from my devotional this morning …
What Is the Spirit-Filled Life?
Ephesians 5:18-21
Although God wants every believer to be filled with the Spirit, many Christians are not sure what this means or what it looks like. To help us understand that whatever fills us controls us, Paul cites drunkenness as a negative example of “filling” and tells us to avoid it. Every believer is indwelt by God’s Spirit, but the extent of His rule is determined by the Christian’s freedom to comply.
Think of this as a voluntary choice to surrender your life to the Holy Spirit’s control—in other words, to be sensitive to His leadership and guidance, obedient to His promptings, and dependent upon His strength. The evidence of the Spirit’s control is revealed in a person’s character. Those who have yielded their lives to Christ’s leadership are continually being transformed into His likeness. The degree of surrender determines the level of transformation.
Even though good works and faithful service are a result of being filled with the Spirit, they are not necessarily signs of it. Remember, we are talking about character, not what we do. It’s easier to serve the Lord in some manner than to love the unlovable or be patient with difficult people. But when the Spirit is in charge of our lives, He does through us what we cannot do for ourselves.
Each believer decides who rules his life, by either actively surrendering to Christ or deliberately going his own way. Even those who try to avoid the issue by making no choice at all unknowingly opt for self-rule. The fullness of the Spirit and godly character await those who choose God over self.
For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org.
it’s a new day!
it’s been a while since I’ve actually sat down to write something for this site. part of me feels guilty but another part asks ‘who really cares?’ this past year has been a roller coaster of events/emotions to say the least. so many things to be thankful for. for starters, the birth of my little girl – Olivia Jordan Aplin. what a blessing she has been to Joanna and I. our boys really love having her around too. before Livee – I would have told you that 2 little and very energetic boys was enough for me, but now i can’t imagine NOT having her a part of our family.
there has been a lot of mountain top experiences over this past year – however there have been more ‘valleys’ than I can shake a stick at. (what a terrible saying that is - ‘…..shake a stick at????’ what does that even mean? why would I want to shake a stick at anything?) they say it’s the valleys or ‘dark’ times that build your character and I have to admit – that assessment seems fairly accurate. in spite of everything that has gone on (and continues to go on) – I’ve never felt closer to Jesus than I do right now and for that reason alone, I am thankful.
when you get to a point in your life where everything around you that once felt ’safe’ or ‘trustworthy’ comes crashing down – you will do ANYTHING to hear God’s voice for some understanding and direction – and that’s precisely when He speaks to you. He needs us to get to that point of total and utter reliance on Him before He can really get through to us. I can’t say that I’ve ever experienced God’s voice ‘audibly’ before however, I’ve learned that it’s in ‘His still quiet voice’ that He speaks most often. aligning our priorities according to HIS Will, helps to eliminate the distractions in our life and then we begin to hear Him speak on a regular basis. being in the word of God (that’s “BIBLE” to the lay man) diligently is priority number 1. it is IMPERATIVE that you find yourself reading His Word as often as possible if you want to hear HIM speak. ‘Show me a man/woman who isn’t hearing from God – and I’ll show you a man/woman who isn’t reading their bible.’ I used to think sayings like that were very cliche, but I now hear the validity in them.
ok – so maybe a bit of a tangent from my original thought – however I did feel to share that with y’all merely as some encouragement.
in an attempt to ’shift’ my priorities according to HIS Will, some of the things I enjoy immensely had to take a back seat (at least for a season.) obviously this was the case with ‘the temporary music.’ I’m so grateful for that process and outcome because it has really helped me to focus in on WHY I write, record and play music as well as to WHOM I’m doing it for. in that process these songs that we have been working on have gone through considerable transformation and are FINALLY on the right track. to be honest – most of the songs were written, recorded and ready to show all of you – but they just didn’t feel right. like I said – it all came down to WHY are we creating these songs and WHO are they meant for? I think you’ll find the answer obvious once we do finally release these songs – and my prayer is that they will bless you as much as they have blessed us.
for any of you who have been faithfully following this project (mom & dad) – I thank you for your patience. our goal now is to use this website for many different facets, hopefully all directing our thoughts to the Lord Jesus Christ.
whether it be in writing music, video resources or even just a simple status update or photo blog – our goal is to live life, build meaningful relationships and reflect the image of Jesus Christ to the best of our ability accompanied by His incredible grace and mercy.
peace and love
jamie k. aplin
angele desbois
I promised you guys these songs a while back but we’re actually just finishing them up now.
Give them a listen and let us know what you think. Both songs written by angele desbois/jamie k. aplin
produced & mixed by jamie k …
There’s nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with CHOCOLATE.
Ok when I said that I’ll be posting new stuff once a week/month/etc? I didn’t expect to go as long as I have without posting anything. Let’s just say I lost track of time.
We’ve been working very diligently on the record and it’s coming together NICELY. I’m excited to show you guys and I’m even more excited to start working on the next one. I forgot how enjoyable this process is when it’s your album you’re recording (does that make any sense??)
I’ve also been working with some other local talent. Angele Desbois which I told you about a month or so ago. We’re doing another track for her which should be completed in a weeks time. The other artist is Jen Joyce from Kincardine, ON. I started writing with her over a year ago and we’re excited to get her album moving forward.
Lots of fun things to come in the near future. I also have some new video clips that I will upload very soon. (and by very soon I mean when I get around to it.)
Happy Easter everyone!
Cheers
J
ice ice baby!
Ok so it’s been SUM time now since I last posted anything. My apologizes. The truth of the mater is …. I am SO SICK of winter that I’ve temporarily locked myself in my room protesting not to come out until ALL of the snow is gone. I’m not sure where most of you live, but here in the great white north, we are approaching our 5th month of snow, which can get a tad un-motivating after a while.
Anyway, I’m sure most of you have been sitting on the edge of your seat eagerly awaiting this next post … but let me let you in on a little secret …. I got nothin!
That’s the bad news. THE GOOD NEWS is that we’ve been workin our tails off on this record in hopes of bringing it to completion sooner than expected. Almost all of the tracking for bass and drums have been completed, with appearances by joey and steve (tfk, fm static, the drawing room), francois goudreault (helly kelly), phil j (after the anthems), and many more ‘cats’ that I can’t even mention because you will probably lose your mind.
I will try and get some video up soon in order to keep you in the loop. We also plan on posting 1 or 2 acoustic versions of these songs for your listening pleasure.
So until then …. Keep fit and have fun!
cheers
j
jingle bells – jingle bells – jingle bells palsy.
The rumors are indeed true, I’ve been diagnosed with Bells Palsy for the second time. For those of you who have never heard of Bells Palsy, congratulations – you’re just like the rest of us. For those of you who spent 22 years at medical school – you will know exactly what I’m talking about. Bells palsy is a condition that causes the facial muscles to weaken or become paralyzed. This is caused by trauma to the seventh cranial nerve ………. Well yaaaaa! What else would it be with a name like “bells palsy?”
Some might remember my first stint with it back in July ‘05 while I was on the road with TFK. So here we are 4 years later with the exact same thing. What are the chances of that you ask? Roughly 5% – 9%. Now if you find yourselves wondering “is it permanent?” – let me save you the trouble of ‘googling it’ and tell you right here. No, it is not permanent – it’s temporary …. Whoaaaaa … Crazy how that fits in with the whole theme of this website …….. or DOES it?? Bahm bahm baahmmmmmm!
to be continued …. (ohhh spooky)
cheers
j
i am temporary
This thought popped into my head the other day. We often wrestle with “finding our place” in life and in this world as individuals. Why am I here? What is it that I was uniquely created to do? Everyone asks him or herself this question from time to time and I think the answer changes from time to time. Life is a journey and we were created with intelligence and creativity. I’m sure we are meant to be something unique, but perhaps the path we take is our own choosing. You may feel as though you are stuck in a situation that you had not intended to be in. You may feel as though your precious hours are being devoured by “obligations” or tasks that are not on your list of priorities. Again, I can relate to this mind set, but I’ve recently discovered that obligations are opportunities to the optimist. What does this mean? It means that a negative outlook can diminish the value in something that may very well be an essential detour on the road to your ultimate destination. In other words, if I really want to become a patient man, than I have to learn how to deal with trying circumstances. It is simple in principal and yet so difficult in practice. Life is indeed a journey and my Grandmother assures me that it will go by much faster than I could ever have thought. It’s time to keep things in perspective. It’s time I not only accept that there will be twists, turns, and detours of obligation but rejoice in their existence. These are the very things that will shape and mould me into a seasoned veteran of living and a person of purpose. I have but one shot at the journey of existence and so do you. After all, we are all just t e m p o r a r y .
Search
Archives
- April 2011 (3)
- February 2011 (3)
- October 2010 (1)
- September 2010 (9)
- August 2010 (9)
- July 2010 (6)
- June 2010 (9)
- May 2010 (1)
- December 2009 (2)
- September 2009 (1)
- May 2009 (1)
- April 2009 (3)
- March 2009 (3)
- February 2009 (4)
- January 2009 (8)
