Saturday 11 February 2012

Does The Dead Really Rest In Peace? A Case Study On Whitney Houston's Death

Whitney Houston has been one of my favourite musicians for a very long time. It was her sweet and powerful voice that drawn me to her songs in the first place. But as I listened to, and watched her videos, I found myself being enthused with her stage performances. Whitney has a great deal of stage control and stage power, and I admire that about her.

As my relationship with God through Christ kept growing, I came to a point in my life where I had to put away secular music completely. So I sidelined a good number of secular songs and secular artists, and Whitney Houston fell among the list of artists I had to put away. (I have written a couple of articles about why Christians should not listen to secular music. Here is the list to check some out). The truth is that there is a BIG difference between good music and godly music. Godly music goes beyond just good lyrics, and looks at the life of the artist in question as well as the inspiration behind the song.

The news of Whitney Houston’s death is a sad one, not only because I used to be her fan, but mainly because I am concern about where she may be right now as you read this post. I received the news of her death via Facebook when The New York Times posted it on their Facebook page. Just below the NYT’s post, a friend of mine posted, “Whoa that actually hurt my feelings -_- RIP Whitney Houston” See the photo below.

 “R.I.P Whitney Houston,” millions of people have already said and ‘tweeted’ this same statement and similar ones since the news broke out. As I thought about that statement for a while, the question that kept ringing in my mind is: “Does the dead really rest in peace?”

What does the Bible say about the dead and death in general? In Hebrews 9:27, the Word of God tells us that, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” 

There’s an ultimate statistic that says that ten out of every ten people die. What this simply means is that, everybody dies. Some die young and others die old, but they die all the same. And how old you are depends on when you die. If you are 20 years today, and you know for certain that you won’t die until you’re 70 years, then of course you can say you are young. On the contrary, if you’re 20 years today and you will die tomorrow then you’re already old. Would you say that Whitney Houston died young or old?

We’ve all at some point in our lives had a relative or a friend die and all we said to bid them farewell was “rest in peace.” But ask yourself; are they really resting in peace?

When you walk out of this world, what do you think is out there, what do you think is after death? This is the question I have been asking people I meet on the street, in buses, and wherever I get the chance to pop it out. And I must confess to you, many people have no idea where they will go after death. This includes Christians and non-Christians alike. Kindly read our article on “what happens after death” if you honestly don’t know where you will go after you die.

And if you do know where you will be going after death but are not sure, then you might want to read this other article to be sure. God bless you. Share this article with your friends and anyone you think will find it helpful.

Thursday 9 February 2012

Should Christians Celebrate Valentine’s Day?

I cannot think of any holiday or anniversary that is surrounded by so much controversy like Valentine’s Day. In his award-winning book, Hamlet, William Shakespeare writes:
To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,
All in the morning betime,
And I am maid at your window,
To be your Valentine…

History of Valentine
The original history of Valentine’s Day can be traced as far back as 500 A.D.  The original story is linked to three martyrs:  
“Valentine of Rome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae) and Valentine of Terni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae) Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who was martyred about AD 269 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. His relics are at the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome and at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland. There’s a third martyr/Valentine who is believed to have died in Africa” –Wikipedia.

It is interesting to know that the Christian martyrs were referred to as Valentine. It was sort of a title for them; just like we have Bishop, Pastor and Reverend for today’s ministers of the Gospel.
It is believed that the above mentioned Valentines were commemorated and celebrated yearly on February 14. The original celebration of Valentine’s Day did not have the linkage to romantic love as we see in modern day Valentine’s Day Celebrations. The celebration marked support and affection for the Valentines who even at death held steadfast to their faith in God.

Romantic Association
How did Valentine’s Day become associated with love and romance? The attachment to romantic love as we see in modern day Valentine’s Day celebration is believed to have come about as a result of a romantic poem which a duke, Charles, duke of Orleans, wrote to his wife. This of course is not the first recorded romantic association with Valentine’s Day. The first recorded romantic association to Valentine’s Day can be found in the Parlement of Foules (1382) by Geoffrey Chaucer.

Saturday 4 February 2012

Meet ‘Serious’, A Christian Rap Artist From Brooklyn, N.Y.

Well the normal trend I do see in rap music is to see ladies sing, and guys rap. So whenever you see a guy sing, and a lady rapping in a rap song, then of course you can tell that song is serious. Did you just say “Serious?” Well good. ‘Serious’ is the name of the Christian rap artist I am about to introduce to you.

She is not called Serious for naught, she is really serious and her lyrics and confidence show for it. Just take a look at her below, and read on for more about her.
 
After 10 years of battling with the idea of rapping for Christ, Serious’ music ministry finally got birthed in Johannesburg, South Africa. “She was at an evening evangelical meeting, sitting in the stadium chairs, waiting for others to minister in song when a reverend called her out and said ‘you're going to get on stage and sing and rap for Christ.’” DaSouth.com said about her in a review. She responded positively and ministered that night to the glory of God.

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