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Monday, October 28, 2019

Pray for Kanye and Kim

First off, let me say that I have never been a fan of the Kardashians or of Kanye.  I have never watched an episode of the Kardashians, nor could I identify even one Kanye song.  So this isn’t coming from a super-fan of either of these people.  This is coming from the heart of a Christian who knows how strong the spiritual battle is and how much we need prayer.

I am asking other Christians out there to pray for Kanye and Kim.

I know that there are a lot of Christians who mock Kanye’s conversion.  But I don’t.  I would NEVER mock another person whose brokenness led them to Christ.  That has got to be one of the quickest ways to discourage a new Christian, someone who needs the support of other Christians to help them grow in faith and wisdom.  And yet, here are fellow “Christians” ripping apart a new believer instead of coming alongside him and encouraging him.  Shame on them!


Shame on them!  

It's hard enough to be a Christian, even harder to be a Christian in Hollywood, but to also have other believers mock you instead of encourage you ... that's got to be hardest of all!

It’s not for us to judge a new believer.  I understand the skepticism.  I am a skeptic by nature, and I don't trust something just because someone said it.  But I do believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt, until they give us good reason to believe otherwise.  And I think Kanye's conversion is best viewed with cautious optimism.  With discernment and cautious, hopeful optimism, treating him like he's telling the truth but watching him over time to see if he really is.  Time will tell if someone is truly saved or not.  But why would you want to be part of tearing down another believer as they just start out on the difficult and sometimes confusing journey of faith?

Seriously, shame on you!  Give him time to prove himself before you tear him down!

And don't nit-pick every little thing that a new believer says.  They will get things wrong from time to time, as they grow in their faith and wisdom.  We all will.  So let's help each other on our journey, instead of tearing each other down.

(Personally, I think some of those speaking boldly against Kanye, deeming him a demonic deceiver and such, sound way less Spirit-filled than Kanye does.  What if Kanye really is a believer?  What if God's planning on using him in a big way?  And here's all these judgmental, self-inflated, holier-than-thou "Christians" lashing out at him, declaring that there's no way he can be a believer now.  Who do they think they are, really!?!  They barely gave him a chance.  That, to me, does not come across as very Christian.  They sound more like Pharisees who are trying to block people from heaven than Spirit-filled people who are trying to help people get into heaven.  It's sickening!)

Anyway, one of the big reasons I say to pray for them is because Kanye is going to be a huge target for spiritual attacks.  He is a very public person who has become a believer, and now he’s speaking out very boldly for Christ.  If anyone is going to be high on Satan’s “hit list,” it’s going to be him.  Because he has a huge opportunity to reach many people for Christ.  He’s also coming from a very broken place, a very broken past.  And so he could reach a lot of people with his testimony and the amazing changes he went through, helping other broken people find healing in Jesus too.

This is why he will be a huge target for spiritual attacks.  To destroy his testimony.  To make him back down from speaking so publicly about it.  To lead him from biblical truth into some sort of man-made, man-pleasing “religion.”  To get him off track so that others can find reasons to discredit him, to mock his faith instead of being inspired by it.

And I think one huge area of attack could be on his marriage and family.  If Satan can’t go after the man, he’ll go after the man's family.  (See "Kanye West hurt by wife dressing "too sexy" now that he's a born-again Christian."  Kanye, be patient with her.  And just love her.  God will handle the rest.)

So pray for Kim’s salvation and journey of faith.  Pray for their marriage.  Pray for Kanye’s faith, that God surrounds him and his family with heavenly angels to keep evil away from them.  Pray that God leads Kanye and Kim to solid, biblical truth, that He helps them be discerning about what's true and what’s not, so that Kanye isn’t misled by heresies and falsehoods.  Pray that Kanye stays bold in his witness.  Just pray for them!  

(I was praying for him even before he became a Christian, when I saw how broken and hurting he was, how badly he was struggling.  Someone who's hitting rock bottom is far closer to finding the Lord than the judgmental, self-confident, hoity-toity people who mock those who are hitting rock bottom.  But I know how it feels to be broken and hurting.  Only Jesus can heal that kind of pain.  And so I was praying for him.  Maybe that's why I rejoiced instead of mocked when I heard that he got saved.)  

(See this interview for a bit about his journey to faith: "Kanye West: "It's My Job To Let People Know What God Has Done For Me."  Are we fellow Christians as vulnerable and bold and vocal about our lives, our struggles, and our faith as Kanye is in this interview?  Just wondering.)