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.