Lyrical Theology: "Doublespeak"

Ignorance isn't bliss...
It's a hiss -

Whispering in your ear
Tellin' you that night is day
That death is life
And every breath you take
Is word made flesh;
A Manifest Destiny relegated
To Tainted fruit and sound bites
Edited for your approval -

But little did you know
That removal of the restriction
Would end up in a hearse...
Or did you?

I mean..
It was really hard to miss
The forest for the trees
'Cause it was all you had
For miles around to see

But, that one...
Set apart...
Oh, how it took root
In a heart of darkness
And sparked a blaze
That we haven't been able
To put out since

Every single resident
Covered in dust and ashes
Leaven roasting over an open fire
Is consumption for the masses
Satiated by mud pies
And drunk off the blood of our ancestors
Even if the milk and honey are free
We can't imagine it tasting any better

Dung pile after dung pile
Comprised of filthy rags and false idols
Stained glass mingled with clay feet
And a razor-wire smile

"Blessed are those who eat;
For they shall inherit the earth."
Back we go from whence we came
Doublespeak and a wink
Puts us right back in the dirt

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

How to Kill & Be Killed 101: Systematic Boldness - The Gospel v. The World

Romans 1:1-6 - The Gospel Defined.

Up and against much of the spurious and aberrant teaching of his day, Paul makes a clear distinction from the outset of what the "Gospel of God" truly is...

Romans 1:14 - The Intended Audience.

Paul is making it clear, (as he states in Rom. 1:8) that the Gospel is UNIVERSAL. It is meant to be proclaimed and heard among everyone, everywhere. Complete and total "everyday apocalypse" -- regardless of status, education, race, finances, etc.

Romans 1:16, 17 - A Declaration of Boldness.

Paul's affirmation and unwavering confidence in the Gospel is the hinge point of this chapter. Everyone is familiar with what the message entails. And in such a culture as Rome, it would most likely be deemed as foolish by the majority. This could be his way of encouraging others to follow his example of bold proclamation even under the threat of ridicule or even death. Also to be noted is that he lets the reader and listeners know that this gospel is only wrought by faith and faith alone from beginning to end -- from dust to glory.

Romans 1:18-32 - The Current State of Affairs (or Why It's Necessary)

Paul's weightiness of his unashamed proclamation (Rom. 1:16) is emphasized here by an awareness of the wrath of God that looms over the creation due to man's hardened and ungrateful heart, and willingness to believe lies instead of the truth. The long list of sinful behaviors starts off with sexual sin (including homosexuality), but he is not trying to put emphasis on this as more of a sin than others. What Paul is trying to show here could be seen as a two-fold consequence:

1. As a result of man not acknowledging God, he now acts like the things he worships -- an unreasoning beast, driven by base and lustful desires.

and,

2. Being driven by said desires, he often engages in acts (both sexual and non-sexual) that have natural consequences that lead to ultimate demise (inability to reproduce or replicate themselves, and/or leading into war, murder, strife, etc.). Therefore, not only unable to have communion with the Creator, but with each other as well; this will sever any chance of truly being fruitful and multiplying. Sin causes the image of man to be seriously broken on all levels; thus the need for a bold, unashamed proclamation of the Gospel in the person and work of Jesus Christ.


Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Hands High

Just when you think we're getting past it...
We're going right back at it 
Like a nightmare that you thought was gone
It reappears like it was magic
Is this travesty an act of a miscarriage of justice
Or just a knee-jerk reaction to distrust
A system never meant to protect us?

It's us against them...
But is it "us" or is it "them"?!
'Cause sometimes I'm Trayvon...
Sometimes I'm Mike...
Sometimes I'm Zimmerman...
Sometimes I'm Wilson...

At times I'm Malvo
Ducked low in a blue Chevy Caprice
Manipulated by my own kind
To go a pick up a piece

Our peace of mind is assailed
In a hail of bullets 
Another young one in ground
Never knowing life to the fullest
And foolspeak that follows
In the aftermath of a disaster -

How exactly should a native son 
Get over the fact
That he's being treated 
Like a bastard?

They tell me that my views
Are from another time and place
Yet I'm the same color...
In the same country...
And it's still all about race

And unless the Lord's grace intervenes
We'll never make it to the finish
Of a long-running history
That never seems to diminish

Remember: the anger of men 
Will never produce godly righteousness
But the righteousness of Christ 
Is the only reason I fight for this -
Liberty and justice 
From a corruptness
That has plagued us 
In his absence;
From rulers that wield the sword in vain
To the masses that give way to the malice

He drank from wrath's chalice
And took on the sins of Adam
So those who bear the mark of Cain
Can one day enter the heavenly palace

A King's dream finally realized
"One Nation Under God" reimagined
Guns down and hands high
As the final enemy is moving backwards

"Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:5-7 ESV

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Anastasis

Committin’ crimes of necessity

Ancient Greek ἀνάστασις (anástasis, “resurrection”).

The world’s gettin’ the best of me
Street life got me twisted
Plus baby’s mama been stressin’ me
Fools always out here flexin’
So I  pack  a piece for my protection
Still no peace of mind from the struggle
Goin’ numb is my only weapon

Am I the next in line to hang
Like strange fruit  from the family tree?
Chokin’ on the vine...
I come from a  long line of leavers
“Underachiever…”
‘Cause success to me
Is stay hungry and keep breathin’
Whatever keeps my daughter fed
(Prayin' she don’t turn out to be a heathen)

Schemin’ and stead’y dreamin’
I know this trap money is fleetin’
But when you’re runnin’ outta options
There ain’t too much left to believe in
I’ve been grievin’ since my daddy’s gone
Momma raised me on her own
Now the doctor says she’s dyin’ too
Won’t be long before I’m all alone

Truth be told
All my friends really repulse me
And the lifestyle that I’m livin’
I might end up under dust quick
If the Lord is my shepherd
Have mercy and come get me
‘Cause the wolves are preyin’ as I speak
And I’m prayin’ that you can fix this

The Devil wants me dead
Yet, ironically, so does Jesus -
One leads to life as a felon
The other leads to anastasis

As it's written:
“Cursed is everyone who hangs from a tree…”
He hung Himself on that wood, so now I can hang one from me
I’m clingin'...


(cf. Prov. 30:7-9; Luke 9:23-24; John 10:7-18; Rom. 6:4, 8:13; Gal. 3:13; Eph. 2:1-10; Col. 3:1; 1 Peter 5:8)


Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

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

Love Like Suicide: Our Hope In Christ

I've been there.

So I'm always saddened to hear stories like this one. It's hard to make sense of it all...

But I think that the pattern of depression and suicide within the entertainment industry has to do with the fact that they give and give without ever being able to take off the mask - or so they perceive. The cameras are always on them. So the profession becomes a coping mechanism. They become very good at being "on" all of the time (I also believe that this is a reason that some turn to drugs). In the struggle to find emotional, mental, and spiritual balance they still have to perform... "the show must go on". Eventually, it's only a matter of time before we (as well as they themselves) lose the person behind the carefully crafted persona.

It's yet another sobering reminder that we need to see people as human beings. The identity of being human goes much deeper than the masks that we all have a tendency to wear. There is a inherent God-given dignity bestowed on all of us - regardless of how fractured we may be - that is greater than any character or facade we create (Gen. 1:26; 5:2). We often love people for what they do...but that is always mutable. Therefore, let this tragedy be a catalyst for us to love the person for what is beneath the surface as well, if not more so (John 7:24).

We all need hope...
And there's only one place that we can turn to truly find it.

(cf.  Ps. 42:5; Is. 53:3-9; Matt. 5:4, 11:28-30; John 11:35; Rom. 12:15; 2 Cor. 1:8-10, 4:7-10; Heb. 4:15, 5:2)


"Looking back it is clear to me that a man is more than the sum of his deeds; and how you made good of this mess I've made is a profound mystery..." - Aaron Tate (Lead of Love)


Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Gone With The Wind: The Wisdom of Malcom Muggeridge

"We look back upon history and what do we see? Empires rising and falling, revolutions and counter-revolutions, wealth accumulating and wealth dispersed, one nation dominant and then another. Shakespeare speaks of ‘the rise and fall of great ones that ebb and flow with the moon.

I look back on my own fellow countrymen ruling over a quarter of the world, the great majority of them convinced, in the words of what is still a favorite song, that, ‘God who’s made the mighty would make them mightier yet.’ I’ve heard a crazed, cracked Austrian announce to the world the establishment of a German Reich that would last a thousand years; an Italian clown announce that he would restart the calendar to begin his own ascension to power. I’ve heard a murderous Georgian brigand in the Kremlin acclaimed by the intellectual elite of the world as a wiser than Solomon, more humane than Marcus Aurelius, more enlightened than Ashoka. I’ve seen America wealthier and in terms of weaponry, more powerful than the rest of the world put together, so that had the American people desired, could have outdone an Alexander or a Julius Caesar in the range and scale of their conquests.

All in one lifetime. All in one lifetime. All gone with the wind.

England part of a tiny island off the coast of Europe, threatened with dismemberment and even bankruptcy. Hitler and Mussolini dead, remembered only in infamy. Stalin a forbidden name in the regime he helped found and dominate for some three decades. America haunted by fears of running out of those precious fluids that keep her motorways roaring, and the smog settling, with troubled memories of a disastrous campaign in Vietnam, and the victories of the Don Quixotes of the media as they charged the windmills of Watergate.

All in one lifetime, all gone. Gone with the wind.

Behind the debris of these self-styled, sullen supermen and imperial diplomatists, there stands the gigantic figure of one person, because of whom, by whom, in whom, and through whom alone mankind might still have hope. The person of Jesus Christ."

-Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990)

History is HIS story...

Solo Deo Gloria,
Shon

Spark

I'm a consummate failure

That pales in comparison to righteousness
A constant success
At exceeding expectations

For messing up
Only to dress up any indications of fractures
By acting out...

I pretend to have no doubts
But the cacophony of questions
Just gets louder and louder
Until my conscience is drowned out
By the swelling of my pride

Sleeping dogs don't bark
They lie in wait; one eye open
Right outside of Hell's gates
Preying on my need to feed my ego
Because the high of self-inflation
Is better than any needle (it's a steeple)

Now I'm ripe for the taking
Fattened up for the kill
As the ghost of Aleister Crowley
Haunts my ears: "Do what thou wilt" 

No regard for man or God
Brokenness spoken out of the human heart
Leaves nothing to chance for divine intervention...

Waking new life requires dying in the dark.


(cf. Psalms 34:18; 51:17; 138:6, Isaiah 42:3; 57:15, Colossians 3:5-11)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Joy to the World

If he had been born today

We would consider him
To be a "throw away"...
A kid born in the gutter
To an unwed mother
And a father
Who was unwilling to claim him

So we would blame
His "strange behavior"
On a lack of guidance
And do him the favor
Of placing low expectations upon him
Because he's a lowly condemned soul
Who couldn't possibly
Bear another burden

Failing to realize
That this is exactly
What his oddly broad back
Was built for -
Identifying with the  poor
And the scores of those
Marginalized by society
He would be the harmony
Between the punishment due
And the portrait of God's mercy

Wearing the yoke of scorn
Like a badge of honor
Wrapped and laid where animals fed
He came conquering and to conquer
The most accurate depiction
Of the first will be last
And the last will be first
Born as a man
So that men born into sin
Could experience a new birth

Long anticipated
Yet totally unexpected
And Hell would be the first
To feel the effect of glory
Crush down upon its head

Immanuel has come
Bringing joy to the world
To free us from the tyranny of evil...
To slay the dragon.
And get the girl.

(cf. Isaiah 9:6; 53:1-12; Luke 2:8-20; John 3:29; Revelation 20:6,14; 21:2)


Merry Xmas,
Shon White

Face of the Earth (Terra Cotta)

"And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God." - 2 Samuel 6:6-7


We hastily presume that our hands
Are cleaner than the dirt
Beneath our feet

But the reality is that the dirt
(Unlike me)
Is just being what it was meant to be
And that we’ve been deceived
Into believing the lie
That it makes us filthy
 

We hate the dirt
Because it is a reminder
That removes all blinders
Never letting us forget
Where we come from

Because you may very well
Be able to escape the ghetto’s aura
But you will never be able
To escape your skin color

Explore any avenue that you wish
But we all have to dismiss
The notion of black and white
And any shades of grey fade
In light of the knowledge
That we’re just different shades of brown
All made from the same lump

Molded and shaped
Fearfully and wonderfully made
“Oh, the distinctiveness of the human race!”
And yet, we bite off our own noses
In spite of the familiarity of the faces
Simply because they come from other places

And we leave it to the ground
To soak up the blood from wars
And we leave it to the ground
To soak up the tears from the scarred;

Age after age -
It bears witness to the trauma
And eagerly awaits redemption
From a history of violence and dishonor

But the ownership has been rescinded
And when the world is returned to its Sender
The face of the earth will crack a smile
As it relinquishes its descendants

I am the ground…
I am the dirt…
And I’ve been trying to find my way home
Since the day of my birth

(cf. Genesis 2:7; Romans 8:18-23; Revelation 20:13)


Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Enemy of The State

I'm an enemy of the state of mind

That tells me that ignorance is bliss...
Homey, that's a hiss
A lick to tickle the ears
Something to soothe our deepest, subconscious fear
That is searing our collective conscience like a hot iron
And firing across the great divide
Between reason and cosmic treason
Because we deem it a way better option
To credit creativity to the creation
And fashion ourselves in the way of logic
Instead of "Our Father in heaven..."
We're always willing to go one god further

Make 'em up as we go along
And then turn around and say that
Religion is a pestilence
(Pay no attention to the evidence)
Yeah, this is what's wrong with society
Still praying every night that someone would come along
And worship me
Or at the very least, let me do as I please
But we wouldn't call that sovereignty
We call it "freewill" -
"Doin' whatever suits me
And I don't even gotta take a pill"

Homey, wake up!
You are still in the Matrix
The Oracle was always wrong
And Morpheus is a sadist
This is real life
Where the strife comes by the boatloads
And we've still got starving children in Africa
And dudes smokin' each other in the 'Hood
Over shoes and clothes

I'm at odds with the atheistic narrative
So I'm labeled narrow-minded
I refuse to be blinded by the Zeitgeist
'Cause it ain't nothin but a bank heist
You jack the riches of another worldview
And then apply it to your own life...
(Minus the sacrifice, of course)

Homey, that's a myth
Wishful thinking being fleshed out in a valley of dry bones -
I stand opposed to giving up everything I have
To try to hang on to all the things
That I will never own
You see, it's not foolish for a man
To stand against the odds
The portrait of a proper fool
Is a man that says there is no God
It's a fallacy and a fraud
Because deep down we know better
You stand in the rain with no umbrella
And honestly believe
That you won't get any wetter
Only to raise a fist
Because if God truly exists
He should've granted you sunny weather

My dude, you're a debtor
And that storm is a privilege
Because it falls on the just and the unjust
But you see it as a menace
Homey, you don't run this
Everything you've got has been a given
And if the Lord sees fit to take it away
He could snatch it from you in an instant
Health, wealth, and prosperity...
All are handed out on the basis of Charity

But you don't get it, see
That grace don't come cheap
Because we get what we don't rightfully deserve
And that seems to only feed the beast
So we feast on each other
And anything else we can get our hands on
What we don't got is exactly what we want
And everyone else always has a greener lawn

Same song, different day
But I'm strummin' it the other way
Backmasking the track on helter skelter
So you can hear
That the price has already been paid...

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Deliverance

Came into the world with collapsed lungs
And a heart barely beating
My beginning could be the end
If I don’t respond to the treatments
The prognosis – it ain’t pretty
Doc’s preparing my mother for the worst
Sayin’ even if I make it to tomorrow
My future would still be uncertain
But just as the curtain closed
She knows something that they don’t know
A Great Physician with a different opinion
On how the story’s supposed to go

“Lord, if it’s his time, that’s fine
But if he lives, he won’t be mine…
He’ll be yours to shape and mold
Give him life and make him shine”

The curse of death was looming heavy
But He chose to remove it
Took a broken, feeble fetus
And He purposed to renew it
So when I get fed up
And want to let up
Thinking that I’ll never make it through this
I remember His past mercies
And how relentless His pursuit is
He makes all things good
And critics attribute it to “western privilege”

But the postman always rings twice
And only the Christ can deliver

Psalm 22:9-10, 51:5, Psalm 139:14; Matthew 6:13; Galatians 1:3-5
 
Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Nevermore

“Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!”

- Luke 12:24 ESV

Swagged out, lookin’ clean

Sayin’ that life is perfect

You’re the picture of peace

But there’s nothin’ but beefin’

Beneath the surface

Your heart is lacking purpose

And broken from the searching

For a means to put an end

To those feelings of worthlessness

The caged bird don’t sing no more

‘Cause ravens are gettin’ locked up in cages

Never to be seen again – NEVERMORE.

It’s a battle for the ages

Between ten to twenty-seven

Because the Devil’s got ‘em believin’

That G’s can really go to Heaven

So as they rattle and hum

Hypnotized by the chirp of the sirens

Unaware of the wrath to come

And that sin will only beget violence

I pray, Lord, please

Give ‘em eyes to see

And give us the strength that we need

Because the workers are few

But the need for rescue is plenty…

(cf. Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43; Luke 10:2; John 4:35; Mark 4:26-29)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Welcome To Midnight

For many, this year will not end on a high note…

 

Right now, somewhere,

Someone is about to lose hope

Right now, somewhere,

Someone is just trying to cope

Making it to midnight’s been a struggle

And they’re at the end of the rope

Barely afloat –

Helplessly failing as the water gets higher

And the last 24 hours

Sets the soul on fire…

The losses, crosses, addictions, divorces;

Hearts heavy from the waiting

And the ominous voices

Telling you to “force quit”

Because a promising future

Does not compute

Just more of the same

Of what you won’t get

‘Cause obviously you were born to lose

Two thousand and thirteen:

Year of the Serpent –

And he’s hissing in your ears

Convincing you that you’re worthless

 

Take heart and know

That the enemy’s already been defeated

No matter what tomorrow brings

The blood of Christ has already succeeded

Don’t be afraid –

Say welcome to midnight with open arms

Because the Son was crushed

Rest assured that joy

Is gonna come in the morning

 

 

“For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime.

Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

- Psalm 30:5 ESV

 

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

(And a Happy New Year!!)

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Rose

She dreams of being treated like a queen

She wants to be known

Wants to be seen…as a human being

She longs to be treasured

Not measured on her features and appearance

She knows she’s meant to be more

Than an object of lust

For men who leer

It makes her flesh crawl

Every time they get near her

But the reality is

That it’s all she’s ever known

Papa was a rolling stone

And when he was home

He was a boulder of destruction

Tearin’ up the house in a drunken rage

And hittin’ her and mama in the face

For missing a simple instruction –

While he’s still cussin’, still fussin’

It was disgusting…

She had to get away

But in her haste to find safety

She started looking for love

In all of the wrong places

Many a days wasted

On suitors that shouldn’t suit her

Because all they wanted to do

Was use her up, then lose her

Sugar, spice and everything nice

Is replaced by sex, deceit, and deadly vices

To those who know her

She’s a rose of a different kind

Not altogether lovely

But fine enough for a good time

And her new man don’t mind sharin’

“‘Cause I bet those dudes will pay top dollar

As hard as they be starin’”

Now she’s out there as eye candy

As her reality sours

The breath of strange men heat up her neck

And she’s getting paid by the hour

She’s been rejected so long

That she resolves to accept it

Believing that it’s better

To play by her own rules

Than to go through life dejected

She says, “The situation is screwed up

And since no one else seems to give a f---

I’m gonna make the most

Out of my station in life;

Make some money and get high – bottoms up”

Truth is she’s feeling stuck

And her identity is in shambles

A rose that’s lost her petals

Instead of a lily among the brambles

Built for love and dominion

But worn down by others’ opinions

She fails to receive the mantle

For which she was attentively intended

New day, new city

While the nights all look the same

And she cries herself to sleep

Because the showers can’t remove the shame

My sister, you are more than the sum of your deeds

Don’t listen to the deceivers

You’re more than just a perverted history

Of a long line of leavers

You were created with dignity and purpose

For a lover who sticks closer than a brother

He wants nothin’ but the rose

And gave it all to show that you’re worth it

(cf. John 8:1-11)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Trafficking the Girl Next Door

During the 1980s, mothers used the phrase "stranger danger" to caution their children about the possibility of kidnappings. It was the idea of seeing your missing child's photo on the side of a milk carton that caused many U.S. families to warn their kids about abductions. The possibility of human trafficking wasn't even on most parents' radar screen.

Yet during the same time period, a 13-year-old Miami girl became one of the countless children to fall prey to a sex trafficking scheme. Only in recent years have U.S. officials realized the trend is just as alarming at home as it is abroad. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, human trafficking ranks second only to drug trafficking as the fastest growing criminal industry worldwide. And half of those trafficked are children.
In 1985, Katariina Rosenblatt, her teenage brother, and their mother left their South Florida home to escape Kat's abusive father. Katariina's mother was trying to hold down a job while caring for her children. The family lived out of a Miami Beach hotel, where the kids spent most days unsupervised at the swimming pool. There, Katariina was approached by Mary, a sophisticated 19-year-old who took an interest in the young teen. "She was everything I thought I wanted to be," Katariina says. "Thin, pretty, blond hair, and blue eyes."
The sexual, verbal, and physical abuse Katariina had endured from her father left her damaged and vulnerable, a weakness Mary quickly sensed. Offering her friendship and sisterly advice, Mary began telling Katariina about local men who would take care of her, give her money for food, and offer fatherly love. In reality, Mary was a recruiter for a local child trafficking ring.
"The devil doesn't come with a pitchfork," Katariina says. "He's much more deceptive. For me, he came in the form of a girl in a red bikini."
Led by Mary, Katariina soon found herself sequestered in a room with a 65-year-old man who attempted to purchase her, still a virgin, for $550. Refusing the marijuana she was offered, Katariina narrowly escaped the exchange and fled back to her hotel room. It was the first in a series of trafficking scenarios she would face as a young teen, and the only one she would manage to escape unscathed.

 God's Whispers

 In the following years Katariina became ensnared in a series of trafficking exchanges, all unbeknownst to her mother. In one instance, she went to a sleepover at a friend's whose father was a pedophile and worked as a trafficker. Katariina was taken to an apartment-style brothel in a neighboring county and exploited by a 40-year-old man who fostered her cocaine addiction and began making her dependent on him and the future men who would exploit her in exchange for drugs, food, and temporary affection.
Continued...

via todayschristianwoman.com

Marvel

I, alone…
I’m not enough to handle this on my own
My metropolis is in trouble
And all of the supermen are gone
Fade to black – everything is whack
And these dark nights keep risin’ –
These jokers say that I’m tokin’
To believe that there’s anyone who can stop it

No secret identity
Or hideout with slick amenities
Are needed to win this war
‘Cause we're battlin’ a different enemy –
Long ago defeated
Still severely pissed and heated
And he and his minions will stop at nothing
Until everyone else can feel it

So we need a hero
Who’s far beyond the discussions –
No hiding behind a mask
To deal with the repercussions
Not just an alien that got stuck
Not just some vigilante we trust
But someone who can justify the guilty
And at the same time dispense justice

From the punishment due
To wholeheartedly renewed –
Avenging us from the impenitent
And putting an end to the feud
With web-sight, he catches predators
His strength is so incredible
Takes the shame and turns it to gain
So it wouldn’t eventually fetter us

Even though death still remains
It’s now no longer in vain
And the suffering serves a purpose
Since he auto-tuned it with “T-Pain”
Does it all through a Ghost Protocol –
Impossible for evildoers to shake him
Marvel at this Man on a mission…
Who can stop him?! Any takers?

 Cf. Revelation 6:2, 19:11-21, 21:5, 22:12

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Zeros & Ones: Gospel In Life [Week 8] - Eternity (The World That Is to Come)

We wrap up our study on "The Gospel in Life" with a discussion about eternity. We discuss how the hope that is to come in the New Jerusalem changes how we operate in this fallen world. When the veil of this present world is rolled back, we will then see fully the ever-existent glory and light of God. Also, how the future reality helps to give us hope and and against the trials of this world. Seeing that the now is only temporary and that every single day we are moving toward the everlasting peace and communion with God and our fellow man...Live with the end in mind.
"for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection." - (Luke 20:36 ESV)



Isaiah 60:1-22; Revelation 21:9-22





Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Taste

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

(Romans 7:24 ESV)

What happens when the taste

Becomes stronger than grace?

When I’m more about seeking the thrill

Than seeking your face?

The burnout is inevitable

But the rush is so incredible

You only live once

And I don’t want it to be regrettable

Half of me says, “One time never hurt anybody.”

The other half says I worry too much:

“You don’t even have to think about it.”

Eat, drink, and be merry

Never seems to be scary

Until you discover

That the meal’s being prepared

In an environment that’s unsanitary

An occasional lick of the spoon

Now turns into a toxic addiction

And my microscopic pursuit of joy

Has led to a life of telescopic affliction

Tried to divide my passions

Between redemption and lies

But when the latter won my affection

It left me with no way to climb…

Yet your mercy still abounds

Like a shot to the heart

While I was on the ground dying

(In this case, not a bad place to start)

Behaviors I used to savor

No longer renew my confusion

Now I’m infused with new life

To comprehend your mercy and beauty

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

(Romans 6:1-4 ESV)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

(1 John 1:9 ESV)

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

(Hebrews 4:15-16 ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Zeros and Ones: Importance of the Resurrection (Week 3)

We continue our study and discussion on the implications of the resurrection of Christ...
This week as we go further up and in, we cover the significance of the Last Supper leading up to the resurrection and the validity of the eyewitness accounts. Also, how the resurrection serves as hope for us in our current lives when faced with trials and suffering and how this translates into the hope that we articulate in our evangelism.

 

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)