So my buddy, Kit, showed me this pretty sick parkour video and watching it really made me think (other than how insanely athletic you have to be to do it) what kind of faith you have to have to try some of these moves and how that applies to our lives as followers of Christ.
Wikipedia defines parkour as the physical discipline of training to overcome any obstacle within one’s path by adapting one’s movements to the environment. In other words, a normal person would see an obstacle and possibly complain about it, whereas a traceur (one who does parkour) is glad for the opportunity to be able to transcend this particular obstacle. See many Christians know Philippians 4:13 but few are willing to actually trust God on that truth. Dale Sellers, a local pastor, puts it in the form of a challenge. He says “What would you be willing to attempt for God if you knew you could not fail,” and I know for me personally there are a lot of things but I am either left saying not right now OR surely not me (another post for another time). If you are a follower of Christ and He lives inside your heart, then he has equipped you and me to overcome any obstacle that comes in our path and use it to leverage the advancement of His kingdom.
We may not see it now, but we’ve got to hold on and keep the faith that we have been perfectly hand-crafted for a time such as this. We have been placed with the people we interact with regularly for a reason. For instance, we are going to have obstacles such as brick walls in our lives but a parkour-like faith will give us the ability to look at our situation with eagerness because we know we’ll be able to transcend to a higher level than before.
Also, in fairness to the tracers, they did not wake up one day and say I’m going to do back flips off of a moving car; it took practice, encouragement, help from more experienced people so they could grow into more experienced and well-seasoned tracers. The same should apply to our walk as Christ-followers, we should have people encouraging us to preserve so we can overcome our obstacles and learn from them so we can later encourage the next generation.
One more thing, BY NO MEANS IS THIS NORMAL…but since when are we as followers of Christ supposed to be normal. It’s pretty hard to be natural when you have something SUPERNATURAL in you, remember that. The world will come to walls that they will just stare at aimlessly, maybe even question why the wall is even there and while they are doing that, we are long past it and on to the next one!
I’ll leave you with what I now have coined as the ‘parkour verse’: “with my God I can scale a wall. As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.” 2 Samuel 22:30b-31
I am one that can be described as a true hip-hop head. I love underground hip-hop music and independent artists because I feel that they have more of a focus on lyricism. So with that said, I have recently found a new music group to watch in 2010 and it’s Gallery Drive coming straight from the West Coast. This is their recent single and the topic of this blog…check out the video before you continue:
The word psycho makes me think of two different categories, the first one is someone who is weird and I say that has it’s own category by itself because that means that you are not like everyone else. In other words the things that the world is doing, we as Christ followers are not doing that. Proverbs 14:12 says “There is a way that seems right to a man,
but in the end it leads to death,” so to be honest I don’t plan on compromising anything I believe in to please anybody because in the words of the great Bible-scholar, DJ Khaled, “I don’t care what nobody say, IMA BE ME (BE ME)” and if that makes me weird then so be it.
The other word that I think of is the word, freak, and whenever I think of that, the thought of something just being off the charts comes to mind. For instance, expressions like: crazy good, sneaker freak, insanely delicious would fall into this category. Essentially, it’s like saying to do too much or have too much of one thing that people find that strange.
The lyrics in the chorus start by saying: “Yo I’m psycho, verses that you heard this is psycho, Gallery Drive got the right flow…” as if they’re saying that yes, we have God in our lyrics so some people may say that these lyrics are psycho. In fact, I feel that this song has a similar theme to that of the DC Talk throwback, Jesus Freak.
So I say all of that to say this, 2010 is coming up and I plan to raise my level of passion in everything from my play on the basketball court to my daily walk in faith as well, in ways that could rub some people the wrong way and just for the record, I’m ok with that (my intention is not to offend ANYBODY for sheer blatent ignorance.) However, I know exactly who I’m living for and what fuels me so at this point allow me to quote Gallery Drive and say “TELL ME I’M A PSYCHO!”
So if you have been reading my blog then you know that I’ve been doing a series called “Pop-it-Off” and I realize I never expounded on what it means to pop something off. Well, when I was in high school and there were two people who had “problems,” most of the time it would be all talk but occasionally you would have that one person that loved to boost stuff up. They would say something along the lines of “I bet you won’t hit him…” and usually at that point a decision is made to either squash it for the time being or “pop it off.” Whenever something was popping off, everyone knew. You could not hide something that big, once it got started, which was always funny to see them try to do as soon as an administrator would come along to break it up.
So I say all of that to say this…I have officially been alive for 19 years and a couple days and looking back, I think it’s safe to say that I grew the most (physically and spiritually) during this past year (my 18th year). I formed bonds and relationships that have stretched my faith and given me a new perspective on life. They challenge me regularly and do not allow me to settle for being average and that’s another key thing that this past year has taught me is how I can improve because many of my closest friends are the ones who shoot me straight no matter what and I can respect that, no matter how hard it may be to swallow. They watch my blind spots and I really appreciate it but I appreciate it more when they hold me accountable to doing what I said I would do.
I have a really good friend named Justin, who has this saying that he uses a lot whenever I’m talking about what I’ve got to do and he says to just “Do the Dang Thang!” See, it’s so easy to get complacent once you reached certain points in your life and then even recognize that you have not done what you could but to never act on it is just as bad as not recognizing it in the first place.
Touching back to the earlier posts in the series, it’s about decisions not intensions (part 1). James 2:26 says, “As the body without the spirit is , so faith without deeds is .” Keeping in mind that if it were easy then everyone would reach their full potential, and sadly that doesn’t happen because it takes sacrifice (part 2) on a daily basis (part 3). So I want to encourage everybody to remember who’s in our corner, tell your situation “Have you seen how big my Lord is?” If it’s still bothering you, then it’s time to pop it off…oh and SPOILER ALERT, WE WIN…EVERYTIME!!!
Ok, so I know that I ended part 2 like two weeks ago even though I said that I was going to continue it “tomorrow” you got to realize that I operate heavily on CST (and no it’s not Central Standard Time, it’s College Student Time) which means time is fairly relative in many cases. In any event, I’m back and talking about trusting God with everything. I came across this video from a good friend of mine, Mario, who has a ministry out in Tennessee called Arise and this was one of their recent promo videos
It’s interesting what it says how we as Christians tend to sing lies because we live lives that contradict what we are singing. My friend, Tyler, made a blog post referencing one of Hillsong United’s songs “With Everything” and he made a great point because any time the lyrics make mention to words such as EVERYTHING, ALL, or NEVER, we should stop and realize the weight that holds.
For instance, let’s take for example Luke 9:23…it says, “Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross DAILY and follow me.” Now being the slightly uneducated guy that I am, I had to get further clarification on the meaning of the word daily so I googled the definition and come to find out this is what came up: every day; without missing a day. So if you were to replace the word daily with a similar word, I’m willing to bet that these words/phrases would not be considered synonyms: occasionally, whenever it seems convenient or I feel like it, on the first and the third, only on Sundays, only if around a majority full of Christians, for a couple days after a Christian camp or conference, and so on but you get the idea (and btw I myself have experienced most of these and I would not want you to fall into the same trap that I did so don’t think that I am just nit-picking certain things.)
Once it really hit me that being a Christian was an everyday thing and that it means passionately following Him on a daily basis, was when I began to see my faith begin to grow. I began to get a sort of confidence about my walk, some would even call it a swagger (Christ Swag…if you’ve heard that Prince Among Theives mixtape then you know what I’m talking bout.) The final part of this series will come tomorrow SOON!!!
(cont.) My friend, Matt recently had a blog post talking about sacrifice and when you get a chance, you should really check it out because I love his take on the subject of sacrifice but I’m going to touch on it briefly. When we decide to do something rather than intend to do it, there will ALWAYS be some sort of sacrifice involved. For instance, if I want to get in better shape and I have that decided in my mind then my next step is figuring out what I need to do for that to happen and in the same breath, I have to figure what I must not do. If my goal is to get in better shape then I may want to run at least two miles a day which could mean getting more sleep and not being on facebook as much or eating healthier and drinking more water and sacrificing a love for soft drinks for a greater goal.
See, there are a lot of things that we WANT and a lot of those things are good things but we have got to be able to distinguish something good from something great because to accomplish something great, we may have to sacrifice those things which may be good for us. For me, I think it goes back to how I believe that God did not send his one and only son to hang naked on a cross for us to go out each day and just get by. We are not called to be mediocre nor just to be in the race or to finish the race…WE ARE CALLED TO WIN!!! Going back to the verse from yesterday, it says in verse 24 and 25 that we should “run in such a way as to get the prize. 25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”
We are to PRESS ON and aim to win. In the end, the prize would be hearing “Well done, good and faithful servant” from God and best believe that’s going to come with sacrifices of it’s own. To hear that from God would mean we have to be passionately following Christ and be willing to sacrifice. I think about the story of the Rich Young Man and how much stuff he had. He clearly loved Jesus but was not willing to sacrifice it all, maybe some things but since he had so much, he walked away sad because he was not willing to trust him with EVERYTHING (I’m gonna talk about that tomorrow!)
Bonjour, Hola, Aloha, and WHAZZZZZZAP!!! I know it’s been a minute since ya boy has made an update but rest assured, I’m getting back into the swing of this and will surely recap ya’ll on things that’s been going on this summer. I’m home for the week and usually when I’m home, I reflect on things that I’ve done while I was younger and this particular time I was thinking about how I got into rapping. Remembering that it initially came from the fact that I followed in my mom’s footsteps and wrote poetry, one of the first poems I ever wrote flashed into my head and it went something like this:
I was at this race one time and I met this guy
He was predicting how much he would win by
He said as soon as he crosses the finish line
He’ll say that trophy’s as good as mine
The race started but he didn’t move, what’s taking so long
So I walked up to him and asked him what’s wrong
He said all the time I talked about how I would end
I never truly knew how to begin.
I remember that I wrote that one day after church and I’m sure I could not analyze this poem this well back in the day, I’m mean for one, it’s not like this is a true story. But seeing as how school is right around the corner for me and many others out there, I figured I’d tried to fuel your fire for a little bit.
Looking back over this poem and it’s constant theme of a race makes me think of the passage in 1 Corinthians. It says in Chapter 9 that, “24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”
At Fuse* we’ve been talking about how life is a Vapor and that we should begin with the end in mind and I believe that wholeheartedly because I instantly think of the old cliche that says “if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.” But B-Coop made a quote that has been convicting me every since he said it and that was “DECISIONS, not intentions” and it didn’t register to may as vital until I looked at the differences in the definitions:
To INTEND something means to direct the mind on (in other words merely, a PLAN of action)
To DECIDE something to make a final choice or judgment about (in other words, the ACT of nailing it down)
Making a parallel, I think about the runner in my poem because I’m sure he had every intention in the world to run the race as hard as he could and then come out victoriously but he didn’t make the decision to actually buckle down and do it. It’s so easy to SAY that we’ll do something because saying something usually doesn’t require much effort but the actually act of doing usually requires not only effort, but SACRIFICE…(I’ll talk about that tomorrow)
Allow me rant real quick-like, bear with me, please. One thing that has been on my mind recently is how we as human beings are way too concerned with being politically correct. Once I decided that I was going to attack the world and its political correctness, I figured I would find out what it truly means to be politically correct. Well wikiHow defines it as meaning “inclusive.” It referred to the use of language that would not cause an individual of any demographic (social or cultural) group to feel excluded, offended, or diminished. I think the best example of political correctness is whenever my church from back home comes on TV and right before it starts, the message comes onto the screen that says something along the lines of “The views of the following program may not reflect the views of the station nor its staff.” I think it is rather twisted how we will do whatever it takes to please man even if it means, for a second, compromising or denying God. Matthew 10:33 says “But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”
So for a moment, allow me to flip the script and be “Spiritually Correct.” Colossians 3:23 says “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the LORD, not for men.” Sometimes we are afraid to act in God’s will because that would mean stepping on some toes and offending some people and since we are in an age where political correctness is “vital” to success in the world. Trip Lee, one of the rappers in the gospel group, 116 Clique, wrote a blog post about offending people. He says that there are at least two major kinds of offense: offense due to sin and offense due to commanded boldness. The conclusion of that post was on point because it spoke truth.
I say this at the risk of someone misunderstanding and thinking that the purpose is to offend people. So I will say it clearly. THE POINT IS NOT TO OFFEND PEOPLE! DO NOT SET OUT TO OFFEND PEOPLE! YOU ARE NOT SPIRITUAL BECAUSE YOU MAKE FOLKS MAD! The point is to stand for the truth of the Scriptures fam. With that said my question is this: If you aren’t offending people, what in the world are you doing with your life!!?? It sure isn’t loving your neighbor as yourself. If you do stand for biblical truth, offense is inevitable. And if you aren’t offending anybody it’s probably because you aren’t loving others as you should.
And that’s true because sometimes we will hold back how we feel about something because we might be worried about the reaction we’ll get from it. Last night at Fuse*, B-Coop showed up on stage with a semi-automatic assault rifle strapped around his chest looking like Snake from Metal Gear Solid. The analogy was that worship is a powerful weapon and we should treat it as such just like the rifle. He wasn’t afraid to call out the fact that sometimes we just go through the motion of worship and he made a reference to 2 Chronicles 20: 14-22 (check out how powerful worship was in this battle). So the rest of that night was spent in all-out worship and it really felt like the Holy Spirit had blown that place up.
I’m not sure that worship will ever be the same and that because I think people have finally realized that in the end, it’s not gonna matter who you “offended” and who you didn’t but rather who you reached out to for Christ and who you didn’t. Stop being politically correct about everything and caring what everybody thinks because you can’t please everybody (trust me, I’m talking to myself as well). It would be better to hear a “Well done” from Jesus than one from the rest of the world.
In Christ,
Bryan “B-Nice” Narcisse
Ok here’s another song that has inspired me to write yet another blog post but I will say this, this is the only performance I could embed onto my blog which means I couldn’t get the music video but the power is still heavy in the song. If you never heard it, or if you would like to just listen to it again, you should watch and listen before you go any farther.
All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared?
Ever since I’ve heard that song, that line has been buzzing in me every time I pass by people. I don’t think it resonated with me until just this year that everyone we see, every person we talk to, everybody we hang with IS GOING SOMEWHERE. When Jesus comes back, everyone is either going to heaven or hell, there is no half-way house! If we saw people the way God sees them, for one thing I think our tolerance level would be infinitely greater.
Let me expound on that with an example, last night after church, some of my friends from the Ridge and I went to Cracker Barrel. I love going to Cracker Barrel but last night, the waitress was new and it was obvious. She charged one of my friends for food that he never received, she seemed very impatient and inflexible, and overall, it just was not a good experience. I really was considering not leaving a tip because I figured she didn’t deserve it but God spoke to me and said “and what do you deserve?” That hit me, but it hit me even harder when I found out that Matt said God was working on his heart about that same subject. See, it’s a good thing that God does not hold grudges or only blesses conditionally because we would be up the creek without a paddle, for real.
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
I guess I hear the phrase “give me your eyes for just one second” more often than most people except instead of eyes, for me they say goggles. See what people fail to realize is, the goggles change how I look at things for the better and that’s my prayer is that God would give me His eyes for just one second so that I can have a completely different view on life.
I pray that I wouldn’t just pass someone and just see a person; I would see a soul that is either going to heaven or hell. I pray that I could discern through the external nature of a person and into the internal thoughts and feelings of someone to see who is genuine in their love for you, Lord and who I can leverage to get to know You better.
As I was driving home from the Rec today, I stopped and got some gas but I figured I’d get something to drink while I was there because I had just balled out for a solid three and a half hours. I wanted to get a sports drink to replenish my vitamins but then I went to the cooler and looked at the prices for a 32oz Gatorade and it was $2.39 before tax. Then I checked out the 32oz Powerade and it was $1.99 before tax. At this point, I was just thirsty and would settle for anything refreshing but at a fairly cheap price so I decided to by myself at 44oz orange soda slushie which cost $1.50 after tax. That thing hit the spot as I cruised back home.
After thinking about what just happened, I was reminded of how expensive Subway is (c’mon people, the 5 dollar footlong phase is over, snap back to reality) and how it cost so much now-a-days to eat healthy yet I could go to McDonalds and get two McChickens, a small fry, and a large sweet tea by droppin a dollar on each item. I found myself thinking about how most of the people in America don’t eat healthy anyways and how that is, if it only costs a little extra to eat healthy. Then I felt God tug on my heart and say, that’s how it’s going to be at the end of time for some people.
I felt like he placed these verses in my heart; first it’s Matthew 7:13-14 and it says:13“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
There’s a saying that says “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is a little something EXTRA” and I’d venture as far to say that that something extra isn’t cheap. In Luke 9:23 it says, 23Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Clearly that’s not gonna be easy but hey, the exclusive road to heaven isn’t cheap but I think it’s worth denying ourselves on a daily basis.
I think this is, if not one of, my most favorite movie scene of all time as far as inspiration…if you haven’t seen it before, it’s the scene in Facing the Giants and at some point, I’d like you to watch it (it’s 6 minutes long):
If you just watched that, then take a deep breath because you probably feel like I did when I watched that again. From the rip, I’m gonna say that whether you are an athlete, a fan, or neither of the above, this should STRAIGHT JACK YOU UP!!! Every time I watch this part in the movie, I get goosebumps. I feel like I can run through walls or, more relevant to my craft, do a 360 between the legs dunk from the free throw line (WHO KNOWS!?!)
Sometimes we shortchange our abilities, God has blessed everybody with gifts and talents and it is up to us to use them to the best of our abilities and not hold anything back. I can remember back to when I ran cross-country and how during the races I would try to keep a slow and steady pace early so I could have energy for sure at the end of the race, which I was told by my teammates that I had world-class sprinter speed at the end of the race and they wondered where was it during the race.
As Christians, we need to be sprinting as if the end is right around the corner because for some of the people we come in contact with, the end may be right around the corner.
Consider it in the words of a fairly well-known song: Jesus paid it ALL, ALL to Him I owe!!! Phillipians 3:14 says “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Anybody who considers themselves competitive realizes that you cannot possibly being passionate about winning and do it at half-speed. I remember back to a convo I had wit Brad awhile back and he told me that “We dont get to fight on the other side of eternity. The fighting is over. The worship begins, celebration is all we will be concerned with…” See, up where the Blue Ridge yawns its greatness (aka Clemson), we would call that being “ALL IN!!!” and in the Tres Up (aka North Augusta) we would refer to that as “Leaving it Aaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll on the floor!” So let’s strive to give God our VERY BEST in everything we do.
