New Life

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Newness. New creation, IF anyone is in Christ.

Romans 10:9 says, because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Believe in your heart, this is deeper than simple intellectual ascent. Anyone can confess with their mouth, even demons believe God is who He is (See James 2:19) but to believe in your heart is something much different. Belief with your heart brings about the new creation that comes in Christ as noted in 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Newness. New creation, IF anyone is in Christ.

When you're in Christ, you have a new identity. Affections and desires change, If you say Jesus is your savior but can sin and feel no conviction then it's time to check your relationship with Him...For me I had a simple plan: finish school, take over Wall Street, buy all the nice things I couldn't have as a kid and get a really hot wife. Simple right? New identity means new thought patterns. The deeper I began to go in and with Christ the more my mind and heart started to change.

Now I have a heart for the Gospel and God's people. I try to see everything and everyone and every situation through the lens of the Gospel. My desires are different, if I never make a million dollars but I lead a hundred people to Christ then I feel I will have been successful. I no longer find happiness in the things I want, which is really weird because anyone who knows me knows I would always buy the things I wanted even if I didn't need it. Now I think of the people half way around the world who are dying from a lack of food but I'm going to spend $200 on some sneakers I probably wont ever really wear! Come on....Forget buying things I want and just having stuff, I'd rather just get what I need and if I have excess I want to use it to impact the lives of my brothers and sisters who need a meal more than I need some new shoes.

And as for the hot wife....I still want her to be hot lol but to have a passion for Christ like mine and a thought process that elevates God to his proper place in, around, and through our lives.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

I'm different now, far from perfect but I thank God sanctification isn't a one time deal and He continues to work on me...

Just my thoughts...

oh yea..Ephesians 5:1-10...for those of you who like have struggled in walking in your newness, check that out...

The Conversation

He said to me, "Picasso breathe between the words."

To which I replied "No I need to be heard....I need to know that my voice matters."

"It does!" he said

"To who?"

Silence.

"Exactly, no one hears me, no one listens, so i might as well shout at the walls!"
Slowly he responded, "that's not true..."

"Then prove it! I hate to be a nuisance but the pain in my heart is deeply rooted..."

"Hold up kid, don't let your house fall, you're bigger than the pain, come on stand tall!"

I looked at him and said, "do you know the problem with Jenga?"

"No," he replied.

"If you remove the wrong block, it all comes crashing down...I'm Jenga, my block has been removed. Now I'm crashing down into a world of despair, All because the people I needed to, just would'nt hear."

Thats just how I feel, he called me Picasso but I'm no Picasso. I'm just a man who paints
images with words because sincerely...I need to be heard. So if you won't hear my voice
maybe you'll read my pictures and get the picture. I'm done shouting at lights and walls,
the wrong block was removed so now lets watch as it all falls...


PSA: LADIES hit this link and show my homie TT some love! www.youtube.com/teasedblackpearlz

for how long?

For how long do I occupy your thoughts?
For how long am I the center of attention in your world?
For how long am i gonna be the reason you smile?
Now maybe all these questions are born from the insecurities that lie nestled inside my mind but they're honest...
they come from the very core of me...
a difficult and complex man I am...
I do my best to keep smiles decorating your face but my hungry mind has an insatiable appetite for knowledge
I just wanna know, no I just gotta know if you see this thing being forever or am I just a temporary high?
In this complex mind of mine I see things differently
from my side it appears the twinkle in your eye dimmed and the fire in your heart has died, but it could just be a product of my overactive over indulging nuisance of a brain over reaching again stretching...
just trying to know what passes through that pretty little head of yours
I don't wanna be a bother or a worry so the solution is simple:
I'll live in premortem solace not bothering you or anyone with my stupid meddling brain..goodbye

Pensive
But I can't quite define the thoughts
Happy, sad, delusional, optimistic, pessimisstic, dominating, submissive...
Well that all depends on what part of my brain you're looking from
I'm not quite happy
Not quite sad
Not quite all there either
I'm just blah
My mind and my heart are drifting further and further away....from each other
My heart is moving towards love
While my mind is dwelling in fear
In the fear that my heart will only be crushed by this love it seeks so earnestly
My mind fears the reprocussions and backlash that can come from another crushed heart
So it imagines
It comes up with the worst possible scenarios
Draws every bad conclusion
And firmly believes that everything can and will go wrong
But my heart is optimistic
Seeing this love through rose colored glasses
Seeing everything it has hoped and dreamed for come to fruition
My heart has been heavy long enough and has decided to release the burden of all those failed attempts from its shoulders
It is putting its best foot forward and stepping out on faith
A faith that tells it everything will be ok
Because this love
This is the love its been waiting for
The dichotomy between my heart and mind has never been more apparent to me
One fears
One hopes
One trusts
One won't
In the end
All they want is for me to be happy
My mind through rationale
My heart through emotion
I want for me what they want for me
I just want to be happy...

The choices you make determine everything
They are the difference between good and bad fortune
Life and death
Love and love lost
If only foresight were as good as hindsight
And exercising discretion was easier than indiscretion
It all comes down to choices...
Planning ahead
Covering all your bases
Yea yea...
All the due diligence in the world couldn't save you from heartache
Why?
Because heartache is unexpected
No one enters a relationship wondering how tragically it will end
No
You walk in with these rose colored glasses that give you the image that everything will be ok
Truth is
Relationships are the most messed up form of masochism known to man
We get into these relationships knowing quite well we may end up hurt
Bitter
And feeling rejected
Declining to our fortress of solitude made of comfy sweats
A big blanket
5 pillows
A remote
And lots of ice cream
A deep recessive funk
And for what?
A shot at love?
But what about those who really do get that love?
If it doesn't work, their despair in the aftermath is far worse
Yet we continue to do it to ourselves
As people, we just can't help it
With the rest of you I ride this crazy masochistic roller coaster of love
I hope in the end
I'm one of the lucky ones who lands on love and stays there

I have to write for her
I have to write everything I can't say to her
I write: I LOVE YOU
I write: YOU MEAN THE WORLD TO ME
I write everything my heart is too afraid to let my mouth say
My heart and mind fear rejection
They fear that she won't love me too
They fear that she just isn't in the same place as me
So I write for her
I write all the words that sit on the tip of my tongue but won't come out
For her I write
For her I live
For her I strive
She inspires me to be the highest me possible
The best me possible
The realest me I can be
I write my fears for her
I write everything I hope I can be
She can be
And we can be
I write for her everything
Everything my mouth just won't say
My heart and mind may restrict my mouth
But they can't stop my hands from writing for her
From letting my pen speak to her for me....
Every word I just cant seem to say....

They say that love is blind but i've never seen so clearly
The beauty that lies before me is plain as day but can't be seen as most
As beautiful as your outside is your true beauty lies within
It is your caring spirit
Your nurturing heart
It is that tender soul
Perfectly imperfect
There is nothing and no one quite like you
The true definition of love is found in your heart
And I love the love I see in there
So if it's ok with you, I'd like to rest in your heart
While you rest in my arms
Perfectly interlocked
Completely connected
Completing each other