How the Avatar shows what true discipleship looks like?

Followers of Christ today are called Christians around the world, and Christianity is the largest religion on the earth with over 2.4 billion people claiming to be followers of the Lord Jesus Christ! That's about 31.2 percent of the world's population!! Now this would be absolutely amazing if only it were true. I'm not attempting to sound arrogant or conceded, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that although billions profess to be followers of Christ, by the looks of the world around us something must be off. Again, the followers of Christ are called Christians and many proudly wear this title, however in the scriptures time and time again we see the followers of the Lord referred to as " Disciples" more times than not, so i think it'd be wise to investigate what a disciple really is.

I'll start by turning our attention to one of my favorite shows growing up which was the " Avatar the Last Airbender" i was captivated by the story line of this show as a kid, the world had four nations, Earth, Fire, Water and Air and there were benders in each of these nations that lived in harmony with one another. As the intro to the show famously says " everything changed when the fire nation attacked" the members of the Fire nation threw the world out of balance by seeking to become supreme over the others by destroying them and subjugating the world under its power. The Avatar was the only hope for the world, being that he alone had the ability to master all 4 elements (Water, Air, Fire, earth) and defeat the fire lord in battle restoring peace and balance to the world.

The only problem was the avatar was a 12-year-old kid from the air nation who only knew how to air bend (Long Story) The shows plot takes the viewer on the life changing journey of Aang the Last air Bender and his mission of learning all the elements as he studied under the various masters that he might become a master himself and fulfill his destiny!

Now how on God's green earth does this Nickelodeon kids show illustrate for us what discipleship looks like for a follower of Jesus? Easy, let's look at Luke chapter 6:40

you see, Christ called us to be disciples, and the word for disciple literally means "Student" one who learns/ an apprentice. The passage says that everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher! As we know, the Lord Jesus initially called twelve men to follow him closely and learn from him as they did life with him on a very personal level. His own attributes of love, servanthood, sacrifice and self-control he desired for them to learn from him, not just for learning's sake, but so that they would adopt these virtues as their own and be like him, and as they became more like him, they would touch the world in an amazing way. It would be a waste of his time and energy if after spending three and a half years with them, the disciples remained the exact same as when he called them to follow him initially. In the Avatar series, we see Aang struggle to learn the elements, it took hard work, it demanded hours of training, getting up early, studying late and sometimes even fighting the enemy head on which we can call on the job training. Aang had great teachers along the way, he learned from the best masters in each of the respective nations, and by the end of the show after his intense training he became like his master's and fulfilled his destiny as the Avtar.

Is it possible that the world looks like it does, engulfed in sin, chaos and decay because the masses although professing to be Christians have failed to be disciples? If 2.4 billion people around the world were students of Christ learning from him and not only learning but conforming to his ways in every area of life, this world would then look more like Jesus! We need more disciples! We need more men and women who aren't interested in checking off a religious box or joining a denomination, but interested in following the son of God, learning from him and ultimately becoming as he is. Then and only then will we see authentic change in the world.

Jesus gives us the answer as to why many elect either not to follow him at all or follow him halfheartedly only, he says in Matthew 16:24

" Then Jesus said to his disciples, if anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me"

This isn't signing up for the country club ladies and gentlemen, it's not easy to deny ourselves and embrace sacrifice, servanthood and a road filled with hardship and self-denial.......he never promised it would be easy but WORTH IT! he promises abundant life, eternal life and peace forevermore for those who lose their lives for his sake, and although some will indeed be called to lose their physical lives for his glory, all of us have been asked to lay down control of our lives for him. On the contrary, to those who pass on discipleship to instead gain the world and the vanity it has to offer, he promises a loss of genuine life, condemnation and judgement. I pray today that we count the cost and use wisdom and CHOOSE CHRIST and by doing so choose the authentic life that proceeds from Him as well.

I love y'all!

written by Jalen Perkins, Author, hip hop Artist, youth minister

The Power of your words! why you should always speak life!!!

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it shall eat it's fruit"- Proverbs 18:21

I used to hear this particular proverb all the time as a kid but i never really took the time to understand it until now. We all have heard the popular saying usually used to encourage a young person when being verbally abused to remain strong. The old saying is " Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me" As a young person i would whisper this in my head when being bullied or verbally abused at school or in the neighborhood, i wanted to believe every word of it, but as time went on i learned the hard way that no matter how much of a poker face I attempted to have in the midst of being made fun of, hurtful and sometimes hateful words had the ability to penetrate deep into my heart and lodge themselves into my mind causing great harm. Insecurities were born because of words, tears were spilled because of words and fear and intimidation were experienced because of words, the popular cliche proved to be false.

The writer of Proverbs 18:21 says that Life and death themselves are in the power of the tongue but how you might ask? let's take a closer look

#1- Every word that comes from a person's mouth is a seed sown in the garden of opportunity!

When words come out of our mouths, they have to land somewhere! we release them from our mouth and they then travel to the ears of HEARERS as well as listeners, but they don't stop in the ears, they proceed to take root in the mind of a person. The mind of a newborn baby is fertile ground, the opportunities for abundant life are endless.

#2 Positive words are healthy seeds!

When a kid hears from the womb that they are loved, appreciated, and special, those seeds grow to become trees of dignity, self-worth and Honor! When you release life from your lips, life takes root in the hearers' ears, and it yields life in return. This isn't some mystical/mysterious law of attraction or manifesting type of thing either. God has set up a simple principle in this world called the laws of Sowing and reaping. Everyone who speaks can be considered farmers and when we decide to plant positive words, or words that God has spoken concerning our lives and the lives of others, we're setting the stage to reap a wonderful, desirable harvest.

#3 Negative words are unhealthy weeds

One definition of weeds is the " Unwanted plants that grow in the garden or fields of crops and prevent the growth of desirable plants"

having stated this, let's take the same example from my second point and say that a child from the womb continuously heard that they were undesired, worthless, hated and tolerated only. what would grow would then be weeds, these unwanted plants would spread in the garden of endless opportunities and literally prevent the growth of the desirable plants. A child who becomes the victim of these dreaded weeds would struggle with acceptance, esteem and value, and would live their lives searching tirelessly to fill these voids knowingly or unknowingly.

The bottom line...

no matter how you slice it, the words you say will either lead to life or death! People have killed themselves over a word that was said and in the same token people have refrained from taking their lives over a word that was said to them. To drive the importance of our words I'll leave you with the words of Jesus in Matthew 12:36-37 where he says

But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words, you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

let's change the way we talk! but it's not going to be possible without changing what's in our heart, because our words flow from the heart. Ask God to transform you and renew you by his spirit, feeling you with all of his goodness and from that place only will your words be fruitful and lifegiving like they were intended to be........I love you all God bless!

Written by Jalen Perkins

Florida Rapper Foolio sadly takes his turn on the merry go-round of death.......Will the cycle ever end?

" There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgement of God in the land. There is only cursing, Lying and Murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed"- Hosea 4:1-2

my heart has been heavy for a while now. As a thirty-year-old black man in America, it pains me to log into social media which has turned into our daily news, to continuously see my people dropping like flies as the reaper seems to have employed other people to do his dirty work for him. Death covers African Americans like a wet moldy bed sheet and the stinch is causing me to not only grieve but become angry at our lack of love and care for one another as a people. 26 year old Charles Jones out of Jacksonville Florida infamously known as "Julio Foolio" unfortunatley as a member of the circus or some would say the drill music rap scene took his turn on the poplular Merry go-round of death this past Sunday June 23rd while celebrating his Birthday. Many rappers have preceded him in death going all the way back to Pac and biggie in the mid 1990's, however it seems that today there is a different evil that's present in these artist causing them to use their music as an outlet of hatred and antagonisms, with the new trend being to even diss their "opps" beyond the grave, something that was rarely heard of when i was growing up.

I think about artist like King Von, FBG Duck, Mo3 and JaydaYoungan. Every single one of them either made fun of their dead enemies directly, or referenced murder in general like it was a sport to compete in. Julio was no different, he repeatedly disrespected his dead foes and made fun of their demise with lines the devil would nod in approval over. The question is what stole the hearts of these young men away replacing it with a frozen stone?

I didn't listen to Julios music at all because i had already heard what kind of content he was known for making, but as is my habit, when one of these rappers sadly pass away, i dig into their discographies out of curiosity just to see what they were communicating in their music. I also take a look at their social media accounts to see where they always promoting death and destruction or did they perhaps show their loving side with their families, or significant others, don't ask me why i do it i just do.....having said that, it didn't take long at all for me to find the answer to why believe Julio and so many other's go down this dead end road Pun intended, the answer is simple They don't feel loved so they lack LOVE to give! Foolio released a song titled "Ion Need Love" Where he's literally spilling his heart all over the track reminiscing on friends and close loved ones that he's lost to the streets. He talks about the danger loving someone brings mainly that it leaves him open to be hurt and that he's ultimately tired of being hurt, even saying that in a couple of past shootings that he survived how he wished he would've died.

When a person says that they don't need love make no mistake about it, they're actually screaming that they not only need it but WANT it as well. Foolio lost his dad to gun violence at 13 years old, and he found himself engulfed in an environment pain, poverty and violence but what hurt his future the most was the love that was absent from his life. The scripture i referenced above speaks of the Israelites and how they had become corrupt as a nation, God says that faithfulness, LOVE, and an acknowledgement of God(concern for his will and ways) were abent from the land which contributed to Immorality of all kinds with death being the end result. It's not a big secret ya'll, our children need unconditional love as young kids, they need life spoken over them from the time they come out of the womb, they need acceptance not based on their performance but based on their humanity, THEY NEED IDENTITY and dignity from their father's especially! Studies have shown what happens when the father doesn't give his son all of these things. I'll end with answering the question i posed in my title, will the cycle of death ever end? Jesus said that "those who live by the sword will die by the sword" Matthew 26: 52

The answer is No and yes! it won't end in this world because the hearts of men will only grow colder and more wicked , we just cant save everyone, let's be real! what we can do is be about our fathers business until he returns and set's up his eternal kingdom where he promises to end all war, violence and last but certainly not least Death itself!

They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed"- Revelation 21: 1-4

This is our hope but until then we aid God in healing the land not killing it ....Blessings