Lord, Teach Us to Pray

       I recently saw "Raiders of the Lost Ark" again for the millionth time or so. (I love Indiana Jones! :-)) One line I always find interesting is the way Belloq describes the Ark of the Covenant. "Do you realize what the Ark is, Jones? It's a transmitter! It's a radio for speaking to God!" Of course, while it's true the Ark did house The Lord's presence in the Old Testament during Moses' time, it wasn't really how the Israelites prayed to God. They had to go through the High Priest to make sacrifices on their behalf and they would hear what God said to Moses. It was a much different process than the direct access we have today with God through Jesus Christ! As 1 Timothy 2:5 tells us, there's one God and one mediator between God and man- Christ Jesus.
         I heard a great sermon at church a few weeks back about the power of prayer and God's ability to do anything! In thinking on that, 1 Thessalonians 5:17 came to mind, wherein we are commanded to "pray without ceasing." 
Of course, the question often arises, "How do we practically obey this verse?" While we may not be able to devote 24 hours a day to praying and nothing else, we can devote every second we're alive to be in a continual mode of prayer. I think of it as an ongoing conversation with God- He's always listening and He's always speaking to us when we listen to His Word in The Bible. 
And while we're praying, we should remember that Jesus invites us to ask anything in His Name and He will do it. But there's a caveat to John 14:13- first, it's anything asked in Jesus' Name and also, it's so that The Father may be glorified in The Son. Thus, it must be something that will glorify God and in His Name. (It's not an invitation to bring your Christmas list to Santa Claus or put money into the vending machine to get whatever you desire.)
       And if we do what Jesus said in John 15:7, we'll find our desires matching up to God's desires. So what does a guy like me need to do? The dude abides.  :-)  (And no, I haven't seen the movie that line references- I just knew the line and threw it in for fun.)
"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." (John 15:7)       Probably the number one thing I'd say about prayer- be totally honest with God. Jesus already knows all your thoughts anyway. (Psalms 139). 
One of my favorite quotes on prayer from Jimmy Abegg-
"But what God wants most is honesty, for us to open our hearts and come to Him without pretense or posturing. Some of my most powerful prayers aren't even couched in 'proper' language. Many of them I wouldn't dare pray aloud in church. But they are honest cries from my heart. Sometimes the best prayers are something like this: 'Oh my God, Help.' "         
          So don't be afraid to pray big prayers- God is able to do abundantly more than we can think or imagine! (Like Ephesians 3:20 says) It's interesting that we particularly tend to discard modern day examples of healing. (Probably because of some phony faith healers out there who do run scams, sadly.) But this doesn't mean God can't do it and doesn't still do it as He so chooses. (Check 1 Corinthians 12:9-10 - The Spirit gives some the gifts of healing and some the working of miracles- among many others. The caveat with that is that these gifts are to be used for the glory of God alone, not man's glory- going back to John 14:13.) 
         Jesus told us that with faith the size of a mustard seed (which is quite tiny indeed), we can speak to a tree and tell it to plant itself in the sea and it would obey us. We can make mountains move- by faith in Jesus' power (not our own power). And it's always according to God's will. He reigns sovereign and supreme. (See Matthew 17:14-21, Luke 17:5-6 and Romans 9)
Psalms 103:3 says that The Lord heals all our diseases. God is plenty capable of bringing physical healing- if He chooses. But we must also remember 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, where Paul was tortured with a thorn in his side- three times he pleaded with The Lord to remove it, but God didn't do it. Instead, He said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." (And, as we can see in 1 Corinthians 1 and numerous other places in the Bible- check out Gideon's Thermoplyae-style battle in Judges 7 where 300 Jews fought humanly-impossible odds and won with The Lord's help...plenty of other examples- basically, see the entire history of the Jewish people- God loves to take what the world loves to despise and hate and shame the strong and bring to nothing all the puffed up folks- so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.)
As Job reminded us, The Lord gives and He takes- blessed be the Name of The Lord. Ultimately, we trust His will and His eternal love for us above our own feelings and desires. "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him." (Job 13:15)
In Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-13, The Lord Jesus gives what we know as The Lord's Prayer. The disciples asked Him, "Lord, teach us to pray" and He demonstrated a structure for us to follow. In it, we see some important elements of prayer- adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication and intercession.

(As written in Matthew 6:9-13 ESV)
"Pray then like this:
 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.' "
     
         And of course, we have powerful pictures from The Lord Jesus about the way God answers our prayers. No good parent gives their son a snake when he asks for a fish or a scorpion when he wants an egg. If we who are evil know how to give good gifts to our kids, how much more will our good Father give good gifts- like the Holy Spirit- to those who ask Him? Be bold and persistent in prayer- knowing that we can be confident in God's goodness. Ask, seek and knock- it will be given, you will find and the door will be opened to you. Persistence pays off, whether it's a friend coming at midnight begging for a loaf of bread or a widow pleading with a wicked judge to grant her justice in a case. Seek the Lord in the prayer closet- not making a big show of it for a reward, so that someone thinks we're oh-so-holy- but in secret where God sees what's done in secret and meets us there. (See all of Matthew 6 and Luke 18.) We have an audience with the God of the universe who is eager to bless us with things we need and answer our prayers according to His will- we only need to come to Him!         
        So, how do we keep praying to Jesus and trusting Him without ceasing? Well, we do sometimes falter in trust and faith and obedience and God is willing to forgive us when we truly repent. (Luke 17:4, 1 John 1:9) But with every breath He lends, we breathe in and keep focusing our mindset on Him (Colossians 3:1-4, Romans 8:1-11 [particularly verses 5-8]. As Genesis 2:7 says, The Lord formed us and breathed the breath of life into us. We keep breathing that borrowed air and breathe in both life and New Life- physically and spiritually. (Also check Job 33:4 and Isaiah 42:5 and Acts 17:25) "As long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit." (Job 27:3-4) "In Him we live and move and have our being." (Acts 17:28) 
"By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit." (1 John 4:13) The Spirit of His power strengthens us in our inner being (see Ephesians 3:16) when we let Him. 
Our every breath is a prayer to God- we keep the phone line open and never hang up- we keep a running text message or instant message chain with Him going- we can even communicate telepathically because He knows all our thoughts- and His Spirit brings to mind His Scripture (when we know it and listen to His voice). (Psalms 139, Psalms 94:10-11, 1 Corinthians 2:11-16, John 16:13-15 and John 17:17 and John 14:6)
"It is The Spirit Who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." - Jesus Christ in John 6:63

Physical and Spiritual Transformation

     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, particularly in regards to bathroom usage. 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.
Also, regarding bathroom usage, I generally feel that those who have a penis should use the men's room and those who have a vagina should use the women's room. However, this still poses a question for those who feel they should have either a penis or vagina. I tend to think that, while it would be preferable for them to have had the surgery performed before they entered the restroom that corresponds to their intended genitalia, they should probably use the restroom they identify with best, provided they clearly present themselves as that gender.
A similar solution would be in place for intersex people since most identify as one or the other gender.
It would probably also be helpful to have more family bathrooms established to eliminate this issue if possible.
And of course, no one should perform acts of rape, sexual abuse, assault and/or invasion of privacy, particularly as aided by the usage of cameras and surveillance devices in any bathroom.
This debate is a thorny issue to be sure, but one that I feel society will continue to address and one that I think Christians should be prepared to speak the truth to in love. God loves everyone and made everyone. I think that, as Romans 3:9-26 talks about, everyone has become corrupt with a sin nature because of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden (as Genesis 3 talks about.) This fall not only separated people from God spiritually (and brought about spiritual death just as God said it would) but that sin also corrupted the entire planet- thorns and thistles grew out of the earth to torment Adam in his work and pain in childbearing grew to torture Eve- both man and woman suffered pain because of sin.
It also caused an imbalance in relations between men and women, as Genesis 3:16 says that the woman's desire will be for her husband and he will rule over her. I believe this set in motion the battle of the sexes that we still see fought to this day. (Note the contrast that we have when we are restored from the corruption through Christ in Galatians 3:28. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus.)
I think this corruption is also why we have people born with deformities and diseases. I think it's why some people are born with tendencies to particular sins, as we are all born with tendencies to sin in general, due to our sin nature. For some though, it's heightened in particular areas, whether it's alcoholism (as evidenced by Fetal Alcohol Syndrome), stealing (as evidenced by kleptomania), lying (as evidenced by habitual liars), homosexuality (as evidenced by same sex attractions) or rebellion against God's design (as evidenced by transgender attractions).
The tendencies in themselves can be regarded as temptations; I do not believe they in themselves are sin. However, the reactions to them certainly can be sin. No matter how much a person may struggle with alcoholism, they always make the choice to pick up the bottle, imbibe and get drunk. The same follows for kleptomaniacs and habitual liars, etc. Yes, it does feel near impossible for some with these struggles to resist and with good reason- it is impossible to resist these temptations without the intervention and power of The Holy Spirit, who helps us say "No" to these temptations and choose to follow God instead. That is what the power of Jesus Christ can do. It doesn't mean He will necessarily take away the temptations (though He can do so if He chooses, perhaps in miraculous fashion), but He does promise to not give us more than we can bear and provide the way out so we can stand up under it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
I sometimes hear people make the argument that God made them in a particular way to be of a particular sexual orientation outside of the boundaries He has established (male and female sexual relationships held only within the bonds of holy matrimony and that only between one man and one woman for life- see Genesis 2:24 and Matthew 19). However, God is not a cruel and vindictive God to where He would make someone helpless to keep from sin and then turn around and condemn them for it. That is to say- I don't believe He made anyone to be a murderer and thus give them an excuse for murdering. Someone on death row may well argue that God created them as a murderer and thus they had to satisfy the need to take other peoples' lives, but they would be dead wrong (pun intended). God condemns and punishes that person rightfully for their sin; it is the same with any other sin. It is not that He made us to be sinners- it is that we chose to be sinners and we must face the consequence of that choice. I think too many people confuse the consequences of the freedom of choice that come with our free will that God gave us (see Genesis 1-2) with God's active will. God has both an active and permissive will. God creating the universe was born out of His active will. His permissive will is for us to suffer the consequences of our sin. He certainly didn't create Adam and Eve with the intention of having them choose to sin by taking of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil- He wanted them to do right and obey Him and enjoy eternal fellowship with Him. But He also wanted them to do that willingly and not because He forced them to do so. Thus, He gave human beings free will- and we've willfully chosen to free ourselves from God with it by choosing sin. Death- eternal separation- is the consequence, the wages of sin.
But thanks be to God! He loves us all so much that He didn't let that be the ending point. He demonstrates His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us! (Romans 5:8)
The power of the cross frees us from the penalty of sin! (see Romans 6:7-11) And because Jesus rose, we who put our faith and trust in Him for salvation shall rise with Him too. Our faith must be demonstrated by works though, as Jesus makes clear in Matthew 7 and James 2. Jesus Himself said that if we love Him, we will obey Him. The one who obeys Him (not perfectly, as we all still sin and mess up- but Jesus has grace that never ends! And His grace is still greater than all our sins- see 1 John 1:7)- he is the one who truly is Jesus' disciple. (Basically just read John 13-17. But specifically John 15:7-17 for sure.) And to be Jesus' disciple, we must take up our cross, deny ourselves and follow Him. (Luke 9:23) We are no longer identified by our sinful natures (Romans 6:14-23) but we are now identified by Christ in us (Colossians 3:1-3). And we must walk accordingly to our new nature. (Romans 8:1-11, Ephesians 5:8-9, Galatians 5:16-26)

Good Friday (It Is Done) (song)

I'm posting this on "Black Friday", the day after Thanksgiving in America and the day that is so named because many businesses are in the black due to what's essentially the kick-off to the Christmas shopping season. I thought it'd be appropriate to post a song about the blackest Friday of all- when Jesus Christ died a cruel, torturous death for undeserving sinners like you and me. It's also interesting that God finished all His creating work on a Friday and saw that it was good. And just like businesses get out of the red and into good standing in the black on Black Friday, because of the red blood of Jesus, we can get into good standing with God through our faith in what He accomplished in the blackness of death and the light of Resurrection! For that, we can always give thanksgiving. God finished the work needing to be done on this Friday as well, as Jesus testified. And as Isaiah 53:10 tells us, it pleased The Lord to crush His Son for our sake- but He didn't leave Him in the grave, but rose Him up again. Our sins are forgiven through Jesus when we put faith in Him. He is the cure for all our evils. He's in love with us and He proved it on Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Resurrection Sunday! It's good to know that the work is completed- it is done.

"Good Friday (It is Done)"
(parody of "Friday I'm in Love" by The Cure; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 3/27/2016) (song finished on Easter Day 2016)
(Genesis 1-3, Romans 1-3, Colossians 1:11-20, Romans 10:9, Joshua 24:15, Revelation 13:8, Isaiah 1:18, Isaiah 53, John 3:16-17, John 6, John 14:6, Romans 5:8)

Christ's there ere Day One, you dudes
Choose this day Whom you will serve
Yahweh or the highway, buster
Christ's The Way- I'm with God

Sunday- God split light and dark
Monday, Tuesday- water, earth, plants
Wednesday- the sun, moon and stars
Fish Thursday- birds above

Next day God creates
All sundry beasts and man in His image
On Friday- then rest Saturday

Sin got there and cursed all that
Calvary- God already countered that
13:8 Rev., Gen. 3- check that!
On Friday- God is done!

Sunday- Jesus crushed his head
Lucifer's end- Hell burning
But Friday- he bruised Your heel- Christ said
On Friday- "It is done!"

Saturday- grave
But Sunday's Resurrection Day
Good Friday- yes, sir- what a name!

(We) messed up God's design
It's a wonder we're alive
You see, He chooses to spare our lives
(We) could be in Hell now
And just writhing in flames bound
Eternally gnashing teeth
(For) sin, His grace abounds!

All was lost with one bite
Sin gushed- 3 Genesis plight
The tree they ate left us riddled with this blight
Eat from Christ's tree to get it off
And drink of His blood
Good Friday
-Read 6 John!

Christ rides in Palm Sunday- cool!
Palms wave- praise- folks change their tune
Friday- they don't care about You
Crucified Son of God

Sunday- tomb saw You depart
Truth, Life, The Way- saved my heart
Sin's stains- Blood washes them out
Good Friday- it is done!
Ohh! Whoa!

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

Ruth Clung to Naomi (song)

This song is a summary of the book of Ruth- one of the most beautiful stories of tenacious love and redemption in The Bible. When Naomi's husband and sons died, it was like her whole world fell apart- like God had dropped a bomb on her and rocked her world. There was a huge gap left in her heart- so much so that she preferred to be called "Mara" (meaning bitter) from then on. But Ruth and Naomi banded together because Ruth pledged to leave her home and people and follow with Naomi, her mother-in-law, and adopt her people and her God as her own. And God blessed Ruth by taking this Moabite girl, adopting her into His family through Boaz, the kinsman-redeemer for Naomi's family- and allowing Ruth's line to bring about His own Son who is the kinsman-redeemer for the world!

"Ruth Clung to Naomi"
(parody of "You Dropped A Bomb on Me" by The Gap Band; copyright Nathan Ludwick 11/22/2016) (originally written circa October 2015)
(Ruth 1-4 [particularly Ruth 1:14-18, 2:17-23, 3:6-15, 3:18, 4:7-12 and 4:13-22], Matthew 1 [particularly Matthew 1:5-6], Luke 3 [particularly Luke 3:31-32], 2 Corinthians 6:2, Titus 2:14, Revelation 5:9, Galatians 3:13 and 4:5)

Ruth was the girl who changed my world
Yeah, when my world went wrong
They bit the dust- sons and husband
Ruth then I urged to leave
But you turned me down, Ruthie

Chilion, Mahlon- my babies!
They're gone like Elimelech (So I'll turn back home, ladies)
That brought calamity, baby
So drop the "Naomi"

I went out full- Came back with nil
God dropped a bomb on me
Return there now- return back home
Orpah cut loose, but Ruth turned me down

"You've got me, Mom," said she- baby!
(Where) you lodge- I'll lodge with thee
(So don't urge me out, Mom- please!)
"Your God my God will be," said she.

Let's rock! Ruth 1:16
Back through Adam and Eve- came the woman's seed
And look on down the line- right there- Obed's the guy
Luke 3 reveals- yeah, it's for real
His line brought Hope, baby- but hold the phone
Let's drop back on Ruth's pages

Ruth's from Moab, you see- baby!
She dropped her gods and peeps
(And Ruth turned to The Lord, baby!)
Adopted Israeli as family
Ruth and her Mom journeyed (Back to Bethlehem, baby!)

Won't drop me, Naomi- hey hey! (Mmm)
Ruth worked for grain to glean
(She brought food to Mom-in-law, baby)
She stopped in Boaz's field, baby
They formed a bond quickly

Things were in motion- Help's right there open
Ruth is the girl he needs
Ruth works with his protection- turned out there's a connection
He's their kinsman redeemer
And he's turning out, baby

To be the one for me, says Ruthie
You knocked me off my feet (Swept off- oh, oh, baby)
Won't get the drop on me- reapers
You are the bomb, Boaz!
(I won't forget what you've done for me, babe)

I talked with Mom-in-law - hey, hey
At stop of barley reap
I dropped down at your feet, Boaz
(When) you'd nodded off to (uh) sleep

I-I-I
I-I-I woke you up- yeah
I-I-I
I-I-I hope for assistance

Ruth dropped a bomb on me- Boaz
You're blessed by God, lady
You've got a closer redeemer, baby
If he drops out, I'll redeem

Bye-Bye-Bye
Ruth you should- go, it's morning!
Fly-fly-fly
Fly on home- now in secret

Let's hash it out- Naomi's home
Elimelech's land's on sale now
(Do) you opt or not to redeem?

Agreed for now- but hold the scroll
And when you opt in, included now
Ruth comes along with the deal
He's backing out- he turned me down
And then we swapped out sandals now
I bought them back- redeemed

It's turning out to be Day Awesome!
(For) Ruth, Boaz and Naomi!
Peeps heard Boaz and elders signed off
He bought from Naomi

They witnessed now- the new transaction
He bought back Mahlon's things,
Elmelech's, all of Chilion's
He got a bonzo deal!

Return for now to lines earlier on
The part about woman's seed
Ruth married Boaz- God gave conception
Ruth had Obed baby!

It panned all out when all had gone wrong
God brought Boaz to redeem
Seek Matthew out and Ruth's in Chapter One
Her line brought Christ to redeem!

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

God is Good All the Time (And All The Time God is Good)! (Bless The Lord at ALL Times) :-)

We're not quite to the end of the year, but I've seen a lot of people write 2016 off as a loss. (I know it may be in jest at times or it may be a statement of true frustration and exasperation with the outcome of events.) And it's okay to express honest feelings at times, in polite terms.

And we should be honest with the course of events- a lot of bad things have happened in the world- natural disasters, refugee crises, warring conflicts, the sad loss of life for so many- and many other things. (Of course, on a side note with that- I notice that a lot of people mourn for celebrities they've never met and don't really know- which is by no means wrong; it's very sad to hear of their deaths. However, it's weird that we don't mourn for the deaths in every single one of the obituaries in all the newspapers of the world that are published every day as well. Everyone's equally important and it's sad when anyone dies.)

It's really sad to me to see the hopelessness in so many people- especially after the 2016 US election. (And as a qualifier here, let me reiterate again that I did vote, but not for either of the major candidates- and I'm not particularly happy or upset with the outcome. I just have faith that God is in control as always and He will take care of me as always. He allows people to be in power and He also takes them down. His will will be done. "Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?.... The Lord in Heaven laughs at their plans. Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve The Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him." (see Psalms 2))

I was rather surprised at the election results and as I said- wasn't particularly happy with them or particularly sad- but I was hopeful and trusting that God knows what He's doing. And since I've been in a mood to listen to a lot of Rich Mullins lately (okay- that's pretty much all the time :-))- I had a time of worship playing some of his classics- "Sing Your Praise To The Lord", "Awesome God" and "Sometimes by Step". It wasn't because I was particularly happy with the results- it was because praising The Lord is always the appropriate response. It's because He is God and He reigns forever and He has done good things and my soul will bless the Lord and forget not all His benefits. He loves me enough to send Jesus to die and pay for all my sins and rise again! He has forgiven me through my faith in Him and He continues to make me more like Him as I seek to follow Him. He has promised me eternity in Heaven with Him! I have every reason to always be optimistic- yes, even in times when I may feel anything but.

"Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in The Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, The Lord, is my strength; He makes my feet like the deer's; He makes me tread on my high places. (To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.)" (Habakkuk 3:17-19) (i.e. Yo! Strike up the music, bro! Let's get some praise on for The Lord Almighty! :-))

Note the verses don't say, "Because all these bad things are happening." They say, "In spite of these bad things, I'm still going to praise God." Just like Job's response- hey, Job- you've just lost all your cattle (i.e. food and wealth), and all your kids- what are you going to do now? "Naked I came from the womb and naked I will depart- may the Name of The Lord be praised!" Do what? You mean you don't want to go with the flow like your wife said and just curse God and die? "Nah, bro- shall we receive good from God and not receive evil?" Even after you just got these awful sores all over you? Yep- even so, it is well with my soul. (Now, to be fair- Job did get pretty bummed (to say the least- he was near suicidal at some points, arguably)- but at the end of the book, God restores all of Job had lost- he has more kids and he gets his cattle and wealth back. In fact, he gets twice as much as he had before. And God points out that Job spoke rightly of Him (versus his three friends Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar).

Especially with the time of Thanksgiving coming up in the USA- it seems really appropriate to take time to thank Jesus for all He's done and praise Him! :-) 2016 has been a hard year in some ways for my family personally- but that could be true every year. God has also done some awesome things this year for my family- He provided my dad with a new job! He provided my brother and his wife with a new house they recently bought! He provided my other brother a new job! My sister's daughter got baptized this year and my dad was able to perform the baptism! :-) He provided my grandmother with better health. He provided one of my aunts a new job! He provided a new house for my other aunt and uncle! He provided me with a chance to visit some of my dearest friends in the world this summer! And He's provided me opportunities to have medical work done in the last few years and that's been a blessing. He provides for me financially all the time and just in general in life all the time. (As my mom says, He must have like a multitude of guardian angels working overtime with me. ;-))

So yeah- no matter what the situation is- my response is this: "Give thanks to The Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods, for His steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His steadfast love endures forever." (Psalms 136:1-3- by the way, that refrain is stated 26 times in that chapter- and usually that happens in The Bible because God really wants us to remember it! :-))

To the One Who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love- the One who doesn't deal with us as our sins deserve and repay us according to our iniquities- the One Whose love is as great for us as the heavens are high above the earth- the One who removes our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west- the One who shows compassion to those who fear Him- Whose steadfast love is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him- all praise, honor, glory and power be given! "The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all." (Psalms 103:19- just read the whole thing.)

I will bless The Lord at ALL times- His praise shall CONTINUALLY be in my mouth! (Psalms 34:1)

So yes- 2016 has had its sad moments- but it's also had its awesome moments! Praise The Lord for 2016 and all other moments of life He allows me to have! I call this to mind and therefore I have hope always:

"The steadfast love of The Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in Him.' The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of The Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him; let him put his mouth in the dust- there may yet be hope; let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults. For The Lord will not cast off forever, but, though He cause grief, He will have compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love; for He does not afflict from His heart or grieve the children of men. To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the earth, to deny a man justice in the presence of the Most High, to subvert a man in his lawsuit, The Lord does not approve. Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless The Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins? Let us test and examine our ways, and return to The Lord! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in Heaven..." (see Lamentations 3:21-41- better yet, just read the whole chapter and the whole book.)

(Keep in mind that the context of this chapter is of Jeremiah lamenting over the destruction of Jerusalem, which happened as punishment for the people's sins. And there is a time when we need to test and examine ourselves and let God examine us- see if there be any wicked way in us- and repent and let God cleanse us! [see Psalms 139] But there are also times that calamity comes because we live in a fallen world- but even when God might cause grief, He doesn't do it from His heart! He doesn't do it to grieve people! He isn't a sadist! In the midst of it, He has compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love! As Jesus said in John 9, sometimes bad things happen so that the glory of God can be seen in our lives- just like what happened with the blind dude in that chapter that Jesus made see again!)

So yeah- even when things feel like a nightmare and it's like I'm locked in prison- I'll make like Paul and Silas did while in jail in Acts 16:25 and be praying and singing hymns to God! I'll make like Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane and say, "Lord, not my will, but Thine be done." And The Lord's will might be that I need to go through some suffering. Even so- I'll count it all joy because I know the testing of my faith is going to produce steadfastness! And boy- do I need steadfastness to be full in effect in my life. And what great joy it is to know that I've got steadfast Love that never ceases that keeps following me everywhere I go! :-) (Seriously- you just can't shake it. Surely goodness and mercy- (or as other translations render it)- steadfast love- shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of The Lord forever. (see Psalms 23:6)

So wait- what was I complaining about again? "The joy of The Lord is my strength." (according to Nehemiah 8:10) It's God's will in Christ Jesus for me to be rejoicing always and praying without ceasing and giving thanks in ALL circumstances. (Word up! 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) (Again- not necessarily for them, but definitely in them- and in the long run, I may even wind up being glad for them because they helped me get somewhere that I needed to be that I wouldn't have been otherwise. It's like the "DuckTales" theme song- "The worst of messes become successes. DuckTales- Woohoo!") And like Romans 8:28 says, "We know that all things work together for good, to the good of those who love God and who are called according to His purpose." So I best be busting out those spiritual songs and psalms and hymns and sing and make some melody to The Lord with my heart- and give Him thanks for everything- just like The Holy Spirit led my man Paul to say over in Ephesians 5:19-20. (Dude man reiterated this whole attitude of being joyful and the command to rejoice in The Lord always- and again I say, rejoice- over in Philippians 4:4. And don't forget that he was doing the jailhouse rock while writing those lines down.)

Check out how back in the day the walls of Jericho came down- when Joshua and his Israelite peeps obeyed The Lord and marched around the town for 7 days (7 times on the last day- and ended things with a shout to The Lord! :-) I daresay they were getting some praise chants on there.)

Jumping Jehoshaphat! He was probably doing some of that and getting down in 2 Chronicles 20, when Jahaziel laid out the game plan for battle and let him know that the battle wasn't his, but rather God's. And so Jehoshaphat put the singers first before the army- and they went out singing and praising The Lord and The Lord brought victory!

What more can I say? If God is for us, who can be against us? (It's a rhetorical question, but the answer is, "No one!") (see Romans 8:31- and read the whole chapter while you're at it and read about the amazing grace and love of God for us that nothing can ever separate us from!)

As Psalms 137 talks about, how can we sing God's praise in a foreign land? ('Cause we are foreigners in this land, but nonetheless- as Rich Mullins called it- it's the land of my sojourn and I will sing His song in the land of my sojourn!) So may my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth like peanut butter if I forget New Jerusalem- if I forget The Lord- and don't make Him my highest joy and praise! How can I keep from singing? Praise God for all His many blessings- the Giver of all good things! (James 1:17) Praise The Lord with singing and dancing! (see Psalms 149)
Let everything that hath breath praise The Lord! (Psalms 150) Our God is an awesome God! :-) (see Deuteronomy 7:21)

"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) "Make a joyful noise to The Lord, all the earth! Serve The Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that The Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! For The Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations." (Psalms 100) "Praise The Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens! Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with trumpet sound; praise Him with lute and harp! Praise Him with tambourine and dance; praise Him with strings and pipe! Praise Him with sounding cymbals; praise Him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise The Lord! Praise The Lord!" (Psalms 150) (Sounds like a heavy metal concert going on there! :-) Or any style music- it doesn't really matter. Just praise The Lord! :-) Praise Him with singing and dancing and with how you live. :-))

"Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." (Jude 1:24-25)

The little heading in my ESV Bible calls these verses the "Doxology" section of Jude. So, to reference one of my favorite singers ever again once more, as Rich Mullins was fond of doing at the end of his concerts, let's end this off with the Doxology song-

"Praise God from Whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye Heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen." :-)

Hope From Disaster (song)

        One of the many things I love about God is that He is the God of redemption. He takes seemingly hopeless situations and somehow manages to bring good out of them. He takes the vilest sinner and redeems them and uses them for good things when they come to Him in repentance. He even takes unrepentant sinners and still uses them for His purposes. (See Romans 9 for a great review on that as God used the unGodly Pharaoh to accomplish His goals.) Of course, as 1 Corinthians 1 tells us, God delights in using the foolish of the world to shame the wise and the weak to shame the strong. He can take hopeless odds and create victory even out of defeat- so that we know this power comes from God and not ourselves. (2 Corinthians 4:7) Even when someone feels buried in defeat from their own sin, God can take that man or woman from a low place and raise them back up to the heights. This song talks about just such a case, with a sad falling of one of Israel's greatest leaders- King David. And even though he suffered greatly for his sin of adultery and murder- all of which started with lusting after Bathsheba and plotting to kill Uriah- God still used his line to bring the Messiah about- and specifically- through a son David had with Bathsheba after he had taken her as his wife. It doesn't mean God condoned David's actions, but it does mean that God still makes all things work together for good- to the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)


"Hope From Disaster"
(parody of "Copa Cabana" by Barry Manilow)
(parody song lyrics copyright Nathan Ludwick 10/31/2015)
(2 Samuel 11-12, Exodus 20:13-14, Proverbs 5:15-22, Song of Solomon 4:12, 1 Kings 15:4-5, Psalms 51, Matthew 1:6, Romans 1:1-6, 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, Hebrews 11:32)

Her name's Bathsheba- she let it show, girl
This fellow saw her bathing there; was impressed- caught quite a stare
She was a-married (to) that dude Uriah
And while he's fighting in a war
David just lies with his girl
Of course, a child is formed- Dave worked for days to force
Her husband and her to lie together- Uriah won't while at war

In the book of (uh) 2nd. (uh) Samuel (2nd. Samuel)
The tryst's found 11 through 12 (There)
In The Bible (in) 2nd. Samuel
Choosing their passions, not God's ways- Dave fashioned
(A) final cover- a murder plot

(Like a soap opera drama)

His name was Joab
He led the fighting
He sent hard-core men to their share- left Uriah fighting there
And he was finished just as Dave ordered
Bathsheba then became Dave's bride
And she bore a son in time
How did this Psalmist dude- God's heart he was after, too-
Fall so much? 'Cause we're sinners from start
Jesus still loves you!

It's not over (no) Not by a long shot (Not by a long shot)
The prophet God sent was Nathan- yeah! (yeah)
When he showed up (yeah)- Told a tear-jerker
Using compassion, riled up- Dave's empassioned
For the poor man who lost his lamb
(Nathan told a parable)
(Rich man stole from the poor man)
(You are the man, Dave!) (Ahh! x5)

Bird in the hand's- yeah-
Worth two in the bush.... (Drink from your fountain!)

Lurid lust passions sent David's life crashing

His name is mud, yeah- Lead in the tabloids
While Dave kept dirty deeds shadowed, when Dave's Youtube channel's shown
It'd be a fiasco- wives sleep with others
All Israel is viewing those
David's feathers ruffled?- No
He sits there so contrite- "I've sinned against The Lord"
Though God forgave him, he lost the baby
Then he sought The Lord

So there's hope for (hope) totally all of us (totally all of us)
The Father's wrath poured out on Jesus (He's)
Son of David (read) Matthew 1:6- yeah
Using Dave's actions, God made good despite sin
But the moral's- Don't fall to lust

Don't fall in lust
(Chapter 11)
(Of 2nd. Samuel)
(Don't fall to lust- yeah!)
(Don't fall- Don't fall to lust- yeah!)
(Don't fall to lust- yeah!)(x5)

(and fade)

Who Do You Trust?

            We should always be speaking The Truth in Love. (Ephesians 4:15). I want only to lovingly speak the Truth of The Bible here and comment on some things I have noticed in public discourse over the last number of years. I do not to seek to pronounce, suggest or proffer any political candidates in any way. I do not seek to cajole anyone to any particular political party or point of view. I don’t claim to be of any particular political party and I don’t think it’s my position to push political candidates or parties or tell people how to vote and who to vote for. (I also don’t think churches and other places of influence need to be doing this, but particularly for the church.)
            I want to make it clear from the outset what this post is about and what it’s not about. It’s much more about attitudes and the states of our hearts and trust levels more so than about voting or elections- but it is certainly based in relation to elections and the level of power we afford to them. While this is in some ways specific to America in this piece, the principles are applicable for all countries of the world. I have spoken in more detail on the topic of voting as it relates to the Christian and what The Bible says to this matter. That’s not exactly the angle I’m focusing on with this piece. This is devoted to addressing our level of devotion to the political system versus our devotion to God.
         As many others have stated, I’ll add my voice to those saying this about the state of politics in America in 2016- I’m disheartened to see the cacophony of noise and malicious, venomous poison barbs it has become. I’m equally disheartened to see what the level of discourse in general has become, but that has been a downward spiral for a long time coming- since Genesis 3 at least. I’m speaking this as a rebuke to all the political parties that continue the pattern of mudslinging that seems to be carried out with each election season. It seems that each party constantly builds its own candidate up to sound better than they are while concurrently denigrates, vilifies and demonizes its opponent. Of course, that is the sad nature of politics, it seems. However, it is certainly not the nature of Christ. Colossians 3:5-17 tells us that we must put off anger, wrath, malice, slander and obscene talk from our mouths- and instead, put on kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness and compassionate hearts! And above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And when we remember that Jesus Himself is Love (as 1 John 4:8 tells us), then we can say with The Beatles, truly- “Love is all you need”.
           To address the elephant and the donkey in the room (and whatever symbol you want to use for third parties ;-)), I'm definitely also not saying who to vote for- I just encourage everyone to follow 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 - "Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid all appearance of evil.") And I would encourage people to also read about all the independent candidates and candidates of other parties (like the Green Party, Libertarian Party, Prohibition Party, America's Party and more.) Vote for who you think God wants you to vote for. And in the end, trust Him above ANY person. (Isaiah 2:22) That’s really briefly all I care to say about the voting process. (For more thoughts on this, see my previous blog entry on this matter.)
               I hope the 2016 elections can help people in America learn to unite as Americans rather than be divided over ideologies. My personal goal is generally to try to look for the positive first- try to find something I can applaud, compliment and agree with first and talk about that first- and thank the person for sharing their thoughts. And then politely state my differences where needs be. I firmly believe that no matter what we have to say, there is always a nice way to say it. We can disagree about policies and ideas without insulting each other, whether directly or subtly.
(This is of course, modeled after 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22- "Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid all appearance of evil." You may notice I repeat these verses many times over- they are so practical and such good reminders!) In the end, we can never forget the wonder of the created being that we are conversing with- this is another human being who is fearfully and wonderfully made in God's image- and we are called to love them as we love ourselves! It doesn't matter how vile they are or how much we think their beliefs are vulgar and wrong- our first call is always to love with the love of Christ above all else. (This doesn't mean we can't disagree and lovingly correct when needs be- particularly in spiritual matters of eternal importance- but we must speak the Truth in Love. (Ephesians 4:15) This one is another favorite- I can never say it enough!)
          As I've said many times before, when it comes to politics- vote for who you think God wants you to vote for. Let the Holy Spirit guide you. But don't hail them like they're going to magically make everything better...they won't. All the candidates are human and they fail just like we do. And we're also called to love all of them like Jesus does. (John 13:35) Yes, God is in control and He sets rulers up and takes them down. (Daniel 4) And as Isaiah 2:22 reminds us, quit putting your trust in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Put your trust in The Lord! His will will be done. :-)                          
           I've said much the same thing for a while now and I’ll probably keep repeating myself through this writing as some things I need to hear over and over again- as we all do at times. :-) Fix your eyes on Jesus- not on this world and its political system. Stop putting trust in man who has but a breath in his nostrils (that God gave him.) (see Isaiah 2:22) Put your faith in God. He's always in control. No one gets political power unless Jesus lets them. And no matter what happens on earth in our own power struggles, there's One who reigns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords- and we who know Him as Savior and Lord don't have to fear- we've got another King coming. :-) As Jesus told Pilate in John 19:11, he wouldn’t have had any power over Him except that it was given to him from above.
        Whoever God decides to put in power, we are commanded to respect them, love them and pray for them! (1 Timothy 2:1-4, 2 Peter 2:11-17, Romans 13). We should also remember the context of when these verses were written- the leader Christians were commanded to love, respect, honor and pray for at that time was Nero- the guy who was using Christians for nightlights and lion snacks. If the church could obey these commands for him, I think we can do the same in America- thankfully, we’re not quite there with our leaders. (Sadly, there are some Christians around the world who suffer similar barbarities in the world today though…. And these verses must be even tougher for them to carry out- but they are still God’s Word nonetheless, no matter what our situation might be.)
        There are two errors I think we commonly tend to fall into when it comes to elections. Sometimes we believe that our chosen candidate is the one to bring balance to the Force and restore peace to the land- he or she is “the Golden Child”- “the Chosen One”- and everything will be all right once they are elected. We also sometimes tend to believe that the opponent of our chosen candidate is somehow the destroyer of worlds- the one who will make our living experience a hell on earth. I think either extreme is the wrong view. There is absolutely nothing that happens in this universe without being run by God first and getting His okay for happening! If God chooses for something to not happen- it will simply cease to be before it ever comes into existence. All things are held up by Him and in Him suspended- just check Colossians 1:17. Also, see John 1- nothing exists except that He made it and allowed it to be. The Lord is absolutely sovereign at all times. (Romans 9) If we truly believe this, then why do we act like a particular election is somehow going to be either the start of a new era of awesomeness or indeed the very end of the world? Yes, it’s true that God is always in control and everything will be all right because He rules the world. But why do we only say that when our chosen candidate loses? Somehow, I don’t seem to hear it being said when our chosen candidate wins. Yet it’s true regardless- and we sure better be looking to Him above any other human being in all things. (By this, I don’t mean that we should disregard our leaders and ignore them- we should be thankful for their service and pray for them- but we don’t hail them as the one who will fix everything.) Insert the Godliest person you can think of into the role of President. Anyone less than Jesus Christ will utterly fail in the end. There is only One who can put this world back together to what it should be and restore it from its fallen state- and that’s Jesus alone! He does that by forgiving people and changing their hearts when they ask Him to do so. He’s provided for this by dying on the cross for all our sins and rising again. We must always keep our eyes and minds fixed on Him and know that He is the only One we can trust to always be faithful. (2 Timothy 2:11-13, Psalms 136)
           As a bit of a side note, I also think America tends to be very egocentric at times. (Though, to be fair, some of this comes from its status as a world leader. There’s no denying that a lot of the world looks to the USA to set the tone for other nations.) However, I think it’s important to note that everything does not revolve around the United States of America. (This is getting into a separate matter that I might write more on later; for now, suffice it to say that I tire of hearing people make comparisons of America and Israel. God loves all countries, of course- but the USA is not His chosen people.) My point here is just to say that if some feel that America is in a bad place because of a politician elected as President- this doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. I don’t particularly want to see America fall as a nation and I don’t seek to make any predictions whatsoever regarding that- but I don’t want to act like it’s so important that the rest of the world can’t go on without it. In the end, God alone determines all nations’ fates- and nothing happens outside of His permissive will.
         I saw this article (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2016/november/year-of-living-hopelessly.html) in Christianity Today a while back about how 2016 has pushed some people towards nihilism- and how we don’t need to let that happen to us. (It’s a great article, by the way!) This is also something I grow weary of seeing- the despair of so many because of the state of the world. Yes, things are bleak in many ways. I’m well aware of the travails that sin brings upon us. But this has been happening since Genesis 3. The world is fallen and will continue to revel in sin until Christ returns and restores all things to the way He designed them to be originally. Until then, we as Christians must be His agents of change to show people the way of His kingdom, which is perfect love. We must boldly proclaim the Gospel and must live as people of Hope. We have an everlasting Hope in Jesus and we need not be scared of the future. We know the One who holds the past, present and future all in His hands- and we know the end of The Book- and “the Good Book says we win!” (as Stryper reminds us in “Soldiers Under Command”) We must be strong and courageous. (Joshua 1:9) We must be of good cheer because Christ has overcome the world! (John 16:33) Everything will be just as God has ordained it. (Psalms 139, Acts 27:25)He keeps the earth's pillars steady. (Psalms 75:3-4) We must hope in God alone. (Psalms 42) We find our peace in Him alone. (Romans 15:13) Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the Name of The Lord our God! (Psalms 20)
        So as we face the future with calm assurance in our Father God, let’s remember this about elections and their outcomes. It’s not a brave new world, it’s not a whole new world- it’s my Father’s world- and He’s got the whole world in His hands.