The Simple Gospel

 Every human being has this fact in common- we will all die one day. And when that happens, we will all stand before God and be judged by Him. And we will then spend eternity either in Heaven or Hell. God has a standard for entry into Heaven- absolute perfection. (Leviticus 11:45, Matthew 5:48) None of us meet that standard. We have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory. (Romans 3:23, Psalms 14:3, Psalms 53:3)

    That's why God met the standard for us by sending His Son Jesus to live the perfect life we could never live and die the death we should have died for our sins. And then He rose again to prove He's God and give us a living Hope. We can all avoid the Hell we are bound to by default because of our sins against God and instead be welcomed into Heaven through putting our faith in Jesus to forgive us of our sins and following Him. He offers that for free to whosoever will call upon His Name! (Romans 10:9-13)

    With the eternal weight of the choice given to all humans about what to do with the salvation Christ offers, it is imperative that the Good News of Jesus is shared with everyone! I mean- if you had the cure for Covid-19 or AIDS or cancer, would you keep it to yourself? Those diseases can only kill the body, but the soul lives on for eternity. Jesus is the cure for the disease of sin and He saves our souls for eternity- if we'll let Him.

    And that's what it comes down to- if we're willing to listen to The Father drawing and The Spirit convicting and trust Him. 

   Sadly, too many will let pride and a love for self and evil keep them from coming to God. And God won't force anyone to come to Him. In the end, we either say "Thy will be done" to God and choose to follow Him or He says "thy will be done" to us and lets us choose to reject Him and go our own way instead. There is indeed a way that seems right to a man, but its end is destruction. 

   Logically, we can either be with God or away from God in eternity. To be with Him is Heaven and to be away from Him is Hell. 

    It's appointed unto man once to die- and then comes the judgment.

    We will all die one day. And it won't really matter then what objections people make now or what ridicule is raised in regards to God and The Bible. None of it changes God or the facts about eternity.

    Of course, people will scoff and laugh regardless and raise any number of objections but even so- the facts remain. And the eternal state of every human soul is worth telling everyone about Jesus. Everyone is free to do what they want with this and with Him. That is the choice given to everyone. But everyone will die one day and everyone needs to consider what will happen then and decide what they will do with Jesus and His free offer of grace and love. Jesus loves you- no matter what you've done and no matter what you do in reaction to this information- He loves you more than anything. And I love you through Him because He loved me first. 

  Everyone has to make their own choice on eternity and I respect their right to do so but everyone needs to remember that every choice has consequences. This one has eternal consequences. May God bless and guide you as you make your decision.

I Wish We'd All Been Ready

(Note: I had to use Larry Norman's classic song title for this blog! :-)) 

     I've heard some say that they can't believe in God if such a nice person like so-and-so isn't in Heaven. (And admittedly, there are a number of nice people in the world that did some great, nice things in life- but that doesn't mean they're in Heaven. I had just watched a PBS documentary on John Denver when I wrote this and maybe that's why I was thinking on this. I have some heroes like him and Christopher Reeve and Jim Henson and Karen Carpenter and others that I certainly want to believe they're in Heaven. I love so much of their work, which conveyed some Biblical truths at times. I hope they are there and that everyone will be there, but I know that Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 7 that only a few ever get in, compared to the many on the broad road to destruction.)
     Ephesians 2:8-10 makes it clear that we're not saved by works but rather by grace through faith, both of which are the gifts of God- so no one can boast. Our faith in the completed work of Christ's death and Resurrection to pay for all our sins is what saves us and our obedience is what proves it. If so-and-so isn't in Heaven, it will be very sad indeed- but it will always be Heaven because Jesus is there. Without putting faith in Jesus, we are doomed to Hell. And a Heaven without Jesus is Hell.           God wants all to be in Heaven and I certainly do too (1 Peter 3:8-9, Revelation 7:9). But as Romans 1-3 talks about, everyone has a chance and is without excuse. And God loves us so much, He makes it so easy- just like a child trusting his daddy to catch him coming off the slide- that's the childlike faith we are called to have in Jesus. He's waiting- today's the day of salvation. And when we know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, we experience Heaven on earth with an abundant life (John 10:10) until we reach Heaven itself- because Heaven is Jesus. :-)

No Other One Like Jesus (song)

NOTE: Here is a parody song from the archives. I'm still slowly working on pulling together a lot of classics into one place on this blog. Enjoy one from the Queen of rock & roll that points us to The King of Kings over all. :-)
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This one just emphatically reminds us that there’s no other one like Jesus! All other competitors to His title just bite the dust- but He stands alone as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. :-)

“No Other One Like Jesus”
(parody of “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen)
(parody by Nathan Ludwick 2/7/2010)
(1 Timothy 2:5, 1 Corinthians 8:6, Isaiah 43:3, Isaiah 43:10-13, Isaiah 44:8-10, Isaiah 44:15-23, Micah 7:18-20, Isaiah 49:26, Isaiah 46:3-5, Isaiah 46:9-13, Isaiah 45:5, Isaiah 45:18, Isaiah 45:21-22, Proverbs 16:25, Proverbs 14:12, 1 Corinthians 10:18-22, Job 36:22-26, 1 Kings 18:39, Exodus 20:1-6, Psalms 89:5-8, Luke 11:9-10, Jeremiah 29:11-13, Acts 4:12, 2 Peter 3:9, Revelation 3:20)

Ooh, let’s go
Seems talk’s wavering on the street
When they been polled- “We don’t know”
Ain’t no how from the sound of things
I mean, son- “How can you know?”

Are you ready- hey, are you real serious?
Are you banging and asking as you seek?
He won’t ignore, babe- the honest wish
God is found when you reach- yeah!

No other god like Jesus!
No other god but Jesus!
Ain’t no other one now, ain’t no other one now
No other one like Jesus!
Hey- in Acts four one two (4:12)
No other one but Jesus!

How do you think you’re going to get along
Without Christ on the throne?
You’re looking to everything that you can
To fill that hole in your soul

Are you happy? Are you satisfied?
How long ‘til you sound defeat?
Out at the doorway The Savior knocks
To sit down and then eat
Look now!

No other god like Jesus!
No other god but Jesus!
Ain’t no other one now, ain’t no other one now
No other one like Jesus!
Hey- He’s gonna get to you
No other one but Jesus!

Hey
Oh, trust Him!
Like Jesus- I like Jesus, hey
Hey!
No other one like Jesus!
No other one like Jesus, ow!
No other one like Jesus, hey hey!
No other one like Jesus, heeey!
Ooh, look now

There are plenty of ways that seem right to a man
But bring him to the grave
They will beat him
They will cheat him
They will treat him bad
And leave him there to drown, yeah
But God’s ready- yes, He’s waiting for you
Commanding ‘cause He can’t be beat
Out at the doorway The Savior knocks
Revelation (verse) 20 in 3
Oh yeah

No other god like Jesus!
No other god but Jesus!
Ain’t no other one now, ain’t no other one now
No other one like Jesus, yeah!
Hey- Isaiah 43
No other one but Jesus!
Look now!
Hey, alright!

…………………………………………………………………………………….

We are the Reason for the Season

        In the hustle and bustle of this busy holiday season, it's easy to get overwhelmed. There are so many activities and traditions to keep up with at Christmas. It's easy to forget what it's all about and why we do the celebrations we do. But, of course, in the course of it all, we should always remember the reason for the season- us. If not for us, there would be no Christmas- there'd be no need. It might seem weird to say Christmas is all about me and you but in a sense it certainly is just that. In the same way that police and fire fighters and superheroes are out of work without villains to stop and people to save, the birth of Christ would not be necessary except for us. We, the pinnacle of God's creation, went astray like sheep. We have all sinned and are all villains. But instead of sending us to the Phantom Zone, God found a way to save us from our Kryptonite that had killed us. The real life Superman came to earth, rocketed out of Heaven and arriving via the miracle of the Incarnation. He was raised by a carpenter and his wife in a small town, not too unlike Jonathan and Martha raising Clark Kent in Smallville. Joseph and Mary raised Jesus Christ in Nazareth later on after His spectacular birth in Bethlehem, which was reserved for only a few shepherds to first know about and view the manger.
       And like the meek and mild-mannered reporter, Jesus humbled Himself and disguised His superpowered self in the form of a bondservant for the planet daily for 33 years. And ultimately, He showed us that He is the one true real Superhero because He did what only He could do for the sake of the people- He gave His life to save all of humanity. He paid the price for all of our wrong deeds once for all time. And then He proved He is God over all ultimately by defeating the great enemy no one else could defeat- He beat death, sin, Hell, the devil and his demons all in one blow! He rose again from the grave!
      And He did it all to save us! If we put our faith in Him to save us, He gathers us in His arms and no scheme of Lex Luthor can ever shake us loose. We are saved forever from the sin that had entangled us and we are freed to live for Jesus and have an assurance of eternity with Him in Heaven.
And that's the meaning of and reason for Christmas. Yes, Jesus is still always the reason for the season but as David Meece reminds us, we are the Reason for Jesus coming! He loves us and wants to save us! That's why we can celebrate Christmas and that's ultimately what we celebrate- the advent of our salvation culminating and fulfilled in Easter!
      And as we celebrate the joy to the world The Lord's first coming brings, we also look forward to the joy to the world (for those in Christ) that The Lord's second coming brings. :-)
Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman- fully God and fully man! The Saviour has come and The Saviour's coming again! Hallelujah!
Merry Christmas and Happy (First and Second) Advent! :-)

"We are the reason that He gave His life. We are the reason that He suffered and died. To a world that was lost He gave all He could give to show us the reason to live." ...."He is my reason to live!" :-)
- "We Are The Reason" by David Meece

(Philippians 2, Galatians 4:4, Psalms 98, Mark 4:41, Colossians 1:15-23, Romans 5:6-8, John 1:1-18, John 1:29, John 1:43-51, John 3:13-21, 1 John 4:7-21, Hosea 11:8-9, Hosea 2:16-23, 2 Peter 3:8-9, Revelation 22:16-21) (Action Comics by DC Comics publishing and David Meece's 1980 "Are You Ready?" album from Myrrh Records for all the rest ;-))

The "Good Ol' Days" and The Glorious Day

       Don't ask, "Why were the old days better than today?" It's not good to ask such things.... (see Ecclesiastes 7:10-18 and chapter 12).... As Acts 17:24-28 tells us, God set men and women in history at exactly when and where He wanted them to be for His purposes.... (which doesn't mean that God won't move you at some point too though ;-))- But part of finding our identity in Jesus as His follower means being happy with who God made us to be- boy or girl, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, Pacific Islander, African descent, Indian descent, Caucasian, mixed, etc., Spanish, Trinidadian, American, German, Swiss, South African, Ukrainian, Argentinan, Brazilian, Eritrean, Japanese, Chinese, Australian, Indian, Senegalese, Antarctican, etc.- whatever the social class- whatever other label we put on each other....... God made us above all those things in His image (Genesis 1:26-31). And when we're in Christ, none of those things matter anyway! (Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:1-4, John 13:34-35, Galatians 3:25-29) And as Colossians 3:11 says, "Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all."
    We are all infinitely important and infinitely loved by God. (Jeremiah 31:3) And we are all valuable in His kingdom, where the elder learns to serve the younger and the younger cares for the elder- where each thinks of others as better than themselves and each seeks to love each other truly and forgive from the heart...
     No, these aren't the "good ol' days"- but as I like to say, the only good ol' days this planet has ever seen were Genesis 1-2. We won't have any more truly good ol' days until Revelation 21-22 come to pass. But Jesus makes the in-between time more abundant when we follow Him, as John 10:10 says. :-) And during our faith journey with Him, He shapes us to be more and more like Him in character and empowers us with spiritual gifts to bring a touch of The Divine to a fallen world so badly needing of redemption. To be sure, the final Redemption culminates with the coming of The Lord- but until then, we're like the Planeteers with our power rings, sent forth to bring God's restoration to the world through our love and good deeds and sharing of the Greatest Love of all shown to us on the cross and in the empty tomb (Romans 5:8). And way better than Captain Planet, and the Avengers who "have a Hulk"- we have Someone Real Who can do something about our situation (Hebrews 11:1-6)- we have a Savior- Jesus Christ- Whom we eagerly await to come back from Heaven! We have The One Who alone bears the title of King of Kings and Lord of Lords! We have The One God Who holds all things together and by Him all things exist!
    Like DC Talk said, "God is doing a nu thang"- through His followers- His agents of change upon the earth. (Habakkuk 1:5) And as Jesus said in Acts 1:8 (in essence)- The Power is yours! :-) (So use His gifts and be His witness in all the world.)

He's Gone (song)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Repeat Chorus 3)
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