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About the Book
"Harvest of Health" by Gloria Copeland explores the connection between faith and physical health, emphasizing the importance of trusting in God for healing and wellness. Copeland draws on biblical principles and personal experiences to offer practical advice for cultivating a healthy lifestyle. The book encourages readers to trust in God's promises for abundant health and well-being.
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 â116 Cliqueâ. 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 âReach Recordsâ and through it, he released his debut album âReal Talkâ 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 âGMA Dove Awardsâ, two Grammys, two âBET Awardsâ and more. Lecrae is very active in the community and in 2005, he established âReachLife Ministriesâ, the mission of which was to âbridge the gap between biblical truth and the urban contextâ. 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 âBillboardâ.
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 Lecraeâs 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 âUniversity of North Texasâ and volunteered and sang at a juvenile detention centre.
Career
Six years after his conversion, Lecrae Moore released the album âReal Talkâ (2004) through âReach Recordsâ, a label he had founded with his friend Ben Washer. It reached #29 spot on the âBillboard Gospel Albumâ chart after being re-released in 2005 by âCross Movement Recordsâ.
In 2005, he formed â116 Cliqueâ with other artists who had signed with âReach Recordsâ. The group owes its name to the Bible Verse âRomans 1:16â. They debuted with âThe Compilation Albumâ in the same year. They have since released three more albums, âThe Compilation Album: Chopped & Screwedâ (remix, 2006), â13 Lettersâ (2007), and âMan Upâ (2011), and one EP, âAmpedâ (2007).
He was nominated for a âStellar Awardâ for the âRap/Hip-Hop/Gospel CD of the Yearâ for his second solo album âAfter the Music Stopsâ (2006). In 2008, he put out his third studio album âRebelâ.
In his fourth studio album, âRehabâ (2010), Lecrae talks about freedom from inhibiting addictions and habits. Both Lecrae and his album received accolades in the 2010 âRapzilla.com staff picksâ, being hailed as the âArtist of the Yearâ and the âAlbum of the Yearâ, respectively.
His fifth studio album, âRehab: The Overdoseâ (2011) was a direct follow-up to âRehabâ, both being highly conceptual works. While âRehabâ was about the victory over addiction, âRehab: The Overdoseâ focused on attaining "grace, love, peace and hope" in Jesus. He won his first two Doves because of this album, one for the âRap/Hip Hop Album of the Yearâ and the other for the âRap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Yearâ for the track, âHallelujahâ.
âGravityâ, 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 âRap Albumsâ, âChristian Albumsâ, âGospel Albumsâ, and âIndependent Albumsâ charts.
Lecrae released his first mixtape âChurch Clothesâ on May 10, 2012, through digital download for free. It was followed by âChurch Clothes 2â (November 7, 2013), and âChurch Clothes 3â (January 15, 2016). He has also released two Extended Plays till date, the EP version of âChurch Clothesâ, and âGravity: The Remix EPâ, both released in 2012.
He has collaborated with the likes of Trip Lee, Tedashii, Canon, Mali Music, and Ty Dolla Sign. âColumbia Recordsâ signed him in May 2016, in a contract between them and his label. His most recent work, a track named âHammer Timeâ, which is a collaborative effort with 1k Phew, was released on June 23, 2017.
On May 3, 2016, he published his memoir titled âUnashamedâ through âBroadman & Holman Publishersâ. It debuted at #19 spot on the âNew York Times Best Sellersâ list.
Philanthropic Works
In 2011, Lecrae, through â116 Cliqueâ and the âReachLife Ministriesâ, instigated the campaign âMan Upâ, focused on providing guidance to young urban males on fatherhood and Biblical manhood. In March 2015, ReachLife was deactivated and â116 Cliqueâ shifted its attention to contribute to âPeace Preparatory Academyâ, a Christian school in Atlanta.
In May 2013, he worked alongside several other celebrities on a media initiative named âThis is Fatherhoodâ. Jay Z, Barack Obama, Joshua DuBois, Lecrae himself, and others have appeared in the initiativeâs promotional public service announcement videos.
Major Works
In a career marked by successful artistic ventures and awards, Lecraeâs greatest musical achievement is unarguably his seventh and the latest studio album âAnomalyâ, released on September 9, 2014. It was the first album in history to debut at #1 on both âBillboard 200â and âTop Gospel Albumsâ charts. It was also certified Gold by the RIAA.
Awards & Achievements
Lecrae Moore received a Grammy in 2013 for the âBest Gospel Albumâ for his sixth studio album âGravityâ. He won his second Grammy in 2015 for the âBest Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Songâ for the track âMessengersâ which also featured the Christian pop band âFor King & Countryâ.
He was named the best gospel artist at the â2015 BET Awardsâ. In 2017, he was the recipient of the âBET Best Gospel/ Inspirational Awardâ for the song âCanât Stop Me Now (Destination)â.
On March 14, 2016, he was conferred with an honorary doctorate from âCanada Christian Collegeâ.
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 âGood, Bad, Uglyâ from âAnomalyâ.
Trivia
Lecrae portrayed the character Dr. Darnall Malmquist in the 2014 independent film âBelieve Meâ.
iwo jima and the monumental sacrifice
âSome people wonder all their lives if they made a difference,â Ronald Reagan once said. Then he added, âThe Marines donât have that problem.â That was certainly true of the Marines who fought and died on a little island called Iwo Jima seventy years ago now. In the final phase of the war in the Pacific, Iwo Jima was strategic and essential to America and Japan â and it would cost them both dearly. Two out of every three Marines on Iwo Jima were killed or wounded before the Americans took the island. The fierce, heroic struggle was captured in what would become the most famous photograph of the war: Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, taken on Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945. Joe Rosenthalâs photograph, like the larger-than-life men he captured on camera, became the basis for the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia. Though dedicated to the service and sacrifice of the Marines in all of Americaâs wars, it is still often referred to simply as the âIwo Jima Memorial.â It is the tallest bronze statue in the world. The soldier figures are each over thirty feet tall, and the rifles are sixteen feet long. Photographs, to use Lance Morrowâs phrase, âimprison time in a rectangle,â but they can never tell the whole story. Raising the flag on Mount Suribachi wasnât the moment of victory â a triumphant point between war and peace. Three of the six men who raised the flag on February 23 would be killed in action on Iwo Jima in a battle that would rage on for another month. The flag represented hope when it was raised â it did not represent victory. Worthy Sacrifices The last time I visited the Iwo Jima monument, it was a lovely evening in Arlington. Visitors who walked around the base of the great bronze spoke with hushed voices. Even the selfie-snapping was reserved. The bronze giants basked in the warmth of the last light, and the flag snapped in the wind, much like the first time. It made me feel proud and humble at the same time. From the bluff, I could see across the Potomac the tops of Americaâs other monuments huddled along the great expanse leading to the Capitol. Marble and bronze â the stuff of enduring memory â worthy of the sacrifices they commemorate. At the time I was at Arlington, Christians were being shot, beheaded, even crucified by the Islamic State, and whole Christian populations were being utterly obliterated in Syria and Iraq. I thought to myself, âWhereâs the monument to their sacrifice? Whatâs left for the generations to follow to remember?â Tragically, all that remains are smoldering ruins, bloodstains, and boot prints, as their killers move on. Sometimes, even less than that remains. In November, a Christian couple in Pakistan were incinerated. Hereâs their story. The Barbarians Are Back Debt peonage has long existed in Pakistan, keeping generations of Christians in slavery working in the brick kilns. Once I walked through such a slave colony near Lahore when the master was away in order to hear the workersâ stories. Little children stacked bricks, men tended the massive furnace firing the bricks, and women washed clothes in a stream that doubled as the sewer. It was in this same area last November that two brick workers, Shahzad Masih and his wife Shama, were killed. They were in a debt dispute with their owner, and in order to settle the score, he accused them of blasphemy, of burning pages of the Koran. The blasphemy law in Pakistan is a convenient way of dealing with inconvenient people and usually works like this: kill first, then maybe ask questions later. The setting was readymade for a mob. Bricks were handy for stoning, the legs of the husband and wife were broken so they couldnât escape, and then they were thrown into the furnace. Shahzad and his wife, who was five months pregnant, were burned to ash. This didnât happen centuries ago in barbaric times â it happened in November. The barbarians are back. Tragically, the murders of Shahzad and his wife are just more of the same. In the past three years alone, between the work of ISIS and other al-Qaeda franchises, the number of Christians killed or displaced in Iraq and Syria is in the tens of thousands, including hundreds of girls taken as sex slaves for the fighters. In sub-Saharan Africa, more than seven thousand Christians have been killed by Boko Haram and al-Shabaab in the past three years. When We Hear of Persecution Itâs understandable that these al-wannabes tend to sound alike â their handiwork certainly tends to look alike. After more than a decade in the new world disorder, they are just names and numbers on the news crawl, accompanied with a blur of blood and bombs, of gun-toting âspiritual leadersâ doing selfies on YouTube as they crow about their latest kill. I think of the lines from a Patty Griffin song, âThereâs a million sad stories on the side of the road. Strange how we all just got used to the blood.â The unspeakable seems unanswerable; and so we shrug. What can  we say? What can  we do that would make any difference? As Christians we must not look at persecution as just âbad things happening to good people.â And we shouldnât look away either. Christian persecution is tied to the very work and nature of the gospel. Here are three truths to remember when we hear of Christian persecution, whether in distant places or when it comes to our own shores. 1. We are vitally linked to our suffering brothers and sisters. âRemember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the bodyâ (Hebrews 13:3). This is why we pray, why we speak, and why we hurt alongside suffering Christians â they are family. Through the power of the gospel, our lives are forever bound up in Christâs life and, therefore, forever bound up with all other believers as well. 2. God is glorified, and his gospel advances, when his people demonstrate trust, love, and grace as they suffer for him. âI want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fearâ (Philippians 1:12â14). Persecution has many outcomes â sometimes they donât make sense to us. But clearly, one of the outcomes is gospel advance. Saul-the-Persecutor-turned-Paul-the-Preacher was a powerful demonstration of this truth. In our day, he would have been the equivalent of an al-Qaeda commander; so his conversion was the talk of the town. âThey only were hearing it said, âHe who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.â And they glorified God because of meâ (Galatians 1:23â24). Samuel Zwemer, the apostle to Arabia, with his âBig God, Big Gospelâ perspective on the long campaign of Kingdom advance could write, When you read in reports of troubles and opposition, of burning up books, imprisoning colporteurs, and expelling workers, you must not think that the gospel is being defeated. It is conquering. What we see under such circumstances is only the dust in the wake of the ploughman. God is turning the world upside down that it may be right side up when Jesus comes. He that plougheth should plough in hope. We may not be able to see a harvest yet in this country, but furrow after furrow, the soil is getting ready for the seed. 3. Persecution is linked to Christâs persecution. âGod is turning the world upside down that it may be right side up when Jesus comes.â âBeloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christâs sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealedâ (1 Peter 4:12â13). Suffering that comes for the sake of his name is Christ-like. And so there is, in fact, a monument to Christian sacrifice â it is the cross, in all its blood-stained splendor. Unlike the inspiring flag-raising on Iwo Jima, when the cross was raised, it seemed to symbolize only defeat and death. Yet, secured by Sovereign Love and the empty tomb, Christâs work was so complete that everyone who comes to him will live forever. This is the reward of the Lambâs suffering. Only he could heal the hurt of his people, turning their sorrow into song and their death into life.