"The Whole Truth" by Da' T.R.U.T.H.

For those of you who don't know me well, I'm really into Christian hip-hop. When I first heard this song, I was extremely excited for Da' T.R.U.T.H. and his new album.

More than a year and a half ago, Truth was forced into a sabbatical because he had an affair with another woman. During that sabbatical he went through marital counseling, prayer, weeping, repentance and marital reconciliation. I wrote a reactionary blog post about it shortly after it happened here.

Roughly six months ago he made a formal announcement and apology to his fans and announced his return under a new label and a fresh desire to minister through music. This song was one of the first released from his album and the lead single off of it. In it he reflected on the massive storm of sorrow, heartache, repentance and healing God brought him through. The chorus says it all. May you be blessed by this song and may you be in continual awe of the lavished grace through Jesus Christ.

Da' T.R.U.T.H. "The Whole Truth" Official Video (@truthonduty @Xist_Music) from Xist Music on Vimeo.

Chorus

When I was dead, He revived my soul.

He takes the broken, makes them whole,

Takes the bound, makes them free,

Takes the weak and makes them strong.

All of my sins have been erased,

He has lifted my disgrace.

I'm overjoyed, overjoyed, that Jesus would make me whole.

Verse 1

I ain't tryin to be hot, aint tryin to be relevant,

I aint a candle, I aint tryin to wax eloquent.

I'm running from a life now, trying to fight hard,

These ain't just lyrics but a contrite heart.

Yeah, feelin it like the heat in the summer,

We know better, but the flesh, it be keepin us running.

Bagged the leaks of onions? (had a hard time with this line)

As of recent discovered, if it's in the dark, it's impossible to keep secrets covered.

Who would have known that my indiscretions would reach my cousins?

I apologize to Mimi, my niece and others,

You should've been able to trust, but I breached the covenant,

I knew you all before you was able to reach the cupboard.

Now when I preached in public, it's all out the window,

'Cause sin contradicted a lot of what my pen wrote.

Yeah, especially when I wrote an Open Book,

Apparently there was something in me I overlooked...

Chorus

Verse 2

Uh, check my records, I got some prize like Harlem Knights,

I need Jesus, David's Son, like a Harley bike.

Wasn't hardly right, what I did was wrong,

And it ticks me off, and it sets me off.

And I hate the consequences 'cause death results,

But I know I reap what I sew like Betsy Ross.

Yeah, He ain't tipped me, but He let me fall,

Now I carry all that pain, sin left me scarred.

He let me fall, but He ain't let me go,

I died, went astray; sin left me broke,

Yeah, the life of me ain't no crystal stair,

But I's keep climbin' 'cause the diamond is crystal clear.

At times I'm quiet, I get a chair, sit and stare,

think about the ways that sin affected my fiscal year.

Yeah, a tide is turning now, I'm shifting gears,

Though I'm weak, He's given strength in the midst of tears.

Chorus

Verse 3

Uh, I felt dead and lonely, only God knows,

But Jesus came and breathed life on my dry bones.

I know a lot, knowing a lot's not wrong,

But now it's all about application like the iPhone.

Yeah, I got hangups like dial tones,

Yeah, but Jesus hung up and died so,

No condemnation, that's my consolation.

Am I still guilty? NOT A CONVERSATION!

Now I just want to proclaim it in the congregation,

God is good and Dr. Jesus got a lot of patience!

Yeah, I'm on the operating table, heart palpitating,

Look at what the potter's shaping!

Gotta thank The Body, cause y'all came behind me,

When my foot slipped and I sank in the valley.

'Cause something supernatural happen when the saints rally,

My true friends held me up like a bank robbery.

And that's foolproof, I can't even front like a gold tooth,

I hate what I had to go through,

but I love the fact that I got to know You,

so what you are witnessing now is The Whole Truth...

When I was dead, He revived my soul.

He takes the broken, makes them whole,

Takes the bound, makes them free,

Takes the weak and makes them strong.

All of my sins have been erased,

He has lifted my disgrace.

I'm overjoyed, overjoyed, that Jesus would make me whole.

"The Catalyst" by Linkin Park (Part 2)

The following is the conclusion of a post I wrote a few weeks ago. You can read the first part by clicking here. You can also check out another LP post I wrote a few months ago by clicking here. Enjoy and thanks for reading!

God save us everyone, will we burn inside the fires of a thousand suns?
For the sins of our hands, for the sins of our tongue,

for the sins of our fathers, for the sins of our young?
NO!

Musically at this point the music portrays a stirring and rising effect. As it should, for this verse describes a desire for change. Suddenly this speaker is in fact crying out to God. In the "burning" part, he even understands what the wage of his sin will bring. All people deep down inside know that society itself is crumbling and that something is wrong. We can sense it. This person seems to understand why and even sees the end result. He even knows why! The word "for" is another word for "because". So burning "inside the fires of a thousand suns" is because of the sins we committed, both past, present and future. We do sin with both our hands and our tongue. Words can cut deep into people, and all of us have said the wrong things.

In using "fathers" and "young", it shows that sin is generational. It is a hereditary trait. It doesn't even just have to do with the past, but how we live in the future. It impacts our children in such a negative way. A lot of the bad habits we have, our children tend to have as well.

However, like what was said, this speaker is crying out to God for salvation. He wants an end to this! He wonders if we will burn or if God will send help to grant us a way out to freedom. He doesn't know what else to do except cry out for mercy. He doesn't present any special offerings, because he understands that they will never amount to anything. He sees that nothing will save him from "burning in the fires of a thousand suns", but that "chant" ends with one word: "NO!" No, I WILL not burn, I will not bear this wrath. Some would say, "He's making his own truth and being his own God," but may I suggest that this speaker is repenting. He is making an active choice of walking away from this sin, darkness and death and into life.

The song lastly transitions into a finale, with the words said repeatedly, "Lift me up, let me go." The tone of them is of increasing desperation and fervency. They see that the only way out is not done by the work of their hands. They are trapped in the "sins of their hands, tongue, fathers and young." This ordeal "cannot be outfought, cannot be outdone, cannot be outmatched, cannot be outrun." The speaker sees that the only way out is through reaching out to someone or something outside of himself. He sees himself having bad karma, and cannot work to be saved from the mess he found himself in. The debt he has is too high for him to pay. He needs to be freed from the society around him and even more importantly, HIMSELF!

According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, a catalyst is "an agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action." Pretty much every testimony by a Christian that I know of has to do with reaching a point of hitting "rock bottom", like described in this song. The person realizes that they have been consumed by the evil of the world around them, and at the same time have contributed to that evil. This person sees their filth and realizes that they need to make a change not in just some parts of their life, but their entire life.

Oftentimes when we humans have reached our most bitter and broken circumstances, an automatic reflex is to lift our hands up to the heavens, crying for help, mercy and deliverance! At one point in the music video for this song, we see the lead singer Chester Bennington doing just that. I sincerely hope and pray that one day all the members of this band do this, if they haven't already. Maybe this song is a bit of prophecy?

Jesus Christ answers the cry of the broken, oppressed and sinful. He did this by dying a brutal death on a cross, facing not only physical, but spiritual anguish. Three days later, He did the impossible: rising from the dead, which was the exclamation point on the victory He offers to all of humanity openly and freely. Upon trusting in Him, the only "fire" we will experience is not the "burning fire of a thousand suns" composed of judgement and eternal condemnation, but the all consuming "fire" of cleansing, restoration, life and power.

"The Catalyst" is written by Linkin Park, copyright 2010 Universal Music.

Confessions of a Recovering Facebook Addict

"THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH." (Romans 6:23)

Recently I decided to take a break from Facebook for 40 days. I found myself in a bit of a dry spell with God, and one of the things I literally felt consumed by was Facebook. It felt like my thoughts, my time, everything revolved around it. I couldn't work at home without checking it every five minutes, and I constantly had thoughts of: "Hey, this could make a cool status update..."

Whether it was to check my profile, change my picture, post status updates, view other people's status updates, or even spy on "friends" I haven't talked to since high school (some even elementary school), I could only imagine how many countless hours I wasted being consumed by it.

It got to the point where even when I just typed in the "www." in my web browser, it automatically guessed as a first choice that I'd be going to Facebook. My last weekly Covenant Eyes report before the break said I went to Facebook.com over 1,000 times in one week! I don't know about you, but I had a serious problem. It consumed me. It was hard going even a day without it.

That's what idols do. They consume you. They KILL you.

I find that when people pour out their entire lives for something other than Jesus, and it can be anything: sports, their job, music (I'll get to that one later), sex, whatever, it will leave you feeling empty and drained. Idols demand lots from you and give absolutely nothing back but a temporal, worthless high.

Facebook consumed me. Does it consume you? If it doesn't, then you can easily walk away from it. If you can't imagine your life without it, it's time for a break.

When people pour out their lives for Jesus, they find rest. Living for Jesus is hard, but pouring ourselves out for Him is the best thing you can do. Nothing compares to it. That's what He wants and that's what we need. If we pour ourselves out to other things: caffeine, Facebook, friends, social situations, etc. we will get drained. We will not be satisfied. We will be consumed. We will be slaves. We will be killed. We will be EMPTY!

By the grace of God I saw my flaw. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not anti-Facebook. As of today, I'm actually back on Facebook. Facebook can be a very valuable tool when used for the glory of God. It can also be even more valuable when Christ is at the center of how we the users view it. Yes, those are separate things. Remember, God can glorify Himself through a thought provoking status update, even though it was not initially used with the purpose of glorifying Him (God is really sovereign like that).

Does that also mean that one needs to only post "super duper spiritual" Bible and sermon things? No, I don't think so. People have personalities. It's okay to have funny things posted, but as long as Christ remains the center of them in your heart, soul, mind, and strength when you post them. Is Christ the center? Because everything is about Him. It's not just about commandments, but about Him.

So in regards to Facebook, I am still recovering. I can still be prone to idolatry again, because though I'm dead to sin, I still wrestle with it. I am not over this by a long shot, but I have just made a first step. I also rejoice, because in Christ I am not a slave to sin, but free in Christ (who I'm now a slave to, by the way).

One amazing thing about Jesus is that we can come to Him how we are, no matter the sin struggle. That verse I quoted at the beginning of this post has an end: "...BUT THE FREE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD."

Thanks for reading, being my friend, praying for me and standing by me.

God bless you,

Steve

Do you struggle with an idol? Check and ask God: "Search me and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting." -Psalm 139:23-24