All Souls Matter

* A Sampling of Lecrae & Co.’s Beat Driven Ministry

“Christian faith is one that has to be tried and tested consistently. The Bible talks about making your ‘calling and election sure.’ And so I think you just have to ask those questions: Do I really believe this? Am I really serious about this? To prod and probe to see where you really stand. Hopefully you always end up with that firm foundation.”

Race, color, ethnicity, adversity, tolerance, prejudice, bias, pride…  These are just some of the natural realities that continue to ignite our racial divide. But in the end, none of it will matter. On the last day, it will all go away. Who will you grab hold of on that last day of days?

RIP to Medgar Evers
RIP to Doctor King
I ain’t tryin’ to hate on my own kind
But Al and Jesse don’t speak for me

These are the fearless words of the Hip-Hop phenom Lecrae, a theologically astute messenger of hope and encouragement whose primary mission it is to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the masses.

I’m probably gonna catch
Some flack man,
But I’m gonna swallow this pill
Like pac man
Some of these folks won’t tell the truth,
Too busy tryin’ to get them racks man

He’s an artist that does not flee from the ‘hard truths.’ In fact, hard truth is exactly what he’s giving…

Church trying to rob my paycheck,
Choir members probably havin gay sex
Pastor manipulatin, hurtin women,
I wonder what he’s gonna say next
Bookstore pimpin them hope books,
Like God don’t know how broke looks
They tellin me that I’m gonna reap a meal
If I sow into these low crooks

There’s only one way we can overcome our natural differences in appearance and allegiance. It is only through Christ and He Alone. In Him we can come together with great love and respect for one another.

Truthfully I’m just doin’ me,
And I don’t wanna face no scrutiny
As long as the church keep wild’n out,
I can justify all my foolish deeds
Smokin weed, pourin up, keep that liter in my cup
Maybe I can change the world,
But this porn on my laptop got me stuck

Black, white, gay, straight… If you are hurting, the body of Christ can be your sanctuary. We seek to deliver a message of transformation, not condemnation.

“Many people have seen the hypocrisy and inconsistencies that have helped push them away from the church and God all together.”

It’s time to cool the hate, remove the race bait, and respond to our Biblical mandate. May we call upon God with a desire to serve Him. In return, He will certainly enable us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Only then will we look past our differences and become united as brothers and sisters in Christ.

They say beauty is only skin deep, but what really matters is the spiritual state of the soul. The senseless acts of violence and suppression will only cease and decrease when the value of human life is elevated by Biblical proportions. The best cure for the mistreatment of our fellow man is the saving knowledge that we are spiritual beings made in God’s image with souls for all eternity.

It better not be no real God, real hope, that heals hearts
It shows me that I ain’t livin up
To all these things he put me here for
It better not be no real church, real saints, who pray hard

Are we our brother’s keeper? To hear Lecrae tell it, I’d say the answer is a resounding ‘Yes!’

It better not be no real folk
Who don’t think that they better than you
Straight or gay, drunk and high
They walk through the cold and weather with you

That’s what true love is about. True love is unconditional, but it doesn’t spare hard truth. Jesus did not promote blind acceptance. He is offering radical, life giving change…

No we don’t wanna see that,
Cuz that might mean a life change
That might mean I’m worth more,
Then money, cars, sex and pipe dreams
Better not be no real Jesus,
Real forgiveness, for hurt folks
If God gonna take me as I am
I guess I already got on my church clothes

He wants your complete submission and full obedience. You must die to self. Those who lose their life shall find it at the foot of the cross. This is the radical truth so greatly lost on today’s culture.

Pick up your cross and follow. Traveling the narrow path, we are conformed children of the promise. Come join us on the pilgrimage!

We walk by faith and Jesus is leading the way. Come as you are…

“I was once a slave to sin. I couldn’t help but answer it’s every beck and call. Porn, premarital sex, drugs, and theft mastered me. Romans 6:20 says that “when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness” (ESV). What that means is that it was easy to avoid righteousness and obedience to God. I was free from the conviction of my evil crimes. I could live reckless and ruin my life and feel no godly remorse at all. It’s a sad place. Romans 6 speaks about people who, like myself, were likely slaves to gross sin.

Paul goes on in verse 21 to basically ask these people, “What was the benefit of all your sin of which you are now ashamed?” Imagine the internal and external wounds acquired from living apart from God. Some may have been ashamed of all their fighting, lying, and cheating. Others may have had battle scars, diseases, and emotional damage from their sin. None of us receive any godly or good reward from our sin. We never achieve satisfaction by sinning, and a life marked by sin ends in eternal suffering away from God.

Verse 22, however, gives us the good news that we can and have been set free from the bondage of sin. We are no longer slaves to sin. Imagine you leave one job for another, and your former boss demands that you come into work today. Of course you’d decline because you no longer work there! You have a new job. Similarly, we are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to righteousness. When sin demands we come in for work, we now have the right and power to say, “NO!” Our new life in Christ has earthly benefits such as peace, joy, and growth in godliness. More importantly, it all culminates in eternal life with God in Heaven. Thank God He’s called us to “turn up” through turning to Him. Our sin leads to death, but God graciously frees us and offers us life.

*All quotes & lyrical content courtesy of Lecrae

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A.J. Castellitto is a freelance writer who resides in NJ with his wife and five children. He holds a B.S. in Counseling and Human Services from the University of Scranton and his writings have been published at The Center for Western Journalism, The Christian Post, Intellectual Conservative and Reformed Perspective Magazine.

A.J. Castellitto

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