Virtuous Uncertainty?

We live in an age where confidence about anything is seen as arrogance.  Uncertainty is a virtue and ignorance is acceptable.  This is especially true when it comes to the most important things.  Just try telling someone that you are sure about the purpose of human life, or that you know how the world came into being.  You are sure to be ridiculed or looked at like you’re crazy.  It’s much more politically correct to hold your positions with a bit of uncertainty.  But there’s no need for uncertainty if you’ve been given the truth.

I can think of nothing more important than our eternity, and almost no one claims to be sure about that.  When you ask most people what they think will happen when they die, they respond with something that begins with “I don’t know for sure but...” or “I feel like...”  Most people are so unsure because they know that if there is a God, He doesn't like sin.  And they also know that they are not sinless.  So while most people don't think they'll go to hell, they’re far from confident about their eternity.  Some worry about it and some don't think about it in the least bit.  Personally I think about it often.

Good Reason For Worry

All of us should consider our eternity often and frankly, most of us should be worried.  The Bible is very clear that God's standard is much higher than ours.  If I measure myself up against my best friends or my family members, I might get the idea that I'm a pretty good guy.  But God doesn't measure things like that. The Scriptures say in Romans 1:18 that, "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth."  God doesn't say His anger is on those who are unlike the most moral people, but those who are unlike Him.  He doesn't say His fury is kindled against those who are unacceptable to society, but those who are unrighteous.  Can you say that your behavior is and has always been perfectly godly and righteous?  Of course not.  None of us can say that.  This is a problem for us because God doesn't just pass out pardons or take bribes.  He promises to carry out judgment, and to unleash His wrath on every single individual who is unrighteous before Him.  This verse should frighten us.

Personally, I know that much of my life has been characterized by unrighteousness and ungodliness.  I also know that even though I try not to sin, I still do.  Often.  When I measure my life by God’s standard (perfection), I fall short by millions of miles.  And because the wages of sin is death, I’ve surely heaped millions of death sentences on my own head.  But here’s the strange part.  I believe without a shadow of a doubt that after I die, everlasting joy and communion with God awaits me.   

Humble Confidence

I know that’s a bold statement and it seems contrary to everything I’ve already said, but let me explain.  God has made it clear in His Word that if it is left up to us, none of us can meet His perfect standard.  So how can I be so confident?  While the Bible teaches that God is just, it also teaches that He is, “the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26).  Romans 4:5 says, “to the one who does not work, but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.”  So make no mistakes, God will not accept anyone who is unrighteous before Him.  But in His love and mercy, He has made a way for unrighteous people, to be seen as righteous.  He sent His Son to live the life we failed to live, to be punished in our place, and to defeat the enemies that enslaved us.  He has only asked us to acknowledge our unrighteousness, to turn from our unrighteousness, and to believe in the righteous Savior.  We can actually be made righteous by the obedience of another.

Paul speaks of this in Philippians 3:9 when he says he will be found in Christ, “not having a righteousness of my own that comes from [obeying] the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith...”

A Great Mystery

So when I say that God’s standard is too high, yet I still have no worries, I’m not being arrogant or self-righteous.  I’m simply celebrating the greatest mystery in the Universe. The fact that I’m filthy, but seen as not guilty.  Faith in Christ demands a daily pursuit of being more like Christ, but I’m still not there yet.  And graciously, He’s not counting my crimes against me!  This righteous standing is available exclusively through Jesus.  So when I die, I’ll partake of the eternal joy that Christ purchased for me on the cross.  But now I must ask you.  In light of God’s perfect standard how do you plan on getting by? When you think about your eternity are you confident that your innumerable sins won’t be counted against you?  God is calling us to respond to this good news with faith.  It’s only through faith in Jesus that we can consider our eternity and declare with confidence, “I ain’t worried bout a thing!” 

Celebrate this great salvation with me a week from today, June 22, when “Between Two Worlds” releases worldwide.

The response to 20/20 was more than I could have asked for.  I heard so many stories about how God used the album in the lives of the listeners.  The stories range from people just being helped through rough days, to people trusting Christ for the very first time.  That blows me away!  I want to thank everyone for all the support.  But, it’s time for a new chapter and a brand new album.  After 8 months of prayer, hard work, and God’s grace, my third album is ready to be released.  My latest project will release June 22 and is entitled “Between Two Worlds.”  I can’t even express how excited I am about the project and I can’t wait for people to hear it.  While 20/20 was devoted to helping people see God properly, B2W is devoted to helping people see life in a broken world properly (the way God sees it).  The album is in many ways a collection of reflections on life in our fallen world.  It’s meant to celebrate the good things, be real about the difficult things, and look hopefully towards the solution.  It’s not meant to be a comprehensive study on life in a fallen world, only reflections on some of the things that were on my heart.  It’s almost like a reality show, not depicting just my life, but all of our lives.  And my desire was for all of my reflections to be rooted in a biblical worldview.  So I talk about human limitations, friendships, even music, but of course from a Christian perspective.  I chose the title “Between Two Worlds” because that is where I find myself.  And the cover is meant to reflect that reality.  Not only am I fallen, but I live in a world that is fallen, interacting with fallen people and fallen situations.  However, as a believer my citizenship is in Heaven (Philippians 3:20-21) and I look to the day when Jesus will “recreate” His creation.  So while I seek to navigate life in this world, I look forward to the new Heaven and new Earth (Revelation 21).  But until I get there, I worship and follow the Hero who already saved the day.    Keep checking back at reachrecords.com for updates on the album, promo vids, singles, etc as we approach the release of Between Two Worlds. 

Today I was listening to Sho’s new album and kept thinking, “Everyone needs to have this album.”  So I’m blogging to tell you five reasons this project is worth your investment.

1. Wordplay
One of the things I’ve always admired about Sho as an emcee is his creative and clever wordplay.  One listen to “Lion’s Anthem” and you’ll know exactly what I mean.  It’s a good feeling when you listen to a song for the 20th time and you still catch something new.

2. Great Storytelling
Story telling has always been a part of hip hop.  Sho happens to do it exceptionally well.  You’ll get stories about lions, liars, and even get to peak into the life of Sho.  It engaging, entertaining, and challenging.

Last week, I flipped back through one of my favorite books (and an undisputed classic), “The Confessions of St. Augustine.”  Augustine was the bishop of Hippo and lived in the 300’s (Way way back in the day). “Confessions,” his autobiography, is his most popular writing and if you read it you’ll see why. It became a significant book in church history for a number of reasons, one of those being his thought provoking reflections on life in light of God’s grace and providence. The whole thing was written as a prayer to God and I highly recommend reading it.

When I flipped through my underlines and notes in the book, one of my favorite sections encouraged me again.  In a world filled with truly beautiful things created by God, it’s hard not to enjoy those things in an unhealthy way. Here’s what Augustine says,

“O God of hosts, restore us to our own; smile upon us, and we shall find deliverance.  For wherever the soul of man may turn, unless it turns to you, it clasps to sorrow itself.  Even though it clings to things of beauty, if their beauty is outside God and outside the soul, it only clings to sorrow.

In Part 1 we established that we should be unashamed of the Gospel first and foremost because it is the power of God.  God uses the Gospel to call dead men from the grave.  And not only does He call them with this message, He raises them with this message. 

So yeah this all sounds nice and good, but when the time comes to share the truth with others it never goes down quite so easy.

The Problem
Have you ever been in conversation with someone and wanted to share the Gospel with them, but couldn’t get yourself to do it? It seems that when we are in the Scriptures or with our church we rejoice and feel motivated to share the Good News with others.  But then when we find ourselves face to face with someone who may be resistant or hostile to the Gospel, it all feels a bit different.  Conflicting thoughts race through our minds about how we aren’t eloquent enough, or how we don’t know enough, or how there is no way we can convince them.  And of course when we think about it later we are disappointed in ourselves.  How do we get passed this?

Being Ashamed
I remember my first car accident.  I was driving down I-20 in Dallas headed home from school in my Champagne colored ‘97 Nissan Pathfinder.  All of a sudden the car in front of me swerved to the right to avoid something and I didn’t have time to react and follow suit in time.  It happened so quick it’s hard to remember exactly how it went down, but what I do remember is a old mattress falling from the air and landing a few feet in front of me.

The next thing I knew, it was under my wheels and the mattress springs were tightly tangled to everything on the bottom side of my car.  My car slowed, sparks flew, and the fire department had to come.  Did I just run over a old mattress on the freeway son?  When I arrived at the dealership the next day to get my car after they towed it and untangled it, every single dude who worked there was outside laughing at me.  I couldn’t believe they were heckling me, “Are you the dude with the mattress?” It was a real long walk to the check out desk.

I say all that to say that there are some things that we should be ashamed of.  The Gospel is not one of them.

Brothers and sisters, If you are like many of the people I know, you will offend people.  You will offend them deeply.  The offense will cause them internal distress and maybe pain that they will resent you for.  But sometimes God won’t be grieved by this.  In fact, He’ll be pleased.

Off the top of my head I can recall many times when I have offended people.  Some of the time afterwards, I confessed and repented of my sin.  But then there were other times when I didn’t feel remorse, nor did I repent.  In fact I praised God for His grace in the situation. 

Hold up, before you throw away all your Reach Records CD’s, and write blogs with titles like “Trip Lee Lost His Mind!” or “Christian Rapper Apostacizes!” , let me clarify what I’m talking about.

I intend to post Real Vision quotes every now and then for us to reflect on. Here is our first one.

Speaking of a complex and controversial doctrine in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, the great reformer and Pastor John Calvin says this:

“If this thought prevails with us that the Word of the Lord is the sole way that can lead us in our search for all that is lawful to hold concerning Him, and is the sole light to illumine our vision of all that we should see of Him, it will readily keep and restrain us from all rashness. For we shall know that the moment we exceed the bounds of the Word, our course is outside the pathway and in darkness, and that there we must repeatedly wander, slip, and stumble.”

Beautiful quote. This is something that many Bible believing Christians would never even think to disagree with. Yet, many of us fail to apply it. In our wrestling with complex doctrines, or wondering how to live our lives, we argue from logic and our own rationale instead of the Scriptures. Too often people are quick to throw out doctrines that don’t fit their views. But what if the Bible says it? If I hear one more argument based on, “My God wouldn’t do that” or “That doesn’t seem right” I will pull my hair out, braid by braid lol. The Scriptures alone must be our guide. Our logic and rationale must follow suit. May we come to the Scriptures and submit all of our biases and presuppositions to what God has to say. For a moment forget about your denomination, your theological persuasion, or your church’s doctrinal statement and take your cues from the Holy Spirit. Listen to what Jesus has to say:

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” John 16:13-15

Praise the Lord for His Holy Spirit. We must love Him. We must worship Him. The Holy Spirit is truly incredible. Don’t sleep on Him. We owe Him our lives! Stand in awe of His moral perfection, of His wisdom, of His power. He is patient and oh so humble. He is our God. May we obey His Word

History in the Making

Our generation will never be forgotten.  What we are witnessing right now is something for the history books.  You probably already know what it is that I’m speaking of, the Presidential election.  There may be a black president, or there may be a female vice president.  One of these is sure to happen.  On top of that, there are already projected to be record turnouts with more young people voting than ever.  We are indeed witnessing an historic event.

Our country has been wrapped up in this election for 21 months full of debate and rising tension.  I have to admit that I have been glued to the screen and the little bit of TV I get to watch is always CNN or some news channel checking on the election.  What is Obama saying now?  What is McCain doing?  Who do they think won the debate?  And so on.  But it is finally is coming to a close.  Why the record numbers?  Why the countrywide interest?

Why the Interest?

Nobody denies that our country is in a terrible place.  Gas prices are too high, we are still in this war, people are losing their homes and retirement, people can’t afford healthcare, the stock market is doing terrible.  Cats are hurting and searching for a solution.  The thought of a new leader doing new things has the American people eagerly awaiting a hero.  Some hope for McCain, others for Obama, others an independent candidate. 

Fallen Solutions to the Problems of the Fall

But the way that some are awaiting this change is a great example of our human tendency to put our hope in false saviors.  We know things are terrible and we are desperately looking for someone to fix things.  Someone to take away the bad times, someone to help us not to hurt anymore.  Someone to ensure a stable future.  But I fear that too many of us are expecting them to do things they simply are not capable of.  Obama may bring change, McCain may bring reform, but neither of them can take our suffering away, or secure our futures.  Neither of them are the hope for the Christian.  We vote because God put government in place for a reason (Romans 13) and we are citizens of this country.  We should indeed be concerned and vote for the one we think will best help government to play it’s role in God’s world. 

These men, though they may be powerful and may be intelligent, are just as incapable of saving this world as you are.  There will continue to be suffering, and pain, and death until the Lord Jesus, the real Savior, makes all things new.  In the book of Revelation speaking of the new Heavens and new Earth John says, ” And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”  Jesus is the only hero capable of this.  I’m not one of those who says, “This world is passing away anyway so forget about it.  Don’t vote, don’t help, just preach”  But the other extreme is hoping in this earth and committing the grievous sin of idolatry.

The Conclusion

Vote for your choice, but hold it with an open hand.  And make sure your hope is in the Lord Jesus.  God is sovereign and His providence never misses a beat.  And if things continue to get worse, continue to hope in Jesus.  He knows what He’s doing. He is the only true hero.  He is my Savior.  He will make all things new. 

And another thing sets Him apart. There is no vote, no electoral college, no primary.  Whether the majority in America realizes it or not, He reigns and always will reign as THE King and Ruler.

What is your Savior’s name?

Why 20/20?
Reflections on Psalm 63

For those who don’t know, my new album entitled 20/20 comes out soon.  It’ll be just over 2 years since ITOK when this new album will drop.  Feels like forever though!  Many people have asked me why 20/20?  What’s the significance of the title? Just to clarify, it has nothing to do with the fact that I’m 20 years old as some have guessed lol.  In this short blog I’ll try to briefly explain my reasoning behind the title.

One of my favorite passages in the Scriptures is Psalm 63.  There may be nothing else I guard against more in my life than an intellectualizing of my faith.  It’s so easy (especially for someone built like myself who loves to read and to teach) to turn my relationship with God into learning facts and doing what those facts tell me to do.  Biblical faith and love for God includes so much more than a mental assent, so much more than just agreeing with doctrines, and so much more than carrying out duties.  In my own fight against these tendencies, I reflect on passages where saints in the Bible express a deep, heartfelt, sincere satisfaction in God.  A sincere desire for and delight in the God of the Scriptures. I constantly plead with God to bring me to this point.  Psalm 63 is one of those passages that has impacted me the most.  Looking at the chapter these were some of my observations…

1. David yearns for God (vs. 1)
He doesn’t just seek Him simply because He was told He was supposed to.  But he actually desires Him.  He thirsts for Him and he yearns for Him like a man dying of thirst in the desert.  It’s not simply that He’ll take Him or leave Him.  He can’t live! He can’t go on without tasting fellowship with His God.  The first time I read this passage this really struck me.  Do I thirst for my God like that?  Do I feel as if I can’t go on without tasting of His goodness?
The question following for me was, how does man get to the point where he yearns for God in this way?  Well the text tells us.  THEY SEE HIM.

2. David has seen God for who He is (vs. 2)
David’s eyes have beheld the beauty of His great God!  None of us have ever seen something that was so incredibly beautiful yet never desired to gaze upon it again.  When we see something beautiful it captivates us and we long to take in its beauty again and again.  This is the case with David.  He has seen God and His great power and glory, and He can’t take His eyes off of Him.  He is blown away!
I now know, my thirst and desire for God depends on me gazing at His beauty in the Scriptures; beholding His great glory and taking it in.  Of course we need the Spirit to open our eyes so that we can gaze upon God with eyes of faith. We also must pray fervently and depend on Him as we open the Scriptures, pleading with the Father to show us Himself as we open His Word.  As the passage continues we find the result of seeing God for who He is….

3. He praises God with his lips (vs. 3)
4. He will bless God and lift his hands in His name (vs. 4)
5. He is satisfied with God (vs. 5)
6. He reflects on His goodness (vs. 6)
7. He sings for joy! (vs. 7)
8. His soul clings to Him (vs. 8)
9. He finds comfort in His protection (vs. 9, 10)
10. He rejoices in God (vs. 11)

My Prayer
May we come to the Scriptures not to learn more facts, or to learn wise phrases, or to find rules to follow, but to gaze upon God, and to learn to worship Him in the way He desires.  For those of us who have received sight and come to faith in Jesus Christv , our vision is still blurred by our upbringing, our cultures.  Who is this God?  What does He expect from me? How do I relate to Him?  The Word of God serves as our corrective lenses.  My prayer is that we will cling to the Word, see the Lord more clearly, desire Him more than anything else, and serve Him with all our hearts.  This is my goal with the new album.  I pray God the Holy Spirit works through it and brings men to know Him better.  I’m praying all the way up to and following the release on May 20th.  Please join me in that.

Much Love
Trip
P.S. Look for some preview tracks coming up very soon…

By Trip Lee

Well first things first.  What have I been up to?  Way too much!  The Lord has blessed me with many many opportunities in these recent months.  This summer has been full of opportunities to promote His name.  From Texas, to New York, to Cali, to Idaho, to Zambia, Africa.  I’m so so grateful for each and every one of those opportunities and the Lord has graciously used a wicked sinner for His namesake within all of these many opportunities.  To try and sum this summer up in a paragraph, 13 Letters dropped (curriculum is on the way!), went on a mission trip to Zambia to teach (look for pictures soon!), went on tour with Cross Movement, lots of my own shows all over the place,  and I been in Memphis working on the “Amped” album and my second solo project as well. 
Speaking of “Amped” me, Ben, and Miguel just went to Nashville to drop off the master to the distribution company.  It’s all finished and sounding crazy! Joseph Prielozny and his crew did an amazing job remixing Reach favorites and helping us to toss some new ones your way as well.  I’m real excited about this project and hope cats go pick it up. August 29th! As far as my second album… we’ll talk more about that later.  Just know I’m grindin!  I also had chances to co-labor with a lot of my brothers in the faith on CMR and other cats.  I’m honored to get to team up with em.  Look for collabs on some of the newest albums and a couple more to come.  Our brothers at CMR have been putting out some heat.  Be sure to check em out and be encouraged! CrossMovementRecords.com. (and look for Tedashii on Cross Movement and Flame’s albums!  He been killin it!)
Well that’s more than enough about what we doing ministry-wise.  Since I been in Memphis we all been getting it in heavy and growing together.  And I always want to encourage my brothers and sisters in the faith when I get a chance to.  And I always want to share with others what the Lord has been allowing me to see and teaching me lately.  Lately, the main thing that’s been heavy on my heart to do and to encourage others to is really pressing in deep for intimacy with God.  Many of us remain content with these surfacey relationships with our Father.  Others of us think we are extremely mature because we know a lot or we’re doing a lot but in actuality missed the main thing; WE DON’T KNOW GOD!  Christ died that we may know Him!  Not so we could go to church services, not so we could learn some big words and cool doctrines or man-made systems of theology.  Not to demonize these things, but we must recognize them as what they are, side notes in the big scheme of things.
I could go on for days but will keep it short for now.  I plan to blog often and holla at yall whenever I can (as my schedule permits).  You’ll hear a lot of the same from me for a lil bit so get ready!  And let us examine our hearts.  Do we yearn for God like the admirable men of the bible did?  Like David and Paul did?  Compare your hearts cry to David’s in Psalm 63 and see how you measure up.  We’ll dive in that deeper later but for now I leave you with that challenge and a quote from A.W. Tozer’s The Pursuit of God to get your mind working,  “We have almost forgotten that God is a person and as such can be cultivated as any person can.  It is inherent in personality to be able to know other personalities, but full knowledge of one personality by another cannot be achieved in one encounter.  It is only after long and loving mental intercourse that the full possibilities of both can be explored.”  I love yall to death and appreciate your support.  Enjoy the new site!

-Trip

P.S. I plan to write a new article soon too.  What would yall like to read an article on from us at Reach?