Faith and Christianity

When it comes to Faith and it's definition Hebrews 11:1 is the go to Bible passage for most Christians: 

"To have Faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see."

I was making notes on this particular chapter recently as I was reading through it. It didn't occur to me then to share what I had written down until I read over it today. It seemed like something everyone would know, until I realised that I only made those notes because even if I knew most of the things I often forgot them. So for those who are prone to forgetfulness like I am, I will leave this here so we can always come back and remember all that Faith is and should be. 

Through our faith we win God's approval: the Bible constantly reminds us that God doesn't bless us because of the works of our hands but because of His infinite grace and mercy. Yet it is by our faith in God that we qualify because we prove our obedience to God. God in His loving kindness never deserts us even when we desert Him, but it is important for us to understand that having faith in Him and trusting Him draws us nearer to Him. In this way we are able to please God because by putting our trust in Him we receive the gift of His righteousness. 

Because of our faith we present a better offering to God: before anyone bites of my head this isn't a prosperity gospel thing. Think of it this way. If you trust someone, you give freely to them. It's natural. In the same way when you put your trust completely in God you give freely to Him of ALL you have. Now of course that depends a lot on what it is that you have! You cannot give someone what you don't already possess. So by giving all you have to God I don't necessarily mean in a monetary way. I also mean an offering of the heart and the soul, a sweet smelling praise and worship, a heart wrenching prayer. Whatever you have, give.

Faith helps us carry out God's plan even when we can't see or understand it: believe it or not a few years ago saying "I surrender Lord" or "Not my will Father but Yours" was one of the most difficult things for me. Letting go of all that control just made me feel weak. I couldn't bring myself to trust God to do the impossible because it still looked impossible to me. Two things changed my mind. Firstly a lot of communicating with God about giving me the strength to let go made me realise that it took strength to let go. Thus releasing control stopped being a sign of weakness. Secondly it is easy to hold on to control when you're in control but when things are completely out of your control holding on becomes kind of stupid. 

Faith is a prerequisite for miracles: ask any children's book writer; the impossible cannot happen unless you are crazy enough to believe it. Faith MAKES the impossible possible. 

Through faith we can plan ahead: because we believe in the promise of tomorrow, we make plans for tomorrow. You cannot make plans for a time that does not exist.

Faith makes us reject sin by keeping us focused on heaven and it's future rewards, not on the world: saying no is never easy but it becomes much easier when there is hope for a better yes. Faith helps us defy the devil when he tempts us because we know that God has better things in store.

Faith strengthens us by helping us endure persecution: faith strengthens us in many other ways as I explained before but one of the most important ways for me is strength in the time of persecution. Now many will say they haven't faced persecution before and perhaps they are right. However if you think about it, chances are you have. Every time someone has laughed at you or ridiculed you for making time for God, every time someone has pointed out your faith as a reason for a joke, you have faced a degree of persecution. Of course that is NOTHING compared to thousands that are literally slaughtered for their faith in Christ. But how we deal with persecution shouldn't differ according to how serious we deem it. 

Matthew 10: 32-33

"If anyone declares publicly that he belongs to me, I will do the same for him before my Father in heaven. But if anyone rejects me publicly, I will reject him before my Father in heaven." 

MOSES | The Crossroads.

Album Cover. Get your copy on Bandcamp

“I pride myself on innovation”. He said it in his usual tongue-in-cheek way. But this is just one of the things about MOSES that I found inspirational to begin with. This young Nigerian gospel rapper based in Manchester, UK saw off 2013 by releasing his debut album, The Crossroads.

The Crossroads is simply a musical manifestation of the artists life, his struggles and triumphs as a Christian; “Nothing too abstract or indie unfortunately”, he punctuates with humour. But for all its simplicity the album touches on scenarios that most Christians will understand or have experienced. From Questions where he samples a track of the same name by Nigerian artist Asa, to the title single Crossroads MOSES addresses real life Christian issues with humility and understanding.

When asked about his favourite track from the album MOSES replies “the truth is my favourite track changes pretty much like Manchester’s weather. At first it was Because Of Your Grace then it was Bar For The King then Questions and now it's New Dawn” I’m no expert but I guess this is what they call a labour of love: “The concept for The Crossroads was pretty much based on my life. I wanted it to be fully based on my life experiences and decisions”. I myself have struggled to find a favourite, fluctuating between all 10 tracks on the album as they shuffle on my MP3.

That might be the hardest part for us, but not for MOSES. For a young artist the work only begins after recording. “I had to then start promoting and letting people know about it.” Most international or well-known artists come complete with their own publicity team that take care of all the running around for them. All they have to do is sing. But for MOSES he also got the chance to flex his promotional muscles and sell himself: “It was all very fun though”.

Bold Renegades Never Back Down

After all his hard work no one would really call him out if he decided to get something out of it. But in typical MOSES fashion he blindsided us by making the album available for free on Bandcamp. “I made the project as an introduction to my music, for everyone to then be able to make a decision on how they feel about my music. So it didn't feel right charging for it.” He called his debut a free gift that he had intended to be free from the start. 

Although there are no other artists featured on the album MOSES was privileged to work with some inspirational people from the gospel genre. “I did have the pleasure of working with a good producer ‘big brother’ friend of mine Barry aka Arc Beats who you might have heard doing his thing on the new Levites3:12 track 'New Season New Day'. I also had another friend of mine Tim Gosden of CrossFya doing some post production work on it.” It seems this young man has his foot firmly in the door.

Now if you were hoping for an epiphany about the message of this album I hate to disappoint you. The final message is what you chose to take away from this musical sermon. For MOSES it was two of Christianity’s most popular mantras – grace and love. “I don't think I would have even been in a position to make the project without God's grace & love and that's the message I tried to instil in some way or another in the tracks”. Simple enough but powerful all the same.

Hard work pays off

What’s next for this young up and comer? Well the New Year brings new promise for all and MOSES is no exception. He became an associate artist with MJK & Crossfya in November 2013. What this means for his fans around the UK and Europe is a lot of events and a lot more of MOSES. For veteran fans that also means that Retro Days is about to be developed into an EP with Arc Beats so watch this space. He’ll be featuring on a few projects with established names on the gospel scene. “Finally a collective which I am part of called 'R.I.S.E' is going to be releasing a debut album this year so it's a very busy but exciting year ahead. Thank God.” Of course there are many other possibilities in the pipelines but you’ll just have to stick around to find out.

Find him!

For more some social media stalking you can find MOSES here: Twitter @imjustmoses and Facebook facebook.com/imjustmoses

For his work and more MOSES news find him here: Facebook Fan Page facebook.com/imjustmosesUK; Soundcloud Soundcloud.com/imjustmoses and YouTube Youtube.com/imjustmosesTV

For your digital copy of The Crossroads album visit his Bandcamp imjustmoses.bandcamp.com

For bookings and any queries, information etc. drop him an email on imjustmoses93@gmail.com.

Self-Taught Woman

This one is going to be long, so get comfortable guys and gals.

I'm not much of a feminist-not in the puritan sense of the word. I often laugh uncontrollably at sexist jokes, dance to sexist music that gives detailed directions on how to further objectify your body (albeit in jest), and use sexist language, all this after years of compulsory and independent study on and around the subjects of gender roles, feminism, post feminism and other forms of prejudice. For those who willingly admit it, I'm the worst kind of woman-A BLACK WOMAN. Not only is my skin against me, my choice of reproductive organs have also joined the coup. Thankfully I couldn't care less. After all I think like a genius, look like a goddess and have the firm handshake of a...of a...man?

I wasn't brought up with a superfluity of men in my life; I was raised by strong women. And although I learnt from their strengths and weaknesses, I was never told what kind of woman to be. All that was self taught over years of watching many such strong women up close and some times from afar. So imagine my surprise and disappointment when I realised how much I had become a product of society. Bye bye girl power. Hello self-doubt.

Over the last few weeks I subconsciously started re-learning what it means to be a strong willed, self-taught woman. It started with God. My Pastor briefly mentioned a plan that would help you read the books of Psalms and Proverbs over the period of a month. As I decided to start the journey, I remember getting excited about Proverbs 31. Now for many Christian women Proverbs 31 is the go-to chapter when in doubt about anything from your role and identity to your faith and independence. Undoubtedly many non-Christians will take this time to remind me of the sexist nature of the Bible. To them I present this:

"She looks at land and buys it, and with money she has earned she plants a vineyard" 

Proverbs 31: 16

"She spins her own thread and weaves her own cloth" 

Proverbs 31: 19

"She makes clothes and belts, and sells them to merchants. She is strong and respected and not afraid of the future. She speaks with a gentle wisdom."

Proverbs 31: 24-26

Of course we could nit pick about a million and one things surrounding this, but this is my little way of showing you that contrary to popular belief the Bible did in fact cater to women, despite the circumstances of the times in which it was writing about, written and published. But I digress...

In anticipation of reading this chapter I was unusually alert about gender equality especially in the Bible and in the Church. So of course my ears stood on end when the subject of the submissive wife was approached. I could hear the many chants of the modern feminist but I chose to keep an open mind. The Pastor's  wife who spoke briefly on her active understanding of the role of a submissive wife, said many things that I took away with me that day. But what stuck the most was the most simple of truths. The meaning of the word "submissive" like many other words in our lexicon today, has shifted drastically. Of course I couldn't verify on the spot, but my mind returned to a musty A-Level's English Language classroom with a man that looked well beyond his years teaching us the many ways in which words lose and gain meaning, both negative and positive, over time. 

Fast forward a month, and I'm flicking through my copy of The New English Dictionary published in 1932, when I decided to look up the meaning of submissive. After my initial excitement I compared the meaning to that of the eight edition of the Little Oxford English Dictionary published in 2002. Admittedly 70 years didn't make as much of a difference as I thought it would and a quick Google search showed me that the first acknowledged and complete translation of the Bible into English happened a good 500 years before my 1932 dictionary. Nevertheless my findings excited me. There is more than one definition in both dictionaries but I'll stick to the ones that are of interest to us.

1932

Submit: To yield or surrender oneself; to put forward deferentially; to yield, to surrender, to give in.

Submission: Compliance. Obedience. Resignation. Meekness.

2002

Submit: To give in to the authority, control, or greater strength of someone or something. Subject to a particular process. 

Submissive: Very obedient or passive.

First I think it is worth noting that the language changed enough in those 70 years that submission is only defined in terms of handing in work in the 2002 dictionary. Now to the main gist of it all. Whereas in 1932 submission is seen as a willing act of respect and the choice of humility, it seems that today it is viewed as a passive act of being controlled. The 2002 definition places great focus on strength and weakness while the 1932 definition focuses more on willing meekness. It's no wonder then that the idea of submitting to God (never mind your husband!!) is something that terrifies most of us today. Language teaches us that by submitting we are being forced to put control of our lives in someone else's hands. Ironic really, considering it's an action word...

Now let me go back to why I gathered you all here to waste your time. Like many things that began before our generation was even a concept in the human mind, feminism has lost a lot of meaning. It has also gained a lot of unflattering meaning and many modern feminists think so what?! Let it be unflattering; it's not a pretty little dress and pigtails, it's not meant to be an easy pill to swallow. I suppose in many ways they are right. However, it does have the tendency to go from educational to outrageous all too quickly and so many women find themselves saying out loud, "I am not a feminist". They're claiming not to be something without even being sure what being that thing means!

For me, in the simplest of terms Feminism is Equality. I don't aim to overpower any man or live without men, I don't want to make up for years of their sexism by being sexist myself, I don't want the world to be split jaggedly in half. I want to be treated with respect and equality in all things. I remembered what feminism meant to me after a necessary conversation with a friend from work and it is reiterated every day on my twitter page when I see the handle @EverydaySexism. Honestly following this twitter account will change your life. And if you're curious about how it started?? Here you go http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBeNfSoMqjY Don't say I never do anything for you.

Thank you for following me on my little nerdy journey and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed haphazardly putting it together. 

Becoming Aware of God

Twice now I have become fully aware of God’s many mercies upon my life. He accepts me.

The fact that He even permits me into His presence after I have defiled and blasphemed against:

1.       Him

2.       His temple

3.       His word…

I have redirected my blessings to satisfy self and flesh.

I never understood the mind-set of true believers. They always seemed so hurt and genuinely moved by sin, ignorance, blasphemy and other evils of the world. Then I saw the true blessings of God and I began to understand Your word. I started to see how our sins hurt You, Father! I realised that sin not only destroyed us and our relationship with You, but they hurt You so much because Your children, Your creation, are totally ignorant of Your existence and Your true love for them. We don’t even believe in the sacrifice that You have made. We live in the world that You have made for us! Yet we can’t acknowledge Your existence. You have given so much. You have sacrificed so much. But what have we given to You? How do we repay You for all that You do? How do we acknowledge and reverence You? Wait…do we even acknowledge or reverence You? Our excuse is that the world is imperfect; we are imperfect, yes. Through sin we are…but through Christ, God sees perfection in us.

We do not understand that Your mercies departed from us. If we were truly deserted by You Lord, WE WOULD BE NOTHING. My imagination [as excitable as it gets and as blessed as I am with it] cannot even begin to fathom how empty, pointless, irrelevant, deserted our lives would be. Words cannot express that image.

                                WE WOULD BE NOTHING

                                WE WOULD BE DESERT LAND

                                WE WOULD BE HELL PERSONIFIED…

Because the absence of God is Hell.

All that I am is You Lord

                                I just truly understood what that means. You increase my knowledge and thirst for You and I appreciate You for that Lord.