In My Heart”
(original song by Nathan Ludwick; copyright 1/13/2012)

(Psalms 45:1, Jeremiah 20:9, Ezekiel 2:5, Colossians 3:1-3, Acts 4:20, Psalms 139:17-18, Psalms 69:9, Psalms 96:3 (KJV), 1 Chronicles 16:24 (KJV), Proverbs 25:11, Ecclesiastes 3:11, Matthew 28:18-20, John 3:16-17)
 
(Verse 1)

The quill quakes in trembling hand

The mind- a race of thoughts that land

Spilling out of control with anxious rush

Filling up the scroll from a heart that’s touched

Stirred by a noble theme in honor of The King

The Creative Passion that flows in the soul

 

(Chorus)

And it’s He who moves and breathes it on me

He whose thoughts for me are more than the sea’s

Grains of sand that fill my hourglass- they go past

The Maker of new things is making my new identity

One defined by Christ and not the embers of my old life

And He pours through me in every pore more and more

 

(Verse 2)

To write the unwriteable song is not my call

I write not for fame or wealth but the sake of my soul

I can’t keep His Word inside- it burns through my sides

Zeal for His house will consume me alive

 

(Repeat Chorus)

 

(Bridge)

Take my lips and let them be

Filled with messages from Thee

Take these clumsy words in me

To him who has ears to hear

May Your Love flood their soul

May they find themselves in You whole

 
(Repeat Chorus twice and fade)

"Looking for Faith" (song)

There are a few themes that are simply repeated over and over and over again in The Bible. Chief among these must be the need for faith. The Christian life cannot be lived without faith. It is necessary to please God (as Hebrews 11:6 tells us) and it's how the righteous of the Old Testament walked with God- by faith. As Jesus told us in John 6:35, He is the Bread of Life and all who come to Him shall never hunger and those who believe in Him shall never thirst. And then verse 40 reminds us that it's The Father's will that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life and He will raise us up on the last day. Genuine faith in Christ is demonstrated through the Godly actions that it manifests, but we can't have one without the other. Faith that doesn't produce good works isn't really genuine (as James 1-2 points out), but good works of self-effort that don't come from a place of faith in Christ are worthless as well. Whoever comes to Jesus must have faith that He has spanned the space between us and God with His cross- and through His Resurrection, He has given us the hope of new life in Him for this life and eternal life in the next. So as we follow along the straight and narrow way, we must keep walking as Jesus did in faith.


"Looking for Faith"
(parody of "Looking for Space" by John Denver; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 8/1/2015)
(Deuteronomy 7:9, Isaiah 40:28-31, Psalms 103:1-5, Romans 1:17, 1 John 5:1-5 and 13-15, Habakkuk 2:4, James 2:14-26, 2 Corinthians 5:7, 1 Timothy 4:7-10, Hebrews 12:1-2, Revelation 14:12, Revelation 21:5-8 (ESV), James 5:5-8, Mark 9:14-29, Mark 10:13-16, Mark 10:46-52, Matthew 6:25-34, John 16:29-33, John 17:20-21, John 20:24-29, John 20:30-31, John 14:1-6, John 16:1, John 16:23-24, Matthew 21:18-22, Matthew 15:21-28, Matthew 9:1-8, Matthew 17:14-21, Mark 11:12-14 and 20-26, Luke 5:17-26, Luke 7:44-50, Luke 8:22-25, Luke 8:40-56, Luke 9:37-43, Luke 11:9-10, Luke 12:28, Luke 17:5-6, Luke 17:11-19, Luke 18:15-17, Luke 18:35-43, Luke 21:18-19, Luke 21:36, Luke 22:45-46, Luke 24:39-43, John 1:12, John 1:43-51, John 3:14-21, John 3:36, John 4:46-54, John 5:24, John 6:35-40, John 7:37-38, John 9:35-38, John 11:25-27, Matthew 13:53-58, Matthew 14:22-33, 1 Thessalonians 5:5-6 and 23-24, Matthew 18:1-6, 2 Corinthians 6:2, Matthew 11:15, 2 Timothy 2:7-13, Luke 24:13-36, Hebrews 11:1-6, Matthew 8:5-13, Ephesians 2:8-10, Matthew 8:23-27, Luke 18:1-8, Ephesians 3:1-12, John 10:10, Isaiah 53:1, Romans 3:9-31)


On the road to Emmaus
Near crying, two guys commiserate
Suddenly this other Guy comes join the fray
When they speak, He rebukes them
'Cause their belief's near nil
He explained what Scripture says about Him

And He's looking for faith
Will He find some when He comes?
And He's looking, but no one understands
It's a mystery
One through Holy Ghost is clear
One that's outlined- 3 Ephesians
And one we must preach and declare

And you know, 18 Luke 8 verse
Will He find faith?- Now go read
Judge who's lost gives some justice to widow's plea
When we look to our Father
Certainly He's always fair
We'll find from Him speedy justice when we plead

And He's looking for faith
Will He find some when He comes?
And He's looking but no one understands
Well, His grace redeems
But find this verse right here
11 line 6 in Hebrews
Must have faith to please The Savior

6:2 2nd. Corinthians
Now's the day to get saved
Christ paid our ransom
Jesus said we must have faith

When you look in 1 [one] James
In verse 5 through 8- that part
When you're asking, use faith with all your heart
Faith is the victory!
Substance of what's not seen
Salvation lies (in) 2 Ephesians
It comes by faith in Jesus' grace
God makes me fly like an eagle
Wait on Him though
The right live by faith!
Ooohhhh!

Season for the Reason: Good and God- and Perfection

Note: This is another entry in my series of apologetics-based reflections, based on questions and conversations that have come up in real life. It is in response to an article discussing the possibility of being good and where God plays into that. Can you be good without God? While I think there may be some remnant left in us that still recognizes good and evil (as Romans 2 talks about, along with Ecclesiastes 3:11- we all have some form of a conscience testifying to us about God's Law); however, The Bible clearly teaches that we are all born in sin and are sinners by nature. (Psalms 51:5, Romans 7:5-6- basically just read the whole book.) I think a better question to ask is this- can you be perfect without God? Because perfection is God's standard for entry into Heaven and only One person has ever met it- Jesus Christ.


I'm curious about this key passage in the article:

"But so what? What’s the practical significance of rejecting belief in a deity? Why should humanists band together in local or national groups, publish magazines, hold conferences, and so forth? It can’t be simply to show that we are right and others are wrong about the existence of God.
Humanists do share a number of beliefs, of course, and not just their belief that there are no gods. So humanists form a natural affinity group of sorts. But although being a member of a like-minded group with similar interests has its attractions, the level of commitment of most of those who are members of the Center for Inquiry or the American Humanist Association or other humanist groups indicates that we think humanism is much more important than being a member of an astronomy club, sewing circle, or softball team. There has to be more to joining and supporting humanist groups than the opportunity to hang out with people with similar worldviews.""
Does the Center for Inquiry or the American Humanist Association have elected officials? Is there any kind of organization to these groups?
(Apparently the answer is yes; the AHA has a board of directors page here- http://americanhumanist.org/AHA/Board_of_Directors and the CFI has a message from the president and CEO here- http://www.centerforinquiry.net/support/secularism_and_science_need_an_advocate/)
I ask this mainly because it seems incongruent with a statement highlighted in another passage in the article, wherein the author states that humanists have no authorities. This would appear to not be the case. Do these boards of directors think and reason together to come up with the guiding moral principles for their organizations, and by extension, the world at large that all people should apply? If humanists all reason together to find common moral principles that promote a common human good, it seems all human beings in existence (at any time) should be included in the consultations in order to have the maximum amount of brain power and human reasoning involved. [I realize that this would be a rather impossible endeavor, but surely the history of mankind and moral principles of all cultures are included in the study and quest for finding moral standards appropriate for human society? It seems like the research and reading of much books would be in order, along with efforts to poll all interested parties. Unless of course, these said principles would only be in effect for humanists.]
This gets to my larger point. How do humanists determine what is good and what is not? What are the measuring standards and how are they determined?
I can't speak for all religions of course, but I don't appreciate that the author insinuates that religion does not seek to justify its moral standards by the fact that they improve the human condition. I would say a relationship with Jesus Christ does just that ad infinitum. (Of course, the worldview framework of Christianity says that all human beings at all times, since the sin of Adam and Eve, have been born in sin and wrongdoing and all of us are evil and in need of God to save us from our sin. This is why Jesus came and lived the only perfect life ever lived and died and rose for us- to pay the penalty we deserved because of our failure to keep God's moral standards of perfection.) [As Jesus stated in Matthew 5:20, if we're trying to get to Heaven by our own merit, unless our righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, we will never enter the kingdom of Heaven. And those guys worked to keep all the Law to the nth. degree and still didn't really match up by a long shot, as Jesus made clear in Matthew 21:31 and all of Matthew 23. Note that in the context of the verses in Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus is stating that He has come to fulfill all of The Law and the Prophets and that's just what He did. If we falter at even the least command anywhere during our lifetime, we're already done. (James 2:10) God's standard is absolute perfection- Matthew 5:48 says it plainly. We all fail to meet it, as Romans 3:23 tells us.] Jesus says that He comes to give us life and life more abundant. (see John 10:10) The Bible also makes clear that life in Christ improves our lives immeasurably in the here and now as well as in eternity. Those who are in Christ have a new nature that desires to do good, rather than to do evil as the old nature would have us do. (This is not to say that Christians are perfect in doing good, by any means, but we are in the process of becoming more like Christ, Who is perfect- and we have the promise that one day that process will be complete and we will be perfected upon our entry into Heaven. [see Philippians 1:6])
Thus, following Christ makes people more loving, more caring for all those in need, more generous, more truthful, more helping, more self-sacrificing, more patient, more peaceful, more kind, more gentle, more faithful, and makes them have more self-control. In short, they are more good. (These and other traits are some of the identifying marks of a Christ-follower because Galatians 5:22-23 says that these are some of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. That is God's work in people's lives.) I would say that is a huge improvement to the human condition. (Which we've already established is evil at its core, from a Christian framework, in any case.)
And yes, that is certainly God's will for people to know Christ and develop these traits and live lives like Christ.
God is definitely focused on the good of humanity. Jeremiah 29:11 assures us that He has thoughts of good for us and not evil. (I realize this verse is aimed specifically at Israel, but the principle certainly applies to all people, as evidenced in other Bible verses. See Ezekiel 18:23 as well.) He wants everyone to live- both the full measure of life that He desires for humans in the here and now and the eternal life He wants all to have in Heaven with Him through faith in Christ. (see Ezekiel 33:11 and 2 Peter 3:8-9)
My other point of contention is the implication that religion (and again, I'll specifically speak for the point of view of Christianity) has no rationale behind it. I have to disagree with this notion. God gave people brains for a reason; I believe He expects us to use our brains and truly contemplate things before making any decision for Him. In fact, God invites us to come reason together with Him in Isaiah 1:18- herein, He entreats us to consider the truth of this statement: "Though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." God offers to wash away our sins and make us clean and pure. But I don't think God ever expects anyone to make a choice to follow Christ without using reason, evidence and intellect. Christ Himself cautions us to count the cost of following Him before we make any rash decisions. (Note that He gives strict warnings that if we do not hate our family and even our own life, we cannot be His disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Christ cannot be His disciple. [To clarify, in the language used in the passage I'm referencing- Luke 14:25-35- it has the meaning of loving Jesus and following Him above all so much that the love we have for our family looks like hate in comparison. Jesus often used stark hyperbole to emphasize points- I just wanted to clarify that He is not advocating hating people here.]
Jesus also speaks to this point in Luke 9:23-27, where He tells us again that we must take our cross, deny ourselves, and follow Him in order to come after Him. Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Christ's sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits his soul? In Matthew 10:16-42, Jesus warns His followers that persecution will come upon as part of following Him. Even some of a man's own household will be among his enemies because he follows Christ. In John 15:18-27, Jesus tells His disciples that the world will hate them because they follow Jesus and claim His Name. (Of course, they hated Jesus first anyway.)
It is also worth noting that Jesus even turned people away from following Him because they weren't committed enough to Him and hadn't fully counted the cost yet. (See Matthew 8:18-22 and Luke 9:57-62) In Mark 10:17-31, Jesus encounters a rich young ruler who asks Him how to inherit eternal life. After Jesus reminds him that he should know the commandments in The Law ("Do not murder", "Do not commit adultery", "Do not steal", "Do not bear false witness", "Do not defraud", "Honor your father and mother"), the man claims he has kept all these from his youth. Jesus tells him that he still lacks one thing- "Go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me." The guy is disheartened by this saying (because he had great wealth) and went away sadly. (This is where Jesus gives us His famous statement that it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven. However, take heart- when the disciples asked Him who then could be saved, Jesus reminded them that with man this is impossible, but nothing is impossible with God.)
In naming these examples, I wanted to demonstrate that Jesus clearly not only invites but demands people use reason and much consideration of the evidence and the cost before deciding to follow Him. In Matthew 11:1-19, Jesus is visited by friends of John the Baptist, who is imprisoned for speaking out against Herod's sexual immorality [he had taken his brother's wife]- and John has sent these messengers to ask about the deeds of Christ that he has heard about. The messengers ask Jesus if He is indeed the One who was to come or if they should look for another. Jesus tells them to examine the evidence and and go back and tell John what they see and hear- the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by Jesus.
(Jesus also goes on to exhort the people listening to Him to consider what the Scriptures prophesied about John the Baptist [referencing Malachi 4:5-6, which likens the one who prepares the way for Christ [i.e. John the Baptist's role] to Elijah.] and compare what they've seen to the Scriptures.)
So, at least for Christianity, God does call people to use reason, evidence and intellect in making up their minds about Him and He does seek for people to put faith in Him through Christ and follow Him and His moral standards (the latter part of which can only be achieved after doing the former part) in order to improve the human condition to an infinite degree.
I think maybe a better question to ask would be, "Can you be perfect without God?" Because perfection is God's standard for morality [Leviticus 11:45 states as a command from God and Matthew 5:48 reiterates- "Be perfect as I am perfect."] - a standard that all of us miss. (Romans 3:23) And that is precisely why Jesus came to live out the standard of moral perfection for us- and He took our punishment as well- and thereby through His death and Resurrection, provided the means for us to have our moral failings forgiven and for us to have Christ's righteousness imputed to us. In myself, there is nothing good. The only good in me is Jesus. And as I noted earlier, Philippians 1:6 promises followers of Christ the end result of reaching perfection in Christ- which is what He made us to be all along. (And certainly, the goal of Christianity is to be like Christ, Who is perfection Himself because He's God.)