In life, falling short of the
standard of God is something no human can dodge (Romans 3:23). With that in
mind it must be noted that there must be an obvious difference between the
person with the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) and the person that lives
life for man. A believer of Christ may stumble on a rock on his way to
greatness; a non-believer will consistently dive into sin. The fact that
falling at some point in life is inevitable doesn’t give you a ticket to sin
just because of grace. I want to make that clear. At the same time when you do
mess up I want to let you know that you don’t have to stay there. You can RIZE
out of the pit of iniquity and be stronger than ever. There is no condemnation (Romans 8:23). We
are Winners (1 Corinthians 15:26) (1 Corinthians 15:57) and we will RIZE above
evil by doing good (Romans 12:21). Are you willing to be a living sacrifice and
go the extra mile (Romans 12:1)??? I know am!!! You know nothing good comes
without sacrifice, right? If you believe you can do anything and that you will
RIZE, the song below is for you. Enjoy my fellow winners!!!
Do you ever wonder if you could
make a difference? Do you desire to impact the lives of those in need in
various areas across the map? If your answer to these questions is “yes”, then
I have great news for you. You can make a difference. One of the best Gospel
Hip-Hop Groups from Miami (Authentik) has made a high quality video that expresses
their concern for fellow humans that need food. This video is educating
listeners on what is taking place on our planet. Many Children are dying of
starvation and they usually get ignored by those who live comfortable lives.
Authentik is asking that you share their You(th) vs Hunger video so awareness
is spread regarding a movement that offers a solution to the hunger of many
children. You(th) vs Hunger is an organization that goes out of their way to
feed orphans, the elderly and the poorest of families in multiple third world
countries. For just 25 cents you can give life-saving food to a child. Authentik
is proud to partake in the assistance of You(th) vs Hunger. They are a group
gaining a lot of local buzz from some of the things that are rolling. Authentik’s
video “The Fall” recently appeared on FNFLive.com and Dasouth.com plus they have gotten radio play
on several local stations. On December 7th 2012 at Florida International
University they will be releasing their brand new album “Groans Before Glory” #GB4G
and national recording artist “Sho Baraka” will be in the building sharing his
talents. Authentik is a group of young men (Early 20’s) with an exciting future
ahead of them. With all the industry moves they are making, they still make
sure God is glorified first and their involvement with You(th) vs Hunger is
undeniable proof. This isn’t a new process for Authentik. They have contributed
to several ministries for years (His House Orphanage, First Priority and Cross
International). The new mission that is on Authentik’s mind is to take the
vision of You(th) vs Hunger to major University campuses all over the United
States. The plan is to package over 40,000 meals. You(th) vs Hunger awareness
events are already being planned to take place at the (University of Florida)
and (Florida International University). Like @Jblaze305 would say. “This is not
a game shun” LOL. Support You(th) vs Hunger and Authentik by sharing the video
below with family and friends.
If you’re into Ministry/Christian Hip-Hop/fellowship you should consider going to Flavor Fest
or The Legacy Conference. The Legacy Conference and Flavor Fest are two conferences
that aim to equip urban believers with the information they need to impact the
world for Christ. I have only gotten the chance to check out Flavor Fest so I
can’t speak much on Legacy. I can only see what’s going on from the outside and
I feel you should consider it because the people involved with the conferences are
legitimate. One of the people speaking at the Legacy Conference that should
spark interest is Chris Broussard; he is an award-winning journalist for ESPN.
He will be speaking on “Achieving Career Success God’s Way”, that should be an
excellent workshop. Both conferences have a sufficient dose of ministry and
entertainment. The artists that will contribute at both of these conferences
are heavy hitters like Jin @iammcjin, Json @Json116, and Viktory @ViktoryR4.
Both of these events have powerful speakers and artist that will only be at one
of these conferences (exclusive). So there is something different at both of
these conferences. Both of them obviously have somewhat of a different
approach. I feel like Legacy caters to those of reformed theology so that makes
me lean more towards Flavor Fest because of its diversity but don’t get it
twisted I love reformed theologians and teaching. lol Just Flavor Fest seems to
have a more eclectic mix of Christians, I want to build with different kinds of
believers. I lean towards going to Flavor Fest but then again I still have to
check out Legacy maybe its dedication to theology will win me over. One day I
will probably check out “Legacy”. I’m definitely checking out “Flavor Fest”
2012 because I will be going with some friends. I have been to "Flavor Fest" and
I must say it is done in excellence plus it is beneficial for those who compose and
enjoy Christian Hip-Hop. I went in 2008 and I am very excited to see the growth
that has taken place in the years I was absent. If you can check out one of these conferences,
do it. (Flavor Fest and Legacy)
We live in a culture where
everyone wants things immediately. We
want our food served fast, we want money fast, we want success fast; we pretty
much want anything we desire fast. Sometimes we want excellence fast
because that’s how we are programmed in this technological world we live in. The only issue with this mentality is that excellence
is a process. So if you want to display excellence, it doesn’t happen by
sprinkling fairy dust on your head. Five star restaurants usually don’t make
their best dishes in the amount of time Checkers makes their burgers. Why,
because five star restaurants have a higher standard of excellence and more
time must be used to live up to the standard they set for themselves. Sometimes
things getting done fast has its place but if you really want to master a
specific craft you have to go above and beyond the average work ethic level you
see in others. At the end of the day you have to put the hours in. Take
advantage of every moment, never waste a minute. We should strive to live out
Ephesians 5:15-16 “Be very careful,
then, how you live —not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every
opportunity, because the days are evil.” The amount of blood, sweat and
tears you shed will determine the amount of potential you tap into. So many people
just do enough to get by and they cut themselves short. If you have been called to greatness you have
to put in work. You have to cultivate the passion that God has wired you with. Do
not let petty things get to you, never let something small distract you from a
big goal. You have to persevere and keep your mind focused on the reward. Proverbs 13:4 - the sluggard craves and
gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied. Let’s
examine some individuals that I feel have displayed excellence in some way.
Michael Jordan:
Michael Jordan’s physical
education teacher said this about him:
“I normally get to school between
7 and 7:30. Michael would be at school before I would. Every time I’d come in
and open the doors, I’d hear the basketball. Fall, wintertime, summertime. Most
mornings I had to run Michael out the gym.” – Ruby Sutton, phys ed teacher at Laney
High, Wilmington N.C
Michael Jordan was one of the most
the competitive individuals; he didn’t want anyone to outwork him. He was so
hungry to be the best. Jordan’s work ethic proved he loved the game more than
anyone in the league. His relentless desire to be the best built the ladder
that took him to the highest echelon of basketball. The majority of basketball
analysts have crowned him the greatest basketball player of all time. Did he
dominate a decade because he was 6’6 or was it because he played for UNC? No,
that’s not all there is to it. Jordan was blessed with a gift to play
basketball but so have millions of others. There are a vast amount of people
who stand 6’6 tall and can play b-ball. There are many players that have gone
to UNC and have been coached by Dean Smith but no one pushed themselves the way
MJ did. Michael Jordan was in the gym on a daily basis. Take some time to
Research about the break feast club; this was a practice before the Chicago
Bulls official practice session. Yes he practiced before practice!!! He pushed
past any fear of failure and greatness was the result. Michael Jordan decided
to embrace the process of becoming the greatest basketball player of all time
through sacrifice.
Here is a video that gives you an
idea of how hard Michael Jordan worked:
Eminem:
Eminem has sold more records than
any other artist in the 2000’s. He is known to be one of the greatest lyricists
of all time. If you do some research you will find out that he wrote over 200
songs for his recovery album. That is amazing. He wrote hundreds of songs to
put together a 17 track CD. That’s a grind! Eminem was once working a regular job, he was once considered a failure by many. He lost the Rap Olympics but he never
quit. He was diligent and it paid off.
In this article Obie Trice
mentions Eminem’s work ethic:
Charles Spurgeon was one of the hardest working human being
that ever walked on planet earth. He is the most widely read Christian preacher
(apart from the biblical ones). No Christian author comes close to the amount
of material this man produced through the Holy Spirit. He had to use his God
given talents in order to pump out all that material (Matthew 25:14-30). There
is so much I could say about him but would like you to read these facts and get
inspired.
Many of us strive to leave a
legacy. We must know that leaving a legacy takes time. You know cannot build an
empire in one day, Excellence is a process. Making excellent art is a process,
developing excellent athletic ability is a process, having a deeper
relationship with God is a process. Don’t think you can come out the wood works
and be great at something. You got to have the passion to go all the way.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)