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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

Monday, March 19, 2012

Why Sleep Ye?

Last night I had the opportunity to speak at Apostolic Life Tabernacle in Vinita, OK. There was a wonderful presence of the Holy Ghost in the service. We are very excited about what God is doing in Oklahoma as a whole and it's comforting to know that wherever we go we can feel His presence. I felt impressed to speak on "Why sleep ye?". I took my text from Luke 22:45-46 where the disciples were sleeping in the Garden of Gethsemane as Jesus was praying before the betrayal. It seems that Christianity as a whole is asleep in this last hour just like the disciples. We are apathetic to the plight of those around us. We have been lulled to sleep by an enemy who has put us at ease. We are so confident in our salvation that we feel we can get away with anything. We are basically a prayerless society, it is unusual to even see someone bowing their head to ask a blessing over the food in a restaurant. We talk of the fact that it's all about relationship and yet we do nothing to build that relationship. It is time for us to "Rise and Pray" as Jesus instructed the disciples. We must pray, we must find the will of God for each situation that we encounter.
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