TIME TO KNOW THAT YOU'RE FREE

Cue He Reigns by Ricky Dillard. Made a change to the blog. Used to be I’d moderate all comments. Too much work. I’ve lifted that off. Comment one, comment all.  And now…

This past Sunday was life changing. I’ve cried in church before. When I was a little kid, it was an every Sunday thing. The spirit would get high in service and I’d be crying and sometimes screaming. No lie. So needless to say that still happens on occasion. This Sunday was different though. All I was thinking of was the song I’ve sung plenty of times. Grew up hearing my mom singing it. First heard it sung by Donnie McClurkin on an old Carlton Pearson CD, but it never hit me like it did on Sunday.

“Living He loved me. Dying He saved me. Buried He carried my sins far away. Rising He justified freed me forever. One day he’s coming back. Glorious Day.”

Wow. I mean really think about it. Living He loved us. For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten, right? Dying he saved me. What he save me from? Death. The wages of sin is…death. Buried He carried my sins far away. Far away, so why am I struggling with what Jesus already taken care of? Burying my sins, so I don’t have to be buried with them. Rising He justified freed me forever. Whom the son makes free is what? Free indeed. What are habits? What are struggles? What are insecurities? Not only am I free, but I’m free forever. It doesn’t end there. One day he’s coming back. And it will be a glorious day. I mean if that’s not enough to cry out, what is?

So I choose believe that Sunday was an expression of God really freeing me. I wrote a blog some years ago called Off The Chain. The chains are broken now. With that I can’t watch the stuff I used to enjoy for the wrong reasons. I can’t do stuff I used to do while at the same time knowing it was wrong. If I’m free, I got to live free. If I’m delivered, I got to live delivered. I can’t call myself free while still living bound. Some of us have been bound so long that we don’t even know that we’re free. Like Morgan Freeman’s character in Shawshank Redemption. When he finally got out of jail, he was still bound. He asked to go to the bathroom not knowing that he was free to go whenever he had to. Time to know it. Know that you’re free. The chains are broken. Walk in it. Live it.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson aka Big Dusty
Follow me on Twitter @Big_Dusty
Facebook.com/bigdusty

FIGHT YOURSELF!!

Cue We Praise You by The McClurkin Project. My sister dancing to this song is something to see by the way. Absolutely hilarious. To the folks that love the blogs and tell me, y’all the reason I keep this going. With all that being said…

Flesh. Your flesh. Your flesh is trouble. The desires of one human body can be straight disgusting. At times your flesh desires what’s it’s been fed over the years, while at the same time you’re seeking to change your ways. So what do we do? We pray to God to kill our flesh. We pray to God to kill our flesh, then not 2 minutes later, we’re doing what we’re trying to kill. Kind of kills the purpose doesn’t it? Can’t kill the flesh feeding it the filth it desires. It’s like trying to lose weight. You want to lose weight, yet you’re sitting down watching sports with a box of Little Debbie snacks. If you want to change, you got to be willing to do the work, and here’s a news flash: God ain’t going to do the work for you.

That’s one problem we have. When it comes to working, we don’t want to do it. So we pray to God will just take it away, while in the back of our heads, we’re already planning to do what we’re trying to kill. God is willing to help, but we got to do the work. We got to fight. In a sense, we got to fight ourselves. You’ve been stuck in a habit for over ten years, safe to say your flesh is not going to give up so easy. Relapse comes from people who don’t want to fight. We fall. We get step backs. Why? It’s either we don’t want to fight or you figure it’s ok to let your flesh enjoy some junk food every once in a while. So we treat Christian living like a diet. You know on diets, they tell you, it’s ok to have a cheat day. We give ourselves cheat days living this life.

Life is not a food diet people. Life is you’re either all in or not. Luke 16:13 in the Amplified Version says,  “No servant is able to serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (riches, or anything in which you trust and on which you rely).”  You’re either all for God, or you’re not. Then the question comes, what are we all in for? What are we dedicated to? What do we dedicate our lives to? It doesn’t even have to be about Christian living. It can be if you’re trying to lose weight. Or you’re trying to look for a job. Or you’re just trying to chase your dream. Are you dedicated to doing it? Or are you going half way expecting to all come together. That’s not how it works. You got to be willing to fight.

You can’t let you beat you, if you get me. That’s where fasting comes in. Fasting is more than just not eating. It’s decreasing the flesh so you can enhance the spirit man. Am I right or wrong? So why don’t fasting work? Maybe it does work. Maybe we’re not fasting, we’re just not eating. Anybody cannot eat, and I like to call that dieting. Fasting is not a diet, yet some of us treat it as such. Fasting is war against your flesh.

Getting back to killing your flesh. Now when I say that, I’m not saying kill yourself. I’m literally saying, that you let God take over. Dedicate your body to God and not to its desires. Like before I go up to sing in church, I pray for God to kill my flesh, because I want to be used to minister to the people. People may look at me crazy, probably because I’m actually singing something different and not the same old---never mind, either way, the point is, I’m not singing for people. I’m singing for God, and allowing God to use me to minister to the folk. The problem is, we as a people worry about the song to sing and not the song that will minister. We as the congregation worry about what the song is, and not what the song is saying. Killing the flesh is not just for the guy up with the mic. It’s for you too. Your spiritual ears got to be open to hear what God saying. If we don’t allow God to enter in, we hear the word on Sunday and Wednesday, then go back home go in our secret closet not to pray, but to entertain that what we’re trying to kill.

The answer to break the habit is right in front of our face. The answer to chase that dream is right in front of our face. The answer to get that job is right in front of our face. The answer to lose weight is right in front of our face. We got to fight. We got to deny. We got to repent. Some of us apologize, but we don’t repent.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson aka Big Dusty
Follow me on Twitter @Big_Dusty
Facebook.com/bigdusty

DO THE MIAMI HEAT REALLY WANT TO WIN?

Cue Laugh At My Pain by Kevin Hart. Watching that while blogging. I’m going NBA Playoffs on this one…

I’m a Heat fan. I’ve been a Heat fan since I found out Rafer Alston played for them some time ago. Then I found out about Wade. A year later, Shaq joined the team. They win a championship a year after Shaq joins the Heat. All before Lebron made “The Decision.” This for those who call me a bandwagon fan.

As I’m typing this Heat are down 3-2 to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. Why? Well I do have my thoughts. One? Lack of heart and passion. You watch Miami play, and they play like the Celtics are supposed to let them win. When Celtics start competing, Heat don’t know what to do. Here’s the thing. Boston is barely beating the Heat. Heat should be up 3-2. I’m even crazy enough to believe that this series should be over right now, and Heat should be preparing for the Thunder or the Spurs. With lack of passion, lack of heart, lack of defense, Heat find themselves staring down a win or go home situation.

Now, people want to blame the Heat coach, Eric Spoelstra. Is Spoelstra the best coach in the world? No. But even if you had the best coach in the world, how do you coach hard headed “superstars” that don’t listen. Ask Phil Jackson during that last year with the Lakers, and come back when you’re done. All through the game, Eric was telling the team to move the ball. What did we get? Mostly isolation plays which came with mostly bricks. When they moved the ball, that’s when most of the buckets came. Simple.

Rondo, who’s about 3 or 4 feet tall, got his own rebounds. Is that Eric’s fault? He’s not in the game. The coach shouldn’t have to tell you to fight for the ball in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals on Game 5. If you have to be told to play hard and fight for the ball during this stage of the season, you shouldn’t even be on the court.

Heat were playing like they were scared to get hurt on both offense and defense. Taking stupid jump shots, and playing little to no defense at all. It was hard to watch as a Heat fan. Heck it was hard to watch as a basketball fan. It was pathetic. Heat should have won Game 5. Boston took it from them.

As much as I don’t like Rondo, the man is a born leader. He’s going to be a force to be reckoned with in this league for years to come. Heat on the underhand was led on the court at all. Lebron and Wade did no leading whatsoever. Are you kidding me? In the Eastern Conference Finals? Embarrassing. Pathetic.

Again this is being type what after Heat gave Game 5 away to the Celtics so as of right now I don’t know what happened in Game 6 or if there will be a Game 7. What I do know is, Heat need to get that championship strut. Boston has it. OKC has it. Heat? Not so much, which is sad because Wade is a champion.

I’m still a Heat fan don’t get me wrong, but I also keep it real. Heat are not going to be champions until they really want it.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson aka Big Dusty
Follow me on Twitter @Big_Dusty