Jesus, Be Some Common Sense

Recently there have been lots of rumors floating around about some of today's hottest Black celebrities and devil worship. First Rihanna, then Oprah, and more recently, the power couple Jay-Z & Beyonce. According to some people, who spread these tales via e-mail forwards and Youtube videos, Rih Rih is a satantist, Oprah denounced Christianity on her show, Jay-Z is a Mason and member of the Illuminati, and Beyonce has publicly credited Lucifer for her success.

Yes, my thoughts exactly, Katt.

America is more tolerant of differing views on faith than, let's say, Iran, but if Oprah or Beyonce were to publicly denounce Christianity or shout out the Devil, please believe, they would be boycotted immediately. I don't know who, if anyone, Rihanna worships, therefore I can't really comment on that but singing a song about Russian roulette doesn't make you a satanist. Is her inexplicable success despite her incredible lack of talent the reason people think she's bun buddies with Satan? As far as Jay-Z is concerned, my grandpa is a Mason. Moving on...

Why are people so willing to cast off common sense and embrace gullibility? Why are we so willing to believe this mess? Could it be that people are making up these stories to explain away these public figures' extreme success and their lack thereof? 

It's kind of like Pat Robertson and his insistence that the Haitian revolutionaries made a pact with the devil in order to free themselves from the French. There's no way they could have done it of their own power, right? There's no way God was on their side. Only a pact with the devil would allow a black country to free itself from European tyrants, right? The same lack of logic applies in the cases stated above. There's NO way Jay-Z or Beyonce could have made it where they are based on hard work and constantly cultivating their talents. No way! There's no way God is on the side of a chick like Rihanna! Right, because y'all haven't worn a mini-skirt in your lives, huh? And if you were age, with her body and bank account, you wouldn't show off your shape every chance you got... Right... 

Isaiah 64:6 says, "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;" ALL, not just Rihanna and Oprah, ALL OF US. Dear Christians, please don't be so self-righteous that you forget where you came from, what you did, how you lived before you knew Him. He showed his mercy to you, why would you deny grace to non-believers?

Spreading these tales without any evidence is irresponsible and it makes you look incredibly gullible and ignorant. This particularly does nothing to further the cause of Christ. We are His representatives in the earth, let's not squander the opportunity to glorify His name by slandering the name of others. 

Grab Your Peace!

Andre 3000 is the best rapper out, in my opinion. He's creative, innovative, courageous, content-rich, and his skills are simply undeniable. Give me 3 Thou over Lil' Wayne any day! I love Jay-Z and his catalog cannot be denied but there's something about 3 Stacks that moves me.

"Aquemini" is one of my favorite Outkast albums. There was something so dark and hypnotic about that album. There is no cohesive theme. To listen from beginning to end is to risk getting lost in the crevices of your mind. As much as I have listened to that album, I can't recite the lyrics to one song. My mind wanders with each rhyme, each insanely delicious melody, each gut wrenching story told so naturally... This album was like a hallucinogen. You see colors and creatures your mind had never imagined when you close your eyes, bob your head and smile when "SpottieOttieDopaliscious" comes on. (Come on yall, SOMEBODY was high when they came up with that title!)

What has me up tonight jonesing on "Aquemini"? The Bible. Yep, you read it right. The Bible. I was reading Exodus 14:14, which says, "The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." That one little verse gave me so much. I read that line over and over, in about five different translations but I kept coming back to the King James version, "... and ye shall hold your peace." And then I thought about Andre 3000's opening monologue on "Return of the Gangsta."

Its like niggas always be hollerin peace

Peace my brotha, peace this, peace that You know what im sayin but... Every time I try to get a peace of mind A nigga try to get a piece of mine So i gotta grab my piece

In this song 3000 is letting it be known, you come for my peace, I'm going for my gun! But the Lord has a different course of action, one that will never fail. "The Lord shall fight FOR you and ye shall HOLD your peace." You have to HOLD your peace. You can't let it go! While God is fighting for you, the enemy will try to take your peace from you but you have to tighten your grip and keep holding on!

This sounds easier than it is, right? Of course it does but most times we make it harder for ourselves because we're trying to do the fighting. God has freed your hands to hold on to your peace with because He's FIGHTING FOR YOU. God is invincible, he doesn't need your help to win the fight. Take your hands off the fight, put them on your peace and don't let go!

A Random Word

I'm not sure if I can get more random than this but this blessed me so I thought I would share.

John 17:4 (KJV) "I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do."

How do we glorify God? Finish the work He gave you to do! If He gave you a task, complete it and give Him the glory!

This kind of ties into my last post about my goals for the new year. He gave me some things to do this year and I've got to get them done so He will get the glory in my life.

If He gave you something to do, there's no need to fear or procrastinate because God has equipped you with everything you need to complete the task. So what are we waiting on? Phillipians 1:6 says, "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" The last time I checked, Jesus hasn't come knocking on my door so, there is still time for God to show how faithful He is to finish what He started when He put that vision in your heart!

Do you trust God to help you fulfill your dream? If you say you do, what are you doing to show God how much you trust Him? Are you actively working toward completing the task He set before you?

Let's make 2010 the year we truly give God glory by being productive in the areas he has called us to work. 1 Corinthians 15:57-58 "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."