Modesty

Something that was on my heart today is modesty. Now I know it's not a topic that's talked a lot about because people don't want to feel like they are being put in bondage when it comes to clothing. My intent is not to condemn anyone. I like to wear beautiful clothing and to look as nice as the next gal. I don't think that we have to be covered from head to foot to be a good witness. However, I do think as Believers we do need to be aware of what we are wearing because not only are to be witnesses to non-believers, but we also want to make sure that we aren't tempting those around us. Let us make sure that is what on the inside of us is speaking louder to the world then what we are portraying on the outside. I read this article that I thought was well written and I encourage you to read it also...

http://missionventureministries.wordpress.com/2012/01/16/what-does-the-bible-say-about-modesty-1timothy-29-10/

Tracy Houston
Kingdom Vizion Christian Center
www.kingdomvizion.org

Realizing God’s Full Potential in Your Life

Mark 4:30-32 (AMP)- And he said, With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use to illustrate and explain it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all seeds upon the earth; Yet after it is sown, it grows up and becomes the greatest of all garden herbs and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air are able to make nests and dwell in its shade.

Here, Jesus is describing how the Kingdom of God should look like in your life. In essence, He is saying that if you profess to have The Kingdom within you, then there should come a time when your “branches” bear fruit and your character mirrors that of Christ, providing rest for the restless and comfort for the weary.

However, for many of us this is not the case. As I was driving into my garage this morning I peeked on our patio and looked at a tree that I have been growing for the past couple of years. Now, I’m no expert gardener or anything, I put a seed in a pot and put it outside. Nonetheless, the seed began to grow and do what God designed it to do. However, over the past couple of months the little sapling has not grown. It’s still alive and doing well, but it’s not growing. The reason that it’s not growing is because I still have it in the same small pot that I started it in. Its root system has no more room to expand.

So, as I was pulling into the garage the Holy Spirit impressed upon me that this is analogous to the spiritual condition of many who have the seed of the Kingdom of God within them. Many of us have ceased the spiritual growth process in Christ. If you take a peek at your life, do you sense that you are not experiencing God’s full potential in your life? Has it been years since you have been excited about your relationship with God? Do you feel that you are not exhibiting the characteristics in the above scripture? When people look at you do they see someone that they can rest in, someone who is nurturing, someone who has a lot to offer spiritually? When they see you do they see The Father?

If you feel that you have stopped growing spiritually, then you probably have. However, just because you have stopped growing doesn’t mean that you are dying. As you see, my tree sapling is still alive and well because the soil is still good and it still receives water and sun. In order to continue to mature and grow The Kingdom of God within you so that you become what you were created to be, your root system needs to expand. God wants you to expand, He wants you to increase in Him, He wants to put you in a bigger “pot.” In order for this to take place we must be willing to be uprooted from our comfort zones and allow God to do whatever He wants.

Just as God commanded Abram to leave his country and leave his father’s house, He wants us to do the same. For many of us He literally wants to take us to a different location like Abram. This is what I experienced when I left my home and comfort zone in Detroit to move to New York where I knew no one. For others, he wants us to symbolically leave that comfort zone. He wants your heart to be willing and ready for an increase, a change in your situation.

This is what we are called to do and become, to mature and grow for the benefit of others. Today, make the choice to expand your root system and leave your comfort zone.
Be blessed!

Pastor Daryle Houston II

Marriage

Marriage is forever not just a passing phase, and we should not treat it so commonly. Like anything in this life worth having, it's going to take hard work, perseverance, good communication, and dying to self-centeredness and selfishness. Men have to learn how to love their wives, this does NOT necessarily come naturally to them. What comes naturally to them is respect. To love means:

-To welcome

-To entertain
-To be fond of
-To love dearly
-To approve of
-To like
-To treat affectionately or kindly
-To befriend
-To show signs of love i.e. to kiss
-To be fond of doing

Women have to learn how to respect their husbands, this does NOT necessarily come naturally to us. What comes naturally to us is love. To respect means to:
 

-To reverence (a feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe; fear mingled with respect and esteem), venerate (revere, respect)
-To treat with deference (A yielding in opinion; submission of judgment to the opinion or judgment of another) or reverential obedience
 

Some of you might not like those definitions but it does not change the fact that they are true. Women have been hard wired to need love and men have been hired wired to need respect. It’s just the way God made us. If we are not giving those things to our spouses then it can damage our relationships and it opens a door for the enemy to enter in.
 

Marriage is designed to get you out of your comfort zone, you will have to learn how to do something that might not come natural to you. It might be one of the hardest things you have to learn how to navigate, but it is the most rewarding. There is nothing in the world that can compare to a spouse that’s been given to you by God. If you surrender and submit yourself to the process of becoming one with your spouse, not only will it make you a better spouse, but it will make you a better person in general.
 

Remember marriage is meant to change you, not your spouse. Let’s shift our focus, no matter hard it has been, off what they have been lacking and onto what we are lacking and need to change within ourselves. God is faithful to do it in and through you if you will allow Him. He is the ONLY one who can save your marriage and turn it around. He is the ONLY one who can merge you and your spouse as one. He is the ONLY one who can bring healing and wholeness and true joy into your marriage. It is never too late for Him…
 

God Bless!
 

Tracy Houston