Eight 2K

I think it was a Friday in August of 2000. I was at my usual spot freestyling to my small but faithful crowd in the Student Union at Alabama State University. My custom was to rap about the people and things around me so everyone would know I was truly improvising. A new face joined the crowd and soon became the subject of a line or two. I could tell she got a little upset, so when I finished the set I tracked her down to let her know I meant no harm. We became friends and she slowly introduced me to her friends, who happened to be the most pious group of twenty-somethings I’d ever seen. The example they set made an immediate impression upon me. I fell in line quickly, assimilating into the group, trying to glean as much as I could from

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Understanding Difficult Bible Passages

The vast majority of the Bible is pretty straight-forward and easily understood. However, there are a few topics and passages that are commonly misunderstood for various reasons. The following six steps on understanding these difficult passages help me keep things in line. Please note that these are personal practices and are not to be viewed as absolute truth or the only way to read scripture.
 
  1. The entire Bible is God’s inspired Word. We use scripture to interpret scripture. We look for harmony and confirmation across the different books, authors, and testaments. Also, each book of the Law, each prophecy, each Gospel and epistle should be understood as a complete stand-alone work in order to understand what God, through each particular human hand, intended for the particular audience addressed at that particular time.

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