Got Fruit ?

I’ve had the 13 Letters album by 116 Clique for about a year now, and have enjoyed not only listening to the music, but the underlying messages of the artist’s works as they praise God in their songs.  My son and I were returning back to the bachelor pad last night after hanging out with my folks for a late Thanksgiving meal. While in the car, the song "To Live Is Christ" was playing on the car’s stereo and the track’s "hook" struck a chord with me (no pun intended) .

"Our life is nothing, but Christ is all
So conduct yourselves worthy of His righteous call",
~ Trip Lee of the 116 Clique; 13 Letters - To Live is Christ

To Live is Christ (Philippians)
Verse 1:
Brethren listen to this exposition
Paul wrote the Philippians some lessons for living (1:1)
Written to them but its real good text for Christians
So read it closely, I hope we can catch the vision
Chapter 1 he tells them he’s blessed to get them
Co-laboring with him to serve the best who’s risen (1:5, 7)
And that’s he’s confident the Lord will perfect in Christians
What He started and hearts will be corrected in them (1:6)
Listen, he was in prison now maybe never getting out
But all he could think about was the gospel getting out (1:12-14)
Some was even preaching Christ from selfish motives
Coming at Paul but dawg he shrugged his shoulders (1:15-18)
His focus was Christ the Messiah man (1:19)
And for Him "to live is Christ and to die was gain" (1:20,21)
Yeah, he was hard pressed, but to remain in the flesh
Was more necessary so they faith would progress (1:22-24)
He wanted them to strive together for the gospel
In one spirit, one mind, listen to the apostle (1:27)
Maintain the same love, uplift your brothers
Don’t just look out for yourself, but for the interests of others (2:2-4)
Hook:
Our life is nothing, but Christ is all (1:21)
So conduct yourselves worthy of His righteous call (1:27)
(Repeat 4X)

Verse 2:
Chapter 2: Let’s examine five through eleven
The blessed lamb who resided in the Heavens (2:6)
Said forget the wealth and emptied Himself
Came as a man and died for the brethren (2:7,8)
Ultimate obedience, he died on the cross and (2:8)
Through His humility Christ was exalted (2:9)
Glory to the Father (2:11), now we should have
That same attitude Christ Jesus had (2:5)
And on to verse twelve work out your salvation (2:12)
The Father works in us in this process of saving (2:13)
Avoid dispute and prove yourself blameless
Children of God in a perverse generation (2:14,15)
Cling to the bible, humility is vital
We see it in lives of Paul and his disciples (2:17-30)
Serving him like father (2:22), some fellow soldiers (2:25)
Let us rejoice, unite, and rep Jehovah

Hook

Verse 3:
Chapter 3: rejoice in the Lord we serve (3:1)
And forget about the flesh we nothing more than dirt (3:3)
Man if anyone could brag bout they past it was Paul
But to him it was trash it and he counted it as lost
For the sake of the Christ, ’cause He gave us life (3:4-7)
Not through anything we did but through faith in Christ (3:9)
We righteous in the eyes of the Lord’s that’s blessing
Conformed to His death and His resurrection (3:9-10)
Brethren, I don’t claim to have attained perfection’s
What he said but was reaching to what lies ahead (3:12-13)
And encouraged the Philippians to model what he said (3:15)
And not to walk in the flesh cause that walk is dead (3:17-19)
But we citizens of Heaven who eagerly wait for
The one that we rest in Jesus our Savior (3:20)
That’s who the Lord is and He will surely
Transform our bodies in future glory (3:21)

Hook

Verse 4:
Chapter 4: he closes encouraging with words
In unity and harmony for those within the church (4:1-3)
Rejoice in the Lord, bro our hopes in Him first (4:4)
Let our thanks and our problems be known to Him first (4:6)
Embrace the peace of God, you can bet on that (4:7)
And whatever is good let your mind dwell on that (4:8)
Then he thanked them again, for they gifts and concern (4:10)
But no matter what to be content he had learned (4:11-12)
Plus he was sure that he could do all things
Through Him who gave strength and can do all things (4:13)
And he told them they did well sharing through all pain (4:14)
And made sure they knew he sure he wasn’t trying to get more change (4:15-18)
God will supply all they needs he hoped they might see this
According to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus (4:19)
The truth of Philippians I hope it hit you
And may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you (4:23)
I hope you like what you heard with me rapping these verses
But don’t get it twisted, we just scratching the surface
There’s more to be learned than this rap is saying
So read it, live it, learn it like the back of your hand

Hook

Lyrics courtesy of Reach Records.

2nd Corinthians 4:1-6
1 Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Grace and peace be with you.

Then the man said,”The woman whom You gave to be with me,she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
Genesis 3:12

Adam and Eve did everything they could to avoid taking responsibility for their sin. Adam blamed his wife: “She gave me of the tree.” He even pointed an accusing finger at God, saying it was “the woman, whom You gave me.” Eve blamed the serpent saying: the serpent deceived me, and I ate.” God ignored their excuses and announced the judgment they would face as consequences for their disobedience.

One of the dirges of mankind is that we refuse to take responsibility for our actions. We want to blame others for our problems: Our parents did not raise us well; our friends let us down; our pastor was not a good enough preacher; our children are rebellious; our employer is not sensitive enough; our spouse is not understanding; there is not enough time in the day…the excuses are plentiful! Yet forgiveness and restoration cannot happen until we accept full responsibility for our action.

An obvious indication that we have not genuinely repented is that we make excuses for our sinful behavior. Nowhere in scripture does God excuse one person’s sin because of someone else’s actions. If we make a habit of blaming others for our failures, we will not reach a point of honest repentance. God will hold us accountable for our own actions, not others (2 Cor. 5:10). Strive always to acknowledge and take responsibility for your own sins. It will free you to receive God’s forgiveness and to press on to spiritual maturity.

Henry and Richard Blackaby
Experiencing God Day-by-Day

Psalm 19:12-14
12 Who can discern his errors?
       Forgive my hidden faults.

13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
       may they not rule over me.
       Then will I be blameless,
       innocent of great transgression.

14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
       be pleasing in your sight,
       O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Grace and peace be with you.

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.
Luke 17:15-16

Thankfulness is foundational to the Christian life. Thankfulness is a conscious response that comes from looking beyond our blessings to their source. As Christians, we have been forgiven, saved from death, and adopted as God’s children. There could be no better reason for a grateful heart!

Lepers in Jesus’ day were social outcasts. Their highly contagious condition ostracized them from those they loved. When ten lepers encountered Jesus, they desperately implored Him to show them mercy. Jesus sent them to the priest. As they obeyed, they were healed! These ten men had been forbidden to enter their own villages, to live in their own homes, to work in their own jobs, or even to touch their own children. Imagine what unrestrained joy must have filled them as they ran back home again!

One of the lepers, a Samaritan, stopped and ran back to thank Jesus. Samaritans were normally shunned by the Jews, but Jesus had healed him! Jesus asked him, "Where are the others?" Ten lepers had been healed. Ten lepers were reveling in their newfound health. Ten men were joyfully rushing to share the good news with those they loved. But only one considered the Source of that blessing and stopped to thank and worship the One who had given him back his life.

We, too, have been healed and made whole by the Savior. We are free to enjoy the abundant life the Savior has graciously given us. Could we, like the nine lepers, rush off so quickly to glory in our blessing without stopping to thank our Redeemer? God looks for our thanks. Our worship, prayers, service, and daily life ought to be saturated with thanksgiving to God (Phil. 4:6).

Henry and Richard Blackaby
Experiencing God Day-by-Day

Philippians 4:6
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Grace and peace be with you.