What it is yall?
It’s ya boy Crae and I know you don’t like to read. I know. But try to finish this one.
It seems that peeps are making songs, and getting into Christian music simply to have an identity.
People want to have social acceptance. I meet cats weekly who say they want to do this music thing, but have no passion for ministry in other areas of their life. Some of them know better, others are just growing in their faith. All are looking just like the world.
Some people just like our music but don’t see the need to be distinct in Jesus. Lemme lend some words of encouragement.
Be Different. In the World but not of the World.
Worldliness is turning from God. It is when people think about how to please themselves. Pigs roll in the mud to cool off their flesh or skin and satisfy their desires. People roll in sin, which is dirtier than mud, to satisfy their desires.
Being worldy means you don’t think about how wrong you are, you just do whatever gives you the results you want. Worldlienss does whatever it takes to get what it wants. Even if that means disobeying God to become rich, successful, popular, famous, and having things the world offers.
Worldliness is how a non-christian thinks and acts.
Worldliness is trading the Truth of God for a lie.
The problem with us as human is that we fall in love with the creations and not the Creator. We love the things God has made but they don’t love God.
What if a father puts together a new bike for his son, and the son starts to love the Bike more than his Dad. What if the son started to write songs for his bike, take pictures of his bike, give his bike a name, and even pick his bike over his father.
If that sounds crazy, you must not listen to the radio or watch t.v. People do this all the time. Rappers write songs about their cars, take pictures with them, they name their cars and they choose their cars over God. They choose money, jewlery, and fame over God all the time. People worship the things of this world everyday and do not worship or give respect to the God who made the world.
The T.V. shows or the music people think are so special and good will hurt us if we look at them to see what is true, and real. They are not the place to find truth, they are not the best thing going. God is.
Christians should not look to the world and the things of the world to fit in. Sometimes we will not fit in. If we read our bibles, if we don’t laugh at dirty jokes, if we pray for people, if we wait til we are married before we sleep together, if we don’t join the gangs, if we don’t smoke the weed, if we follow the ways of Jesus, we will be VERY different. But that’s okay.
Jesus says in John 17:16,18 “They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” Which means that we are not the same as everyone else on earth if we are followers of Jesus. He even says that because we are His followers some people will hate us.
Get ready for people to make fun of you, laugh and joke on you because you roll with Jesus. People hated Jesus and wanted to see Him fall. If you are trying to do what is right and true, people will want you to fall too.
If we took a glass of koolaid, poured some cooking oil in the glass, and then stirred it up together it will seem like they became one liquid. Have the oil and water really become one? If you let the glass sit still for about a minute you’ll see what happens. The water and oil have become separate again. That shows us that even when they were all mixed together, they were never really one.
This glass is a pretty good picture of what Jesus wants us to be like in this world we live in. We have to live in it, go to school in it, and work in it. Be we don’t become like the it, and we don’t love the world and the way the world gets down either. Being distinctive or different for Jesus doesn’t mean you have to change everything about you. It doesn’t mean you have to wear a suit every day or start speaking funny. It does mean that you have know your bible so you can
see if God is cool with some of the words you use, places you go, and things you do.
Being a Christian doesn’t mean you stop being a human being, but you have to be careful you don’t follow the crowd and think that just because everyone is doing it that it’s okay.
Tool and Tips:
1. Don’t put yourself in a place or situation where you may follow the ways of the world and sin.
Romans 13:14—“Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify ( or please) the desires of the sinful nature.”
2 Timothy 2:22—“Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
2. Ask yourself is what you are doing pleasing to God or helping others.
1Corinthians 10:31—“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
1Corinthians 10:33—“even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.”
Ways you can tell if you may be in danger of loving the world:
Do you turn to godless music to help you deal with problems or figure things out? Some songs may point you to turn to God some just help you drown in your own despair.
Do you let music, TV, or friends to crowd out prayer, Bible study, church, serving, or things that are pleasing God?
Are you bored with spiritual things when you are not in church or bible study?.
Do you listen and watch things that tempt you to sin or do things God isn’t pleased with?
Scriptures to memorize and think about daily:
Romans 12:2—Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
1 John 2:15-17—Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from the world.The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
James 4:4—...don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
1 Peter 2:11—Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
HOLLA BACK!!!!
Comments
Keep it Jesus, Your brother in Christ, Aric
stay blessed
Crae
ps: I'm going to highlight all those bible quotations ..thank you very much.
May God Richly Bless you and widen your territory.
Emma
Please let me know. today is May 16 and Our youth Sunday is this upcoming sunday May 18 2008. I know it will defenetly bless our youth in our church in their walk with Jesus Christ because it has been a blessing to me. Thank you God bless you, your family, Reach records/ Ministries and everyone who is part of the 116 Click.
keep doing your thing for god
god bless yall and the members of the 116 clique
Ive been critisized for listening to your music, not by non-believers, but by believers who think that your music is too "worldly". They believe that rapping, even about God, is a compromise. The way you speak and dress is the same as other than hip hop artists. I mean, the theme is different, but the sound is the same...
What can you say makes your music not of the world? I really do love Reach records and thier music, but Im just looking for away to let my friends know that a great ministry can come out of hip hop, not just the hymns we sing at church.
One of the things that amazed us the most was how the Reach artists manage to go beyond the "surface-y" elementary things of the word and begin to seek the hidden treasures. All young Christians are not babes in Christ!! I find it amazing how in tune y'all are with the spirit. The bible says study to show yourself approved, and I give y'all a golden stamp of approval.
I have been praying for y'all (even before reading your blog where you requested prayer) that God would use you mightily and keep you in the midst of everything. I encourage you all to study the Book of Proverbs (lots of good wisdom for young men).
You have encouraged me to step up my game on this witnessing thang (I keep a purse full of tracks). May God continue to guide and lead your lives!
keep it up.
-God bless
peace,love, CHRIST
also, a couple of my friends say what Joy said, bout hip-hop being too much of a compromise, what can i tell them???
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