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.

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!

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.

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"

Church Clothes

What I am going to do is a little crazy. Lecrae came out with his mixtape on Thursday. It is very different, yet the same as his other music. He does a great job of presenting the gospel but it is geared toward a hip hop culture audience more than his other music.

I would like to do a synopsis of each song, but I don't know if I can. So we will see what happens. Here it goes!

So I Finally Get It

I was wondering why I was growing so much spiritually. Little did I know, God was prepping my heart for something bigger. He was working for something greater. I've never truly failed at anything before (except maybe relationships haha). Man, I needed this. How does that humble pie taste, Mark?

Well I'm so glad you asked, it tastes great. The bottom line is I'm at peace with it. God must be praised in this situation. I refuse to do anything but run to the cross. You think that you could coast through life without troubles? Ha! How arrogant. The fact that God doesn't just destroy all of us right now is a testament to His love. I choose to boast in my God for everything He is teaching me and doing in my life.
In fact, I will not call this suffering. There are people being persecuted right this second for the faith. This is a little speed bump, and I hope one day I will be refined through being persecuted for His glory.

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! Psalm 27:13-14

What am I going to do? I'm going to rest in God and wait for the Lord.

"Come get me Lord, Please come get me!"

Refuge and Strength

I took Tax Accounting over the spring semester. I worked my butt off and for the first time in my life, I did not receive the grade I needed to pass the class. I received a "D" to be exact. As Lecrae would say, "Breath. Takin'."

I really did work hard, but it just was not enough. What is a guy to do? I showed up for class everyday. I made flashcards. Studied in the library everyday. Talked with the teacher numerous occasions. Participated in class. The nine yards and a bag of chips. The fact of the matter is: I did not get a "C" even though I feel like I knew the material.

What a humbling experience. Funny thing is that God will only be glorified in this situation. He has been prepping my heart for this. I'm starting to memorize Psalm 46.

I'll quote what I know so far.

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea..."

Just a nugget there. Hope to have the whole thing down soon.