I AM

Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”  - Exodus 3:13-14 ESV

“I AM.”

No name given…

No need for an introduction

And “To be or not to be” is irrelevant to the discussion

Preexistence is preempted by His preeminence

So the possibility of extinction is nothing more than ridiculous

Absolute – Life in Him is unabbreviated

His grace and mercy are limitless and His wrath will go unmitigated

Almighty all over

Bruce and Evan, you’re fired

Trumped by the Invisible Infinite

So the myth of Father Time is retired

First person singular of being

Means that in Him we live and we move…

The very reason that we’re breathing

I AM what I AM

I AM, the Son of Man

I AM, the Spirit that gives life

And illuminates all understanding

Far beyond incredible

Forever indelible

His handiwork so legible

That even the rocks become intelligible

Thrice Holy means that every knee will be foldin’

And every mouth confesses His majesty

When our eyes finally behold Him

Sayin’ Holy, Holy, Holy is He

Who was, and is, and is to come

This self-revelation elicits my resignation:

I am a man of unclean lips…I am undone.

Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.  - John 18:4-6 ESV

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Walking While Black (Death In a Florida Suburb)

This is 2012, not 1962
But you’d be hard pressed to believe that
After hearin’ what it’s come to;
Walking while black
Meets unwarranted frustrations
Masquerading as vigilance
And shaking us to the roots as a nation

Old wounds run deep
Hatred ain’t sacred – it sees no color
Having Obama in office,
You may think would make it calmer
But unless you’ve been asleep
You know that it’s still very possible
To die for being a “brotha”
Skittles in tote, talking to your girl
In the cool of a Florida day
Then an SUV pulls up hot
‘Cause you ain’t gettin’ away with it…no doubt
One to the chest
Young life, snuffed out…

Now, you don’t have to be in the ‘hood
To have your peace disturbed
This ain’t Compton or Dade County
This is straight outta the suburbs
You heard me?!
Justice system failin’ ‘em
Freed the guy for nailin’ ‘em
Showed a blatant disregard to protect and serve
And label the victim as the assailant
It feels like a long time since
The days of civil rights and Jim Crow
It seems a million miles away
But we still have a long way to go

By that, I mean it’s too easy to point to the past
And make “White America” hold the ledger
Hey, the first time I was called a “nigga”
It rolled off the tongue of a six year old Latina –
So I know better

This ain’t about black and white
This thing is life on life
Good v. Evil, and death stealin’ youth
Like a thief in the night
So if you feel like I do
And you’re lookin’ for a fight
Then turn your anger inward
And rage against the dying of the light
Fight the good fight
Don’t let your hearts grow dimmer
“Street Justice” accomplishes nothin’
(Just another coward pullin’ the trigger)
Believe me, there will come a day
When recompense is made
And God don’t sleep
So I rest assured in justice
Never holding on to hate
Love has gotta be stronger than our fear
That there’s no end in sight
So, even amidst the travesty
That we all now bemoan
I know that this too shall be made right


For Trayvon Martin.


"And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place..."  

- (Acts 17:26 ESV)

"Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body."  - 

(Hebrews 13:3 ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Devils & Politicians

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.   - (Romans 16:17-18 ESV)

Dressed up in a three piece suit and tie

A straight-laced man

Tellin’ me boldfaced lies

Look right into the camera

And give ‘em a big smile

Draped in stars and bars

To hide a heart that’s blatantly foul

Pander to the people

Tell ‘em exactly why they need you

Add a “God Bless America”

And turn the White House

Into your cathedral

Every four years

It’s like a bad date

Love and trust don’t come quick enough

So you settle for rape

Tell us to take what you flaunt

You just take what you want

No need to check the reference

Just know there’ll be a problem if we don’t

Take your words as the Gospel

‘Cause Jesus will get hostile

If we fail to put our trust

In this self-proclaimed apostle

Paul, I find appealing

But you, I find appalling

As you disguise your ambition 
For power and position

In a cloak of divine calling

Mangle the hell out of the text

Add a cross for a neck piece

Trade a crown of thorns

For a crown worms

Another soul denied solace

By every word you speak

‘Cause you can always trust

The devils and politicians

To stone all of the prostitutes

And heap praise on the magicians

Slight of hand, rearranged

While eternity is at stake

This is the sign of darker days to come

And we’re nowhere close to being awake…

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.  - (Jude 1:3-4 ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Rightly Dividing: Augustine on the Christian Mind

Usually, even a non-Christian knows something about the earth, the heavens, and the other elements of this world, about the motion and orbit of the stars and even their size and relative positions, about the predictable eclipses of the sun and moon, the cycles of the years and the seasons, about the kinds of animals, shrubs, stones, and so forth, and this knowledge he hold to as being certain from reason and experience. Now, it is a disgraceful and dangerous thing for an infidel to hear a Christian, presumably giving the meaning of Holy Scripture, talking nonsense on these topics; and we should take all means to prevent such an embarrassing situation, in which people show up vast ignorance in a Christian and laugh it to scorn. The shame is not so much that an ignorant individual is derided, but that people outside the household of faith think our sacred writers held such opinions, and, to the great loss of those for whose salvation we toil, the writers of our Scripture are criticized and rejected as unlearned men.
If they find a Christian mistaken in a field which they themselves know well and hear him maintaining his foolish opinions about our books, how are they going to believe those books in matters concerning the resurrection of the dead, the hope of eternal life, and the kingdom of heaven, when they think their pages are full of falsehoods and on facts which they themselves have learnt from experience and the light of reason? Reckless and incompetent expounders of Holy Scripture bring untold trouble and sorrow on their wiser brethren when they are caught in one of their mischievous false opinions and are taken to task by those who are not bound by the authority of our sacred books. For then, to defend their utterly foolish and obviously untrue statements, they will try to call upon Holy Scripture for proof and even recite from memory many passages which they think support their position, although they understand neither what they say nor the things about which they make assertion.
— St. Augustine, De Genesi ad litteram (The Literal Meaning of Genesis) Vol 1 Ch 19

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Saved

Truly the hills are a delusion, the orgies on the mountains. Truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel.
 - (Jeremiah 3:23 ESV)

 We’re a nation in search of salvation…

We all wanna be saved from somethin’
Some wanna be saved from guns and violence
Others, from the silence…
The absence of a voice that let’s them know
That there’s someone there… 

Hello...Does anybody care?
 No?
Okay. Cool…didn’t think so.
Then I’ll just keep lookin’
Puttin’ my hope
In anything but hope
‘Cause why buy into the lies
When I can buy dope?
It’s the only thing I know
That’ll never let me down
Get it?! That was a joke…
But seriously, who’s with me?

There’s a lot that I need to be saved from
And I know I’m not the only one
I could exorcise my demons and my waistline
And still be no closer to fine
My problem is divine
And I’m on a shifty diet
So, no matter how hard I work
The most I’ll get out of this is to die tryin’
Lyin’ to myself through all the infomercial banter…

Where do you go for the answers
When your pockets produce envy
But your body’s full of cancer?
Or your mom starts trippin’
Because your pops let out
And greenbacks got weak shoulders
So now you’re strapped for clout
Trapped on the track now
‘Cause your cheese won’t stick
Givin’ your body for bread
‘Cause you heard him say that “Love don’t fit”
It leaves you all kinds of pissed
When you can’t find your muse
‘Cause you ain’t really livin’
Until you’ve got nothin’ to lose

Come to grips with the facts:
This life ain’t yours – you don’t own it
And if you had any cards left to play
Well, your hand just folded
Creator trumps creation
That’s that biblical math
And hearts made of stone
Get turned into gravel
So you can go ahead and get mad

But know this…
There’s no anger that burns hotter than His
So if you’re buckin’, there’s no discussion
You’re just a goner – So what then?

Love God, hate sin
That’s the only solution
To get you dyin’ to live
Instead of livin’ the illusion
That all that flossin’ and big bossin’
Is gonna get you respect
The bill is too high, homie
And we’re forever in debt
Unless we accept it
And embrace the amazing grace of His son
Who was crushed to save us
Because He and the Father are one
It’s done! He’s won!

So go run and tell ‘em
That the block’s been secured
There’s no need for the sellin’
 And if they post up hard
Reachin’ for glocks and berettas
I’ll reach a finger to the sky
And spray ‘em with somethin’ better…

UN-Dead ‘em.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

What Defines You?

Humble Beast artist, Propaganda, speaking very honestly and culture hip hop and faith

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Still

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

- (Psalm 37:7 ESV)

And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

- (Mark 4:39 ESV)

Still…

As the words pour from His mouth

Bring eternal life to the dead

And surety of death to the lifeless

Still…

Seated on His throne from on high

Righteous in judgment;

“King of Kings and Lord of Lords” on His thigh

Still…

Let the killers kill

Let the dealers deal

If you’re filthy, stay filthy

And if you’re righteous, be certain

Still…

Let the world be shocked and stunned

When the Kingdom comes

Put an end to sin and death

By the power of His tongue

Every knee bow at the return of the Son

The Righteousness of God –

The Holy risen One!

From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

- (Revelation 19:15-16 ESV)

And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”

“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

 - (Revelation 22:10-13 ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Watchmen

But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”  - (Luke 21:34-36 ESV)

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood?!

Yeah right…don’t get me started

If you live here in this city of lights

You might say it’s ironic

Because so many love the darkness

So come and get your fill

In the carnival o’ carnage

Pitch black hearts hurling stones with no regard

With intent to do harm – the anger, the swarm

No prison can hold ‘em – gone is the calm

No need for a need to sound the alarm

Because the watchmen have been taken

In a hostage situation

With Stockholm syndrome, now they’ve forsaken their post

And everything they stood for on the day

That they first took the oath…

So instead of a ringing bell

Now it’s a running joke

Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

- (1 Timothy 4:16 ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)