The world is often dubious, brothers and sisters. The world is dubious of the claims of Christ and His followers. There are so many things that are listed as excuses. The world at large finds the tenets of Christianity to be only what a fool believes. Of course, if we're out of our minds, it's for Christ. And He takes the vain and foolish things of the world and confounds the wise. Yes, it may seem like foolishness to believe that God would love us all so much that He became a man and died on the cross for us and rose again in order that we might have forgiveness of sins and eternal life in Heaven instead of the eternal damnation in hell we deserve. But what if you believe what the world calls foolishness? Explore the evidence and truly consider the words of Christ- and you might find it making more and more sense minute by minute as God reveals Himself to you. This song talks about the encounters of Jesus with His first disciples and the miracles He showed to Nathanael and all the others who dared to believe. They left what they knew and believed on Christ. Now what if you believe?
"What If You Believe?"
(parody of "What A Fool Believes" performed by The Doobie Brothers and written by Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 2/11/2017)
(John 1)
He came in somewhere back 2000 years ago
The quintessential Yule log scene
Triune God is incarnate
Creator joins the created- Here comes Jesus Christ
His cousin's so wild-
Jesus' Messianic herald
Saw Him coming near- Johnny called out to say
"Behold, the Lamb of God
Who takes sins away"- Jesus!
They seek the place of the Christ
The Baptist's made ID twice
And disciples move there- (both) following
Son of God asks what they want to know
They're wanting to go
"Well, come and you will see"- They see
What wise men and the prophets all so longed to see
Andrew then leads
His own ol' brother (named Simon)
To Jesus Who calls Peter- fisher of men
Come way back in here- John 1- go!
Where in Galilee Jesus just states His invite
"Come follow Me"- Philip's on board
He went to Nate- "We've found Christ"
Nathanael balked but went to Christ
He surprises him, "Saw you under fig tree"
"Son of God," Nate says- How else would He know?
"You're the King of Israel!"
But what if you believe? You will see
Some wild things- so much powers far greater than these
Angels ascending
Come down like a ladder on Son of Man
With Heaven opened
Now that all you believe- you will see!
But what if you believe? You will see
Some wild things- so much powers far greater than these
Angels ascending
Come down like a ladder on Son of Man
With Heaven opened
Now that all you believe- you will see!
Friday, May 26, 2017
Saturday, May 13, 2017
Why not? (poem)
To the brothers and sisters of the Dispersion in the time of their exile....
"I will sing His song in the land of my sojourn....."- Rich Mullins
"So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through His own blood. Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp and bear the reproach He endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Though Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His Name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." (Hebrews 13:12-16)
Why not?
(copyright by Nathan Ludwick 1/16/2017)
(Job 38-40, Hebrews 11-12, Psalms 73, 84 and 137, the book of Ecclesiastes, Romans 8, 1 Peter 1:17-19, Matthew 13, Psalms 119:19, Hebrews 13:10-16, Revelation 21:5, Revelation 21-22)
Why shouldn't I expect suffering in the world?
What makes me special and exempt?
Why do I expect perfection in a quite imperfect world?
Sometimes I feel so restless- I can't sit down or stand up or lie down
I've got to run around or I'll explode...
Restless legs and a reckless heart
Are a wanderer's trademark
Not all who wander are lost,
but not all who are lost wonder while they wander.
Some trade priceless treasure for their precious things
Some pierce themselves with many griefs in search of so many schemes.
The wind flitters and floats this way and that
We think we're walking on air as we strive and strain for it
But even on Cloud 9, it's still just beyond our grasp
If we ever caught it, we'd find that it's just empty air
Just like the pinnacle of our lives' pursuits have only an empty heir
Vanity, vanity- everything is vanity!
If a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions,
Why do we strive after wind and wind up reaping the whirlwind?
If anything, we should labor like Ruth in the Kinsman-Redeemer's harvest
So that our thorny soil might get pruned and yet bear fruit
Fruit that The Lord of the Harvest can use to sow what He reaps
But rather than grow spiritual cucumbers, the cares of this life
Keep us encumbered instead.
We want our best life now on our terms rather than waiting
for the coming glory.
Why do I want this world to be perfect when I have a perfect one waiting?
Now is the winter of our discontent and rather than bury it in the snow
we must embrace it.
Hug tight all the scars and bruises of this world and flick off
all our rotting bandages.
There's only One who holds all things together and He's still got
the whole world in His hands.
And while we look forward to standing with Him in Heaven
First we must stand with Him in Gethsemane.
Let us weep with Him who weeps rather than just fall asleep.
In our struggles with sin, we haven't yet resisted to the
point of shedding our blood- but He did.
The Father poured the cup of His wrath on His Son
And the blood-stained cross speaks a better word than the blood of Abel or any of us.
Yes, by faith we share His glory in the Resurrection, but first we bear His reproach.
As Moses left Egypt's palace and chose to suffer alongside his people,
So Christ left Heaven's throne and chose to suffer alongside His people.
Thou didst leave Thy throne, O Lord- help me to leave my throne as well.
Like captives in Babylon, we are exiles on this planet- wanderers
looking for a new city- a real home.
May the restlessness in our hearts keep us from ever being
content with poor substitutes on earth.
We're all panning for gold in life, but let us pan the fool's gold that abounds.
Let's sell it all to buy the field and get the real gold treasure we've found.
He is the abundant life that flows in us and reminds us of what
this world was made to be before sin's catastrophe.
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
We all live in our present suffering, but we dream of the restoration coming.
And while we live so that His love might leave others with
the mark of the Divine that points us all back to Christ,
may we all solider on, steady further up and further in-
aliens and strangers on the road that's straight and narrow, all the way to Him!
We must solider on in the land of our sojourn
and fight the good fight, knowing that He's already won the battle.
Even amidst all our struggles and sorrows, we know
The Man of Sorrows knows and feels every one and helps us through them
And one day He will take all those old battle scars and
give them a full healing through and through when He makes all things new!
"I will sing His song in the land of my sojourn....."- Rich Mullins
"So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through His own blood. Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp and bear the reproach He endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Though Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His Name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." (Hebrews 13:12-16)
Why not?
(copyright by Nathan Ludwick 1/16/2017)
(Job 38-40, Hebrews 11-12, Psalms 73, 84 and 137, the book of Ecclesiastes, Romans 8, 1 Peter 1:17-19, Matthew 13, Psalms 119:19, Hebrews 13:10-16, Revelation 21:5, Revelation 21-22)
Why shouldn't I expect suffering in the world?
What makes me special and exempt?
Why do I expect perfection in a quite imperfect world?
Sometimes I feel so restless- I can't sit down or stand up or lie down
I've got to run around or I'll explode...
Restless legs and a reckless heart
Are a wanderer's trademark
Not all who wander are lost,
but not all who are lost wonder while they wander.
Some trade priceless treasure for their precious things
Some pierce themselves with many griefs in search of so many schemes.
The wind flitters and floats this way and that
We think we're walking on air as we strive and strain for it
But even on Cloud 9, it's still just beyond our grasp
If we ever caught it, we'd find that it's just empty air
Just like the pinnacle of our lives' pursuits have only an empty heir
Vanity, vanity- everything is vanity!
If a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions,
Why do we strive after wind and wind up reaping the whirlwind?
If anything, we should labor like Ruth in the Kinsman-Redeemer's harvest
So that our thorny soil might get pruned and yet bear fruit
Fruit that The Lord of the Harvest can use to sow what He reaps
But rather than grow spiritual cucumbers, the cares of this life
Keep us encumbered instead.
We want our best life now on our terms rather than waiting
for the coming glory.
Why do I want this world to be perfect when I have a perfect one waiting?
Now is the winter of our discontent and rather than bury it in the snow
we must embrace it.
Hug tight all the scars and bruises of this world and flick off
all our rotting bandages.
There's only One who holds all things together and He's still got
the whole world in His hands.
And while we look forward to standing with Him in Heaven
First we must stand with Him in Gethsemane.
Let us weep with Him who weeps rather than just fall asleep.
In our struggles with sin, we haven't yet resisted to the
point of shedding our blood- but He did.
The Father poured the cup of His wrath on His Son
And the blood-stained cross speaks a better word than the blood of Abel or any of us.
Yes, by faith we share His glory in the Resurrection, but first we bear His reproach.
As Moses left Egypt's palace and chose to suffer alongside his people,
So Christ left Heaven's throne and chose to suffer alongside His people.
Thou didst leave Thy throne, O Lord- help me to leave my throne as well.
Like captives in Babylon, we are exiles on this planet- wanderers
looking for a new city- a real home.
May the restlessness in our hearts keep us from ever being
content with poor substitutes on earth.
We're all panning for gold in life, but let us pan the fool's gold that abounds.
Let's sell it all to buy the field and get the real gold treasure we've found.
He is the abundant life that flows in us and reminds us of what
this world was made to be before sin's catastrophe.
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
We all live in our present suffering, but we dream of the restoration coming.
And while we live so that His love might leave others with
the mark of the Divine that points us all back to Christ,
may we all solider on, steady further up and further in-
aliens and strangers on the road that's straight and narrow, all the way to Him!
We must solider on in the land of our sojourn
and fight the good fight, knowing that He's already won the battle.
Even amidst all our struggles and sorrows, we know
The Man of Sorrows knows and feels every one and helps us through them
And one day He will take all those old battle scars and
give them a full healing through and through when He makes all things new!
Sunday, May 7, 2017
The Truth's Lying in Plain Sight
As a precursor, I want to note that I generally strive to avoid
political posts and this one is no different. I don't hold to any
particular party (just Jesus above all)- and this is not about parties
and politics- it's about purity.
I was thinking earlier today about the truth and how it has so many interesting manipulations, particularly by American presidents in recent memory. President Nixon- "Tricky Dick"- claimed boldly, "I am not a crook." Maybe not, but he was unfortunately a liar. (He was smart enough to resign before he got impeached.) President Clinton- "Slick Willy"- needed clarification on the meaning of the word "is" during his impeachment hearings. (He was eventually acquitted, as there were not enough votes for the perjury and obstruction of justice charges to stick.) Of course, President Bush (I'm not aware of pejorative nicknames for him, though I'm sure people assigned him some) sold the whole Iraq war on what was shown to be a false presumption about the presence of weapons of mass destruction there. Numerous charges of questioned truth claims were leveled at President Obama and I suppose his biggest faux pas would be the whole debacle over the handling of the healthcare bill. President Trump's administration talks about the plethora of "fake news" floating around, but also talks about the existence of "alternative facts". How does that even work?
In years past, we had President "Honest Abe" Abraham Lincoln and President George Washington, who had the famous story about cutting down cherry trees- "I cannot tell a lie. I chopped down the cherry tree." Of course, I'm sure one could find untruths true of all political leaders and people in general at some point or another. The point here is that we are all sinners and all in need of The Truth. Romans 1:25 says that we exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. That is indeed the problem- we've moved from a picture of grace and nature being held as the ideas guiding our society to non-rationality and rationality being the two guiding ideas- and we escape from reason as the basis for truth to embracing feelings as the basis for truth instead. [Note: I've been reading Francis Schaeffer lately. ;-) I have to credit him for a lot of this post, and ultimately to God for inspiration for both of us.]
As Relient K said, "Sometimes when you're trying to sleep and all your doubts and your faith don't agree, it's cause sometimes the hardest thing to believe is the truth."
It's important to note that Jesus identifies Himself not only as The Way and The Life (in John 14:6) but also The Truth. When we come into relationship with Him through faith in His death and Resurrection, we find ourselves in The Truth and come to understand that our identity in Christ is our true selves that the Fall has driven us away from. We live now as shells- men with hollow chests as T.S. Eliot said and C.S. Lewis alluded to as well. Colossians 3:1-4 says that when we come to Christ, we die and our true life is then hidden with Christ in God. His Way of Life really is the only Life- living in line with the design God had for us all along- to be loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Romans 2:9-18 makes it abundantly clear that none of us are righteous- none of us are pure. Yet it's the pure in heart who shall see God, according to Jesus in Matthew 5:8.
That's exactly why Jesus, the pure and spotless Lamb of God, had to intervene and live out the requirements of the Law that we could never keep. And when we put all our faith into Christ's righteousness and completed work, our falsehoods are recognized for what they are and our eyes are unveiled and we can see the Truth of Jesus for Who He is- and know The Truth who sets us free. (John 8:32-36) "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:1-4)
I was thinking earlier today about the truth and how it has so many interesting manipulations, particularly by American presidents in recent memory. President Nixon- "Tricky Dick"- claimed boldly, "I am not a crook." Maybe not, but he was unfortunately a liar. (He was smart enough to resign before he got impeached.) President Clinton- "Slick Willy"- needed clarification on the meaning of the word "is" during his impeachment hearings. (He was eventually acquitted, as there were not enough votes for the perjury and obstruction of justice charges to stick.) Of course, President Bush (I'm not aware of pejorative nicknames for him, though I'm sure people assigned him some) sold the whole Iraq war on what was shown to be a false presumption about the presence of weapons of mass destruction there. Numerous charges of questioned truth claims were leveled at President Obama and I suppose his biggest faux pas would be the whole debacle over the handling of the healthcare bill. President Trump's administration talks about the plethora of "fake news" floating around, but also talks about the existence of "alternative facts". How does that even work?
In years past, we had President "Honest Abe" Abraham Lincoln and President George Washington, who had the famous story about cutting down cherry trees- "I cannot tell a lie. I chopped down the cherry tree." Of course, I'm sure one could find untruths true of all political leaders and people in general at some point or another. The point here is that we are all sinners and all in need of The Truth. Romans 1:25 says that we exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. That is indeed the problem- we've moved from a picture of grace and nature being held as the ideas guiding our society to non-rationality and rationality being the two guiding ideas- and we escape from reason as the basis for truth to embracing feelings as the basis for truth instead. [Note: I've been reading Francis Schaeffer lately. ;-) I have to credit him for a lot of this post, and ultimately to God for inspiration for both of us.]
As Relient K said, "Sometimes when you're trying to sleep and all your doubts and your faith don't agree, it's cause sometimes the hardest thing to believe is the truth."
It's important to note that Jesus identifies Himself not only as The Way and The Life (in John 14:6) but also The Truth. When we come into relationship with Him through faith in His death and Resurrection, we find ourselves in The Truth and come to understand that our identity in Christ is our true selves that the Fall has driven us away from. We live now as shells- men with hollow chests as T.S. Eliot said and C.S. Lewis alluded to as well. Colossians 3:1-4 says that when we come to Christ, we die and our true life is then hidden with Christ in God. His Way of Life really is the only Life- living in line with the design God had for us all along- to be loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Romans 2:9-18 makes it abundantly clear that none of us are righteous- none of us are pure. Yet it's the pure in heart who shall see God, according to Jesus in Matthew 5:8.
That's exactly why Jesus, the pure and spotless Lamb of God, had to intervene and live out the requirements of the Law that we could never keep. And when we put all our faith into Christ's righteousness and completed work, our falsehoods are recognized for what they are and our eyes are unveiled and we can see the Truth of Jesus for Who He is- and know The Truth who sets us free. (John 8:32-36) "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:1-4)
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