Real Talk

Peace and blessings,


"God wants us available to people, not shouting instructions at them. He wants us to get into others' lives. He may not ask us to steal a boat, but he may ask us to cross some conventional boundaries. If we are willing to risk our comfort to get into other people' worlds with the truth we bear, we'll be a more powerful witness than all the instruction manuals in the world."

- p. 37



This past summer I had the opportunity to read "Speaking of Jesus" by J. Mack Stiles (1995), a book that deals with ways in which we as Christians can be more effective in spreading the gospel and building up God's kingdom. Through personal stories as well through an analysis of Jesus' and Paul's ministries in the New Testament, Stiles does a good job of putting some of the usually considered difficult aspects of sharing our faith with others into perspective. He shows us by doing so, we come to realize that many of our self-perceived obstacles to sharing our faith or merely "in our head."


Overall, I would say that the message of "Speaking of Jesus" is that just as Jesus engaged the world (he listened to people's cares and concerns, and learned about their lifestyle), so should we. For Stiles, being one who shares their faith through engaging the world is one who is motivated (wants to share their faith), available (open to divine appointments and talking with others about their faith) and equipped (knows enough about the bible and the tenets of their faith in order to share with others and answer as many questions that arise as possible). Stiles argues that in order for us as Christians to effectively share our faith with those outside the church walls, we must take initiative to learn about people's lives outside the church walls. This by no means suggest that we become nosy or become so concerned with leaning about people's lives that we 1) water down the gospel or 2) put ourselves in situations where we will be tempted to sin. What this does suggest, however, is that we as Christians must do our part because as the saying goes, "people want to o=know that you care before they care for what you know."

One of the things Stiles warns us about is about a particular type of positive thinking. The type of positive thinking that can get us into trouble is the type that claims that we have a positive outlook on things because we belief in our own ability to bring our the desired outcome (in this case, effectively share our faith). According to Stiles, this type of positive thinking is problematic because it suggests that we are the ones making things happen, and not God working through us. Stiles urges us instead to have a type of positive thinking that stems from our confidence that God will always make a way, and is the true driving force behind all that we do that is considered of any worth.

Before I conclude, I wanted to briefly mention one of the stories he recalled about an atheist who came to Christ, and how God uses who we wants, when He wants, and how He wants to bring about His will. This powerful example of divine appointment continues to amaze me to this day. One day the atheist was hitch-hiking and was able to flag down a car. Once he got in the car, he was surprised that the driver was a Christian with a hippie steez. During their conversation they both shared their views. Either some days or some weeks later, the atheist was hitch-hiking again, and again succeeds in flagging down a car. To his surprise it was the same Christian hippie! When the driver pulled over, he told the atheist that man, "God must be after you!" Shortly after that encounter, the atheist gave his life to Christ.

Take care, God bless, and speekonit...

Labels: Christians, evangelism, God, Jesus, Speaking of Jesus

"These three characteristics - one, contagiousness; two, the fact that little causes can have big effects; and three, that change happens not gradually but at one dramatic moment - are the same three principles that define how measles move through a grade-school classroom or the flu attacks every winter. Of the three, the third trait - the idea that epidemics can rise or fall in one dramatic moment - is the most important, because it is the principle that makes sense of the first two and that permits the greatest insight into why modern change happens the way it does. The name given to that one dramatic moment in an epidemic when everything can change all at once is the Tipping Point (Gladwell, p. 9)."



"While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests, the captian of the temple, and the Sadducees came to them, much annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming that in Jesus there is the resurrection of the dead. So they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who heard the word believed; and they numbered about five thousand(Acts 4:1-4)."


"But among them were some men of Cyprus and Cyrene who, on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists also, proclaiming the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord (Acts 11:20-21)."


"But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift....The gifts He gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers...(Ephesians 4:7-11)."


Peace and blessings,

I just wanted to follow up with my thoughts of Malcolm Gladwell's (2000) "The Tipping Point." Last time I briefly touched on two main ideas of the book. The first was the idea that social epidemics occur in pretty much the same fashion as biological or medical epidemics. This point is illustrated in the first quote above. The other idea was his argument that in many if not all social epidemics, the three types of people who are essential to the movement spreading are Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen.

In this follow-up, I want to share my thoughts on how I think these two ideas can be applied to our understanding as Christians of the roll all of us play in the Great Commission which Jesus outlined for us in Matthew 28:18-20. I am going to begin by highlighting what I think are some general connections between the gifts God has given us and the three types of people described by Gladwell (2000), and conclude by drawing similarities and distinctions bewteen Gladwell's "Tipping Point," and what I believe to be the Christian equivalent.

In the last quote, Paul lists a few gifts that God has given us, to be used in the spreading of Jesus' ministry. Like Gladwell's (2000) descriptions of Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen, the gifts that have been distributed among believers each play a specific role in the movement. For instance, the gift of teaching may embody certain skills, dispositions, and temperaments that differ from the gift of evangelizing. Now of course these gifts do not have to be independent of each other, because I believe that we are all born with multiple gifts. Further, I believe that which gifts are able to "sprout up" and which ones are "shut down" has a lot to do with our environmental influences, but that's a topic for another time, lol. In addition to this idea that we as individuals play an important role in bringing about movements or social epidemics, Gladwell and Paul (or someone writing in the name of Paul) are suggesting that humans are inherently social, therefore understanding our gifts, skills, and temperaments is to understand the great movements or social epidemics of our time. Indeed, Stiles (1995) echoes this notion of social influence in his book "Speaking of Jesus," where he talks about the significance of divine appointments and how the most minor or casual conversations can lead to monumental changes in people's lives.

In addition to these three types of people, Gladwell (2000) argues that there are three rules to social epidemics. Further, he argues that the third rule, which is that change happens in one moment dramatically and not in incremental moments gradually, is what he refers to as the "Tipping Point." Before I go on to talk about his notion of a Tipping Point, I first want to comment on his belief that change occurs dramatically and not gradually. I would have to disagree with this assertion, because I think that most instances of major change is a result of both gradual and dramatic moments. In many of the examples he gives in the book (e.g. the popularity of airwalk shoes, teen smoking, and teen male suicide), I would argue that underlying those "dramatic" changes are slower, gradual changes. In other words, I think that it is because of incremental changes that dramatic change is possible. Ok, back to what I was saying before, lol...

In the two instances in the book of Acts that are captured above in the second and third quotes, the Great Commission was being carried out in major ways. Large groups of people were experiencing and coming to Christ in notably dramatic fashion. In Acts 4:1-4, about five thousand people came to Christ. Now talk about a social epidemic! Similarly in Acts 11:20-21, large numbers of people also came to Christ. What could have "caused" these dramatic changes? What accounted for the spread of this "epidemic?" As mentioned earlier, Gladwell (2000) and the author of Ephesians agree that we are social beings, and thus have an important role in bringing about major change. Where I think the difference lies is in their views of what the Tipping Point is. For Gladwell (2000), the Tipping Point can come about due to a certain number, context, or action. For Christians, the Tipping Point is something different. It is true that in both of these instances in Acts, there were dedicated, influential, people of God teaching and proclaiming the gospel to massess of people at the time these major changes were taking place. However, I'm certain that it was not the teachers and proclaimers themselves that caused all of those people to encounter Christ and come to believe. The Tipping Point which led all those people to come to Christ was none other than the Holy Spirit Himself. Sure, the preachers and proclaimers played a role, just as all of us as Christians play a role in sharing the love and gospel of Jesus Christ. However, I strongly believe that the roles we play are only to "set up" the situations to where God will move, bring about His will, and get all the glory in the process. Now, I'm not saying God needs us to set up these situations, because He doesn't. God will do what He's going to do with or without us. Because He loves us and calls us into a relationship with Him, He also calls us to take part in His reaching the world. This is an ongoing theme in many of Brux Cavey's messages, who is Pastor of The Meeting House in Canada. Isn't God amazing?

I know this is a lot to throw at you, but I would really appreciate your thoughts on this issue. Until next time, stay blessed and speekonit...

Labels: Acts, change, Christ, Ephesians, gifts, Gladwell, Great Commision, Holy Spirit, Jesus, John, Lord, Matthew, Peter, Sadducees, Tipping Point

Peace and blessings,

Let me first apologize for just now posting this. In this second part of my response to McNeil and Richardson’s “The Heart of Racial Justice: How Soul Change Leads to Social Change,” I want to highlight what I think are some of the book’s main points. As mentioned in the previous post, the book emphasizes the cultural, ethnic, and social nature of the bible, and our call as Christians to avoid perpetuating differences but work towards reconciling relationships between people and groups. To do this, they urge us to view any tool of injustice and division (e.g. institutional, economic, racial/ethnic, cultural) as a product or representative of sin itself. By identifying this sin, we will be in a better position to spiritually equip ourselves through prayer, forgiveness, scripture, and reconciliation to take claim of the victory over sin, which Christ solidified through his death and resurrection.

One of my favorite chapters of the book is chapter seven, where the authors discuss the role of receiving forgiveness for the sins we’ve committed against others (and thus God), and extending forgiveness to those who have sinned against us. The chapter discusses a time in Richardson’s (who is white) past when he and his brother were attacked by some African American youth. Realizing that the stereotypes he formed regarding African Americans based on this incident was and would continue to hinder his ministry, he decided to confront and eliminate the stereotype once and for all. During his prayer, he asked Jesus to enter into his memory and into that incident. Recalling the incident with Jesus being fully involved, he was able to see Jesus’ love and restorative power, as Jesus broke up the attack and spoke words of healing into the situation. This example spoke to me immensely because until reading this I never thought about inviting Jesus into my hurtful, past experiences that have shaped how I view people, the world, and ultimately myself.

The other chapter that I really enjoyed was chapter eight, which shifts the focus on the human problem to the sin problem. It’s not the person or group per se that is the source of conflict, strife, and injustice, but the spiritual forces influencing them. The chapter is best summarized by the following quote:

“How can one close one’s eyes at the fact that the demons themselves have taken over rule of the world, that it is the powers of darkness who have here made an awful conspiracy?”

- Deitrich Bonhoeffer, cited in McNeil & Richardson, pg. 113

These words, spoken by a Lutheran Minister who actively opposed Nazi Germany, highlights not only the source of our world’s problems, but also the responsibility (personal and collective) we have to address problems once we are aware of their source. In one of the most powerful scenes in the first “Matrix”(1999) movie, once Neo is “unplugged” from the matrix, he notices that his eyes are bothering him. Once he tells Morpheus that his eyes are bothering him, Morpheus replies by saying that it is because he “never used them before.” Similarly, I think that as we as Christians work towards progressing in our personal, social, and cultural walk in Christ, we are going to experience constant phases of learning-unlearning-relearning because we are constantly experiencing new ways to view ourselves, others, and the world through our newly acquired, ever-evolving spiritual eyes.

To conclude the book, the authors leave us with the following challenge:


“This is a new season for leadership in the church. No longer will we be defined by a few charismatic superstar leaders at the center of all Christian activity. We are moving into a corporate model of leadership in this day. The new models of leadership that are emerging will be much more accountable to the communities they serve. In order to accomplish this, God is moving people forward into places of authority and responsibility. We must be ready to take a stand.”

McNeil & Richardson, pg. 155

No comment here, as the challenge is pretty self-explanatory. What do you think? About inviting Jesus into our hurtful memories and experiences? About getting used to using our spiritual eyes? About the role of Christians in reconciling people, groups, and nations of the world? Until next time, be encouraged, share your thoughts, and speekonit…

Labels: Christ, cultural, division, heart, Heart of Racial Justice: How Soul Change Leads to Social Change, injustice, Jesus, justice, personal, prayer, racial, sin, stereotypes

Peace and blessings,

Before I begin, I would like to preface this introduction by saying that I am more of a humanities and social sciences person than a hard sciences person, therefore I apologize if my description of this medical instrument does not do the instrument justice, lol.

When people are unable to take care of themselves, they often need something to assist them in initiating and facilitating internal bodily processes such as eating and blood flow. A major medical instrument that provides this assistance is an IV. A person who is seriously ill, for instance, may need to use an IV to pump blood in his or her body. Without this IV, his or her condition will get worse. Under more severe circumstances, the presence or absence of an IV can mean the difference between life and death.

Prior to starting my first semester at a major university, I knew that one of the most important things I needed to do was build upon my relationship with God. For me, that meant that I needed to find a church home. The first day of new student move –ins, I was greeted by a member of Black Campus Ministries (BCM), who invited me to bible study. While attending the bible studies, I found out that BCM was only one part of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF), a campus ministry organization that serves students of all ethnicities. For example, like BCM, there are ethnic-specific ministries for Chicano/Latino students, and Asian/Pacific Islander/Philippino students.

Despite being aware of and around this diversity, I primarily viewed BCM and Intervarsity as a ministry to help me in my individual, highly personal walk with God. After reading B. McNeil and R. Richardson’s “The Heart of Racial Justice: How Soul Change Leads to Social Change,” however, I realized that Intervarsity was about much more. In addition to providing me with spiritual resources to strengthen my personal walk with Christ, Intervarsity also provided opportunities and spiritual resources to acknowledge, appreciate, and strengthen my cultural and social walk with Jesus.

On a cultural level, Intervarsity is grounded in the belief that racial/ethnic unification and reconciliation are not just worthy goals to achieve in themselves: the call to achieve these goals is evident throughout the Old and New Testament. To illustrate the importance of these goals, McNeil and Richardson cite various scriptures, including God’s spreading out of cultures via different languages for the people of Babel and Paul’s emphasis on eliminating cultural barriers to show that Christ’s love extends to Gentiles as well as Jews, to name a few. On a social level, Intervarsity helped me realize that any form of injustice is a sin. Therefore for Christians, having a heart for and actively engaging in a relationship with Christ means doing the same for the oppressed and marginalized. Using Paul’s declaration in Ephesians 6:12 that the battle is not with people per se, but with (spiritual) powers and principalities as a framework, McNeil and Richardson urges us to denounce and oppose sins of racism and all forms of discrimination and oppression. Through Christ, we not only have the spiritual power to denounce and oppose these powers and principalities: we also have the victory over these things through our faith in and obedience to Christ.

So in a nutshell, McNeil and Richardson’s “The Heart of Racial Justice” has given me a newfound appreciation for the ministry Intervarsity provides to college students through their focus on personal, cultural, and social growth in Christ. What does this have to do with the example you gave in the opening paragraph? Here’s the connection: Just as an IV in the medical sense is used to preserve and save lives, my view of what it meant to be a Christian prior to getting involved with Intervarsity was limited thus was suffering. Like the physical lives of people who cannot do for themselves, my spiritual life was in need of an IV to “feed” me some different, more encompassing ways of viewing my relationship with Christ and His kingdom, and through the grace of God I was introduced to these new and diverse perspectives through Intervarsity, my spiritual IV.


What do you think? If you have been or are currently a part of Intervarsity, what have you learned since your involvement that you were unaware of prior? If you are not familiar with Intervarsity or have not been involved with the organization, any general thoughts/reactions to this piece? Take care and speekonit…

Labels: Black Campus Ministries, God, Heart of Racial Justice: How Soul Change Leads to Social Change, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, IV, Jesus, ministry, New Testament, resources, spiritual, students

" Rather than taking a literalistic or legalistic approach, the politics of Jesus calls for scrutinizing every political policy and policy proposal by this standard: It is based upon the command to 'love your neighbor as yourself?' That is, does it treat the people and their needs as holy? It is important that this principle not be treated as a law with layers of liturgical and organizational requirements. Rather, it is to be seen as a yardstick that at every point seeks to apply mishpat (justice), sadiqah (righteousness), and hesed (steadfast), continually demonstrated love for our neighbors to every public and private act of consequence. This is the way the politics of Jesus enjoins us to approach every question of politics and social policy (pg. 323)."


"If we look honestly and unflinchingly at the political culture in America today, it becomes clear that Jesus' judgment against the religious and political leaders of his day (in reality, they were the same) is also his judgment against the leaders of our day. America's most vocal and self-described politicians 'of faith' profess biblical beliefs while consistently acting in ways that contradict biblical justice. Worse, they portray themselves to the American masses as the definitive moral voice of America, the righteous, divinely ordained spokespersons for God to us all. Yet there is little question that if Jesus were walking among us now, he would stand against the political leaders of our day--and many of the religious leaders, too--as he stood against them in his own day (pg.329)."

Peace and blessings,

I chose to begin with these quotes, because I think they accurately characterize Dr. Obery Hendricks' position as articulated in his book, "The Politics of Jesus." The following book review will be two fold. First, I will briefly (but then again, do I ever discuss anything "briefly?"LOL) discuss the aspects of Henricks' position that I agree with, and those aspects that I disagree with. Afterwards, I will offer a potential explanation as to what factors may have influenced how he argued his position.

In a nutshell, Hendricks (2006) argues that both historically and currently, leaders (political and religious) have in some form or another misinterpreted Jesus' ministry and/or neglected critical components of His ministry. As a result, Jesus has been, and is currently regarded as a passive Messiah only concerned with our personal piety, righteousness, and salvation. According to Hendricks, this view of Jesus is inaccurate or at best incomplete because it fails to acknowledge Jesus' revolutionary nature and his mission to non-violently dismantle social injustice and economic and oppression. Through closely examining scriptures and the social, economic, and political contexts in which these scriputures were written, Hendricks passionately reminds us that in addition to His divinity and the fact that He came, died, and rose so that through Him we can be saved, He was also dedicated to changing the structures which sought to oppress and marginalize the very people He came to save (which is everyone). Whether it was feeding the five thousand, healing (restoring) the lives of those treated as social outcasts, or constantly opposing the Pharisees' and other leaders' illusions of power and dominance over "the least of these," Jesus was always about meeting people's needs (spiritual, mental, physical, and economic).

I agree with his general arguement, and that Jesus' revolutionary nature is often neglected within most political, social, and economic discourse and policies in the U.S. In addition to some political and religious arenas, I think that the media (movies, etc...) is also partly responsible for the neglect of Jesus' revolutionary nature and His emphasis on social, economic, and political change that lovingly and righteously serves all humanity. My only criticism of the book, however, is that I think that some of Hendricks' arguments that he derives from analyzing certain scriptures are somewhat "far-fetched." One example of this is his analysis of Matthew 20:1-16, which is the parable where Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven using the analogy of a householder going into his vineyard to hire workers. In the parable, the householder ends up paying the workers who were hired last and thus only worked one hour, the same wage as those who were hired first and worked for twelve hours. Hendricks argues that despite the general impression that this parable is about how God's love, grace, and mercy are available to everyone regardless of status or circumstance, the parable is actually about the oppressive condition of the workers, the low wage they were paid, and how they were exploited by the householder who hired them.

Another example has to do with his examination of Mark 5:1-10, which is the passage where a man is possed by a legion of demons and is healed by Jesus. Primarily drawing on the facts that the demons asked Jesus no to send them out of the country (as opposed to being sent out of the man), and that at the time "legion" referred to the Roman legions, which was the Roman army, Hendricks argues that the passage is not about an exorcism, but about Jesus addressing the Roman army "for its role in the upheaval that was devastating the social fabric of Israel (pg. 146)." I am in no way a biblical scholar or theologian, nor do I claim to be. I am simply saying that to me, it seems like these conclusions appear to be somewhat of a stretch. Although it is possible that his interpretations of these passages are correct, I think it is more likely that both interpretations are correct. In other words, the passages are more likely demonstrating Jesus' revolutionary nature and concern for "the least of these" though their illustrations of the equal access to God's kingdom (Matthew 20:1-16) and Jesus healing a possessed man (Mark 5: 1-10), than only demonstrating Jesus' revolutionary nature.

In the next couple of days, I will discuss my thoughts as to why I think Hendricks chose to put forth his argument in this way. Until then, stay blessed, encouraged, and speekonit...

Labels: contexts, economic, Israel, Jesus, leaders, Mark, Matthew, oppression, political, Politics of Jesus, power, religious, revolutionary, scriptures, spiritual

Peace and blessings,

I would like to start off with a quote from Lecrae’s “I did it for you,” which I think is the best song off of his album, “After the music stops”:

“The say Mack got saved/ and (???) is a Christian/Well I don’t really know them/ but I pray they both listenin’/ it’s hard trying to grow up in a sinful land/and you don’t have an example of an godly man/well hold on!/just keep your eyes on Christ/when you’re in or in the world/man our lives are alright/they say heaven gotta ghetto/ but that ain’t true/ and if God has a standard then that ain’t you/ and that ain’t me/ that’s what I learned late one night/till a man named James White/Changed my life/he told me that Christ paid the price for sin/every lie I ever told Christ died for them/See, I never knew that I offended God/I just knew I really wasn’t trying to live for God/And my sins all cost me/yeah pretty costly/I couldn’t blame the hood for death sin brought me/All that I could do was blame myself/ and realize there was no way I could change myself/so I, trusted Christ with my lust for life/and He saved me that’s why I’m trying to touch the mic/Yeah, so if you ask me who I’m spittin’ this to/that’s right yall I did it for you/I did it for you/and if you ask who I’ve written this to/that’s right yall I did it for you/I did it for you”

Lecrae, from “I did it for you” off of his album, “After the music stops.”


While growing up, I was blessed to have both parents around and a good education. Despite these blessings, however, I was exposed to my share of gang violence. I vividly remember when I saw someone shooting at another person in my driveway, only to find out moments later that the person was shot and killed on my front porch. Some years earlier I remember overhearing my pops’ telephone call when he found out that my cousin, who had a scholarship to attend UCLA and was a honor roll student and athlete, was shot and killed over a CD players just days before his high school graduation. Further, I have and currently know plenty of people who are involved in gang life.

Now that I’m older and have tried to learn more about the contexts and experiences which encourage youth to get involved with gang life, I often wonder “what if that was me?” “What if I didn’t grow up with two parents who loved me and encouraged me to be great, and didn’t have a great-aunt to anoint me with olive oil and pray over me often?” I think that asking these type of self-reflective questions is a start to realizing that regardless of the “endowments” or supports we may have grown up with, it is only by the grace of God that we do not have to live a life of crime, violence, and desperation. Does that mean that God is the reason why there are “those” people who are in gangs and who commit violent acts toward each other? I emphatically say no. What it is a result of, though, is the many sins and choices that we have made (via free will) that have created the conditions to where some people feel like joining a gang is their best option for survival or a decent life, given the alternatives. Every choice we make, big or small, has some kind of effect on someone other than ourselves…

Once we get to the point where we realize that we could easily be in the same position as our brothers and sisters who are severely impoverished, involved in drugs, and/or gang life, we must then ask ourselves, “what kept me out of that situation?” Once we realize that the only answer is the grace of God, we must then ask ourselves, “how do we tell those who are in these predicaments that this is not what God intended for them, and that God, through Jesus Christ, will free them from their bondage and change their lives around?” Whenever I think about the power that we as Christians posses to reach those outside of the church walls, I recall an ever-important question that a woman raised during a discussion on whether or not Christians should embrace hip-hop as a ministry tool. She simply asked:”If Jesus was to come back today, where would he spend his time?” This immediately struck a cord with me because one of the first things that came to my mind were the people most likely to not “get down with” the church (although there are some more progressive churches were this is not the case). When I look in the bible at how and where Jesus spent most of his time, it is clear that Jesus was deeply concerned with those who were marginalized and written of as “outcasts.” In Luke 5:32 Jesus states,

“I have not come to arouse and invite and call the righteous, but the erring ones (those not free from sin) to repentance [to change their minds for the better and heartily to amend their ways, with abhorrence of their past sins” (NKJ Amplified)



Someone who has taken this scripture to heart is Bishop George McKinney, who has a

ministry in San Diego

which focuses on ministering to and improving the lives of gang members, prostitutes, drug dealers, and any other force the enemy tries to enslave our people with. Another thing I like about this ministry is that it doesn’t just focus on the individual (although it comes to choice that must be made by the individual), but also focuses on the context and structural sins that contribute to these outcomes (e.g., poverty, materialism, racism, and so forth).

What do you think? What do you think are the main causes as to why youth get involved with gang life? What role do you think Christians should play in addressing this issue? Weigh in and speekoint…

Labels: After the Music Stops, Christian, Christian hip hop, church, drugs, gangs, Heaven, Jesus, Lecrae, Luke, New Slavemasters, youth

Peace and blessings,

I mean I joke about things being "apocalytpic" (i.e., that mini snowstrom steez in Cambridge, MA last year) and that we are in the end times, but now it doesn't seem so funny. For those of you who have not yet heard, here's some info on

Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda

Despite the fact that his claim to be the second coming of JC is all wrong, his steez is wrong on so many levels:

#1: He "preaches" that there is no such thing as sin because JC destroyed sin when He died on the cross. Therefore, we can do no wrong in God's eyes.

This statement is beyond inaccurate on at least two accounts. The first account is the fact that although JC died and resurrected, he did so so that we, through Him, can have a closer relationship with God, given that we accept and live for Him. The second account is due to the fact that sin is still very real. You would be lying to yourself and jeopardizing your soul if you tried to convince yourself otherwise. Jesus is very much alive, and yes He did die and rise for our sins, but that does not mean that we are exempt from obeying His commandments and trying to live like Him. If anything, His death and resurrection is all the more reason to live right. Lastly, JC, who was there since the beginning of time and will be there after the end, never said anything about there will be a time when we could do no wrong in God's eyes. Although He often told people to "go and sin no more," He NEVER said "do what you want because there's no more sin."

#2: He "preaches" that prayer is a waste of time (as if "#1" was not inaccurate enough).

There are too many bible verses where JC emphasized the importance of prayer and fasting. I mean dang, He did both for forty days! If he prayed, fasted, and was tempted with sin (although he NEVER succomed to the temtpations), who are we to think that we are exempt? If anything we should be treated more harshly than He was, but instead He showed HIs unconditional love for us by humbling Himself among us and paying the ransom for our transgressions. Neglecting prayer is spiritual denial because it's like saying that there's no need to talk to God, and that God doesn't work through/answer prayers.

#3: He makes His congregation get a "666" tatoo like him. What more is there to say?

How can one speak this blasphemy when the very things that he claims are irrelevant now (sin and prayer) are two things that JC spoke of passionately and often. Heck, that's what most of his ministry was about. Also, if there is no such thing as sin, then why did JC often speak about the sin of greed and how it can prevent one from entering heaven (Matthew 19:23-25; Luke 16:19-23)? If there was no more sin, the JC would have told His disciples that after He died, that everyone would automatically go to heaven. Further, He would not have comissioned us to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20).

I don't know what bothers me more. The fact that he has the audacity to promote such garbage, or the fact that his followers are growing. In one conversation with the disciple Peter, JC speaks against everything that Miranda "preaches" about:

"Simon, Simon (Peter), listen! Satan has asked excessively that [all of] you be given up to him [out of the power and keeping of God], that he might sift [all of] you like grain, But I have prayed especially for you [Peter], that your [own] faith may not fail; and when you yourself have turned again, strengthen and establish your brethren."
-Luke 22:31-32 (NKJ AMP)


What do you think? Are you more bothered by Miranda's claims or his increasing number of followers? Weigh in and speekonit...

Labels: blasphemy, God, JC, Jesus, Jose De Jesus Miranda, Luke, Matthew, Peter, prayer

Peace and blessings,


The following image is of an Iraq man carrying his brother away after being hit with an explosion. The title of the piece is "He's not heavy, he's my brother," by

Holly Wong

I figure I don't have to remind people about how controversal of a thinker Sigmund Freud (1961) was. From thoughts on the pleasure principle, a child's relationship with their parents, and gender differences, it is safe to say that Freud did not make too many people's "liked" lists. While recently reading his book "Civilization and its Discontents (1961), I came across one of his ideas that struck me. Now I am not co-signing on his theory or its implications, but I do think that he may have been on to something when he addressed what he believed to be the most difficult goal for humans to attain. In discussing what he believes to be civilization's attempts to prevent humans from acting on their true nature, which is to wreak on fellow humans, he states,

"Hence, therefore, the use of methods intended to incite people into identifications and aim-inhibited relaitonships of love, hence the restriction upon sexual life, and hence too the ideal's commandment to love one's neighbour as oneself--a commandment which is really justified by the fact that nothing else runs so strongly counter to the original nature of man..." (p.70)

Although I disagree with his theory on how civilization is always in contention with humans because it prevents us from acting out our brutally violent nature towards one another (e.g. through rules, laws, and social relationships), I think that he has a point when he says that the "love your neighbour" commandment is in conflict with human nature (although I disagree with his conception of human nature). The fact of the matter is, it is extremely difficult to adhere to this commandment, not only because of our nature which revolves around self-preservation, but also because of the "go and get yours" ideology that pervades just about every aspect of our lives. We are often told to think of ourselves first, even at the expense of others. We are conditioned to build legacies based on what we've acquired instead of who we can assist. So in that respect, I think Freud was on to something.

Why is this commandment so diffult to uphold on a consistent basis? Maybe because Jesus considered it to be one of the most important of the commandments. In Mark 12:29-31 it reads,



Pic courtesy of

Microcinemascene

"Jesus answered, 'the first is...you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these."

Despite its difficulty, the fact that these are commandments means that we must continually strive to uphold these commandments. Jesus knew that it was impossible for use to uphold the commandments on our own, which is why He taught us how and why to walk with Him and His Father.

Before I end, I couldn't talk about having concern for and loving others without highlighting this quote by Dr. King:





"Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness. This is the judgement. Life's most most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"

This is something that I struggle with everyday, wondering if there's something more I could be doing for those who lack the things that I take for granted. Even though there are times when I act selfishly, I am beginning to understand that sometimes God uses our struggles to strengthen us. I realize that like Talib Kweli said, some struggles are beautiful. Have a blessed weekend, and speekonit...

Labels: beautiful struggle, civilization, commandments, God, JC, Jesus, Mark, MLK, relationships, Sigmund Freud

Peace and blessings,

The following scripture speaks to the power and necessity of prayer. Given the events that transpired in Peter's life after this conversation with Jesus (i.e. his betrayal of Jesus three times and Jesus returning to redeem Peter three times), Jesus' prayer for Peter speaks volumes. The pic is courtesy of

Suite 101

"31Simon, Simon (Peter), listen! Satan has asked excessively that [all of] you be given up to him [out of the power and keeping of God], that he might sift [all of] you like grain, 32But I have prayed especially for you [Peter], that your [own] faith may not fail; and when you yourself have turned again, strengthen and establish your brethren."

Luke 22:31-32 (NKJ Amplified)

This scripture reminds me of the importance of praying for myself as well as others, because the devil stays on his grind. Since we already the victory through Christ, prayer to me is simply verbal confirmation between Jesus, God, and myself that the devil has no hold over us. Stay blessed and speekonit...

Labels: Christ, faith, Jesus, Luke, Peter, scriptures

Peace and blessings,

Out of the various churches i'ved visited or been apart of thus far, one thing is certain: Witnessing Jesus move in peoples' lives and hearing their testimony is something one must experience, because trying to use words to describe it does not do it justice. Hearing about the miracles Jesus performed and the lives he healed (e.g. mentally, emotionally, physically, etc...) is one thing, but to listen to the pastor or a member of the congregation speak about their personal encounters with Jesus is phenomenal. What's even more phenomenal, in my opinion, is when people encounter Jesus in settings outside of the church. If you have not read or heard about the story, let me introduce to you

Harmony Dust

...

As someone who was abused as a little girl and had a rocky relationship with her mother, her problems would increase as she got older. In the midst of financial problems and going to college (a combination in which too many are familiar), she decided to strip to make some extra money. What started as temporary became much more (e.g. she only planned to do it for a few months, but it turned into a few years), and her self-esteem started to feel the effects. In the midst of all of this, she started attending a church.


One night, she recall hearing a song that she had heard three years ago once she first started dancing, and took it as a sign that it was time for a change. After giving her life to Christ she left stripping. She now has a ministry called

Treasures out of darkness

. The purpose of the ministry is to reach out to women who are strippers, and to reveal Christ's love to them. Not only did she have the strength to leave and demand more for herself, she also was humble enough to reach out to others in a similar situation.

If you haven't already, make sure to check out her article and website(links provided below). These type of testimonies demonstrates the applicability of God's love to all areas of our lives, and the fact that He meets us wherever we are at. Furthermore, most of the women Jesus spent his time with were those who were social outcasts who probably had low self-esteem prior to encountering Jesus. Even though Jesus undoubtedly has the power to transform anyone's life, it does not excuse the personal responsibility to treat one another with love and encouragement, so that we do not contribute to situations that make it more likely for women to engage in that lifestyle. Who knows what would have happened if people reaffirmed Harmony from the beginning of her value and worth. Ahh, the power and love of Jesus. Until next time, speekonit...


http://www.glamour.com/news/articles/2006/12/stripper



http://www.iamatreasure.com/index2.html

Labels: Christ, churches, Harmony Dust, Jesus, ministry, strippers, Treasures Out of Darkness, women