After the whole Ambassador episode, I was saddened that it seemed that the whole thing was repeating itself once again with another one of my favorite christian rappers that I really look up to with biblically sound lyrics. You can read for yourself his statement below
So what should our response be? Well we should pray for him and his family during this difficult period. We don’t know all the details but obviously his ministry and his witness has been damaged.
Now someone may say to me, why do I seem to be more defensive to these two rappers than I was with Juanita Bynum or Paula White? The difference is the way that they and the ministry dealt with the fall. You can see that in both cases, church discipline and/or a attitude of repentance was exercised by the person or the ministry, which is the sign of a healthy ministry. Falling is not the problem but how the fall is handled especially when someone is in a public ministry because it can have such a damaging effect. Is it handled with love and with in view of honoring God so that his name is not blasphemed? Does the person have or made to have a break from ministry (which is actually loving) or do they try to keep things going on to ‘keep the money coming in’ as some have done in the past?
David murdered and commited adultery. Yet David repented and God called him a man after his own heart. I pray that these two will come back with a great testimony of God’s grace.
You may have seen the shocking youth message that Paul Washer preached a few years ago doing its round on the internet but you may not know WHY he preached it. Below is an interview which will give you the background as to why he preached this message.
And if you havent heard the message, then please listen to it below. Youth leaders especially, please take note.
Rachel’s story is not unlike what thousands of women around the world have experienced. A diagnosis that changes a woman’s life and inevitably takes from her what we consider to be most precious.
After four and a half years of vigilantly fighting breast cancer, the 37 year old wife and mother of two was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
But for Rachel the essence of life is found in her relationship with God through Jesus. And that’s why Rachel is convinced that death is not dying.
Rachel testimony is very touching and I strongly recommend listening/watching it. You can listen to/download the audio by clicking here or you can watch the video here
Rachel Barkey (nee Sawer) went home to her Lord on July 2, 2009 at 37 years of age. Rachel is survived by her husband Neil and her children Quinn and Kate, parents Ben and Cathy Sawer, brother David (Johanna) Sawer and sister Andrea Sawer.
One thing that I have learnt in this christian life is that we are not immuned to heartache, trials, tribulations and we will go through exactly the same things that non christians go through. Tomorrow is not promised, not even for christians.
As a Cross Movement fan from the beginning, I was saddened to hear the other day of the death of former member, Enock. The CMR statement reads as follows:
It’s with great sorrow that we must inform you of the passing of our beloved brother Juan James aka “Enock” – one of the co-founders of Christian rap group The Cross Movement. His passing occurred Saturday morning, October 17, 2009 of an apparent but, yet still unconfirmed heart attack.It is impossible to express our sadness as words fail our emotions and sentiments.Our prayers and loving support go out to his entire family and the Cross Movement family as a whole.Our greatest joy in this time of mourning is that he knows his God intimately and is in His presence celebrating our Lord.As our Lord lives, so does “Nock.” As details regarding his going home service are made available, we will keep you informed.Please pray with us, mourn with us, and celebrate with us.We’ve lost our brother presently but, the Lord is with his son Juan eternally.So you preceded us to the Lord Nock, we’ll proceed with the representin’… see you soon bro. Romans 8: 35-38
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (NIV).
James is heard on the CDs Heaven’s Mentality, House of Representatives and Human Emergency. In 2001, he relocated to Houston to work on his solo album, AWEthentic, with Much Luvv Records.
“Please pray with us, mourn with us, and celebrate with us,” Cross Movement said. “We’ve lost our brother presently, but the Lord is with his son Juan eternally. So you preceded us to the Lord Nock. We’ll proceed with the representin’ … see you soon bro.”
James is survived by his wife, Natalie, and his four children: Chavonna, 17; Juan Jr., 11; Genesis, 9; and Jana, 4.
Imagine that you and two of your friends made cockroaches. You were the god of the coackroaches. You provided for them, you clothed them with their protective wings, you allowed them to reproduce, you designed some so that they can go without air for 45 minutes so that they can survive under water, you gave some of them the ability to live up to three months without food and a month without water, you gave them laws, rules and boundaries for their own good………..but then they turn against you. They hold their scrawny little legs up at you in defiance and rebellion. They curse you and live as if they made themselves. They desire to live independant of you and even live as if you didnt exist. The very rules that you gave to protect them, they break on a daily basis with no regard to the consequences.
You and your friends decide that enough is enough. You start to regret that you made these creatures because they are very ungrateful and have no desire to show any gratitude towards you. Because you are just, there must be punishment for the continual law breaking. One of your friends puts on his big boots to step on the cockroaches and the other gets out the cockroach spray. They would be well within their rights to kill them all.
BUT……
……. you tell your two friends “kill me instead”. Because of your love for the cockroaches, you decide to be punished in their place so that you can be a substitute for the wrong that THEY had done. Not because of anything that you had done wrong. You willingly decide to sacrifice your life for your disobedient creation. So your two friends agree to the plan. You become a cockroach and they step on you, crush you and spray you with the cockroach killer.
Wouldnt you say that the fact that you was willing to die for these foul creatures shows your profound love for them even though they didnt deserve it? Well this is what Christ did for us
6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. (Romans 5:6-11)
Even though my cockroach analogy may fall short in certain aspects, I hope you can get the jist of what I am trying to say. To understand more of what Christ did for us, click here.
I’ve posted this video before but I think it is very apt
I saw this article on a website which seems to have gone now but I found very helpful and I hope you do too
1. In discussing the two covenants, we are not refering to the division of the Bible into two sections, but to the periods of the two covenants on ground.
2. The Old covenant is the same as the Law, and the New is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:1-18)
3. The Old Covenant was targeted at only one nation – Israel. No-one outside of Israel was/is bound by the Law (Ephesians 2:11-12)
4. The New is NOT a continuation or extension of the Old. It is a replacement. (Hebrews 8: 7-13). Why? The Old was never intended as a permanent solution (Galatians 3:19-25)
5. Under the Old God spoke to people by prophets; but under the New He has spoken by His Son (Hebrews 1: 1-2)
6. The person who accepts one aspect of the Law is under obligation to keep the whole Law. Not doing so is condemnation (Galatians 5:3)
7. Submission to any aspect of the Law removes a believer from under grace and back into death (Galatians 5:1-4). Submitting to the Letter (the Law) kills a person spiritually (2 Corinthians 3:6), while doing away with the Law and living under grace (the Spirit) gives life.
Looking at this subject in details revealed major flaws in the teachings and practices of a majority of professing believers, including but not limited to:
c. Submission to guidance and revelation from prophets
d. Seeking and depending on extra-Biblical revelations
The most shocking thing about this is the huge number of professing believers who are clearly not under grace by their many practices and beliefs – yet their leaders keep giving them a false assurance of salvation. It is both sad and shocking.
Doesnt look like much does it? Isolated by itself it just looks like a black jigsaw piece which isnt very beautiful at all. Now look at the picture below
Now when we look at the bigger picture, we can see how when that piece is put in the bottom right hand corner and placed with other pieces, it becomes a beautiful picture. Sometimes when we are going through various trials, at the time, we cant see where God is but we have to trust that God sees the bigger picture and our ‘trial jigsaw piece’ is part of a beautiful picture that he is painting. To see this in action, please watch the Josiah Grauman story. I hope it encourages you
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4)
