r&b

The Biblical Remix – Can You

March 8, 2012

 

The Biblical Remix – Can You

Job 2:7-10 – http://bit.ly/biblicalremixcanyou

Job had it real bad. Satan had struck him with sores all over his body.  His breath was mad stank.  He was in constant pain.  And his wife looked at him like he was naaasty.

One day while he was sitting by a heap of trash his wife stepped to him and told him to curse God and just die.  Daaaag!

Job looked at her and told her dead in her face she was a fool.

While his wife walked away with an attitude, this New Edition song played in the background:

“Storms will come, This we know for sure, (This we know for sure), Tell me baby can you stand the rain…”

Reflection:

Sometimes in relationships we align ourselves with people who buckle under the pressure and stop supporting us. That feeling sucks. Especially when you were diligent in supporting the other person all the way.

I was in that kind of situation some years ago.  It was no bueno.  I lost perspective and spent most of my energies trying to please her not knowing on her part it was conditional.

At the end of the day, I am a “ride or die” kind of guy.  Therefore loyalty is a core value for me in a relationship.  If we are in this together, then there is full commitment in spite of all the bullcrap.

Job needed that kind of support.  Many of us need that kind of support.

Job was a real G because he did not take his wife’s advice.  Actually he blew up her spot by calling her on her foolishness.

If the person you are with right now doesn’t fully support you by their ACTIONS (Note:  I did not use their “words”), you might want to reexamine your relationship.  However before you do that you better make sure your actions exemplify loyalty first.  You cannot be a princess/prince and expect others just to serve you and you not do the same. (Note: I am biased against self-centered/selfish people. I am still learning to show mercy regarding their foolishness. If you just took offense to what I wrote, you might be that princess/prince…I’m just saying).

The Biblical Remix – Just Fine

February 27, 2012

The Biblical Remix – Just Fine

Acts 12:20-23 – http://bit.ly/biblicalremixjustfine

Herod the King was pissed off at the people who lived in the land of Tyre and Sidon.  They were so shook they quickly made peace with him.

Just to show off, Herod threw on his kingly best outfit and sat on his blinged-out throne and he spoke to the masses.  He loved the praises and the screams of the people and they made sure they gave it to him.  In the crowds you heard the shouts of “He ain’t no man. He is a god” and “This is the voice of a god”.

While Herod soaked it all in, this Mary J. Blige song was playing in the background:

“You see I wouldn’t change my life, my life’s just fine, Fine, Fine, Fine, Fine, Fine, Oooo…”

Reflection:

Even when people are loving us and giving us mad props it can be very easy for the masses to think we got it going on.  If they only knew the truth.

How many of us are smiling on the outside but have a slow death going on the inside?  We are not fine at all.

Some of us need the glory of other people praising us in order to combat this inner void.  The adulation and adoration empowers us to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to.  In order to make up for the lack inside, we thirst for the praises of mankind (Side note: I can attest to having been at this place.  Even today I still have to pay attention to make sure I don’t revert back.)

This is all too prevalent in our entertainment society. We idolize musicians, athletes and actors.  They grace magazines and awards shows, but are they fine? How many stories have we seen or read regarding their battles with alcohol/drugs/jail/gambling/prostitutes/extra-marital affairs?  These “heroes” rise and fall daily on tabloid television.

I wonder how many of them give glory to God.  I wonder how many of us give glory to God.

I close today by asking: Are you fine?  No, really are you fine?  How is your life?  Are there things you would like to change?  If so, go ahead and do them.  Just make sure you give God the glory for the great things He has done by giving you life and the air that you breathe.  I wouldn’t want you to end up like King Herod…

P.S. – Oh yeah after the song played King Herod was struck with a disease where worms ate him from the inside.  Within five days he died.  Why?  Because he did not correct the people calling him a god.  He did not give the rightful honor to the one, true living God.

Um, yeah.  It’s like that.  Remember pride comes right before a destruction.

The Biblical Remix – Groove Me

January 20, 2012

The Biblical Remix – Groove Me

2 Samuel 11:1-5 – http://bit.ly/biblicalremixgrooveme

Because of the itis, King David took a nap during the hot noontime.  When he finally woke up he went to the roof to chill.

While he was walking he peeped a fine brown skinned honey taking a bath.  He got so lost scoping her bootie he immediately asked one of his boys about her. Bathsheeba was her name.  The peoples knew about Bathsheeba cuz she looked so fine.  Yeah, you know what I mean. However David was now noticing all the packaging underneath the wrapping paper.

With boldness David had someone go to her place and invite her to the king’s palace.  When David got her to his room this Guy song was playing in the background:

“Groove Me baby tonight, Tonight right now baby, That’s what I want you to do, Don’t say no, Don’t say maybe, Groove Me baby now…”

Reflection:

As the story goes on in the rest of the chapter Bathsheeba actually finds out she is pregnant and sends word to King David.

“I’m pregnant”.  Those are heavy words to hear from a woman who is married to another dude.  As the new baby-daddy to be, David had  some real drama.

I could take this time to write about adultery and creeping, and the foul things we do to cover up our messes.  That would be easy.  What is harder is the condition of our hearts, my heart, when hearing those words “I’m pregnant”.

Women have their own anxiety when they miss their period and find themselves having to take a pregnancy test.  Some are delighted with the results.  Some are not.

I have had to stare that conversation down two different times.  One of them was direct.  Having been the one who bought the pregnancy test from the store I had to wait for the results standing outside the bathroom door.  Truth be told I was at a more selfish time in my life and I was not happy with the results.  I didn’t want her to have the baby.  Within a month or two it proved to be a false alarm as she was not pregnant.  However the situation clearly exposed the condition of my heart.  I was willing to do the dance but not embrace the consequences of my action.  I voted for murder.

The second time I experienced that “I’m pregnant” moment was indirectly.  The more accurate phrase would be “I was pregnant”.  Yeah, I am going there.

In 2004 I received a letter from an ex-girlfriend who shared with me a story that haunted her for eight long years.  About six weeks after our breakup she learned she was pregnant.  She did not know what to do since we were no longer together.  By the third month she terminated the pregnancy.   I found out while I was reading the letter some eight years later.

For about two hours I was numb. My whole world would have been different.

When I was able to function I called her up and apologized for not being there.  Now I understood why she told me she was going to send me a letter in the mail. When we spoke God’s grace was there.  She thought I would hate her.  I didn’t. We were able to have healthy conversations about it. She needed that healing because the truth was a huge burden. I needed it too.

I am not sure why I am sharing this with you.  Perhaps you needed to hear this today.  Please know that God makes ALL things new.  If your heart was broken…if you made this choice…if you were never told…if your life was altered…remember, God is here.  His love is amazing and I pray that He may comfort you even now.  You don’t have to be haunted by your past decisions.  You can be restored.  That is exactly what happened with David and Bathsheeba.

Embrace the love of God today.  His arms are wide open…for you.

The Biblical Remix – Wanna Sex U

December 12, 2011

The Biblical Remix – Wanna Sex U

Genesis 19:1-13 – http://bit.ly/biblicalremixwannasexu

My man Lot was chilling in the middle of the town of Sodom one evening when two dudes (who were actually angels in disguise) showed up.  Lot had some manners so he invited the dudes to stay at his place for the night.  This was a custom of the people and the times.

For whatever reason the two dudes wanted to sleep on the ground in the square.  Lot, knowing the neighborhood, was able to convince them that was not a cool thing and eventually they went to his crib.

Yo, he hooked them up with some chicken, rice and beans, and some biscuits.  After they finished eating, they were feeling really good.

Then somebody started banging on the door loudly like they got stuck in the elevator in the projects.

Suddenly all these voices were heard.  All the men from the neighborhood were outside Lot’s crib. They heard about the two new guests in the town and they wanted to take turns having sex with them.

In the background this Color Me Badd song was playing:

“I wanna sex you up, All night, You make me feel good, I wanna rub you down, I wanna sex you up…”

Reflection:

I am sure the title really had you interested in reading this remix.  The 21st Century American culture is so “sexualized” there is rarely a day where we are not bombarded through the media with various messages regarding sex.

So what is the message we have here in this event in Sodom?

Both the male leaders of the town and the other men from the neighborhood wanted to tap the booties of  the two guests (the angels).  It wasn’t like some down low brothers.  These dudes bumrushed Lot’s home demanding to have a homosexual orgy. Imagine people banging on your door talking about bring out your guests cause we want to get freaky with them.

Historically this was common behavior for the people of that land.  But when Lot speaks to the men he refers to it as a wicked thing. Yes, he calls it a wicked thing.

So what do you think?  Is men having sex with other men a “wicked” thing?

Was Lot wrong in his assertion?

If Lot was on CNN today and made this comment, he most certainly would be labeled as homophobic by some people, amongst other things. But was he homophobic?

Interestingly enough if you go through the whole Bible you will find a consistency to Lot’s statement in the books of Leviticus, Judges, Romans, 1 Corinthians and Jude.

So what does this mean?  Does God see gay sex as wickedness?

God sees sin as wickedness.  That includes adultery, having sex before marriage, lying, gossiping, and also gay sex.

So as we look at the wickedness of these men in Sodom, let us also look at the wickedness in our own hearts.

The truth is we need a savior to help us save us from ourselves.  This is the beauty of Jesus, the son of God who became the son of man to redeem us from the wickedness of sin which betrays us because it lives within our very own hearts.  Is Jesus your savior?

The Biblical Remix – My Head

August 25, 2011

The Biblical Remix – My Head

2 Samuel 13:1-17 – http://bit.ly/biblicalremixmyhead

Amnon, the king’s son, was lovesick over his half sister, Tamar.  He was losing weight everyday over this issue so his cousin Jonadab gave him a scheme to make him feel better.

Amnon followed the scheme by faking being sick.  His pops, the king, showed up and Amnon made up some story about being so sick that he could not eat and if his sister Tamar could come and make him feel better with her cooking.

At the king’s order Tamar showed up.  While Tamar was cooking Amnon had this Lupe Fiasco song in his head:

“Girl I want you to know, I can’t get you out of my head, my head, my head, Girl I want you to know, I don’t even know what you did…”

Reflection:

The part of the story that I didn’t share is Amnon would soon take his desires of “love” and rape Tamar.  The worst part is after he finished with her, he then had an unusual disgust with her and threw her out of his room.

What some of us define as “love” is really “lust”.

Let us examine ourselves today. The evil outside is great but the capacity for evil inside our hearts is even greater.

The Biblical Remix – Superwoman

August 11, 2011

The Biblical Remix – Superwoman

Ruth 2:1-18 – http://bit.ly/biblicalremixsuperwoman

After becoming a widow, Ruth left her hood and moved with Naomi, her mother-in-law, to a place (Bethlehem) and a people (Israelites) she did not know.  Because she was a hard worker she went to the fields to pick up leftover grain to provide for the home.

While working in the hot sun, she got the hook-up with the landowner Boaz because he heard about how she was taking care of her mother-in-law.

She worked until the evening and was able to bring home  about 5 gallons of beaten barley, which is a huge amount for one day’s gleaning.

As she shared with Naomi about the day’s events this Alicia Keys song played in the background:

“Even when I’m a mess, I still put on a vest, with an “S” on my chest, Oh yes, I’m a Superwoman…”

Reflection:

Although she was a foreigner and a widow, Ruth trusted in the God of Israel and honored her mother-in-law by taking care of her. She didn’t think it was beneath her to work as a gleaner (socially equivalent to a modern day beggar).

Against the odds, would you be willing to trust God to provide in your situation?

The Biblical Remix – Look At Me Now

June 23, 2011

The Biblical Remix – Look At Me Now

Esther 3:1-2 – http://bit.ly/biblicalremixlookatmenow

Having worked under King Ahasuerus, Haman got promoted to the highest ranking official in the government.  The King even ordered his servants to bow and pay homage to Haman wherever he was.

As Haman stepped outside of the palace with a new swag, this Chris Brown song was playing in the background.

“Look at me now, look at me now, Oh, I’m getting paper, Look at me now, oh look at me now, Yeah, Fresher than a…”

Reflection:

The danger of pride is that it puffs us up and makes us think we are all that.  The Bible says pride comes before a fall.

Even when we are promoted, we ought to remain humble knowing our promotion does not come from man, but our promotion comes from God.

The Biblical Remix – Secrets

May 12, 2011


The Biblical Remix – Secrets

Judges 16:4-20 – http://bit.ly/biblicalremixsecrets

Having been enticed with an offer of over a thousand dollars by the Philistine rulers, Delilah ran a scheme on her unsuspecting new boyfriend Samson.  While they were chilling in her room, she ran her fingers through his hair while asking him the secret to his great strength.

In the background this Alicia Keys song was playing:

“I won’t tell your secrets.  Your secrets are safe with me, I will keep your secrets, Just think of me as the pages in your diary”

The Biblical Remix – Getting By

February 24, 2011

The Biblical Remix – Getting By

Genesis 12:10-20 – http://bit.ly/fjR3mc

Due to a famine, Abram decided to bounce to Egypt with his wife Sarai. Shook at the idea the Egyptians would kill him to get Sarai, he had her agree to say she was his sister (in actuality a half-truth – read Gen 20:12).

As they walked side by side in Egypt this Method Man/Mary J song played in the background:

“You’re all, I need to get by, ahhhh, You’re all, I need…”

The Biblical Remix – Drink On

February 17, 2011

The Biblical Remix – Drink On

Daniel 5:1-4 – http://bit.ly/fyx6dL

While getting his drink on w/ his peoples, King Belshazzar unwisely requested to drink fr the gold & silver drinking glasses taken fr the holy temple in Jerusalem.

As the wine flowed freely, the King sang this Trey Songz hook:

“Bottoms up, bottoms up, ey what’s in ya cup, Got a couple bottles, but a couple ain’t enough, Bottoms up, bottoms up, throw ur hands up, Tell security we bout…”