ESOM Response...SMH.

Good evening, beautiful people! I pray that everyone enjoyed their weekend, in spite of the Cowboys win/Redskins loss. Seriously, I would like to address something that has really been bothering my spirit lately. Okay, I'm sure that most of you have heard Jay-Z's latest album, "The Blueprint 3". If not, you might've heard his single with Alicia Keys, "Empire State Of Mind". Their collaboration has been performed at a benefit concert that Jay held as a tribute to 9/11 victims and heroes, at the VMAs, and most recently, at the AMAs. It is now number ONE on the Billboard Top 100, the first of his many singles to hold this position. Acknowledgements aside, there is one particular line in the song that has made devout Christians everywhere quite angry, and understandably so: in the third verse, Jay-Z says "and Jesus can't save you, life starts when the church ends". I'll admit that at first, I brushed the line off and let it slide, considering that Jay is masterful when it comes to using double entendres and this was just another one in his collection. But the Holy Spirit started to convict me about being so nonchalant about it. Have I become so numb to hip-hop's often blasphemous tactics that I can just disregard a blatant shot at Jesus without a second thought? Wow, I really need to repent...real talk. As distraught as I was about the whole thing, I was inspired to come out of my lyrical stupor to share my thoughts in rhyme form. Here it is:

I think it's time you reconsidered your metaphors/
Especially the ones that take aim at the sovereign Lord/
Have you become so elevated in stature/
That you would curse the God who's gonna activate the Rapture/
Sanctification must've exited your mind/
'Cause nothing but blasphemy exudes from your rhymes/
Even the most devoted Christians will not deny that you're prolific/
But all your writtens do is bear false witness/
Call your album "Contrary Doctrine"/
If you "care" about your "health", "public" repentance should be your "option"/
The audacity you have to steal the glory from Christ/
Should be recanted before He cancels eternal life/
Believers, claim your allegiance/
Pray for the brother who boldly says "Peace God" while rocking Jesus pieces/
Send this truth to the harlots and virgins/
Jesus CAN save you, life starts when the Church BEGINS/

I just wanna say to the people that follow Jay-Z and listen to his songs religiously: please BE CAREFUL. Really study the Word of God and see what the Lord says. We are truly in the last days, and there are many false prophets out there that will blatantly claim their devotion to Satan. And I can care less if the line was meant to have a double meaning or whatever...you really have to watch what you say about Jesus because God WILL hold you accountable. SMH. Let us continue to pray for Jay-Z and every rapper out there and also, let us examine ourselves to be sure that we are in right standing with God. Deuces!

John 14:6
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

Acts 4:12
There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.

Community

I'm back, beautiful people! Hope y'all had a great week and that the weekend is even better! Now that I've started my own blog, I find it kinda difficult to figure out what I should write. I'm sure y'all know how it feels when you have all these thoughts in your head, yet when the time comes to commit those thoughts to a page, your mind suddenly draws a blank. So everyday, I ask the Lord to give me the strength and the courage to keep it real with y'all. With that said, I wanna dedicate this post to my church, Odenton Church of God. I thank God for placing these people in my life to minister, disciple, encourage, challenge and allow me to use my gifts to build up the Body of Christ. I joined OCG in March of this year, and immediately I was involved in ministry. As of now, I'm part of the Media Ministry, working on the soundboard and running the cameras sometimes. I'm also a part of the Drama Ministry and I teach the teen Bible Study class every 2nd (and now 5th) Wednesday. I even get to hop on stage and rap with the Worship Team every now and then. LOL! Now, don't get it twisted...I'm not just bragging about all my accomplishments here. What we as ministers have to remember is that what we do at our home churches is not just for the acknowledgement and recognition from man, but our efforts should be intended to bring glory to God and meet the needs of our fellow members. So to everybody from OCG that has a chance to read this, I just wanna say that I love and appreciate all of you for embracing me with open arms and I am absolutely humbled by the opportunity to minister and worship alongside all of you. Let us continue to share wisdom, have random moments of fellowship, train each other up and open our hearts to the community that God has chosen us to reach. I would be remiss if I failed to thank my original home church, New Bethel Church of God in Christ. I will never forget that you all were the ones that introduced me to Christ and you are my original church family. Those days of being a part of the Children's Choir, the Youth and Young Adult Choir, the Usher Board and the Sound Ministry will always hold a special place in my heart. And though we're all in different locations, let us all be unified by the fact that we worship the Lord in spirit and truth. People, don't sleep on the idea of being in a community of believers...there's so much growth and happiness that can be attained! God bless the community! Deuces, y'all!

Ephesians 4:11-13
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

There's an app for that!

What's good, beautiful people? Sorry I didn't provide an update last night, but I was busy and by the time I got home, I was too tired to get on my laptop and type anything. I'm back now though and I'm thankful for that! God is definitely good and His favor and mercy never fail to shine on those who love and obey Him. He helped me to clear up a misunderstanding that I had with one of my co-workers, and He allowed the day to be very peaceful on the job for one of the adults from my church. So once again, thank you Lord! Now that I've testified (cue the tamborines), lemme get to my main topic. It is no secret that the iPhone is the hottest gadget in the world right now. It seems like everybody and their mama owns one. Even I have one (it was a gift, trust me). I confess that I am COMPLETELY addicted to my iPhone...I do just about everything on it. I send text messages, check Facebook and Twitter, send and check emails, and write lyrics and other notes. It's even help me to become better at remembering dates and events, which is wonderful because I am heavily involved in church ministry. If you're like me, you've seen the iPhone commercials on TV on more than a few occasions. The ones that say "there's an app for that". And there are MILLIONS of apps relating to sports, politics, education, news, entertainment, etc. There are free apps and also apps that you must pay for. Lately, I've become obsessive about downloading apps to my phone. I think I have about 100 of them. I actually use some of them, while others are just there. Maybe I'll use them one day...when I'm REALLY bored. It's amazing to me how you can now do just about anything courtesty of these apps. Hey, if you tell me some of your favorite apps, I'll tell you mine! :-)

Friends...how many of us have them?

(singing) Thank you for being a friend...traveled down the road and back again...your heart is true, you're a pal and a confidant! LOL! I'm just playing, y'all! Glad to see you all again though. God is good, it's been a beautiful day, and you all are beautiful! Tonight, I just wanna give a special, special shout out to all of the friends that God has blessed me with over the years. That's right, I said "friends". Not associates...FRIENDS. I am absolutely thankful to the Lord above for sending people to my life that bring joy to my heart and encouragement to my soul. To all of the friends that I have accumulated over the years, whether you've known me from high school, college, church, work or wherever...I just wanna say "thank you" from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for laughing with me, sharing great memories with me, crying with me, keeping it real with me, and most importantly, encouraging me with your presence on a regular basis. I've learned so much from each and every one of you, and I sincerely believe that God has allowed us to cross paths for the benefit of all of us as well as everyone that is influenced by us. Each of you has been an inspiration for me as I watch you share your gifts and your hearts with the world. As we live our individual lives, let us not forget to stay connected when we can and keep each other lifted up in prayer. People, never take your friends for granted. Always show them love and tell them the truth. To my friends, I love you all so very much...real talk. Let us show the world how God intended us to live together. Deuces, my FRIENDS!

Proverbs 18:24 (New Living Translation) There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.

I'm a blogger now! Yay!

Good evening, beautiful people! Allow me to introduce myself...and my blog! My name is Kennith Williams, and you are now tuned in to one of the hottest new blogs on the scene right now, "Casual Introspection"! I've been meaning to do a blog for a while now, but I've been dealing with this issue known as procrastination. Well, that will no longer be a problem, 'cause I'm here now! What you can expect from my blog is to see the sharing of thoughts about everything that's on my mind at any given moment. I will absolutely strive to be as transparent as possible, so you'll see a combinaton of happiness, sadness, reflection, irreverance, silliness and seriousness. Most importantly though, I want to make sure that I please God in whatever I do, so I will ensure that everything I say will encourage, uplift, empower, edify and challenge and convict if necessary. I have just one rule in regards to leaving comments about my blog: keep it CLEAN...please! That's basically it. I hope you enjoy this blog as I continue to update it on a regular basis. And I hope I can inspire you to freely express yourself in a creative manner, with all of the gifts that God has given you. Deuces!