Megaphone

Lack of gratitude is a symptom

Of a greater problem;
Our attitude is a side effect
That creates a rejection of law and grace...

And that duplicity has been duplicated 
Reproduced in our DNA 
Until it's become 
All the rage...

All the bitterness.
All the lust.
All the fickleness.

The richness of our humanity
Is buried beneath mediocrity
And a downward slope towards Gomorrah
A corner office view of Sodom

Welcome to where the weather is always autumn
And the trees bear no fruit 
Because the roots are rotten
So they might as well stay there...

Dead and buried.

Ever receiving the blood of martyrs and prophets
While the profit for delivering their heads
Has skyrocketed most
To a more comfortable life...

The bride takes another husband 
And never thinks twice

A harlot's heart in a wedding gown

That's a sullied white

And while we cry for freedom from ISIS

The No. 1 killer of mankind is "niceness"

We have our cake and eat it too

And pay no attention to a missing tooth

(or two)

Regardless of what we've been through

It always comes back around again

The danse macabre of a tone def mob

Waltzing to cacophonous megaphone of pain

(cf. Psalm 14:1-3; Romans 3:10-12, 5:3, 8:35-39; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

“Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” - C.S. Lewis

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

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

Killer Man's Son

Everyone feels safe

Around the guy with the gun --
That is, until they find out
That he's the Killer Man's son...

And the pressure on your temple
Signals immediate distress
Your point of view is no longer clear
Now that you're under duress

Staring down the barrel
As the questions begin to narrow
Life flashes before your eyes
As you answer at your own peril

Your money or your life; 
Hide your kids, hide your wife
Because he's taking aim at everything
Try to run, you'll die tired

Man down, shots fired
Death from above --
Murder for higher
Holiest of Holy
Public Enemy No. 1
A trigger finger that never retires

So get down and lay low
Or get lit up like it's HALO
Stand up and say goodnight
And let the redeemed of the LORD say so:

"I ain't the Killer Man
I'm the Killer Man's son
But I'll do the killin'
'Til the Killer Man comes..."


(cf. Psalm 107:2; Jeremiah 23:24; Amos 9:2; Matthew 10:28; Romans 8:13-14; Galatians 5:24; Colossians 3:5; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 2 Peter 3:10) 



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

How To Be Perfect: The Righteousness of Christ

"God's standard isn't progress. God's standard is perfection...We have broken every single commandment. Jesus has fulfilled each and every one on our behalf. Only when we are crushed by God's demand for perfection can we be cured by His grace. Jesus came to fulfill the law for you and me...When God looks at us, he doesn't see how we've failed - He sees how Jesus succeeded. That's salvation. That's the gospel. When God looks at us, He doesn't see our unrighteousness - He sees Christ's righteousness. Because of Jesus, we are perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect. Before God, the righteousness of Christ is all we need. Before God, the righteousness of Christ is all we have." - Tullian Tchividjian

(cf. Leviticus 19:2; Matthew 5:17, 20; Philippians 3:9)


Soli 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

Truth In a Million Pieces

"The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him." - John 1:9-11

We take the truth
And break it up
Into a million little pieces
That way, it's easier
To sweep it under the rug
And come up with a different thesis...

But particles always linger
So as soon as we lift a finger
To point in the other direction
The light brings it back to our rememberance

All around the atmosphere
It becomes a nuisance and a problem
Because it settles into everything
Giving a reason to the logic

Harboring the Harbinger
That's come down through the ages
That we misappropriate to the aliens
Or the wisdom of the sages

Dangerous mental assertions
As the blind lead the blind
Into miscalculated divination
(Maybe it's just a sign of the the times)

Or maybe a deeper symptom
When the hearts of men wax cold
And an old lie becomes new truth
Wherever an alternative reality is sold

It's a bold statement - I know
But somebody had to say it
Because we're playing roulette
With a loaded .45
And with no one else to play with

Every shot hits the mark
Even though we're aiming in the dark
Because the world and everything in it
Is just a firing range
When it ain't seen as a work of art


"And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed." - John 3:19, 20


(cf. Isaiah 8:14; Matthew 21:44; Romans 9:32; 2 Corinthians 10:4; 1 Peter 2:8)

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Slave

“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin." - John 8:34

It’s open season on the blackamoor…

And four score and seven
Only serves as a reminder
Of how far we are from heaven
Linkin’ us to a past
But we’re too easily forgettin’
The bondage that’s awaitin’
And treat it like a broken record

We scratch it up and mix it
Tryin’ to put a new spin on it
Thinkin’ that if we spend enough dough
That’s all we need to depend on
But those whips and chains are now whips and chains
Money stacks and diamond rings
As we tiptoe through the cotton rows
Chasin’ after the “finer things”

The same thing that is
Rainin’ down on Jupiter
Is the very same thing
That we’re willing to become captives for
The love of money
Is the mother of invention
Rooted in all kinds of evil
And limitless in its potential

Becoming a slave
Is much easier than we think
So many give up their freedom
Just to own a couple of trinkets –

Tinkertoys that pale in comparison to Zion
And precious jewels that will one day pave the streets
Our feet will tread on…

(cf. Hebrews 13:5; 1 Timothy 6:10)


Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

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

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)

Zeros and Ones: Why Did Jesus Come?

In this discussion, we take a look at the reason that Jesus Christ had to come to us...
To bring us to God.

We discuss the radical nature of sin and how it effects all of us. Putting us in dire need of a savior from the wrath of God for our inherent evilness, Jesus comes not only to call us to repentance, but to satisfy the wrath of God by becoming sin for us.

"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." - Mark 2:17

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)

Re4m

Reform me...

Conform me.
Mold me.
Make me.
Shape me.
Do whatever you have to do -
Even if it means
You gotta break me
Don't forsake me
Wake me up
Remove the scales
From my eyes
I'm seeing men as trees

Falling down around me

Because I was born
Legally blind

Out of sight
Out of my mind
No appreciation
For the divine
Design flaw
To the interior;
A heart that's wicked
All the time... 

Until Another Kind

Love sublime

Comes to the rescue

Of a villain

Cleanse me through a bloodletting...

This redemption's gonna kill me.

(cf. Romans 8:13; 12:1; 1 Peter 3:18-22)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Ten (Law Is King)

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. - Romans 3:19 ESV


If you had a projector
Connected to my head and my chest
It would showcase nothing but an independent festival of darkness
Bleak thoughts to match a black heart
Every matinee selling out to the sinful desires of my humanity
You know Kierkegaard was right;
You’d be shocked and amazed at what a sane man
Dreams about doing in the broad daylight

And if accountability of consequence
Lifts even for a second
The fantasy becomes reality…
What masters of debauchery we are
Nightmare walking…
Psychopath, stalkin’…
A Gorilla in the mist
Notorious for poppin’ off with my two lips…
With two fists up

Because I consider every punch I throw
To be therapeutic or medicinal
Because if there is no God
Then everything is permissible to us
It all boils down to dust
Knocking the rusty latch off of reason, then
Now it’s like someone opened up a floodgate
And in a blind fit of rage
Recklessly misplaced a wooden stake –

I’ve got 2x4’s disguised
As splinters stuck in my eyes
Violence begets a nihilist
And now the nihilist wants to get violent
Because he’s somebody’s child
The only problem is
That we were separated at birth
And I’ve been raised in the wild –
Exploiting my desertedness
Using it as ammunition to lash out at a “negligent parent”
Resolved even more now to respond
Solely to the vibrations of my own larynx

I’m a rebel whose primary cause
Is to be an embarrassment to my inheritance
I don’t want a share…I want it all
And now I’ve got it; A bunch of empty wallets
In a clenched fist of covetousness
So there’s a rumble coming from deep within the jungle
Because my Father’s given the order to give chase
“LEX REX” on my chest branded with ten phrases
Serve as a valuable reminder
Lay down my arms and wait for grace
Or just keep running, only to die tired


For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. - Galatians 3:10-14 ESV


Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Hyde & Seek

A part of me wants to come out and say, “hi”
But there are two that reside
Inside of this mind I keep confined from the general public
To make sure that everyone's safe
Because you can never really tell who's gonna show
Up in the rafters or ducked down low -
Behind the bushes in the park or at a local picture show
Or I could be in plain view...you just never know
So please don't assume based on appearance’s sake
That a snake is not a snake because his rattle never shakes;
For in the tall grass of obscurity, I wait and I lie
And when the sun goes down, remember:
Jekyll always runs into Hyde…

(cf. Jeremiah 17:9; John 3:19; James 3:10; 1 Peter 2:11)



Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

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

Beef

“What’s beef?”

That’s the question everybody wants to know

In other words:

“Do we have a problem and how do we settle the score?”

Well, what it’s not is what happens

When MC’s battle with songs

It’s when all you’ve got left

Is nothin’ but wrong…

 

Beef is when the creature

Takes the created order

Only to use it as a weapon

And lead the Maker to a slaughter

It’s when you look your Creator

Right in the eye

Seal your love for him with a kiss

While you’re piercing his side

 

Beef is what happens

When the Devil asks a question

And we forget what God said –

Even start to second guess him

Next thing you know

We’re runnin’ –

Lookin’ for clothes

Duckin’ behind trees

Every time the wind blows

 

It’s when even after all of that

He still pursues you with love and grace

And to show your appreciation

You throw it back in his face…

 

Yeah, that’s beef –

Sometime it’s your own people

Not the lions in the wilderness

But the wolves under the steeples

They’re runnin’ with the numbered

Talkin’ about peace

(A very beautiful notion

Covered with a steel-toed cleat)

 

Now some beefs are big

And some beefs are small

But the one I’m talkin’ about

Is a result of the fall

 

Beef is when it’s over two thousand years later

After he showed us true love

And dudes still call him a “hater”

It’s when he finally comes back

He’ll be clearin’ his name –

Stoppin’ the world on its axis

And puttin’ death in the grave

Then the Judge will be handin’ down

That long prison sentence;

An eternity in Hell

In a few short minutes

 

Beef is when you hear

That he’s the King of the World

But it doesn’t even matter

Because you’d rather be screwin’ your girl

 

Beef is when your sin debt

Is gettin’ bigger and bigger

While hold you hands out for that handout

Like, “Pay me, Nigga!”

 

Now some beefs are big

And some beefs are little

But when it comes to his Word

You can’t change one dot or tittle

 

Beef is self-righteous man

Comin’ up lame

Failin’ to see that they lack the capacity

To bring about a soul change

Thank God for the God-Man

Because he took the blame

On Calvary Hill

Where beef and redemption

Come from one and the same

 

So…What’s Beef?

 

(cf. John 3:36; Romans 1:18; 2:5,8; 5:9; 8:1; Ephesians 2:3; Colossians 3:6; 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9)

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Descending Man

Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come; it rouses the shades to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations. All of them will answer and say to you: ‘You too have become as weak as we! You have become like us!’ Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a bed beneath you, and worms are your covers. - Isaiah 14:9-11 ESV

 

Sin sells while bells ring

Like dinner time in Hell…

The taste of forbidden fruit over time becomes telling

Rebellion against conventional wisdom

Led to decisions based on indifference

And humanity is left searching for its significance

Life now is nothing more than forensic

As gender is now gone into oblivion

And a mother’s womb 

Has become a tomb for a countless number of infants

Between assisted suicide, ethnic cleansing genocide

Peace through superior firepower

And religion cloaked in deceit 

Hiding behind a military façade

Wars and rumors of wars

As we beef about same sex, safe sex

“Who’s to blame for a tanking economy?”

Or “Who should America attack next?”

We take one step back

When it comes to human trafficking

Global warming burning us up like a sauna

Our souls have grown cold as we ready our beds

God truly must be gracious

Because for reasons unbeknownst to us

He didn’t just destroy all in a flood

And He hasn’t left us for dead…

 

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.  - 2 Peter 2:4-10 ESV

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)