Could we wrap our minds around this? We sure are whacked when we have this idea: not only that we are the center of the universe but also that our comfort and happiness are the most important things in life. It just so happens that true happiness is achieved in trusting God and a relationship with Him. But this idea that we should never be pushed and that we have rights to not being interfered with is foolishness. God created everything. He can do whatever He wants and what He wants is to refine our sinfulness and give us the only thing that will satisfy us.. and that is Himself. If there were something better that He could point us to, He would! But He is the most supreme thing. Suffering, although appearing unpleasant, should be our joy. It reminds us what our purpose is on earth and who we serve.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Comfort
"What if comfort in this life isn't the supreme value in the universe? What if hunger, and disaster now are meant to help us towards humility and faith, and what if God has amazing things in store for those who trust him now even if this world turns out to be very unpleasant for them? Christ knows suffering very well, therefore God has not exempt even himself from suffering. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God."
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Rough Patches
I hate to play off a Kelly Clarkson song, but does what doesn't kill you really make you stronger? I'm completely burnt out on work and school, and I have had to deal with some adversity in my personal life too! I can't help but think about how tough it is. Luckily, I have a good family to encourage me in Christ and even tell me how bad they had it to help me to see that my life isn't so bad after all.
If one thing is true, it is that I can't wait for Christ to completely rid me of my sinful thoughts and to give me a perfect body. I pray that God would not give me up to whatever I want. I pray that I would be obedient to what God has called me to do. I need to love and serve others and to stay rooted in the Word. This is only a season in my life. I can be grateful for times like these, because God is at work refining me. Glory to God!
If one thing is true, it is that I can't wait for Christ to completely rid me of my sinful thoughts and to give me a perfect body. I pray that God would not give me up to whatever I want. I pray that I would be obedient to what God has called me to do. I need to love and serve others and to stay rooted in the Word. This is only a season in my life. I can be grateful for times like these, because God is at work refining me. Glory to God!
Friday, May 18, 2012
Spoiler Alert
Tonight I avoided writing a paper to watch NBA playoff basketball. I then chose to watch "The Vow" instead of watching basketball because that is what my mom wanted to do. I'll just say that watching the movie was very frustrating, but well worth it! Especially to hang out with my mom!
Okay so I can't watch a movie without thinking about how it relates to the gospel, so here it goes. The wreck is similar to how God initiates salvation. He shatters our former life. He changes the way things were before. He changes your heart. Ultimately, He makes you want Him and want to love Him.
Not only does He change our heart, but He makes things new. Before, Paige had left her family unreconciled and on her own terms, but after the wreck, she is reconciled with her family and she has a better love for Leo. Similarly, God is making all things new. Not just our lives and how we love others, but the earth. He uses us as people who restore His creation and in the end, He is coming back with a new heavens and earth.
I would be remiss if I didn't compare how Leo pursues Paige as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her. But Christ is so much better and so much more committed than Leo is. We all fall short of Christ, but it goes back to the restoration aspect. In the end, when Christ comes back, we will get new bodies and we will be like Him. Can't wait!
Okay so I can't watch a movie without thinking about how it relates to the gospel, so here it goes. The wreck is similar to how God initiates salvation. He shatters our former life. He changes the way things were before. He changes your heart. Ultimately, He makes you want Him and want to love Him.
Not only does He change our heart, but He makes things new. Before, Paige had left her family unreconciled and on her own terms, but after the wreck, she is reconciled with her family and she has a better love for Leo. Similarly, God is making all things new. Not just our lives and how we love others, but the earth. He uses us as people who restore His creation and in the end, He is coming back with a new heavens and earth.
I would be remiss if I didn't compare how Leo pursues Paige as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her. But Christ is so much better and so much more committed than Leo is. We all fall short of Christ, but it goes back to the restoration aspect. In the end, when Christ comes back, we will get new bodies and we will be like Him. Can't wait!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
A Good Love Song
Okay, so I got a little busy. I'm probably will not get to write about all the songs on Church Clothes. But today, I've been thinking about "Special" and what it means.
It is not your everyday love song that points out superficial things that a dude likes about a girl. It's not a guy bragging about how he "got" this girl to all his buddies. It's not about making love. It's not about how the girl looks. Nope, none of that.
"She made me want to get down on a knee, she made me want to share everything I own,
I was praying for a 10, but I found the one,
And no girl compares to my virtuous love,
Cuz what we got is truly something special, truly something special,truly something special, truly something special."
Lecrae goes on to say that the love he has for I'm assuming his wife is not something you see on the streets and that it is "no one's business what they do between the sheets" and that the love they have is real, it's no "Mona Lisa". There has been a lot of "blood, sweat, and tears" meaning it has not been easy.
"I respect you too much, I don't see you as my equal,
I see you as myself, me and you we the same people,
the way you let me lead you, that's why I need you,...
You not perfect, you not perfect, but you work it girl,
And you don't need a job unless you feel like workin' girl,
Ain't worried about your past, I'm focused on our future lady..."
He goes on to establish that he and his wife trust eachother. He is describing the "onefleshness" of being married.
"I love your mind more than the way you dress head over heels"
He says that he gives her time, attention, and faithfulness instead of expensive gifts. He adds that when she gets upset and bothers him... his response is gonna stay and he can't wait " to date ya when your 60 and your hair is gray"
"..we the best we will ever be minus me first,
til they burry me, you will always be my lady,
and leaving you is like leaving myself, it's crazy!"
Those were a lot of random lines from the song, but the point is this: he is describing the way that a man should love a woman. The bible makes it very clear what the relationship looks like. It doesn't look like what American culture has made it look like; it looks like the relationship of Christ and the church.
My second thought was special too. Why did God design for man and woman to be together? Ultimately it was for His pleasure and our pleasure and for our good! If the sovereign God of the universe intended to sanctify me through a union with a woman, then isn't that exactly what is going to happen? How can I doubt this will happen? How can I not trust that God will provide such a helper for me? I take great hope in my Lord! He will provide a woman for me in His timing for my sanctification. Of this I am sure! Praise God! Can't wait for what He has in store for me.
In the meantime... I'm praying. Maybe not for a 10 (although a 10 would be nice haha) but for a godly woman who is committed to serving.
It is not your everyday love song that points out superficial things that a dude likes about a girl. It's not a guy bragging about how he "got" this girl to all his buddies. It's not about making love. It's not about how the girl looks. Nope, none of that.
"She made me want to get down on a knee, she made me want to share everything I own,
I was praying for a 10, but I found the one,
And no girl compares to my virtuous love,
Cuz what we got is truly something special, truly something special,truly something special, truly something special."
Lecrae goes on to say that the love he has for I'm assuming his wife is not something you see on the streets and that it is "no one's business what they do between the sheets" and that the love they have is real, it's no "Mona Lisa". There has been a lot of "blood, sweat, and tears" meaning it has not been easy.
"I respect you too much, I don't see you as my equal,
I see you as myself, me and you we the same people,
the way you let me lead you, that's why I need you,...
You not perfect, you not perfect, but you work it girl,
And you don't need a job unless you feel like workin' girl,
Ain't worried about your past, I'm focused on our future lady..."
He goes on to establish that he and his wife trust eachother. He is describing the "onefleshness" of being married.
"I love your mind more than the way you dress head over heels"
He says that he gives her time, attention, and faithfulness instead of expensive gifts. He adds that when she gets upset and bothers him... his response is gonna stay and he can't wait " to date ya when your 60 and your hair is gray"
"..we the best we will ever be minus me first,
til they burry me, you will always be my lady,
and leaving you is like leaving myself, it's crazy!"
Those were a lot of random lines from the song, but the point is this: he is describing the way that a man should love a woman. The bible makes it very clear what the relationship looks like. It doesn't look like what American culture has made it look like; it looks like the relationship of Christ and the church.
My second thought was special too. Why did God design for man and woman to be together? Ultimately it was for His pleasure and our pleasure and for our good! If the sovereign God of the universe intended to sanctify me through a union with a woman, then isn't that exactly what is going to happen? How can I doubt this will happen? How can I not trust that God will provide such a helper for me? I take great hope in my Lord! He will provide a woman for me in His timing for my sanctification. Of this I am sure! Praise God! Can't wait for what He has in store for me.
In the meantime... I'm praying. Maybe not for a 10 (although a 10 would be nice haha) but for a godly woman who is committed to serving.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Church Clothes- Title Song
Lecrae does something neat here. He writes the song from the perspective of a person that has been hurt by the church and tells of how hypocritical the church can be.
But then he starts saying "there better not be no real church, with real saints that pray hard..there better not be no real folk that think they better than you...no, we don't want to see that cuz that might mean a life change, that might mean i work more..."
He says that if God is real and if there is real forgiveness, then he guesses that he already has his church clothes on... as in, it doesn't matter what you've done or what you look like, you are accepted by God!
But then he starts saying "there better not be no real church, with real saints that pray hard..there better not be no real folk that think they better than you...no, we don't want to see that cuz that might mean a life change, that might mean i work more..."
He says that if God is real and if there is real forgiveness, then he guesses that he already has his church clothes on... as in, it doesn't matter what you've done or what you look like, you are accepted by God!
APB
This is the second song on the mixtape. Very catchy.
This song gives you a glimpse of a growing up in "the hood".
But Lecrae doesn't let that distract from the gospel. It doesn't matter where you've been, God meets you where you are at and opens your eyes to him.
"There could have been the end dog, one way, hell's gates, But the Lord,stepped in, chose to show grace"
The song talks about how that old person is gone. That sinful person can't be found. It talks about how Jesus changed his life and he is a new person.
This song gives you a glimpse of a growing up in "the hood".
But Lecrae doesn't let that distract from the gospel. It doesn't matter where you've been, God meets you where you are at and opens your eyes to him.
"There could have been the end dog, one way, hell's gates, But the Lord,stepped in, chose to show grace"
The song talks about how that old person is gone. That sinful person can't be found. It talks about how Jesus changed his life and he is a new person.
Co-Sign
This is the first song on the mixtape. Here, Lecrae sets the stage for the whole set of songs. He begins by saying, "everybody tries to put him in a box". I think he is referring to both christians and secular people. Everyone has opinion on his music. Some christians love his music and the passion that he has and the sound theology contained in his songs(I'm in this category). Other christians cannot get past the fact that it is rap music and the whole hip hop culture, so his music falls on deaf ears(these people are probably ones that think hymns are the only form of music that isn't sinful). Lastly, you have secularists that like the way the music sounds, but they don't fully appreciate the message of the gospel that is being spit out through his music. Although I have defined three groups of people here, you could probably subdivide these groups into smaller groups, but for the sake of time, I will just leave it at three.
Lecrae is appealing to the last group of people mentioned, secularists. He is making the case that he understands hip hop and that "we got the same momma". He is establishing that he is going to bring it and that he can hold his own. They cannot ignore him, he can't be ignored.
Favorite Lines:
"I speak an ancient language,they don't understand me, it's called the truth, i break it down, they try to reprimand me"
"I am not insane, product of the culture, I'm what happens when Outcast meets the writings of Moses, the views are opposing, but they correlate, and me and Christ don't match, but we coordinate."
"I'm just a product of grace bringing hope to the hopeless"
Lecrae is appealing to the last group of people mentioned, secularists. He is making the case that he understands hip hop and that "we got the same momma". He is establishing that he is going to bring it and that he can hold his own. They cannot ignore him, he can't be ignored.
Favorite Lines:
"I speak an ancient language,they don't understand me, it's called the truth, i break it down, they try to reprimand me"
"I am not insane, product of the culture, I'm what happens when Outcast meets the writings of Moses, the views are opposing, but they correlate, and me and Christ don't match, but we coordinate."
"I'm just a product of grace bringing hope to the hopeless"
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