Unstoppable

I want to share an insight from Pastor Todd Rainwater concerning our decision making and God's purpose for our lives.  This is an incredible testimony of God's favor.  Reading it reminded me of a song by Viktory called "Unstoppable."  Song and lyrics are after the jump.

Pastor Todd Rainwater
Insight 12

Genesis

Theme         You Choose!

 

Text             “The whole countryside is open to you. Take your choice of any section of the land you want, and we will separate. If you want the land to the left, then I’ll take the land on the right. If you prefer the land on the right, then I’ll go to the left” (Genesis 13:9, NLT).

         

Insight         Genesis chapter 13 is an interesting story in Abram’s life. It is a story that reveals how confident Abram was in God. In other words, Abram’s trust was in God and God alone. He understood that the blessings and provisions in his life were there because of Whose he was. Abram was so confident in Whom his provisions came from that he freely allowed Lot to choose because he could not loose.

           Here’s the story… Abram and Lot were both very wealthy with flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle and many tents. So much so, that the land could not support them both living so close together. Eventually, “Disputes broke out between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot ” (13:7).

          Abram didn’t want the herdsmen’s dispute to come between himself and Lot . So Abram said, “The whole countryside is open to you. Take your choice of any section of the land you want, and we will separate. If you want the land to the left, then I’ll take the land on the right. If you prefer the land on the right, then I’ll go to the left.” Abram’s offer reveals that he believed no matter what Lot choose he would still be blessed. How can this be?

          Abram knew he was blessed if he went to the right AND he was blessed if he went to the left. He was blessed because of Whose he was not what he choose. He was so confident in this reality, that he allowed Lot to make the decision. Are you that confident in the Source of your blessings?

          Unfortunately, many of us believe we are blessed primarily because of what we choose. Consequently, we get paralyzed in analyzing the choices and worried about choosing correctly. Abram didn’t see it that way. He was free! He determined that the Source of his blessings was God Himself.

          Look, you are blessed primarily because of Whose you are! Live with the confidence that you are blessed coming and going, lying down and getting up, over here and over there, in this job and in that one. Blessings are a benefit of knowing and walking with God.

 

Prayer          Father, thank You for blessing me. I acknowledge that You are my Source of blessing and provision. I will stop over analyzing and worrying. Bless me Father, for I am Your’s. In Jesus name, AMEN.

I'm In Love

I was listening to DJ Wade-O's radio show (www.wadeoradio.com) and he was playing some old school tracks.  One he played in particular is a song by Sho Baraka called "Higher Love."  This was the first single from his first solo album.  I remember loving this song because it was a real description of why I love the Lord and also where he took me from.  It reminded me of the pressure sometimes I felt to continue to follow the old crowd and the difficulty of trying to explain to them why I can't follow.  Sho does an excellent job of artiulating this.  When I heard it today, I thought of a few scriptures:

2 Cor 5:17-21 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Sho, to starts that song, mentions going back to Egypt.  He means this in a figurative way as he is making reference to Exodus, which begins the journey of the Israelites out of Egypt to the promised land.  Egypt represents the past, it represents sin.  Despite being free from slavery, the Israelites found their journey difficult and actually wanted to return to Egypt.  Why would anyone want to go back to slavery?  When we are outside of Christ we are slaves to sin, but in Him we can be slaves to obedience which leads to righteousness (Romans 6:16).  We can all leave our "Egypt" because in Christ we are a new creation:

Ephesians 2:1-10 - And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 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.

So would you rather stay in slavery or accept God's free gift of grace.  The scriptures above clearly show that God's love is like no other.  Sho describes this love in the song.  Enjoy the track and lyrics after the jump.

Mr. Pretender

I bought KB's album, Weight and Glory, and I must say I am impressed with the album all the way around from theology, lyrical flow and production.  Definitely one of my favorites of the year.  One song in particular that gripped me is called Mr. Pretender (see link to song and lyrics below).  The song is about the devil. When I think about this song, I am reminded of two instances in the Bible where Satan attempted to deceive.

In Genesis 3, the Bible records that Satan, in the form of a serpent convinced Eve to eat of the tree of knowledge, the one tree in the garden that God told her and Adam not to eat.  Genesis 3:2-5 records, "He said to the woman, 'Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?, And the woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.' But the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'"  So Satan is not only claiming to know something that God does not desire for Eve to know, he also claims God to be a liar when it is he that is a liar.  Eve believed Satan and ate of the tree, and then Adam ate.  As a result, we now have sin, death and disease in a fallen world.

Now look at Matthew 4:1-11:

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.'  But he answered, 'It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'' Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,’ and 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'' Jesus said to him, 'Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'' Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, 'All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Be gone, Satan! For it is written,'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'' Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him."

  His strategy with Jesus was the same as with Eve; he even used scripture with Jesus. However, Jesus fasting and communing with God, also having scriptures in His heart was able to resist the devil and he fled (James 4:7).  That should be our response as well.

Satan is the ultimate deceiver.  He tries to convince us his way is better than God's way.  He is the ultimate pretender, a phony, a counterfeit of everything God stands for.  He pretends to give you better than what God gives by using anti-God tactics.  The great deceiver to come will be known as the anti-Christ (see the book of Revelation).  In the song below (listen to song and see lyrics after the jump) KB describes some of the lies Satan will use to convince us his way is better.  Enjoy and let me know your thoughts and comments here or on facebook and twitter.  You can also e-mail me at platinumlife7@yahoo.com.

Joy

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” – Jesus Christ (Matthew 13:44).

Per dictionary.com, joy is defined as the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying…..a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated.  The Message bible translates this scripture as:  "God's kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidentally found by a trespasser. The finder is ecstatic—what a find!—and proceeds to sell everything he owns to raise money and buy that field.”

As I read through Ecclesiastes for the first time, I found a man conflicted.  Solomon was one of the richest, wisest men that ever lived.  Yet as he got older, he wrote Ecclesiastes as a warning to people like me, all is vanity.  He starts the book off in verse two of chapter one with that very statement.  Yet throughout the book he continues to say that there is nothing better than for a man to enjoy the fruit of his labor.

Ecclesiastes 9:9-10 - Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol (or the grave), to which you are going.

So as you can see, God does want us to enjoy life.  Many Christians deny themselves pleasures in life because of the error in believing that we are to completely deny ourselves of our own happiness.  I have been reading John Piper’s book titled, Don’t Waste Your Life.  In the book, he notes that one way we glorify God is by being glad in Him and showing others how to do the same.  Our happiness is important to God, but what are we happy about?  Are we happy about God, or are we happy about the things He blesses us with?  Are we seeking the Creator or the created?  Are we seeking the provider or what is provided?  Matthew 6:33 says to seek Him first.  Dr. David Cooper at a Sunday service said we have to have a power within us greater than the pressure around us.   That power only comes when we seek him first. 

Andy Mineo in a song called “Pressure” said “You can take my joy, because the world didn’t give it to me.”  That’s the key, where does your joy come from.  We are free to enjoy the pleasures of this life, the fruit of our labor.  Galatians 5:22 states that one of the fruits of the spirit is joy.  If our joy comes from the Lord, our dependence on joy will be from Him and not from the world.  Whenever disappointment, shame, betrayal, hurt, sorrow, and even fear comes, you will still be able to have joy.  Also, you can enjoy the things of the world, whether it is food and drink, money, possessions, vacations, family and friends without guilt or shame.  And, if the things of the world are taken away from you, you will still have joy.

Another thing that may rob us of joy is sin.  Paul, in Galatians 5:18, states that if we are led by the spirit, we are not under the law.  In Nehemiah 8, after Ezra the priest and scribe read the Book of the Law of Moses to the people, they began to weep (see verse 9).  Why were they weeping?  Because they realized that they were not keeping the law.  The bible states in Romans 3:23 that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  Young Noah has a song out now called “I’m Ugly” in which he states that we are all ugly or that we all have sinned are truly unworthy of God’s grace.  However, he gave us grace as a gift; we have done nothing to earn it.  What was Nehemiah’s response to the people after they wept?  Nehemiah 8:10 says, “….Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”  Not the joy of the worldly things but of the Lord is our strength.  The joy of the Lord not only allows us to enjoy the things of this world, but also to overcome the sorrows of the world.

I’ve been listening to a sermon by John Piper called “Quest for Joy.”  In the sermon Piper states that God does desire for us to have joy and be happy, however, what type of joy and happiness are we seeking after?  I would recommend John Piper’s Sermon; see following link to sermon notes:  http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/articles/quest-for-joy.  Also, I hope you enjoy the song below called “My Joy” by J’Son featuring Jai.  This song I think embodies the spirit of this article.  Also check out Andy Mineo’s “Pressure” and Young Noah’s “I’m Ugly” as both songs are on free album/mixtape releases.  Andy Mineo’s album can be found at http://reachrecords.com/releases/show/Formally-Known-Mixtape.  Young Noah’s mixtape can be found on http://clearsightmusic.com/home/.  Both are quality projects.

War

This song is one of my favorites, probably my favorite of the year so far by Trip Lee called War.  The point of the song is so clear cut, there is a constant war between good and evil. 

Ephesians 6:10-12 says:  "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

The rulers and authorities are the evil influences of the world, the schemes of the devil (whom the bible calls the god of this world in 2 Corinthians 4:4).  Our sin can also be consider such an evil.  Putting on the whole armor of God requires a relationship with Him through prayer, fasting, and picking up our word; and not only reading but applying it in our everyday life.  What is our weaponry against these rulers and authorities:  "In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication...." (Ephesians 6:16-18).

The good news is that God wins in the end (see the book of Revelation), God and His people will be victorious in this war.  In the song Trip Lee notes this and in the hook at the end it says "This is war, on sin and death, darkness takes it's final breath."  Hold on saints, we are victorious in Christ.  Enjoy the track.

Beautiful

Here is the playlist and link to my radio show for my latest episode, Beautiful Part 1 and 2.  In it we talk about beauty and self perception, especially among women as we approach Valentine's Day.  We also play some other bangin' joints.  Check it out.

Beautiful Part 1
Get Buck - Reflection Music Group
Lecrae - Hallelujah
Faithwalk - Tony Karusso ft. Tha Conqueror
Enough - KB
Applause - High Society (Suzy Rock)
Reflection - Jai

Beautiful Part 2
Don't Throw It - Bizzle
Beautiful - Pro ft. PK
Beautiful Short Sermon - Sterling Platinum
Fool's Gold - Andy Mineo ft. Sho Baraka and Swoope

http://www.spreaker.com/page#!/user/sterling_porter

Grenade - Louie Cortez

When I first heard Louie Cortez's version of Grenade (it was originally a Bruno Mars song), I first thought of The Passion of the Christ movie.  Then I found this video and so I guess the creator of the video was thinking the same thing.  John 3:16 has been getting a lot of attention thanks to Tim Tebow's success (see my previous blog entry). This video illustrates what that scripture really means.  I would encourage you to take six minutes and look at this.  Maybe this will give you and myself a new perspective on what the scripture means when it says "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

My Take On Tim Tebow

If I say "Tebow," it is by far one of the most recognizable names in the country, if not the world right now.  Unless you live under a rock, you know I am talking about Denver Broncos quarterback ("QB") Tim Tebow.  I am going to put it out there, I am a huge fan for obvious reasons, we serve the same Lord.  However, I almost always root for the underdog as well.  This may also be why he is such a polarizing figure.  Whenever people say he can't, he does.  For example, the Pittsburgh Steelers boast the number one defense in the league and people were saying Tebow can't throw against them.  Just the week before he completed only six of twenty-two passes for sixty yards against the lowly Chiefs.  What does he do; he goes 10-21 316 yards against the Steelers and wins in the playoffs.  His next game is against the mighty New England Patriots which will surely be one of the most watched playoff games in history.

My real reason for this post is the video clip below.  Saturday Night Live recently did a skit on Tebow that I found interesting.  Take a look and more after the jump.
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/Tebow/1374394

My New Year's Resolution

All,
Happy New Year to everyone.  Since my last post, I bought a new house and have been getting some things in order.  I am looking around for new music to do a new radio show hopefully soon.  I also did a seminar a the Birthday Party 4 Christ Conference in Fayetteville, NC.  My man Tony Karusso came through and performed.  By the way, like HolyCulture.net on facebook or follow them on twitter and vote Tony Karusso for most underrated everything.  Check his music out on youtube.  His album "Getting Ready for God" is available on i-Tunes and holyculture.net.

I posted this on my facebook page, but thought I would add it here with a link to the song.  The lyrics and song below sum up my new year's resolution.  The song is by Flame featuring JR and it's called "Tonight (All of Me)."  It basically says we want to give God all of us and we want to be all the He called us to be.  It's a beautiful song, and I can't do it justice with words.  I want to be all that the song says.  I hope you do to.