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God Is Not Mad At You God Is Not Mad At You

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  • Author: Joyce Meyer
  • Size: 748KB | 300 pages
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Exceptional piece. Highly recommended! Changing my life at 73 years old, reading every chapter 3 times

- elijjah miller (14 hours ago)

About the Book


"God Is Not Mad At You" by Joyce Meyer explores the concept of God's unconditional love and forgiveness for all people, emphasizing the importance of letting go of guilt and shame. Meyer encourages readers to embrace their worthiness in God's eyes and to live in the freedom of His grace. The book serves as a guide for transforming negative beliefs and habits into a positive, fulfilling relationship with God.

Lecrae Moore

Lecrae Moore Lecrae Devaughn Moore, or simply Lecrae, is an American Christian rapper, songwriter, and record producer who performs both as a solo artist and as the leader of a group named ‘116 Clique’. He had a troubled beginning in life but all that changed after he found his faith at 19. Heavily influenced by 2Pac Shakur, and motivated by his new found faith, he ventured into a musical career. He and his friend Ben Washer set up their own independent record label ‘Reach Records’ and through it, he released his debut album ‘Real Talk’ in 2004. In the following years, he brought out six more studio albums, three mix tapes, and two EPs as a solo artist and three studio albums, one remix album, and one EP with his group. He has received six ‘GMA Dove Awards’, two Grammys, two ‘BET Awards’ and more. Lecrae is very active in the community and in 2005, he established ‘ReachLife Ministries’, the mission of which was to “bridge the gap between biblical truth and the urban context”. He is a vocal supporter of the preservation of responsibility and believes that fatherhood should be considered as a value to be installed among men in the United States. He has authored several op-ed articles on race relations in the modern-day America which were published by ‘Billboard’. Childhood & Early Life Lecrae Devaughn Moore was born on October 9, 1979, in Houston, Texas, USA. His father had always been absent from his life and later became a drug addict. He was raised by his poor but hardworking mother and grandmother. He attended services with them at their local church but the initial response to religion was indifferent at best. Growing up, he lived in San Diego, Denver, and Dallas. He suffered sexual molestation at the hands of a female baby sitter when he was eight, and according to Lecrae, it left a long-term negative impact on his views on sexuality. In a life full of abuse and violence, hip hop provided him with a refuge. Besides 2Pac who he admired for his rapping skills, he also looked up to his uncle who introduced him to a life of crime. He began doing drugs at 16 and soon started dealing as well. He kept a Bible with him that his grandmother had given him as a good luck charm. The turning point in his life came when he was arrested for drug possession. The officer let him go upon Lecrae’s promising that he would read and follow the Bible. He thus started visiting the church again. Upon an invitation from a friend, he also started attending Bible studies. He was once involved in an accident where he wrecked his car but he himself came out unscathed. This incident further strengthened his belief in Christ and he devoted his life fully to his faith. He returned to his college, the ‘University of North Texas’ and volunteered and sang at a juvenile detention centre. Career Six years after his conversion, Lecrae Moore released the album ‘Real Talk’ (2004) through ‘Reach Records’, a label he had founded with his friend Ben Washer. It reached #29 spot on the ‘Billboard Gospel Album’ chart after being re-released in 2005 by ‘Cross Movement Records’. In 2005, he formed ‘116 Clique’ with other artists who had signed with ‘Reach Records’. The group owes its name to the Bible Verse ‘Romans 1:16’. They debuted with ‘The Compilation Album’ in the same year. They have since released three more albums, ‘The Compilation Album: Chopped & Screwed’ (remix, 2006), ‘13 Letters’ (2007), and ‘Man Up’ (2011), and one EP, ‘Amped’ (2007). He was nominated for a ‘Stellar Award’ for the ‘Rap/Hip-Hop/Gospel CD of the Year’ for his second solo album ‘After the Music Stops’ (2006). In 2008, he put out his third studio album ‘Rebel’. In his fourth studio album, ‘Rehab’ (2010), Lecrae talks about freedom from inhibiting addictions and habits. Both Lecrae and his album received accolades in the 2010 ‘Rapzilla.com staff picks’, being hailed as the ‘Artist of the Year’ and the ‘Album of the Year’, respectively. His fifth studio album, ‘Rehab: The Overdose’ (2011) was a direct follow-up to ‘Rehab’, both being highly conceptual works. While ‘Rehab’ was about the victory over addiction, ‘Rehab: The Overdose’ focused on attaining "grace, love, peace and hope" in Jesus. He won his first two Doves because of this album, one for the ‘Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year’ and the other for the ‘Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year’ for the track, ‘Hallelujah’. ’Gravity’, released on September 4, 2012, was his sixth studio album and had 15 songs with a total runtime of 57 minutes. It peaked on the ‘Rap Albums’, ‘Christian Albums’, ‘Gospel Albums’, and ‘Independent Albums’ charts. Lecrae released his first mixtape ‘Church Clothes’ on May 10, 2012, through digital download for free. It was followed by ‘Church Clothes 2’ (November 7, 2013), and ‘Church Clothes 3’ (January 15, 2016). He has also released two Extended Plays till date, the EP version of ‘Church Clothes’, and ‘Gravity: The Remix EP’, both released in 2012. He has collaborated with the likes of Trip Lee, Tedashii, Canon, Mali Music, and Ty Dolla Sign. ‘Columbia Records’ signed him in May 2016, in a contract between them and his label. His most recent work, a track named ‘Hammer Time’, which is a collaborative effort with 1k Phew, was released on June 23, 2017. On May 3, 2016, he published his memoir titled ‘Unashamed’ through ‘Broadman & Holman Publishers’. It debuted at #19 spot on the ‘New York Times Best Sellers’ list. Philanthropic Works In 2011, Lecrae, through ‘116 Clique’ and the ‘ReachLife Ministries’, instigated the campaign ‘Man Up’, focused on providing guidance to young urban males on fatherhood and Biblical manhood. In March 2015, ReachLife was deactivated and ‘116 Clique’ shifted its attention to contribute to ‘Peace Preparatory Academy’, a Christian school in Atlanta. In May 2013, he worked alongside several other celebrities on a media initiative named ‘This is Fatherhood’. Jay Z, Barack Obama, Joshua DuBois, Lecrae himself, and others have appeared in the initiative’s promotional public service announcement videos. Major Works In a career marked by successful artistic ventures and awards, Lecrae’s greatest musical achievement is unarguably his seventh and the latest studio album ‘Anomaly’, released on September 9, 2014. It was the first album in history to debut at #1 on both ‘Billboard 200’ and ‘Top Gospel Albums’ charts. It was also certified Gold by the RIAA. Awards & Achievements Lecrae Moore received a Grammy in 2013 for the ‘Best Gospel Album’ for his sixth studio album ‘Gravity’. He won his second Grammy in 2015 for the ‘Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song’ for the track ‘Messengers’ which also featured the Christian pop band ‘For King & Country’. He was named the best gospel artist at the ‘2015 BET Awards’. In 2017, he was the recipient of the ‘BET Best Gospel/ Inspirational Award’ for the song ‘Can’t Stop Me Now (Destination)’. On March 14, 2016, he was conferred with an honorary doctorate from ‘Canada Christian College’. Personal Life & Legacy Lecrae Moore met his wife Darragh at a Bible study when they were both teenagers. They have three children together, two sons and a daughter. The family resides in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2002, he was informed by his then girlfriend that she was pregnant with his child. The couple had an abortion, a decision which he has regretted since. The incident was the subject of the song ‘Good, Bad, Ugly’ from ‘Anomaly’. Trivia Lecrae portrayed the character Dr. Darnall Malmquist in the 2014 independent film ‘Believe Me’.

When Our Waiting Will Be Over

My favorite songs are ones that make my heart burn with longing. They’re songs that have unusual power to, as C.S. Lewis put it, rip open my “inconsolable secret” — the secret “which pierces with such sweetness,” yet is so hard to capture in words, since “it is a desire for something that has never actually appeared in our experience” (The Weight of Glory, 29–30). Which is why among my favorites is a song written by Bob and Jordan Kauflin, “When We See Your Face.” The song taps into subterranean longings and triggers profound emotions in me. I am not one to cry easily, but I rarely can listen to it without tears. So, I usually listen to it alone, sparing others the awkwardness of a weeping middle-aged man. Lest it appear suspicious to anyone, let me say up front that I was not asked to promote this song. I asked permission to write about it, receiving no benefit beyond what the song itself delivers — which is a benefit more precious than gold. For my soul very much needs this song’s reminder, especially as another year passes and I am another year older, still fighting against the relentless darkness, still waiting, still desiring something that has never actually appeared in my experience. Not yet. It remains a desire for a promised appearing — an appearing I’m growing to increasingly love (2 Timothy 4:8). I share this song because I assume you also need its precious reminder. And perhaps it will tap into your piercing, sweet, inconsolable secret too. Though the Dark Is Overwhelming Though the dark is overwhelming And the brightest lights grow dim Though the Word of God Is trampled on by foolish men Though the wicked never stumble And abound in every place We will all be humbled when we see Your face It doesn’t take reaching our middle or elder years to know just how dark the world can be. But I can attest now to a cumulative effect it has upon the soul the longer one lives here. And I do not claim to have suffered greatly — yet. Prolonged exposure to confounding darkness is a wearisome experience (Psalm 73:16). It is not merely the physical effects of aging that tempt many of us to retreat from action as we enter the older demographic columns. It’s also the spiritual and psychological effects of prolonged dealing with evil that infects and harms our families, friendships, churches, vocations, societies, and nations. We probably thought ourselves more a match for it in the optimistic bloom of youth, but experience put us in our place. The evil is beyond our strength and our comprehension. Hope can take a beating in the relentless battle against darkness. Until we remember. Until we remember that one day all oppressive darkness will be banished from the experience of the saints (Revelation 22:5), and that even now, even as the darkness rages (Revelation 12:12), it is passing away as the true light shines (1 John 2:8). We remember that we were never supposed to know and understand the evil we face (Genesis 3:7) — of course it’s a wearisome task! Only the Omniscient and Omnipotent can comprehend it and not grow weary (Isaiah 40:28). We remember that he promised us, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). We remember that our great task, the one way we truly conquer darkness, is to trust him (Proverbs 3:5–6) and obey him (John 14:15). And the great day that will end all night — the day of the joyful humbling of the redeemed righteous and the horrible humbling of the condemned wicked (Philippians 2:10–11) — will be inaugurated when we see the face of Jesus (1 Corinthians 13:12). All Our Sins Will Be Behind Us And the demons we’ve been fighting Those without and those within Will be underneath our feet To never rise again All our sins will be behind us Through the blood of Christ erased And we’ll taste Your kindness when we see Your face I’m so sick of Satan and his wretched wraiths that I don’t even want to give them the attention of a mention — except to say that one day (hear this, you horrid hoard!), the almighty foot of the Son of Man will come down once for all upon the heads of the great dragon and all his infernal snakes, and we will wrestle them no more (Ephesians 6:12; Revelation 20:10). But we also remember something far, far sweeter — and growing sweeter every year we grow older and come more to terms with just how intractable and entwined our demon-like indwelling sin is in the very members of our bodies (Romans 7:23). We remember that our sin will someday be behind us. Oh, we know that Jesus has paid our ransom in full (1 Timothy 2:6) and that by God’s grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8) we have been clothed in Christ’s righteousness (Philippians 3:9), so that God even now sees us justified, as if we had never sinned and always obeyed (Romans 3:26). It is, for now, an almost incomprehensibly glorious thing. But one day, our blood-bought innocence, our holy purity, will cease to be primarily a forensic reality we embrace by faith. On that day we will fully experience what it’s like to be righteous in every atom of our resurrected bodies and every dimension of our eternal, immaterial souls. We will have no more sin. No more tainted motives, no more illicit desires, no more damned selfish ambition. We will know in every part of our being what it’s like to fully obey the Great Commandment as if it’s the most natural thing in the world — for it will be! And we will worship the Lamb who was slain for us with unclouded minds and hearts bursting with joy. We will taste this unfathomably gracious kindness of Jesus when we see his face. All the Waiting Will Be Over All the waiting will be over Every sorrow will be healed All the dreams it seemed Could never be will all be real And You’ll gather us together In Your arms of endless grace As Your Bride forever when we see Your face The waiting will be over. I can’t write that sentence with dry eyes. Most of our Christian experience in this dark valley is hopeful waiting for what we so long to see (Romans 8:25). And much of that waiting is accompanied by hopeful groaning (Romans 8:20): groaning in illness, groaning in grief, groaning in disappointment and perplexity over the terrible, violent brokenness of the world and the inscrutable purposes of our only wise God (Romans 16:27), whose ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). And we hopefully groan, like a bride, with longing for the consummate intimacy of knowing the Lover of our souls, even as we have been fully known (1 Corinthians 13:12). But one day — our Groom has promised it will be “soon” (Revelation 22:20) — the waiting will be over. And he will come, our Hero, of which all legendary heroes are but copies and shadows, and he will save us to the uttermost (Isaiah 35:4; Hebrews 7:25). And all that is dark and diseased and damaged and destroyed will pass away like a bad dream and become the shadows of the great yesterday (Psalm 90:4–5), serving only to heighten our savoring of the bright, eternal today (Revelation 22:5). And of all the light in which we delight, the fairest will be his face. We’ll Be Yours Forevermore We will see, we will know Like we’ve never known before We’ll be found, we’ll be home We’ll be Yours forevermore Having once been lost, we will fully know just how found we are (Luke 19:10). Having once known our Savior in such a small part, we will fully know him — as much as the finite can fully know the Infinite (1 Corinthians 13:12). We will be fully his and fully home — forever. Home. That is our inconsolable secret, isn’t it? That piercing sweetness, that desire for what has never actually appeared in our experience, yet somehow we know it is where we truly belong. I think that’s what this song taps into: our homesickness for a place we’ve not been, and a sense of alienation in the very places we were born. We don’t belong here, where it’s dark, depraved, and demonic, and where our sweetest experience is the blessed hope we taste in the future promises we trust. We long for home. For home is where we will meet the One we have loved, though we have not seen him (1 Peter 1:8). Home is where we will see his face. Article by Jon Bloom

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