Rapper DMX hosts a Bible study on Instagram, thousands tune in
Rapper DMX led thousands of his followers in a Bible study over the weekend in hopes to calm down the anxiety brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The Instagram live video reached 14,000 viewers while live and then thousands more after as Earl Simmons, better known by his stage name DMX, recited scriptures from the book of Ecclesiastes while holding a cigarette.
“A time for embracing, and a time to avoid embracing,” he said in his iconic raspy voice talking about social distancing. “A time for embraces and time for avoiding embraces. What! Come on.”
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The New York native, who admittedly has lost people to COVID-19, told his audience to keep the faith and believe in the will of God.
“At the end of the day, at the beginning of the day, it’s going to be God’s will,” DMX continued. “If you try to understand why He does, what He does, you’re just going to end up with a headache. Just do the right thing.”
He encouraged the thousands watching live to get their lives right with God and follow Jesus.
The mainstream rapper has never shied away from sharing his Christian faith and his recent Bible sent his fans into a holy frenzy. Many of them thanked him for leading people to Christ;, others asked for more Bible studies.
The hip hop artist, whose lyrics are sometimes vulgar, has recorded several songs talking about his Christianity, including “Lord Give Me a Sign” and “Damien.”
DMX has openly said in the past that he wants to become a pastor. In a video posted on Facebook in 2016, he stated that his dream of becoming a minister is slowly becoming a reality. The video showed the emcee behind a pulpit preaching about the miracle that is birthed from tragedy.
"If I wasn't a threat to the devil he wouldn't waste his time. If I wasn't special to God, how would I know what He's willing to do for me? We know what He's able to do. The word says, 'All things are possible through Christ who strengthens,' Amen!" DMX exclaimed. "So we know what He's able to do. How can you know what He's willing to do until you've been placed in a situation where you need Him to do it for you? If you haven't been somewhere where you need God to get you out of the situation, you wouldn't know what He's willing to do for you. We know what He's able to do but we won't know what He's willing to do until we're there."
The hip-hop recording artist has had many public mishaps, from a drug overdose to various arrests, and in his sermonette he said tragedy is in fact what has brought him closer to God.
"So now I embrace difficult situations. I praise God for difficult situations because through these situations I see what He's willing to do for me. On a daily basis, if it gets rough I praise God; it goes wrong, I praise God; it goes left, I praise God. I praise God because there's nothing that He can't get me through. So I thank Him for every opportunity that is presented for me to see what He's willing to do for me," DMX concluded.
