This is the Life Radio Show

In a follow up to my article below, here is a new episode of my radio show.  Here is a link with the track listing for parts 1 and 2 of the show.

http://www.spreaker.com/page#!/show/my_first_radio_show_782_19

This is the Life
You Can Have That - Double ft. Emory Anderson (I forgot to mention that Emory is from my hometown, Fayetteville, NC.  Dude is nice, look out for him).
I Do This - Tony Karusso
Great Escape - Sherrod White
This Ain't Love - Bizzle ft. Lavoisier and Sevin
My Radio On Drugs - This'l
I Know You Coming Back - Zerubbabel ft. PK

This is the Life Part 2
Incredible Remix - Jai ft. KJ-52, Canton Jones and Japhia Life
Short Sermon
Love Like This - J'Son ft. Jai and This'l
Look - Brothatone

You will also find previous shows on the link.  Hope you enjoy the show and check out the article below for which this episode is based on!!!

This Is the Life - Tedashii ft. Sho Baraka

Blogger Note:  If you don't have Tedashii's album Blacklight, you are missing out big time.

“Speaks of the joy in living for Christ even while we wait for the fullness of that day when Christ returns” – Lamar Gibbs from dasouth.com.

That line is pretty much the description of this song.  There are people that live on two extremes:  one extreme is living in pain and misery looking forward to Heaven, and the other is living lawlessly not caring about the fate of your soul.  We as Christians are not to just wait for Heaven, but to live our lives to the fullest while we are here.  To fulfill His purpose for our lives so when we see Him in Heaven, He will say well done good and faithful servant.  This song conveys that we can live a joyful life in Christ while here.  Many people who are not saved feel that life in Christ is legalistic and no fun.  That cannot be further from the truth when we truly live in Him.  David expressed in Psalms 16:11 that in God’s presence there is fullness of joy.  David the psalmist was a worshipper and was able to get to the heart of God in which He would experience joy, and forgiveness.  Paul told us to seek the Lord and He will give us a peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7).  I wrote an article called “Utopia” for my home church’s newsletter some years ago.  It was the first article I wrote and in it, I spoke about how everyone is looking for God whether they realize it or not.  My current Pastor echoed that sentiment in a sermon not too long ago.  Some people try to find God in possessions, money, alcohol, drugs, sex, etc.  What they find is temporary pleasure, but never permanent.  It is the ultimate trick of the enemy because we find ourselves going back to these very things to get that moment of pleasure once more.  Then we get tired of the same thing and graduate to even more lawless things.  People have gone broke, lost their families, and their lives chasing their “god.”  If they had of chased the one true God, they would have found a joy that would last.

(more after the jump)

Father's Day

Thought I would post this song to remind our fathers of their responsibility.  You won't meet to many boys that don't won't to emulate their Dads; or too many girls that don't look for the Dad's qualities in their mate.  So what happens when Dad is not around.  In many cases, nothing good comes out of it.  The bible tells us in Ephesians 6:4, "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."  What do you think not being in your child's life will do, exactly what God told us not to do.  To the Dads that stuck around, thank you.  To the ones that didn't, I pray God will change your heart to be more active in your children's lives.  To the ones that want to be in their child's life, but due to some circumstances out of their control are unable to, be faithful to God and He will  work it out.  We have many programs to help  issues, but I believe if we focus on educating our youth and motivating our parents to be active in their lives, you can eliminate many of these problems.  You only eradicate an issue when you get to the root.  Enjoy!

Mirrors Part 1 and 2.0

Check out the new episode of Platinum Life Radio. Due to technical difficulties, part 2 was cut off, thus 2.0 was born.

http://www.spreaker.com/page#!/show/my_first_radio_show_782_19

Here is the playlist for the show:

Mirrors Part 1
Riot - Tedashii
I'm Alive Remix - Jahaziel ft. Da' Truth and Ambassador
Forgive Me - Bizzle ft. Jin
Know Him - Level 3:16
Play With My Heart - Chris lee Cobbins
Who's Got Ya - JR

Mirrors Part 2
Dum Dum - Tedashii ft. Lecrae
Mirrors - Cam
Short Sermon
Tonight (All of Me) - Flame ft. JR
Be Like You - Lecrae ft. J Paul

You can also check out the first episode Consistency Part 1 and 2 on the site.  God bless!

Your Help for Persecuted Christians

We all enjoy our religious freedoms here in America.  At my church, Mount Paran Church of God, we have missionaries all over the world.  Because many of these other nations do not allow the same religious freedoms, these missionaries are often risking their lives for the sake of the Gospel.  These men and women take the Great Commission seriously (Matthew 28:19-20), to go out to the all the nations and make disciples; even at the risk of their own lives. 

There are two missionaries in particular, Pastor Youcef Nardarkhani and Farshid Fathi, are both in prison in Iran.  Their only crime is preaching the Gospel. The video below not only highlights them, but the persectuion of Christians across the world.  I would ask that you pray for them all.  You can also write letters to the missionaries themselves and/or to your local Congress men or women (see link to Mount Paran's site below).  Let me know if you have any questions about anything.  Thank you in advance for reading this and taking action.  God Bless!

http://www.mountparan.com/iran.asp

Consistency (My First Radio Show)

Hey check out my first radio show.  In this show, I go in depth in to my last posting (Twitter Love) and play some of my favorite Christian Hip Hop and Rhythm and Praise tracks.  Would love to hear your feedback.  I am new to this, so your feedback is important.  Check the link and track listings.  The show is broken up into to two parts.  You can save it and download in iTunes as well.  There is also an app for your smartphone for spreaker.com (the website I am using).  More information on that to come.  Here is the link:
http://www.spreaker.com/show/my_first_radio_show_782_19
Playlist after the jump

Twitter Love

We say we love God, but how consistent are we with our love.  This is the issue that Chris Lee Cobbins tackles in “Twitter Love” featuring Dre Sr.

I can be tweeted when I want, and ignore it when I don’t, I guess I’m just not much of a supporter, ‘cause I keep going back and forth, so when I like it I follow you…and when I don’t I just unfollow you…I be giving you that twitter love.

Twitter Love is a metaphor for loving God when it’s convenient.  Too often when things are good, we ignore Him, but run back to Him when things go wrong.  We have the nerve then to ask God why He allows evil in the world! 

With the recent killing of Osama Bin Laden, this takes me back to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.  A state of fear overcame the nation when they witnessed this on television and in person.  I remember specifically watching the news as they noted how churches were full on Sunday and even televising President George W. Bush attending a church service.  I remember watching famous pastors, including Bishop T.D. Jakes, getting an unusual amount of television time as people asked why God let this event happen.  What they don’t’ realize is that due to this event, people were now acknowledging God and even attending church.  Now I am not saying that the attack on 9/11 was justified or even necessary, but when we live life like we don’t need Him, He won’t force himself on us.  We can’t push Him away and expect Him to protect us at the same time.  Even for those that were saved at the time, God has a purpose and plan for everything.  Either way, it had people talking about God whether it was in a positive or negative light.  Unfortunately once shock wore off from the most devastating terrorist attack of all time, everything went back to normal and people began to live their lives without God once again.  Church attendance returned back to its normal levels and pastors were no longer getting significant airtime on television, unless of course they were getting into trouble.

more after the jump

Surrender

I love this song by Flame featuring V. Rose and there is now an official video for it (yay).  We are going to be hearing a lot from these guys.  V. Rose just signed to Flame's label, Clear Sight Music, and should be dropping an album soon.  The first single, Oh My Ahh is a banger already. 

Anyway, this song takes me into to worship mode.  The video gives us a clear view of what running away from God can do.  The song teaches us that we are to surrender all to him.  After all, everything belongs to God anyway, so who are we to take what we have and try to run away from him.  I pray you peep the video and God speaks to you through it to surrender everything in you.  I have attached the lyrics after the jump.

Wretched, Pitiful, Poor, Blind and Naked

I love a good redemption story, but none was more intriguing than the story of Gene Elliot Thornton, Jr.  If the name doesn't sound familiar, you may recognize him as Malice, one half of the critically acclaimed platinum selling rap duo the Clipse with his brother Terrence (aka Pusha T).  The title and premise of this book is derived from Revelations 3:15-17,  "I know your deeds, that you are neither, cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked."

So that's the story in a nutshell; a man who came to know the Lord through crisis (which is my testimony) and then abandon Him in his time of blessing and abundance.  This story is a real depiction of someone conflicted, yet always aware of God in his life.  It is an easy read as well, and that is not to discredit it.  The main reason why it is an easy read is because it is a page turner, keeps you interested in what will happen next.  This is hard for me because I am not the avid reader.  With that being said I read it over the weekend, reading it on and off for about two or three hours.  This book is highly recommended by me.  You can get it on Amazon for about $16.  If you have an iPhone (or another smartphone), you can download the Kindle app and get it for $9.99. 

As far as Malice goes, I first heard about his faith about a year ago.  From everything I have been reading about him and from hearing him speak at the panel discussion (highlighted in my last post), he appears to be genuine in his faith.  It's amazing how the Lord can work on anyone.  Including a man who once embodied and glorified things contrary to the Word.  Think about his stage name; malice means, according to dictionary.com, to desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering on another, either because of a hostile impulse or out of deep-seated meanness.  So God takes a man who embodies the desire to inflict harm and turns him into a man that desires to save souls (reminds me of the Apostle Paul).  I am very happy for Gene and pray that he will stay steadfast in his walk with God.  I would ask that you pray for him as well.

Religion and Hip Hop

Here is a link to Sketch the Journalist's blog covering the panel discussion on religion and hip hop.  As some of you may know, Bun B, formerly of UGK, is a professor of a Religion and Hip Hop class at Rice University.  This is the second such panel discussion that I am aware of.  This one includes Tre9, Talib Kweli, Malice from the Clipse, Lupe Fiasco, and Trae tha Truth.  Check out the highlights of a very interesting discussion.

http://sketchthejournalist.blogspot.com/2011/04/recap-bun-bs-2nd-religion-hip-hop.html

My City Takers Conference Experience

Man, Wednesday April 20th will be a day I won't forget.  To share time with kingdom minded folk who love hip hop was like Heaven on earth.  I was able to meet and build with new people (shout out to T. Belle and Marc J.) and I was able to see some of the top artist perform. 

The most important part of the conference was the time that our urban missionaries spent sharing their tips for success in ministries.  Urban D (Tampa, FL), Tre9 (Houston, TX), and our very own Gerry Mansfield and Scott Free shared their thoughts on this topic.  My main take away from it all is that we are to seek God for direction in what He is to have us do for the kingdom.  Stay in the word, pray and fast to build a fruitful relationship with the Lord.  I also took away that time with family comes before ministry.  If your spouse is not down, it ain't happening.  There are some other things I learned, but I am going to start with those two and let everything else fall into place.  The most important thing for me is not to be idle, but continue to seek God and then work toward the vision He gives me. 
Check out some pics and video from the event after the jump.

Persecution

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=1330078

"Ken Ham, co-founder of the Creation Museum, was recently shocked to learn that an atheist had placed pornographic images, extreme profanity and vile statements about Christianity on his Facebook page."

Another One News Now article this concerning the latest tactics of Atheists to attack the Christian faith.  Others may disagree, but I am finding it hard to understand how we in America can talk about religious tolerance and yet say we are being offensive when mentioning the name of Jesus.  My current Pastor has really shown me that we as Christians are not to sell our faith but to share it.  What that means is, we are not to put others down for what they believe in, but if the opportunity is open, we should share our faith.  With that being said, my problem with the Atheist community is that they are trying to silence the Christian community.  Telling someone that they cannot share their faith is a violation of the first amendment to me, not the protection of it.  My question for the Atheist is this, if you don't believe in God, then why you get offended if we mention God.  If anything, if someone talks about something I don't believe in, I would dismiss it as silly and move forward.
more after the jump

A (Not So) New Black on Black Crime

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=1329294
"Since 1973 -- the year of the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade -- 13 million African-American lives have been lost to abortion."

This article is courtesy of One News Now about abortion in the black community.  I will not go into detail on my feelings on abortion, but if there is an unwanted pregnancy, I would hope mothers would consider adoption.  There are many parents out there who are unable to have children who would be more than happy to raise a child otherwise unwanted.  The bible says in Psalm 127:3-5, "Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth.
Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court."  This means that if you are able to have children, that God has favored you.  Children are a blessing from God. 

It's bad enough that the black community has had an issue for many years with violence, killing ourselves in record numbers.  With the abortion numbers as they are, we are leading down a dangerous path of self destruction.  I like this particular song by Bizzle which encourages us (especially black community leaders and entertainers) to start being accountable to end the cycle of self destruction.

Winning (Brothatone)

The now famous line by Charlie Sheen is being taken to a new level.  Brothatone is set to drop an album that will be free to the public on April 26th.  I know what you may be thinking, free album does not equal quality.  If you are a little skeptical, check out the video above, I guarantee you won't be skeptical any longer.  He defines in the song and in illustration through the video what true winning is all about, living in Christ, apart from sin.  With the power of Christ we can defeat the enemy (also illustrated in the video).  If God be for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31).

I heard Brothatone on some other tracks and look forward to hearing his album.  Please support him.

Limitations - Trip Lee

Limitations

Note: Song lyrics after the jump

This song reveals the reasons for our limitations and struggles as human beings on planet earth.  Simply put, just like we are God’s creation, He also created our limitations.  He placed the limitations on us.  The hook of the song states this plainly:

This is the way that life will be, limitless You put limits on me;
By Your grace, help us see, this is Your design; This is the way that life will be, infinite You made finite me;
By Your grace, help us see, this is the way this is the way that life will be.

So why did God place these limitations on man?  Going back to the first chapter of Genesis we read in verse 27 “...God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”  In God’s image means that man did not have limitations at first because God Himself did not.  Man was given power by God to fill the earth and subdue it (Genesis 1:28).  Man was given ownership over everything and all things at his disposal with one condition, he was not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17).  Since God is bound by His word, man had dominion and free will.  Adam and Eve chose to eat from that tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:6) and thus were given a harsh punishment.  Woman would be subject to severe pains in childbearing (3:16) and man would be forced to toil by the sweat of his brow in order to eat from the land (3:17-19).  The ground that was once created and called good by God; the same land that produce food for Adam was now cursed because of their actions.  In this came the limitation of man.  He now had a separation from the Lord that was not there before.

Shattered - R-Swift

Shattered

“It’s so good to be in love when somebody loves you back, but what do you see in love when love doesn’t love you back?”  I can speak personally that it hurts when you love something or someone, but the feeling is not mutual.  We all, however, need to answer the question with another question, what do we love more than Jesus?

In verse one of the song R-Swift gives an example of a woman who loves alcohol.  Her story is a classic case of alcoholism.  The first words of the verse say, “She found love in a bottle, but never enough to drown away her sorrows.”  As she continues to pursue this love, things began to unravel for her.  The case is much of the same in the second verse.  Here Swift gives an example of a man that found love in money and possessions.  He notes that, “Everything that he’s got, can’t stop him from being consumed from being consumed with who he’s not.”  Each verse Swift says, “But as this love affair grows on her (him), the addiction’s got a hold of her (him).”  He ends each verse by letting us know that neither of these things were true love.  In fact, both would only give them that feeling of love temporarily.  When that temporary love runs out, they seek after more love.  This is the definition of insanity, doing the same things expecting different results.  Eventually, this will lead to alcoholism in the case of verse one and, more than likely, a big pile of debt in verse two.  Each of which we know leads to destruction ultimately because at some point those people will realize those things never loved them in the first place.  The bible makes it clear in 1 John 2:15, “If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in them.”

In verse 3 three, Swift talks about true love; the love God has for His people.  He sent His son to die on the cross for us in hopes that we would all love Him back (John 3:16).  As it hurts for us not to be loved back, how do you think He feels when we reject Him?  Swift notes that it’s not unusual for God to love when the feeling isn’t mutual.    There is no greater love than laying down your life for someone (John 15:1).  The people of God love Him because first loved us (1 John 4:19).  God already loves us, all we need to do is accept Him and love Him back.  Let’s not hurt Him any longer, like those people and those things hurt us in the past.  Like R-Swift said in verse three of the song, “We search the earth….to define what he was offering the whole time.”  Stop looking around for love and just look up (Matt 6:33).  I leave you with 2 Corinthians 5:15, “And He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.”

Note: All scriptures were quoted from the New International Version of the Bible.

Catch Me At the Brook - Sho Baraka ft. Lecrae

Note:  Song lyrics after the jump.

This is one of my favorite Sho Baraka songs for a few reasons.  However, the most important reason is the message in the song.  Words can’t explain how much we need the Lord.  I believe the sign of a maturing Christian is the recognition of our need for Him.  David in the book of Psalms gives us great insight into our need for him.

Psalm 42:1-2 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

This scripture noted above is quoted at the very beginning of the song.  The title of the song is a play on the use of water as an illustration in the scripture.  A brook is another name for a small, clear stream or creek.  We all know the importance of water for our bodies.  Our body is 70% water and can only survive three days without it.  However, Jesus has a different kind of water, the living water.

If we listen to verse one of the song, both Sho Baraka and Lecrae illustrate their former lust for the things of the world.  One thing we all know is that when we hunger and thirst for natural food and water, once we are able to consume them, we consume until we satisfied.  However, unless we have the means to pay for it, we are not guaranteed to have enough food and water to stay satisfied.  On the other hand, if we are not careful, we can become gluttonous which can lead to health issues and eventually death.  Thus, we must take our intake of natural food and liquid in moderation.  In verse two of the song Lecrae reminds us of what Jesus said in John 7:37, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.”  This leads me to another scripture in the book of John which states, “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’”  This is why both Sho and Lecrae declared, “you can catch me at the brook.”  How sweet it is to be alive in Jesus and be fulfilled by Him only.

So how does this apply to you?  Another scripture quoted by Lecrae in the song, Psalm 86:11 states “Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”  First we all need salvation.  Once we obtain salvation, we need to understand our need for Him and seek Him early and often through prayer, fasting and reading His Word.  Those things are the bread of life and the living water that will fulfill us for good.  If we make seeking and living for Him our lifestyle, we will be fed and protected with the full armor of God against the attempts of the enemy.  In this I am reminded of Joshua 1:8, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

Note: All scriptures were quoted from the New International Version of the Bible.