Hip hop Devotions

Hanging out in the blogosphere so much, there are those great times that you stumble upon an unforgettable blog. This blog is called Hip hop devotions , intrigued by the title – I pounced on the blog, expecting a blog that glorifies and edifies hip hop as a music genre. Surprisingly it uses hip hop as a medium to glorify Christ — which I think is nothing short of revolutionary. Check out this hip hop snippet which entertained and (more importantly) inspired me. Art is not an end in itself, but god gives it as a gift so that we can fulfill our purpose – to glorify Him in everything we do. Check out this video I found on the blog:

The blog republishes a scripture, posts a short reaction and a related hip hop video. Christian artists, get inspired and learn! Here is a scripture that I saw on this blog post:

Love Love Love Love So Lovely…

There’s more to sex than mere skin on skin.

Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact.

As written in Scripture, “The two become one.”

Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master,

we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment

and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever—

the kind of sex that can never “become one.”

There is a sense in which sexual sins are different from all others.

In sexual sin we violate the sacredness of our own bodies,

these bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love,

for “becoming one” with another. Or didn’t you realize that your body

is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit?

Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please,

squandering what God paid such a high price for?

The physical part of you is not some piece of property

belonging to the spiritual part of you.

God owns the whole works.

So let people see God in

and through your body.

1 Cor 6:16

Wanna see the scripture the hip hop way?

Praise God for the wonderful works he does through creative people.

Seeds for a Purpose — Don’t Quit While You’re Ahead

I was back in SNR after a long SNS – Saturday Night Slumber. I was with Frederick, my brother, indecisive over going to SNR or taking my brother out to town. I didn’t want him to feel that I was saturating him with church, yet I was happy that he was enjoying it so much. He even asked me if there was a dream center in Pennsylvannia! The charm of the dream center is like a fast oncoming train — it hits you and runs over you hard. But because Christ is in it, you rise again. I felt a tug in my heart. I could not bear to be right next to Angelus Temple and not go. I had been “robbed” way too many times of this awesome weekend night service.

SNR – April 5 was about seeds. Seeds and Purpose.

Matthew 17:20
“I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Pastor Brad Reed carries a container of sunflower seeds challenges the audience. Jesus does not use “seed” accidentally, because it is a pretty metaphor, or because he decided to be eco-friendly or reach out to the gardener market. Faith is akin to a seed because it is supposed to grow.

1 Peter 2:2
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.

We don’t get salvation like we get a precious diamond that is too expensive to use, locked away in a safe. We get saved, and then we grow, we mature, and we bear fruit. It was emphasized in the sermon that seeds are planted not to remain in the ground, but to be transferred to another pot and another pot. And finally, the tree can be planted on the ground. “The seed must be cracked to get the life out of it.”

The saddest part is that a lot of people pull out of the ground before the harvest. Stop crawling to the end of the tunnel just short of the light. Stop running the marathon 0.2 miles away shy of the finish line. Pastor Brad said emphatically — “if you don’t finish the marathon, you don’t get any credit!” This is perhaps the most poignant part of Pastor Brad’s sermon – at least for me — because his words hit home. I had gotten out of my comfort zone, stepped up to serve God, yet was giving the doubting and fearful voices in my head more attention than I should. I went through the motions of serving God, hanging by a thin thread.

It’s time to stop running away, and it’s time to face His hands. The hands that will take me gently from my pot and start planting me on the ground. Success, getting there, reaching a goal, scares more people than we realize. Sometimes the finish line is just as scary as the starting line. More than sometimes, we start more races than we finish. The race of our Christian life is a race that’s not negotiable in God’s eyes. We must long for his “well done, good and faithful servant,” the same way that a little girl longs for her mother’s approving smile. Contrary to the popular saying — “Don’t quit while you’re ahead.”

If a seed does not later on produce fruit — it does not fulfill its purpose. If salt loses its saltiness, and light is hidden……

Matthew 5:14-16

14“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

We are seeds meant to bear fruit. Salt meant to be salty. Light meant to shine. Go, fulfill your purpose.

I’m on a leash

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

This verse is so common to most Christians, that sometimes we lose touch of what it means. Never means never. As in not a single time. But sometimes we think if we’re not good enough, if we don’t pray enough, if there’s way too much going on…sometimes we think that he will leave. We’ve been stained by the way of the world — the an eye for an eye system, the i’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine system. The different thing about God is that he loved us first, and nothing we can do can ever change that. He gave his life for the forgiveness of our sins, and all he asks in return is for us to believe.

Sometimes, like a dog on a stretchable leash, I wander far from the Father, wrongfully thinking that I can do it on my own, my own way. But, no one can snatch me from his hand. God is pretty territorial about his property. If you let him, you can be his. We can be indian givers at times — taking back what we Christians have already reliniquished to God — our lives. We unwittingly kick him out the thrones of our lives and try to govern our own lives. Since we are by nature imperfect, this is bound to fail. The good news is you can’t go very far before God pokes you and tugs at your leash softly. Come back, he beckons. You’re going the wrong way. A great Sunday sermon bring us back. A friend gives us a call to check up. Out of the blue, someone offers prayer. If you open your eyes and ears, he is trying to get your attention.

A statement from the pastor at Angelus Temple last Thursday stuck with me.

“Loneliness is just a call from God for greater intimacy with Him.”

Let us seek him with all our heart in times of doubt and not stray away. He never left. He is softly prodding is to go back.

Back from slumber

Hey dreamweavers! I haven’t posted in a long time due to some avoidable and unavoidable circumstances. God has sent me a new macbook to inspire me to post again.:) I’m fast becoming a mac geek — well I have an excuse to spend so much time on the computer, I work in web marketing. I’d like to congratulate Gigatt because our blog is now a PR 3! Wait, what’s a PR 3? We’re pagerank 3 now according to google — they rank as us 3 out of 10 in website importance. It just feels good, period. A lot of work is done to make that happen. I’d like to make it clear that Google, contrary to what most people think is not god — Jesus is Lord! All the time!

Gigatt has certainly come a long way since its conception. We’ve had good times and more good times. I even have a picture to prove it.:)  Just the lemons on the glasses of water is great proof  that we’re broke, but happy. (Wait, that sounds a little bit like Alanis Morisette).  Kidding aside, we were actually pretty blessed that night, that was the celebration of my and Lori’s birthday — we had a great chinese dinner. Awesome mongolian beef!

Readers, surfers, members, please feel free to leave comments. We’d love to have you.

It’s worth the wait

Two wrongs don’t make a right. Same principle rings true for relationships. In the last Saturday night service I attended before I left for the Philippines, Pastor Brad Reed speaks about the “unspeakable” – love, relationships, marriage. We’re all either in a relationship, getting out of one or looking for one. Why all this pressure to commit? I feel that the word “single” these days is almost a taboo, almost a bad word, a condition that’s treated like it’s some vinereal disease. Are we really that lonely? Or are we just trying to cover up deep-seated insecurities by being with someone?

These are some of my thoughts on these questions. Number one, the degneration of identity. The world is so cluttered – literally and figuratively that we can barely see ourselves anymore. Our ears are connected to ipods, our eyes glued to computer screens, our noses pierced and covered with adornments, and our natural skin covered with tattooes. We see ourselves in connection to something else all the time. When asked that very direct, yet vaguely difficult question – Who are you? We usually speak about something that is in connection with us – what we do, whose daughter we are, where we’re from, etc. etc. And for a lot of young people, we see our identities in who we’re with romantically. If you are someone when you are with someone, who are you when you’re not? Nobody? The holy rebellion that we must start against this is to find our identities in Christ, to see ourselves as he sees us, to be whole, perfect, pure and capable because Christ loves us. We are somebody because Christ died on the cross and redeemed us. This is the only relationship that should determine who we are – our relationship with our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Second thing that it brings attention to is the unspeakable loneliness that pervades young people today. There’s that void that must be filled and that love that must be received. As the cliche goes — we look for love on the wrong places. And as the Christian cliche goes — we have a God shaped hole that guess who can fill? Only God. And when you’ve looked and looked in every nook and cranny of this limited earth for joy — you come up the same way you started — hands empty, heart even emptier. Relationships that are not right in the eyes of God, even though they seem oh-so-right when we’re in it, can only be detours that take us away from walking on the path that God has meant for us.

The main point — wait. “Good things come to those who wait.” Wait on God and prioritize your relationship with Him. Let him fill your void — only He can. That person you’ve been longing for is walking on the path that God has him/her — and your paths will intersect — in God’s time.

Can you handle the truth?

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free — John 8:32

“You can’t handle the truth.” – Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men.

A little imagery to remind you of that scene in A Few Good Men.

Tonite in Saturday Night Redefined — Pastor Brad Reed speaks about how we react and respond to people who because of trust in our maturity, trust in our Christianity, choose to be transparent and talk about their struggles. More often than not, he expresses, we talk over other people, using their vulnerability as a way to propel as to a platform, a higher moral standpoint. We overuse our moral ascendancy. Pastor Brad spoke about the adulterous woman in the bible, an inch away from being stoned to death by townspeople. Jesus says, “Whoever is without sin, cast the first stone.” This behavior is probably strange to us contemporary Christians. How can their consciences handle stoning a woman to death? Yet we probably don’t realize, that in the little word daggers we throw infront or behind the back of people we judge, those we deem unworthy in our mind, that we still do this in the modern day. We do not receive the truth about other people in love and balance truth with grace. Pastor Brad says that we should be nets to each other, catching each other when we fall.

Do we really believe that truth sets us free? Or do we stifle the truth and live in the illusion of being “perfect” all the time? Or maybe, like Tom Cruise in “A Few Good Men” we can’t handle the truth.

As I listen to the sermon, a lot of things go through my head – the many times I may have unknowingly shut down a trusting heart because I could not bear to listen quietly. Can we really handle the truth? We are sometimes like a gingerbread house -sweet on the outside, but it so easily crumbles with truth and transparency. We hide our own struggles and suppress them, and drown out out desperate cries with a great big Hallelujah! Some Christians cope by living a double life — having the Sunday self and the weekday self. And because we struggle ourselves, we cannot even bear to lend a listening ear, or words of wisdom or a helping hand to those who decide they will be vulnerable with us and pour out their struggles. The church should be a place of transparency, a place where we can be honest with ourselves, and have that honesty received with grace. It is not to say that we won’t rebuke our Christian brother or sister when we need to — “Better is open rebuke Than love that is concealed.” Proverbs 27:5. Only we must do it out of love, and not out of empty criticism. “If I have all faith so as to remove mountains,
but have not love, I am nothing.” 1 Cor 13. Sometimes, I don’t even have the words to say. When I don’t — I offer prayer, and it often helps a lot.

I am deeply convicted by this. I once asked of a friend — “Is it right that he has to be so transparent? Should he tell me everything?” I realized that I should have not been so concerned with protecting myself and my feelings, I should have put the other person first and see it as an opportunity to be used by God. I should have listened with my heart and not with my mind. I should have reacted with the words that Jesus would say, and the quietness that Jesus had. If we only listen with the peace that passes understanding, then we will truly understand and be able to help.

I realize that we should not be so concerned with the “garment” being squeaky clean. Stains are not always pretty – but they are real. We should gently help the person get the stain out — the entire garment doesn’t have to be thrown away.

Freedom Redefined

 The Saturday Night Redefined service at Angelus Temple lingers in my head. Master’s Commission Los Angeles — a group of God-hungry young people who have committed two years of their life to knowing the Lord — made a presentation about freedom. There was a dance, a shadow play, a testimony-slash-monologue, and more. It was a call to freedom, a perfect foreshadowing of Martin Luther King Day that would occur that following Monday.  The first question that occurred to me was, wait a minute – freedom from what? The answer came a few minutes later. It was freedom from the cult of cool. A rebellion against rebellion. We have been fooled by invented and imagined norms (most of which are perpetuated in the media) about what freedom is – it is doing what you want, being what you want, when you want. It is running through a crowd-filled concrete road half naked, adorned with multi-colored shiny necklaces at Mardi Gras, it is the freedom to drink as much as you want on a Friday night, and the freedom to roll out cuss words the way a coin machine rolls out quarters. Yet in Saturday Night Redefined, freedom is redefined. We can only really be free of we walk in obedience – unfettered by bondages and addictions that pull us down, desperate only for The Father’s approval, and wanting to be “cool” only in the eyes of Our Savior.

Definitions. We don’t really give much thought to them — unless, probably we’re about to take a test. Academics make us care about them but unfortunately, life doesn’t.  After SNR, I began to think of my own definitions. How do I  define love? How do I define happiness? Sometimes when asked questions like, when was the last time you had a boyfriend,  some women jokingly say, “well, what’s your definition of boyfriend?” We stop to think first.  But when something of a more serious nature comes along, like a profession of love  from someone whose trustworthiness is questionable,  we don’t even stop to ask ourselves,  “what is this person’s definition of love?”  Once, in the process of writing  a short story that  told the story of a  certain kind of love,  I ask one of my good guy friends — what is your definition of love?  He unhesitatingly tells me that  physical attraction, and attention, to him is love. I really  am not surprised — this is the world’s standards — it just reminded me of how much we have been deceived. The bible says in 1 Corinthians 13 that Love is patient and kind, does not keep a record of wrongs and rejoices in truth — in a nutshell.

That is just a micro case study. Love. What about happiness? How do we define that? What thoughts do you have about peace, fairness, justice, and hope?

Definitions are the framework from which we act — the template that houses our decisions. Do you need to redefine your definitions?

The Small Group Emporium :)

Today was the first ever Small Group Festival – a convergence of all the 60 or so small groups of Angelus Temple. Finally, the small group ministry gets the right amount of attention that it deserves. Small groups are definitely the arms of the body of Christ – reaching out to people in deeper ways, and getting them plugged in. Angelus Temple calls itself the church that never sleeps, and rightfully so. A small group goes past the sunday sermon and forms relationships, encourages involvement, and ultimately the use of one’s god’s given gifts.

The Creative Arts group was not without pressure to create the best group board. Duh, we’re supposed to be THE creative people of the ministry! It would just be a funny (for them, not for us) oxymoron if the creative small group had an uncreative booth. We worked our butt off and started cutting out the sun (whose rays would splash out the different creative arts) on Saturday, continued the creative work on Tuesday, and brought out our baking bowls yesterday. The presentation was a creation story inspired masterpiece — with the sun as the center, some soil and rocks showing the earth, a couple of easels holding up painted masterpieces from prior events, a booklet of the writing we created together, a powerpoint presentation showing the creative small group at various poses in various events, and of course, the star of the feast — the caramel bars that are literally to DIE for. We were right next to the culinary group — which, in all fairness, got a lot of attention. We competed well – it’s hard to compete with food!

We landed third place for presentation. I was cheering my heart out — there were about sixty groups there, and third place is better than no place in my opinion. Our dear leader, Quoleshna wasn’t so happy with the results. After all, we are creativity. We should have won top 1 for creativity!  Everybody’s a winner though — our sign up sheet was full, with a promise of more members and more participation.  Surprisingly, our famous caramel bars did not win the recognition of best dessert.   (Some people simply don’t know what they’ve tasted.) These bars have a rich history of tastiness and a throng of satisfied followers. Why it didn’t win? I don’t understand.

It was a big small group festival — great food, great fun, a great chance to be creative, tons of people and a worthwhile time.  Hopefully, we’ll see new members and amazing upheavals of talent this year.

To women everywhere…

This was forwarded to me by Emmy, Salsa Small Group Leader in Angelus Temple. I’d just like to share this with everyone. It blessed and encouraged me… To my sisters in the Lord…
There comes a time in every woman’s life when she has to take a close look at herself. Not at her circumstance, not at what she did, not how unfair life is, or at who made you do it. She has to just look at herself in all her glory and imperfection. Have you ever admired a woman who has been through changes in her life? Or have you made up in your mind that she is just messed up. Before you make this mistake, take a closer look. A woman who has endured the most unusual life is someone of wisdom, someone who has been chosen by God to go through things that have made her stronger.
Think of all the great women in the Bible: Mary Magdalene , Ruth and Naomi, the woman with an issue of blood, and Esther, to name a few. Mary was a prostitute, a very uneasy woman. But by the time Jesus was done with her, she was His closest follower. Esther was unfortunate in marrying an abusive man, but by the time God was done with her, she had married one of the wealthiest men in the land.
Women are so quick to beat the next one down instead of trying to hold her up. Before you wonder, “ What’s up with her?” ask yourself, “What’s up with me?” That woman could be my mother, sister, aunt, in-law, stepmother, niece, grandmother, great-grandmother, neighbor, friend, or co-worker, etc. That woman could be ME.
Women are (should be) the carriers of life, not the channels of death. Let’s build and encourage each other, as did Ruth and Naomi. Pass this to all the women in your life. Encourage and love, forgive and forget, and trust that the woman that receives this will be touched in some way.
May the peace and love of Christ be upon you!

…And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness…

ArT AttAcK WeeKenD!

Hi Everyone!  And, hope your Thanksgiving was delicious!

But, the festivities aren’t over yet…

Next week will kick-off Gigatt’s ArT AttAcK WeeKenD (Fri. Nov. 30th – Sun. Dec. 2nd)

This is our first ever event like this, so we could use as much friendly participation as you can muster up!

Here’s what’s on the menu!

Friday, Nov. 30th

Open Mic/Spoken Word. @ The Terrace Cafe (626 N. Coronado Terr., 90026)

7p-9p

For all you crazy cats out there who wanna dig this groovy scene.  Bring your work or just yourself and treat your buds to those crazy savory Starbucks drinks, available at Terrace Cafe.  Music, Short Story, Poetry and Lyrics allowed.  All work will be perused before going onstage to ensure appropriateness for our audience.  This little hot spot is nestled on the grounds of the DreamCenter and can be a little tricky to find.  Just look up the directions and keep my number handy.

Chalk-a-lot Mural. @ Family Center. Rm. 202 (Next to Angelus Temple @ 1100 N. Glendale Blvd., 90026)

9:30p-12midnight

It’s a wall.  It’s a chalkboard…Stop. Your both right!  Be a part of creating a unique mural on our specially painted wall.  All the fun without the mess.  Can’t beat that.

Saturday, Dec. 1st

MasterPizza. @ Family Center. Kitchen on 1st Floor (Next to Angelus Temple @ 1100 N. Glendale Blvd., 90026)

7p-9p

Bell Pepper tree trunks and spinach leaves.  A pepperoni sea lined by sandy parmesan shores.  I’ve sometimes seen art so delicious I wanted to gobble it up.  Now, we can.  Make tasteful MasterPizzas that satisfy both the artist’s eye, and your stomach’s!  Dough and toppings provided.  BYOI (Bring your own imagination).

Sunday, Dec. 2nd

Art in the Park.  @ Echo Park (corner of Glendale Blvd./Park)

12noon-1pm

Hey, you’re all familiar with this one!  Free paints, canvas. Writing area and, as always, instruments are welcome for impromptu jam sessons.  This a great opportunity to discover, explore or practice various disciplines.  So jump in while the weather’s still good!