“Tell The World” by Lecrae (courtesy of Reach Records). © 2012 Fellowship of the Unashamed Music (BMI) admin. by Music Services, Mali’s Music Note, Track or Die Music, Charles Dunlap, MCE Music LLC.

spent my whole life just burdened for

something hunger and for something

thirsting after chasing this thing that

I couldn’t put my finger on

ultimately

I was abused by older people some in the

family some outside of the family so as

I got older always talked back I always

got in fights my whole world was

surrounded by guns and drugs and gangs

I remember in front of all my friends

just tell him to watch this and as a

lady was driving down the street I

jumped in the middle of the street and

pointed the gun right at it just to see

her panic and freak out and it was just

me seeking power

by 16 I was getting high on a daily

basis and got involved with a woman

after a woman after woman and you know

you mix drugs you mix alcohol you mix

youth it’s cause for an explosion

my mother was really concerned about me

I remember she just grabbed a Bible I

said I don’t know what to do you just

need to read this Bible you know I

remember taking the pages of the Bible

and just ripping them out and throwing

them on the ground and saying I don’t

care about your God I don’t care about

this

this isn’t mean anything to me

I was in a really dark place I was

really lonely really depressed and a

friend of mine reached out and invited

me to a conference and I’m thinking why

not

my mind was blown when I got there I had

never seen anything like it

I saw guys would with bullet wounds and

ex-gang members who loved Jesus

and I had never seen anything like that

before and so uh I was intrigued

I never forget the pastor you know he

started talking about Jesus and talking

about him in an intense way that I had

never thought about before I had never

just imagined Jesus as a real person

going through real things I just kind of

thought of him as this fairy off distant

person but he brought it home to me and

he started talking about Jesus being

beaten and being whipped for a crime he

didn’t commit

and the skin being ripped off his back

and him having to in the midst of his

pain carry this cross of this mountain

of a skull and being pinned to this

cross

they were so vivid in visual to me I

could it was like I could see this

happening to Jesus

and I remember him saying like how dare

you tough guys call my Jesus a punk you

know like look at what he went through

and then the preacher said do you not

know you’ve been bought with the price

and it just came to a head it was like

wow Jesus literally took all of this on

his own back for me you know I remember

bowing out just head touching the ground

and saying I’m sorry god I’m sorry but

one step led to another which led to

another and you know I was back drinking

and sleeping around with women and the

conviction that I was now feeling was so

strong and I remember driving on the

highway just thinking to myself God you

got to do something

because if you don’t do something I

might hurt myself or hurt somebody else

I don’t know what’s gonna happen but

just don’t kill me I get cut off by

truck and my truck just starts tipping

until it flips over and starts rolling

fast

the glass is coming in the windshield

cracks I’m not wearing a seat belt at

all so I’m kind of floating around the

car

and I looked myself over it was just a

piece of glass stuck in my arm and I

pulled it out that was it I say Lord I

need to get with you I need you to

change me I need you to really make this

real and I need to stop running from you

I was genuinely trying to know him more

and read my Bible and grow and I really

began to be a passionate Christ follower

but you can be free I guess you know

Ray’s gonna give me new season to give

me new life you’re breathing huh gladly

get out of my lies are achieving my lust

emigrated what is a man

I realized you don’t earn righteousness

that none of us is righteous not even

one and that our works are like filthy

rags to God

twice

Wow Jesus lived the life I could not

live and die the death I should have

died you know that gets me every time

just a thing man I gained everything I

put my trust in him

you