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JEW ON THE SUBWAY
by Edward J. Ludwig
A thirties-young Jew on the subway
Hairy-gray
Around his skull cap,
A flat
black semi-globe cloth
Cements him to God -
seriously.
His eyes flex against
mortality,
Combine chains of Hebrew letters -
Making words for God, of God:
Melech hagadol,
elohim, nefesh kadosh, adonai,
Hashem.*
His open left hand covers his mouth;
His
nose rests nonchalantly in the "V"
Where base
of thumb meets hand.
Washed-green eyes
connect with God
In space, projecting prayers
Onto a finger-stained aluminum pole.
He
inspires me to poetry - words
Come in schools
like English-speaking fish.
I want to send an
urgent message
To his brain-gray brain:
God does not want right to left prayer-dreams:
Seeks instead His Son in every breath
And
uncovered mouths singing praise.
*Hebrew
words for God found in the Old Testament.
MINISTRY BEGINS WITH THE INDIVIDUAL
BY Edward J. Ludwig
To build a ministry, build a heart
Take
the Word of God to start;
Leaven it with
faith and love
To start below, you reach
above.
To build a ministry, show your
light
Take God's gifts to make things right;
Lift up souls with words divine,
Jesus will
your life define.
To build a ministry,
open doors
Cast out all that Christ deplores;
Replace with hope, a special gem,
He comes
for "us" as well as "them".
To build a
ministry, take a step
Your mind's renewal to
accept;
Knowing every time we fall,
We
will be lifted by His call.
To build a
ministry, fix your eyes
Eternal life will be
your prize;
Turn your back on worldly cares
Believe the Lord is always there.
To
build a ministry, reveal the Son
Let others
see what you have won;
An empty vessel cannot
quench thirst
Strive in love to be the first.
To build a ministry, sing His praise
To
lift Him up for endless days;
Crying out
thanks for boundless grace
Gratitude cannot
be erased.
To build a ministry, use your
speech to pray
Fervent longings for a better
day;
The Christ within will hear without
To make His promises come about.
To build
a ministry, show you care
With reaching arms
to burdens bear;
To rise above the pain of
life
We give of self, thus ending strife.
Today's Unbelief Was Found At Calvary
By
Edward J. Ludwig
They are dead in spirit, living on seedless
beige-barren ground.
The unbelieving ones say
"have a nice day" to other
cheered-up sinners, eating bread without
nourishment.
They are full of sorrow, yet
never know remorse-
Because there's nothing
new in what they feel:
We saw them at
Calvary, their saliva dripping with scorn.
The unbelievers say they share our human common
plight:
"Today is pleasure, joy, and hope;
tomorrow comes with tragic speed-
Who can
overcome?" they ask. "Life's relentless
with its pain."
An unbelieving, unwonderful
philosophy of resignation for two thousand
years:
At Calvary they mocked and spit into
the holy face.
The unrepentant deny the
god-centered spirit man;
With zeal defend the
right of each to build his destiny alone.
"If
I don't make the world in which I live," they
say,
"then why was I given mind and heart and
hands?"
"Pride's been here for so long," they
add, "and forever will it be."
Not knowing
what they did at Calvary:
They made the cross
and drove the nails
and cast lots for His
clothes.
Renew My Love
By E.J. Ludwig.
Let my mouth open! Let a great
Chazan's voice emerge,
A voice of renewal….
Baruch shem kavod -
Jesus is the one for
me…love me again
Jesus; I love you again.
My first love, always my first.
Be a poem
under my skin,
Irritate me with love so I
might win.
Again, Jesus I hear your urgent
cry…
Find me again and stop my sighs.
Elohenu melech ha'olam: I feel your breath
The Holy Spirit is upon me. His Presence
Fills me. Baruch ata adonai…Lift me up
Lord.
I'm flying to you filled with your
love,
Moses On My Mind
Moses is on my mind.
I love Moses.
He
threw down his rod and it became a serpent.
He lifted the bronze serpent and everyone was
healed.
He fell on his face and cried to God,
And Aaron was forgiven.
He marched for 40
years, and governed a stiff-necked people.
He
demanded "let my people go."
Pharaoh's
hardened heart-face was spiritual jello.
Bloody Nile, locusts in the air.
Fear was air
borne. Fear was earth borne. Fear
was water borne.
People yellowing in the
streets,
"Egypt's no fun anymore!!"
Moses
had waited 80 years, and when the Pharaoh
Said no, Moses waited some more.
He smote a
rock and the water flowed.
Come and drink you
UNBELIEVERS!
He sang his song; he gave his
speech:
You better get blessed and not get
cursed.
Curses can come and they're no fun;
They come to those who forsake the truth.
You
better believe it,
Moses said.
He built a
tabernacle for tablets of stone,
Commandments
from God, the Israelites owned.
They made the
vessels so perfect so pure.
He married an
Ethiopian lady
Despite family objections.
Don't criticize Moses, God said to the family,
It's dangerous. Know why?
'Cause Moses
is a special case, not just a little bit holier
than
others…me…you….
He's Moses.
He's
leading…was leading…always leading…
My people
out of #######.
This is a big mission in a
bigger plan.
He's Moses. Jesus is coming, but
he's still Moses.
When his friends held his
arms up, they won the battle.
He met God at
the top of a burning mountain.
He heard God
at the burning bush.
His eyes never dimmed;
It's about 3500 years ago.
Moses is still on
my mind.
I love him.
My One And Only
Loving savior, holy friend,
He a loving God
did send.
Counselor, master, prince of peace,
The love you give can never cease.
Happy
infant, worker dear,
O Son of God, who draws
so near.
Loving wise man, Holy Ghost,
You
bring the mercy of the Host.
Redeemer,
prophet, hope of life,
You promise heaven,
end to strife.
Healer, Teacher, word of God,
Bless me, bless the paths I trod.
A Reborn Jew
Though born a
Jew, I'm reborn in Christ.
My grades were
high, but I'm saved by grace.
My mother and I
had some terrible fights,
But peace with God
has brought contentment.
People found me
problematic,
a know-it-all.
Now they see
the smile in my heart, and are happy when I come
into a room.
Joyful New Birth in Christ
My sins are covered with His blood,
His holy name endures;
Clean in spirit, dirt
unstained,
My soul He reassures.
Forgiven once, eternal pain denied,
Fear of
death no longer tries;
Eternal peace with
hope descends,
New life from holiest of
friends.
His love bestows a caring faith,
All souls I now adore;
"Love one another," so
he saith,
This is what our God implores.
Heaven opens once to me,
Second death I
will not see;
My eyes grow misty from His
grace,
Knowing I shall see His face.
How I Love You (song)
Jesus how I love you.
Jesus how you care.
Jesus, you're the one I know
Always will be
there.
Jesus how I love you
Hallelujah, hallelu!
Jesus, you're the only
Son
Forever bright and true.
Jesus how
I love you.
Jesus how you care.
Trusting
you is joy to me;
My troubles all you bear.
Jesus how I love you.
Hallelujah,
hallelu!
In morning sun I sing your praises,
My spirit to renew.
Word of God
O Word of God
I love your voice --
Miracles restore my life;
You call for love,
You bring down peace --
An end to earthly
strife.
O Word of God
I hear your
truth --
No man shall live in sin;
You
want us free,
You make us free --
Our
nature pure within.
O Word of God
I
see your way --
Saved from eternal pain;
You made the sea,
You made our hearts--
For love, not earthly gain.
O Word of
God,
I know your hope --
A world that
follows you;
You give us joy,
You feed the
poor --
Faithful, always true.
O Word
of God,
I need your love --
Holy purpose,
grace and mind;
You share your gifts,
You
heal the sick
And lost souls daily find.
WHAT HAPPENED
TO EZEKIEL AT
THE RIVER CHEBAR?
"It is for the prince; the prince he shall
sit
in it to eat bread before the
Lord;" (Ezek. 44:3a)
by E. J. Ludwig
God came to
Ezekiel at Chebar.
He came in vision, a
trance state,
On clouds,
With wings,
Animal and human faces,
Wheels within wheels.
(Some say it was a UFO
Descended
surprisingly
In ancient Babylonia:
The
wings were rudders,
Faces a mind jarring
cluster of
Extraterrestrial light
bulbs,
And prophet-perceived wheels
Giant gyroscopes for balance
During
interplanetary travel.)
God came to
Ezekiel,
Burst through clouds and on clouds
To dazzle the prophet with uncanny vision
Of
future prospects:
The destiny for Israel
The destiny for humanity --
Promising
Christ's coming.
(Some say, "Anyone can
have intense dreams.
Maybe Ezekiel had a lot
on his mind -- did he
Worry a lot?
In
ancient Babylonia:
Wings were his desire to
escape from his problems,
Faces symbolic of
his father,
both feared
and loved;
And ever-spinning wheels, the mind
of the prophet
Seeking balance,
sanity.")
God came to Ezekiel,
Burst
into his heart
As fire, spirit, jewels, and
living creatures,
Dazzled him with glory,
Allowing his face to be as stone
Before the stone faces of Israel's unbelief,
While new God-cleansed utterances
Flowed through his lips.
Allen Ginsberg in Hell
by Edward J. Ludwig
Today, a vision came to me
As I
contemplated the decline of America.
Who is
to blame for all this putrefaction of values?
So many names came flooding in –
And I
accused myself too, thinking with remorse
About my counter-culture days,
How I picketed
and cursed the establishment,
How I drank
wine and mocked those
Who struggled to raise
families and make a living
and adhere to a
moral code.
Today, a vision came to me
Where I saw my soul, lying dead and gray as a
dead pigeon
Rise up and sing a sweet golden
song to Christ:
"I’m no longer polluted by
decay— foul smell of death is gone;
I smell
sweet to God…I’m fragrant."
My soul became a
golden bird, a resurrected bird,
Singing a
golden song.
Then, my mind became a
double screen.
In my ears I heard a double
scream.
Allen Ginsburg was sitting in hell’s
crowded valley--
"Give us comforting words;
strengthen us!" they groaned.
In their number
were the
perverted troops of his youth,
And the smirking academics of his later life,
Who honored his poetic gifts.
"Comfort us,
strengthen us from these damned fires of hell,"
They cried.
And Allen opened his mouth to
recite,
But instead of poetry he emitted
screams
louder than one thousand crows.
And his poetry-turned-scream pierced
his
audience
like hundreds of three inch needles,
And they cried "All is lost; all is lost!"
Worse still: as they cried and screamed in
eternal pain,
Demons came to ridicule their
suffering.
Today a vision came to me of
Allen Ginsburg, poet turned screamer
In
hell’s fiery valley,
While I, a dead pigeon,
Now sing golden notes
In God’s garden.
CHRISTMAS POEM 2001
by Edward J. Ludwig
The life of God revealed today
Stirs
our hearts and makes us pray.
In song and
gifts we praise His name
His joyous birth we
will proclaim.
The heart of God still
beats with love
His Son made flesh came from
above.
We share our hopes and bless His life
In Christ there's peace and no more strife.
The will of God lives in birth divine
In
us He makes His Spirit shine.
To know the
Infant is to know the King
His bright new
life makes angels sing.
The hope of God
alerts our soul
The Son of Man has made us
whole.
In blessed birth our comfort's bought
A price for love His Cross has wrought.
The truth of God heals all our pain
When
Jesus comes no sin remains.
The Baby casts
away our shameful fate
He came on time; he's
never late
A Homicide Bombing in Jerusalem
by Edward J. Ludwig
"Vuss villsdu kinder?"
(what would you like children?)
the black-coated man
With the sad, scholarly
face
Asked his three young boys
As they stared through the
pizzeria window.
(The word "Trattoria" was
so out of place.)
"Papa, papa, die
‘payperonee mit dem flaysch’"
(Father, father, a slice
with pepperoni and ground beef)
They answered eagerly
Pointing through the
window.
(So far from sunny Italy.)
In the pane of glass, they
saw the meshugganah (crazy person)
Grabbing something inside
his coat.
ó M M M (gone……)
Precious Blood
By Edward J. Ludwig
The precious blood of Jesus
poured out with God’s own grace
The souls of all His children
whose sins He did erase;
The happiness that I now know
is Christ’s own special gift –
He has shared the Truth of
God’s great love;
My soul He does uplift.
The precious blood of Jesus
is there for all to know,
To wash away the hate that
worldly cares do sow.
He shed His blood that we may
hear and praise
The Lord Who gives His
Precious Son today and endless days.
Yes, God above gives and
gives – now I kneel in prayer;
While angels sing Amen on
high, so all may see and hear.
The precious blood of Jesus
redeems my every sin.
The stained corners of my
soul are washed, new life can now begin.
Once I walked without your
Name, and followed damning lies
Now, Peace of Christ fulfills
my soul – no man do I despise.
The precious blood of Jesus,
sent from Heaven above,
Restores the faith that once
was lost, enables all to love.
O Savior, lead me onward on
Your Path, to escape God’s fearful wrath;
You are the One Whom I adore;
it is the Truth indeed.
Come quickly, Lord,
forevermore, and bless your loving seed.
FIXING A LADYBUG WITH MY DAUGHTER
by E. J. Ludwig
Hannah’s ladybug bugged her.
It didn’t move; the battery
was dead.
She’s six; the battery is
triple-A,
I found, unscrewing three
screwheads.
“Can I turn the screw?” she
asked.
“Counterclockwise,” I
replied. “Turn it to your left.”
How can anyone so small do
the task?
“I’m glad you asked, honey,”
I said.
“It’s fun doing this with
you.”
The old triple-A popped out;
a new one went in.
As we pressed the cover into
place,
We heard the humming of the
fresh battery;
But the back wheels of the
ladybug failed to turn.
“I broke it daddy; I’m
sorry,” Hannah said.
“I pushed the wheels the
other day, and something snapped.”
“Maybe it can be fixed,” I
thought out loud.
“I’m sorry dad; I guess I
broke it,” she said.
I began to unscrew the screws
again to get inside.
The ladybug spotted top came
off.
“I don’t see how I can fix
it,” I said.
Hannah looked closely and replied, “Maybe
you can unscrew the part under the battery and
get inside?”
“I don’t see how,”was my answer
“See those two screws dad,”
she said pointing.
I began unscrewing the two tiny screws.
Hannah unscrewed a little
too.
She began singing:
“Jesus is the answer for
the world today….”
I felt then that I would be
able to fix the toy!
(Hannah later said that as
she began singing she knew I would be able to do
it.)
Removing the triple-A holder,
I saw the inner works.
A mini-generator powered a
wheel, that turned another wheel, that turned
the two back wheels of the ladybug.
“Jesus is the answer for the
world today….” She was still singing.
One of the tiny wheels was
disconnected.
I pressed it back onto the
spoke of the mini-generator.
Hannah screwed the battery
base back into place.
I reinserted the triple-A.
She screwed each of the three
screws holding the ladybug’s spotted back.
“Turn clockwise,” I kept
saying. “Turn to your right.”
Her little fingers turned the
phillips.
We did it together.
The three of us.
FOR
ERETZ YISRAEL
By Jeffrey Ludwig
O Eretz Yisrael, we love you from the depths of
ancient souls.
O Lord, let your light always shine
On Eretz Yisrael sublime;
May your special love for this Promised Land
Allow our proud people to always stand.
Though enemies reject our land with murd'rous
deeds,
And try to kill Abraham's precious seed;
We know You will uphold us all,
Defend our cause -- and cause the wicked foe
to fall.
O Eretz Yisrael, we love you from the depths of
ancient souls,
And bless the precious God who makes us whole;
Yes, you are more than land, the heart of a
people who will endure...
In righteousness we call on You to make our
cause forever sure.
O Eretz Yisrael, we love you from the depths of
ancient souls.
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Someone Is Coming
By Jeffrey Ludwig
I ran aground yesterday, or was it
last month…
Time had become warped (I went
through a time machine
‘Happened’ became ‘to be’ and
‘tomorrow’ became ‘already been’…
Since I turned…did I turn? How did I
turn?
I turned away from sin. Made
that 180 degree
Repentance turn. Jesus whipped
me around,
So fast I almost saw my own
backside, but for
A moment had a messianic déjà vu,
thought I
Was Moses seeing Adonai’s “hind
parts” – no
I was merely backed into a corner
feeling…feeling
DISGUSTED…at my sin and the sin of
others….
Yet, is not the disgust itself sin?
Should I not feel
Joy at the sight of others, even
sinful others? Every
New soul is an opportunity to
forgive and to love….
Yet, sometimes I am DISGUSTED…..
Lord, I’m praying seriously now.
There’s a bend in life
Down the road where concrete becomes
dirt. The road hooks around
Like the handle of a wooden cane,
and if I go too
Quickly I’ll slide off the smooth
arc of the curve,
Do a flip, a back flip (seeing my
rear end) as I flip
Up and over in the air. Can you save
me Lord?
Not to go up, over, flipped and
backward off the
Smooth side of the curve into
flipped hind sight…
The DISGUST spinoff…well, it’s just
that – has a repulsive odor
Like old, sour, whole milk in a
carton --
Was spinning me off a smooth curve
looking backwards
As I flipped, unable to regain
balance…my mother was
Crying at the back of a cave but the
entrance was hidden.
I was looking at my hind parts,
dreaming I was Moses,
My mother was crying in a secret
place, my father was
Laughing joyfully because he was a
“malachetz” (little angel) .…
Someone has to come again.
There’s a special place for
Righteousness on Har Hazeitim (Mt.
of Olives) in
The midst of desecrated graves of
prophets. DISGUST
Will meet redemption…In that moment,
it is not just a
Spinoff. DISGUST becomes Justice.
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LOVE SONG TO JESUS
By Jeffrey Ludwig
December 29th, 2016
Jesus Christ is the “I Am.” He is
the hope of the world.
No one else can redeem our
lives. All other names are in a swirl (of
unknowing).
Stability and unchanging
Truth are the bedrock of life.
Christ is the author of
this peace, not merely absence of strife.
We turn to You, our Savior,
our ‘Must Be’ for every forward step;
We sing because a melody
from angels came as shepherds slept.
Lift us up O Lord to a
higher plane of faith and righteous deeds,
So that we may be your
faithful flowers, and overcome all faithless
weeds.
Our love, our friend, our
heart’s desire, our perfection…we seek your
face.
Your precious, holy face is
unseen but lives within a golden, special place.
You are the one who set us
free, free from sin, free from death, free from
lust, and Satan’s curses.
With you we find delight in
answered prayers, loving kindness, and knowing
that life does not end with hearses.
Thank you Lord Jesus for making a way, a way
throughout every night and day, a way that is
not a maze,
But is a gift of light, truth, and hope, a way
that never ceases to amaze, a way above all
other ways, a way where you are always on
display.
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Your email to Pastor Ludwig is welcomed
Your
email to Pastor Ludwig is welcomed