Daily Devotional: 6/18/2018 - 10 FEET DOWN

"Yeah, I know the person in the mirror's not a perfect one

I look at him every day and think he's not enough

My life's a book that I don't really like to open up

I'm twenty-six, but I feel like I live in chapter one

I skim through it, I've been through it, they laugh at us

You think it's funny, yeah, laugh it up

I always felt like no one listened to me, that's how I grew up

Church is where I found God, but it's also where I learned to judge

Yeah, I had to learn there's a difference between

What you want, and what you really need

I've always been motivated by comments from people tellin' me

Things they think I'll never be, and then I become it, this is my everything

There's so much that goes on in my head that people will never see

You probably be terrified of my memories, don't lecture me

Let me be, let me see, let me breathe, how they remember me

Doesn't alter who I am as a person to take my energy, yeah" NF - 10 Feet Down ft. Ruelle

NF if you do not know his music you should get on that right now (even before you read this, but come back; few suggestions: 10 Feet Down, WHY, NO NAME, Lies, Why Would You Leave Us, Real, Therapy Session        , and so much more). Welcome back, now that you heard some NF, he is an up and coming artist. He is starting to pop off, especially since the single Let You Down is now certified triple platinum (that’s 3,000,000 records sold!!!). This is awesome and rare for any artist, but basically unheard of in this day and age by a Christian rapper. He is now currently on tour with Logic, these are my two favorite rappers so of course I had to go. I went to see this in Hartford, Connecticut, it was the best show I have ever seen. I wish I could ask him so many questions about him and his faith, especially since he is on tour with two "secular" artists. One of his songs off his last album, Perception, is called 10 Feet Down it is featuring Ruelle. I chose to base this devotional off the first verse of the song, which is a 16 bar. *Quick side bar for music lesson, a bar is a line. There are usually 16 bars (lines) in a single verse of a rap song. There is about 8 bars (lines) in a short verse.* I am going to break it down, talk about it and the way we can us it in our life and how it pertains to life. A contributor on the great site of Rap Genius says, "On '10 Feet Down,' NF talks about his life after gaining popularity, and how people often want to get to the top so bad that they forget why they even did it the first place." In the first bar NF says, "I know the person in the mirror's not a perfect one." We are not perfect, hate to break it to you. We are natural born sinners, we will mess up at least once a day no matter how hard you try. All we have to do is try your best and repent. There is one thing that is 100% perfect and that is God. The second bar says, "think he's not enough." In a sense we will never be a enough, but at the same time we are more than enough. God handcrafted us in his beautiful perfect image. Even though we mess up daily, God still loves us and shows us his mercy and grace. The proof is that we are here right now breathing (not saying if you died today God hates you, not saying that at all). God can take us home at any second. He is giving us a continual "second chance" to right our wrongs. Depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses are real. If you suffer from them do not suffer in silence. Talk to someone. Talk to God, seek professional help, talk it out with a friend or even me. You are not the only one suffering, you are not alone in this war. In the third and fourth bar it is said, "My life's a book…I feel like I live in chapter one." Life is a book and God is our sole author. God has written the story of our life, we just have to follow it. Each day is a new page and each year is a new chapter. There are even seasons and lessons that we go through and learn from that become chapters in our life. Depending on how you act you can be reading forward or reading backwards. You have to read and grow, you have to write and flourish. There are going to be days where it feels that you are not going anywhere and that you are stuck in chapter 1; you just have to keep moving forward and trust in God. The eighth bar says, "Church is where I found God, but it's also where I learned to judge." This bar was actually why I wanted to write up this devotional, but decided to go with the entire verse instead. I will come back to this bar at a later time and expand more, but right now I will touch on it. There is so many people that go around living by the saying "only God can judge me." It is the same people that go around judging people. There are a certain amount of Christians that go around thinking they are all high, mighty, and perfect. They think they know the difference between right and wrong. They think they have the upper hand because they have God. They think they can go around judging people because they have different beliefs or act differently from them. Matthew 7:1-5 says, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck our of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." God is the final judge of everything that happens on this earth and within our lives (Romans 2:1-16). Everything comes down to the moment you show up to the "pearly gates". The ninth and tenth bar says, "I had to learn there's a difference between; What you want, and what you really need." We are continually growing and always learning something new. As kids we are all want, want, want and we think it is a need, need, need but there is a huge difference between want and need. God really know what we need. So if you pray and pray for something, do not get down. God's timing is perfect, he knows when it is the right time to give us something. He knows our heart and intentions and he will not give it to us if he think that we cannot handle it. Everything we want is material, and every we need is eternal. We need Jesus, we do not need that new IPhone (sorry Apple). The eleventh bar says, "always been motivated by comments from people tellin' me." This is one of my biggest weaknesses, one of the things that I am trying to improve on this summer. I was once told, "if you thrive off the praise and feedback of others, you will die by their criticism and feedback." The verse I have been really trying to live by is Colossians 3:17, "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:23 says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." Hate to be hypocritical, but at the same time I am not; "only God can judge us". This meaning, God knows our intentions and what we can and cannot handle. Do not let other people bring you down to their level. He is the perfecter and redeemer of our faith. We have to be honest with our self. Take in criticism and correction from others that are showing love and want to help you grow. If it out hate and from the devil, do not dwell on it; focus and set your eyes on God and he will make your path straight. Do all things for the glory of God and not for your own glory. The thirteenth (and last bar that I am going to talk about) bar says, "so much that goes on in my head that people will never see." Our mind is a treasure chest. There is so many (countless) things that we have thought, imagined and prayed that no body has ever heard. I once heard a sermon where the pastor said along the lines, "if I heard what you think we wouldn’t be friends, but if you heard what I thought you wouldn’t be my friend either." Only God hears our thoughts, and he has heard EVERY SINGLE ONE. Yes, every single one. He has heard every prayer. He has saw every dream. All you think comes from the heart, so you have to protect it (Proverbs 4:23). Be careful what you think, say, dream, and imagine. This is why I love NF, I have  about four pages of notes on this devotional, three future bars to use for future devotionals (8, 11, 13). I could have kept writing, but I need to post this. NF is a man of God and you can see it in his music. Do not forget where you came from both worldly and godly. Do all things for Christ and his glory. Do not judge, but correct. Help others when they are down and wrong. Help people grow in Christ and help them with their journey. We cannot do this alone.

Lord, thank you for all you do. Allow us to glorify your name in all that we do. Help us not lose focus on the main purpose and who we really do this for, you. I pray all this in your son's name, Amen.

#LetsBeAMovement