Lampstand (Matthew 5:14-16)

LAMPSTAND

I'm tired, I'm tired, I'm tired,

says he who's up next slated to perform

I don't wanna do this, Lord, it's the same ol' nothin new,

Feels like I'm just here putting on the act and Fakin' the Funk

My cups run empty, wells run dry, No progress, it's like I'm stuck in this place, this ship anchor just sunk

Lord, you know my circumstances,

workin Day N Night, feeding my heart just off these scraps to get by

I guess i'll show them a lil something. I'll try...But where's the inspiration I once had, so in this frustration I ask why?

Used to see, but now weary eyes shut, uneasy to be me, The book says preach the Gospel, Be blessed to bless others with the gift of spoken word and do something new, build up the people, O apostle

Yeah, I go to church every Sunday, but only when my schedule intersects with your way,

Yeah, Lightly clappin my hands, stompin my feet, singing the same 'ol church songs & hymns, but just can't remember when I got my last breakthrough from Him

Mechanistic lifestyle Trial after trial, weighting me down after each tick, tick of denial to go back to a place of worship.

last time I did my secretary says currently not on file

I'm tryna speak the words to encourage my brothers and sisters but I find no weight in thin air

Putting up my hands to beat the wind but only getting swept off my feet no target there

I'm runnin with my feet but the rest of my body not functioning, cuz my Heart don't care.

Only option left let's go back to square one, reset the balance, the scale set back to tare

And takin him to Matthew 5:14 thru 16 Jesus says, LAMPSTAND, I'ma take you there

You, being the vessel, the LAMPSTAND but u can't stand without the firm weight planted in at the rock of its foundation

Understand that you gotta stand firm fighting on your own two feet, O soldier, for the Good fight for Revelation of God His Famedation

Shine the light so that your people would know where to run to in this good race

Run the race to achieve first place, and Get this information thru comprehension, with revelation, the activation to manifestation, so not be Lukewarm stuck behind in second place of consellation

Truth is, I know what it's like to be you & MORE

BEAT DOWN BY MY ENEMIES, CRIED IN LOVE FOR THEM IN JERUSALEM THOUGH THEY WERE BOUT TO COMMIT AGAINST ME ONE OF THE GREATEST FELONIES

STEP AFTER STEP TAKING UP THAT CROSS, GOD PROVIDED ALL THE STRENGTH TO NOT BE IN LACK

So with tears I tell you, Keep walkin’ cuz Victory's in the crucifixion of the flesh

Even though you're gasping for dear Life, Run & I will say son, you did well on this test

Run for your Dear Life, Child of God, 4 the upward Prize and Like catching the last train gasping, you'd say it's better to have run than not to have made it

I CAME SO THAT YOU MAY STAND

STAND AND RIZE UP AS MY RIGHT HAND MAN

SHINE WITH MY DIVINITY TEACHING ALL ABOUT THE HOLY TRINITY

I plead to you don't stand for nothing, cuz you'll fall for anything

So REDIRECT the focus and Seek first the Kingdom and His Righteousness and you will gain everything you ever needed I mean Look, He said it

And you gotta shine, NOW is ALWAYS the right time

Sanctify, Bless, Convict, Deliver, Resuscitate Dear Life back Up & illuminate through each rhyme, making use of the precious God-given time

Despite your circumstances weighing you down, remember it's the CROSS daily you take up, Uplifting you and them through each town

And I ask, "You were running so well in the race, what made you slip?"

But I say to you, NOW hold fast to this Word of Life, always the Best Tip

LAMPSTAND, open the eye gate of your Heart, what was once dark, Now made Light to be the Guidance in the Night

LAMPSTAND, cuz now what you see is what you be, Shine bright to the extremities, Christ being the Perfect Remedy, So for the living Word equip and be ready, Labor not in vain, even after great affliction and pain, In love nothing can separate us, Just Trust! Me...I will guide as I am the lamp to your feet, the Light to your path

It's simple, I paid it all, so keep the change It's no Riddle, Just get the Math

& understand I see you night after night with tears in your eyes, Press On

I feel the pain everytime you lose another, Fight On

I know the confusion of your present circumstances But you gotta Live on

And for Christ Sake, I say, speak the Word of Life, Disciple nations, Their lives' at stake!

They won't see you in the valley of self-pity, it's not where you belong O Child of God, Be a LAMPSTAND in the City

Lift up thy voice like a trumpet, & spare not, Cry Aloud

I speak to remind you the difference between True Love and Blind Religion is that I am at the center, not man made incision of division

Like planets revolving around the sun, Through Him, All things line into place, YOUR LIFE gravitates around the Greatest Power into check Mate to Christ, me, my Father's only begotten Son

SO RIZE up like Moses to this Mountain Top

Receive and Manifest the Great Commandments that you may be the LAMPSTAND, standing with uprightness, once dark but now Light, an Awesome Reflection of His Life & Righteousness

I say Love God with ALL your heart, soul & mind, & Reciprocate His Love back at your Neighbor, So God's Love, through your Light, he and she may find

Get to the Nitty Gritty, Change this city, Disciple and Change this nation, this generation, This the Revelation We are the Lampstand Rize up & shine Go Higher past your fear of Heights, we're bout to reach more, previously unseen, but now visible in Eagle-Eye at this new Elevation

God says your DONE with staying hidden in the trenches, helplessly taking in the hits, while just warming up the pew benches, Child of mine, Rize up and on the Frontline Be my LAMPSTAND, Let Your Light Shine

Bearing my thoughts on Facebook...Read! Lol

Ok, I haven't been posting up fb. statuses for a cool minute now starting since about two weeks ago.
No, I've not been falling off my walk with God, actually getting closer. And No, it's not that I don't have anything to say, I've actually got a lot, but all to be said in the right season.

Here are some of my thoughts on Facebook of how it can be destructive:

***Disclaimer: NOT SHOOTING DOWN FACEBOOK, but just hear me out

1) It distracts me from what I should and Could be doing, esp. for Finals week. I've been given the OPPORTUNITY to study, which I am grateful for and thank God often that I am able to do so. So my heart is set to not squander the opportunity through ways I know can be defeating.

2) We may just be pushing off the very people we are trying to reach. I know facebook is a method of expression to represent the real you, or at least an attempt to. lol On that note, I am a Christian and wish to express my Love as a Christian. BUT I always have to consider how my statuses are being perceived by others and most particularly nonbelievers, those of which I am actually trying to reach and share with them more about the faith in Jesus Christ, the same one that changed my life forever. So this fb hiatus allows me more time to reconsider my ways so that i'm not just always reaching out to my Christian friends. I know we never have to compromise our Love for Jesus Christ to reach others, and we don't have to mold or shape God in an attempt to make the Gospel appealing and relevant to nonbelievers. I believe Our Love for God and ability to love one another, and always prevail, will cause others to naturally  seek out the same Jesus we got, who is the same yesterday today and forever (Heb 13:8). And this is coming from an ex-agnostic/atheist.  FYI Today marks my 2nd Birthday in Christ. I dedicated my Life to Christ 2 years ago on Sunday Dec. 20th, 2009 in Carson, CA!!! My life's taken off ever since and God have all the Glory. So in sum, I just want to constantly think about the most effective APPROACH in gaining nonbelievers to Taste and See thee goodness of God I was blessed 2 experience.

3) I get drained of my spiritual energy for creativity & growth. B/c I write poetry and other stuff and yeah..

4) I'll admit that oftentimes it makes me seek out attention to myself, more than necessary (this is just natural of course). i.e. checking notifications like a facebookaholik. yea i jus made up that word. u can use it 2. ....To demonstrate why this is destructive, I'll confess that in the past I used to be the one who wanted to show off his body to others, bc I worked out A LOT and had the "hard evidence" to prove it. LOL..so taking off my shirt during runs was sometimes not just to feel good feeling the air but to gain attention and a sense of self-satisfaction from others, something I didn't know at the time was actually hindering my growth as a person. of course right? I'm guilty of that. Through this and many more examples, I Know that its unnatural and actually damaging to seek out attention for oneself.

5) I am more likely to be POSTING (Fronting) about my walk with God and less likely to actually be living the walk out. This includes reading and HEARING and following his Word with clarity/comprehension, getting new revelations/insight, activating my spirit man, manifesting these principles into my life, PRAYER-talking to God and hearing from Him with Intimacy, Getting my heart Right with Him, Dedicating my gifts He gave to me like poetry and Dance 4 Him and others, Reaching out to others in need in a way that can only be done by talking to them inter-personally, Getting people the Gospel, doing good for them so that they can know bout a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that I have learned brings true freedom, joy, and salvation.

6) And lastly why I have been using fb less is cuz Theres soo muuch dirt contaminating my fb feed!!! foreal!! the list of things goes on!!...drama, cursing (this is not just swear words, think about it), pictures of scantily clad women who i profess would look more beautiful with clothes on-just saying. Beauty is the way one views oneself and thus presents his/herself.  And half-naked pictures of dudes, same issue...Lol.

But the thing that irks me the most...well, I ESPECIALLY HATE it when brothers/sisters in Christ shoot each other down, when we should be building each other up. I see it on fb often.

What does Jesus say regarding this issue?
In Matthew 22:37-39, He is quoted in saying,
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38This is the great and first commandment. 39And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
-Amen. And...
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:35
-We cannot truthfully call ourselves Christian-followers of Christ, if we're not following Jesus' commandment to Love. and of course, it's hard to love one another sometimes, especially when we''ve been used, talked about, been wronged. But I believe Loving others DESPITE, NONETHELESS, EVEN SO... is one of the biggest marks of what makes a Christian. It's what sets us apart from what the world often teaches one to do. Romans 12:21 says, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

I'm actually glad for the opportunity via fb to see more of how we treat each other even when it causes me a lotta pain...so that i know what to pray for...But I also do believe that we gotta always at least CONSIDER cutting or pruning off ways that might just cause us to be half-hearted about our walks for even a moment. We are called 2 hear with an Ear and follow His words to Love God with all our heart, soul, & mind and Love one another as He loves us...AS WE ARE HIS DISCIPLES.

Yes, I'll admit that I still am at times selfish, prideful, arrogant, self-boasting, fearful, insecure... im human. Yet i'll admit all this and more with others and How God is Transforming me by the renewal of my mind (Romans 12:1-2) b/c as we share our testimonies and what might be embarrassing to people, we can show that for 1) we are human and 2) God can transform, heal, and fix anybody. I'd call a testimony a success if it can at least save one person hearing it, or a backslider, hypocrite, etc. So we need not be ashamed of what God has brought us out of especially when we see it's all a part of the plan and know that all things work for the Better through God.

And NO, It's not that I think Facebook is from the devil. LoL. I believe it's a Good thing to use b/c its given by God (ultimately)- FB is a tool we can use to connect with people, invite ppl to events, challenge each other, reminisce, reflect, have fun, take a break with from studying, etc. etc., all a way to build up the Kingdom. I love all that! I am not saying "Don't use facebook anymore-its the Devil" or that I will never ever post another status again. I just believe that we should Always CONSIDER our intentions and IMPROVE our approach to things we both do and use especially when it's of a daily (sometimes hourly) basis, such as Facebook.

2 Corinthians 5:17 reads, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."
-Thus, we should no longer be talking like the world. We are children of the Light, new Creatures that radiate out of ourselves the Light which is Christ. This is verified in Ephesians 5: 8-11: "8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9(for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them."

So if you've made it this far in this lengthy note (ahh commend you. Lol), but the main point of this message is that I simply think we should always Consider and Approach the way in which we use our outlets of expression. That's All.
-Mike