not4metoday asked: What does the title of your Tumblr refer to?
The Gospel = The Good News so my tumblr title is about everything in my life the I deem to be good news, everything spiritual, physical, mental etc.
Had to Revisit this one after my brother posted an image on my FB page… Epic.
On Friday Night I wen’t down to the Drum to attend The 8th Gospel Link Live Tour it was refreshing to see that GL Live is back on the scene since the last time I went was GL Live 6 back in March 2010. As always the atmosphere was energetic, youthful and vibrant with fresh artists and new sounds on the alternative gospel scene.
What I love about GL Media, GL Live and what they do is that they provide an great environment for the young Christians and non-Christians who just want the opportunity to release that vigor in a positive atmosphere without the profanities or negative vibes. And so GL Live 8 kicked off with a fresh performance by young upcoming artist Ni Sheng from Birmingham, who shared some of his own experience as a young Christian and how he came to know God. His style is unique check out his video here.
NiSheng was followed by Blessed and Blenz who make up Squad Benefactor, These two are Gospel Link Veterans and have been producing urban gospel locally for years working with GL Media, it was great to see they are still doing their thing.
We then witnessed the launch of True Paradox, a brand new blend of Dubstep music and Gospel Lyrics in the form of an EP curated by DJ 4Real and performed by a host of gospel MCs. This set went down a treat with the whole audience who were not shy to shake a leg or two especially when the funky house style track was performed by Sarah Inez. Im pretty sure that the True Paradox EP is or will be available via iTunes, but will let you know more details soon.
After 5 back to back performances of dubstep, funky house and bassline vibes, the crowd was bubblin, making way fo Write-way music, a collective for four guys from London who are relatively well known in the urban gospel scene. Presha J, Tunday, Leke and Rhema took to the stage with an impressively lengthy but profound repertoire of original music all produced and written between the group of them. Not only did they perform with the energy, style and swagger we see in their videos but there was a sense of unity as they performed together like true brothers in Christ, unafraid to have fun but serious about their message and their mission. Their sense of togetherness was particularly evident in the track where each of the guys rhymed a verse about their own conversion experience laced with Leke’s distinctive soulful vocals.
Next Up was Gauge a US rapper who laid out plain and simply the roles and expectations of men and women in two amazing verses one for the male and one for the females. He then brought out the west indian side of the audience with the help of Mr Sherwin Gardner, an urban gospel music veteran.
Finally, Slave to took to the stage. For many, Slave is a newcomer but unashamed of the gospel and message he came to deliver, he got crowd moving with his eccentric style and energy. It was clear everyone enjoyed and engaged with his performance especially when he had over 100 young people doing the Electric Slide in perfect sync. He finished is set with his headline track that says ‘we don’t drink, cos we already drunk’, I can’t remember the real title, but the message of the song was saying that Christians don’t need to intoxicate themselves because the hole is filled by the holy spirit.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the night, although it is an alternative to the type of concerts I am used to I discovered a whole host of new artists I knew nothing about and this is certainly something I appreciated. Look out for the next tour and keep it locked at GL Media.
Comments from the Twittersphere
@SCBreaker Rafael Fernandes Write way SMASHED IT!!!!
@mzroxiie Roxanne Williams † Home at last
@TrebleZ David Powell Hugging my bed jus a lil bit tighter this morning loool Birms mash up the place last nyt :-) #GLLive8 #HometownSpecial
A week of hardship, now I am RICH
A difficult week. I was ready to throw in the towel, ready to pack it all up and go live in a cave somewhere, unable to keep up with the socio-cultural ideals and expectations of contemporary living and then it came… the Sabbath, the 24 hour period where God said REST, leave it all behind. Now you don’t need to worry my child. You are RICH.
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Thoughts on Justification by Faith
Good News: Just a bit of commentary on what I’ve studied so far in this weeks Lesson Study on Justification by Faith.
As I began to examine my life this morning, I came to the realisation that while I find the concept of justification by faith very simple, exciting and amazingly profound, I am probably more often than not dumbfounded by itin my daily decision making practices and my lifestyle.
For those of you who dont know, the concept of Justification by faith alone simply says that there is NOTHING in your own selfthat you can actually do to attain eternal life. This idea totally goes against everything that’s embedded in the human psyche from generations ago, since we are always taught that you have to do something to reap rewards. These are the two main considerations I have been pondering.
Firstly, From an earthly perspective, I, Myself, Daniel J. Blyden, is an entrepreneur, a go-getter, a very independent person, so for me, the idea that I cannot attain anything through my own efforts logically would have to go amiss every time. But here’s the thing that I have to remind myself every time, and that every onlooker of my life must remember - it isn’t actually me in my own strength that achieves these good things, It’s Christ in me.
‘Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.’ James 1:7
On the contrary, entrepreneurship is quite an unconventional route and I believe its something that God has put in my character and on my life at this moment in time anyway. To go down that route, particularly at this time in earth’s history takes faith and dependency on God in a similar way to that required to be justified by faith.
Secondly, If we are justified by faith alone, why do we do anything? why do we Christians bother to try to keep the commandments? Why do we go to church? Why do we do communion and foot washing? Why do we go around doing good if it doesn’t even earn us salvation or get us into heaven?
The answer is that it’s the faith that calls you to action. Because I believe in God’s promises that has made provisions for me through his death on the cross, it compels me to do the aforementioned.
- We try to keep the commandments because we know that’s what God wants and have the faith that he will enable us to do so
- We go to church because we want to be around other people who are likeminded and share with others what God has done for us.
- We do communion and foot washing because it as a ritual reminds us what Christ went through for us and causes us to realise his love.
- We go around doing Good because the love of God is the source of life.
As I said, none of this gets us into heaven. I’ve always said I hate doing foot washing, I in my own self hate handling people’s crusty feet, but I’ve also experienced that ‘putting myself in Jesus shoes’ which helps me to understand the type of God we serve.
I don’t know if I made my point properly here, I can’t think of what I need to say to conclude but make of it what you will. But just to reiterate the point, its important that faith in the promises of God call you to action - not just religion or routine otherwise you could begin to believe that you are saving yourself and become insincere in what you are doing.
Bye for now.
The Thoughts I Think: Day By Day
It had been a bad day. My six year old daughter had not been listening well, and having reached a breaking point, I yelled at her.
Several hours later, it was bedtime. After singing and prayer, we quoted Colossians 3:20 and 3:21 to each other.
My daughter says “Children, always obey your…
Reblogged from The Thoughts I Think
