This guy's got passion and he practices what he preaches. I love it. Check out this song "Sacrifice" from his mix tape Church Clothes:
Showing posts with label Lecrae. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lecrae. Show all posts
Monday, January 28, 2013
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Checking Yourself In
Then David confessed to Nathan,
"I have sinned against the LORD."
2 Samuel 12:13
2 Samuel 12:13
These are David's words following his horrendous actions in committing adultery with Bathsheba and then essentially killing her husband. To top it off, David lied and tried to cover the whole thing up before coming clean.
This verse is also a bite-size preview of Psalm 51, wherein David confesses and repents to the LORD. The reason I love this story is because I think it gives a good snapshot of what Christianity is really about. This story shows one of the Bible's most Godly characters (David) fall into complete and utter sin and despair. It shows a hero of the faith fall.
But herein lies the beauty of the gospel. Where the seeming "hero" falls (David), the true Hero of the story is brought to center stage. The gospel is not about cleaning yourself up, hiding your sin, covering up your brokenness, or your own personal spiritual strength. Quite the opposite actually. It is about how we are all like David; ruined, broken, weak sinners who are in need of a divine act of grace on our behalf. The gospel is about us being honest with our sickness, sin, evil, and brokenness, and then turning and clinging to the only one who can actually save us. It is about looking to the true Hero for forgiveness and new life.
Think about it terms of a drug addict. It would simply be stupid for a drug addict,who is obviously addicted to keep living their lives as if they don't have a problem. It would be futile for them to attempt to clean themselves up on the outside, so they appear to be 'clean', but on the inside, they are still sick and addicted. The only solution is for them to ditch their delusion, be honest with themselves and realize they are jacked up and desperately need help. The solution is to check themselves in to rehab. Likewise, we are addicted to sin. We might not have killed anyone of committed adultery as David had, but I have absolutely no doubt, that if you look at your life honestly, and compare it to God's standard of love, truthfulness, compassion, and justice, you will cringe at your sickness. Like a delusional drug addict, our tendency is to live our lives as one big cover up. We try so hard to hide the inner sickness of sin that is ruining our lives. We try to cover up our inner brokenness with big houses, fashionable clothes, successful careers, relationships, alcohol, sports, the latest gadgets, and the list goes on and on. Our tendency is to cover ourselves up and save face, rather than be real with the situation.
The beauty of the gospel is that we no longer have to save face. You no longer have to cover up all the crap in your life. There is healing. There is redemption from this addiction and enslavement of sin. There is a solution. The solution is Jesus. Christ's death and resurrection on our behalf is the only solution. All it takes is being honest with yourself, and checking yourself into rehab (yes that's a Lecrae reference :). All it takes is knowing your absolute need for him. Like David, when he was finally honest with himself, and turned and confessed to God, it was there he experienced what Christianity is really about.
But herein lies the beauty of the gospel. Where the seeming "hero" falls (David), the true Hero of the story is brought to center stage. The gospel is not about cleaning yourself up, hiding your sin, covering up your brokenness, or your own personal spiritual strength. Quite the opposite actually. It is about how we are all like David; ruined, broken, weak sinners who are in need of a divine act of grace on our behalf. The gospel is about us being honest with our sickness, sin, evil, and brokenness, and then turning and clinging to the only one who can actually save us. It is about looking to the true Hero for forgiveness and new life.
Think about it terms of a drug addict. It would simply be stupid for a drug addict,who is obviously addicted to keep living their lives as if they don't have a problem. It would be futile for them to attempt to clean themselves up on the outside, so they appear to be 'clean', but on the inside, they are still sick and addicted. The only solution is for them to ditch their delusion, be honest with themselves and realize they are jacked up and desperately need help. The solution is to check themselves in to rehab. Likewise, we are addicted to sin. We might not have killed anyone of committed adultery as David had, but I have absolutely no doubt, that if you look at your life honestly, and compare it to God's standard of love, truthfulness, compassion, and justice, you will cringe at your sickness. Like a delusional drug addict, our tendency is to live our lives as one big cover up. We try so hard to hide the inner sickness of sin that is ruining our lives. We try to cover up our inner brokenness with big houses, fashionable clothes, successful careers, relationships, alcohol, sports, the latest gadgets, and the list goes on and on. Our tendency is to cover ourselves up and save face, rather than be real with the situation.
The beauty of the gospel is that we no longer have to save face. You no longer have to cover up all the crap in your life. There is healing. There is redemption from this addiction and enslavement of sin. There is a solution. The solution is Jesus. Christ's death and resurrection on our behalf is the only solution. All it takes is being honest with yourself, and checking yourself into rehab (yes that's a Lecrae reference :). All it takes is knowing your absolute need for him. Like David, when he was finally honest with himself, and turned and confessed to God, it was there he experienced what Christianity is really about.
Monday, April 16, 2012
I'm Good
Love this song from Trip Lee's new album, The Good Life. Check out the official music video.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Shadow of the Cross
I'm just bingeing on Lecrae.
From Shadow of the Cross
"Without the cross there's only condemnation,
If Jesus wasn't executed there's no celebration,
So in times that are good, in times that are bad,
For any time I've had at all I will be glad,
And I will boast in the cross, I will boast in His name
I will boast in the sunshine, boast in His reign (rain),
What's my life if it's not praising You,
Another dollar in my bank account of my vain pursuit
That I may count my life as any value or precious at all
Let me finish my race, let me answer Your call."
From Shadow of the Cross
"Without the cross there's only condemnation,
If Jesus wasn't executed there's no celebration,
So in times that are good, in times that are bad,
For any time I've had at all I will be glad,
And I will boast in the cross, I will boast in His name
I will boast in the sunshine, boast in His reign (rain),
What's my life if it's not praising You,
Another dollar in my bank account of my vain pursuit
That I may count my life as any value or precious at all
Let me finish my race, let me answer Your call."
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Relax, Eat, Drink and Be Merry
"The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do,
for I have nowhere to store my crops?' And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns
and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years;
relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul
is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'
So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God."
Luke 12:16-21
What do you say to your own soul? Are you primarily looking to store up treasures for yourself? Do you find yourself living for your own personal comfort? Do you live to 'relax, eat, drink, and be merry'. This is the wasted life, and this is the sad reality of most people in the world (especially in America).
Everything given to us in the life is given from God, and it is given for the purpose of glorifying His name. If we are given talents, they are to be used to make His name look great. If we have money, it is meant to be handled in a way that makes God look like the ultimate treasure. This passage reminds me of the last verse of a song by Lecrae, 'Don't Waste Your Life'.
If you're trying to figure out what to do with ya life,
If you make a lot of money hope your doin' it right,
Because the money is God’s, you better steward it right,
You stay focused, you ain't got no ride,
Your life ain't wrapped up in what you drive,
The clothes you wear, the job you work,
The color your skin, nah you're Christian first,
People get it living for a job,
Make a little money start living for a car,
Get em a wife, a house, kids and a dog,
Then they retire, they living high on the hog,
But guess what? They didn’t ever really live at all,
To live is Christ, and that’s Paul I recall,
To die is gain and for Christ we give it all,
He's the treasure you’ll never find in a mall,
See your money, your singleness, marriage, talents, your time,
They were loaned you to show the world that Christ is divine,
That’s why its Christ in my rhymes,
That’s why its Christ all the time,
See my whole world is built around Him,
He’s the life in my lines,
I refuse to waste my life,
He’s too true to chase that ice,
Here’s my gift and time,
'cause I'm constantly tryna ta be used to praise the Christ,
If He’s truly raised to life,
Then this news should change your life ,
And by His grace you can put your faith in the place that rules your days and nights,
YES!
If you make a lot of money hope your doin' it right,
Because the money is God’s, you better steward it right,
You stay focused, you ain't got no ride,
Your life ain't wrapped up in what you drive,
The clothes you wear, the job you work,
The color your skin, nah you're Christian first,
People get it living for a job,
Make a little money start living for a car,
Get em a wife, a house, kids and a dog,
Then they retire, they living high on the hog,
But guess what? They didn’t ever really live at all,
To live is Christ, and that’s Paul I recall,
To die is gain and for Christ we give it all,
He's the treasure you’ll never find in a mall,
See your money, your singleness, marriage, talents, your time,
They were loaned you to show the world that Christ is divine,
That’s why its Christ in my rhymes,
That’s why its Christ all the time,
See my whole world is built around Him,
He’s the life in my lines,
I refuse to waste my life,
He’s too true to chase that ice,
Here’s my gift and time,
'cause I'm constantly tryna ta be used to praise the Christ,
If He’s truly raised to life,
Then this news should change your life ,
And by His grace you can put your faith in the place that rules your days and nights,
YES!
In the end, God is too worthy, beautiful and glorious for us to waste our lives on ourselves. The joy, comfort and peace from knowing the Living God are infinitely more valuable than the joy, comfort and peace from a large bank account, or from safe retirement, or to live our lives to 'relax, eat, drink and be merry.' This is an attitude in my own life that I must fight for everyday. I need to remind myself of how marvelous the Gospel of God's grace is. I need to taste God's goodness. In these moments of gospel sanity, the lure of living to 'relax, eat, drink and be merry' fades away' and a passion to live for the Living God arises.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
The Tragedy of Living for the American Dream
This sermon clip never gets old. I need to be reminded that the gospel of Jesus bids us to die to ourselves and to live to Christ, counting all things as loss compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus as Savior. The comfort of the 'American dream' pales in comparison to the joy of being found in Christ. Further, this joy of being found in Christ empowers us to live radically as part of God's mission to bring redemption to the world.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
You Just Gotta Know
The lyrics from a Lecrae song 'You Just Gotta Know'
And I just gotta know that even though I'm a misfit
I'm still worth more than calamity's French kiss
Yes I'm loved, and I'm pursued
And though I can't feel it, still I know that it's true
Somebody woke me up, and yeah, I know it was you
And yet I keep tryin' to steer clear of your view
Cuz if you get me, I know that you got me
But I'm so insecure I can't believe that you want me
But then I heard you went on your way to adopt me
Well you can have my all if you swear you won't drop me
Cuz I gotta know (yeah)
God. The only one who loves us perfectly even though we are misfits. The only one who ultimately went out of his way to adopt us. These are things I need to know.
And I just gotta know that even though I'm a misfit
I'm still worth more than calamity's French kiss
Yes I'm loved, and I'm pursued
And though I can't feel it, still I know that it's true
Somebody woke me up, and yeah, I know it was you
And yet I keep tryin' to steer clear of your view
Cuz if you get me, I know that you got me
But I'm so insecure I can't believe that you want me
But then I heard you went on your way to adopt me
Well you can have my all if you swear you won't drop me
Cuz I gotta know (yeah)
God. The only one who loves us perfectly even though we are misfits. The only one who ultimately went out of his way to adopt us. These are things I need to know.
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