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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, February 3, 2014

Doubt Not

Faith has been on my mind a lot lately. It seems that I have always had some struggle with faith, but it was not until a recent conversation with a friend that I understood why. This past week our church has been given several sermons about faith, specifically from our Pastor and from a visiting minister. Both of these men are men of great faith, and I have always admired that about them, but it always feels as though I have trouble with faith. The conversation with my friend (also a minister) has helped to enlighten me as to why I have such struggles. I am by nature analytical (my wife would say pessimistic), this causes me to always seek a logical answer for why something does or does not happen. If a prayer is not answered immediately it is easy for me to begin doubting, and I especially doubt myself. I doubt that I've prayed enough, I doubt that I have enough faith, I think that I've done something wrong, I doubt that it was the will of God. 
All of these things come into my mind. The part that is the most puzzling to me though is the fact that I doubt that I have enough faith. This strikes me as the ultimate insult to myself, I believe that God can do anything, I believe that God will do anything, but I doubt that I really believe that. It's a strange thing and it's hard to wrap my head around it all. So I have committed myself to having more faith. So when I was going through my Bible reading the past couple of days Matthew 21:21 stood out to me. This verse is a part of the parable of the fig tree that Jesus cursed. When the disciples noticed that the fig tree had withered so quickly they were shocked and asked Jesus how it had happened. Jesus responded "...if ye have faith, and doubt not..."  Since I am in the middle of such a struggle the words "doubt not" stood out to me. How do you get to the point of not doubting? I'm not sure the best way, but for some "only believe" works, others are more like Thomas. I guess I fit in with those that are more like Thomas, as I continue this journey I am praying that God will open my eyes and give me the faith to believe.
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