George Zimmerman’s Sunday School Lesson

Yesterday, George Zimmerman, the accused killer of Treyvon Martin, spoke exclusively to Sean Hannity about the series of events that surrounded the murder of the teenager.

I didn’t see the entire interview, but upon waking up this morning, everyone was talking about this statement Zimmerman made about that night being a part of “God’s plan.” I, like many people, stared at my computer screen trying to understand how he could make such a statement with a straight face.

Let’s make one thing clear: I am not here to get into a theological debate about God’s will, free will, or any other topic that many who don’t believe in God try to argue to discredit Him. As I always say: if I’m wrong, I’ll die, turn back into dust and that’ll be it. Nothing to it. If you’re wrong, well… let’s just say it’s not a risk I’m willing to take.

What I will do is give Georgie a Sunday School lesson. Some basic bible principles that he may have missed while sleeping in church.

Sunday School Lesson #2,125: Matthew 5:20-26 and Romans 12:17-21
Teacher: now children, listen to what Jesus has to say about murder. Georgie? Georgie! Wake up — this is important.

Georgie: “Ah fooey, lady. Wake me up when we get to the good part.”

Zimmerman stated that he didn’t regret anything that happened on that fateful night he killed Trayvon Martin and that everything that happened was, in fact, a part of God’s plan.

“I feel that it was all God’s plan, and for me to second guess it or judge it,” he said, trailing off.

Asked, “Is there anything you might do differently?” Zimmerman said, “No, sir.”
[taken from ABCNews.com]

Here’s the issue, Georgie. You can’t say that killing Trayvon Martin was divine providence when your actions went against one of the core teachings of Christianity. In Exodus 20 verse 13, we were given the sixth commandment which states: thou shalt not murder.

God ain’t confused. He meant what He said on top of Mount Sinai. You can’t murder someone and say, “Oh, the Lawd made me do it!”

We test the spirit by the spirit (1 John 4:1) and those things God has providentially called us to do is in line with His spirit.

Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.

The greatest issue I have with your public display of ignorance about the God you reference is that you have done a disservice to the Christian faith by validating your actions based on this version of a God who gives us the free will to murder as we see fit.

Too often people claim to be Christians but have no idea what it truly means to follow Christ. Had you paid a little more attention in Sunday School, you would have known that John 10:10 clearly tells us that it is Satan that comes to KILL, STEAL, and DESTROY, not God. Jesus came to give us life and to have it to the full.

You would have been better off saying that Beelzebub gave you the okay to pull the trigger. We would have looked at you like you were crazy (again), but at least it would have been the truth.

You should know, Georgie, that 2 Peter 2:2 says that “many shall follow false teachers (which is what you became when you brought God into the picture for your defense on national TV) and their destructive ways. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered.”

If for one second you think that killing someone was a part of “God’s greater plan”, you have been fooled.

You stated that you “wished that there was something — anything I could have done — that wouldn’t have put me in the position where I had to take his life,” alluding to the same idea that your encounter with Trayvon was fate, divine, and all a part of God’s plan… to do what, exactly?

I’ll wait.

Listen, Georgie: God did not make you kill Trayvon. This was not a part of God’s plan for your life or Trayvon’s. The enemy has tricked you into thinking that this was the right thing to do and you fell for it.

Sadly, you’ve been hoodwinked and bamboozled into thinking that only bits and pieces of God’s word is true — forget the “reap what you sow” and the “weeping, moaning, and gnashing of teeth” stuff.  Swerve.

Not applicable to guys to like you, huh?

But you want a big ol’ piece of that forgiveness pie, right?

I’ll leave you with this last bible lesson, Georgie. Romans 12:17-21 is the most gracious and, in my opinion, most appropriate scripture to sum this entire experience up for you. It wasn’t a divine moment in time, George. Sorry. It was, however, a moment for you to use the Word of God in context and with discretion.

17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. 19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

“I will take revenge;
I will pay them back,”
says the Lord.

20 Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.”

21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

Got it? Class dismissed.

On the Chase,

Alisha L.

Pimpin’ the Grace

Many years ago (more like 7), I was writing for this small Christian magazine and a good friend of mine was also there and wrote on the topic of grace. “Pimpin’ the Grace” is what she called it. I wish I still had a copy of her article; it had so many gems in it. Today, however, I’m going to explore my own territory about grace, what is it, how it works, and how many of us trick it out for chump change. Yes, chump change. [There’s a lot of information here so take it section by section.] Continue reading

The Real East Coast/West Coast Beef

 East_VS_West_Logo__by_Turboman

Biggie vs. Tupac
Bad Boy vs. Death Row
Junior Mafia vs. West Side Connection


The 90’s were filled with musical rivalry from artists and labels from the East and West coast. As a hip hop head, I was deeply saddened by the death of the two best rappers alive (or dead), Biggie and Tupac. The “beef” between the East and the West, while has died with the two aforementioned rappers, has never been back to the place where the two sides would ever meet up again in musical harmony.

You’re probably wondering why I began this blog with a short synopsis of the “East Coast vs. West Coast” beef. Trust me, you’ll understand in just a few seconds…

Today I battled with some guilt. It wasn’t even something major, but it bothered me so bad that I’ve literally been “hiding” from God the last few days (as if that’s possible). I knew that all I needed to do was pray, ask for forgiveness, and hope that, while I had failed this test once again, that He’d show me some grace and mercy and pull me through this trial.

But I took on this guilt, afraid to ask Him for forgiveness and to help me because I knew that my troubles were all my fault and I didn’t feel like I should bother God with another trivial request to save me when I knew that it was I that created the problem.

No, no… I didn’t do anything crazy; I’ve just never been the best at managing money. I’ve gotten so much better, but I fall short every once in a while. God has delivered me out of some financial situations that I saw no way out of, and, if I can just be real with ya’ll, I should have never gotten out of.

But with experience comes growth and with growth comes higher levels of expectations from Him.

The last three days I’ve battled with the idea of simply getting on my knees and asking for forgiveness, asking Him to change my mindset regarding this area of my life, help me to prioritize what is important and what is not. Today was my day of reckoning.

Sometimes we lose ground because we feel we are unworthy to seek God for his grace, mercy, and forgiveness simply because we’ve made the same mistake over and over. We feel like I did the last few days; “I can’t ask Him to help me! I’ve made this mistake so many times. I’m sure He’s so fed up with me and my antics…”

But His word is true… (Here comes the East vs. West Coast connection)
As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Psalms 103:12 (Amplified Version)

Since the bible days, the East Coast ain’t never liked the West Coast. Ha!

No, seriously. Nothing that we can do can ever keep God from loving us. He’s anxiously waiting for us to come on back, set down our pride or pity and ask him for forgiveness. No matter how big or small the fault, His love for us never fails.

 The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust.
Psalms 103:13-14

Now, does this mean that we do not have to sometimes suffer the consequences of our actions? Absolutely not. God is, while the most compassionate person I know, expects us to learn from mistakes, and like any good parent, will not always bail us out. But it is that tough love, you see, that makes Him the best “daddy” in the world. He’s consistent too. He didn’t let Jesus punk out on His great “lesson”, why should he let us?

On the Chase,

Alisha L.