Monday, September 12, 2011

God As A Father, Jesus As A Brother

Anyone that knows me, knows that I go through a lot with my family. To put it as simple as possible, my step-dad and my brothers hate me. My step-dad hates me because I am a Pentecostal believer and he is Baptist. My brothers hate me because my step-dad hates me. So It's a very tense and stressful household. This fact used to really bother me. I used to cry myself to sleep wanting things to change.

But now, I have come to realize that it doesn't really matter how my family feels. All that matters is how God feels towards me. God is my Father, I need only to please him. God is one that is there for me and provides for all of my needs. God is the one that shows me unconditional love and acceptance.

Also, Jesus is my brother! I can talk to him about anything and he is right there, listening to every word I have to say. :)

God is there for you, and he is available to be anything you need him to be. He able to be you're Parent, Your Companion and Your Friend.

Don't let other people bring you down, remember...You Are A Child Of The Almighty! He will never leave us nor forsake us!!

I know this was short, but I really felt this in my spirit,

I hope it was a blessing,

Much Love,

Drew

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Stepping In-The Anointing of God






This is from a note I posted on Facebook on the 25th of August...


I was really thinking about the Anointing of God on the way home today and God put in my spirit that we can never do anything to its full potential without acknowledging the anointing that we have. We try so hard to make things happen, but when something falls through, we wonder why. Perhaps it's not because it wasn't meant to be, but rather because we didn't acknowledge the anointing that God has given us as believers. 

The Bible says that unto each man is given a measure of faith, the same goes for the anointing of God. Whatever we do, washing dishes, laundry, homework, our Jobs, everything apart from sin carries the anointing of God on it. Not only that, but once we acknowledge the anointing, we are given the Grace we were meant to have to do whatever it is that we are doing. So if acknowledge the anointing on my homework, I receive the Grace I need to carry it through!

This year at school, God told me that I have a brand new anointing on my mind and on my school work. And as I pray that I am able to stay in the anointing, and as I ACKNOWLEDGE the anointing, I have noticed that my attention span is noticeably increased, I am doing my homework, I care more about my grades, and all because I have started to acknowledge the anointing I have been given!

The same goes for uncertainty and fear in something that you have to do, when we tap into that wondrous anointing of God, fear has to flee, it has no hold anymore!! 

The anointing of God brings POWER to the believer...that is what the anointing of God is for. To give power. The Holy Spirit also helps us in this arena! Acts 1:8 in the Amplified Bible reads:
But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth.


I love this verse! And I personally believe that both Acknowledging God AND his Anointing brings about a change introduced by the Holy Spirit and gives us exactly what the verse above tells us he will bring!


I believe whole-heartedly that there are situations in mine and your lives that we could REALLY use a revelation of the Anointing of God in!! 


**If we acknowledge the anointing of God in all we do, then what we do will be anointed for other people**

There is a lot in this note that I didn't already have prepared so I KNOW it's from the Lord :)

Much Love

Drew

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Traces of Grace: Drew's Story

Traces of Grace: Drew's Story: My Name is Drew Barker. I am 19 years old and have been a Christian a little over two years. God has delivered me from so much including: ...

Revive Us Again+My Testimony

This is something that has really been on my heart the past few days, and I figure that it will make a good first blog post :)


There is a song that is almost universally known among Christians who listen to Contemporary Christian Music, that song is called "Hosanna" sang by Brooke Fraser of Hillsong. 


There is a verse in the song that says:


 "I see a generation, rising up to take their place, with selfless faith, selfless faith. I see a near revival, stirring as we pray and seek, we're on our knees, we're on our knees"


I have said this on Facebook a few times, and I am having difficulty impressing upon people what exactly I am feeling. Which I guess is why no one ever responds to it when I mention it. 


What I feel is this: There is a HUGE revival coming to this nation, and it will be through teenagers and young adults like myself that are going to usher it in. A generation that through the sex, drugs and alcohol, will emerge from the ashes with our banners in the air. 


My name is Drew B. I am 19 years old and I am in my second year of college. For obvious reasons, I'm not giving my last name or college. I have been a christian for a little over two years now and I am hoping to one day become a youth evangelist. I am taking advantage of Social Networking such as blogging and YouTube to kick start my ministry and share the greatness of an Almighty, All Powerful, Loving God.  


I have a past that I am not the least bit proud of, but it's there. I was delivered from homosexuality. I don't speak about it a lot, I haven't even mentioned it on YouTube yet, however I feel the time is coming when I will have to. But I don't want people reading this and not know who I really am.  God has delivered me from so much, and it is only by his grace that I am here today. Not even a week before I got saved, I tried to overdose on painkillers. I prayed to God that I wouldn't wake up, and when I did, I felt like a failure. But I am so glad that I was spared and brought out of the rubble that was my life at the time. I was involved heavily with Witchcraft and the Occult, because I wanted to be in control of my life. That led me to being possessed by a Demon that was cast out of me the night I got saved. It's a very, very sticky things to come from the things I have came from, but God is still God through it all...So that is my testimony..now onto the rest of the blog.


There are two definitions of Revival that I really like..
1. An improvement in the condition or strength of something
2.An instance of something becoming popular, active, or important again. 


When you think of Revival, please don't associate it with a for or five day series of sermons from some evangelist. Revival is SO MUCH MORE!! 


The first definition of revival is to improve the condition or strength of something. In this case we are talking about the revival of our Spirits and of our relationship with God. It renews our strength and gives us hope and joy. The Christian life is not easy, it was promised to be the exact opposite. And there are times where we are so tired in the Spirit and are confused and wondering why things are going wrong. I was at this point last night, wondering why I was facing what I was facing. But I started praying and while I was listening to "Hosanna" the verse listed above started and I felt the presence of God. Pure, Raw and Reviving, he revived my Spirit and gave me hope and peace to know that all things are in his hands. So no matter what you are facing, no matter how far you feel you have fallen, you are never too far from God. You can always be Revived :)


The second definition says that Revival is the instance of something becoming important again, or active again. This is where we see the ones who have fallen away from the things of God and those who have turned back and have started to revert back the ways of the world. 
This type of Revival is for those people. When the Holy Spirit gets a hold of them and they repent from their backslidden state. They are revived and God becomes important to them again, they feel their spirits kick into action again, and on back on fire for God. I have also experienced this type of Revival. Even thought I was a Christian, I fell away from God, I went back to my past,to the place I never wanted to go because I felt lonely, forsaken and unloved. But once I turned back to God, I had never experienced such a newness in my spirit or restoration in my walk with God. So if you are reading this, and you have fallen away from God, please turn back to him...He loves you, He wants you to be revived with his Spirit and with his Love.


I think of Revival also as bringing someone back to life after they have flat-lined. God gives us life when we become Christians, he gives life and meaning to this walking corpse and breathes into us the very breath of God...


I hope this post has touched you :)


In Christ,


Drew B.