This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. -1 John 5-7

That verse seems simple enough to understand…God is Light…no darkness or gray areas with Him at all…and if we claim to have fellowship with Him, then we should be reflecting that very same light. In the midst of all of our finger pointing and heresy hunting we tend to overlook this simple litmus test of our relationship with God. In fact we sometimes get so gung-ho and zealously passionate when it comes to pointing out teachers of false doctrine that we ignore the extremely dark ways that we tend to go about it. Even here at the Ridaz, we get mail and comments from people who feel that Holy Hip Hop is evil…the things they say and the anger they express in no way reflects light of any kind. (you can feel the heat comin off the emails and comments) Truth be told…the biggest threat to Christianity isn’t the teaching of false doctrine at all…the real threat is not having any real seasoned mature Christians walking in the truth to counterbalance what is false…need we remind you that even pharoahs boys were able to mimic Moses’/AAron’s rod into snake trick…but God proved His supremacy when Moses’/AAron’s rod consumed all the others

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. -Exodus 7:10-12

God is no less powerful today than He was then, His light in no way has diminished or darkened. He is still big enough to dish out the discipline when it is needed. Have we advanced so far that we are more concerned about the things that look and feel right, that we no longer need to look and see if there is any Light being reflected, or in the year 2008 has the redeeming sacrifice made by Christ finally exhausted it’s redemptive ability. By our behavior you would think that it has…it would seem that we have forgotten that it is God’s goodness that leads men to repentance…we have forgotten that the Holy Spirit is the one is pricks the heart of an individual…and we have forgotten that the religious leaders of old were on a similar path…a path that was so focused on the appearance of being right…so much so that they couldn’t even see the Light in Christ.

We have got to do better fam, our mandate is to spread the Good News…not finger point and bash each other. So what if someone is doing it a little different than you…it’s time that you adapt the same approach that the Apostle Paul used

It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. - Philippians 1:15-18

It’s time that we focus on our job and let God do His…I’m pretty sure that He is big enough to smash on people if that is what His agenda was…and He is a smart enough parent to know when to chastise a child of His that is out of line…Our job is to live a holy (not synonymous with religious) life sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ in both Word and Deed, doing whatever it is that we do to the point that it brings both Glory and honor to the father…period!

If ya just gotta be on the prowl and point out the bad things people are doin….heres a suggestion…take your Spiritual Searchlight and point it at yourself, trust me you will find plenty of stuff to keep ya busy…that is unless that beam in ya eye stops ya from being able to see…

Think on these things…..

da Holy Ridaz