6/8/2018 - SAY I WON'T

"See I've been a rebel back in the day, I don't follow the people, I follow the leader, through valleys of shadows of death, and I'm fearing no evil." Lecrae - "Say I Won't"

Going to switch it up, starting now and going forward these devotionals are going to lyrics from some music, not always going to be Bible verse. These devotionals can be some bars from the best in the Jesus Rap Game, including but not limited to, Lecrae, Andy Mineo, Trip Lee, Sho Baraka, Propaganda, Eshon Burgundy, Derek Minor and more. These devotionals can be the chorus or some lines from worship people and groups, this includes but no limited to, Tori Kelly, Elevation Worship, Kings Kaleidoscope,  Casting Crowns, Hillsong Worship, TobyMac, Chris Tomlin, and more. If you have any suggestions or ideas do not be shy to let us know, comment, DM, or email us. Today I was in a Lecrae mood, the other day I was in a Eshon Burgundy mood. Christians rappers are extremely underrated and underappreciated. They have to stick to a strict guidelines, they have to be kid friendly, they cannot have any curse words, they use Scripture, still have to have a message, they have to have rhymes, flow and still have bars. Lecrae is one of the most known, even among the non-Christian listeners. That speaks volumes of who Lecrae has touched and the talent that he brings to the game. Right now at the top I would probably say NF and Lecrae have the top spots. The bar that I chose today is a bar that I feel and I feel describes me and the reason why I came to Jesus. Me personally, I never been one to join the crowd (I have tired, but it usually always never works out). I am not a fan of trends, they are overrated. I try to always march to the beat of my own drum. My guy IV and I talked about something along these lines a couple months ago. I am big into the "nerd stuff" like space, science, superheroes, the Rubik's cube because it is something not everyone likes. It is the same with baseball, not everyone has the talent or patience (I get it, it can be super boring) to play or watch it. This is why I was drawn to Jesus. His way is the way that many people hate. Jesus wants us to stay sexually pure, be kind all the time, and love all the time no matter the situation. I used this analogy with IV, Jesus is like the Rubik's cube. Fun fact, I love the Rubik's cube (kind of slow on my time, the best I got was 58 seconds). I learned to solve the Rubik's cube my freshman year during finals week, I had no desire to study for finals so I decided to learn how to solve it (do not worry I got A's on all my finals). The thing with the Rubik's cube is it is not that hard to solve actually quite simple. All I had to do was memorize the pattern, once I got that down I was steady mobbin' from there. It took me all that week to learn since I could only memorize one step at a time. People look at a Rubik's cube and get intimidated, the same is for Jesus. Nothing is scary about either one of them, they are actually both very simple and fun once you get the hang of it. With Jesus we just have to take the time and build a relationship, he wants us to. He is waiting for us everyday, we just have to make the second move, because he is already trying to call us. The same way you can learn to solve the Rubik's cube is the same way you can go to Jesus, just go to him. One of the most famous Robert Frost quotes is, "Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." Jesus is that road less traveled. This is the road that leads right to an eternal life in heaven. There is no promise that this road is going to be easy or that there will be no bumps, because there will be. But do not lose faith or hang your head, because we do have the promise that he will always be there for us, he will never leave or forsake us. He will never let us be tempted with more than we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13). He will always be there, through it all, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Psalm 24:4 says, "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." We do not have to fear anything. We do not have to fear evil, life, death, anything when we have God on our side. He will take everything on for us. God is on our side constantly, he is constantly fighting out battle. All we have to do it follow the Great Shepherd and he will protect us at all costs. He will leave the 99 to look for the one, because of the reckless and unconditional love he has for us (Matthew 18:12-14). Jesus is not the popular way, he is not the easy way, and he is not the "fun" way; but he is the right way. His way leads to an eternal life in heaven. "Say I won't (why y'all scared to be different?), Say I won't (why y'all scared to be different, huh?), Say I won't (we them outsiders, that's just how we livin'), Say I won't (and I bet I will you can say I won't), I might do it just to show you, I might do it just to show you, I might do it just to show you, We be like la, la, la, la." Be the anomaly. Do not be afraid to be different. Be the difference. Make a difference.

Lord, thank you for all you do. You are our Great Shepherd. I pray you continue to lead us down the right path. The path less traveled. You are that path. Guide us in you, and to eternal life. Help us make a difference. I pray all this in your son's glorious name, Amen.

#LetsBeAMovement