A weekly psalm in celebration of Holy Hip Hop, Christian/Gospel Rap and Spoken Word ministries. Copyright (C) 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009 by Yolanda D. Lehman
Lord, you tell me to be unafraid to sell all that I have and to give it to the poor You're talkin' kinda crazy Advising me to fill my purse with love, joy, and peace You know I can't spend peace at the mall How on earth am I going to eat wear clothes and go to school? I'm trying to do good and better myself Sure the moths can't eat love but I can't pay the bills with it either Can I? You say to be on guard You're coming soon Be ready Always ready But, look at the earth Things are changing... And I don't want to be the last to purchase my ticket as the train pulls out the station It's hard to be ready when I have so much to do It's hard to stay focused on you when my television tells me Wyclef is trying to rule Haiti And the Pakistanis are learning how Noah felt It's hard to stay steadfastly devoted only to you When so much needs doin' elsewhere You are offering me an uneven trade... Give my all... for what? A treasure in heaven I can't even see and the promise of I'm not even sure what And an empty purse with NO-thing inside And a generally good feeling I cannot eat I guess I'm confused Lord Cause I want more...
This Spoken WORD was inspired by the following scripture from the Holy Bible:
SCRIPTURE
Time after Pentecost - Lectionary 19
Luke 12:32-40 (NRSV)
The treasure of the kingdom
"Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
"Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
"But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."'
INVITATION
If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta
MUSIC MINISTRY
Today's music ministry comes to us from OBJ, a young brother I met on Twitter. When you like what you hear, you can check out more of his music @ http://www.reverbnation.com/godblessobjeezy
Surely you jest Lord I can't give that up That cost 2 weeks paycheck and I stood in line 2 hours waiting for that thing
I can't give up my shoes my jewelry my car my house
You don't know what you're asking... that cologne that shirt those jeans they make me cool in the eyes of others
What will I do without visible signs of my status in this world How will people know that I'm so much better than they are If they can't see my stuff?
Now stop playin' You can't have my purse Not my phone I've got 10 texts to send in the next 2 minutes Not my laptop I've got to skype my "friends" and I've got 100 emails to answer and that latest video on YouTube? I've got to embed that on my blog by morning.
What?! My TV?! Do you know that has surround sound? 3D? plays TV, movies, and music? My stainless steal fridge It's going to impress those whom I love and who only love me because...
Well, WHY DOES everyone love me? Is it because of my stuff? I'm shocked! I'm grieving... I do want treasure in heaven, but also here on earth GOODBYE!
This Spoken WORD was inspired by the following scripture in the Holy Bible:
Mark 10:17-22 (NRSV)
Treasure in heaven
As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.'" He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth." Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. INVITATION
If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta
Who then is this? Who sleeps as the storm rages While we're bailing water out of the boat And desperately trimming sails...
Who then is this? Who doesn't care that we're in trouble Doesn't notice that we are perishing And snoozes whilst we are in danger...
Who then is this? Who is slow to awaken As the storms are raging in my life And who doesn't run to my aid when I need him...
Who then is this? Who when I shake him to wake him Looks around blearily and then rubs his eyes muttering, "QUIET!"
Who then is this? Who causes the winds and the waves to obey him Who asks us, "Where is your faith?" and inspires both fear and amazement...
WHO THEN IS THIS?
This Spoken WORD was inspired by the following scripture from the Holy Bible:
Luke 8:22-25 (NRSV) Jesus' disciples cry out for safety
One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side of the lake." So they put out, and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A windstorm swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. They went to him and woke him up, shouting, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, "Where is your faith?" They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another, "Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?"
INVITATION
If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta
Today's video is slow to get started, but it's good. Just get through the first 55 seconds! Trust me! :-)
Lord I want to be good soil Soil where your word takes root And grows…
So often I have let your word Get choked, eaten, or trampled Under the feet of those who do not understand.
I want to be good soil I want your word to be in me Fruit which multiplies Hundreds and thousands fold and Into the lives of others.
I want to be good soil Doing your will Walking in your ways Knowing your secrets Building your kingdom
May I perceive, May I understand, And may I believe…
Lord, Make me good soil.
This Spoken WORD was inspired by the following scripture in the Holy Bible:
Luke 8:4-10 (NRSV) Jesus speaks in parables
When a great crowd gathered and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: "A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold." As he said this, he called out, "Let anyone with ears to hear listen!"
Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to others I speak in parables, so that 'looking they may not perceive, and listening they may not understand.'
INVITATION
If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
"Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."
DEVOTION
A beloved reader once asked me, “How can we be sure that if today was the last day we would open our eyes here that we would open them in the presence of God in heaven? I've always felt that you had to be a minister or always in the church in order to go to heaven. What if I don't attend Bible study or Sunday school class or even church…Am I going to heaven? I’m scared.”
Today, I want to provide some GOOD NEWS to this reader—and the many others—who have ever wrestled with the fear that you won’t get into heaven.
I want to say this in plain language. Our scripture reading for today tells us exactly how we get into heaven. It says that God gave his son, that whosoever believes in him, shall not perish, but have eternal life!
To put it another way, we are delivered, rescued, and saved from our sins by the grace of God and the blood of Jesus.
Now, I want all of us to notice something here. There is nothing in the above sentence that says anything about humans doing any work to attain our salvation! This is because salvation is a free gift given to us by God--and God alone.
I hope that this knowledge takes a huge burden off of all of us! There is no one who has ever lived on the earth besides Jesus who was good, smart, strong, wise, or holy enough to deserve heaven!
It does not matter if we are pastors, ministers, evangelists, bishops, Sunday School teachers, Deacons, or church mothers, neither does it matter whether you go to church every Sunday and Bible Study every Wednesday; NONE OF US is good enough to get into heaven on the merits of our own works, because all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God!
So, if being good and working hard doesn’t get us into heaven, what does? The answer is simple my friends! We get into heaven by putting our hope in Christ!
Romans 10:9 puts it this way, “If you say with your mouth that you believe in Jesus and really truly believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead—YOU ARE SAVED!”
There is no hocus-pocus. There are no magic words. There are no special tests or tasks and you don’t pledge and you aren’t hazed. All that you have to do to become an heir to God’s kingdom is to put all of your hope in Jesus!
Now, I can hear some of you saying, “It can’t be that easy!” I can hear others of you saying, “That’s good for other people, but I’m too messed up. I’m too sinful. I’ve messed up too big for God to care about me.”
But, I am here to tell you that all of the above is a lie. God knows all about you. God has seen all of your mistakes and God still loves you. God still cares about you. And God still wants to spend eternity in your presence.
There is nothing—absolutely nothing--that you can ever do to ever make God stop loving you and there is no mistake so big that God cannot forgive it!
SALVATION IS SIMPLE, MY FRIENDS…and I want to apologize on behalf of all of us “church folks” who have made it complicated in your life. I am sorry, please forgive us.
Here’s the bottom line in clear, plain English--God loves. God gave. God saves. It’s all about GOD and GOD has chosen to make it super easy for all of us to inherit eternal life!
Today I invite you to be set free! No longer do you need to live in fear of hell and damnation! No longer do you need to cower concerned about judgment and condemnation. No longer do you need to fret that you aren’t doing enough to earn your salvation!
God says to all of us, “You are my child and I love you. I know that you believe in my Son. I look forward to spending eternity with you in my Home. Do not be afraid. All that was needed has been done for you. Jesus did the work. You are saved!”
Do you have a saving faith in Jesus today? Have you put all of your hope in Jesus? Are you SURE that if you died today, you would wake up in heaven? (If not, please pray with me)
Dear God, I know you love me and I love you too. I believe that Jesus died on the cross and that you raised him from the dead! Please forgive all of my sins and fill me with your Holy Spirit. I want my whole life to declare your praise and glory. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
SPECIAL NOTE
If you just prayed that prayer for the first time, today, you are saved! Let me encourage you to tell a Christian friend that you just put all of your hope in Jesus. Ask him or her to help you find a Bible that is easy for you to understand and to find a good Bible believing church where you can be baptized and make new friends who will walk with you on your Christian journey!
I would be honored if you would take a moment to share your good news with me by clicking "YES" in the upper right hand corner of the blog in answer to the question, "Did you put all of your hope in Jesus today?" Thanks!
Congratulations and Happy Re-birthday! Your salvation is our GOOD NEWS, please go and share the GOOD NEWS with others!
You do know the way although it seems obscure at times Although the fog rolls in and you stumble about in the darknesss You do know the way to the place that I am going You have been there before You will return again. You do know the way to The One we call Father who loves you and made you and summons you home You do know the way through your heart through your trouble through your faith through your belief You do know the way TO ME. I am The Way The Truth & The Life You do know The Way-- you know ME.
This Spoken WORD is based upon the following scripture from the Holy Bible:
Thomas, Apostle John 14:1-7 (NRSV)
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."
INVITATION
If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta
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