Not too long after I posted the Reason for the Season (December 28th), I was approached by one of my friends who is also a regular visitor to www.servinemup.com..
Man D..I didn’t know about all those prophecies about Jesus that was written in the Old Testament hundreds of years before He was born!??!
Well I’m glad that I was able to serve up something to help strengthen your understanding.
Yeah..that was fresh. I like the way you broke down all those different verses that foretold the coming of the Messiah.
I just highlighted a few of them, there are a lot more than that!
See, I didn’t know that, because I was talking to this dude one day and he was telling me that Jesus was never a real person, that some Jews just made up the story of Jesus and tried to pass it off as God’s Word.
Yeah..I’ve talked to people who believe that Jesus is a fictitious character, just like some people think that it wasn’t Jesus who got up on the cross, but rather Judas.
Man! It’s so many different people who believe different things, but yet they all claim to be ‘keeping it real’…how can you really KNOW who’s telling the truth or not?
The Scripture says that we must study to show ourselves approved unto God (2 Tim 2:15).
What does that mean?
It means that ALL of us need to study the Word of God diligently and daily. Because no matter what church you go to, or what philosophy or religion that you follow, if it conflicts against Scripture, then it’s a false teaching.
But what about the people who don’t recognize the Bible as the Word of God, like all the people that say that man has changed the Bible over the years?
Well..I can understand how people have views that are passed on to them by their parents, like Muslims and Buddhist and the like, but our duty as disciples of Christ is to spread the Word of the gospel to all those who don’t know that the tomb is empty. It’s easy to say that at church and around your family, but once you get out there IN the world and dealing with real live people at work and in the hood, then it’s a lot harder to witness because you have people coming at you from all different angles trying to label you as one of those ‘Jesus freaks’ or something.
(smiling) Yeah…you’re right. The world DOES have a way of ‘crucifying’ those who witness for the Christ.
Those closest to you will be the first to bring up all the dirt you’ve done in the past and use it as a springboard to try and silence you cuz they ain’t trying to hear it and others will use everything from trying to discredit the truth of the Bible, to saying that Jesus was a fictitious character as the reason why they don’t believe.
But doesn’t’ that ever bother you though? You know how there are SO MANY different religions and denominations in the world, but yet they ALL claim to honor God?
It used to bother me..but then as I started studying my Bible more earnestly, I learned that Jesus already shot called all these different false teachings and false prophets that were going to come after Him. Everybody is not going to believe..that’s just how it is. God is not a God of compulsion, He doesn’t stick a gun to our head and MAKE anybody bow down and worship Him, that’s something we do of our own free will.
Yeah, I guess you’re right. I still like the way you be serving them up tho’ D…your words have helped me grow stronger in my faith.
I really appreciate that compliment bruh, because if I can write anything that will help others strive closer to the Light, then I know that I’m using my talents to exalt the kingdom of God here on earth. Jesus has a wonderful parable concerning our individual allotment of talents (Matthew 25:14-30), and no matter how many you have 5..2..1, if you’re not using it (them) to glorify God, then you’re being a foolish and wasteful servant. But if you’re flipping it for the Lord? Then when it’s your time to go before the throne, God will look down on you and see your work for Him and say (Matt: 25:21), ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’ I just want to hear Him say ‘well done’ mane.
Already!
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Believe it or not, most of the people around me are NOT convicted Christians. Of course, the Southside is full of Christians ‘by association’, because their mama is Christian or their grandma is Christian, but even a lot of these people who grew up in the Christian faith have strayed into the world of agnosticism. Nobody KNOWS God, nobody has SEEN God, so all religion ain’t nothing but speculation. I ain’t with it! I can say this, because for a significant portion of my adult life, I was one of these agnostics. But there comes a time in every man’s life that he’s going to have to make a commitment and really soul search for what’s real. Once I came to that point in my life, where I grew tired and weary of floating aimlessly in the ocean of spiritual belief, I got down on my knees and prayed to the Lord for guidance and understanding. But as much as prayer and meditation are an integral part of our spiritual lives, there is a larger commitment of obedience, which must be attained if we are to experience the full glory that the Lord has prepared for all those who are called by His name.
This obedience transcends attending church, giving tithes and offering, helping the poor, etc., because if we are to be considered God’s children, then we are required to study His word diligently. Or as the Scripture says, ‘Study to show thyself approved’ (2 Tim 2:15). Now, the first problem I had, was my doubts about the Bible being ‘God’s Word’. The Jews have the Talmud, Muslims have the Qu’ran, Mormons have the Book of Mormon, is God speaking in ALL of these too? But once I took the time to actually read and study the Bible for myself, starting with the creation, the fall of man, Noah and the ark, Abraham (the father of faith) and the 12 tribes of Israel, Moses and captivity, the exodus into the wilderness, Joshua and Caleb leading the children into the promised land, David and the kings of Israel, Psalms, Proverbs and all the prophets (major and minor), once you read the Old Testament in it’s entirety, you’ll feel the power of God emanating from it’s pages.
It’s not all pretty either. A lot of folks really don’t know how good Jesus REALLY is, but when you read that gospel of Christ, you’ll see that Light shining through and you’ll feel the warmth of the Holy Spirit come into your heart. That old spiritual song that goes, ‘This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine..’ The words will spring into your works, and everybody around you will be able to see the Light that is shining in your heart. Of course, some of the haters will laugh and smirk at you, or just play you to the left and ignore you, but once you know that you’re a child and servant of the Most High God, there’s nothing this world can do to you to fade you. It’s this conviction for the Christ that is a part of being a true disciple and no matter what your daddy taught you, or your mama or grandma or whoever, we all have to know God for ourselves.
Before I started blogging on the internet, I was what some would call a ‘closet Christian’. I had felt God touch my heart, but I wasn’t ready to share it with others, unless they asked of course. My prayer life and studying of the Word was a private and personal experience that I kept to myself. But as I studied the Word more, I realized that my silence was a form of disobedience. If we are going to be ashamed of Jesus, then He’s going to be ashamed of us. Public profession of your faith comes with it’s cost, people will scrutinize your every move and word more carefully, waiting to see a crease or crack of weakness so they can say,
‘See..that n’ga is still throwed off just like everybody else! Jesus ain’t real!”
It is this higher standard of Christian responsibility that causes so many to stay in the closet and silent about their faith in the Gentile world. But once you have that conviction in your heart, and you KNOW that you are serving the Supreme God of Creation, then you know that you don’t have to be afraid of what this world can and will do to those who follow Him. In the street world, this conviction is what is often referred to as being ‘dead game’. Once you’re ready to take those vicious blows and lashes that the world delivers to Believers and still remain resolute in getting up off the ground and continuing to fight on the battlefield for the Lord until the day you die…that’s what you call being dead game.
A common scenario is the hypothetical situation of a gunmen entering a room and asking the simple question, ‘If you believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, then raise your hand’. Obviously this will make you ponder what you REALLY believe and the easiest thing to do is remain silent and look around to see who’s crazy enough to raise their hand and take a bullet in the head for Christ. Of course this is an extreme scenario, but it’s part of the Christian lifestyle where Paul writes ‘I die daily’ (I Cor 15:31). What’s even MORE strengthening, is to realize that this ‘daily death’ wasn’t just a ‘new’ thing, it was part of God’s plan from the beginning, that Paul actually quoted from the Old Testament, Psalms 44:22 'Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.'
It’s definitely an intimidating experience to go out there and take that leap of faith, but the more you study that Word, the more that God will strengthen you, even when all of your family and friends are shaking their heads and saying, ‘That n’ga is crazy like that glue’, all that won’t even matter, because absent from the body, means present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8), for all those who are dead game. You gotta feel that one ya’ll, that is if you’re ever going to realize the full potential of the game in you.
