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Introduction

At a time when many Apostolics are 3rd, 4th or even 5th generation, many are losing sight of the landmarks that our previous generations have left us. This eagerness to depart from the things that identify us is not always a lack of love for truth, but is often the result of a lack of adequate teaching. This is reflected in my own life. Being a 4th generation Pentecostal myself, I fell for the "it's only a consecration" philosophy and for a period of time lost my way. It was not due to a lack of love for God, but it was because I had only been taught "The Rules" without ever really learning the reasoning behind them. By the grace of God my wife and I found our way back to fullness of truth and for that we will be eternally grateful. In retrospect we now know that by turning away from our heritage God opened our eyes to see that what before seemed like bonds and burdens was the very thing that brought us back and into deep relationship with Him.


Because of our past experience, God has given us a burden for what we will call Prodigals. The dictionary defines prodigal as a person who spends, or has spent, his or her money or substance with wasteful extravagance. This seems very fitting as many former apostolics are using their God-given talent wastefully. Many fine singers, musicians, and even preachers are using their talents for pursuit of worldly gain rather than to glorify their Creator. We know that everyone is called to be a minister in some capacity and we pray that you will join us in praying for these that have gone astray.


Many days I will simply post the prayer requests that I have received while other days I may be able to post an encouraging scripture or story. To subscribe simply click the RSS subscription button below or simply visit this page to check for updates. Because of other excellent resources for prayer, such as World Network of Prayer (www.wnop.org), I ask that your requests would be limited to lost children of Apostolic parents. I will be accepting prayer requests, praise reports and encouraging stories for entry into the blog. If you or anyone you know is praying for a son or daughter who has wandered or has been led astray, please do not hesitate to send me a prayer request through the comments section below. Comments are not public and only prayer requests, praise reports etc. will be published. In order to maintain anonymity only first names along with the state of residence will be posted on any prayer list.


This blog is a new venture for me entirely and I will apologize in advance for any growing pains we may experience over the next few months. I pray that you will be patient with me as we begin this journey together.


Thank you for taking the time to view this blog. I hope and pray it will be a blessing to you.


For the Kingdom,


Mark Barnes

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Unity!

Over the past few months unity has been a recurring theme in our church services. So I was surprised when in prayer yesterday I felt impressed to speak on it again to the youth class this morning. As I began to work on a lesson for the youth I had trouble coming up with something that seemed different and catching. I searched for something that would capture their attention and I had a strong desire to impress the importance of unity to them.  As I was searching for ideas God suddenly impressed upon me the concept of comparing graphite to diamond. Graphite and diamond are both made completely of carbon atoms.  While Graphite is soft, diamond is the hardest natural substance in existence.  Graphite is black, diamond has no color.  Graphite is commonplace, diamond is rare.   The difference lies in the types of bonds between the individual atoms.  Both substances are completely made of carbon but the graphite is bonded into sheets while the diamond is bonded into crystals.  The sheets of graphite make it easy to slough off the individual layers while the crystalline lattice of the diamond gives strength in all directions. This is much like us, if we separate ourselves into our own small little groups and we do not make connections with others around us we are easily pulled away.  But if we can make connections with others outside of our normal peers we can stand together through whatever trials we may face.  The secret to the diamond structure is the intense heat and pressure that it undergoes during it's formation.  It is the trials and the hard times that solidify our unity.  As we pray for prodigals let's also pray for unity within our families, within our churches and within our organization.

-Mark
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