Freedom Of Preach - Ludacris, Bishop Eddie Lee Long

We gon' do another off in right now

We gon' do another one in fifteen minutes

And we gon' do one mo', right after that

Yes, women you lookin' so very beautiful here today

Some of you with the same thang on from the club last night

The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away

Oh Lord Jesus I wish you’d taketh away Sister Mary’s wig

Oh you disrespectin' the House of God with that thing

It don’t even look real;

aww, it’s testimony time

Oh who is that?

Young Chris Bridges

Boy I’m glad you finally grew into them ears

Go on and testify

Lord, please forgive me for the mistakes I’ve made

And thanks for keepin' my momma safe when she wrecked my Escalade

See I could replace a Cadillac but I can’t replace my momma

I’m sorry for the hip-hop beefs, we sorry for the drama

But you gotta understand us rappers ain’t never had nothin

And one’s loss is another’s gain so we gotta grab somethin

Lord, got so many questions I need the answers to

And sorry for the thangs I put my baby’s mama through

I feel that women are really the strongest human beings

But why do you make 'em so emotional, and other minor things

I guess it’s your way of sayin' we gotta love 'em and gotta praise 'em

Cause without 'em we’d be nothin', plus our kids they gotta raise 'em

While we, out and about and seein' what life has to offer

But if you offer a new life then what we need is better fathers

Either I’m smarter cause of my daughter or I’m just too dense

I’m 28 years old, it just now started makin' sense

And I’ve been…

Searchin' so long, I was lost in the clouds

I’m tryna' stay strong, and make you proud

It took me some time, but now I see

That He resides, in me yeah, yeah

Lord, forgive me for anytime a fan said I was bein' rude

I’m only human, I’m not always in the best of moods

But thanks for givin' the gift of rap to write my feelings down

And sorry for cursin' sometimes but feelings make me shout 'em out

Forgive the people that wanna blame everything on rap music

If they didn’t live it they can’t relate or even adapt to it

Forgive those who don’t think I’m great and wanna see me go

Forgive Oprah for editin' most my comments off her show

Don’t get me wrong, I know some people got a image to hold

But those who criticize the youth might just be gettin' too old

We still travellin' through life, findin' what’s right or wrong

I know some folks may not agree or even like this song

But I’m just speakin' MY truth, cause I heard it sets you free

And my conversation’s with God, even though he speaks through me

I’m smarter cause of my daughter, and I’m NOT too dense

I’m 28 years old, it just now started makin' sense

And I’ve been…

I’ve been searchin' so long

I admit that I’ve been lost in them clouds

I’m just tryna' stay strong baby

You know I’mma make you proud

I know life is full of contradictions

I’m tryna' become a better man

Prayin' for redemption, each and every day

(Hallelujah, as the choir sings)

Searchin' so long (so long) lost in the clouds (in the clouds)

Tryin' to stay strong, and make you proud — make you proud!

Took me some time (took me some time) now I see (oh now I see)

He resides, in me (yeah)

(Ladies and gentlemen, we have a special guest in the house tonight,

came with some words of encouragement, Bishop Eddie Long)

— repeat 2X, minus ad libs

What you just heard is real life

It’s real life for you, it’s real life for many

It’s about where you been, yet at the same time you

Ay, you find yourself, in the midst of conflict and turmoil

Yes I’m talkin' to you, in the midst of conflict and turmoil

Cause you realize HEY — it’s, time to change right now

And in the middle of that I wanna say this

The Bible says that when I was a child, I spoke as a child

I understood as a child, I fought as a child

Hey, but when I became a man

I put away those, childish things

Did you not know that your environment has shaped you?

Where you were born, in the projects, in the ghettoes

In the upper downtown, wherever it was

The people around you, the things around you

Cause you to do strange things because, you were seeking to learn

But what you learned, was on the streets, and not in the book

God called you a prophet

When you open up your mouth, everything of God comes out

And it commands attention, it commands change

I’m talking about the power, that’s inside of you

And in the midst when you’re, starting to understand

That I caught the wrong message, and now it’s time

I’m hearing from God, what amazing experience, as you hear from God

He said, «Is there forth any man be in Christ, he is a new creation»

Old things are passed away, somebody needs to hear that and behold

Everything becomes new, and when everything becomes new in you

It’s time to stop the killing

I said it’s time to stop the stealing

It’s time to stop disrespecting our women

It’s time for us to come home and raise our children

It’s time for us, to really mould our communities

It’s time for us, not to get hooked up in religion

But to get hooked up in relationship, with God

And the amazing thing about it

Is wherever you find yourself right now, you can confess

And you can tell God «I'm sorry;

I had the wrong cue, I was doing the wrong thing

I was going after things that I thought were right, but it wasn’t right

And now that I’m getting it right, I’m asking you to forgive me

And I may have done the things, that they said I did

But I’m not, who they say I am;

I am who you made me to be

And I’m changing in that, and it takes a few moments

But every time I fall down, I’ll get right back up

And every time I make a wrong turn, I’ll get myself back in line

Because I recognize, I have been called, for such a time as this!»

You can’t resist the change

And you’re not condemned by your yesterday

If you can grab hold of your now, and move in your destiny

Move, change, and be, now!

Searchin' so long, lost in the clouds

Tryin' to stay strong, and make you proud — make you proud!

Took me some time (took me some time) now I see

He resides (He resides) in me (in me yeah)