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Music is a huge part of our lives. We listen to it when we are sad and want to reverse the effect of sadness. We listen to it when we are want to get hype when we are working out. We listen to it when we want to feel God’s presence. Whatever the reason, music is a major part of who we are. No human being (past, present, or future) has gone at least one day without listening to music. Music, depending on the type, can affect our mood but it does much more than that. Music can affect our spirit also. How can this be? Music can and will change our personality gradually if we allow it to. We hear excuses like, “I’m must enjoying the beat.” Or you may hear someone say, “It’s just music.” Well, I’m going to explain to you how important it is to monitor what you listen to and be careful what we allow to go into our spirit.   Music undoubtedly has addictive qualities. Picture this: you and your friend are having a conversation about a new Beyoncé album that has just come out. Your friend tells you that they enjoy the entire album and can’t wait for her to come to your respective city. You, however feel indifferent about the album, stating that it wasn’t her best. Your friend becomes defensive and calls you crazy because of your opinion and then tries earnestly to make a case for why the album is the best album she’s ever made and quite possibly, the best album of all time. I’m sure all who are reading this has had that conversation before about music and possibly have received that kind response. People will defend what they like but also will defend something that they feel they need.   Music affects the brain like no other thing can. It can hit the area of the brain that produces dopamine and oxytocin. These two molecules work together to cause habits and in worst cases addictions. The worst examples of these two molecules working together can be seen with drug and alcohol addicts. Music may not work as diabolically as drugs and alcohol but it does affect the same area of the brain. Saul was the first king of Israel. He was handsome, tall, and charismatic. He seemed to be the perfect fit to lead Israel to victory against their enemies the Philistines. However, everything that glitters isn’t always gold. He was a foolish, disobedient, and jealous man. Because of his great sin against God, the Lord took His Spirit away from Saul which left him vulnerable to demonic attacks. To counter this, Saul had David, a gifted harp player, to come in and “play” the demons away. In fact, the bible states that “…when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took a harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him” (1 Samuel 16:23). Here’s my hypothesis: David was able to chase evil spirits away by playing music that gave glory and honor to God. Is it possible that certain music can be used to invite evil spirits as well? I’m not going to get into naming all the artists because a lot of that is subjective. But what I am going to do is invoke thought. I know a lot of people some of which I know to be Christians. In talking to or hanging out with them, I’ve learned that most listen to not only gospel or Christian hip hop, but also secular music such as R&B, and hip hop (trap included). I’m not saying any of this music is bad but I do know that a lot of the lyrics of the songs in those particular genre tend to be very suggestive and vulgar. Why do we have a tendency to listen to that type of music? There is music that appeals to our spirit but there is also music that appeals to our flesh. One of my acquaintances would say every time he wanted to get high, he would listen to Wiz Khalifa. I know a lot of people who felt like thugs (oh boy) when they listened to NWA. Music changes mood and if allowed, will eventually alter personality. Nowadays, most music outside of gospel and contemporary Christian, contains sexually explicit lyrics and it can invoke thoughts of a sexual manner. At some point in our lives, we have to be honest with ourselves. Do we really want to give glory to God in all that we do? If so, why do we listen to things that don’t give Him glory and basically honors the flesh? Why is it so hard for us to shake things that can harm us in the long run? We have to make the conclusion that if there is good music that is used to glorify God, then there has to be music that can be used to glorify the devil. The latter should be avoided at all cost.

My Testimony The Reason I Am The Way I Am By BLAKE LEWIS I have met a lot of people over the course of my life so far. God has graced and blessed me to encourage and help those that I’ve come in contact with. Most people that I meet have told me that they feel like I’ve got it all together. Those people are sadly mistaken. Many of them don’t really know my story and the process it took to get to my level of faith. The saying that a lot of preachers say in the black church, “You may see me in my glory but you don’t know my story” is definitely true in my case. I tell people all the time that I’m just a regular, normal, guy. So for those who are reading, please allow me to share a bit of my testimony. Interaction with people is something I love. I would consider myself an extrovert. Sometimes I joke that I’m an “omnivert” with my close friends because I have my shy moments, but for the most part I’m not particularly shy. I enjoy sharing my faith with those I’m close to but more so with those who don’t know the Lord Jesus. But what most don’t understand is why I am the way that I am. It’s been a long hard road for me. I’m twenty-eight years of age and I’ve seen and experienced so many things in my life so far. When I recall my past, I realize how grateful I am to have made it this far. But at the same time, I also acknowledge how frustrated I was during that time.   I accepted Christ when I was six years old. My mom would always bring me to church with her when she directed the children’s choir and would minister to them after every practice. I was only four at the time but I remember everything that transpired in those practices and wanted to learn more of what she talked about. God always intrigued me and even though I really didn’t know Him that well at the time, I knew I wanted to learn more. My mom subtly would minister me throughout the day and even before I went to bed. I learned how to say my prayers and even learned how to read the bible. The amazing thing is that the bible was one of the first books I learned to read (not the King James Version but a children’s bible of course. But I digress). Just like any kid that age, I enjoyed seeing the pictures and as I read. This made the words come to life and made my imagination run wild. I wanted to know if God and Jesus really were as loving as in my bible. I accepted Christ July 12, 1995. I got baptized the very next Wednesday. Unlike most kids at that age, I knew exactly what I was doing mainly because of my support system. My parents instilled in me godly values and encouraged me to have integrity even when no one else had it. Middle school and high school were both very hard for me. I struggled with my self-esteem, which stemmed mainly from me not having a lot of friends and no one to talk to. I had a few friends but they couldn’t relate to my spiritual obstacles. The only people who could were my parents. In middle school, I realized how different I was from everyone else because of my walk with Christ. Everyone knew I was a Christian even though I rarely said anything to anyone due to my shyness. It was the way I carried myself which made me stand out. I would carry my bible along with my books to each class. I would speak about Jesus to all who would listen. This in turn, made me a social outcast.   In high school, I tried to “fit in” without actually crossing my moral guidelines. I wanted to “hang with the fellas” but I wasn’t willing to do what they did. I had no desire to smoke, drink, or divulge in negative and uncomfortable conversations about sex. On the basketball team, my teammates made fun of me, and so did the coaches, which gave my teammates the green light to torture and ridicule me. In their minds, if the coach did it, so could they. I couldn’t get a girlfriend mainly because most of the girls wanted someone who was popular. I wasn’t trying to get anyone pregnant and develop unwanted soul ties. Even the ones that did approach me thought I was a square because I wouldn’t sleep with them. Unfortunately in church, the one place where I could escape turned out to be worse at times. During that time, I discovered the difference between “church folk” and real Christians. The saying “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” didn’t apply to me. In fact, words did hurt a lot (Proverbs 18:21). They can pierce the heart without even breaking the skin. I was called everything but a child of God. Holy roller, goody-two-shoes, uppity, virgin boy, Urkel, nerd boy, were just some of the names I was called. I would go home everyday after school and church just cry. I wondered why God was allowing this constant and incessant torture. Besides having my parents to encourage me, the other constant I had was my bible. I would read for hours and get lost in the word. After graduation, the Lord ministered to me through various people why He allowed me to go through what I went through. After all those years, I finally got my answer. It was to prepare me for ministry. At a young age, I knew my calling. God wasn’t going to allow me to quit or reject Him. He chose me to help and encourage others like me. He wanted young children and adults