Posts Tagged ‘Joshua Davidson’
Team Raggamuffin
Posted on: July 19, 2011
“After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.”
I often forget how “human” the disciples were. I still look around at Christians who seem to have it together, those who’ve got it all figured out – the ones with the toothy grins on the cover of their best-selling books, and compare myself to them…and always come out feeling not enough, not worthy…which i’m not, but then i read verses like the one above and about peter and his many failings and the times he got it so wrong…right up to the well-documented denial of Christ, and yet he went down in history as one of the biblical greats. God used him despite his unworthiness and his not-enoughness. God uses the raggamuffins. He uses the not-enoughs.
The thing that strikes me about that verse is that John said that it was only after the resurrection that those dudes woke up and went “whoa! he was right all along!” I mean, these are the dudes who walked and lived with Christ, his best friends, the ones who knew him best. And they still had doubt. Maybe God can use me as well, despite my many issues.
I wrote this for my other blog – was posted yesterday – but felt it was life related as well, so i’m posting it again. sorry to those who read both blogs.
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So this weekend 2 major things happened. Well, major for me.
1. My Favorite Band – woldwide – The David Crowder Band announced that they are breaking up. This broke my heart. I have yet to see this band live. I’ve loved every album this band has put out, and was hoping there would be many more to come…but alas…
2. My Favorite South African Band won a SAMA. Happiness.
Now, with the breakup of DC*B, this leaves the top spot open. This post is gonna try to explain why VTW is now in the running for the top spot.
There is a satirical Christian blog called “Stuff Christians Like”. The title, if you didn’t already catch it, is taken from the blog “Stuff White People Like”. SCL is written by Jon Acuff and it lists some of the weird and crazy and funny things that we Christians sometimes do. The very first post was about how we Christians like to take secular pop culture trends and Christianise them, like turning “Got Milk?” into “Got Jesus?”, “Adidas” into “Add Jesus”, or even, you know, “Stuff White People Like” into “Stuff Christians Like”…ahem. Anyway, the problem with this trend is that we, as Chrsitians, believe that God is creative, that we are made in the image of God, which would make us innately creative. But when we take someone else’s idea and Christianise it, we are not being creative, we are stealing someone else’s ideas. If we really believe that we are created in God’s image, we would take this whole using our creativity thing more seriously, we would be forerunners in creativity.
All this to say, VTW won a SAMA for their album cover artwork. It is brilliant. It is creative. It is different. It is original. I’ve talked about that CD cover before on this blog. Anyway, members of the band, Rasheed Ferguson and Nicholas Smal, were the creatives behind the artwork. And they are Christian. They used their God-given creative abilities on this project, won an award for it, and gave all the glory to God for it. Love it!
Secondly, the media is, unfortunately, not very “normal christians” friendly. They love adding to hype when some crazy, fanatical, “christian” says something ridiculous “in the name of Christ” (rapture, Qur’an burning, etc). They like to paint Christians as these weird freaks/hypocrites (to be fair, we do give them a lot of amo). So, for a “Christian” band to come out and get positive media attention, based solely on their musicianship, and not some crazy weird hype, takes some serious talent I think. [the reason I used quotes on christian band is because, although the band members are outspokenly christian, "VTW don't bill themselves as an out-and-out 'Christian band', but their message is unequivocal and the lyrics address what seem to be personal histories of struggles with life and faith. They manage to serve this up without being heavy-handed, coming as they seem to be from a personal stance rather than being idealistic or preachy" quote taken from here ]
Which leads me to my third point: the first time i absolutely fell in love with this band was when they were performing a free show at the waterfront ampitheater and like halfway through the show, Rash started sharing about his faith and the hope which comes from his relationship with Christ, and like these two chicks who were sitting behind me realised for the first time that VTW (then New Altum) were a christian band and they were all “but they are so good though”. which made me sad and happy at the same time. VTW reaches those people who would usually not go to a christian concert. And they use the abilities God gave them to share the love of God and the hope their relationship with Christ has brought them without getting all preachy and offending people.
Ok, last point: amidst the craziness and ridiculousness of May 21st’s Judgement/Rapture Day jokes, VTW went on to 5FM and sang a song which talked about the second coming of Christ. That freakin takes guts/conviction of your beliefs. People around the world were making fun of the Rapture and Judgement Day and Chrsitianity as a whole, and here come these guys onto a national radio show and they sing about their belief in the second coming. I need to get those lyrics – was the first time hearing that song, but what I got was that they were were saying that the second coming is real but they also know that we don’t know the day or the hour, He will come like a thief in the night. And while we try to be prepared, we know that we don’t need to fear cos Jesus is on our side. He’s coming for us to lead us home. Our trials and tribulations on this earth only serve as a reminder to look to Him. We believe in the second coming, but, in Christ, we have security instead of fear.
holding on to their beliefs. loving Jesus.
that’s why i love versus the wolf
falling in love
Posted on: March 8, 2011
i was watching Dr House MD the other day – i love me some Gregory House -> season 4 episode 12. in the show there is a Hasidic Jewish couple who just got married…like the chick fell over at her wedding and ends up at the hospital and yada yada and a lot happens and she gets healed in the end and that’s not what this post is about. one of the doctors questioned the marriage of the couple cos they’d only met like 3 times or something before they got married – it was sort of an arranged marriage thing – and the husband asked the doctor if he was still in love with his wife whom he’d been married to for years and the doctor said he loved her today just as much as on the day they got married and the husband said something like “shouldn’t your love grow the more you know her?”…i liked that. anyway…
earlier on that day i walked past a synagogue and i stood there for a while just admiring it’s beauty. it stands out. even though stellenbosch has soooo many beautiful buildings, the synagogue still stood out…and i know that God is everywhere and doesn’t live “in temples build by human hands” (acts) but it did make me think of the book of exodus- i just recently read about the construction of the temple and it is so detailed and so very…i don’t know what the word i’m looking for is…but the whole time i kept thinking, i’m sure this would be amazing for an architect or interior designer or whatever, but i’m just not getting anything out of it. but looking at that synagogue it suddenly hit me that God is a God of beauty and awe-ness-ness. like, he created the mountains and the oceans and flowers and sunsets…he digs beauty…he digs us sitting in awe…i think if he did live in a building he’d live in one that would cause us to stop and look at it like wow! – like the one that was being constructed in exodus.
ok, then later i went and watched that episode of house and thought “i dig Jews…and i dig Muslims”. and i’m not sure how accurate the portrayal of the Hasidic Jews was on the show, but it just hit me that – although i’m sure that there are Jews and Muslims who just go through the motions of religion as well – a lot of Jews and Muslims follow a lot of rules and regulations because of their love for God…their need to just know him more and understand him more and revel in him more and be in communication with him more…and then we Christians sneer at it and call it “religion” (cos we have relationship, not religion). but you look at a Jew or Muslim studying the Torah or the Qu’ran and they do it with reverence and they really study it…they don’t do it just so that they can check the “quiet time” item off their to do list…they honestly want to know what God/Allah wants to say to them. i think we tend to use relationship as an excuse, we are lazy to put in all the work that goes into a maintaining the relationship (and yes, relationships need to be maintained and require some work) so we classify all that work as religion.
but you know, I want that – a yearning to want to do the work. I wanna fall in love with Jesus so hard that I can’t go a minute, a second, without thinking about him. I wanna do things – like praying more regularly and living out his commands and reading my bible, not because I get something out of it or it makes me feel good or whatever other reason, but because i wanna know God…i wanna know him intimately, know the details, know everything about him. like you know when you fall in love with someone and every little thing about them is just fascinating…like that. like…i want him to be the first thought in my head in the morning and the last when i fall asleep. i wanna chill with him in quiet and just listen to his heartbeat. i want my heart to break everytime his does. i wanna be in sync with him and his will. i want him…so bad.
i wanna fall madly, head over heels in love with my saviour. as jonathan butler said “falling in love with Jesus was the best thing i’ve ever done”
Beloved
Posted on: November 26, 2010
“Over the years, I have come to realize that the greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity, or power, but self-rejection. Success, popularity, and power can indeed present a great temptation, but their seductive quality often comes from the way they are part of the much larger temptation to self-rejection. When we have come to believe in the voices that call us worthless and unlovable, then success, popularity, and power are easily perceived as attractive solutions. The real trap, however, is self-rejection. As soon as someone accuses me or criticizes me, as soon as I am rejected, left alone, or abandoned, I find myself thinking, “Well, that proves once again that I am a nobody.” … [My dark side says,] I am no good… I deserve to be pushed aside, forgotten, rejected, and abandoned. Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the “Beloved.” Being the Beloved constitutes the core truth of our existence.”
-words by author Henri Nouwen
copied from Jesus Needs New PR
Multilingual like me
Posted on: September 7, 2010
- In: being Christ-like | blog carnival | likes | my life | thoughts
- 10 Comments
one of my hobbies is collecting translations of the word “hope”. why? cos that’s my name. it’s a pretty useless collection…i’d need to actually know other words in the language to need to use the word. also, my name is tsholofelo. i can’t go around introducing myself in other languages, it would be too confusing.
anyway, here’s what i’ve committed to memory so far
Hope – English
(south african languages)
Hoop – Afrikaans (also Dutch i believe)
Tsholofelo – Setswana
Tshepo – Sesotho
Themba – isiXhosa/isiZulu
fulufhelo – tshiVhenda
(other african languages)
Tumaini – Swahili
(european languages)
Esparanza – Spanish
Espoire – French
Speranza – Italian
Tikva – Hebrew
Von – Icelandic (thanks sigur ros)
Hoffnung – German
(asian languages)
Xi Wang – Mandarin
if you know of any more translations please let me know.
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i really like the word hope – and not just because it’s my name.
i feel like hope is that thing that keeps us holding on when everything about us is crumbling. my hope rests in christ and in his work on the cross and in his love. when all about me is falling and it feels like i’m falling with it, i remember that the father loved me enough to send his son to the cross and i am comforted. that’s not to say i think that everything will work out as i want it to, but i know that it will work together for my good – when things don’t go the way i want them to, i remember that he is in control. and that’s how i face life’s trials and tribulations. i keep looking to him, and trusting that he knows best.
my very first blogpost reads:
“I always wanted to go into full-time ministry (i.e. work for the church) and I thought that if I ever did i would call my ministry “hope in love”. Why? 3 reasons:
1. We find hope in His love for us
2. Because of His love for me and my love for Him, i bring hope to others
3. I, Hope (my name translated into English), am in love with Joshua Davidson
And for those wondering who Joshua Davidson is: Joshua or Yeshua is Jesus in Hebrew, and Davidson is the son of David – or a male born in the lineage of David.
So yea, I’ve decided to use this space to document my growth (or lack thereof) – spiritually (and maybe maturity-wise if that ever happens) and I figure by putting that on the web I’m inviting billions of people around the world to keep me accountable, and to call me out on it if I become hypocritical – which I tend to do. And because the people who will be reading this are most probably all total strangers, I have no need for masks therefore I can be totally 100% honest. Scary thought. And so here begins my ministry – not what I imagined it to be all those years ago but hey, anything short of sin, right.
I’m not a professional blogger nor do I consider myself a writer, but if any Christian reads anything I’ve written here and thinks, I want my walk with Christ to be better or if any non-Christian reads anything I’ve written here and thinks, maybe this Jesus Christ guy isn’t so bad – I’d like to get to know more about him, then this exercise is all worthwhile.
Keith Green put it perfectly when he said “I repent of ever having recorded one single song, and ever having performed one concert, if my music, and more importantly, my life has not provoked you into Godly jealousy or to sell out more completely to Jesus!”
So let the journey begin…”
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this post was written for the one word at a time blog carnival. this week’s theme is “hope”. Click here to read other posts from some awesome bloggers.
I’ll bet he was cool
Posted on: September 6, 2010
Title: I’ll bet he was cool
Artist: Savage Garden
Album: Truly Madly Completely
Year: 2005
You know every once in a while
I shoot the breeze I spend my time
I talk about silly things
I like to talk about Jesus Christ
Cos I wonder what would happen if He passed you by
Would you be scared?
Would you believe in Him?
Would you bust your asses to get him institutionalised?
Well, I bet he’d be cool
I bet He’d be damn good looking
I bet that He smelt divine
I’m not talking about Calvin Klein’s Obsession
Just one of those people smell good all the time
There’s no reason why
What would He wear
Would He wear Tommy Hilfiger?
Or prefer Urban Outfitted?
I don’t think so
Well, I bet He liked Gaultier
But you’d never find him in it
I bet He liked Gaultier
Lord I need your protection spend some time in my direction
I need your protection spend some time in my direction
I need your protection spend some time in my direction
You know every once and a while
I shoot the breeze I spend my time
I talk about silly things
And tonight I’d like to talk to you about Jesus Christ
‘Cos I wonder how we’d deal if He just passed you by
I bet he’d be a star
I bet my star wars figures He would be a movie star
A Quentin Tarantino next-big-thing
Prima donna, then he’d appear on Oprah
But you know what? I don’t think so
Could you imagine him hanging Piccadilly Circus
Time Square, the walk of fame
At Christie’s He could easily become a regular
D’you know what? I don’t think so
I bet my speeder bike he’d turn his back on all of that
Lord I need your protection spend some time in my direction
I need your protection spend some time in my direction
I need your protection spend some time in my direction
Some people have just got it
You know like standing next to Elvis Presley
Well then multiply that feeling by 1 million and you know
what I’m talking about
Well I’ll bet He was cool
Man I bet that cat was so damn good looking
what i believe
Posted on: August 4, 2010
- In: being Christ-like | my life | thoughts
- 3 Comments
how much of what i believe is indeed what I believe? how much of it is merely there because that’s what i’ve been taught? we all have a set of rules and moral behaviours that we are taught as kids to obey and we go through life with these rules as our basis for what is right and what is wrong. now at some point, you start to question these rules. you come across different cultures and opinions and such, and these new world-views don’t fit into your neat little boxes of right and wrong. so then you start questioning, and some point you either hold on to the things you believe or you throw away those that you feel are no longer applicable. i believe this is called growing up.
this post is about religion, at the same time it’s not. it’s about right and wrong…and about how right and wrong is not always right and wrong. when i was in the 11th grade, i was in a public school in the US and we had a french exchange student named Guillaume. he once made an observation that americans are conservative. me coming from a south african – indeed, BLACK south african context, thought americans were very liberal. but you see what i mean. cultures and upbringing have a huge impact on what we believe.
so here’s me, born into a christian family. raised on christian principles. from the moment i was born, God was…and there was no questioning it. it never even occured to me that there’s a chance he wasn’t. anyway, along the line i met people from different religions and beliefs, but i knew mine was right because i had “experienced” God. i knew him. i knew he was. there was no doubt.
but then how much of that experience was in-built in me. how much of what i knew about God was just what i’d been told. how much is real and how much is just things i’ve heard and picked up along the way and filed away as “truth” in the back of my mind.
i’ve tried to step away from Christianity and look at everything from an objective point of view. in fact a few months ago i was ready to renounce christianity. i was, for a very brief moment, agnostic. but, alas, my christianity is who i am. my life, everything i’ve known up to this point has been based around God and Jesus, and i don’t know any world outside of him…i don’t know a life outside of him…i am unable to be outside of him – there is no me outside of God in me.
so where does that leave me. obviously, there is no scientific way to prove God, otherwise, i assume there would be no atheists. the only way i know he exists is through faith – “now faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see” – and right now i am sure, and i am certain, that God is. i don’t doubt his existance. i don’t doubt his love.
i do, however, daily doubt his “followers”: i doubt their message, their interpretation of his word, their approach to his world. i doubt Christians, not Christianity. i doubt everything outside “love the Lord your God with all your heart mind soul strength, and love your neighbour as yourself”. Joshua Davidson himself said those were the two greatest commandments and everything else hangs on that.
so that’s what i’m aiming for: loving God and loving people. and the rest of my life – my religion – will be figuring out what exactly that looks like, then living it out.
Freedom has a price tag
Posted on: July 1, 2010
- In: my stuff | thoughts
- Leave a Comment
freedom is not free
it comes at a price
sometimes it’s hard work
but mostly it’s someone else’s blood
revolutionaries
matching through streets
not willing to sit and take it
knowing that the price is worth it
madiba, mbheki, mabhida, sisulu
the list is endless
gave up their personal freedom
gave tears, sweat and blood for the country they loved
the silent ones
who fought without making a fuss
those who believed love and peace were most effective weapons
turned the world upside down without any violence
mother theresa, ghandi, martin luther king
loved till the very end forsaking themselves
believed that in order to cause change, you have to change
lived out what they believed in their everyday life
the holy one
the one who actually knew the eternal price
the strength of a lion and the heart of a lamb
the one who invented silent revolutions
jesus, christ, messiah, son of God
gave his life in exchange for mine
bled, died, and rose again
all so that i could be free
different leaders – different people
all with the same goal – freedom
each one suffering and living for others
each one remembered by history for their love
my personal freedom was bought in blood
my country’s freedom was bought in blood
my mind’s freedom was bought in blood
my heart’s freedom was bought in blood
Worship Setlist – April 18th, 2010
Posted on: April 18, 2010
This post is part of a weekly worship blog carnival, so do stop by the worship community for more setlists and sermon recaps from around the world…
Morning
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went to youth this morning and we watchied a dvd of Nick Vujicic called “no arms, no legs, no worries”…that guy is ah-mazing. That’s the kind of person I aspire to be…stop looking at what I don’t have and start counting my blessings, and realizing what I have in Joshua Davidson. love!!!
Evening
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Jesus, all for Jesus (Robin Mark/Jennifer Atkinson)
Open the eyes (Paul Baloche)
Your love Oh Lord (Third Day)
Here I am to worship (Darlene Zschech)
Better is one day (Matt Redman)
Kev led worship tonight – just him on guitar and vocals and Madeleine on keyboards and vocals…awesomtastic! Very cool acoustic vibe that really opened the place up to worship instead of focusing on the music. I thought it was great. And yay for some time off.
Tonight’s preach was about being known for what we stand for or who we are about – LOVE – as opposed to being known for what we stand against. For instance, Christians tend to be known for being anti-homosexuality, or anti-abortion, or anti-this-and-that…so for being against stuff and not what we really are about, which is loving God and loving people. love!!!
verses: Colossians 3:17, 23; Hebrews 12: 1 – 2; John 13: 34 – 35; Mathew 5: 13, 43 – 45; 2 Corinthians 2: 14 – 15.
- In: my life | thoughts
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“hot cross buns. hot cross buns. one a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns. if you have no daughters, give them to your sons. one a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns” ♪♫♪
Yes kiddos, it’s easter time again. I will not be posting anything till monday – that’s already scheduled and ready to go.
Just thought I would leave you with a few things on my mind:
1. Been thinking about that first “Easter” weekend. One Friday you are riding into town being cheered on by multitudes, the next the multitude has you hanging on a cross. One Thursday you are chilling with your best friends, the next they are denying you and betraying you with a kiss. One Saturday you are going about your business doing your job, the next you are lying in a grave. One minute you are one with your Father, the next he can’t look at you because of my sin.
2. I’m turning 26 on Sunday. I feel old. No, scratch that. I am old, but I don’t feel old. I mean, I don’t feel any different than how I felt when I was 20. Yes, I’ve grown as a person, I’ve matured, I lost some of my innocence and naivety I think, but I don’t feel 26. Or at least I don’t feel like I thought I would.
So my birthday falls on Easter Sunday this year, or vice-versa – whatever. Anyway, I’m trying to concentrate on the cross and the resurrection instead of the getting old bit. I’m trying to not let my stupid mind and insecurities overshadow the hope that Easter brings. I don’t even know if I really know what I’m trying to say.
Ok, it’s late, and I have to be up in 3 1/2 hours – going camping this weekend. Excited. But need sleep.
I just realized that I actually capitalized my sentences today…maybe it’s cos I’m typing on the blog directly instead of on notepad – don’t know.
Anyway, happy Easter all. While the eggs may be delicious, and the bunnies cute, let us remember that this weekend is really about a cross 2000+ years ago and an empty grave 3 days later…and let us be thankful, and walk in hope.
