Jarrid Wilson Blog

If you don't know Jarrid Wilson is then I ask you to read his blog.

It's full of simple, heart-felt posts that leave you thinking.

 

Today's blog was titled, "Don’t Put Your Trust In A Man Unless He Puts His Trust In God."

 

He called out to Christian women everywhere and challenged us

to seek the man who seeks God's heart.

 

- His main points (seriously, just go read the complete post; it's all good) -

 

1) You can’t put your trust in a man until he can first put his trust in God.

2) A real man opens more than the door; He opens his bible.

3) A real man will lead you closer to God than he will to himself.

 

Wow.

 

Ladies, we all want love.

However we need to know that if God is not the focus in our life or the main focus in the life of our man then the relationship will crumble.

 

I did a bible study many months ago about appealing to the leader in our man.

I think we women are too quick to pick up the role of leader in a relationship.

That's not how it works.

He leads - in spirtual things, in the relationship and in the home.

Appeal to the leader in your man.

Allow him to lead.

If he isn't willing to be the spiritual leader then you need to find someone who is.

 

 I firmly believe Godly men are still out there.

I believe men can rise up as spiritual leaders.

I believe it can happen. Prove me right, guys.

 

"Don't put your trust in a man unless he puts his trust in God."

 

 

Rachel

 



Hope, not Fear

 

Does my life style reflect my hopes?

Do I consciously live each day striving to achieve my dreams?

Do I allow fear to hold me back?

Does laziness limit my choices?

 

Side-note: if you aren't passionate enough to go after it then you never wanted it in the first place.

 

Think about it.

Are you limiting yourself by not making choices that positively impact your dreams?

 

I think Nelson Mandela said it best:

 

"May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears."

 

Live in Hope, not fear.

 

 

 

Rachel



Taking Chances,...

I've been doing some much needed self-evaluation this last month or so.

My realization? I have so much work to do on me.

One thing I realized was this, I don't take enough chances. I just don't.

I sit in my comfortable space where it's familiar and homey.

I watch the world go by and say, "I wish."

Enough of the wishing and watching.

I told a friend the other day that I just lack courage. I fear failure even in the small things. It's easier to never try rather than risk it. I close myself off from adventure, relationships, learning opportunities and chances at happiness simply to avoid the pain of screwing up again or hearing the dreaded,
" I told you so."

And that's wrong. How many memories or relationships have I missed? How many opportunities I have lost? All due to fear of taking a chance.

So this girl is done with all the above... I'm going to start taking more chances in all areas of my life.

Yes, there will be mistakes, there will be pain and heartache, but that's part of taking a chance.
There are no guarantees in the unknown. You have to make the jump in faith and see what happens.

Because like the artsy picture above says, “If you never try, you'll never know."

*Post side-note: I am in no way pardoning poor decision making. Be wise when taking chances.

Rachel

Resolution #897

Confession is good for the soul, right? Okay, here's my confession. -deep breath-

I'm that person who makes new years resolutions and then never follows through with them. I lack drive and if I'm honest with myself, I'm pretty lazy when it comes to meeting my personal goals.

This is what happens:

 

January 1 -" This is THE year! I'm going to go hard and reform! Adios bad habits!"

February 1 - "I can do this. Get it together, RC!" 

March 1 - "Eh, I've got all year,..."

April 1 - "I really need to start working on this,..."

May 1 -  "okay,... I probably start after summer vacation."

June - August 1 - "It's so hot,... I'm just gonna wait until until it's cooler."

September 1 -  " Ugh,... will it ever cool down!?"

October 1 - "Ah,... cooler weather... I'm just gonna sit here and enjoy it."

November 1 - " There is too much going on this holiday season for me to work on me."

December 31 -  looks at Resolution list, "I hate myself."

 

Oh what! like you've never procrastinated a little!!! Stop judging.  LOL!

 

My new year's resolution should just be "STOP WITH THE PROCRASTINATION."

 

But seriously, this year I want to be that person who follows through with their goals. I want to be that person who at the end of the year looks back and checks off their resolutions rather than moving them forward another year.

 

What's the point of having goals(resolutions) if I just sit back and waste tine!?  This new year of 2014 is going to involve more personal committment to me. Perhaps that sounds like a selfish way to put it but that's what needs to happen. I need to work on myself this year. And I think I know just where to start, ... Procrastination.

 

Rachel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2013 Recap

Yes,... I'm still here. It's been a quiet year for me on Blogger but let's face it, no one was holding their breath each day waiting for a blog post from me so I have no regrets in that aspect.

2013

Wow. I can't believe it's nearly over; only five days to go and how many New Year's Resolutions did I meet? That's right. None. I'm not richer, skinner, healthier, tanner, artsier, married and I don't have a dog. I really know how to achieve and meet goals, huh? Let's add "Read the goal meeting/stop procrastinating/inspirational book" to 2014 resolutions.

But overall, 2013 wasn't a horrible year. Let's see,...

• I became an auntie at the end of 2012. I LOVE IT! I spoil precious Baby Kensi each chance I get. She is so cute,smart,precious, lovely and darling ...etc. Oh! you wanted to see a picture of her? Well, here you go! See I told you she was a cutie!

  

  Baby K

• I found a new addiction in 2013 - Pinterest. Y'all... I have planned my future house, pets, wedding, kids, photos, recipes, jobs, Bible reading, etc. It's a problem. Ladies, if you don't have a Pinterest, don't get one. It's a black hole of home decor and wardrobe planning. Major time waster unless you are a "go-getter" who actually does the DIY projects.
• My best friend of nearly 20 years got married.  She was lovely and she got married at a Southern plantation. Um, can we say classy!? How time flies, just yesterday we were meeting for the first time in grade school and now she's married.
• My hobby of photography became a little more profitable this year.  Now, I know my skills are limited (to put it nicely) but I had more people requesting me to take their photos this year and honestly, it was a great feeling. I have so far to go and so much to learn but I'm up to the challenge.
• I got a new job at the Bank. Due to a series of crazy events (which I won't go into) I was hired as an assistant in the Commercial Lending Department. Key music to A Whole New World.  It's completely different and I'm learning so much. I feel overwhelmed some days by it all but it's going to work out. I truly believe God placed me here.

And these things are just a tip of the 2013 iceberg! All in all, it was a good year but between you and me, I have a feeling next year will be even better!



Dreams

Have you ever had a day where you take a moment, a pen and a notebook to simply dream?

Dream of what you want? Dream of where you’d go? Dream of things you would do?

Dreams can encourage and motivate us to better places if we allow them. They can place a drive and passion down deep in us that will propel us further into the plans God has for us. The key is allowing God to use dreams to move us. If we refuse to grow and we remain content with our little sphere of influence and our small responsibilities we will eventually die. We will face the death of creativity, of imagination, of passion and of growth. We will become hardened to any type positive change. We open the doors to bitterness and stagnant thinking.  Dreams keep us alive!

I sat down recently and allowed myself to dream, and then I wrote down the things I want to accomplish.  

1. I want to develop my skills in writing. I want to write something so meaningful that it inspires change. I would love to write a book or article that would be published. My words don’t have to be widely read or known. I just want to reach and influence more people.
 
2. I want to become a better photographer. I want to be able to capture a memory for future generations. Sounds corny, but hey! It’s my dream.  I also believe that photographer would be a great side-job in the future. So by bettering my skills I would be positively impacting my future finances. 
 
3. I want to adopt a child. Those who know me know that adoption is my heartbeat. So many children long for a mom and dad to love them and provide a home for them. I can do that for a child. I can rescue them and change their lives. 
 
4. I want a home – a place where all feel welcome. I have an Aunt who's home is like that. You walk in the doors and immediately feel loved. That’s what a home is supposed to feel like and that’s what I would love to provide. 
 
5. I want to provide a retreat for ministers and families. I want to give them a haven to rest in during a tough situation. I want to help them find direction and answers. I want a place where they can stay and be together as a family. I realize that vocational stress can tear at the family unit. I want to help strengthen that unit.

Not sure of how it will all come together but those are a few of my hopeful dreams.

This girl can dream all day long. But there comes a time when you have to get up and work to achieve the dreams. Dreams are worth nothing unless they are acted upon. Unless you use the inspiration of the dreams to act, the dreams are nothing but vain imaginations, useless and soon forgotten.

So I’m taking steps to act upon my dreams so I can help bring them to life.  Hopefully I have a couple of my dreams checked off by this time next year but if not, I will still hold on and keep them alive. Some dreams take time and may not come to pass in the time-frame that we wish but it doesn’t mean the dream is dead. Keep feeding your dreams. Encourage yourself.  Be prepared to step through doors that will lead you towards your dreams. You never know where God is leading you and what dream He is about to bring to pass. 

Your dreams could be just around the corner. So to paraphrase a popular Journey song, "Don't stop dreaming..."

Hosanna

Matthew 21:8-11
8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:


“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’Hosanna in the highest!”

10 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”
11 So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Since tomorrow is Psalm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week, I had been reading Matthew 21. I finished the passage regarding Jesus' entry into the city of Jerusalem and noticed a footnote in the text. I followed it and the footnote stated this, "In the original Greek text, Hosanna literally translates into phrase 'save me.' " 

I've always been under the assumption Hosanna was a praise but it's not - it's a prayer.

The Jews weren't just worshiping on the original Psalm Sunday - they were crying out to the One they believed could help them.  "Save us, oh Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord. Save us, One who is Highest!"

 If only they would have realized that was exactly what He was coming to do. He was coming to answer the prayers of past, present and future generations. He was coming to Save, to Redeem and to Free us.

"Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29 

Tomorrow morning, on Psalm Sunday, the prayer, "Hosanna - Save Me!" will be rising across the world and it will reach His ears again.  Even 2000 plus years from the cross and resurrection, He is still just a prayer away. He can still hear our cries. And He will still answer and save us.

Hosanna, Jesus. Hosanna.

I will wait - He is Faithful

All of us at one point in time have had to rely on God to provide the answer to out fervent prayers. We pray. We plead. We wait. Then we repeat the process.

God says in His word that the “effectual fervent prayers of the righteous availeth much.” He also said that like any good father, the heavenly Father wouldn’t withhold good things from His children.

Our answers are on the way but we must be willing to patiently wait on God. He promises good to us if we follow and depend upon Him.

The Jews were promised a Savior, a Messiah who would rescue them. They waited for years for the promise to come to pass. They prayed. They pleaded. They waited.

And then one day, a young girl was visited by an angel and was told that she had been chosen to bring the answer to so many prayers. “And she brought forth her firstborn son and laid him in a manager,… And his name was called Jesus.”  

He was faithful to the prayers of His people. He brought them the answer, the Messiah they sought. He brought peace, joy, strength, hope and salvation.  

He will answer our prayers perhaps not in the timing that we wish but the answer will come.  He will fulfill our prayers, our hopes, our dreams, and our promises. He is faithful.

The question is not His faithfulness but our ability to wait on the promises.  Will you still believe and wait on Him if He doesn’t answer your prayer tomorrow? Will you still follow Him if the dream doesn’t occur for years? Can you remain faithful while He creates His answer?

“And I will wait on the LORD,... And I will hope in Him.” Isaiah 8:17

“...Show me the way I should go,  for to You I entrust my life.”  Psalms 143:8 NIV

God, show me the way I should go. Show me the way I should speak, walk, listen, minister, encourage, witness,...show me the way to live.

Show me Your ways, Oh God.

When was the last time you asked Him to show you the way He has ordained for your life? When was the last time you looked at your life actions and measured them against His? And if you were to take your daily life actions from this week and hold them up against His word, would you be found lacking?

His word gives us a measuring stick by which to order our lives. This is why we MUST read, breathe and live His word. It shows us His way.

When we allow His ways to become our ways then we have full confidence in His promises. At that point we know the He will be our Light, our Rock, our Hiding Place and our Salvation.

Are you limiting the promises of God because you fail to allow Him to show you His ways?

“Show me the way I should go, for to You I entrust my life.”

Great and Mighty is our God

Great and Mighty is our God.

HE it is that goes before us.

HE makes a way where there was no way.

HE brings down barriers that block his people.

HE brings gives substance and strength.

HE is a haven in times of stress and pain.

HE is our great fortress, the Rock to which we run.

HE is celebrated and feared by the nations.

HE is great and awesome in power.

HE is our healer and deliverer.

HE is the holy sacrifice for our many sins.

HE is preparing a heavenly place for us.


This God, there is none like him.

HE is Great and Mighty.


"HE is the one you praise; HE is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes."   Deuteronomy 10:21


"... If God is for us, who can be against us?"   Romans 8:31

He is Faithful

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." 

Hebrews 13:8

At all times HE is still the same.

In my times of darkness and pain.

In my times of joy and laughter.

In my times of need and shame

In my times of hope and faith.

At all times HE is still the same.

I take strength in knowing my ever-loving, sin-forgiving, miracle-working, star-breathing God will NEVER change.

We live in a world of constant change and motion.

The world changes. HE does not.

My family changes. HE does not.

My job changes. HE does not.

My friends change. HE does not.

Jesus is still the same.

HE will always be there.

HE is simply a whispered prayer, a brief thought,

a fervent hope away from me.

In a world of chaos, I can fully rely upon this knowledge.

Jesus is still the same, no matter my circumstances,

HE is still the same.



What's new,...

After a rather long hiatus I am back to blogger... I can't promise that I'll be a consistent blogger but I am going to try to get on here more often.

It's been a busy month or more for me. Why? Two words: New job.

I was blessed to have be given a new opportunity at the Bank. I truly enjoy it! Meeting new people constantly, never a dull moment & I'm surrounded by faith-driven people. This position really is a blessing.

But.

With opportunity also comes exhaustion, exhilaration, frustration,

growth, knowledge, responsibility and wisdom.

I have no doubt God placed me in this job for a purpose. I know I am learning much that will aid me in the future. Every time I begin to feel overwhelmed, I have to remind myself that this job is apart of the conditioning process. It's causing me to grow in areas I was "short." 

I keep praying for wisdom to properly use the knowledge I'm gaining.

There really is nothing more tragic than knowledge wasted.

Until next time,...

MOVEMENTS—you sure you want to be a part of one?

I follow the Catalyst Blog and today's post struck home with me. This topic has been on my mind and I wanted to share Dave Gibbons' recent post with you.
Movements are more than temporary hype; they are meant to be a deep-rooted hunger that drives and motivates change.
Enjoy!

MOVEMENTS—you sure you want to be a part of one?


August 27, 2011

Movements.

One thought emerged as I was running the streets of Soho and Mid-town this early morning sparked by a friend a couple days ago as we were discussing the book of Acts: radical, city-wide, transforming, supernatural movements are not about our innovative, nicely packaged strategies and slick nomenclature. Perhaps not even our publicly bold, loud proclamations or initiatives. They are quietly accomplished by loving people who plant, unseen seeds of revolution in the fertile soil of poverty, suffering, chaos. They regularly water this soil with their own blood.

Death always precedes the true resurrection of a city. Rarely, does one talk about the martyrdom of Stephen being part of a strategic move of God in the transformation of Ephesus. It's not as sexy.

God, how must I die today? Maybe it's apologizing to those I've hurt or seeking human intersection beyond a digital screen. Maybe it means dying to material desires or my culture's idea of success? Maybe it means cleaning that elderly person's house down the street or buying a week's worth of groceries for her? Perhaps I need to share our home with another family or a group of singles and really do "small groups" like it was meant to be done.

Maybe the boldness is not done as much in public today but in a quiet sanctum in the city, one-on-one, prostrate before our God, alone with Him, basking in His luminous grace, grateful for the abundance in our lives, yet pleading for more miracles in our cities.

Perhaps the movement starts to grow as those who love Jesus really live like they love each other without strings. Movements and miracles happen as a result of the Spirit's initiative and as a result of humble, loving activists responding to His moves not initiating it with audacious talk or loud fanfare. Otherwise, the movement becomes like a singular pop of a firecracker not the roar of a blazing firestorm.

Dave Gibbons, Creative and Cultural Advisor. Author of XEALOTS and award winning book, Monkey and the Fish.

Follow Dave at www.twitter.com/davegibbons and www.XELOT.NET

Take joy in Jonah Days

Ever have a week of Mondays? You know, those weeks where it's Tuesday & it feels like it already should be a Friday? Awful week? Long exhausting days when crawling under a desk & crying sounds like the best option?

That's me.

Monday was a "jonah day."  I was exhausted. Stressed out to the point of making myself sick. Worried about the how's, when's & where's. I could not calm myself down. I tried praying. I tried talking about it.  I tried thinking about it. I tried not thinking about it. Nothing was working. As I drove home at the end of the work day,  I turned down the radio and began to pray. It wasn't a long prayer. It wasn't an authoritive prayer. It was simply a plea to my Heavenly Father.

 "Jesus, I need peace. I need inspiration. I need calm. I need wisdom. I know that it will work out  as You plan but I need help in the meantime."

Done-Simple prayer.  And guess what? I didn't feel instant peace. I didn't become instantly wise concerning the future. But I did feel reassurance that it was all going to work out. And it is...
This morning I woke up, still stressed and still sickly, but as I went through my daily devotional time I read this scripture.

18 When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, LORD, supported me. 19 When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. -Psalms 94:18-19

I can take joy in knowing that HE (my Savior, my Deliverer, my Shelter, my Rock, my Fortress) is watching out for me. When I feel overwhelmed by current events, emotional distress, mental anguish...etc. I can take joy in knowing HE is still there, even during my jonah days.

5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. -Psalms 27:5



God-Based Dreams

   Yesterday I heard someone speak about their biggest dreams and aspirations. I listened as they listed a few of the things they would like to accomplish then I realized all of their dreams were God-based. Based, as in the foundation or source... God was the foundation or the source of each dream. Each goal or aspiration was something God would have to do in or through them. So the speaker started me thinking, what are some God-based dreams in my life? Dreams that I couldn't accomplish but through Him.

1. I want to be a part of a miracle. I don't want glory or recognition but I want to know God used me to perform a miracle.
2. I want to be a part of international revival. I want to be there and see the hundreds receiving the Holy Ghost. I want to see their lives forever changed.
3. I want God to use my words & actions to positively change a life. I want Him to do a work though me and because of that work, change someone else.

I want the humanly impossible to become divinely possible in my life.

Matthew 19:26

 ²⁶ But Jesus looked at them and said to them,

“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

To my Bro,...

   Tomorrow around 11AM my brother, Bryan will leave Arkansas and head down south to Louisiana for a 3 month internship. Yes, it's only three months. Yes, I realize it's only Louisiana, my other home-state, the place I visit monthly. But it's my brother! I'm going to miss him and his cheesy, annoying ways. So this post is dedicated to my brother, Bryan.

Bryan:

Remember that time we climbed the tree next to the house & realized we could swing out onto the roof? Oh, how we would run across the roof desperately trying to get off the roof before Mom & Dad could catch us.

Remember the time Disney hosted some sort of music marathon and the three siblings danced like the crazy fools we are. Dad & Mom captured each move on video camera. I wonder what happened to that video? I'd pay money to see you dancing like a Russian across the living room only to accidentally kick J in the head. Oh, poor J... all the times we picked on her and still do. *fist bump*

Remember the time you found that piece of calf? .... *snicker* Remember Mom's face?

Remember when we called (and occasionally still do) you Chubbers Horatio Verdabelle?

Remember the time I told you Ben-Gay was just the thing to take care of a wicked sunburn? And you believed me? Sorry for laughing during your pain... It's a genetic disorder I inherited from Mom.

Remember the night we stayed up late watching movies (sappy chick movies) and wore facial masks. Poor Dad,... I'm sure we (by we I mean you) concerned him.

Remember that night you walked into my room and sat in the ugly chair and talked for an hour or more about the girl of your dreams, some chick ? See...told 'ja it would work out.

Remember the talks we had regarding my relationships? Thanks for all the advice and for not calling me an idiot. Well, I take that back,... you did call me an idiot. But thanks for listening to me whine about boyz (yes, we said boys with a z).

Remember when I officially asked you to be my future Man of Honor? You cried accepted graciously.

Remember the time you preached for the first time? I cried. I was that proud. And I still get slightly emotional each time you speak because I'm watching you live out your calling and dream. Not too many sisters best friends get to see that happen.

Remember how you came & told me that you were going to apply for the POA Internship? I was (and still am) so happy for you. But I must confess that I was also slightly jealous and sad at the same time. 1) Jealous because you are going off to live your dream in one of my favourite places in the world and 2) because you won't be here,...and I will be lonely.


Thank you Bryan, for being the best big, little brother/best friend any sister could ask for.
I'm excited for you, Beau. Now, have fun at POA and kick tail... well, as much tail as you can kick at a ministry internship...

Love you much,...
-Rae

Hymns

    I love old things. I'm a sucker for flea markets and antique malls. I can't help myself.

Books, clothes, glassware and music... I just love the old (current term is vintage) things.

With all of those things I've mentioned, I also love old hymns.

Those hymns bring back memories of those who have gone on before...

of  Evie Williams and her love of hats,

of Mr. Burrows and his warm smile,

and of a small country church in Clinton, AR.

Those hymns remind me of hot camp meeting nights,

of tambourines and a passionately played piano,

of hand-clapping and toe tapping,

and of bobby pins and liberally used cologne.

The sounds of those hymns recall to mind,

the tinny notes played during the introduction of  "I'll fly away",

the enthusicastic wheezing of an old organ during "Just over in the Gloryland",

and the whole-hearted singing of a congregation during, "At the Cross."

Yes, I love the old hymns.

They feel me with a heavenly hope.

The same hope once felt by the elders of old.

The divine pull towards a home on another shore.

Until that blessed hope is realized, I will continue singing,...

When we all get to heaven,

what a day of rejoicing that will be!

When we all see Jesus,

we'll sing and shout the victory!

Hypocrisy: a lie in action

"Hypocrisy: a lie in action- the legacy of indecency."

No one likes a hypocrite. No one enjoys a two-faced character. No one wants to be lied to.

  Last week I listened as I heard a couple of individuals discuss a person they felt to be a hypocrite.This person professed to be a Christian but acted unchristian. Because of this proven reputation, the person has damaged any chance of successfully influencing those around them. As I listened to their words regarding this particular individual, all I could think was, "God, don't let me ever become like that. Check me if I start to become a hypocrite." 

 In Matthew 23, Jesus talks about the hypocrites during that time and he warns that we need to worry about the "inside of the cup" as well as the outside. I need to worry about my spiritual state rather than what everyone can see.

Matthew 23:1-7

1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5 “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries[a] wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.

Matthew 23:25-26

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

I can't get caught up in acting the part. There can be no acting, just an authentic walk with God. I must be the God-follower I profess to be.  Real. Raw. Authentic.

Abide in the Vine

Hebrews 5:11-14 NIV


11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

This passage was my Thursday Word for the day,... and it's wrecking me. It frightens me because it applies to me. "you no longer try to understand,..." OUCH! Have I stopped searching, learning, yearning after the Word and the Creator of the Word? Am I where God intended me to be in my spiritual growth? Am I still in infancy when I should be in adulthood? Have I stunted my growth?

Last night in Element Service, Michael Cena spoke to us about "abiding in the vine." You are either apart of the Vine or you're not. You can't have it both ways and the Word is plain on what happens to branches that fail to produce the fruit of the Vine.

John 15:5-6

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
I can't allow myself to be stunted. I have to kept growing and nuturing my walk with God. I must grow into the Vine and not allow anything to uproot me. I cannot become useless. I must keep growing... I must keep trying to understand...

Onward and Upwards

 Complacency has been on my mind lately... I see it everywhere I go and quite frankly, it bothers me.

The questions in my mind is this: As an Apostolic Christian, should I feel complacency in any aspect of my life? Should complacency exist in the personal, social, or spiritual areas of my life? Is it okay to feel contentment or self-satisfaction with the who,what, when, and where's of my life? 

Yes, the Word says in Hebrews 13:5 "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  And in Philippians 4:11 "Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:"

Yes, we should be thankfully content with the things divinely given or the state in which we've been divinely placed. Contentment is different from complacency.  Contentment centers around being happy and according to freedictionary.com, complacency is "a feeling of contentment or self-satisfaction, especially when coupled with an unawareness of danger, trouble, or controversy." 

We should be wary of feeling self-satisfied within our life. Self-satisfaction leads to laziness. Read Proverbs, the book is full of what happens to those who are lazy. Proverbs 1:32 "For the turning away of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them."

If we allow it, complacency will destroy us and our walk with God . We need to take on the attitude of Paul in Philippians 3:12-14

12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

If we are still living and breathing, then we have not achieved our divine purpose. We must keep pressing forward towards the "upward call of God."  We must not become complacent in what we possess or where we are. Our life motto must be like the cry in 'The Last Battle', the last of the Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis, "Onward and Upwards,..."