The Book of Law

Joshua 1:8
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth,
but you shall meditate in it day and night,
that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.
For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (NKJV)


So here it is. How to be prosperous and successful in good old black and white (or whatever color font you want to view it in, I suppose). This Book of Law is the Bible, and God asks that we meditate on the laws enclosed therein, so that we may receive the best of what he has in store for our lives. Sometimes we operate and live outside of the Laws and we experience hardships. To be honest, we may do good within our lives and still experience tough times. However, it is not guaranteed that we will not fall upon harsh trials; it is a fact of life.

If we meditate on these laws, we will find that our problems are lessened and our stresses alleviated. Since we are in the World, we cannot completely remove ourselves from what happens to others. We are affected by one another as we move about and we have families that we must interact with. Bad things will happen to good people.

To be fully prosperous, we all must come into agreement and follow the laws of the Bible. We are a diverse race and full of opinions and ideas, and we disagree more than agree. Imagine what we could do if we all moved on one accord? But the devil exists and continues to thwart our best intentions, sowing seeds of discord throughout time. We are still suffering for what Adam and Eve did, you know?

Since we can only hope to control our own actions, we must make our own way by doing what God expects, and then our actions can influence others. When others view the example that we set and notice how we prosper because of the laws we follow, we are giving glory to our Lord.

Wanna Be Rich

1 Timothy 6:17
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor
to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God,
who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. (NIV)


Interesting how this verse actually reflects the inverse of what really appears to be the status quo in the World. We have a lot of arrogant rich people living their lives in abundance but with no real understanding of its implications. Eventually there will come a time when the money will not be enough, the material items will not satisfy and your mind will be unsettled and wary about what actually matters in this world.

There are those pastors who preach “prosperity gospel” about how God does not want his people to be poor or to suffer. However, suffering is a part of life, and is guaranteed to happen. As Christians, it is not something we can avoid. I don’t understand why Pastors stand in the pulpit and tell people that God will make them “prosperous” or “wealthy”. I don’t think material gain is what God was speaking of at all, but that seems to be the context to which they apply the scriptures.

Here is one of many verses about suffering:
“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.” —1 Peter 4:12-14, 16

Do not be fooled by promises of riches that are dependent upon your actions and how much money you give to the church. Leading a “good life” does not guarantee a place in Heaven, only belief in the Savior will set us free. The Bible does say that what is given will be given back to us, but don’t take it out of context. This giving is to be from the heart, not for the hopes of gain in any way. Whoever does so is asking to be condemned.

Be careful folks. Use wisdom to discern your path for yourselves and do not be lead astray by false teachings.
God Bless.

Don't Swear!

James 5:12
Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear--not by heaven or by earth or
by anything else. All you need to say is a simple "Yes" or "No."
Otherwise you will be condemned. (NIV)

Now this is something interesting! The Bible says that we shouldn't swear at all, or we should be condemned! That means that what the courts do by making people swear to "tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth" is a mockery and a condemnation for Christians.

We should make our word our bond, so that we do not fall into the trap that is laid for us by the Self, the World and the Devil. I know that I try to keep my word as much as possible, so that I won't have to swear, that I will be believed. See, if you are in the habit of keeping your word, people will believe you and you are your word. We should not be victims of this "swearing" because in the end only the person and God knows what the truth is.

One should be able to walk upright and speak good things so that he doesn't fall into judgment. I am fallible, but a weak man in God's eyes, but he still loves me and expects for me to do his will upon the Earth. Though I have his forgiveness, I should always do what I say so that I am known as a man of my word. Therefore, as they say, my "reputation precedes me".

God bless.

The Lord is Not Slow

2 Peter 3:9 (New International Version, ©2011)
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.


Though we are selfish and oft impatient creatures, we cannot put any demands on His time. He is not some personal genie that answers at our whim. God works in his own way and his own time. Like any good parent, He won’t give you anything that you don’t need and nothing before you’re ready. He may have to take you through a process to get you where you need to go, you know?

We have to repent of our ways first, so that He may honor His promise to us. As long as we acknowledge our problems and lay things bare before Him, He will deliver all that we need. We must totally rely on His Word, and the Word is God.

Don’t worry about time. Instead focus on the present and leave the future to itself. Tomorrow has enough problems of its own. Be devoted followers so that the power you gain is spiritual, that you may overcome the wiles of the World and the Devil. Most importantly, you must overcome the Self image that has been built for years and years of walking around lost on this planet.
God bless.

Walk Humbly

Micah 6:8 (New International Version, ©2010)

8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly[a] with your God.

What does it mean to act justly? Is this requirement something that we have forgotten? There is so much injustice in the world, not only to the people, but to the planet. We violate one another and we violate the nature of the world. And if we were humble, we would respect the nature of ourselves and the planet by carefully utilizing our resources so there is something left for our children. Yet we obliterate our legacy by following a self-destructive cycle of capitalism. We continually drill for oil that we have verifiable substitutes for; we conduct obscene research and put impurities into our bodies. Where is our humility, when we all but spit in the face of our Lord?

I pray for strength; true strength, mentally and physically. I find that I am getting older and my body feels more frail than ever. I look for way to combat the issues I face, I can only look towards God. I know I can only count on what He has promised, therefore I try to retain my humility and traverse this planet as a stronger, spiritual being. This is difficult, for there are obstacles in the world that deter you each day from the purpose God has given.

I hope that you all find your way to your own, and cultivate the gifts God has bestowed upon you. Reach out each day and work with them, showing love for God and full appreciation. Love your friends and family; be merciful and forgiving as God forgave us. Bring justice to those that have none, for God has shown us what is good. Be humble and respectfully follow his guidelines.

The Naked Rift

A cold implosion of a heart's wounded beat
bears down on his world spinning the anger like a toy top,
a spiral carrying tears,
throwing them through the air as rain.

Working the sides of his soul, searching the edges
for a secret opening, a hiding place to escape
were his rage is less and his mind sharp
there wouldn't be any reason to reach the black.

He thinks they are laughing, and probably so
staring and shuffling like stewards, coarse
glares that rub off the skin
Creating a naked rift between he and the means.

Have you ever seen a man run from that which he chases,
a route to impatience, a path of mazes too long for all?
Worrying a little, but all never known
A skillfull whelp wanting well to be grown.

The Coffin's Full

Followed the road
Winding down dusty days
A trail of your memories met me there
Settling on my head
You called my name within
And I felt ashamed to answer
There’s too much I shouldn’t have said

You buried me away
A coffin full of regretful notes
Crumbled ideas and saddened words
That will never be unearthed
A revelation of unforgiving
Murdering the stark sanity of progress
That gives a man’s life worth.

I’m digging into a mystery
Sharing my skies with another
Thanking God that I have arrived
Where I can gather appreciation
Eyes like flashlight bulbs
Wide and brightened light
Escaping from midnight to illumination.

Starshine

This age of cell phone ring tones, celebrity envy and capitalism is slowly collapsing. Let anyone who has eyes read and take note, for what you think is important in this life has no value in the next. You can’t take it with you when you’re gone.

I was looking at the show “Fashion Police” with Joan Rivers yesterday. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black…

Here we have an old lady who has, to a very noticeable degree, destroyed her human face and strapped on something that seems to be a cross between a gecko and a mandrill. Yet she fixes her mouth to talk about other celebrities and the clothes they wear. Thinking back on it, seems like some twisted episode of the Twilight Zone where the real people are idolizing the horrible, disfigured personas of stardom, only to realize that their heroes are nothing but liars.

We are tweeting along with the famous, sycophantic drivel in barrels, bantering away when our spiritual lives are in decay. I believe it’s far gone by now. Shame on us.
I don’t want to excuse myself from this, for I am just as much to blame. Yet, at least I realize my folly. I am human enough to admit I need God and I can’t function in life without him to guide me. But those who are walking that dreamy line toward degradation, I hope you wake up long enough to deviate from the course.

A Glorious Path

The road to glory
Steps bemused with the network of movement captured
In the earth like travelers’ patchwork, connecting individual intricacies
Where they are left to sift through the changes marked in history
Like a hand pushing through sand hoping to find a unique enough grain
To call your own
But that’s a road too long and a way cut short on a glorious road
Encumbered pedestrian leaving home
Ragged personage propelled and stripped
Of loving arms and cherished ideals threaded throughout your austere
Bewilderment
Hopes caged, for misinterpretation’s sake
Knowing that skies cry blue and the sun is granting light
To you, on the road to glory.

Reason Enough

A market for the many
A wicker basket and five tomatoes unripe
picking for the plenty
and the poor eat good tonight
you whistling appartion, ghost take flight
bury my mind in my woes and bind my sight.

A life devoid of any
A ticker tape parade dragging the dust
Welcome and free entry
to indulge in your lust
you sorrowful dream, leave as you must
I sulk in my cage and I watch it rust.

A posted, watchful sentry
A somber cascade of meaningful hopes
the commoner's wishful gentry
marked with playful notes
remembering well those loving quotes
so he knows the reason why he wrote.

The Alchemist

I am always on the cusp of an answer; always looming over a clue to my next move. I am playing charades with my soul, I would say, fumbling over some gestures that only amount to more guesswork. Seems a bit insane, my unabashed references to my own mental knife fights, flipping through the pages of my dreams like they are comic books hoping to uncover the villain. But I already know the answer to this: I am the villain. Yet, I play hero as well. This is a conundrum that we all attempt to decipher, but some of us are no closer to a solution the day that we die than we were when or if we realized it.

I read The Alchemist yesterday. It is astounding what Coehlo accomplished in such bare, innocent prose. I found myself captivated by each word, drawn to the protagonist in such a hauntingly explicit way that I might have been him, which is probably what the author intended. The boy Santiago, finds himself following the advice of the great king Melchizedek, who tells him to seek his own “Personal Legend”. Santiago develops a sense about his life, following his heart by recognizing the signs that God places along his path. Though he is distracted and disheartened in some events, Santiago always finds himself facing his destiny: he can’t deny it and he can’t walk away. It is inexplicable in such a plain manner that the boy Santiago realizes that he is part of all and all is part of him. In the end, he says that everything is everything else because we originate from one source: The Hand Who Wrote It All.

I find myself in tears many times reading the book, just because it reminded me of something I knew already: I must follow the dreams that I have in my heart. Regardless of anything else, I must walk my path and create for myself the legend that belongs only to me. Essentially, Coehlo is saying we all have our choices to make in our lives, but those choices should reflect what is in our hearts, because we only have the dreams we set in our minds. This reminded me a lot of The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge. In much the same way Don Juan instructs the author to “follow the path of his heart”.

These teachings, these words, echo throughout my soul, instructing me to follow my heart, and I am elated. Each time I think of them I feel God surging through me, rushing through my heart and mind and soul like a roaring river, and I am overflowed. There is a bounty of joy to be had as long as we keep following our dreams. As Coehlo put it, when we want something, the whole universe conspires to help us achieve it. He called it, “beginner’s luck”. However, I never believed in luck. Even though the word is used by me, I have faith in my Creator and his blessings. Since I know of Jesus and his love, I worry not about being lucky.

Read the book. It may change your life.

The Never Man: Forever

The grand madness feeds
gnawing at aspiration, chewing and biting bits
and wasting the rest, greasy pieces of fat
flicked away. So his head bangs a thunderous boom
shaking his mind like a bag of old nickels.
Maybe he's lost, looking for sanctuary in limbo
and there's no grace in hell.

He's colliding with variables of vintage wisdom,
finding hope in a cage, hints of honest care
that points toward The Way.
People calling out, shouting their hardened phrases
of semi-intellectual directives.
Misshapen glory-crushed impressions that curve
and crease and bend around the truth.

He's the Never-Man that never knew,
never understood the plan, cheapened religion
bought through a phony shake of hands
Walking a path without a clue, a hold
precarious at best, a brittle, mildewed rope
that will give way before long, forcing a long
way down.

Paths still sit at their zenith, waiting for walks
from mindless men that want to fill their heads with
need and truth, paths born for youth and their search
for never and nothing and forever and something
for wounds that cripple
or the itch of love, all, none
Never
a grand madness that feeds
into a spiraling pinch, them, never full
Forever.

The Never Man: Burn

(They paused, jests were made, his head swayed, tilting toward hers like he wanted a way in. Just let him come in and show you how it could/would/should be, possibly thinking…well he’s unworthy to even grace her presence, but his dreams show their souls touching like lovers on the silver screen. Draped casually on her couch, he was still confined to the dismal misfortune of being the one that follows the one before, so his possessive instinct bloomed and wilted simultaneously.)

Strange colors danced before his eyes like flames, and he was hypnotized by the moment, his admiration unrestrained. She was one with the fire, an image of heat and light and fantastic form warping itself through all four dimensions.

He lost himself, tangled in a web of time, gaining his love, losing his mind. He loved her or hated her or both or none. The flame was a ballerina and her dance was not done; his eyes were transfixed and he began to succumb.

He thought she said, “The Never-Man, never did, never can, he will wish to hold that which escapes his hand.”

He laughed like it was the finest joke, she must be playing with the words she spoke. The fire had a smile on her face; a look of satisfaction that doubled for shame and disgrace. But was it aimed at him, or something she fought inside? Surely it was something she was trying to hide.

He might have asked, “Why do you taunt me with this passionate flame? Why me? Why do you play this game?”

She who danced and burned with light, her colors so vibrant that they pulsed and throbbed with life, looked as if she formed the words: “You ask why I taunt, why I play this game, but you sit and watch and feed my flame? The Never-Man, never did, never can, thinks that dirt will not settle when he crosses the sands…”
At that he thought twice. “How could it be? To sit here and love her is all on me? A man with full vision but too blind to see, how I perceive and react is all on me.”

The Never-Man, who never cried, never ran, rose from the couch attempting to stand. The fire seemed brighter and her dance was insane, he could feel her heat growing but her rhythm had changed. He stood there for a moment, and she began to slow down, easing her tempo, quelling the sound. It was magic he dreamt or a vision he touched, either or both, it was too much. When she stopped his eyes met the flames in her own and they reached out to one another because they were both so alone. The Never-Man, never could understand as he put his hands in hers there was no burn to withstand. But the flames, the flames were like the sun as they embraced. They both burned bright as they danced with desire in that place. They burned through their lives in a fiery embrace.

The Never Man: Recovery

Recovery is slow, and I burn through the days, so my eyes glisten bloodshot red

when I swallow the morning; I almost choke on the sun, needing to eat light

cause this darkness is keeping my arteries tight.

I took out a loan on time cause I never have enough left over
As it slips through my hands. I’m the Never Man, never could-never can.
I never juked right; I barely ran. I’m in recovery and it’s slow processing and second guessing, terminal outpatient raving and foolish, puerile cravings of a young man, aging. The years grant gifts of periodic joy, I wander and wonder why I play life so coy, why I’m shuffling my packaged feelings like an errand boy.

Recover. Repair. Under duress, my blessings are a semblance of sleepy-eyed gestures within spiritual haze. A hollow wish pulls an empty gaze, a blind rodent scurrying through a tattered maze. The abandoned home. The missing page. I’m the actor performing his show off-stage, the unheard soliloquy fueled with rage.

I wake up and grab my cup and choke down the sun. I want to feel it going down but my body’s too numb. The Never Man: never free, never done, never defeated but always unsung. Recovery is slow, but the madness is fun, and I burn through the nights just to choke down the sun. I learn through the days and the battles I have won. I burned through the age to the man I've become.

All The Way Gone

I've hustled my way down and around, kicking dirt across weathered roads, catching a glimpse of what life would look like if I really had a hold. I think I'm hurrying, how do I get there when the getting there just got up and burnt out? I wanna rush, I wanna go forth and leap across mountain ranges and feel the air whistling and rattling about me. Speed, man. Let's go.

Let's take it to the fullest extreme, all-out tornado trippin', I'm a whirlwind pyramid or something close to its functionality. I just wanna wake up on the go, my feet already pointed in the direction I need to travel. I wanna be part of the solution to make the world unravel...to cave it in, to break it and watch it rattle. I wanna be the KA-BOOM in your gasp. The shock in your awe. The chatter in your teeth.

Just wanna be. I know Freedom ain't what it used to be. It's a shadow of its own shadow split amongst their shadows. An after image that is beginning to fade. Freedom seemed like it was there one day, then gone, never said "good bye", "I'll see you" or "go to hell". Wonder if Freedom knew me? The same me that's jetting like a plane to see it torn up and done again, built up and spun and spun and then kicked to smithereens like a wooden board before Bruce Lee's foot.

Am I running to escape? Maybe so. But it's too late. I've already been caught and manhandled and bruised and bludgeoned. I got right back up and begged for some more. Look at me: I'm built for this, mom. I'm built for this. Look at what's left of your prodigal son. The son that keeps running til he can no longer run. A son that keep going till he was all the way gone. All the way gone, all the way to none.

Building

Relationships, man. They need to be cultivated. I am now realizing how I am lacking in my relational devotion to my family and friends. Lot of times I think it’s because of how I was raised, you know? My mother showed a lack of interest in most of what I did, even though I was a high achiever in school. She didn’t really show the kind of enthusiasm most parents would, but she showed her approval in different ways. But I wonder if those ways have stunted my growth as the type of person I need (and God needs) me to be?

I guess I shouldn’t dwell on that. I have made it through a lot. But I seem to shy away from the support others give me, or I don’t show the support I need to show to them. It’s like I have that same mentality that my mom had, and that hurts. I should be able to be better, for I know what I went through and how things were somewhat of a detriment to me. How can I be better?

I ask God for direction. I ask him to help me understand myself and why I am the way I am. Still, I don’t know if I’ll ever understand. Maybe that’s what it’s supposed to be like, anyway? Maybe God wants me to work and reach out and close those gaps that I have worked too long to widen.

I was with my friend Antonio at a release party for a local record label who just acquired a distribution deal from Universal Records. We spent a big part of the night waiting around just so he could talk to this label exec. When he finally did talk to him, the conversation might have lasted 5 minutes. Yet, my friend was satisfied, saying that the contact was crucial to his future endeavors.

As sleepy and tired as I was, I understood exactly what he meant. Who knows what that next relationship or contact could mean to your future? Don’t you owe it to yourself to at least reach out and risk giving a part of yourself, regardless of the possibility of rejection? I think so.


Stay sane and remember where your help comes from. Build your relationship with Jesus, first and foremost, then you may find that it comes a little easier to build them with others.

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The Cup of Water

I was talking to my boy yesterday, and he relayed a story to me that he had heard from his marriage counselor, who just happened to be a chaplain. The chaplain said that he wanted his congregation to really understand the message he was trying to convey, so he decided to give them a visual aid. He picked up a glass and put water into it. He then picked up the cup and held his hand out. The chaplain motioned for a young boy to come to the pulpit and shake the arm that held the cup of water. The boy, more than eager to comply, walked up to the pulpit and shook his arm vigorously. Of course, the water spilled out from the cup. With that done, the chaplain asked his congregation: “Why did the water fall out of the cup?”

Many answered that it fell out because the boy shook it. Others gave outlandish answers that were far from the mark. After asking quite a few people, the chaplain decided to give them the answer, which was simply this: The water spilled from the cup because it was there in the first place.

See, it mattered not what was in the cup. When someone shakes the cup, its contents will come spilling out. What he was trying to say is that what’s inside of us will come out when we are tested. What was really inside, good or bad, will show when we are faced with trouble or adversity.

Just thought I’d share that one with y’all. Have a good day.

Like Hitchhiking in Space

Bout to put this book out again...just as sort of a teaser until the new one, The Science of Discontent, is finished. Wow. This is really living the dream, kinda?  Check it out and get a copy if you wanna support a brotha. Much love.  Look for them on Amazon.com.

Wants A Gun

He thought if he left, things would change, all would be new, his world re-arranged. There was just too much of nothing, like a hole within a hole where life moved so slow it was stifling. He wanted to avoid the trifling haunts that called to him like the legendary Sirens, a cacophony in his ear, rifling through his mind making it difficult to think. The bars, the nightclubs, the drinks. He thought of God and family: what would they think?

Frustration mounts, a thick pain in his head that punches and stabs, a killing stroke, until he bleeds his dreams in black inked words. He seeks the light in all things, looking to the changes as divined fortune, whether ill or blessed, no matter the outcome, God knows best. We are built for struggle, he recalls, as the Bible tells of trials and tribulations that will ensue, the challenges of life, must be accepted and expected. Welcome the strife. It’s useless to resist.

Forgetting is so soothing, yet it is dangerous, so we look to find the balance between. He ventures to the shaming balance, his ego dancing on the edge of disdain, caring and wanting to be care-free. What a conundrum that keeps him treading away from the answer, playing games to rid himself of the questioning devils licking at his angst. He wants to laugh, he wants to run. He wants peace and he wants a gun.

He left anyway, a woman on his mind and greenbacks beckoning. No reason to stay. No one needed him. It was the end of those days, as they say.