Sin comes easy for us. Think about when you were a child or raising your own child. You have to teach or be taught to do what’s right or else you (or your child) lean toward doing what’s wrong. I see it in children all the time and I can remember things I had to be taught not to do because it was wrong, like taking something from the store without paying for it. If we are not taught right and wrong and are left to our own reasoning we grow up becoming dysfunctional members of society. Even the natural law of man, enforced by police, understands this. There would be no such thing as crime if mankind weren’t inclined or bent toward doing evil actions.

So we come into this world with a bent toward sin. Even after learning right and wrong, I still have a struggle with the nature of my humanness. I may want to steal when I don’t have money, or I want to fight and cuss when I don’t get my way. I may lust after a woman and want to commit fornication or adultery (if I were married). All these things rise up in me because my nature at its core is sinful.

Now there was I time I believed homosexuality was a choice and that no one was born with an inclination to be sexually attracted to the same-sex. But given what I just stated in the previous paragraphs that we were born with a bent toward sin, isn’t possible that a person could be born with a sexual attraction toward the same-sex? If engaging in homosexual acts is sin and we as human beings are born with an inclination to sin (thus all of us being sinners) then I find it very possible that some people are born with this sexual attraction for the same-sex just as I was born with a sexual attraction to the opposite sex. [Notice the sin is not in the attraction or desire. Those rise up in us because we are human. The sin happens when we act wrongly on those desires.] Sin is sin and as soon as we start ranking sins we fall into the trap of judging our fellow brothers and sisters and not looking at ourselves in the mirror. If I sleep around and have a bunch of premarital sex and that is my lifestyle, I am living a lifestyle of fornication. God sees that sin of fornication as an offense just like he sees a homosexual relationship as an offense. No greater, no less! Our souls will both be in hell for eternity if we don’t accept the gift of salvation and allow the grace of God to cover us, and work on that sin. If we believe God to be all-powerful and the God of miracles, we should believe he can give a gay man/woman an inclination toward the opposite sex if they both (God and said person) desire it to be so. If all sin is an offense to God then God’s grace is equally sufficient and powerful to cover a gay man/woman’s sin as it is to cover a straight man/woman’s sin. Simply put, to put the sins of a homosexual person above the sins of a heterosexual person is wrong and not supported in the Bible. (Read 1 John 1:8-10)

Back to our metaphor of clothes….just like sin can be put on so can the grace of God. The grace of God covers us and it hides our iniquity. You remember those signs on the outside of store buildings that said, “No shoes, no shirt, no business,” that’s how Heaven is. If you are not clothed with the grace of God, which is Jesus, you can’t get in. The clothes are just a covering but without the covering your nakedness is exposed to the public and nobody wants to see that!

I hope that my heart is heard in this post that we must continue to show love to those who haven’t yet been dressed with the garments of grace. I pray that my love for my friends and family is viewed by them as real and strong whether they are saved or unsaved, gay or straight, male or female. Spewing hateful messages doesn’t win people to the marvelous life in Christ. Love is not always the compassionate, soft, and delicate word but it sometimes comes as harsh and stern. But I guarantee if it is done in the spirit of true love the person(s) it is directed to will be able to tell the difference; even if they don’t accept it right away or ever at all. God’s word has a way of tearing us down and building us back up to a state better than we were before, and that’s what I love about it. This was a long post but, I am interested to hear your thoughts.

BBCOG. Peace.

The truth is the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God (New Living Translation)” and it also says in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, “…Those unwilling to work, will not get to eat (New Living Translation).”

So what I conclude from those two verses is that my number one motivation in anything I do is to glorify God. Yes, even in eating and drinking, I should do so that it glorifies the One who allows me to eat and drink. When I go to my job(s) I should work in such a way that brings glory to God. Here’s the point: When I’m motivated to do all that I do for the glory of God I give my best effort in everything because God deserves that “giving my everything” type effort! He knows that you need to make a living to provide for your family and to sustain yourself but the end goal of your actions shouldn’t be for earthly needs. God knows what you need so He provides those things when you seek to glorify Him first!

So if you make beats, use the gift God gave you and make the sickest beats the world has ever heard! But don’t do it for the approval of men (and women) but direct that praise you get from people back to where it is rightfully deserved…back to the Father! If you work on Wall Street be the most sought after man/woman in the financial world! But do it so you can tell everyone that seeks you out that the gift comes from God and the glory belongs to Him and that you do it to the glory of God! Be motivated to impact someone’s life to the glory of God, everything good comes from Him (that includes your knowledge to make wealth to sustain life)!

So in conclusion, get paid! God gave you the means earn and make wealth but don’t let money become your god! When money is our god, we put ourself in situations that don’t bring the glory to God but to ourselves.  We continue in the age-old/historic mistake when we worship the creation and instead of the Creator. Let’s keep our motivation and focus correctly focused on the One whom blessings flow.

BBCOG. Peace.

Right after that thought, God checked me. I wondered to myself about what just happened. I saw a subdivision with nice houses then got motivated to work on music so someone could hear it, and put it on their album, and I’d get royalties, and then I could buy a nice house like the ones in that subdivision. Ever so gently, God was letting me know THAT’S THE WRONG MOTIVATION SON!

Why is it wrong though? For a person who makes music that is for the purpose of telling their life story or to edify themselves only, that motivation is not wrong. But for me, and the many who use their gift of music to glorify God, money and things as the number one motivation is dead wrong! Bringing glory to God (first) has to be the motivation when doing ministry. Thinking about how good God has been and is being, should be my motivation. Seeing others lives changed by the power of Christ should be my motivation! Only when my motivation is right will what I do (music, preaching, teaching, singing, giving, serving, etc.) have the greatest effect. There’s a scripture in the Bible that a Psalmist (singer/songwriter) wrote that really exemplifies this idea.

Give me a bent for your words of wisdom, and not for piling up loot. (Psalm 119:36, Message Bible)

Hope this hits your heart like it hit mine. There will be a part two.

BBCOG. Peace.

I believe a lot of people are feeling the tug, pull, urge, nudge, etc. of the Spirit of God on their hearts to change paths in lifestyles from that broad path (path of sin, which leads to spiritual and natural death that most everyone is on) to the narrow path (path of righteousness that leads to everlasting life).

In the book of Revelation chapter 3 verse 20 it states, “Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends. (New Living Translation)” And that is directly speaking to that little voice inside that’s telling you to pray, go to church, read your Bible, and the similar things.

We’ve all heard the voice and most of us ignore it until it’s too late. Pay attention now! Don’t fight the urge to call out to God! This short life we have on this earth is not worth dying for eternity. It just isn’t. When people ask me the question, “When did you get saved?” I always reply this way: I got saved when I was 12 years old, I didn’t start living saved until I was 16.

If everyday is a chance God gives us to get it “right” with Him, then before I got saved He gave me 4,380 chances to get it right. Then after I got saved, but still really wasn’t converted (or living a life different from before) He gave me 1,460 chances. That’s a total of 5,840 chances God gave me until I actually opened the door and let him into my heart FOR REAL! That’s just my experience, a churchboy, who’s been taught God all his life. And I thank God for every single one of those chances! What about those of you who’ve been raised never really going to church, not knowing much about God at all? Shouldn’t that be cause of even more gratitude when you calculate how many chances God has given you to get on the right path?!

Though God is a merciful and gracious God who gives us chances upon thousands of chances to set our feet on the right path and direction toward Him, He will not always give those chances. Sooner or later He will stop knocking or eventually we won’t have the opportunity to answer the door. Let’s pay attention to knock on the door of our hearts and answer with a YES! COME IN!

I’ll leave you with a song I wrote and recorded about 3 years ago about my experience of accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. It’s called, “Touched”.

BBCOG. Peace.

You cannot get there by being baptized, though we all ought to be baptized, according to the teaching of Jesus. We do not get there by joining a church, although we all ought to join a church. you do not get there by praying; you can pray to the end of your life, 24 hours a day, and not get there. (You get to Heaven by) coming into the Kingdom by an act of the will. through Jesus Christ the Lord, that gets me out of the old (way of living, thinking, life in general) and into the kingdom of God and under the rule of the throne of God again.

-Excerpt from Experiencing the Presence of God by A.W. Tozer

A.W. Tozer died in the mid 1900s but just like so many of the other wise dead guys (C.S. Lewis, Charles Spurgeon, St. Augustine, Smith Wigglesworth, etc.) Tozer was able to speak and write timeless wisdom because he understood that though the world changes at a rapid pace, the state of mankind will never change until Jesus returns. What is that state that mankind never moves from? Mankind will always be in need of reconciliation with God the Creator of the universe.

BBCOG, Peace.

Proverbs 23:17-18 – “Don’t for a minute envy careless rebels (sinners); soak yourself in the Fear-of-God, That’s where your future lies. Then you won’t be left with an armload of nothing. (MSG)”

Here’s the message: When things look bleak don’t envy people or their possessions, lifestyle, etc. who don’t exhibit a life of integrity in Christ. At the moment it may look like they are prospering and you (doing all that you can to live a life of integrity in Christ) are struggling in the rat race. This outward appearance is very true in the sense of your natural eyesight, but as verse 18 states, your future lies in the soaking of the Fear-of-God. Try finding yourself in worship with God alone and you might be amazed how you feel when you’re done. When the battle is over and the air is clear again you will see both naturally and spiritually that lifestyle of integrity in Christ, paid off!

But as for now, during the struggle, you have to keep your focus on and faith in God. It’s hard. Living in a box of circumstances is harder though. So break out of your box of circumstances and situations and live above those circumstances and not under them! It’s possible when your thinking changes from self-centered to God-centered. Out goes fear and in comes boldness, hope, and joy.

BBCOG, peace.

But I ask this: Does hypocrisy stop you from believing that your favorite celebrity is who they say they are? My point is that many people blame Christians for hypocrisy and use it as an excuse not to live Christ-like, but don’t get mad when they find out their favorite entertainer doesn’t have nearly the amount of money they sing or rap about. Or doesn’t live anywhere close to the lifestyle they portray in the media. Or comes out with a sextape after portraying a life of monogamy with a different partner. None of that stops said people from pursing that lifestyle even after they find out the reality of the lifestyle. There are more examples of this. Anyone who has ever been cheated on eventually realizes that not ALL men/women are cheaters just a few are. Being cheated on doesn’t stop you from finding the love of your life, does it? You attribute a blanket generalization to ALL members of a group when a few misrepresent. If that was the standard there wouldn’t be a positive thing to say about any group of people.

So lets reexamine our motives when we decide to play the hypocrisy card. Besides, even a hypocrite needs forgiveness. When it’s all said and done God will judge the motives (heart) of a person and those can be hidden from people but from not God.

Postmodernism is culture that thrives on relativity and chaos. In other words, truth is relative and morality has no criteria. Worst of all it’s subtle, unassuming, and divisive. My truth may not be your truth. The line between right and wrong becomes blurred to the point that how one approaches a situation is neither right or wrong, it’s just the way he/she approaches the situation. To stand on a truth is fine, just don’t share that truth or else you run the risk of being called judgmental because your truth is not my truth. Postmodernism is corrosive. Let me be clear though, I’m not just talking about someone’s convictions.

Having convictions about something is different than having your own truth. Convictions should live in a house of truth. If there’s no housing of truth then you have chaos for lack of a strong foundation. So what is my truth? My truth is the Truth, the Way, and the Life.

The Word of God is the Truth. The times we live in now have been prophesied long ago. In fact our postmodern culture can be summed up in this scripture, “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has made to light upon Him the guilt and iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6).”

Postmodernism has shown that we have turned every one to his own way, but there is hope still because Jesus had all the guilt and iniquity of every human being laid on Him at Calvary’s cross. What is it about the gospel that makes people so heated (both bad heated and good heated lol)?

First of all the gospel of Jesus is both inclusive of everybody (John 3:16) and exclusive to those who believe (John 3:16, Matthew 7:13). *Ding* quick side note, those opponents of the gospel who hinge their arguments on what the books of (Jewish) law of the Old Testament (these are laws found mainly in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy) say are flawed because many of those laws have been reconciled through the death and resurrection of Christ and thus do not apply to the Christians of today. If you want specifics please contact me and we’ll sort through it together. *Ding* okay I’m back.

Second the gospel of Jesus Christ gives those who believe in it the power (the Holy Spirit) to live according to the truth of scripture. This ongoing process is called sanctification. Inevitably we will commit sins along way, this does not mean we are unconverted. But what does qualify us as not being truly converted is a lifestyle of sin. A lifestyle of intentional sin when we know it doesn’t line up with what you know to be true simply means you truly haven’t been converted to Christ (Hebrews 10:26).

This is a long post! I’ll continue part 2 later, for now, BBCOG!

2) I want to let you know that no matter what some uninformed Christian(s) may say, Jesus Christ loves you more than any person in your life. The Bible says that while we were still sinners (at one time or other we were all “unsaved”) Jesus died so that we may have everlasting life (Romans 5:8).

3) Though I will contend that the Christian life is the best life its not always the easiest or without hard times. The Bible says that Jesus was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3). This doesn’t mean all day everyday Jesus walked around sad but being God and then coming to Earth in human form knew and felt every sorrow and pain that we feel today, and ultimately all those sorrows come from the effect that sin has on the body, spirit, and soul. Though Jesus felt the effects of sin, He did not sin.

4) Come to Christ as you are right now! It’s not your job to clean yourself up first. If that were the case, you and I would never be ready. If you’re reading this now still hungover from going out last night, great! Don’t wait another moment to give your life to Christ! The same power that Jesus operated in is given to the Christian and thus the more you feed yourself the things of God the more you live out the true Christian life through that power that is given us when we give our lives to Christ.

5) Being “saved” is not a feeling, it’s a believing! You may not FEEL different right away but if you BELIEVE you are saved, you are. And this is how to do it, “Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).”
If you are not sure what this means exactly, say this out loud (preferably alone):

“Jesus I confess that I am a sinner and I believe that you came to this earth, lived, and died for my sins and on the third day you were resurrected and still live today. I renounce my sin and believe that you are Lord.”

If you prayed this prayer and truly believed it, YOU ARE SAVED!

6) You might not know where to go from here, and if that’s the case please find someone you know who is a real Christian and ask them your questions about anything pertaining to this new life in Christ. I am also here to help you on your journey with Christ. If you have my number please call me or text me. Also feel free to leave a comment on this blog post or even email me at: jcooksey0216@gmail.com. You can also add me on Facebook and/or follow me on Twitter. As you can see there are many ways to get your questions answered and I am here to help. If you don’t understand what some things mean in the Bible go out and buy or google the “Message Bible”. This is the bible translated in everyday language and very easy to understand.

I thank God for any and all who read this and come to know Jesus Christ as Lord, savior, and friend.

Be Blessed Children of God (BBCOG)

Peace.

Producers, engineers, musicians, singers, rappers, actors, doctors, lawyers, and the list goes on, all have a purpose for what they do. The purpose is to effect others with their work. The hope is to effect so many others that they themselves get recognized. All that we do day in and day out is for a singular purpose to rise through the ranks by effecting other people on this earthly and natural dimension to the point that they (other people in higher authority) may be moved and notice us making it possible to earn a greater position. There’s nothing wrong with that. Basically, for a few basic reasons we want to impress others. Whether the reason is to make more money to provide for your family, or to become the best (insert job here) in your field, or simply wanting others to feel the passion you have for your work. We do what we do for others (and then for ourselves).

But when you are a believer in Jesus Christ your earthly purpose takes the backseat to your eternal purpose which is to effect people to the point that they act out Romans 10:9, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”–Let us not get so caught up in our earthly purpose that our eternal purpose is secondary or even worse, all together discarded. In my case, my desire to make great heartfelt music, that’s creative and interesting is a great desire. But it is for the glory of God that someone may come to Christ and forever be saved by his love. I may not reach a greater position on this earth doing what I do, but giving God the glory will effect others because it is God who touches the hearts of mankind through the gifts of His children when His children are committed to doing what they do for Him.

Be Blessed Children of God (BBCOG)

Peace.