Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Navigating the Journey
0:00:00
This is a KUNV Studios original program.
0:00:04
The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 Jazz & More,
0:00:09
the University of Nevada Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.
0:00:15
Blackball Triple-7 Productions presents the Blackball Triple-7 Productions podcast, Faith Knowledge in College Edition. This program has been brought to you by Black Ballpoint 777 Productions. And now, here is your host...
0:00:33
And welcome to my show once again, the Black Ball of the Back. Let's get the ball rolling, I got a special guest with me, a.k.a. JoJo Fitz. How you doing today, man?
0:00:41
Yo, what's up man, I'm so glad to be here. Yeah, shoutout to you for having me on the show, man. I thank you so much for this, God bless, man.
0:00:48
Word, no problem. And fun fact, JoJo's actually a podcaster himself and he be on live spreading the word right Jojo
0:00:54
Yes, I do shout out to my homie Josh Shout out to Spotify and Apple for hosting and helping me get this done out Make sure you guys tune into the faith and fit podcast starring you know me and Josh You know I'm saying we're on season 2 right now Make sure you guys go ahead and tune in it's on Spotify and Apple music It was on Spotify, but it is on Apple Music now so.
0:01:16
Alrighty then so Jojo and I are both believers in Christ and I want to get his perspective on what it's like to be a believer on on campus as you know UNLV is a public campus may not see a lot of believers around so as usual how would you describe your experience as a believer in Christ here at a
0:01:34
public college campus? I say that my experience as a believer in Christ is spontaneous. You know, the Holy Spirit is spontaneous. And when it comes to, you know, being a Christian on campus, you can feel a little bit obsolete sometimes and kind of feel a little bit like an outsider, you feel me? You can feel like you're kind of like a... Some people do a lot of things on campus.
0:02:03
You know, you got parties on campus, you got people who drink, smoke, all that type of stuff. Me, no, I'm not the type of person to really do that. Especially like drink, because I'm definitely 20 years old and I'm not 21 yet. So, but still, even so with that, you know,
0:02:17
I believe that being a Christian on campus sets you apart from a lot of different people. And a lot of people wonder, like how do you get that happiness? Or how do you get that peace of joy, love? How do you feel happy even in your sad moments when you're feeling like you're broken down
0:02:31
inside? What is the reason why you push in life? What is the reason why you get up every morning and you come to school or you talk to your family or you go through the day? And I believe being a Christian on a college campus, being a Christian is not just something that you go to school every day and wear like you got like a jersey on you take it off. It's a lifestyle.
0:02:52
Um, so that's just one thing I can say about being, you know, Christian on campus, you know, you really definitely feel like you don't stand out, but you definitely do in another light, in another, you know, realm, you feel me? So that's what I can say about that.
0:03:06
Yeah, I kind of, I'm kind of with you on that one because I remember when I went back to college in 2017, I felt like I wouldn't stand out. But come to find out, like toward the end of my first semester back, they wanted to, someone wanted to start a Christian ministry called a crew, it's similar to University,
0:03:27
one of our allies.
0:03:28
Right, yes.
0:03:29
Yeah, I didn't even think they had college ministries like that. What are some challenges that you expect to, that you either expect to face or have faced during your college career?
0:03:38
That's a very good question.
0:03:41
So I don't only just do podcasting, I do music. So shout out to all the people that listen to my music. I go by Cortani, but a lot of people know me by my real name, Jojo. But one thing I will say, the challenge I face is just knowing who you are and knowing who you're going against. We do not know.
0:04:01
There's a lot of people that don't know that you know, we don't wrestle against flesh and blood That's Ephesians 6 But Principalities and things in this era. That's very wiki. The enemy is the Prince of air meaning that He is looking for anything and in anything to go ahead and try to seek kill and destroy you and So he can use people he can use places he can use things he can use a lot of different things.
0:04:29
And for me, my struggle is definitely trying to really recognize what is God and what is Satan on a campus that's filled with certain things that seem so like crazy, you feel me? You don't know what's going to happen.
0:04:43
I can't lie.
0:04:44
I felt a lot more Jesus over here in a city full of sin than I've ever felt before in my life. And I'm not saying that because I'm from Baltimore, Maryland, you feel me? But I'm saying that because in my walk, I've had challenges where I needed to grow.
0:05:05
And sometimes I'll be scared to grow because I'm in different spots right now where I'm dealing with people who either just believe in Christ or even don't believe in Christ. And so I'm put in a position to where I need to like, figure out exactly what that means in my life right now.
0:05:17
So those are challenges, and I think a lot of people face them, you know? So, yeah.
0:05:23
Are there any challenges that you expect to face in the future?
0:05:26
You know, one thing I really have been pondering on is that, you know, there is gonna be a great falling out between people who really do believe, and like in church, you know what I'm saying? And so one thing that I really do feel like it challenges in the future is to have time.
0:05:41
Well, I won't say it's a challenge, but it also challenged, I feel like the Lord challenges me. So one thing about it is that I want to be able to challenge myself to have more time with God rather than have more time with things that I like to do.
0:05:57
Always being able to just automatically take what I learned from the Word of God and put it in my life. Because sometimes I do be preaching a lot and sometimes I really do be giving a lot of advice, but I don't really be taking that advice for myself.
0:06:08
And I just learned that.
0:06:09
Shout out to Shiloh, by the way. Like, she just told me that. And I really felt like that low-key convicted me. So like, for me, I know for a fact that that's something that I'll have to face in the future that only the Lord will be able to That the only the Lord will be able to do that good work in me, you know, so yeah
0:06:30
Since we're on a subject of challenges. There's something I may have shared this with you I know I shared it with a couple of other people on campus like a couple other believers, but My mom was the English doctor. I'll call him. Dr. Angry Bird for obvious reasons
0:06:45
But uh
0:06:46
anyway, I was studying eschatology a lot and for some reason he thought, he thought that I was trying to get out of doing the schoolwork and not trying to put my focus on schoolwork. But in reality I was trying to balance, I was trying to balance my schedule and for those of you who don't know, I lived in New Jersey and I got invited to a university. I was at a community college at the time, but I got invited to Stockton University, Stockton Christian Fellowship. Shout out to them if you know someone who goes to Stockton University
0:07:28
in New Jersey and they're a Christian looking for a Christian community, Stockton Christian Anyway, yes, I would go hang out with them. Mondays they had their men's groups. Tuesdays they had the Stockton Christian Fellowship. Wednesdays, I don't remember what they had, but Thursdays they had Ratio Christi. Fun fact about Ratio Christi, they debunked a lot of theories that go against the Bible,
0:07:55
one of which was the dinosaurs get wiped out if it wasn't an ice age or meteor impact? And back in Genesis 6 it talks about the flood and I'm like, that makes perfect sense!
0:08:15
Well yeah, it does make perfect sense. When you look at the Bible in extent, there's a whole different aspect of what people believe in. Some people can believe in the Big Bang, but we all know that something came from something.
0:08:27
Yeah, in the beginning, God was the Big Bang. Exactly.
0:08:30
We all know that something came from something. When we even look at us, there's facts about us biologically that are about us that only came from God. You know what I'm saying? The fact that we have... There's a lot of things.
0:08:44
The fact that we have seven ways how to figure out if we have a pulse is crazy. Like seven, the number of completion. If you look that up, it's true. We have a lot of different ways how us and our body work. And that's only something that God can do, really. So that's something that I've really honestly paid attention to. So I'm glad we're talking about this, man.
0:09:04
my education. Now, I'm not saying, quick disclaimer, I am NOT saying education is bad. I'm all for education. But if you're putting things above God, that's when it gets bad. That's when it gets bad. And he wanted to say I was
0:09:35
close-minded for not wanting to be around people other than non-believers, but I tell you what, like, I felt more close-minded before I became a Christian. I'm not saying... I do have I even talked to students in my class who are non-believers. I'm
0:09:42
Like people I noticed here in Vegas people are more open more open compared to where I lived before date Yeah, like share my beliefs and I I remember I shared the gospel to a couple of people who felt Felt like they felt hurt by a couple of legalistic street preachers who come. Some of them... I've come into a couple of grace preachers, but as for those who I've shared the gospel with, I've given them the words of encouragement. And I'll get to the gospel in a little bit, but...
0:10:18
I got you.
0:10:19
Yeah, it was tough. He kept trying to use my ethnicity, politics, any and everything to use as an excuse. And I told another friend of mine about him and I won't say his or her name, I won't say her name, but yeah, I told a friend of mine about Dr. Angry Bird and fun fact, I actually, I find it funny that she said that Dr. Ankerberg is demon possessed and I'm like thinking, that explains all the dreams I had about him.
0:10:54
Like, I kid you not, I woke up trying to defend, defending myself cause he was about to fight me.
0:10:59
That's crazy.
0:11:00
Yeah, and I'm like, that makes perfect sense. Like I felt, like the thought came to me that he was sent by the enemy, but I didn't want to believe it. But I pray that he gets saved one day instead of like, continues with his stubborn habit because the last thing I want is for him to, the last thing I want for him is to spend eternity without God.
0:11:22
That's another thing people misunderstand about us Christians. We don't want to see anyone suffer.
0:11:28
Right, we don't. And I think the bigger picture is this. A lot of people come to us and say, oh you're so hateful, you're so... I had somebody that came to me earlier like and I'll get real with you There was somebody there's somebody that I'm talking to and so she's like I have this friend And so I'm like celebrating like his birthday you feel me he has these Egos a certain way that you know is not natural To like what God has and I she was like I don't know how you feel about that
0:11:53
And so I just told her I said look like honestly like I know what like deep down inside me personally I didn't tell her this but deep down inside, I know what we know as Christians, but as far as being loving and caring to other people, no matter who they are, it's much more important because God did the same thing. It didn't matter who that person is or what they believed in and stuff like that. The more you start to love on people, the more you start to love on people the right
0:12:23
way, because yes, we can love on people. Yes, we can't love people loving people The right way is definitely the best way in order the godly way in order to really reach out to people and to tell people About curse and that's what I love about inner varsity because we do the same thing. It doesn't matter who you know We are I've heard so many stories that I've never really honestly heard before that really got me to shift my thinking about what? Fellowship really actually is. It's much bigger than, it's bigger than, like, it's bigger than black and white. So, you know, that's something interesting that I found.
0:12:58
Yeah, we, it's our, it's our duty as Christians to love anyone, like everyone who, whoever they are, especially, like, how do you, how do people expect to like, if they're constantly condemning someone. So let me use, let me use, what can I use as an example? Oh, Apple and Android.
0:13:18
So yeah, that's what I tend to stick with when I try to be neutral at something. So if you look at the, if you have an iPhone and you look at the back of it, if you don't have a cover on it, it has a half bitten apple.
0:13:33
I believe that's like from the book of Genesis or something when Adam and Eve they bit the fruit I don't know exactly where that came from but It's that's like saying an Android like Android users telling Apple Oh, no, you're going that hell because you have an iPhone you support that have bitten Apple But oh, yeah, no, that's not true You the only way you can get to heaven and the only way according to the Bible not my words not
0:14:04
Jojo's words not any church's words the Bible John chapter 3 16 for God's love the world gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life yeah you have to accept and believe in Jesus Christ that he died on the cross for your past present and future sins you can't get that you can't get there on your own no matter how hard you try because Matthew 7 there's a verse that says not everyone who says to me Lord Lord will enter the kingdom of
0:14:33
heaven right and that that would apply to someone who trusts in their works that to save them yeah we can't we can't save ourselves and we can't even we can't lose our salvation either Romans 8 1 there's therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus that is true and I think that the bigger part,
0:14:51
the bigger picture is this, like, we've been reading, I know we've been reading John and the diversity today, and I wanna get into that if we have time. It's not gonna be a little, it's gonna be a little bit. We read about the woman in the well,
0:15:06
or when Jesus went to the woman that was at the well and so everybody was like, yo, like, what you mean? You trying to holler at the girl? No, but let's be real, like, back in the Old Testament days, they actually used to do that. They like, in order to find a wife, they would usually find the females at the water well,
0:15:21
because they would get water at night. This time it was broad daylight. Jesus was like, hey, he needed a drink. So he asked the woman for a drink. The lady's like, you're a Jew, and I'm a Gentile. You think I'm gonna give you a drink? And then Jesus is like, if you knew that the Lord your God was here asking you for a drink then you would do it. And so, then the lady starts asking questions about what do you mean, like who is this, like what is this living water?
0:15:46
She's like, and so Jesus is like, you know, everyone who drinks the living water will never be thirsty again, you know? And I was just like reading that and stuff like that and so like when it comes to the, when it comes to the gospel, Jesus, Jesus does things in a very simple way. He's a very simple person, very simple God. God is so simple to the point where I just get mad and I'm like, bro, why are you so simple? I'm going through something
0:16:08
and I'm scared. Pray. You feel me? It's like that. For me, I looked at that. He just said the gospel right there. Those who drink from living water, the living water does not have to drink or not have to feel thirsty ever again. Or later down when it says, there will be a time, he tells the lady,
0:16:31
there will be a time where you guys will worship me. And there'll be a time where you guys will recognize who I am. Like he's saying the gospel and he's pouring out to this woman and then she's reaping the benefits.
0:16:43
And then she goes, and after believing and hearing that, she goes and tells other people. That's the biggest thing that I've heard today that's been impacting me. Because when you talk about the Bible
0:16:58
and you talk about the gospel and spreading it, that is the main purpose of what this is, the main gist.
0:17:06
So you might have touched on this a little bit, but were there any situations where you felt like the oddball on campus as a believer?
0:17:18
Uh, well, yeah. I mean, I, like I said, I am a musician. So like a lot of people, a lot of people definitely. And here's the one thing that's weird about me is that I, I am a type of person that apparently, you know how when Isaac was about to like die and Abraham was about to sacrifice his son and then God sent a ram in the bush. For some reason sometimes I kind of feel like God is using me in a way to be a ram in the bush for other people. I talk to a lot of musicians. They do a lot of secular music.
0:17:51
I don't really do secular music. I've been trying to figure out like what makes a song secular. Okay, they cuss, they talk about women disrespectfully, they talk about doing drugs. All that type of stuff. You know? I talk to a lot of like, I talk to a lot of like, um, artists.
0:18:11
And so, one that I'm really honestly like, you know, friends and cool with, Sean The Silent. He's, you know, really trying to tap in with God. And, you know, just being there with him and his friends, I just feel like, you know, the Holy Spirit, I pray for the homies like that. I pray for people like that because I really want to let the Holy Spirit work. So the challenge for me would be,
0:18:34
or, you know, the odd one out for me, the situation would be the fact that I'm an artist that doesn't really run with the crowd. I'm somebody who is really different, a different breed. I've always been like that since I was a kid a different breed indeed And we all are and we are like that for a reason and you know, that's just the beauty of it
0:18:58
You know, I mean, so yeah
0:19:00
I was the same way for a while when I was I kid you not there was a point in my life where I was Trying to get into modern-day hip-hop. I think it was I think back in 2012 ish 2013 but I was like I gotta stop listening to old school music. I wanna I gotta I gotta go with the flow. I gotta jump on that bandwagon, but I couldn't Like there was something in me that I I couldn't even do it. I had to be the Holy Spirit because The majority of songs were just like about like drugs and all that and I'm just I'm not saying I'm not saying we're better because those people, they need Christ too.
0:19:39
Oh yeah, for sure.
0:19:40
And James 2, 10, I bring it up a couple times, for whosoever keepeth the whole law and yet offendeth in one point, he is guilty of all. So if you've lied, you stole, you did this and then that, you did it all. Right. And that's what a lot of people don't understand. And I'm, yeah, it had to have been the Holy Spirit.
0:19:58
Oh wow.
0:19:59
So, were there times where you felt like your faith was being tested?
0:20:03
You know, yes, even now. My faith is always being tested. I read the book of James. James is a really good book. You know, one thing is that, like I'm learning now, you know, you, what is it?
0:20:16
You, like be hearers of the word and not doers. Like if you just hear the word and don't do it, you're looking at yourself in a mirror and forgetting what you look like as soon as you walk away. That's James 1 23. My faith has been tested a lot of times, but we are always encouraged to stay stand fast, have our armor of God on us at all times, and be willing to suffer because we are going to be
0:20:39
suffering. We're going to suffer and take hits, but it matters about how you come about it, you know, because the Lord could have like, really, when Jesus was getting tempted by Satan, you know, he could have, you know, gave in, but he didn't. Obviously he wasn't because he's God, but a lot of people kind of take the human away from Jesus. And sometimes, like, I don't like it
0:21:02
when they take the human away from Jesus because he is 100% human and 100% God. I repeat, and 100% God.
0:21:09
Amen, amen.
0:21:10
Like, you feel me? Yeah. They take the human part away from Jesus. So I don't like that because he has had feelings. But the one thing that he has stood, like has stayed, like you know, steadfast on was the fact that obviously he's 100% God.
0:21:25
And he's here to like, you know, to a mission. He's on a mission and he saved us and he's continuing to save people. So yes, of course my faith is being tested all the time, you know.
0:21:35
So have you ever shared the gospel with any non-believers on campus?
0:21:38
You know, that's very funny. Today I actually did, in an interesting way. I posted a video of a freestyle that I did yesterday. It was a freestyle, we was in a studio and we was like rapping and stuff like that. And then, it was something he said about like, he said, one of my homies, Sean, he said like, yeah, we would go ahead and say like, pull up on your block, and he said, give you a Bible so you
0:22:03
can read it. And then I just said, I got Jesus with me. And I just kept saying that. And then along the lines, I just started saying, you know what, I quoted John. It's on my IG if you want to look at it. It's a very good thing to really honestly see, because when you're freestyling and having
0:22:21
fun and talking about God, you never know what might happen. You might never know if you make it here or something like that. I sent a song to somebody that was a Christian R&B song, and I just wanted to go ahead and show him that, you know what I'm saying? And just say, look, you know, God loves you or, you know, God loved the world so much that he gave his only son for you so that
0:22:39
if you may believe, you may not be in, you won't be so that you'll have eternal life, so that you won't be in total damnation. You feel me? So, yes, it's funny how you asked me that, because I did actually. So I thank God that I was able to have the opportunity to even still do it to this day.
0:22:58
How would you encourage someone who doesn't identify with the Christian faith or has experienced church hurt to come to Christ or to at least consider him as Lord and Savior?
0:23:07
I think of the verse, you are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world. If you're the salt of the earth, and if you lose your flavor, that's one thing I think of. You know, there's so many people who just need positive people around. You never know, you might get touched.
0:23:24
Somebody might get touched in a very, in a way that only God can only touch somebody. You need, like we all need to be lights of the world and salt of the earth for people and just be able to just, you know, just be loving and be hospitable with people, you know? That's one thing that I really do feel like would encourage people, you know? And then after that, if they also do have questions,
0:23:45
just say, come and see.
0:23:47
Simple as that.
0:23:48
Just say, come and see, because a lot of people, you know, I realize a lot of people kind of get a little bit too complicated when it comes to like, oh yeah, you should come to church with me. Would you be down?
0:23:56
Bro, like if you really want to know, bro, just come and see, because that's literally what if you read the first book if you read know if you read the first um like if you read the first chapters 1 2 of John or the first one of John like that's it bro all they said was come and see for yourself if you want to experience happiness come
0:24:21
and see, bro. It's really not that, you know, it's not that difficult. It's not that complicated.
0:24:35
All right, so given what you just said about like coming to see, how important would you say it is for someone to be a part of a Christian group on campus? At least someone who identifies with the faith.
0:24:47
It's important. It's always good to have wise counsel. Bad company corrupts good character. That's a verse in the Bible. It's somewhere. I forgot the actual joint.
0:24:55
But bad company corrupts good character. You're not going to be strong by yourself. You need people. You need people. One, you need God, but you need wise counsel. You're not strong by yourself.
0:25:08
Until you grow your faith, that's when your faith, like your faith shield has to be protecting you. So when you have a dark coming your way, you know, you'll know exactly what it is. You're gonna need a community of people to back you up, to teach you the word of God through anything. You're gonna need people to talk up,
0:25:27
like if you have questions, meaning like life or anything like that, you're gonna need that community of people. Cause trust me, I felt like I could, there was a time where I was alone and I needed to go ahead and just get fed from God first.
0:25:41
And then that's how God led me to you all. And then that's how I started meeting everybody else. And then that's when God led me to other people who did not know Christ. It's very, very interesting because a lot of people are, it's just a very interesting thing to see, you know?
0:25:57
Because a lot of people think it's like a complicated, you know, thing where it's like, how do I even get involved or
0:26:05
God will lead you there. Awesome man so uh we're kind of we're kind of winding
0:26:11
down so where can people find you? Where could people find me at? Instagram I am Korts. I-A-M-K-O-R-T-S. You can also find me at the innerversity table in the free speech area because I like talking to people in person. Uh, I prefer that over text. So yeah, that's pretty much it though. Yeah, that's it bro.
0:26:32
Alrighty, and of course you can follow me on blackball.777productions on Instagram and thank you so much for tuning in. Black Balls Gotta Bounce. so
0:26:50
so so so Bye!
Transcribed with Cockatoo