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.

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.