VENT 101

09/06/2024

V.E.N.T.101 podcast on demand - Vision: To win souls to Christ and help those who know Him by giving them a fresh new perspective on Christian living and reading God’s Word. Mission: To biblically educate people while growing in their Christian walk by answering questions they are...

09/06/2024

Have a question or comment for us? We welcome you to send us a text, thank you! Host- June Bryant, Panelists- Patricia Steen, Antoine Mcfadden, Kenny McClain, Richard Shaw, Bishop Von Smith ht...

09/06/2024

Check out this great listen on Audible.com. Have a question or comment for us? We welcome you to send us a text, thank you! Host- June Bryant, Panelists- Patricia Steen, Antoine Mcfadden, Kenny McClain, Richard Shaw, Bishop Von Smith https://www.facebook.com/VENT-101-103416278100472https:.....

09/06/2024

Have a question or comment for us? We welcome you to send us a text, thank you! Host- June Bryant, Panelists- Patricia Steen, Antoine Mcfadden, Kenny McClain, Richard Shaw, Bishop Von Smith ...

09/06/2024

Listen to podcast episode #203 of V.E.N.T.101: ""Confronting Our Convictions cont."" on Pandora - Have a question or comment for us? We welcome you to send us a text, thank you! Host- June Bryant, Panelists- Patricia Steen, Antoine Mcfadden, Kenny McClain, Richard Shaw, Bishop Von Smith htt...

09/06/2024

Have a question or comment for us? We welcome you to send us a text, thank you! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1198385/open_sms] Host- June Bryant, Panelists- Patricia Steen, Antoine Mcfadden, Kenny McClain, Richard Shaw, Bishop Von Smith https://www.facebook.c...

07/06/2024

07/06/2024

Day 4
Liking Jesus/Intimacy and Contentment in a Selfie-Centered World

As long as you keep searching, comparing, and envying what you don’t have, you’ll never have enough. Only when you rely on God and practice gratitude for all he provides will you be able to overcome the dissatisfaction that comes from envy. Envy causes you to resent God’s goodness in other people’s lives and to ignore God’s goodness in your own.

For people always comparing themselves to others—you know, checking their status and updating their profile—every single day brings more trouble. There’s no way for them to see their blessings because the glass is always half-empty. But people who trust God as the source of their happiness have no desire to compare themselves to anyone else. They know that he loves them and remains in charge of their lives, through pleasant circumstances as well as painful ones.

So enjoy what God has given you, instead of longing for what you don’t have. Be thankful for what God has given you, instead of creeping on someone else’s Instagram: “Oh, I wish I had their life!” Guess what? They’re longing for your life in ways you don’t even know about!

Enjoy what you do have rather than desiring what you don’t have.

With Christ’s help, you can win the battle of constantly comparing yourself and envying others. Social media should be a place to see what’s happening in the lives of those you love—not the place to make you envy. Let’s rejoice with those who rejoice. Let’s cultivate gratitude.

Let’s worship our God, not because he gives us everything we want, but because he is worthy of our praise. Let’s worship him because we’ve learned the secret of being content, whether we’re living in plenty or living in want. That secret is that we can do all things through the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who gives us strength.

Because he is all we need, let’s pursue him with our whole hearts.

Only in him will we find true joy and true contentment.

Because only he is life, and only he truly satisfies.

06/06/2024

Day 3
Liking Jesus/Intimacy and Contentment in a Selfie-Centered World

In the pursuit of fulfillment in life, technology and social media allow you to capture every moment along the way. You’re not only on the fast track to success, but you get to show selfies at each lap along the way. Which only confirms how up-to-the-nano-second cool you are.

So get the biggest data plan you can, and collect wi-fi passwords at every stop. Check in at all the cool places. Share every inspirational thought you have, and every joke. Snap lots of pics. Get video clips, too, of course. And never stop uploading the whole show to the Cloud as you go.

Post everything online for the whole world to see. Pile up Likes and Friends and Followers until it’s all just one frenzied blur. Hustle until your real life exceeds your dreams. And finally, once you’ve reached the summit, I can guarantee you this one thing: your longing for more never stops. Like the latest technology, your achievements are outdated overnight.

Why? How could that be possible?

Because you were not created for earth. You were created for eternity. And there is nothing on this earth that can ever satisfy that spiritual longing you feel inside—even if you can collect it all.

Nothing.

When I was a teenager, years before I knew Christ, I would hear people say, “God makes a Christ-shaped void inside every person.” I remember that saying annoying me. I remember not understanding what they were talking about. But then one day I learned for myself why they said it: because it is absolutely true. Nothing outside of a living relationship with Christ can ever fill the emptiness of that ache inside your heart.

Your scavenger hunt for success will never be enough. Christ is what you’re searching for. He is your source. He is your strength. He is your sustainer. He is your joy. He is your contentment. He is your all and all. He’s everything that matters.

When Christ is all you have, you’ll finally realize that Christ is all you need.

Christ. Is. All. You. Need.

05/06/2024

🙏🏼🙏🏼

05/06/2024

Day 2
Liking Jesus/Intimacy and Contentment in a Selfie-Centered World

Never before in history have so many people had so much, yet felt so dissatisfied.

Some sociologists point to technology and social media as significant factors in our constant unhappiness. We are the first people in the history of the world who can peek inside the lives of others in real time. We carry tiny media powerhouses in our pockets that let us voyeuristically follow other people around, through all of their check-ins and pictures and video clips.

And if what we’re seeing in the lives of others seems better, more interesting and more fulfilling than our own lives, we feel like we’re missing out. Of course, that feed we’re watching may not necessarily reflect the whole reality. Most people generally put their best foot forward, showing you only the things they want you to see. Photoshopped and cropped, filtered and edited, what we see online makes our own reality seem dingy and dull.

No wonder we often feel so dissatisfied.

No matter how much we have, it can’t compare to what we need the most.

Perhaps no one has understood this better than the Apostle Paul. When Paul was in a prison in Rome, he wrote about his experiences and what he had learned. He basically said, “I’ve gone without the things that I need before. But I’ve also had times when I had more than enough. Life happens in seasons. I’ve had good seasons where everything was going well, and I’ve had hard ones where nothing went my way. But through them all, I’ve learned that there’s one secret to being content: I can do anything and everything—not by my own power—but through Christ. Jesus gives me the strength to handle anything that comes my way.”

You will always battle with discontentment until you let Christ be all that you need. You can chase after everything you’ve ever wanted and get it all. It won’t be enough.

At the end of the day, every day, you’ll still feel empty.

04/06/2024

🙌🏽🙌🏽 Praise Him Anyhow!!

04/06/2024

Day 1
Liking Jesus/Intimacy and Contentment in a Self Centered World

Most everyone seems to agree that life is getting busier, crazier, and more frantic with each passing day. We’re bombarded by more information than we know how to process—news, ads, commercials, blogs, tweets, music, pics, and more ads. Crazier still is that we have more devices, programs, and apps than ever before to make life easier.

And unquestionably these new innovations help make our lives better. We can text with close friends halfway around the world and let them know we’re praying for them. We can share pictures of our daughter’s birthday party with relatives thousands of miles away. We can check our 401k, order a pizza, or book a hotel at the beach. And yet with all the upsides, these conveniences we “can’t live without” create many unintended problems.

We love technology and all it offers. But we also hate it. We hate our dependence on it and how it causes us to get out of balance with what matters most to us.

Although many factors contribute to why we hate it, I’m convinced it’s mostly because social media makes everything all about us. We’re sucked into measuring our lives by who follows us and how many online friends we have. We want to believe we’re more than the total number of clicks on our last post, but we still check to see how many we have.

Oddly enough, however, the more we focus on ourselves, the less satisfied we feel. And the more we’re consumed with the things of this earth, the more we feel empty on the inside.

The reason is simple. We were created for more—way more. We were not created for earth—but for eternity. We were not created to be liked but to show love. We were not created to draw attention to ourselves but to give glory to God. We were not created to collect followers but to follow Christ.

Social media and technology are great. But it’s time to be honest about our . And to regain control of the amazing tools that technology provides us.

It’s time to put technology back in its place.

It’s time to love God with our whole hearts.

03/06/2024

If you're not a follower of Jesus Christ, then let it ride.

We hear a lot of cursing and searing in the world around us. It seems like it's everywhere - in our entertainment, at work, even around some friends. So with...

03/06/2024

Day 3
Get On My Level

The Reward of Living God’s Way

Life involves experiencing detours, triumphs, and challenges. Just showing up isn't enough. If you really want to achieve God’s level for your life, you must participate in His plan by drawing near, striving for greater, and giving Him your full attention. God doesn’t just call us to draw near for His own benefit. Drawing near to God is a bold lifestyle of victory. It is precisely the nature of the journey and your willingness to continue putting one foot in front of the other to attain God’s level for your life.

Living God’s way isn’t an exercise in rhetoric or religion - it's a path to great reward.

A reward is a prize, an honor, a gift, a blessing. The reward is a confirmation that God always keeps His best reserved for you. As you faithfully obey His instructions and diligently seek him, you receive a triumph in victory. That’s a guarantee. It’s not magic or luck. It’s hope and trust. Your hope in Him is a confident expectation in the promises of God. Your trust in Him says that you will keep your faith working in action. He rewards those who keep trying. He rewards those who never give up.

Nothing is authorized to stop you from obtaining your reward. However, sometimes God demands an act of obedience before He releases a reward. Obedience is a discipline - it's the discipline to live God’s way knowing that His way is a much better choice than anything else. The discipline of obedience calls you to pray, worship and rejoice as His standard requires.

When God sets a level for you, He expects that you obey Him, align with His word, and trust in Him to give you supernatural ability to accomplish what He’s asked of you. It doesn’t really matter what happens in the world. It doesn’t matter what culture tries to create or dictate. It doesn’t even matter if you have let the wrong ideas influence your decisions. The natural realm is no problem for God. The level He has reserved for you still exists. The desires He has for you have not changed. The promise He kept to you has not expired. The breakthrough He has planned is upon arrival. The reward He has for you remains in waiting.

Leveling up - whether in your career, your personal life, or even your spiritual walk - is no longer solely your doing. When God moves in, you are no longer dependent on your own talents, skills, or abilities. What He needs is for you to believe and make yourself available to Him, and when you do so, His power performs what you cannot. The more you abide in God’s Word and in His presence, the more you will hear His voice and become more victorious in every area of life.

Because we are in Christ, the victory is assured. And, so is breakthrough.

Are you ready to experience the rewards of living God’s way?

We can decide that we want to look more like culture, or more like God. Let’s begin living on a God’s level by allowing God to empower us from His heavenly supply and to accomplish infinitely in us more than we might ask or think.

____________________________________

Spend time meditating on these scriptures:

Job 22:28

Amos 9:13-15

Hebrews 11:6

Matthew 25:23

Colossians 3:23-24

Answer these questions and reflect on your answers:

What rewards have you experienced from intentionally living God’s way?
In what ways have you experienced resistance in a breakthrough? How did a victory ultimately show up for you?
What are you believing for God at the moment? In what ways are you preparing to reach His level for you?
Affirm and declare these statements:

Everything I’m bold about God blesses.

I accept the authority to declare victory.

I am divinely favored for the level God has reserved for me.

Pray in petition to God to pursue His will and way.

31/05/2024

Day 2
Get On My Level

Living on God’s Level

When you want to take your life to the next level, you have to assess where you are and determine where you want to go. It’s easy to simply say, “I want to get to the next level,” but it's hard to define what that level is and what is required of you to reach it.

Leveling up in a general sense is about stepping out of your comfort zone to pursue growth and progress toward a specific set of goals no matter what stage of life you may be in. It starts by noticing a deficiency and then shifting your mindset to produce the attitudes and behaviors that will fill up that space. In that process, you are working to improve yourself in areas that will result in success and fulfillment. However, the level God has set for you is one that you don’t get to on your own.

Living on God’s level about relationship. Much less about religion, this relationship with God is more about creating the kind of intimacy with Him that causes you to know when mediocrity has crept in, when you have settled for less, when the standard has been compromised, and when you are living beneath your privilege. This doesn’t mean we cannot honor our individuality and express our uniqueness. God made us all in one-of-a-kind fashion and wants to exhibit the beauty of how he fashioned us. It means you compare His word - that standard - to anything else you believe or practice. And, if you see a disconnect, then it's time for you to level up.

To know His word is to know his standard. It takes understanding His standard, yielding to it, and making it a constant way of life. Making this assessment within yourself requires a personal commitment of honesty, receptiveness, and willingness. As with any relationship, God will not force you to do anything you don't want to do. He will raise you up only if you allow Him to.

God’s level for you will be different than someone else’s. Though we share the same purpose in Christ, we’ve all been designed for different destinies. One thing we do have in common is that our lives do not belong to us. They belong to God. As we grow to know the Lord and follow Him, we seek to become like Him and less like everyone else. Because we are all impacted by cultural standards, these influences affect us in ways we aren’t aware of. As you move about your daily life, it's easy to forget that people qualify God by what they see in you - whether you realize it or not. Living on God’s level should motivate you to maximize the most excellent version of yourself for God’s glory and wholeheartedly push you toward the life He has created just for you. God's standard brings new levels and puts them on display so that others can see the light in you and strive to pursue the level He has for them. His standard creates much of the blueprint for how to live, and as you follow it while growing in relationship with Him, your life becomes less influenced by culture and more influenced by Christ.

Give God what matters to him. His standard matters to Him. The level He has set for you matters to Him. He wants you to reach it. He wants you to live a life filled with peace and abundance. He is calling you to live within the standard. He is calling you to do life at His level.

Spend time meditating on these scriptures:

Isaiah 43:19

1 Corinthians 3:9-11

Ephesians 3:20-21

Colossians 3:3

Philippians 2:13

Answer these questions and reflect on your answers:

What is God’s level for your life? What is missing in your life that you believe God has promised you?
How often do you assess yourself? Your thoughts? Your routines? Take a minute to identify where you believe God has more for you than what you have accepted.
In what area do you have a fixed mindset? How much are you willing to change in order to live on God’s level? What ways of yours are you willing to abandon for His ways?
Affirm and declare these statements:

My life belongs to God.

I am in daily pursuit of God’s promises.

I welcome and receive new levels in Christ.

Pray in petition to God to pursue His will and way.

30/05/2024

Day 1
Get On My Level

Setting The Standard

Culture influences everything we do. Culture is, by definition, a way of life. Culture sets the standard for how we live our lives and how we move about in the world. Many times we are stressed, over-committed, uninspired, and pulled in a million directions due to the demands of culture. These demands challenge us to seek higher levels in our profession, our finances, our education, and our lifestyle.

Society is often filling our minds with the idea of “leveling up.” With origins from the gaming world, the term “level up” means “to gain enough points in a game to enable a player to go up to a higher level; gaining more skills or strength.” In the area of self-development, leveling up refers to raising or increasing the quality or status of your life, and to improve so as to make oneself better or as good as others.

Over time, too much exposure to cultural influences can hinder our growth and our ability to reach the level God has set for us. This is not to say that culture is bad. Culture is rich and bountiful. It is inspiring and innovative. Through culture, God allows us the space for creativity and community. Culture is necessary. We cannot live without it. But in this day and age when everyone seems to be responding to cultural expectations, it can be more and more difficult to distinguish the standard God has set for our lives.

Is there a way of life that pleases God but doesn't look like what culture dictates and approves? Leveling up outside of God is unachievable unless we make His standard the center of our lives. If we do life culture's way, we blind ourselves to reaching the level God has set for us.

God’s word is what convicts us to His standard. God’s word is the purest and highest standard for every level we are attempting to reach. It is the source. Be honest with yourself about the standard you follow. If we are not careful to follow God’s standard, He will allow us to live on the level we settle for. He gives us free will and is not obligated to level us up in any area of life unless we are pursuing Him fully and totally.

With this in mind, we must understand that God is saying, “I have a level for your life that the world cannot contain or prescribe.”

We can settle for mediocre standards set by culture and put energy into leveling up the world’s way, or we can trust God for better while activating our faith to prove the power that works within us and influence the world to look more like Him.

It's time to reacquaint ourselves with God’s standard. It’s time to reimagine ourselves looking and living like God’s design. It’s time to remind ourselves that we can level up God’s way.

Spend time meditating on these scriptures:

Proverbs 14:12

Isaiah 55:8-9

1 Peter 1:15-16

2 Corinthians 7:1

Philippians 2:5

Answer these questions and reflect on your answers:

What are my standards? Do they align with God’s standards?
Is God solely responsible for my level of progress or success?
Why is it so difficult for us to distinguish the difference between God's way and culture's way?
Affirm and declare these statements:

God’s word is the standard for my life.

I will influence culture through the life I live in Christ.

I am recommitted to living on God’s level.

Pray in petition to God to pursue His will and way.