my collection is growing, slowly but surely. most recent pickups are metamorphosis by j.r. , i got it for free mixtape by e-pistle, to die is gain by stephen the levite and the great awakening by timothy brindle. to die is gain just got here yesterday, and i ordered it just this past friday!! i'm feelin all of these cd's!! i like metamorphosis even more than i expected. the great awakening is good also, it's an older cd so the beats remind me of an earlier period in hip hop but the cd flows very nicely. that's one thing i'm noticing about the lampmode crew and their cd's. they all flow very smoothly musically. they kinda remind me of some of the rock groups in the 70's that had theme albums, like pink floyd for ex. , i'm just talking flow here, no comparison. the e-pistle joint is hot, i love the beats and lyrics. i love the lyricism on all the above cd's! to some degree these are small sermons and i love how i get fed by these kats. they really help me to examine myself, especially when they're very honest about their own shortcomings and talk about the seriousness of being in a right standing with God. i haven't gotten to really listen to to die is gain fully yet, but from what i've heard i know i'll like it. there's a joint on there called "the darknes",whew, that first line, man those are some powerful lyrics.
so i think my next pickup will be lecrae's joint after the music stops, then possibly trip lee's if they only knew, kingdom people by tedashi and then revolutionary theme muzik by r-swift and i'm thinkin about jacob izreal's joint even louder. i love that song "Godly Life" and "If I should die". his style isn't my usual taste but i like what i've heard so far. these are all on the list and i'm sure there are more i forgot and depending on how i feel, the order may change of which ones i'll get first. ok, got some errands to run.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Friday, January 19, 2007
the parable of the sower
Matthew 13: 3-8 and Matthew 13: 18-23
3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
18"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
The soil among the thorns represented those who permit the Word of God in their hearts to be choked by the cares and pleasures of the alluring world (vv.7,22).That’s a dangerous possibility for anyone who thoughtlessly responds to God’s Word. The world may induce a forgetfulness of spiritual reality and responsibility.Do we allow the attractions of this world to keep us from reading and meditating on God’s Word? Prayerfully, let us strive to be like the one who “hears the Word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces” (v.23).When the sun sets tonight, let it not be said that we have forgotten God —Vernon C Grounds
this was today's devotion at our daily bread today. most of the time when i hear this passage i feel like i'm the one who lets the cares and worries of this world hinder my walk with the Lord. . like i've said before, God's standards are soooo high, it feels impossible to be a good, faithful servant. so much to learn, and i feel overwhelmed by it at times. learning how to let go and say "here Lord, my life is yours, do with it what you please" is hard for me. maybe it's hard for everyone. i don't know that i ever "forget" God, but i do get caught up in the busy-ness of life and when i slow down and think about how God may have different plans for my life, i struggle with trusting him with my whole inner being. trusting in the sense that i know that my way of thinking is not God's and i'd probably want things to be alot easier than how He would go about achieving His purpose in me. it's a battle, cuz at the same time i wanna be closer, i wanna know that God is with me and i'm with Him. i just need to get into His Word more, and to keep mediatating on it.
over at life time guarantee, the devotion for today was taken from Proverbs 4:20-22. anabel breaks down the verses and has a quote from A.W. Tozer which is;
"Spiritual gifts and graces come only to those who WANT them badly enough. It may be said without qualification that every man is as holy and as full of the Spirit as he WANTS to be. He may not be as full as he WISHES he were, but he is most certainly as full as he WANTS to be."
i can identify with that statement. alot of times we know, probably by the Holy Spirit's conviction, that there are areas in our lives that need some serious clean up and that God is not pleased with those areas. but we hold on to them and they stunt our growth in the Lord. since we know that we have these areas to clean up but haven't, in essence we're saying, "ok Lord, i've gotten this far, but this area i'm just not ready to let go off", thus we limit how much more God would bless us. so until we make that needed effort to become even more holy, we're as holy as we wanna be. i'm speaking from experience and hope that as i get closer to the Lord that my desire to be more spiritual and more holy, will push down the worries and cares of life, and it not only becomes a desire but something i strive for. strive: to exert oneself vigorously; try hard; to make strenuous efforts toward any goal.
3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
18"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
The soil among the thorns represented those who permit the Word of God in their hearts to be choked by the cares and pleasures of the alluring world (vv.7,22).That’s a dangerous possibility for anyone who thoughtlessly responds to God’s Word. The world may induce a forgetfulness of spiritual reality and responsibility.Do we allow the attractions of this world to keep us from reading and meditating on God’s Word? Prayerfully, let us strive to be like the one who “hears the Word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces” (v.23).When the sun sets tonight, let it not be said that we have forgotten God —Vernon C Grounds
this was today's devotion at our daily bread today. most of the time when i hear this passage i feel like i'm the one who lets the cares and worries of this world hinder my walk with the Lord. . like i've said before, God's standards are soooo high, it feels impossible to be a good, faithful servant. so much to learn, and i feel overwhelmed by it at times. learning how to let go and say "here Lord, my life is yours, do with it what you please" is hard for me. maybe it's hard for everyone. i don't know that i ever "forget" God, but i do get caught up in the busy-ness of life and when i slow down and think about how God may have different plans for my life, i struggle with trusting him with my whole inner being. trusting in the sense that i know that my way of thinking is not God's and i'd probably want things to be alot easier than how He would go about achieving His purpose in me. it's a battle, cuz at the same time i wanna be closer, i wanna know that God is with me and i'm with Him. i just need to get into His Word more, and to keep mediatating on it.
over at life time guarantee, the devotion for today was taken from Proverbs 4:20-22. anabel breaks down the verses and has a quote from A.W. Tozer which is;
"Spiritual gifts and graces come only to those who WANT them badly enough. It may be said without qualification that every man is as holy and as full of the Spirit as he WANTS to be. He may not be as full as he WISHES he were, but he is most certainly as full as he WANTS to be."
i can identify with that statement. alot of times we know, probably by the Holy Spirit's conviction, that there are areas in our lives that need some serious clean up and that God is not pleased with those areas. but we hold on to them and they stunt our growth in the Lord. since we know that we have these areas to clean up but haven't, in essence we're saying, "ok Lord, i've gotten this far, but this area i'm just not ready to let go off", thus we limit how much more God would bless us. so until we make that needed effort to become even more holy, we're as holy as we wanna be. i'm speaking from experience and hope that as i get closer to the Lord that my desire to be more spiritual and more holy, will push down the worries and cares of life, and it not only becomes a desire but something i strive for. strive: to exert oneself vigorously; try hard; to make strenuous efforts toward any goal.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
integrity
For Further Thought
In what ways have I been a person of integrity when it was tough? When have I failed? Whose standards do I live by? What do I need to change?
that was from today's devotional at Our Daily Bread. it was taken from Gen. 39: 1-12, the story of how joseph resisted potipher's wife. joseph was able to resist her because he valued following God's standards. potipher put joseph in charge of everything and trusted him not to touch his wife. i would like to have that kinda integrity and strive more to live according to God's standards even though i know they're very high. but the key word is strive: to exert oneself vigorously; try hard; to make strenuous efforts toward any goal. i need to try harder cuz i'm living by my own standards right now. so i need to change the effort i'm putting in. according to the definition of strive, i'm not making a strenous effort.
for example, this weekend i coulda tried alot harder. i had plenty of free time on my hands but spent it doing things that are definetly below God's standards. but that was yesterday and today is a new day. so far i got the day started off on the right foot by getting myself together last night so this morning wasn't a big rush to get out the door and it worked. and the kitchen is clean. so my next thing will be to pick up the clothes on the floor in my room. trying to set small goals and just to improve myself as a person. i went to the gym last night and had a semi intense workout. gonna take some time to get used to the new gym and the different crowd of people & the different types of machines. but it was a good workout and hopefully i'll be bringing the poundages up soon enough. i started eating right and i think i've dropped some off the love handles i was getting, now i need to start doing more ab work and more cardio. this should help with just playing once a week too. i'll start out with one cardio day a week (not including bball) and see how that works out. last night was tri's and calves, friday will be legs. for now i'll just do squats and hack squats for quads and lying leg curls and SLDL's for hammies. light to mid weight for pounds on all exercises and after the first warm up set, i'll keep the rep ranges between 8-10.
so today i will finish up on putting my memory verses in my new journal (physical not online) and writing some definitions of words that are commonly used in Christendom; also i'll start re-memorizing scripts.
In what ways have I been a person of integrity when it was tough? When have I failed? Whose standards do I live by? What do I need to change?
that was from today's devotional at Our Daily Bread. it was taken from Gen. 39: 1-12, the story of how joseph resisted potipher's wife. joseph was able to resist her because he valued following God's standards. potipher put joseph in charge of everything and trusted him not to touch his wife. i would like to have that kinda integrity and strive more to live according to God's standards even though i know they're very high. but the key word is strive: to exert oneself vigorously; try hard; to make strenuous efforts toward any goal. i need to try harder cuz i'm living by my own standards right now. so i need to change the effort i'm putting in. according to the definition of strive, i'm not making a strenous effort.
for example, this weekend i coulda tried alot harder. i had plenty of free time on my hands but spent it doing things that are definetly below God's standards. but that was yesterday and today is a new day. so far i got the day started off on the right foot by getting myself together last night so this morning wasn't a big rush to get out the door and it worked. and the kitchen is clean. so my next thing will be to pick up the clothes on the floor in my room. trying to set small goals and just to improve myself as a person. i went to the gym last night and had a semi intense workout. gonna take some time to get used to the new gym and the different crowd of people & the different types of machines. but it was a good workout and hopefully i'll be bringing the poundages up soon enough. i started eating right and i think i've dropped some off the love handles i was getting, now i need to start doing more ab work and more cardio. this should help with just playing once a week too. i'll start out with one cardio day a week (not including bball) and see how that works out. last night was tri's and calves, friday will be legs. for now i'll just do squats and hack squats for quads and lying leg curls and SLDL's for hammies. light to mid weight for pounds on all exercises and after the first warm up set, i'll keep the rep ranges between 8-10.
so today i will finish up on putting my memory verses in my new journal (physical not online) and writing some definitions of words that are commonly used in Christendom; also i'll start re-memorizing scripts.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
question about the word Glory
glory: from the Latin gloria, "fame, renown is used to denote the manifestation of God's presence in the Judeo-Christian religious tradition. In Hebrew it would probably be the word הוד Hod.
When I looked up the word renown, i got this defintion: a state of being widely acclaimed and highly honored.
I see alot of talk about glory to God and God does things for His glory. so my question is why would God need to get glory from us his creations? i guess as a christian one would already know and understand that since God is the creater of all things, we cannot take credit for anything. so with that understanding why would God need to get the glory or expect praise from us for the things He does? He didn't need us before the foundation of the world, He doesn't need us now, so why would God do things to get glory? God doesn't have to prove Himself to anyone, so i'm not sure i understand the way the word glory is being used in relation to God and Him getting His and doing things to get His. is there anyone that can explain this concept to me?
understand that the question is not out of irreverrance but just a desire to understand better. i've always felt that God wants and desires to have a relationship with us and that is His purpose ultimately. beyond that i can't say why else things go the way they do. and i guess this train of thought was sparked by a question asked about rape and whether or not God ordains, allows or even creates events that would lead to that happening.
edit: also i may need to rephrase the question so it's clearer as to what i mean.
When I looked up the word renown, i got this defintion: a state of being widely acclaimed and highly honored.
I see alot of talk about glory to God and God does things for His glory. so my question is why would God need to get glory from us his creations? i guess as a christian one would already know and understand that since God is the creater of all things, we cannot take credit for anything. so with that understanding why would God need to get the glory or expect praise from us for the things He does? He didn't need us before the foundation of the world, He doesn't need us now, so why would God do things to get glory? God doesn't have to prove Himself to anyone, so i'm not sure i understand the way the word glory is being used in relation to God and Him getting His and doing things to get His. is there anyone that can explain this concept to me?
understand that the question is not out of irreverrance but just a desire to understand better. i've always felt that God wants and desires to have a relationship with us and that is His purpose ultimately. beyond that i can't say why else things go the way they do. and i guess this train of thought was sparked by a question asked about rape and whether or not God ordains, allows or even creates events that would lead to that happening.
edit: also i may need to rephrase the question so it's clearer as to what i mean.
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