Sin Man (song)

 What do you get for the God who has everything? What can we ever give Him that didn't first come from His hand? Well, the one thing we can give Him that He won't force is our love and devotion. And all we have to bring Him, even the righteous things we think we've done on our own, are no more than filthy rags in His sight. (Isaiah 64:6) As Jonathan Edwards said, the only thing we bring to our salvation is the sin that made it necessary. And when we give those sins over to Him, His grace forgives us through faith in Christ's death and Resurrection and removes our sins as far as the east is from the west. We're saved by grace and not by works. (Our good works done after we're saved demonstrate our faith though.) God took care of all our sin, man! Praise The Lord for His gift!

"Sin Man"

(Parody of "Tin Man" by America; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 6/24/2020)

(James 1:17, 1 Chronicles 29:14, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:4-7)

(Verse 1)

One in James verse 17- all good things are the gift of God- read it yourself

Chronicles- first book- Dave prays to bless God- 29:14- comes from Himself!

(Chorus 1)

Oh, God never did get nothing but our sins, man

That He didn't, didn't already have

And 'cause Lord Jesus defeated all our evils

On the cross and returned from the dead

His peace believers receive

(Verse 2)

Then in 2 (Two) Corinthians 5 down- it's found

For our sake Christ bore our

Sin and so sinless becomes sin 

so we'd be Christ's righteousness

(Oooh! Oooh!)

(Chorus 2)

Oh, God never did get nothing but our sin, man

That He didn't, didn't already have

And John Edwards said the only thing we're bringing 

To salvation's the sin that we have

Which makes it necessary

(Repeat Verse 2)

(Repeat Chorus 1- with last line changed to:

So please believe in Jesus!)

(Oooh! Oooh!)

God In Every Language (poem)

Note: This is a piece I have pulled out of the archives. I thought it might be fun to post this during this week as a way to celebrate both National Poetry Month (which is in April) and Holy Week. I will plan to do poetry readings videos for the rest of week, if anyone's interested (These are specifically available for my family and friends on Facebook.) (I'll still do them to amuse myself even if no one's interested- lol. :-)) The text of the poem and a little introduction is below. Enjoy! Happy Easter! In honour of Holy Week and The Lord Jesus, I also wanted to read poems reflecting on the sacrifice Jesus made for all of us when He died and rose to pay for all sins for all time. We can have forgiveness of sins and salvation from the hell we deserve and entry into the Heaven we don't deserve all through our faith in the love God has for us and the salvation He has provided through Christ! (Romans 10:9-13) ................................................................................

This is a poem I wrote inspired by the 2010 Taste of Heaven missions conference at my church. The love of God goes out clearly in every language through the sacrifice Jesus made by dying for us on the cross. As Isaiah 53:6 and Romans 5:8 tell us, all of us went astray like sheep and God laid all our sins on Christ- and demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us! Thank You, Lord for Your great love demonstrated to us on Good Friday.


"God in Every Language"
(original poem; copyright Nathan Ludwick 10/3/2010)
(John 3:16, Philippians 2:1-11, 2 Peter 3:8-9, Acts 1:8, Revelation 7:9)

A baby's cry sounds the same in every language
No matter what race or ethnicity, a mother's instincts always kick in.
Though our characters and letters may be different, this is one way we all speak the same tongue.
From the drum beats on the plains of Africa to the sitar's charms in Indian halls,
To the bagpipes on Scotland's hills and the sweet steel pan rhythms of Trinidad's streets-
Music is everywhere.
It is the universal language that binds us together in our thoughts and emotions.
Like the melodies that set us at peace or stir us to action,
Sometimes when we can't say it in words, we really can say it in a song.
It's amazing how just a ball to play with can join us together in sport and competition.
The fellowship and comradery transcend our nationalities if but for a brief moment and unity rings loudly.
But of all the universal languages, the greatest of these is still love.
The acts of true love deliver an unmistakable message in every corner of the world.
The act of kindness for a stranger makes a Good Samaritan out of all of us.
And the Greatest One of all has left an indelible mark when He stopped to help us prodigals home.
Real love demands actions and manifests itself in selfless kindness.
And what kindness was sent to us when Jesus emptied Himself of all but love.
The Saviour spoke the cry heard 'round the world when He said, "It is finished."
This is the one true love that every heart can hear and know.
This is because death still plagues every mortal soul.
But death's Master took it on and won to live forevermore.
This love cries out in every language beckoning all those who will listen and understand
To join the global eternal feast inside Heaven's door.
.................................................................................................................

Paradise By The Passion Of Christ (song)

    How excited we get for so many things in life! A birthday party, Christmas, vacation, a visit from an old friend, the big game, the big dance, a date, first kiss, marriage, a new baby- all such wonderful blessings from God! Sometimes though, the extraordinary simply becomes extra ordinary and our enthusiasm goes down to the vegan's for Meatloaf Monday in the school cafeteria.
    Isn't that how it goes in the life of a Christian? Where does the joy of The Lord go when the amazing salvation we have from sin, death and hell for free through Christ's death and Resurrection simply becomes old hat? Our testimonies should never be mundane! For those in Jesus Christ, we have crossed from death to life! That's something worth celebrating every day! Praise The Lord all my soul and forget not all His benefits! :-) Just like the thief on the cross, we can rejoice that our names are written in The Lamb's Book of Life in Heaven, our sins and forgiven and we're free- and we receive Paradise by the Passion of Christ!

"Paradise By The Passion Of Christ"
(Parody of "Paradise By The Dashboard Light" by Meatloaf; copyright Nathan Ludwick 3/17/2020)
(Luke 23 (particularly verse 43), Hebrews 9:27-28, Revelation 20:11-15, Romans 5:1-11 (especially v. 8), Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Romans 10:9-13, Romans 8:12-17, 1 John 3:16-24, Hebrews 13:5, Psalms 107:1-3, Psalms 108:1-6, Psalms 150, Psalms 149, Jeremiah 20:9, Psalms 32, Psalms 33:1-3, Psalms 16, Psalms 47:1, Psalms 51, Isaiah 1:18, Isaiah 53:6, John 14:6, 1 Peter 3:15, Acts 1:1-8, Colossians 3:1-4, Philippians 1:20-21, Romans 14:8, Philippians 3:20-21, 1 Peter 1:12-25, Hebrews 2:1-4, Romans 3:21-26, Ephesians 2:1-10, Matthew 28:18-20, 2 Kings 7:9, Luke 6:20-23, Luke 10:17-20, Luke 12:13-21, Matthew 24:36, Psalms 84:10, Psalms 42:1-2, Psalms 63, Psalms 73:23-28, Psalms 138, Psalms 137:4-6, 2 Corinthians 12:1-6, 2 Corinthians 6:2, Revelation 2:7, Revelation 21-22 (especially 22:20-21))

Well, I remember every little thing
As if it happened only yesterday
Harken to the day when I just got down to the end of life
And remember that the trial
Booked me for the theft I'd been doing
And all the guilt- it's true
It was weighing down on me- that's right
And now two robbers are on a cross with Christ
The other yelled so rude, instead I felt contrite
(And) said, "We're going down to Sheol on account of our crimes
Not coincidental- that verbiage is true for Christ
No wrongs for Lord Christ!
Thy kingdom come- Hold me, Christ!"
Though I stole and only chose belief when about to die
I received Paradise by the Passion of Christ

Ain't no doubt about it- I was eternally blessed
Go read it there- Luke 23:43- share the text
Ain't no doubt about it!
Baby- got to go and shout it!
Ain't no doubt about it!
I am eternally blessed!
'Cause it was there Christ guaranteed to me eternal rest!

Baby, don't you hear my heart?
I got to shout it out 'cause He saved my soul!
I'd been weighed down so long but then the Son of God lifted me with Love
Well, I gotta let you know
No, you're never gonna reach Heaven
By hoping that your life has got less wicked than right
You need Jesus Christ!
Only One Who ain't ever done wrong!
And, no- Nobody comes even close to right
3rd. chapter- check Romans- we're sinners- all but Christ!
And we're going to hell eternal on account of our crimes
Romans 5:8 met all consequence(s) of our crimes
Come on! Go to Christ!
For Heaven- go through Christ!
Though your soul's corroded- sins may be scarlet
They can be snow white- Isaiah 1:18 said
Victorious one gets to eat from the tree of life
(Rev. 2:7) Paradise of God- that's all right!
God's got to do what you can't
Trust The Father- He's your true Life vest
In faith, leap out- won't drown then
You'll be eternally blessed
'Cause it's there- Isaiah 43- Go read verse 3- sweetness!

You wanna know all the places in (The) Bible
That's gonna go and actually say the word "Paradise"?
You're gonna go all the way- that's right
To 2nd. Corinthians- in 12th. chapter's lines
There's (a) guy I know, Paul relays (in) 3rd. line
He got to go all the way into Paradise
He got to go to third heaven's sights
We're gonna go- all who's saved- to Paradise through Christ

Okay, here we go, we got a real testimony going here
True dat! Somebody from nowhere, nomads for Lord Christ
Thus he winds up in Trinidad
A child brought up on mission- locked in sin though
This boy is only five
He's grounded firm theologically learning about God
See, God's setting up his heart
He's got a sister setting example- The Bible's lived by brother
And here comes the call- The Spirit calls
He comes with Isaiah verse
53:6- Wow!
That weight's laid down at the cross' base
This pig really makes things sharpen and get clear
Better stop up and explain- Where's the pig? In a story
And what a love he's got- it's kinda absurd
Man and pet- ship on a cruise- overboard
Gonna drown- pig's in space where saving him's pretty crazy to dare
Man's not caring and he dives to pick him up
A picture lands home there- Christ's love there in devotions
Bowing down- family prays time- he knew defiance and fights are wrong
Deserves hell- Jesus saves- sins all paid on cross- He arose- He's The Saviour God
Boy prays now- He asked Jesus to save him!

God worked there!
He's gotta show right now
The Lord to his little brother
'Cause he loves him
Jesus Loves us forever!
Do you hear me?
He will never leave us!
He will take us to Heaven for the rest of all time!
Will you take Him as Saviour- will you give Him your life?
Dude was sharing!
And then God saved his brother!
Thank You, Jesus!
We both now believe You!
Will You make me the man You formed me to be in my life?
Well, You saved me today and You're always in my life
I had to renew my vows
In order to go any further
I still trust You
And I love You forever!
..................................................

But we sleep on it
How He saved me! Let me speak on it!
Oh, how sweet it is!
Need to give all The Answer who are hurting
But we sleep in Light
(Ask Keith Green, yeah) We won't speak of it
Let lost drown in sin
And we believe Christ's The Answer but we hoard Him
And we soak in it
Hey, don't you see? When we keep it in
Then we're deep in sin
Let's give world The Answer- they are drowning!

They gotta know right now
Jesus loves us!
Jesus loves us forever!
We all need Him!
He will never leave us!
He will take us to Heaven if we give Him our lives
Will you take Him as Saviour and The Lord of your life?
You gotta know- time is now
2 (Two) Corinthians 6:2
To get saved please!
The door's not open forever

What's it gonna be, world?
Come on- only Way is Christ
What's it gonna be, boy?
Yes or No?
What's it gonna be, girl?
Yes or No?

Wanna sleep on it?
Baby, baby- you can't sleep on it
While you sleep on it
May not get to see another night or morning
What if ya go right now?
How will He judge you? (It is permanent!)
Hellbound judged or to Heaven?
(27 in Hebrews 9- check!)
Did you read it?
Hell and Heaven are real, babe!
Well, the judgment is happening (Yeah, Hebrews 9 says)
At the end of our lives
(We're given one death- it's been appointed)
While The Saviour awaits
(We're given a chance here ere His coming)
You oughta know Christ now
Before you go past returning
Dude, He loves you!
Will you trust Him for Heaven?
You can't sleep on it
He still loves you forever
Let Christ Jesus in!
Will you trust Him forever?

I couldn't shake You any longer- Lord, I was saved!
And when doubt feelings come upon me like a tidal wave
My heart's reassured then by God the Holy Ghost's soft way
And I just trust Him with my entire life
I know that He will hold me past the end of time
So now I'm praying while awaiting His time
Please hurry up and arrive
'Cause world is gonna end and Father, my life's in You!
Feels on brink but Christ's coming's in Your time
You never forget Your promise or break Your vow
And God already knows too often I flake out
In praying, "Forgive sin that binds"
Let all I do praise You (oh oh oh)
Saved me, now You sanctify- then I will spend all time with You

Is it long to go? Is it not far away?
'Cause Jesus (is) so much better than afforded today
......................................
Only God can know, well, just how far away (Well, Heaven feels so good 'cause Heaven's Jesus Christ!)
And Jesus' (is) so much better than all sins' dread sway
(His glory's glowing makes all else dull and dim- so turn your eyes) (x4)
...............................................,
Jesus died and rose and sins all were just paid (Get saved from Hell for good to Heaven- trust in Christ)
What Jesus promised robber is then ours to claim (And we are going by the Passion of Christ to Paradise!)
.........................................

Cross Beams

      Maybe we shouldn’t pray for God to take away sinful desires. These continue to plague us in the form of temptation and that won’t go away until the devil is locked away in Hell for good. They also plague us in the form of the spiritual battle between the old man of sin and the new man in Christ. That battle will continue to wage until the day we are in Heaven with Jesus. And until that day, the world will still be here egging us on to accept what God says is wrong. This is the three-pronged war we must fight every day.
      Instead, we should pray for God’s grace and help to stand up under temptation and not give in to it. Pray that He will strengthen us to resist the devil so that he will flee from us. Pray that we will have His power to ignore the world and its evil desires that are passing away, and instead do the will of God- that is the way of life eternal; knowing Christ as Savior through trusting His death and Resurrection for salvation.
       And then we are called to keep walking on the straight and narrow path, though it be beset with painful trials and struggles that we must endure. Yet we keep on, asking Jesus to pick us up and set us right again when we fall, but always moving forward on that path and still seeking to obey God out of gratitude to Him and reverence for His precious sacrifice. It is not a misguided effort to repay Him or earn what He’s already given to us for free- it is rather an effort to fulfill the call and charge He gave to us in Ephesians 2:8-10. We must do the good works He prepared in advance for us to do. And He has warned us that following Him will not be easy. It will be hard and it will demand harsh sacrifice on our part as well. But we can never give more than what God has already given. Our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us on the day of Christ Jesus. No matter how hard our sufferings are, let us boast in our weakness so that Christ may be revealed as strong in us.
      And let us trust God not to lead us into temptation but rather to deliver us from evil. Let us trust that He can and will give us the way of escape when we ask Him for it. Let us endure hardship like good soldiers of Jesus Christ. Let us deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus daily. And as for you brothers, never tire of doing what is right. God bless and Godspeed.

Daily Struggle

       Do you ever have that experience of going from a spiritual high to almost immediately after a spiritual low? I mean, just after reading The Bible and spending some time in prayer and really being wowed and excited by the passage I read, I find myself slipping into totally the opposite direction with flipping through Youtube video clips from shows that can generally be clean but also slip into foul territory at times unfortunately.... 
        That's one of the worst problems with having literally millions of video choices at hand, between the Internet in general and all the many channels on cable, etc. There is always a responsibility to be careful of what we take in and one I continually have to keep guarding myself on. I do generally try to be cognizant of this and steer clear of things I know are not wholesome at all, but I also know there are times I've allowed myself to watch things that I've immediately regretted and never desired to see anything afterward. And I have gone to Jesus in repentance and asked His forgiveness and I know He's faithful to do it- but I hate to keep running into this scenario so many times in life....
         The spiritual answer behind this is defined for us in The Bible, of course. It's just like Paul talked about in Romans 7:15-25- I know the good I want to do, but it's the bad I don't want to do that I wind up doing. I still need The Holy Spirit to keep working in me and guiding me to the right thing. As Ephesians 6:12 makes clear, the struggle is real. ("For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.")- That's exactly why we need the armor of God strapped on each day for spiritual warfare. (Ephesians 6:13-18 go on to tell us more about this- the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes prepared with the Gospel of peace, the shield of faith to extinguish those fiery darts of the enemy, the helmet of salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit [i.e. the Word of God] and we need to be praying at all times in the Spirit.
       What else can we do in the fight? Certainly pray without ceasing and ask for God's help in standing firm- and resist the devil, as James 4:7 and 1 Peter 5:8-9 teach. And when we do fall, remember God's promise in 1 John 1:9 to be faithful and just and forgive us and cleanse us of all our sins when we confess them to Him. "I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." (Galatians 5:16)

The Father's Enduring Love

      ( I keep doing this. I read books. And then I get knocked over by The Lord's Spirit and I just want to share the truths He's reminded me of again once more. And then what is intended to be a paragraph or so becomes another blog entry. :-) (That's a good thing in some ways though, as I'm always glad to have more devotional prose to add, if just for variety's sake if nothing else. More so than that, this is also all written on the spur of the moment, straight from the heart.) (Hopefully, not that other pieces aren't- but not everything is composed in the span of one sitting, as this piece was.)
As always, if anything in there is downright awful- it's me. If anything good- it's all God. :-) Thank You, Lord Jesus, for the ability to write and the reason to do so.)         
        I've never been one that's good at picking favorites. But I will say that while I love every single verse of The Holy Bible, these two are some that I particularly love and find incredibly moving and overwhelming every time I read them. First, in a succession of parables from Jesus, we hear about the lost sheep the shepherd goes to find, the lost coin the woman goes to find- and then the lost son the father goes to find. (Jesus mentions the father saw him from a long way off, indicating that he had been looking for him.) And we hear these beautiful words in this parable-
        "And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him." (Luke 15:20)
My other Bible verse I want to share gives us the picture of how God did exactly this for us.
        "But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
In these two verses, we get such a great picture of God's amazing grace! That is something that we gloss over too often and let it become so old and comfortable to us that we forget the astonishing wonder of it. If we were to really sit in silence and ponder the intensity of the love God has for every single person, we would and should be truly overwhelmed and bowled over. This is why Charles Wesley's "And Can It Be?" has always been one of my favorite hymns. "And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior's love? Died He for me who caused His pain- for me who Him to death pursued! Amazing love- how can it be? That Thou my God should'st die for me!"
        But praise God- it's true! I can't and don't understand it- I don't know why He'd want me or any of us- but somehow He does. No matter how many times we sin and mess up and fall down in the mud and slime again and feel broken beyond repair- before we can even make all our vain acts of penitence and apologies for the trillionth time- God still is the God of the impossible who can put right broken hearts and repair His creation to what we are meant to be all along. (Matthew 19:26- impossible for us- we can NEVER do it in our own efforts- and we NEVER have to. God alone has done it and it's done!)
We need only receive His love shown for us through His death and Resurrection and fall weeping at the feet of Jesus once more. Absolution comes before apology- forgiveness offered before repentance- grace before good works. And any good works we do are really His work in any case. Ephesians 2:8-10 gives us such a wonderful model when we read it together. "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
       When His amazing grace and love washes over us and washes us clean, the only appropriate response is immense gratitude which demonstrates itself in a changed life. This is not of our own power- this is a miracle that happens when we are emptied of ourselves, as Christ emptied Himself (see Philippians 2)- and we are cleaned out of all the corrupt, sin-sick encasing that is our old identity and we are filled instead with the wholly pure life-giving Holy Spirit, Who is our new identity in Christ. We have died and now it is Christ who lives in us and through us. (Colossians 3:1-4) God our Father mercifully takes Ezekiel's dry bones and clothes them with flesh again and makes them alive- just as He does with us. (see Ezekiel 37). We're not perfect yet, but we're being made perfect as we progress from justification through sanctification to glorification in Heaven.
         "Ask people what they must do to get to Heaven and most reply, 'Be good.' Jesus' stories contradict that answer. All we must do is cry, 'Help!' God welcomes home anyone who will have Him and, in fact, has made the first move already. Most experts- doctors, lawyers, marriage counselors- set a high value on themselves and wait for clients to come to them. Not God. As Soren Kierkegaard put it,
          'When it is a question of a sinner He does not merely stand still, open His arms and say, 'Come hither'; no, He stands there and waits, as the father of the lost son waited, rather He does not stand and wait, He goes forth to seek, as the shepherd sought the lost sheep, as the woman sought the lost coin. He goes- yet no, He has gone, but infinitely farther than any shepherd or any woman, He went, in sooth, the infinitely long way from being God to becoming man, and that way He went in search of sinners.'
Kierkegaard puts his finger on perhaps the most important aspect of Jesus' parables. They were not merely pleasant stories to hold listeners' attention or literary vessels to hold theological truth. They were, in fact, the template of Jesus' life on earth. He was the shepherd who left the safety of the fold for the dark and dangerous night outside. To His banquets He welcomed tax collectors and reprobates and whores. He came for the sick and not the well, for the unrighteous and not the righteous. And to those who betrayed Him- especially the disciples, who forsook Him at His time of greatest need- He responded like a lovesick father."
(from "Lovesick Father" chapter of "What's So Amazing About Grace?" by Philip Yancey, page 55. Copyright Zondervan, 1997.)
         Praise and thank You God, my lovesick Father, who dares to love and embrace sin-sick, adulterous betrayers and doubters like me. Thank You for continuing to love and be faithful even when I'm not. Thank You for loving this sojourner and wanderer and ragamuffin. Thank You, Lord, for Your everlasting love! (Jeremiah 31:3) I am overwhelmed every time I think about it and Your amazing grace! As we embark on this Lenten season, may Your incredible sacrifice of love continually be impressed upon our minds and hearts and may Your bread and wine fill us so much that we find contentment solely in You. May Your living water well up in us and overflow to others so they may experience Your love as well. May our ill-gotten gains and evil escapades taste like only the gravel in our mouths that they always are every time. (Proverbs 28:21, Proverbs 30:7-9, Proverbs 27:19-24, Proverbs 26:11, Proverbs 23:1-9, Proverbs 20:17) I am so sorry for the many times I have been what I should not be- but thank You for loving me as I am and not as I should be- because none of us are as we should be. But just like You shaped Rich Mullins and Brennan Manning before me, You're still shaping me too. May Your amazing grace continue to shape all of us Your children into the people of God you want us to be.
          "Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord! O Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! If You, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared. I wait for The Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I hope; my soul waits for The Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. O Israel, hope in The Lord! For with The Lord there is steadfast love, and with Him is plentiful redemption. And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities." (Psalms 130)
         "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)
           "Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that You are the Holy One of God.' " (John 6:68)
            "For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness." (Psalms 84:10)
           Heavenly Father God, Lord Jesus Christ, Counselor Holy Spirit- Blessed Three-in-One -may those prayers truly be true of me and all Your children. I need You every hour and I love You because You have first loved me with such wonderful love, incredible mercy, longstanding patience and amazing grace! Thank You.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLW9egHQWAE

(A song of benediction from one of my favorite Christian songwriters ever. I can't wait to meet Rich Mullins in Heaven one day and be "Growing Young" with him there as we worship The Lord Jesus Christ for eternity together. I must also acknowledge Brennan Manning and thank him for letting the Holy Spirit speak through him in writing "The Ragamuffin Gospel". I can't wait to meet him in Heaven one day as well. And I must give thanks as well to Philip Yancey for letting The Holy Ghost move in him as he wrote "What's So Amazing About Grace?" Whether in exile or exodus, I would love to meet him one day too.)

Songs to the God of my life

"For You are the God in Whom I take refuge; why have You rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?" (Psalms 43:2)
"Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God." (Psalms 42:5 and 11)
"O Lord, God of my salvation; I cry out day and night before You. Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry! For my soul is full of troubles and my life draws near to Sheol." (Psalms 88:1-3)
"But I, O Lord, cry to You; in the morning my prayer comes before You. O Lord, why do You cast my soul away? Why do You hide Your face from me?" (Psalms 88:18)
"Consider the work of God: who can make straight what He has made crooked? In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him." (Ecclesiastes 7:13-14)
I am so glad that The Lord included verses like these in The Bible. There are so many times in life when it might feel like "the darkness is my only friend" (as the end of Psalms 88 says) and that I just am not close to God or I just am not hearing from Him or something. Sometimes I cry out to God and my only answer is the silence of God. Sometimes it feels like He's playing hard to get; of course, I think He and His ways are just plain hard to get. (Isaiah 55:8-9) I'm glad that there is still joy in the journey though- and I do know that in the end, The Lord is always there and never leaves or forsakes me. Instead, He suffers alongside me. I trust in The God Who is not distant- the God Who is always very near- the God Who left His throne to come to earth for me and suffer alongside me. As Moses left the palace of Egypt to suffer alongside his people, so Jesus left His Heavenly throne and palace to suffer alongside His people that He had made who went astray from Him.
"For because He himself has suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted." (Hebrews 2:18)
(See also Hebrews 4:14-16 and all of 11 and 12:1-17 and all of Romans 8.) We have to keep looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In our struggle against sin, we haven't yet resisted to the point of shedding our blood- but He did. Jesus spent the hours leading up to His crucifixion weeping alone in the Garden of Gethsemane, begging God the Father to take the cup from Him if possible- but nevertheless, Thy will be done! His friends couldn't even watch an hour with Him.
And in the horrible suffering Jesus endured- not merely in the physical- but also in the spiritual sense- the moment when He was ripped from the presence of God and felt as utterly cast out as the psalmist in Psalms 88- when He who knew no sin became sin for us so that we might be justified- He suffered incredible pain and loss- but He also overcame it. He rose again and defeated sin, death, the devil and hell- so that none of us would ever have to face eternal punishment. He bought us our salvation at an incredibly high price. "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. Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His Name." (Hebrews 13:13-15)
For the moments that I feel faint like Relient K, I know that you should never underestimate my Jesus because He will be strong when I am not. And even when I can't feel Him near and I don't think I'm getting any answers and I feel rejected, lonely, in pain and suffering and all alone- I will still trust and know that He's here. "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him." (Job 13:15)
Three of my favorite songs express this so well in different ways. (I love how all three of these speak of how we share with Jesus- not just in His glory when we are with Him in Heaven- but also in His suffering.) These are not the kind of songs you sing at church for worship, even though I think they sure can be a form of worship. It's a brazen, raw and honest outpouring of the heart to God- something that I think God loves to see and something I strive to do in prayer. I'm glad to know He's always listening and still giving rest to all those who take up His yoke. (Matthew 11:28-30) Whether I always feel it or not, I trust that that verse is true. And I trust that ultimately, our present suffering can't compare with the glory coming!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fIP_bKxjLs
("Joy in the Journey" by Michael Card- one of my favorite theologian songwriters- an encouraging song that acknowledges the weariness that comes in the journey while we are strangers on this earth in the time of our exile. (1 Peter 1:17-19)) "Who belong to eternity stranded in time and weary of struggling with sin."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2STr5qPlIM
("Hard to Get" by Rich Mullins- one of my all-time favorite songwriters period! And one of my Christian heroes. I love how both this song and Michael Card's song speak of the comparisons between our present state and God's state. "You who live in eternity hear the prayers of those of us who live in time." (1 John 5:14)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvytewIxll0
("The Silence of God" by Andrew Peterson- one of my newest favorites. Andrew Peterson is a huge fan of Rich Mullins as well and it's evident from his songs, though he has his own poetic style as well. He's also a fan of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien! This song speaks so well to the aching and hurt that comes with hearing only the silence of God in response to our cries. But it doesn't mean that God doesn't hear us- "And The Man of all Sorrows, He never forgot what sorrow is carried by the hearts that He bought." (Hebrews 12:1-4)

The Itch and Ol' Scratch and the Healing Balm

"Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man." (Psalms 12:1) "The Lord tests the righteous, but His soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. Let Him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. For The Lord is righteous; He loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold His face." (Psalms 11:5-7) I read these passages today in my daily time with God in His Word and prayer. Sometimes I can really feel the weight of that first verse I quoted there. The godly ones are gone- the faithful are vanished from among man. And it often feels like I'm part of that number. What happened to all those claims of following Christ and trying to live out His Word when you find yourself falling into and even reveling in some of the same sins you struggle with so many times over? And then you really feel like a hypocrite trying to share Christ with someone else who's a seeking skeptic- even though you've repented of those sins and asked for forgiveness. (As you may have figured out, this post is largely an autobiographical one of my day today.) This is not a post to call anyone else out on their sin. (Not that I necessarily try to call anyone specifically out on sin when I post in any case. I just try to speak what God's Word says- and that applies to all of us. We're all called out on sin by God's Word- there's no one righteous, no, not one.(see Romans 3:10-18) Particularly when I post things like this, I'm mainly preaching to myself. Like St. Augustine and Usher said, "These are my confessions." And like Michael Jackson said, "I'm starting with the man in the mirror. I'm asking him to change his ways. And no message could have been any clearer. If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change." 'Cause it's me, it's me, it's me, oh Lord- standing in the need of prayer. It's not my brother, not my sister- but it's me, oh, Lord- standing in the need of prayer. It's not my mother, not my father- but it's me, oh Lord- standing in the need of prayer. This is a post to confess my sin before The Lord and before others. This is a post to say that when I get lonely by myself or just distracted or bored, my mind can run the gamut of despicable, wicked thoughts. I can find myself saying things I ought not to say or seeing things I ought not to see. And sometimes I have the audacity to push the Holy Spirit's urges aside and indulge in sinful behavior anyway. And I feel like saying with Peter, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." (Luke 5:8) That point came home to me today when The Lord showed me something. The urge to sin eats away at us at times and though it's crouching at our doors, desiring to have us- we must master it. And we know what it will do when we give in- we know that it will be harmful. But the insatiable urge tugs at us and we give in once again and scratch the itch. But the itch feeds itself with the scratching. The more we scratch, temporary relief may come, but then we find the itching desire all the stronger. And eventually, we end up with blood oozing out. The scratching just leaves us bleeding and then maybe we finally wake up to the harm that we're doing to ourselves. And then we're frantically trying to blot the bleeding and get things back under control again. And vows are made not to do this to ourselves again. And maybe we really mean it this time. But then, not even a hour or more later, we find ourselves doing it again. And we repeat the process. And maybe somewhere during the day, we finally do stop the cycle when we get out and force ourselves to focus on something else. And God finds unique ways to bring Scripture to mind- to give us a run-in with someone- to make us focus back on Him again and remember the One who died a cruel, torturous death for us to pay for all those sins we found ourselves indulging in today. And then we finally get shaken up again and come back to reading in His Word again- praying with fervency- and trusting Him to help us keep our minds focused on Him and thinking on the things we ought, like Philippians 4:8 talks about. Of course, it's comforting to know that just as Jesus spoke kindly to Peter and told him to fear not because he was going to be a fisher of men from then on and be working for Jesus, He still speaks kindly to me and reminds me that I am still eternally loved even when I am busily grieving my Father's heart. (Jeremiah 31:3) In John 2:23-25, we find that Jesus doesn't need anyone to tell Him about man- He knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men. And the Shadow of the Almighty keeps those who have put their trust in The Lord delivered from evil when we let Him. He is always faithful- even when we're not. (2 Timothy 2:11-13) We can't just go on sinning so that grace will abound though! We can't just go on sinning because we're under grace and not under law though! We must count ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. We can't keep presenting ourselves to sin to be used for unrighteousness, but we must present ourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life! We can't be slaves of sin anymore- we're slaves of righteousness! Yet even though I know these things to be true, I still find myself doing what I don't want to do. I don't understand my own actions. I know the good I want to do and I desire to do it- but I don't have the ability to carry it out! Ultimately I delight in the law of God, but too many times I find myself delighting in sin! What a wretched man I am! Thank God for Jesus Christ our Lord who delivers me from this body of death! (Largely based on Romans 6-7 here. Check 6:1-14 particularly, but basically the whole chapter. And particularly 7:15-25, but the whole chapter is incredible.) "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. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by Whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs- heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him." (Romans 8:1-17) I could basically go on and quote the whole chapter- it's all so good! So we must learn to set our minds not on the flesh but instead on the Spirit! Lord Jesus, please help me to keep my mind set on You! SO many things distract me from the only One I should always be thinking about.Help me to live according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. Thank You for Your adoption that allows me to cry out, "Abba! Father!" Save, O Lord! As a fellow heir with Christ, help me to be ready to suffer with You, Lord, so that I may also be glorified with You in due time. Thank You for Your sacrifice on the cross that makes it possible. Thank You for sympathizing with me in my weaknesses as One who has in every respect been tempted just as I am, yet You are without sin. You bore the full weight of fielding every lie and temptation of the devil for 33 years on Earth- constantly saying, "No" to the devil and self and a resounding, "Yes" to God. "Not My will, but Your will be done," You prayed. Father, please let it be- not my will, but Thine be done. Forgive me for half-hearted promises promptly broken and roaming eyes and a mind that set themselves so quickly onto sin. Forgive me for relinquishing and relishing the sin, even while knowing it sickens and disgusts You and breaks Your heart- so much so that it drove You to take the nails on the cross for me. Thank You that despite Your hatred for sin, You still have a love for me- a covetous old sinner, as Dickens described Scrooge, and You still desire to restore me and reuse me again for Your glory. You amaze me with Your steadfastness and resoluteness. Keep burning away the chaff and let my cries of agony at the pain remind me of the greater pain of not dealing with it. Thank You so much for Your promise to never leave me or forsake me (Hebrews 13:5) and to present me faultless before Your throne one day. (Jude 1:24-25) Please take away the itch and help me not to scratch it. But if not, help me to remember that Your grace is sufficient for me and that You are good and a taste of Your sweetness is better than any ill-gotten gravel rock candy I might gorge on otherwise. You alone truly fulfill all my soul's cravings. Keep me near You with my mind stayed upon Jehovah- and may my life be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. O may my little eyes, hands, feet and mind be careful what they do- for The Father above is looking down in love- and I want Him to be pleased with what He sees.

An Innocent Lamb (song)

I have been wanting to post some of my various creative writings on this blog as well and this will be the start of it. I may eventually do some of those "throwback" days everybody seems to like to do that (or Lateral Lunar Calendar, if you prefer) and post some older material, just to have items organized individually. We'll see. For now, this will be the start. (I have a few others that I feel are appropriate for Easter that I will post as time progresses- including two others that I am considering sort of an Easter suite of sorts.)
       I particularly wanted to post this song since I just heard a sermon at an evening church service tonight about the very incident this song relays. It's a conversation between two men who definitely were not innocent as one explains to the other about the only One who can truly be called an innocent Man. And thankfully, because He has fulfilled all righteousness, we can have His innocence and righteousness imputed to us when we put our faith in Him. :-)

"An Innocent Lamb"
(parody of "An Innocent Man" by Billy Joel)
(parody copyright by Nathan Ludwick 2/6/2014)
(Luke 23:26-43, Isaiah 53, Psalms 16, Psalms 22, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 5:8)

Some people stay far away from The Law
So there's no chance of them breaking it
Like (The) Beagle Boys they're just all blind guides
And hope that no one sees their stripes

Some people live with no fear of our God
They're an angry heathen prodigal
They will not listen to anyone
'Til nothing is left but their pride

I know you're only protecting yourself
I know you're thinking of nobody else
Come on, I hurt too
'Cause I'm on a cross
Paying up for my wrongs
You've been denying by your own appeal
That God above can do anything
So restore your faith in This Man
Some Pharisees threw insults at Him bold
Teachers, the elders, chief priests looking smug
They're only villains just like you and I

Because we are all in our sins, man
We are all in our sins, man
Oh, yes we are

Some people say they will only believe
The Son of God if He gets off the cross
But what they don't see- prophecy foretells
They heard somebody tell them before
Psalms 16 reads that God won't leave Christ
Instead, He'll raise Him back up from the dead
Psalms 22 says folks will tease and hate
Like what you said to The Lord

I know you don't want to hear what I say
I hope you don't keep turning away
Christ is pinned there and since He'll be revived
He can bring us back to life
When it is done God is through with our sins
'Cause God's own Son's beaten wounds heal us all
Pierced and bruised so we don't have to burn, man

Have fear for God- we're on a cross like Christ
The only difference is that He never sinned
And you know that we stand rightly accused
King of The Jews is an innocent Man
He is an innocent Man
Oh, yes He is
The innocent Lamb

You know you only cut yourself off from Christ
I guess you'd rather be a hater defiant
That's your decision
But I will not blow
Jesus' offer, you know
Our faith- it grants a resurrection from God
So Lord Jesus, I know I'm bad- here's my heart
Think of me when Your kingdom comes in

Well, He's my Hope- He's my miracle cure
And Jesus said today we'll be in Paradise
'Cause He was willing to lay down His life
Although Christ is an Innocent Man

Christ will be risen again
And then I'll live
In Heaven with Him!
Ohh!

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