Devos.HipHop

Da’ T.R.U.T.H. || It’s Complicated One of the biggest beefs people have with Christianity is its exclusivity. No one wants to be told they’re doing wrong. They want to believe their good will outweigh their bad or that their faith will get them to heaven. Yet, on the flip side, most don’t have a problem condemning people like Saddam Hussein or Adolf Hitler to an eternity in hell for their evil acts. But, if you’re remotely trying live a decent life, then they want you to pump the breaks when it comes to Christianity and its claim to be the only way. So, what are we to do? In the second verse of his song “The Greatest Need,” Da’ T.R.U.T.H. talks about a dream he had where he was on stage with leaders from other world religions. These men led quiet and devout lives, but God would not let them into heaven. Why not? Their faith was sincere & all they wanted to do was see their creator face-to-face. Isn’t that enough to get to heaven and meet God? The pluralistic society we live in today would answer yes to such a question; as long as you’re not hurting anyone …

Mark J || An Everyday World “Merge how you live and what you believe.” That’s part of the hook from Mark J’s song “Merge” from his album An Everyday World. This is a dilemma for a lot of Christians. They teach and believe one thing, but live their lives in an entirely different manner. In many cases, if you ran into some Christians on the street, you would have a hard time believing their profession of faith. This is where we need to allow Scripture to grab hold and change our lives. Let’s see what the Bible has to say about people who are taught the Word but don’t live it out. One verse that comes to mind is James 1:22, which reads, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” When we line this verse up with Mark J’s song, we can say quite a bit. First, the simple fact of the matter is this truth is contrary to the beliefs of many Christians. They love to hear the Bible preached, but refuse to live it out. This is why we have so many immature believers in our churches. Truth be told, as this verse …

Stephen the Levite || The Last Missionary If ever there were a cartoon that vividly depicted what the Church looks like, Voltron would be it. For those not familiar with the premise of the Saturday morning cartoon, there are five individuals of different backgrounds & skill sets who work together to stop the forces of evil throughout the galaxy. These five operate robotic lions, which also have their own unique abilities; yet, when the evil forces are too mighty, these five are able to bring their lions together to form the supremely powerful Voltron. The Church functions in much the same way as the characters in Voltron. Each of us is blessed by God with a unique set of talents that sets us apart from everyone else. Along with our talents, we are also given a spiritual gift by the Holy Spirit at the moment we place our faith in Christ. Taken together, each Christian is equipped to work within the Church in a way that no one else can duplicate. This gifting allows many individuals throughout the world to operate in the same bodily function, say a pastor, yet each can do it in a way that is uniquely …

Timothy Brindle || The Restoration In the opening to his epistle to the Romans, Paul expresses his wish to preach the gospel to the believers in Rome. But, Paul is writing to Christians. Why do they need to hear the gospel preached? This is a valid question and it needs to be asked. Is the gospel a one time message solely used to lead people to Christ and salvation? The answer is no. We need the gospel every single day of our lives and we need to preach it to ourselves. While the gospel is something we first need to save us from our sins, that is not its only purpose in our lives. The gospel does more than forgiving our sins or giving us a golden ticket to heaven. The gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ and how it can transform our lives. The entire Bible is the gospel, and it teaches us how we can grow closer to our savior. Through the Bible we are given everything we need to live a life of godliness (2 Peter 1:4). Beyond salvation, the gospel has much practical application for daily life. For example, we wrestle with the dichotomy …

Beacon Light || Lit Haters gon’ hate. It doesn’t take long before you realize how true that statement is. In this life we’ll have no shortages of haters, and that’s just the way it is living in a fallen sinful world. There are any number of reasons why we might have haters. It could be because of our skin color or ethnicity. Or it might be that we’re successful and they want what we have. We could even be hated on because of our faith in Jesus Christ. The reasons are endless. So, we might as well accept having haters as a fact of life. But, the question is: how will we respond to the haters in our lives? The Bible is full of answers on how we should respond to our haters, but the clearest example comes from the life of Jesus. While hanging on the cross, paying the penalty for our sins, Jesus was able to speak the following words about those who were responsible for his crucifixion, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Let’s be real, could you utter those words in that situation? Even for the Son of God, I’m sure that …

Brinson || Black Canvas It doesn’t matter who we are, we all seek after the approval of others. Kids desire praise from their parents. Teens long for it from their friends. Employees want to impress their boss. Rappers want a co-sign from those at the top, along with the praise of their fanbase. The desire for applause is not a bad thing. Under the right circumstances, such approval can mean we’re likable or doing a good job. Our motives determine whether our desire for praise is good or bad. As Christians, we are taught to seek the approval of God above all else. For us, things take a turn south when we start compromising our faith for the sake of man’s accolades. In the hook for his song, Brinson plainly states this truth: “Applause, something I don’t live for/ Type of thing people wanna kill for/ Heaven, want more than a Benz-o, trying to go there with my kinfolk…” His words drive home the seriousness of the issue and echo the words of Paul in Galatians 1:10. In that passage Paul presents the two competing goals of pleasing man or pleasing God, emphasizing that you cannot do both. According to …

Flame || Rewind Let’s be real, how many of us take the Bible seriously? Sure, there are some good things in it that help us live better lives, and of course there’s that stuff about God, Jesus, heaven & hell. But most of us only crack open our Bibles on Sunday morning, and maybe a few times during the week to read a verse or two. That’s not putting much respect on the Bible. Well, what if I told you there’s more to the Bible than that? The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith teaches that the Bible gives us everything we need to know God as he has revealed himself, how to obtain salvation, & ultimately how to please God with our lives. Yet, many view the Bible in a different light. To quote Flame, “People pick and choose what they will and won’t use from the Holy Scriptures// but the Bible is not just a book that you can just look through and see what fits ya.” No can do. That’s not how the Bible works. According to 2 Timothy 3:16 everything in the Bible is breathed out or inspired by God. That means if these are God’s …

Hey, what’s up. My name is LaRosa Johnson, the founder of Devos.HipHop. I want to kick things off by sharing my heart & telling you why I started this website and podcast. If you’ve been in the Christian Hip-Hop community for any length of time you’ve probably seen my name. I’ve been involved in the scene for almost two decades now. Like many of you, I started off as a fan. My love for the genre grew quickly & I got involved with the community. I spent a lot of my free time on message boards & chat rooms. Then when I got the opportunity to write reviews I never looked back, as it fueled my desire to have the latest and greatest in Christian Hip-Hop. I absolutely loved the music and the community. Yet, for as much as I loved the music, I loved the message in the music more. So, back in 2007 I started my Trailblazin Ministries website & decided to do something different. I wanted to combine my love of Christian Hip-Hop and my desire to teach the Bible. The site became a hybrid that covered music and taught the Scriptures. This led me to flip …