I found this conversation fascinating. I am not African American, but the issues are relevant across races I think. The higher you go, the harder it becomes. I know its a lot of videos, but its riveting stuff. Enjoy!!
Part 1:
Part 2
Part 3:
Part 4:
Part 5:
Part 6:
Part 7:
Part 8:
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Nigerian Christmas Music - 2010
So I had a posting on this last year and could not really find much to point to in terms of music for the season from the homeland. However, it appears that our musicians are beginning to step up to the plate.
My favorite this year would be this masterpiece from Tosin Martins. When I saw the title "Silent Night", I groaned and wondered if it would be another cheesy remake of the classic song. Boy was I wrong! This can only be described as absolutely brilliant!
Watch for yourself:
Watch for yourself:
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Delia Knox miracle
Hi folks!
I came across this story in one of Britain's most popular papers, and I just had to post it. There is a story in the book of Acts where Peter and John face the lame men sitting in front of the temple. He had been lame from birth, but that did not seem to stop the two disciples. Instead of silver and gold, they gave him healing in THAT NAME - the name of JESUS. And immidiately, the guy stood up and entered the temple - walking, leaping and praising GOD. I have always wondered what it would be like to witness something like that. Well, it appears that Delia Knox's story is the modern equivalent. Apparently, Delia is well known in christian circles in Mobile Alabama where she pastors a church with her husband. She has been in a wheelchair for the past 22 years. 22 YEARS! This past August, something happened. Watch for yourself:
I came across this story in one of Britain's most popular papers, and I just had to post it. There is a story in the book of Acts where Peter and John face the lame men sitting in front of the temple. He had been lame from birth, but that did not seem to stop the two disciples. Instead of silver and gold, they gave him healing in THAT NAME - the name of JESUS. And immidiately, the guy stood up and entered the temple - walking, leaping and praising GOD. I have always wondered what it would be like to witness something like that. Well, it appears that Delia Knox's story is the modern equivalent. Apparently, Delia is well known in christian circles in Mobile Alabama where she pastors a church with her husband. She has been in a wheelchair for the past 22 years. 22 YEARS! This past August, something happened. Watch for yourself:
Devotional: The name of Jesus
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Church in the news: Bishop Eddie Long in Mediation
So I normally don't comment on 'he said/ he said" (in this case) issues because there is no real way to find the truth. However, this morning, I woke up to the headline that Eddie Long has decided to go into mediation in the sexual misconduct lawsuit brought against him by four young men in his church.
CNN has a video that summarizes the case:
Does it mean that he is guilty? Noo, but....
This dude here has a nice post on the way it looks though:
source
Its not a good look. It smells of all those Catholic church settlements and we all know how those turned out.
What do y'all think?
Hmmmm!
CNN has a video that summarizes the case:
Does it mean that he is guilty? Noo, but....
This dude here has a nice post on the way it looks though:
Bishop Eddie Long agreeing to mediation of sexual coercion charges is an end-run around the universally accepted moral and ethical responsibilities of any ecumenical leader. Mediation of sexual allegation grievances is tantamount to an admission of “some” guilt, “some” form of ministerial misconduct. Innocent folk don’t make deals if the claims against them are baseless and untrue. Mediation for the accused is a forfeiture of the right to ever claim innocence and readers should be absolutely clear on this point.
source
Its not a good look. It smells of all those Catholic church settlements and we all know how those turned out.
What do y'all think?
Hmmmm!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Daily Devotion: Dealing with death
Hi folks!
Yes, I know, I have not been showing up everyday. Its not easy, please no vex. I will try to show up as often as possible though. One of my little darlings just recently lost her dad, and it has been a time of grief for our community here. We have rallied around her, doing the best we can to comfort her in her time of grief. And then this morning, I just happened to come across this news item:
Apparently he was an active member of Nairaland, and they are still struggling to come to terms with his demise as seen in this thread. Condolences to his family and all who knew him.
The truth is that the fatality rate on earth is 100 percent so its something we all have to think about. How should we as Christians approach this topic?
With hope. Because we do not cease to exist, we just move on to a more exciting dimension.
Here is how Paul explains it:
I Cor 15: 35-56
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”[f]; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.
50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
I place particular emphasis on verses 42-44: Sown in weakness, raised in glory!!
Let that comfort you if you are facing any grief at the moment, or the thought of death terrifies you. It is not something to fear even though fear is our most natural reaction to death. It is something to look forward to after we have fulfilled our purpose on this earth. Its a life in a new, perfected dimension. Its life forever with GOD.
As we ponder these difficult but necessary thoughts, I leave you with one of the songs we sang at the memorial for my friend's dad just last week (although I don't recall us singing it this well! LOL!!). And to remember that either in life or in death, HE is always faithful.
Have a wonderful day!
I have always, always loved the Cece version, it just gives me goosebumps! But the Isreal Houghton version is inspiring too.
Yes, I know, I have not been showing up everyday. Its not easy, please no vex. I will try to show up as often as possible though. One of my little darlings just recently lost her dad, and it has been a time of grief for our community here. We have rallied around her, doing the best we can to comfort her in her time of grief. And then this morning, I just happened to come across this news item:
Apparently he was an active member of Nairaland, and they are still struggling to come to terms with his demise as seen in this thread. Condolences to his family and all who knew him.
The truth is that the fatality rate on earth is 100 percent so its something we all have to think about. How should we as Christians approach this topic?
With hope. Because we do not cease to exist, we just move on to a more exciting dimension.
Here is how Paul explains it:
I Cor 15: 35-56
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”[f]; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.
50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
I place particular emphasis on verses 42-44: Sown in weakness, raised in glory!!
Let that comfort you if you are facing any grief at the moment, or the thought of death terrifies you. It is not something to fear even though fear is our most natural reaction to death. It is something to look forward to after we have fulfilled our purpose on this earth. Its a life in a new, perfected dimension. Its life forever with GOD.
As we ponder these difficult but necessary thoughts, I leave you with one of the songs we sang at the memorial for my friend's dad just last week (although I don't recall us singing it this well! LOL!!). And to remember that either in life or in death, HE is always faithful.
Have a wonderful day!
I have always, always loved the Cece version, it just gives me goosebumps! But the Isreal Houghton version is inspiring too.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Daily Devotion: GOD will make a way
Happy new month!!
The title of this post is also the title to one of my favorite songs actually. It might be old school, may be out of fashion, but its like comfort food. I always fall back on it.
Here it is with lyrics for whoever does not know it:
Great song!!
But do you know where the inspiration for the original lyrics came from?
Particularly the bridge "By a roadway in the wilderness HE leads me, rivers in the desert will I see?"
Its from one of my favorite verses:
Isaiah 43:18-21
Its like those movies - actually I caught the last few minutes of NCIS last night - where the bad guy had his knife to a victim's throat and was just about to slice it. She had given up hope, he thought he had won, and then from out of nowhere, shots ring out, at the very last minute. Suddenly the bad guy is dead, the 'almost victim' is safe and the officer who showed up is a hero.
I think they got inspiration from Isaiah 43 too.
There are many examples in the bible of GOD showing up to be the hero when all hope was lost - we have Joseph in prison, counting his pet roaches, wondering if life would ever change; we have David, wandering in the desert, wondering if he would live long enough to ever be king; we have Moses, set adrift on the Nile, his mother scared to death that he would not live long enough to see his first birthday; we have Esther, appearing before the king, terrified that he would say "off with her head!!".
They all fulfilled their destinies through very dramatic circumstances. I like to think of GOD as the original scriptwriter. And he does it better than all these Holly/Bolly/Nollywood peeps anyways! LOL!
GOD will make a way. Have a blessed day.
Ciao.
The title of this post is also the title to one of my favorite songs actually. It might be old school, may be out of fashion, but its like comfort food. I always fall back on it.
Here it is with lyrics for whoever does not know it:
Great song!!
But do you know where the inspiration for the original lyrics came from?
Particularly the bridge "By a roadway in the wilderness HE leads me, rivers in the desert will I see?"
Its from one of my favorite verses:
Isaiah 43:18-21
18 “ Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
19 Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.
20 The beast of the field will honor Me,
The jackals and the ostriches,
Because I give waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My people, My chosen.
21 This people I have formed for Myself;
They shall declare My praise.
Its like those movies - actually I caught the last few minutes of NCIS last night - where the bad guy had his knife to a victim's throat and was just about to slice it. She had given up hope, he thought he had won, and then from out of nowhere, shots ring out, at the very last minute. Suddenly the bad guy is dead, the 'almost victim' is safe and the officer who showed up is a hero.
I think they got inspiration from Isaiah 43 too.
There are many examples in the bible of GOD showing up to be the hero when all hope was lost - we have Joseph in prison, counting his pet roaches, wondering if life would ever change; we have David, wandering in the desert, wondering if he would live long enough to ever be king; we have Moses, set adrift on the Nile, his mother scared to death that he would not live long enough to see his first birthday; we have Esther, appearing before the king, terrified that he would say "off with her head!!".
They all fulfilled their destinies through very dramatic circumstances. I like to think of GOD as the original scriptwriter. And he does it better than all these Holly/Bolly/Nollywood peeps anyways! LOL!
GOD will make a way. Have a blessed day.
Ciao.
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