Your faith is... Do We really understand what faith is?

Your Faith is...

In all of the monotheistic religions, faith is the source of all belief in God's word and promise to those whom believe in Him. From a Biblical perspective we understand that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things, which are seen, were not made of things, which are visible. (Heb 11:1-3 NKJV). Most of us live our lives based on the above scripture; it is the substance of our trust (hope) in what faith truly means to us. One's faith can be the lone catalyst that produces understanding, courage, knowledge and vision, which are the core components of faith that keep us on the straight path towards victory!

Japanese Symbol for "Faith" Kanji

However, faith that does not have definitive understanding, courage, knowledge and vision is forever fading and has no backbone. For example, the required core components of faith are explained throughout scripture. First off, we need an “understanding” of our faith. Having an “understanding” of our faith allows us to stand on the word of God in that we believe that He will do everything that He said He'd do for us! Furthermore, our “understanding” of our faith produces “hope” and the definition of “hope” is a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. Hope is a feeling that something desired might happen, when the outlook may or may not warrant it. (Farlex Free Dictionary)

"Pistis” root word is the Greek is faith, which also means to come to trust or believe. For man to move forward he must believe and trust that the vision he has comes from God, thus allowing him to move forward it complete faith without hesitation. “Faith that moves mountains is first of all focused on God. The objective of your faith is God. 

Larry Poncho Brown "Window of Faith"

The objective of your faith is whatever mountain you are dealing with. However, without faith it is impossible to please God." (Salas, T June 2010).  This is “such a powerful description of what 'courage' looks like. With it we lay hold to eternal life, we overcome, we become more Christ like. Faith is the catalyst for apprehending the intangible. I always like a man with vision. A man or woman with vision means that they are not limited to what they see in the natural but they reach for what is in the eternal realm of the Spirit and pull it into NOW! I trust God and I know something about Him, He is faithful. Having faith in the originator of faith can only produce a positive result..." (Seaton, J June 2010)

As we journey along the path of life it is wise that we surround ourselves with people that have a spiritual backbone. Because those are type of Believers that will never leave you on the side of the road like the traveler whom was hit on his head while on the pathway from Jerusalem to Jericho. Those are type of Believers you will want with you in a dark alley. This is the kind of faith that Yeshua (Jesus) displayed during his time among people of his day. The reason why we honor and love him so today is because he was the greatest example of what “faith,” truly is. Simply put one can say Christ’s “faith” was very courageous and exemplary especially when we study the scripture and learn of the trials and tribulations that tested his “faith” daily.

Most of us have heard the saying "Without vision there is no progress,” however many of us tend to forget that the above saying was coined from Biblical text. In the book of Hosea 4:6, it says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children” and Proverbs 29:18, it says, "Where there is no vision the people perish; but he who keeps the law blessed is he." When one has a vision they are able to proceed forward in making progress of being a good steward of faith.

The above paragraph makes a great segue into another component required on the faith journey and that is "knowledge." What is "knowledge" according to the Farlex free dictionary; knowledge is the state or fact of knowing. Paraphrasing Min. Louis Farrakhan "Knowledge compliments faith... In other words what good is faith if one doesn't have the knowledge to back it up." Moreover, faith can therefore be gained through reflection and the acquisition of knowledge, and not by blind and irrational commitment.

The Holy Qur’an lines up with the Biblical teachings of faith as it states true faith is that which is based on knowledge and supported by argument. Any belief that is not based and supported is considered by the Qur'an to be mere caprice and whim, which a thinking person must avoid. (Sheikh Idris, J,). Jesus taught: “If the blind lead the blind both fall in the ditch." When our faith is definitive in understanding, courage, knowledge and vision in it will never allow us to be impulsive and cowardly followers of Almighty God! When we stand on the truth of His word--we are unapologetic and unwavering in our stance against the wiles of opposition towards His word! So, the knowledge and understanding that we have in God supports our faith, which builds our courage and grows our vision in what has been promised. 

Your faith is the protector of your destiny this is how we are able to truly acknowledge God's word when it says, " For we walk by faith and not by sight." (2Cor 5:7 KJV). “And but my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." (Heb 10: 38 NIV). "Faith is deeply and firmly implanted in human nature in that, it is not like a plant which has sprouted from dung which has no root and a slight calamity can uproot it like the word of disbelief about which can be uprooted from the very surface of the earth; it has no stability” (Sheikh Idris, J, Pillars of Faith, www.islamm.com, Holy Qur’an 14:26).

"A person with a good experience is never at the mercy of a person with a good argument. You have an experience that is building a foundation that cannot be moved. And it will also be a place for others to build on--I know you can't have faith unless you're being challenged. So the courage you're exhibiting let's me know that it is only matter of time." (Seaton, J June 2010). Although we may not have the physical sight to see what is in store for us God gives us the knowledge and understanding, which produces the hope that builds our courage that provides us with a vision for us to truly see the spiritual realm of His word and promise. Furthermore, this is why we are able to bear witness to the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) and all the prophets that have come from Abraham to Muhammad. Because their faith ultimately was the protector of there destines!

Life is challenging and seemingly impossible in itself and without faith it is even more perplexing. We cannot expect to proceed forward with any certainty unless definitive understanding, courage, knowledge and vision are at the forefront, which are the tools given to us by our faith that causes us to move forward. It is our faith that allows us to soar high and run towards our personal pursuits when we may have our doubts and others deem us unwise. Furthermore, we are never in total chaos or loss when we have faith to move us forth during our dark moments. It is our straight path to victory!

More next time God Willing...

Peace & Blessings,


Bro. Lamon -Chairman Spiritual Institute of Divine Teachings


Scriptural and Literary support:

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,[a] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. (Ep 6:10-20 NKJV)

There is no compulsion in religion — the right way is indeed clearly distinct from error. So whoever disbelieves in the devil and believes in Allah (God), he indeed lays hold on the firmest handle which shall never break. And Allah (God) is Hearing, Knowing. (Surah 2:256 MMA)

Copyright June 2010 The Spiritual Institute of Divine Teachings-Revised August 2011

Not so optimistic?

People that know me know me to be a fairly optimistic person but lately I'm not feelin' so optimistic about the things that are going on in the world today.  From the strange natural disasters to the insane acts of violence to the unusual weather patterns to downfall of world economies to the politicians ready to hang one another, etc...  It is obvious that we are in that Day of Judgment the scriptures speak of and have been in it for some time now!  Whether or not you're a religious or spiritual person it is very apparent that something is going on in our world as we know it and that very powerful forces are at work on both sides of the coin.

‎"You have to create problems to create profit.  There is no profit under the current paradigm in saving lives, putting balance on this planet, having justice and peace or anything else.  There is just no profit there."- Michael Ruppert

Here's A Thought... aka "Academic Workout"

Here's a thought... As a people who have been enslaved, taken from their original land, forced to live in a strange land with a new name, religion, and way of life. Do we make concessions for the initiators of our torment? Or is just forgiveness?

To my historical and scriptural scholars... Who was Constantine theGreat? He is revered as the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity and issued the Edict of Milan that promoted religious tolerance. However, he is the initiator of many of the pagan traditions practiced that have nothing to do with Christ or so-called Christianity. 

Such as: The mythical and preposterous version of the Virgin Birth of Mary, Jesus' b-day as December 25th, The symbol of the "Cross" representing Christ instead of the Fish, The belief in the Trinity as Father, Son, & Holy Spirit are all One and last but not least Sunday as the Sabbath instead of Saturday. None of this is true so-called Christianity, it's a version just like the King James Version of the Bible is a reinterpretation, translation, or revision of the Original.

"Every aspect has a an affect on the other." "Anytime something has been translated or revised from its original form it looses something in the process."

Dr. Josef A. A. Ben-Jochannan, in his book “The Need For A Black Bible,” states, “…magical (esoterical) religion has been one of mankind’s greatest emotional achievements, equally mankind’s greatest creation against peaceful coexistence between socio-political groupings.” He further states, that we must remove from ourselves the “mental shackle of esoterical religion.”

Where did Rap Music & Hip Hop Culture go?

"You have to create problems to create profit. There is no profit under the current paradigm in saving lives, putting balance on this planet, having justice and peace or anything else. There is just no profit there."- Michael Ruppert



Technique 1200's Turntable



Long before Hip Hop came on the scene in the late 70's and early 80's before sky rocketing into the 90's--she was destined to become an anomaly.  The deviation and departure from the original essence of rap has caused a paradigm shift that has caused her to make a turn to the dark side like Anakin Skywalker.  To suggest that Rap Music and Hip Hop culture have fallen into a cesspool of filth, outrageous sensationalism, and pompous grandeur today would not be an unfair assessment.

Hip Hop is no different than any other activity of life and is not exempt from the grasps of corruption or damage that is reflective of the current state of human life today.  As a former DJ, I cherished the days of putting a vinyl record on a Technique 1200 turntable, it was simply priceless! 

The Golden Era

During the Golden Era of Hip Hop (1986-1999), the era that I am most intimate with sparked of the most influential period of music history in modern times.  Like Muhammad Ali said, "I shuck up the world!"  That's exactly what Hip Hop did on so many levels because it was an expression of a generation.  Chuck D of Public Enemy said it best "Rap is the CNN of the ghetto."  This was the time of the beautiful diversity in Rap Music and Hip Hop culture that expressed various perspectives of urban life.  We had a menu of choices to choose from that spoke to our collective and diverse interests.  There was the politically sharp Public Enemy, the savvy Run-DMC, the controversial NWA, and the jovial DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince to just name a few.  Hip Hop allowed us to be ourselves and not have to emulate anybody else but ourselves. 



B.I.G. & Pac early 90's

I saw the change coming during the East Coast/West Coast Beef which was a sign of what was to come..  The implementation of diabolically concocted schemes and tactics descended upon Hip Hop culture like bats in the night--schemes like what I've termed as "crime profit theory," the shrewd economic tactic practiced by privatized companies to gain and profit off of the prison system.  Of the nearly 2.1 million adult men and women imprisoned in the United States, roughly 70% are persons of color (Davis, 1998).  Many of them are Black and Latino males between the ages of 18-35 in this country (USA) and of those many most are in prisons run by private corporations like Corrections Corporation of America, Wackenhut, who trade their stock on Wall Street based upon how many people are in jail (Ruppert, 2011).

In my humble estimation this is no different than Blacks in the south picking cotton from sun up to sun down or being sharecroppers making pennies--while those who profited off of their blood, sweat, and tears made millions!  "It's all the same game," just an updated version.  "Recording executives are more interested in turning a quick buck than nurturing rap culture -- and they are behind the apparent demise of hip-hop music," suggests Hip Hop legend Davey D.  And might I add the demise of American music in general.

So, for one to assert that the "East Coast/West Coast Beef" was orchestrated wouldn't be too preposterous of an assertion especially when covert and overt operations like CONTELPRO existed during the 60's to expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize" the activities of those progressive socio-political movements and their leaders of the 60's.  The beef sure made a lot of people rich in particular the record companies and yet the murders of Biggie and Pac still remain unsolved.

Hip Hop Culture

The "dumbing down" of Rap music to gain profit versus producing a culture that has a keen mental perspective is outright criminal!  The high bar that was set in the early 90's by acts like the Ghetto Boys, Spice 1, Ice-T, Eric B & Rakim, Kool G. Rap, and KRS-One of the vivid accounts of urban life fell off dramatically and abruptly started the demise of a culture that was once responsible for changing and saving a generation.  The neutralization of powerful voices like Poor Righteous Teachers, Gangstarr, Brand Nubian, X-Clan, and Kam were all diminished by the late 90's quickly became directly and in-directly responsible for the filthy, disrespectful, and deplorable condition(s) of a generation.  Today, we have more and more Black and Latino teen pregnancy, teen violence, and teens not graduating from high school like never before as all the latest statistics suggest.  All of these ill conditions can not only be linked to Hip Hop culture but to a failing educational system, the prison industrial complex, and a corrupt monetary system, just to name a few.

Thank the Hip Hop gods for the re-birth of conscious rap and that there is hope but it is being challenged and comprised daily.  Now, we have the likes of Common and Kayne West, whom many would say have gone mainstream and have been suppressed from the conscious rappers that they once were so they could make more money.  I beg to differ in some respects but that's another story.  But there are others like Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, Mos Def along with the refreshing Lupe Fiasco and the intelligent Mikkey Halsted both from Chicago and the radically charged Kendrick Lamar of Compton who are carrying the torch.  The edgy late 90's rap trio the LOX whom were signed to Bad Boy Records the label that broke the careers of the late great Notorious B.I.G. and Puffy made a serious suggestion "Let's Start Rap Over, Back To The Way Things Were."  Where's the love? 

Nuff Said!

Literary, Scriptural Support, & Footnotes:

^{Davis, Angela Y. September 1, 1998. "Masked Racism: Reflections on the Prison Industrial Complex". See}

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=8

http://parkstepp.tumblr.com/post/3628963426/you-have-to-%C2%A0create-problems-to-create-profit

 
"A Huey P. Newton Story - Actions - COINTELPRO
 
COINTELPRO Revisited - Spying & Disruption - IN BLACK AND WHITE: THE F.B.I. PAPERS

http://defendingjustice.org/pdfs/factsheets/10-Fact%20Sheet%20-%20System%20as%20Racist.pdf

http://www.daveyd.com/commentaryishiphopdead.html

http://www.alternet.org/media/48693

"No One Has a Monopoly on God..."

In the universal realm of life the thought that God is one honors the beauty of His creation. It doesn't matter if you're from 119th St in Chicago or Avenue de France in France, whether you call Him Allah, Yahweh, Father, Abba, Jehovah, or Ishvar --God is the universal governing force and power of all mankind.  -Me

1. God

a. A being conceived as the perfect, omnipotent, omniscient originator and ruler of the universe, the principal object of faith and worship in monotheistic religions.

b. The force, effect, or a manifestation or aspect of this being.

2. A being of supernatural powers or attributes, believed in and worshiped by a people, especially a male deity thought to control some part of nature or reality.

3. An image of a supernatural being; an idol.

4. One that is worshiped, idealized, or followed: Money was their god.

5. A very handsome man.

6. A powerful ruler or despot.

No Wonder, "By the time, surely Man is in loss..."

"Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it doesn't happen, you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you have to worry twice."- Some Smart Person
By the time, surely man is in loss except those who enjoin one another to truth and enjoin one another to patience.” -Holy Qur'an 103:2,3

So, I didn't even deal with this subject matter about the world ending today... Whether it ends today or not, I'll just say this as a student of The Almighty, just make sure your house & relationship is right with Him.  Bear witness to all the Abrahamic prophets and praise HIS holy name.  Study Bible, Torah, & Qur'an!!! And use some good 'ole fashion grandma sense!!!!

Scriptural & Literary Support:


‎3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one... deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. 36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[f] but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. -Matt 24:3,6,36,37

‎72:25 Say: I do not know whether that with which you are threatened be nigh or whether my Lord will appoint for it a term:
72:26 The Knower of the unseen! so He does not reveal His secrets to any, 72:27 Except to him whom He chooses as an apostle; for surely He makes a guard to march before him and after him,
[14:48] The day will come when this earth will be substituted with a new earth, and also the heavens, and everyone will be brought before GOD, the One, the Supreme. -Holy Quran 75:25,26,27 & 14:48

http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_2070.shtm

Still segregated 57 years later but worst... Huh?

"Today is the 57th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark Supreme Court decision that declared racial segregation in U.S. public schools unconstitutional. Also today, American schools are more segregated than they were four decades ago."

Yes, there are more African Americans with positions of power and money today but what about the masses of our people who are still behind. We've been fighting for the same programs for years... we're still talking about jobs, justice, and education.  We have no real power even though we vote and pay our taxes and might I add have a Black man in the head office today.  This is a very painful topic to discuss because people died for us to have equal rights and justice but I feel like their spirits will never RIP until we learn to truly do for self.  They were fighting for what they thought was right at the time but like Dr. King knew in the end we were on a tight rope.  Which is why the recollections of those close to him during that time described why he was in a melancholy mood the days before his death--he knew we were integrating into a burning house!

Took look up 57 years later and say that we are more segregated than before especially with all of the advancement we have seen is appalling!  Which is why we must candidly and respectfully ask the question(s) Did the Civil Rights Movement really help or hurt us in the long run?  And, do we really have a future in America?  Because based on this article, historical data, and other charges for social-justice and equal rights we have fought for--lets off the feeling that we haven't really overcome.  This is not a gloom and doom argument or critique but one of transparency that addresses some serious issues and concerns.  If we are truly going to deal with this and other issues that continue to hunt us, we are going to have to figure this thing out soon!  Because time is of the essence and we don't have anymore of it to waste.  Our children's children will feel an even worst effect in the next 10 to 20 years, if this is not truthfully addressed! 

We can't continue to wait on or blame our problems on the government or a racist society.  We need to solve our own issues because the responsibility is on us at this point in the game.  We have more teens not graduating from high school like never before as all the latest statistics suggest.  Sure there are several complex issues that present a challenge but those issues can be corrected.  If we don't honestly look at and address our role in the matter, it will continue to get worst.  It will be interesting to see if we'll be singing the same song in the years to come but this commentator sure hopes not!

http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/05/brown_v_board_of_education_feature.html