Da Word... 170!

Good EVENING!!!

What's going on!  Da holiday season is fast approaching.  I can't believe the year is almost over already!  It's crazy!  Heh heh, but time marches forward and new experiences await!  Aight, on to... da Word!

checkit:

Cornelius stared at him in fear. "What is it Lord?" he asked.  The angel answered, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God."

- Acts 10:4

The art of giving, so important!  Checkit, this kat Cornelius was a centurion (a Roman officer with 100 men under his command) in the Italian Regiment in Caesarea.  This kat's family was devout and God-fearing. Not only that potnas, this kat also gave generously to those in need!  And homeboy shot the breeze with Pops regularly (he prayed).  All this info can be found in the first 2 verses.  Suddenly, Cornelius had a vision and saw an angel of Pops speak the above captured verse... and then some.

That is HOT son!   Pops sent an angel to pass on a message of acknowledgment from Pops above Himself!  SWEEET!   Why?  Because, among other possible things, this centurion gave generously to the poor and prayed.  I mean, the angel said exactly why: "prayers and gifts to the poor."  If such acts moved Pops to send this guy, a gentile no less, a personal message of affirmation.... WOOO!!!  Giving and prayer have got to be MAAAAAAAAAAAAAD important!  Taking care of those less fortunate than you are, giving to those who have not, and taking up the cause of the wronged and the fatherless is an act of servanthood and living for more than just oneself.  But also note that prayer was a big part of that too.  We gots to be straight rollin' with Pops potnas!  Just chattin' all the time like the best of buds.  I mean, cuz the straight fact is that  He IS the best friend you will ever have.

So was this the only thing Pops did in response to this centurion's act of selflessness?  Nope, Pops hooked this guy up PHAT!!!!!  He created a divine meeting between this gentile and the apostle Peter (the so-called ROCK of the church)!   Check this, Pops also gave Peter a vision in order to prepare him!  But that's not even the koolest part.  Yoooo, check this, when these two kats met up, Peter dropped da knowledge, and all who heard da message were baptized in the Holy Spirit..... did you catch that?  They caught da Holy Ghost!  God gave them the gift of his spirit!  These gentiles son...  peeps who were not Jews!  This is HUGE... HUUUUUUGE!  (peep Da Word... 127!)   And this, my friends, is the gift God bestowed on this centurion because he willingly gave gifts to the poor and prayed to Pops on the regular.   So, does Pops think highly of giving and prayer?  heh, i think so! 

Take away:  Let us remember to give to those less fortunate than we, and let us remember to shoot the breeze with Pops on the regular. And let us do so not in anticipation of reward, but out of a genuine desire in our hearts.

G-bless,

   - patrick

Da Word... 169!

Good EVENING!

What up people?  How ya livin'?  What's the WORD!  Yo last week was CRAZY.  So much going on and a lot of opportunities being opened.  God works in mysterious ways bruthaz and sistaz.  Ultimately a chain of events took place that has opened many doors of opportunity to appear before me.  Props to POPS yo!  I tell ya.  But check this quick kool story:  Trump (yes the Donald Trump) said to me yesterday something like: "I'd like to be your manager."   Yo, that blew so many peeps away.  It didn't hit me really until people started coming up to me saying, "whoa!"  I also started being called, "the voice."  heh.  This all happened in a span of 3 minutes or so.  aight, on to... da Word!

checkit:

Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.

- Proverbs 26:20

Word!  That's basic potnas.  It doesn't get any simpler than that.  If there is no wood... there is no fire.  But once you start feeding wood to the fire, that fire gets bigger, hotter, and violent.  Now apply that to quarrels and fights.  It's the same deal yo!  If ya got beef with someone, and it erupts into a fight, there is gonna be some problems.  And if ya didn't settle it before the day is gone (like da Word elsewhere suggests), ya might have even more problems... cuz it festers.  But yo, once the gossiping starts, potna you just opened a whole other can o' worms. 

Checkit, a quarrel is between two peeps (or more).  If these two peeps can't come to terms, then a third party might be necessary. But if instead of working toward a resolution, one of these two peeps starts gossiping about the situation to all kinds o' peeps, the world has been given access to a relational info it may have no business knowing.  In fact, the situation has now been hugely complicated. Not only will tempers flare if the other person finds out about the gossip, but lies will begin to emerge.  That story will soon begin to entertain events that NEVER happened! Like a blind purple people eater or some stuff. Things will get blown WAY out of proportion.  And just like feeding wood to a relatively calm fire, the gossip will turn a manageable quarrel into this explosive, violent, and vicious ordeal laying waste all parties involved.  Why would we ever want to worsen our pain?  It makes NO sense, none!  But for some reason some people like relationship crushing, life destroying pain. 

What's the takeaway?  Let's practice some sense bruthaz and sistaz!  Let's not willingly increase our pain or complicate our lives.  That's not where Pops wants us to live.  Life would be the pits yo!  Naw, let's kick the gossiping to the curb so that quarrels can die down.  And that way we can live in the enjoyment of life, the exact place Pops wants us all to be.

Aight potnas!   Gotta bounce, PeACE!

G-bless,

  - patrick