Sho Baraka || Turn My Life Up As I read the Bible, there are always passages that tug at my spirit just right, and they become all my own. The opening to Psalm 42 is one of those verses. It’s a familiar passage for many Christians, but I don’t think many live it out. I want us to see how we can apply the words of the Psalmist to our lives. So, let’s jump right into the text. As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. (Psalm 42:1 ESV) Such simple words are found in this verse, and they should ring true for every Christian. If you’ve ever watched wild animals, one thing you’ll notice is they like to be near water. They know they cannot survive without it. Like the Psalmist notes, the deer knows it needs a constant supply of fresh water if it’s going to have a long life. The Discovery channel and Animal Planet often show documentaries with animals in the plains of Africa risking their lives for a sip of water. They’re willing to risk death to survive. While deer don’t face these same perils, their need for … 

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Catch Me at the Brook (Psalm 42:1)

The 29th Chapter || Underdogz As a sports fan, I love rooting for the underdog (unless they’re playing against my team). I enjoy celebrating when they are victorious over the behemoth that was supposed to crush them into submission. I see Christianity in the same light. You see, with the way the world’s system is currently setup, Christians are put in a position to fail, therefore I see us as underdogs. The great part about underdogs is that sometimes they win and other times they fail miserably. This reminds me of an episode of South Park I saw while in college. My roommate was a fan of the show, so I was bound to sit through a few episodes. In this episode, Satan and Jesus were facing each other in a boxing match. Satan was this huge muscular guy, while Jesus was feeble and weak. Everyone in South Park bet their money on Satan to win the fight by a landslide because of his stature. When the fight began, Satan fell over and let Jesus win the match. Why? Because he already knew Jesus would defeat him; and, secondly, he bet against himself and ended up going to hell with … 

Underdogz (1 John 5:4)

Excelsius || Liberation I love Caller ID; I think it’s one of man’s greatest inventions. It allows me to see who is calling and to screen those calls, if need be. If it’s someone I want to talk to, like a friend, then I can answer; otherwise, I let it go to voicemail. Caller ID is great, but even then, you can miss out on important calls, all because you don’t feel like answering the phone. Sadly, this is the state of many in the world today. They look at the Caller ID and think the call isn’t important enough to answer, so they let it go to voicemail & never check the message. Whatever they are doing at the time is far more important than answering a phone call. This is often the tendency when bill collectors call. They duck and hide, instead of trying to come to some kind of payment arrangement. They continue playing this game until they find out their wages are about to be garnished. It’s not until this point that they’re trying to talk to these people, but it’s too late. Unfortunately, the bill collectors were more than happy to work with them, if … 

Pick Up the Phone (John 5:39-40)

Jon Corbin || Hearts Set Ablaze We live in a consumer driven society. Everything we do is about promoting and advancing self. When it comes to our friendships, the mantra often becomes “what have you done for me lately?” Even in the church, we often have this mentality. Instead of seeking to serve, we wonder how the church can serve us. As Christians, this is not how God wants us to live. The Christian life is meant to be lived in community, both internally with other believers, and externally as a witness to the world around us. If this is true, what can we do to be a catalyst to spark change around us? When it comes to doing good deeds and helping others, what comes to mind? Is it setting up some huge community project or some other grandiose idea? Well, what if I told you that sparking change can be something small and that we can all start today? The Bible has a lot to say on the topics of community and helping others. If we do a simple search for “one another” in a Bible app, we will find dozens of verses showing practical ways to aid … 

Let Me Be the Spark (Hebrews 10:24)

Believin’ Stephen || The Suffering Servant Does this sound familiar? “God, why is this happening? Why me?!” It doesn’t matter who you are, this is a question we all raise at some point in our lives. When we survey the world around us, we want to know why we or others in this world are suffering. If God is so loving, why does he allow bad things to happen? Well, the Bible has an answer to this question, and it’s the subject that Believin’ Stephen answers in his song “Suffering & God’s Sovereignty.” One of the difficult puzzles in this world is how we reconcile God’s goodness and sovereignty (that he is in full control), while still allowing evil but not being its author. This is a complex subject, so I’m only giving a view from 30,000 ft. Let’s start at the beginning. At creation, God made & declared everything “good” and “very good.” Yet, in Genesis 3 corruption enters God’s perfect creation through Adam & Eve’s willful disobedience of God’s commands. In this act these two did what they most wanted to do, which was eat the fruit. They sinned against God & sent the world into a tailspin. … 

Suffering & God’s Sovereignty (Psalm 135:6)

Brinson || Black Canvas I grew up in the church, and I’d often hear people say, “There’s no hurt like a church hurt.” I was always confused by what people meant until it happened to me. At that moment I understood clearly. What is a “church hurt,” you ask? It’s when another Christian sins against or wrongs you in some way. Issues like this are what Brinson addresses in his song “Grudges.” If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, one thing you’ve learned is that Christians still sin. Yes, some have it more together than others, but none of us have reached sinless perfection. That means there will be times when we are wronged in some way. I know friends who worked at churches & moved on to other opportunities, only to have the people they worked with start talking behind their back soon after they had left. I know artists who were booked for shows by Christian organizations, only to get shortchanged upon arrival. The list goes on. Any of these situations is enough to make someone hold a grudge and turn their back on the church. Like Brinson says in his song, “In the streets … 

Grudges (Matthew 18:21-22)

Krum & Rob Viktum || Bare Knuckle Gospel No one is perfect and most of us have regrets. We’ve hurt the ones we love most. We’ve made decisions that didn’t turn out the way we wanted. Those are the days we wish R. Kelly’s song “If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time” could come true for us. Then there are some who reminisce and wish they could go back to the days of old. So, what are we to do with those memories? No matter which boat we’re in, we’d be wise to heed three words Jesus spoke in Luke 17:32, “Remember Lot’s wife.” What’s so important about Lot’s wife? Both Genesis 19 and Luke 17 give us some context. Lot and his family lived in the city of Sodom after he separated from his uncle, Abraham. Sodom was a wicked and perverse city and God decided to destroy the city because of their wickedness. Yet, because Abraham prayed for his nephew, God showed mercy and provided a way of escape for Lot’s family by forewarning them of the impending destruction. They were told to flee without delay & to not look back until they reached safety. Lot … 

Abraham’s Nephew’s Wife (Luke 17:32)

Rawsrvnt || Love Deluxe Worship seems to be something that eludes the life of most Christians. If we polled any number of them, we would find that, outside of Sunday morning services, most don’t give any thought to worship or the things of the faith. Unless they’re raising their hands & singing along with the worship team or choir, it’s not on their radar. If we’re serious about our faith, we ought to take time to examine our worship and how we think about the Lord our God. One of my favorite verses for summarizing worship is Psalm 95:6, which reads, “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!” Far too often we forget how big God is (cue Knowdaverbs’ song “God is Big”). Because of this, we fail to give proper respect to such an awesome, holy, and loving God. We’d much rather bring him down to a level we can comprehend or mold to suit our needs. But this verse describes precisely how we should view God. We need to bow down and recognize him as our Creator and Savior. Sure, life is full of commotion; but, even with our … 

Bow Down (Psalm 95:6)

Sintax the Terrific || Curb Appeal When you think about Jesus’ birth what comes to mind? Is it the infant in the manger? The magi bearing gifts? Or how about the shepherds watching their flock only to be greeted by an angelic host proclaiming his arrival? All of those are great, but they pale in comparison to the awesome wonder that makes the Christmas season truly worth celebrating. When Jesus was born something spectacular happened. God performed one of his biggest miracles. The infinite, holy, and invisible God quite literally crammed all of his “godness” into human flesh and dwelt among his creation. But, why did God feel it was necessary to do such a thing? Well, way back in Genesis 3, Adam & Eve disobeyed God and plunged his beautiful creation into a tailspin of sin, death, and destruction, and that’s putting it lightly. But because God is God and knows all, he already had a plan in motion, even before Adam & Eve messed up. While this plan would take thousands of years to make happen, it began to take shape when a virgin named Mary gave birth to a son, this very same Jesus we’re talking about. … 

Immanuel (Colossians 1:19-20)

116 Clique || 13 Letters Studying the Bible is one of the most important skills a Christian can learn. It’s a skill that gives the Christian the knowledge needed to mature and please the Lord. Unfortunately, this isn’t something a lot of Christians are taught & it’s assumed they’ll just know how to do it. Not knowing how to study leaves a Christian’s personal times of study in shambles; or worse, they aren’t reading their Bible at all. Outside of church on Sunday, a lot of Christians don’t even know why they should take time to open their Bibles. This is why we are looking at the importance of digging into God’s Word. Simply put, if you want to know God, you need to dig into his Word. Think for a minute about all of the meaningful relationships in your life. How much time have you invested in them? If you’re like most people, you’ve spent countless hours nurturing your relationships and getting to know these people. If that is true, the same has to be true for our relationship with God. If we are going to learn about him, learning what he likes & dislikes, then we have to … 

Dig In (2 Timothy 2:15)

Da’ T.R.U.T.H. || It’s Complicated One of the biggest beefs people have with Christianity is its exclusivity. No one wants to be told they’re doing wrong. They want to believe their good will outweigh their bad or that their faith will get them to heaven. Yet, on the flip side, most don’t have a problem condemning people like Saddam Hussein or Adolf Hitler to an eternity in hell for their evil acts. But, if you’re remotely trying live a decent life, then they want you to pump the breaks when it comes to Christianity and its claim to be the only way. So, what are we to do? In the second verse of his song “The Greatest Need,” Da’ T.R.U.T.H. talks about a dream he had where he was on stage with leaders from other world religions. These men led quiet and devout lives, but God would not let them into heaven. Why not? Their faith was sincere & all they wanted to do was see their creator face-to-face. Isn’t that enough to get to heaven and meet God? The pluralistic society we live in today would answer yes to such a question; as long as you’re not hurting anyone … 

The Greatest Need (Acts 4:12)

Mark J || An Everyday World “Merge how you live and what you believe.” That’s part of the hook from Mark J’s song “Merge” from his album An Everyday World. This is a dilemma for a lot of Christians. They teach and believe one thing, but live their lives in an entirely different manner. In many cases, if you ran into some Christians on the street, you would have a hard time believing their profession of faith. This is where we need to allow Scripture to grab hold and change our lives. Let’s see what the Bible has to say about people who are taught the Word but don’t live it out. One verse that comes to mind is James 1:22, which reads, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” When we line this verse up with Mark J’s song, we can say quite a bit. First, the simple fact of the matter is this truth is contrary to the beliefs of many Christians. They love to hear the Bible preached, but refuse to live it out. This is why we have so many immature believers in our churches. Truth be told, as this verse … 

Merge (James 1:22)

Stephen the Levite || The Last Missionary If ever there were a cartoon that vividly depicted what the Church looks like, Voltron would be it. For those not familiar with the premise of the Saturday morning cartoon, there are five individuals of different backgrounds & skill sets who work together to stop the forces of evil throughout the galaxy. These five operate robotic lions, which also have their own unique abilities; yet, when the evil forces are too mighty, these five are able to bring their lions together to form the supremely powerful Voltron. The Church functions in much the same way as the characters in Voltron. Each of us is blessed by God with a unique set of talents that sets us apart from everyone else. Along with our talents, we are also given a spiritual gift by the Holy Spirit at the moment we place our faith in Christ. Taken together, each Christian is equipped to work within the Church in a way that no one else can duplicate. This gifting allows many individuals throughout the world to operate in the same bodily function, say a pastor, yet each can do it in a way that is uniquely … 

Voltron (1 Corinthians 12:12-27)

Timothy Brindle || The Restoration In the opening to his epistle to the Romans, Paul expresses his wish to preach the gospel to the believers in Rome. But, Paul is writing to Christians. Why do they need to hear the gospel preached? This is a valid question and it needs to be asked. Is the gospel a one time message solely used to lead people to Christ and salvation? The answer is no. We need the gospel every single day of our lives and we need to preach it to ourselves. While the gospel is something we first need to save us from our sins, that is not its only purpose in our lives. The gospel does more than forgiving our sins or giving us a golden ticket to heaven. The gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ and how it can transform our lives. The entire Bible is the gospel, and it teaches us how we can grow closer to our savior. Through the Bible we are given everything we need to live a life of godliness (2 Peter 1:4). Beyond salvation, the gospel has much practical application for daily life. For example, we wrestle with the dichotomy … 

The Daily Gospel (Romans 1:15)

Beacon Light || Lit Haters gon’ hate. It doesn’t take long before you realize how true that statement is. In this life we’ll have no shortages of haters, and that’s just the way it is living in a fallen sinful world. There are any number of reasons why we might have haters. It could be because of our skin color or ethnicity. Or it might be that we’re successful and they want what we have. We could even be hated on because of our faith in Jesus Christ. The reasons are endless. So, we might as well accept having haters as a fact of life. But, the question is: how will we respond to the haters in our lives? The Bible is full of answers on how we should respond to our haters, but the clearest example comes from the life of Jesus. While hanging on the cross, paying the penalty for our sins, Jesus was able to speak the following words about those who were responsible for his crucifixion, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Let’s be real, could you utter those words in that situation? Even for the Son of God, I’m sure that … 

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