J.O. (An Open Letter)

"As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear."  - 1 Timothy 5:20 ESV

You've been lying a long time
Selling people the wrong kind
Of faith - it's unkind
Pumping poison into their minds
It's the blind leading the blind
A rocket ship to perdition
Dope lines and a nice smile
Without the slightest hint of contrition

I'm suspicious -
That's not in the Bible
Your rhetoric's become an idol
An opiate of false hope
For the masses who eagerly swallow -
Down the hatch, check the latch
Katie's barred the doors to heaven
Convinced them they're living in victory
But the sacrament you feed them is leaven

No need for flesh and blood
Just tell people what's good
Speaking promise into the lives
Of those who've never understood
The battle of attrition -
A will unwilling to submit
To the truth about the God who's there
And the final fate that awaits the sinner

So they don't want the Father
They want a vending machine
And Jesus suffered and died
So we could have nicer things
And the Holy Ghost is reduced
To being the author of confusion
Long gone is the Hound of Heaven...
He's just a U.N. interpreter trying to fool you

You're an evangelical pragmatist
Simon Magus meets the alchemist
Feeding egos may be your steelo
But your breadth of theology is ridiculousness
Short-sighted, misguided
Out of context and never striving
To find the truth within the text
You don't rightly divide; you just contrive it

And no, you're not the only one
There's plenty others just like you
Who deny the merit of the Cross
Through sensuality and false virtue
So I urge you - return to the path of old
And be healed of your pathological need to please
Abandon "discovering the champion in you"
For finding a life that's hidden in Jesus


(cf. Ezekiel 22:28; Matt. 7:15; Acts 20:28-30)


Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

On The Contrary

"Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” - John 7:24 ESV


Contrary to popular belief
You can’t always trust your ocular perceptions…
That could lead you to deceit
And what you hear may be the latest edition
But you better employ your mind while you take in and listen
Senses with good intentions may be the standard
But without discernment, it’s just learning the problems without the answers
So don’t believe the hype behind all the woof tickets we buy
Like, “If she really had AIDS, she wouldn’t look that fly.”
Or “The only way outta the ‘hood is gettin' filthy rich…
And the only way to get rich is to sell a few bricks”
Don’t think that just because I’m not always tryin’ to smash chicks
Means that my libido is all jacked up or that I’m passive
Heterosexual homophobic nymphomania
Won’t make you more of a man, but will leave a legacy that’ll stain ya
So I speak softly and carry a big stick
But it’s not the stick that’ll hit you, but a book of sixty-six
And just because I speak softly
Don’t mean that you won’t get licked
By God’s grace, I’m Gracie amazin’
So my groundwork is sick
No, I don’t fight for a livin’, but I will fight the good fight
I’ve got a mouth for war – dying to live ‘til we receive the crown of life
To the contrary, popular opinion is highly overrated
And belief separate from the truth
Only leaves you hopeless and jaded…


"Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" - 1 Corinthians 1:20 ESV



Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon