THE CRUCIBLE - by Bill Hernandez

- Prov 17:3 - The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts.

Every situation we are in and every relationship we have the Lord uses as a crucible to draw out two things. One is all the negative fleshly things to expose them that we might let them go. The other is to reveal the gold or the righteousness of God that we have become as it says in 2 Cor 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” He says that in the world we will have tribulation, but to be of good cheer because He has overcome. We are overcomers. In Romans 8:28 it says that He causes all things to work out for good. The good is that our true selves, new selves are being revealed. Our true selves are flowing with the fruits of the Spirit as it says in Gal 5:1, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control...”   The Lord has been preparing us in intimacy with Him for what He is about to do across the whole world. He’s peeling away the old that we would emerge as He has wrought us full of wisdom and holiness because this next move of God will be like no other. It will be several degrees increase of power and anointing above previous outpourings. It’s going to require an ability to walk in our true identity. It will be a genuine walk in our higher selves that’s not legalistic, rule keeping or performing for God. We won’t be able to fake it. It will be natural and second nature to walk in newness of heart, mind and soul. We can’t rush it, but we are encouraged to be proactive with the realities of life that are front of us. We are called upon to chose what our higher selves would and that higher self is Jesus in us. We would do what He would do as new creations. We are currently becoming the perfect landing strip onto which heaven will fall. Our closeness to Him will prevent us from the abuses of past revivals and misguided religious practices. He’s showing me that we are crowning like an infant ready to be birthed or breaking out of the crysalis like a butterfly.   In Galatians 5:1 it says, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” In Colossians 3:1-3 it says, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." We are being called upon to make choices to walk in love with all patience, kindness, forgiveness, selflessness and honor among all other good attitudes and behaviors. This is where peace is. This is the kingdom He lives in and He wants to bring that kingdom to Earth through us.   All that we are going through in every circumstance and relationship is shaping us to shine with His brilliant glory of love for the world. He’s revealing that we are clothed with the new self, the image of Him our Creator. We’re being refined as His ambassadors.   Eph 4:22-24 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.   Romans 8:5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governedby the fleshis death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.

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I'd love for you to take part in blessing our community again this year. I'll be collecting these items at Blazing Fire on July 6, 13th and 20th: (More details coming soon) School Backpacks   -   Crayola Pencils 12 count Crayola Classic Markers 10 count   -   Crayola Crayons 24 count Ticonderoga Pencils (sharpened)   -   Pink Erasers Glue Sticks   -   Boxes of Kleenex Thank you so much! Love, Karena  karenalout@gmail.com

We appreciate your generosity in partnering with Blazing Fire's mission to: Encounter God's transforming presence Enjoy Kingdom life as His family & Equip world changers! In addition to giving on a Saturday night, you can send financial contributions to: Blazing Fire Church, P.O. Box 1599, Pleasanton, CA 94566 You can also give by texting GIVE to 925-293-9387 or by going to www.BlazingFire.org and using the donate button at the bottom of the home page. Or you can use this QR code for PayPal:

A FATHER WHO DOESN'T LOOK FOR WHO'S TO BLAME - by Brent Lokker

Expending our energy trying to discover who is to blame is a wide-spread pursuit in our world. It began with our original parents in the Garden of Eden who were the first to be deceived about the nature of our tenderhearted Father, to the degree that hiding from the Lover of their souls and blaming each other seemed like the best course of action.   Fast forward to Jesus who came to reveal the Father to us because, without any distorted understand of his heavenly Father, he was able to live out for us a perfect representation of the Father’s nature and also to perfectly mirror to us, our most authentic selves.   In John 9, Jesus has a remarkable interaction with a man who was born blind that gives us a clear understanding that our Father has never been in the business of blaming or shaming. After Jesus approached this man, Jesus’ followers ask him, “Who sinned—this man or his parents that he should be born blind?” or quite simply, “Who’s to blame for this?”   You have to understand that in the culture of the day, that was a perfectly legitimate question to ask. It was common for someone blind or maimed in any way to be accused of being cursed, even accompanied by spitting at them as an awful way of outwardly agreeing (I add my agreement to this curse by spitting upon you).   Given only two choices, Jesus’ answer was completely counter-cultural and revolutionary. Or at least it seemed so to his followers because they were part of a culture that bought into the lies about the nature of God that simply weren’t true, and Jesus came to set things straight about his Father and about the kingdom of heaven that we are immersed in. Jesus’ answer was “Neither!” He was conveying, “You’re barking up the wrong tree! You’re looking for blame when there is none. My Father doesn’t curse and he doesn’t blame. I’m here to make things right because that’s my Father’s heart and I only do what I see him doing.” (this is my own interpretation that includes references to things Jesus said on several different occasions about himself and his Father).   Then comes a pivotal statement that has been rendered incorrectly in most translations, based on the Greek (please watch my message for much greater detail). John 9:3 in the NIV (and in most translations) reads: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. But if this is what Jesus actually said, it certainly appears his Father caused this tragedy to happen so that decades later Jesus could come to the rescue. This would fit with a world view that God punishes, so someone must be guilty of sinning, which sets up a troubling dichotomy pits Father and son against each other, pulling in opposit directions with Jesus trying to undo what the Father did.   So what is an accurate rendering of this verse? In the Greek, this verse does not say, “this happened” or “this man was born blind.”  Translators added a verb (“happened”, “born”) to make it fit with their understanding of hina “so that/in order that” which implies a cause and effect. But in this verse hina is an independent clause (no verb is present to be attached to it) which makes it much more accurate to understand hina is stating a command or wish—"Let this be so!”   Putting this all together, the most accurate rendering of this verse is: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned. But let the works of God be revealed in him.”   Or here is John 9:3 in the Mirror translation: “Jesus answered emphatically, ‘His condition has absolutely nothing to do with any sins committed either by himself or his parents. Neither him nor his parents were guilty of sin. This is an opportunity for God’s action (in Christ) to be unveiled in him.’”   So many have stumbled over this verse because it portrayed a Father who Jesus was rescuing us from. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus wasn’t rescuing us from the Father—he was re-introducing us to the genuine heart of our Father that we had been blind to. He was showing us the truth that would set us free to be able to give our hearts willingly to the Author of Love and Grace and Mercy, in whose image and nature we co-live.   To finish the story, Jesus healed the blind man by spitting on the ground and making mud that he placed on his eyes. What the??! Why would Jesus do that? Because, perfectly representing his Father’s heart, Jesus brought the shame and deep wounding of this man who was cursed with spit his entire life, full-circle to fully heal and restore him and to say, “I don’t curse you, I bless you, because your heavenly Father blesses you! I’m here to restore your entire being and to set you free to be your authentic self!”   Friends, you and I are created in this very same nature. We don’t need to expend energy looking for who is to blame. Instead we get to be participants with Jesus in bringing healing and restoration to each and every person created in the glorious image of our Father!

VOLITIONAL LOVE - by Bill Hernandez

The Lord showed me that as we get closer to Him, He opens our eyes to see things as they really are with greater discernment and understanding. Our inner world is transformed and the outside world including people and everyday circumstances comes into focus. As we emerge from a kind of denial, what we perceive around us can bother us, upset us, unsettle us or move us to instant compassion, acts of kindness and thankfulness. Seeing people’s hearts and motives more clearly with newfound understanding and discernment can present challenges for love. Just because we see, doesn’t guarantee we’ll suddenly become loving, kind and accepting. Overcoming our former ways or habits of how we interacted with others and the world requires being proactive in choosing to love, forgive and accept unconditionally also known as Agape. For those who understand psychology, our former construct is overturned by His loving presence and it takes a bit of work to establish a new one or new habits of the heart and mind that reflect Him. In I Cor 13:11 is says, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” Being loved doesn’t necessarily make us loving, but shows us why we ought to choose to love or greatly inspires us to do so. It puts a wind behind our sails. Knowing His love, evokes behaviors and choices to love the unloveable and imperfect. So now we have a choice to forgive what we see and make peace with the world. In this is peace, contentment and certain quietude, the place where He dwells. The Lord chooses to love the cruel, the bitter, the angry and the irregular. The Lord loves the world He created and is filled with unquenchable hope. In Psalm 103:8-10 it says, “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.” He doesn’t condemn, but saves. Aligning ourselves with His heart of unconditional love is powerful to change the world. The challenge to love is to make a decision to choose it and it can often involve longsuffering, not tolerance. It can require determination, conscious effort and selflessness. There may be pain and hardship. Love can be a sacrifice of inconvenience. Remember Him who died on the cross. Loving and forgiving doesn’t guarantee it will change situations, but we remain in love because we care for the relationships like He cares or at least we eventually endeavor to care. It’s not easy sometimes at all and especially when it comes to difficult people, strangers or life circumstances. The impetus to love starts with Him and we can ask Him to help us to walk in it which is our inherited divine quality. We aren’t left alone in our choice to love, forgive and accept, but we and Him together love by His ability and power to care. We and Him together endure. We have to be persistent in pursuing this to overturn old constructs. He showed me that we are kind of like breaking out of a shell, our former selves falling away to reveal the new creation that we are. This transition can be off putting because we’re faced with an inner battle to let go of the broken familiar way of interacting with the world and to flow in the new. We’re surrounded by imperfect people, an imperfect world, imperfect circumstances and He’s calling us to think like Him and do like Him. Loving, forgiving, praying and thankfulness is being in parallel with all of who He is. Stay in that zone and ask Him to bring you into it and keep you in it. Pray then, “Lord, I do love. Help the part that doesn’t.” Love not only applies to people, but also applies to jobs, finances, possessions, health, living situations, politics, the weather, etc., all of which require forgiveness, blessing, compassions, not judgments, anger and curses. It’s an attitude adjustment for the new person we are. It’s actively looking for the silver lining around every cloud. He causes all things to work out for good. We can ask for help for that too. Gal 5:22-25 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit as well. Luke 23:34 – Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”