What Yo Gotti, Dolly Parton, and Friday the 13th Have in Common

What does Yo Gotti, Dolly Parton, and Friday the 13th have in common? They are the top trends on Twitter for the Tampa Bay area today. Yo Gotti's new song "Harder" is replete with rhymes about Crips, Bloods, sex, and drugs. The perfect ingredients for a hit song and our community is eating it up. In his rap he says "Expletive, if I die today I went to church I pay my tax, I leave my son a couple million dollars so I did alright" and "26 inch rims, chrome mac 11, doing right so hard, but I pray I get to heaven".

See, even Yo Gotti.. with all his cars, guns, drugs, and money is worried about where he's going when he dies... and no amount of money and fame can conquer a fear of death. Interesting... Yo Gotti missed the promise Jesus made in John 14:27 "I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid." Jesus's lyrics may not rhyme either.. but they definitely bring a comfort that Yo Gotti's album will never rival.

Now Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah star in a little more positive and uplifting movie released today called "Joyful Noise". It is a good thing that the evil forces of this world are not stealing all the top trending hash tags today. This movie depicts unfortunately why many people have chose to avoid church at all cost as two "Christian women" fight it out over who will direct the choir. As honest as the screenwriter was about what goes on behind some church doors, it is important to note that even "Christians" are sinful creatures who cannot go unchecked on a daily basis. At least the writer made the title a verse from the Bible that says in Psalm 98:4 "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all the earth".

Now Friday the 13th is synonymous with superstition and stress. This year, we will have three "Friday the 13ths" and millions of people allow this simple date to explain away every bad event.. some enjoy horror movie marathons and others hole up in their homes.. but.. we must remember Colossians 2:8 "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.

Now that is a wrap up of today's twitter trends!

Comments

Failure is a Gift

I sat in the room, nervous. I had sensed this moment coming all week. Though I felt a small comfort and peace, deep inside, I was terrified. I was bracing for the letdown—far from my first. I made small talk with someone twenty years my junior, knowing that soon, he would ask me to step down. That reality was hard to face. My mind drifted back to my first year as a deputy. I had called my father repeatedly, distressed over my fifth write-up. Each time, he told me to thank them for the discipline, not to quit, and to keep my head up. But I was overcome with sorrow. I felt like a failure. Maybe I could earn straight A’s, but I had no common sense. I feared I would never catch on. I was beginning to give up. Still, my dad insisted I keep going. In my first week alone, I had discharged my weapon—firing over sixteen rounds at a bull on Super Bowl Sunday. Not long after, I found myself in a full-blown foot pursuit of an escapee, my face, mostly pride battered from the struggle. My track...

My Weapon is a Melody

Every day can be a battle. A battle for our hearts, a battle for our minds, a battle to discourage, a battle to get out of bed, a battle to be content in whatever state we are in, a battle to bless God even in the darkest times. Satan seeks to crush and destroy us. When we are so focused on our own pain and battles, we are less useful. Think of a nice shiny car, but with a broken hose. This small hose can cause the entire car to be out of commission. This too is how Satan works in our life. He may sit back and watch us break with the smallest hose. That is all he needs to put us out of service. Many of us have been out of service for quite some time. This is because we have so focused on goals or things that may be outside our purpose. How do we fight battles in our life and overcome them? What should our only purpose be? Praise and worshiping God. That is it. God is constantly seeking out people who just want to worship Him. We constantly ask for blessings in our life, but how many ...

Heart Attack

Valentine’s Day is approaching. It’s easy to love those who are kind to us, but what about those who are cruel? How do we love a bully? It takes a conscious effort to show kindness to someone who has deeply hurt us. But when we learn to love even those who have wronged us—without waiting for an apology—we are truly attacking the heart . This kind of love isn’t normal. It’s outrageous. It means wiping the slate clean, deleting the post , starting over—not for ourselves, but to please God. That’s it. We know that God has forgiven our wickedness, so why can’t we forgive others? This is a love that brings true reward. We often think we practice this kind of love, but do we really? The next time someone enters a room—the very person you’d rather avoid—what will you do? What if God led you to walk up to them and bless them? Would you do it for Jesus? The Cost of Heartache We demand payment for heartaches. We take people to court, punish, divorce, fight, and even kill over them. This has been...

I Am NOT Just a Number

Search This Blog