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I am North Cities

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:31:00 -0400

I am North Cities

I am North Cities is a statement that can be a representation on so many different levels and it can also have a large variety of meanings, but in the end it all equals one thing, "I am North Cities." What is important is that you discover your own meaning to the saying. Some look at "I am North Cities" and immediately think "what in the world" or "cocky." I understand where these thoughts can come from, however it is way off of the true definition of this meaning and the failure to correctly communicate that is what has driven me to write this blog to clear the air up.

As already stated, "I am North Cities" can have a variety of different meanings, but please discover what it means to you.

In an organization, a family, or even a church you will find a number of different people, doing a number of different things. Each thing that each person does will effect the group as a whole in some way. Due to the fact that we are talking about North Cities, which happens to be my church, lets take a look at the church side of it. In a church you have tons of different people, and tons of different positions. One church can have apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, ushers, musicians, sound people, video people, maintenance people, cleaning people, prayer warriors, and so much more. These are titles or positions that are held at the church, but when you walk through the grocery store or you're on vacation, you are just another person and no one really knows you, so now you don't have to live up to the expectation of whatever your title may be at church. HOWEVER, if you're motto is "I am North Cities" (or whatever you would like to put in place of North Cities) then you will live with that integrity and commitment to the things your pastor and ministry team teach, no matter where you may be located.

"I am North Cities" is not just saying I am this or that at North Cities UPC in Garland, Texas - Pastor D. G. Hargrove.

"I am North Cities" is taking ownership of your church. Sure it is God's house, but we as saints are here to keep the church presentable and I believe we should.

"I am North Cities" is saying that when I am walking alone through the sanctuary and there is trash on the ground, I pick it up and throw it away. No one is watching, no one would ever know, but you still pick it up because it needs to be done.

"I am North Cities" is representing my pastor, ministry team, church, and God to the best of my ability no matter where I am, no matter if I think some one knows me or not, I represent them regardless, because I am not just a Christian when I am at church, but I am a Christian everywhere I go. What if I am rude to someone and they come to my church the following Sunday and see me there and feel uncomfortable because I didn't act like a Christian that one time. What if someone sees me in public living a certain way that my pastor teaches against and then they try and develop a relationship with God at my church and become confused because of that one time they saw me living another life.

"I am North Cities" is going out into the rain and pulling an elderly person's car up to the door so they don't have to venture out into the weather.

"I am North Cities" is not just being a member of a church, it is being a representation of Jesus to someone else in life.

"I am North Cities" is not about a following a certain religion, but it's about having a relationship with God.

It's not the time to be scared about the things of God. It's the time to stop hiding from what we believe when the church folk aren't around. Stop being like the brothers of David and hiding in your fox hole anytime you see the enemy or hear his voice. But be like David and say, "I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand..."

You see its not time to blend in with the crowd, but it is time to stand tall and proclaim - "I am North Cities"

Stop being embarrassed!! Wear it loud and proud - "I am North Cities"

When you're at church - "I am North Cities"

When you're at the mall - "I am North Cities"

When your friends try to gossip to ya - "I am North Cities"

When you have the chance to do things out of Christian character - "I am North Cities"

So proclaim it with me! Put it on your MySpace or FaceBook status, take it to the mall, put it everywhere!

I am North Cities... Are you?

Ministry

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 15:36:00 -0500

Ministry...

is giving when you feel like keeping
is praying for other when you need to be prayed for
is feeding others when your own soul is hungry
is living truth before people even when you can't see results
is hurting with people even when your own hurt cant be spoken
is keeping your word even when it is not convenient
is being faithful when your flesh wants to run away
is continuing to climb the hill when the weight of the world is on your shoulders

Drink Up

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:29:00 -0500

Me and 2 of the guys were sitting in Cheddars for lunch. (one of our favorite, cheap spots to hit up for lunch or dinner) And our waiter was so rude!! haha. It was almost like that thing in high school when the guy steals the girl from the other guy sort of thing. Anyway, we were just talking about how weird it was with this guy and for some reason he kept bringing us refills!! All three of us had water and within 15 minutes of being seated we had 3 glasses of water each!! We were cracking up because it was crazy that he would bring us refills when we only had taken one or two drinks out of the previous glass and to top it all off he wasn't taking our other glasses. So now we have 9 glasses of water on the table and 6 of them are basically full... One of the guys took a picture with his phone.

Now typically I don't talk bad about getting too many refills and my intentions aren't to complain. But with the fact of him being rude and being amazing at keeping our thirst quenched, this was a very rare combo.

So we get back to the office and I had forgotten about all the water's we had on the table when all the sudden.. I had a thought about them. It was simply, "You know those water's are exactly how blessings from God are." I sat and pondered on it for a while and I understand where that thought would come from.

Many times in life we don't understand what God is doing. We wonder why He is being so mean to us!! Why can't he just give me what I want and need!! When in fact He would love to bless us with everything we want and need in life, but He cant. Jesus told a story once about a man who was going out of town and he gathered his servants around and gave them talents according to their abilities. The man that was given 5 talents turned them into 10 talents. The man that was given 2 talents turned them into 4. The man that was given 1 talent went and hid his talent. When the man returned he gathered them together to see what they did with their talents. The man that had 5 was blessed for turning his 5 into 10 and the man that was given 2 talents was also blessed for adding to his talents. However, the man that took his one talent and hid it was not blessed and was cursed and cast out.

God wants us to develop the talents in front of us before He blesses us with more things. He wants to bless us with more things, but he will what until we make our move. The waiter was like God in the sense of saying DRINK UP!! I HAVE SOOOO MUCH MORE FOR YOU!

Are you developing the talents God has placed in front of you?? Try it and watch how that trouble you are facing works itself out.

how does your museum look?

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 11:51:00 -0500

Often times art is wacky or cool or even somewhat strange. The pictures have a meaning to you at first glance and will more than likely change once you study it for a while. But even after you study it, the artist has a meaning that you never saw or thought about! It can leave you in awe, because you were so oblivious of what was really happening in the picture.

Their is a quote that everyone has heard and it is "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". If this is true, and I believe it is, does this mean that we can control the status of our life? Does this mean that we control the message people get about us? If we paint the picture that "everyone hates me and nobody loves me" that is how people will see us. If we paint the picture that "we will work and do whatever it takes to succeed spiritually and in life" then that is how people will see us.

But how bout we go to the artist of our lives - God. God has a plan in place that we all have the chance to choose. God created us and we can choose our own way through life and we can paint our own picture. So we can be a beautiful painting that every museum wants in there archive or we can be a dark and unattractive painting that wouldn't sell on eBay.

Take a look at this picture... Figure it out.. What does it mean to you? Don't let my opinion change your opinion... I would like to know what you see

What this picture says to me is that this young man is on the road of life and he is choosing paths in life and making day to day decisions. If we could see behind this guy that is staring into blank canvases you would see pictures of life decisions. Maybe a painting of a child cheating on a test, maybe a young boy venturing onto a website that he shouldn't be on, maybe a young teen smoking pot... or maybe it is a child praying with his parents, maybe a young boy studying the Bible or maybe even a young man praying for his friends or standing up and being a positive example at his high school. You cant go back and change the painted pictures, but you can choose what the next canvases will look like.

Let me know what you see in this picture. Just ponder on one question that you don't have to answer... What kind of paintings would people see if they walked through the museum of your life?

Dating Principles

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:18:00 -0500

I am just sitting here in my cube at the Endtime Headquarters preparing for EYC Radio Live (4:30pm CST..haha..quick plug for the show) anywho... I am sitting here and just got off the phone with a person that is a young married and I was asked a question about a friend of mine and it sparked my desire to tell everyone about my personal dating principles. Obviously, everyone wont agree with my listing, but I feel from my studies over the years of marriages and relationships and just being observant, that my personal dating principles can probably be corrected in certain areas, but they still hold a good formula for a healthy, morally correct relationship. I will not cover all of my dating principles, but a number of them.

Here we go!!

I would first like you to imagine with me walking through your local park, city, or mall, and as we tend to do now days, rushing to get to the next thing that we are doing. When suddenly, as you are walking quickly through the crowd, there is an elderly couple holding hands and walking slowly and blocking the way for you to get away from the crowd. This couple is having the time of there life!! Why? Because they are together. They sit down on the bench and the old man helps the woman adjust her coat so it is comfy while they rest and the woman licks her thumb and wipes off the smudge on the mans face from lunch. And they sit on the bench holding hands and gazing into each other's eyes acting more in-love than they were on there wedding day. Why is this? How is this possible? They have been married for 40 years, surely they're sick of each by now... I believe it starts with being morally correct in the beginning of there relationship and throughout there time of dating.

Typically, when you find a couple that goes too far and ends up getting married simply because a baby is on the way, you find a couple that is very unhappy. But the couple that WILL NOT allow themselves to fall to the lust of the flesh ends up being happy. (Obviously this is not always the case, but generally the chances of having a happy and healthy relationship go up when you choose to hold off on sexual pleasures until you're married.)

So what do you have to do in the beginning to make the correct decisions morally? You MUST MUST MUST know where you stand and commit to someone that you will hold your ground! Find a person that will hold you accountable. And more importantly compare what you stand for with the Bible and make sure you line up with God's Word.

So now I am really going to tell you what I tell a girl when the time is right!!haha (took me long enough)

REMEMBER!! This is only when the time is right. Don't just spring your stance on someone out of the blue. They may not be ready to talk about this and you WILL scare them off. lol. (I may have done it a time a two... but I wont say one way or the other..hahaha)

Principle #1: When the wheels of the car stop rolling...get out.

This does not mean at a stop sign (yes the wheels are supposed to stop at a stop sign..lol) or at a red light. When you take her home or when he takes you home, don't stay in the car because if you really want to do the right thing thats not a way to start. Something will eventually happen. it may not be on the first time or the 23rd, but one day it will.

Principle #2: I will not hold your hand until I am committed to you, mentally and in life. Yea yea yea...laugh it up, make fun..lol.. But I cant allow myself to take that step, because whether you are man or woman enough to admit it yet, it does do something inside. It creates feelings and will eventually lead to the next step, which is kissing. So that leads to Rule #3..

Principle #3: I WILL NOT kiss you until I consider you "wife material" and until I am committed to you fully.

Now you are probably really laughing it up... But again, this will lead to the next step. And don't go and try to say that you wont allow it to go further.... WAKE UP!! Everyone around you has told you that you cant stop it. Once you kiss and do it regularly it WILL lead to making out, and then making out will lead to heavy petting, and the process will go as far as it may. You are not the master yoda of sexual pleasures. Once you go down that road it wont please your personal desires and you will look back on how you used to get nervous when your hands accidently touched each other and think how in the world did I get this far. It's because you didn't stop the thing when it was small. Song of Solomon 2:15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes. David also speaks of little lions destroying the land. David and Solomon understood that if they didn't end something when it was small it would grow to be big. It is the same way with sexual pleasure, cut em off in the beginning and you will profit from it in the long run...

Principle #4: I will not be alone with you in a house, or an isolated room.

I don't care how many principles I have to not do this or that, I do not trust my flesh and I want to keep it in check!! One way to not allow sexual things to happen is to not allow yourself to be alone with that girl or guy.

So these are just a few principles I hold close to me and I can not budge on them because I believe it can cause me to fall. I have had relationships where I did not have these principles established and I made mistakes. I don't want to go back there. I want a wholesome relationship that is acceptable in the eyes of God.

So I hope this can be a blessing to someone!! Feel free to comment below...

God Bless yall

~Vince

Currently Reading:
THE 10 COMMANDMENTS OF DATING
BEN YOUNG AND SAM ADAMS
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