God is your Flavor Flav!

Rap is an art form. 

Don't believe me? Just watch this video of Lecrae freestyling. 

But even the best rappers realize that lyrics and rhythms aren't enough. As the artist Lateef said:

"You're gonna have to have somebody say something somewhere to give you a breath!"

That someone is the hype man. And that's where Flavor Flav comes in.

(Not recommended for worship leading)

Flavor Flav wasn't the first hype man, but he is widely known as the best. Flav's main role was simple: hype the main rapper so he doesn't have to hype himself. 

"And I WILL make of you a great nation, and I WILL bless you and make your name great...I WILL bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I WILL curse." Genesis 12:2-3

God made clear to Abraham, anything good in his life came by the work of God. The longer I serve in ministry, the more I realize that my prayerfulness is always more valuable than my preparation. 

Are you doing a killer job in your service to the Lord? Then let God hype you. If you're just seeking praise from people, the Bible says you'd better be satisfied with that (Matthew 6:1).

So today, how about you and I do great acts for God regardless of whether we get credit or not.

Conversations instead of Confrontations

"...and [Israel] assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron." Numbers 20:2

When Israel rejected the promised land, they found themselves wandering in the desert. And of course, if you wander in the desert, you're going to run out of water.

Now Moses and Aaron were in the exact same situation as the people of Israel, but the people came up "against" their leaders. Obviously a conversation needed to happen, but these people were willing to make it a confrontation instead.

As Christians, we should speak up. God isn't calling us to be doormats or to remain silent on issues. But God isn't warning us to avoid "ignorant arguments" according to 2 Timothy 2:23. Arguments only breed arguments.

So as a Christian, remember that your call isn't to win the argument. It's to end the argument. Only then, can helpful and healthy conversations take place. 

Why Is God So Mean?

How can you love a God who kills people?

On its face, it's an unsettling question. But as we finish our walk through the account of Noah's Ark, you can clearly see a God of patience and love.

How Much Time Do You Need?
Then the Lord said, "My Spirit shall not abide in man forever...his days shall be 120 years." Genesis 6:3

Do you realize how long it took for Noah to build the Ark? God certainly could have built the Ark for Noah, but there was a purpose in the delay. 

2 Peter 2:5 tells us that Noah was a "preacher of righteousness". Noah didn't just take time to build the Ark, but to explain the sin that made it necessary. God didn't waylay an unsuspecting populace.
God gave Noah the message. 
Noah shared the message. 
The people of the earth rejected the message. 

Why You Gotta Get So Mad?
"God is a righteous judge..." Psalm 7:11

Simple question for you: "What is sin?" Simply put, sin is anytime we do the opposite of what God has commanded us to do. God is righteous in everything He does, and that includes judging sin. 

Sin is destructive, and a loving God doesn't allow destructive behavior to go unchecked in those He loves. The sad reality is that an unchecked humanity was only going to get worse (see ISRAEL, KINGDOM OF). 

So remember:
God desires for all to join Him in Heaven (2 Peter 3:9)
God doesn't force anyone to love him (Matthew 3:2)
God will always judge sin. (Ecclesiastes 12:14)

Evil Angel Babies for $500 Alex

Catch up on last week's blog: Why did God allow children to die in the flood?

Our Q&A of Noah's Ark continues this week with:

2. Did angel babies force the building of the Ark?

Genesis 6:2 says:

"the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose." 

The two most common interpretations are that "sons of God" are:

1. Angels

2. Sons of Seth

While I have taken a lot of time to look at the Hebrew, and what Hebrew scholars say on the subject, I think some are sensationalizing what the Bible clearly explains.

The Angels Angle

So did angels come down from Heaven, have sex with human women, and create angel babies? Honestly, just asking the question out loud pretty much verifies the ridiculous nature of the argument. 

Jesus makes it clear that angels don't get married (Matt. 22:30, Mark 12:25, Luke 20:34). So for these angels to leave Heaven in order to settle down in a domestic life is completely ridiculous.

Which brings us another Nicolas Cage sighting!!!!!!!

City of Angels movie Premise: 
Nic Cage is an angel (his toughest role)
Meg Ryan is a woman (not her toughest role)
The angel finds Meg Ryan more beautiful than living in Heaven and serving God.
The End.

Some argue these "sons of God" were actually "demons" and not angels. But can you find any scripture where demons are called "sons of God"? The bible designates demons as the Devil's angels (Matt. 25:41)

Regardless of whether they're angels or demons, they are spirits and incapable of entering into the type of physical relationship that is enjoyed within the confines of human marriage.
That's not me talking. That's Jesus. 

Sons of Seth

Do you remember Ellie's explanation of Occam's Razor from the movie "Contact"?
"All things being equal, the simplest answer usually tends to be the right one." 

Let's go with that principle.

Seth was the son of Adam and Eve after Cain murdered Abel. Seth continues the godly attitude of Abel and progresses the family line of Adam in Genesis 5. It does not include Cain's descendants in this genealogy, though Cain was alive and had a family tree of his own. (Gen. 4:15-17)

So the idea is that the sons of God were the descendants of Seth, and the daughter's of man were the descendants of Cain. This intermarriage of godliness and ungodliness produced disastrous results.

God often warns of intermarrying believers and non-believers in the OT (Deut 7:3-4 is one example). The reason isn't because non-Jews were inferior, but because their faithlessness would be a hindrance to living for God. Other than Rahab and Ruth, foreign wives were a huge mistake (see Solomon).

So these compromised marriages led to "the wickedness of man" that led to the flood in Genesis 6:5-7

The Conclusion
Scripture clearly disregards the idea that evil angel babies were the downfall of humanity. Humanity is always the downfall of humanity, and Jesus is always the redeemer of humanity. 

Next week we'll discuss why God brought this judgement at all. Doesn't this type of action deny that He truly is a loving God?