Da Word... 148!

Good Morning!

How are you!  Hungry over here, heh heh.  Just had me some leftovers for breakfast... MIghTy TaStY!  But brutha still hungry, mmhmmmmm!  I do have this jar of peanut butter chillin' to my left........  Aight, on to.. da Word!

checkit:

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

1 John 4:10

That is some love potnas.  Matter o' fact, that kinda love is most def TOUGH to achieve.  I mean, we are talking about lovin' another whether or not they love you back.  But wait, that's not all.  It's also lovin' that person with such a depth of love that you would go so far as to sacrifice something truly important to help or save this person who may or may not even love you, or acknowledge your very existence.  Oh oh, but wait, the buck doesn't stop there.  We are talking about a love that is unconditional and non-discriminating.  In other words, this love is extended to anybody who is anybod -- EVEN those kats who mock and disrespect you to your face kid!

Now you tell me, is that kinda love easy?  In order to love like that, yoooo, you really gotta know what love is!  And it's gotta be a part of your very being homies!  OOOO, but checkit... God has always harbored that kind of love!  That is ILL potnas!  Pops above loves us that much... and then some.  Now, imagine if we seek to grasp and internalize even a glimmer of that kind of love.   One word.... WHOA.....WHOA.... it would radically change communities son!   It would be beyond awesome if EVERYONE sought to achieve that kind of love.  Sadly, that won't happen whilst we live in this broken world.  But that doesn't mean it can't happen! 

Bruthaz and sistaz, it starts with you.  Don't settle for the status quo, rise above and hold yourself to a higher plateau.  Love even though others hate.  Love those who could careless.  Love those who are hard to love.  Love those you just wanna smack (oh man... those ones.. ooooo, heh heh).  Love those who love. Love unconditionally and non-discrimnatorily.   Keep doing that and pretty soon there'll be one or two people around you doing the same thing... then a couple more.  And guess what?  You'll have a little bit of heaven right here right now.

Word.  One.

G-bless,

   - patrick

Da Word... 147!

Hey hey!

What UP!  How ya livin'!?  The sun came out over here!  Yeah, it reared its head yesterday, busting through the immensity of clouds, slowly clearing the sky of the rain's wrath.  And today, the sun was out all day!  YEAH!  I missed most of the rampant raining since I was at E3 last week (off da HOOK son! also why I missed sending out da Word last week).  I heard it was non-stop!  N e who, give up some prayers for those spots underwater.  On to... da Word!

checkit:

One of those days, Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.

- Luke 6:12

Word.  My man J, went out to pray, and spent the night doing it.  That's a LONG time potnas!  Homeboy up and went to a place where he could be alone, and alone with Pops above... to get his convo on dawg!  Let's try to put this verse in context before diggin' further.  The next couple verses talk about J selectin' a certain 12, designating them apostles, from among all his disciples.  These are the 12 you keep hearin' about.  Anywho, he then rolls with these kats to some towns and straight brings the mighty hand of healing to maaaaaaaaaaasses of peeps yo!  It was ILL!  Peep Matthew chapter 10. Going into a little more detail,  it says that J sent these apostles out to unleash healing as well after having given them the authority to do so.

What kind of healing?  It runs the GAMIT kid!   Sickness, death, demonic possession... all could not hold the line against the coming onslaught of holy righteousness about to come raining down, oh no no NO!  But checkit... this only happened after my man J slipped away to pray... all night... and with Pops above alone.  BAM!  Something major was about to go down.  Not only that, my man J had to make some big decisions about on whom to bestow authority, what towns to visit, and what instructions to give.  Huge huge HUGE! 

What does this mean for us?  A couple things... when sumtim big is about to go down, it's prolly a good GOOD idea to chill with Pops for a hot minute, straight shooting the breeze and enjoying each other's company, and seeking His direction and advice for the path you should travel.  Cuz ain't no WAY Pops will lead you astray.  Ya heard!  And that's da truth, buhlee dat!  heh heh.  Secondly, we ought to make time for Pops kid!  Pops isn't just some amazing, unapproachable God entity sitting on a throne far away from us insignificant ants.  Naw bruthaz and sisaz, He is a God who would LOVE to just sit and chat with you and to have a bonafide relationship with ya.  Have you ever been able to build a strong, uplifting relationship with someone... without communicating with them?  No, that's impossible.  It's the same with Pops.  We can't expect to fully engage in the illest relationship possible if we don't chill with Pops.  So, slow down!  Take pause kid!  Take Pops out for once, and enjoy hanging out.  I promise you won't regret it.. and that you'll reap totally unexpected and awesome blessings as result.

Aight potnas, gotta bounce!  PeACE!

G-bless,

  - patrick

Da Word... 146!

Hey hey!

Good evenin' people!  How ya livin'!  I hope well, tru! TRU!  Apparently it's rainin' like CRAZY!  Fortunately, I missed the torrential downpour each time I've ventured into the open air.  Praise POPS!  Hah hah!  Aight aight, on tooooo.... da Word!

checkit:

1 ...Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  2 There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.  3 What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.

- J (Luke 12:1-3)

Oh snap!  It's my man J... da Christ!  In these few verses right here, J was droppin' some knowledge, some warnings if you will, to his potnas da disciples.  He was warnin' them to be on guard!  To avoid the pit that is hypocrisy kid.  And that is so on point.  But why?  Why should a brutha or sista avoid hypocrisy (you know, despite the obvious thing... that it's just plain wrong son!).  Well, J basically spits it like this, "Listen dawgs, all that you do, even in the so-called 'secret', will be made known!  It will be spat from ROOFTOPS kid! You know much that would bite?  yoooooo... you want none o' that, trust me."

See, the things that tend to happen in secret, in the dark, in places where there is no light, or in hushed tones tend to bear on unwholesome... u know, straight wrong or even eeeevil!  Cuz if it wasn't, why would we be tryin' ta hide it?  And that is, to hide it in such a way that certain people or all people will never ever find out... at least that is the hope.  You know how much stress that will cause?  psshhhhh, forget that stuff potnas, I'd rather be livin' la vida free.  There is no way a deep, dark secret will remain secret.  It's waaaaaaaaaaay too much work to keep it so, and you're bound to slip up somehow... someway.  And when that happens, a leak occurs... before you know it, the floodgates burst open, and there ya lay, bare and shamed. 

So why even create the opportunity for that to happen?  There is nothing to gain from it, but all to lose.  Naw naw brethren and sistren, let's heed what my man J has got ta say!  Let's not do things in the dark. No no no NO, let's always do things in the light!  If we have no secrets, we have no chains to bear us down, keep us on lock, and make life all the harder.  If we have no secrets, we can fly like straight eagles kid.  We can soar for there will be no burdensome weight holdin' us down.  Let our actions and our thoughts live in the light, thereby granting us the freedom to enjoy and partake in life to the fullest.  Don't waste time hiiiiidin'!  Come on now!  For life awaits you to grasp a hold of it!  To cherish it!  Time is waaay too precious, and life waaay too magnificent to dwindle the both away in the darkness.

Aight PEEPS!  I gotta bounce.  PeACE!

G-bless,

  - patrick