In the Midst of Uncertainties It's Time to Soar! by By Misha Quezada Blazing Fire Intern

It's been a crazy month. The days seem to fly by faster and faster as the days turn into weeks, which quickly transforms into months. My life is starting to feel like a whirlwind and I'm fighting hard from being swept up in it. I've been using different healthier coping techniques to stay grounded, and I definitely notice the difference as the usual cycle was skipped over, and I've continued to mostly remain leveled. I feel the beating of my heart as I write this. The thoughts try to swirl but I take in a deep breath and let it out. It's amazing how much a moment can make a difference, how one thought released can change it all. I reflect on this past year, and I don't know how I ended up here. How did I come to this moment? I see regrets and triumphs, warnings and success. This isn't where I expected to be, but I feel a sense of relief.

I'm not always good with change. Time is ticking behind every door as I wait to see if it will all explode. Seasons have come and gone, but ahead all I see is twists and turns, each filled with new life and hope, but cautions of misstep. I can't fight for life to remain the same anymore. I realize that I need the change and that power comes in movement. It's weird to be in a state of knowing, but to feel fear creeping in. I don't know what to expect if I move forward. Do I risk letting it all go and turning the corner? There's so much promise in the future, the chance of goals and dreams becoming a reality, but I'm afraid that it could all lead to disappointment. What if I fall backward, no longer able to catch myself? What if I'm not ready to fly?

There's something special in knowing you’re loved. It's what people live for, hope for, die for. I want to love people well. I want to look someone in the eyes, but speak to their spirit the tenderness of love. It breaks my heart to see people who have never felt accepted, never been told they are beautiful. I want to be the one to set them free, but I keep finding it all to be a trap. How do you let someone see reality without being pulled into their world? How do you let people go who want to pull you in instead of stepping out into the light? What if they choose to remain behind the looking glass?

Love is all around. I find it in the peaceful breeze, in the delight of the sun’s rays, in the smile of another's face, the laugh of a baby, the warmth of a hug. The precious moments you have to grasp onto and cherish when all else seems to disappear. There's peace out there if you're just willing to lift your gaze and see the promise that lies ahead. To realize that it's you who holds onto the chains, and that they can't overcome you without your permission. It's about realizing when to let go and to trust the one who sees the truth in it all to take care of the rest.

Our past doesn't have to haunt us. It can become a foothold, a building block of how far you've come and the stepping stone for which you leap from. It's time for new heights. It's time to soar.

Present With Jesus by Katherine Sinnon

I’m sitting in seat 12A on a flight headed to Denver for a long weekend business trip with thoughts going "mach 5" in my head like a bad newsreel that’s on loop. I really hate busyness, honestly. I cry out to God on the plane apologizing for being so busy and get into my usual daily rant of how I want to quit my job, sell my house, sit in a cave somewhere (usually Redding is my default, or sometimes Southeast Asia if I really wanna go “Walter Mitty” on Him) and be with Jesus.

But this morning was a little different. I cried to God and told Him that I was tired and wished I could just be still. I felt far away from Him because I had not “done” anything to get in His presence. In the middle of my crying, this “thing” comes over me. And this sweeet small voice says, “You don’t have to go there. What if I was with you in everything you did? What if you count everything you do as being with Me, because I’m with you… always?" (Matt 28:20)

And then, everything…stopped. No more noise. No more filmstrips of the week’s happenings. And I was brought back to the supernatural grace of God to just be real. I realized in this one instance when I was on the plane, that God doesn’t just all of a sudden change His love or turn it off when I’m not scheduling “formal” quiet times or when I’m on “work mode”.

But then again, neither do I.

I love God. He knows that. If anything, in one quick hour on a plane, not at a 2-day conference, not a 30-day fast (which are both good things, by the way), I realized that my relationship with God has not changed, from His perspective anyways. All the sayings about “if you feel far away from God, it’s because someone moved and it’s not God,” always made me feel guilty but today I realized – I didn’t move. I’m not in sin. I just needed a new way of thinking about His location, and mine. The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth (Ps 145:18). I am seated with Christ in Heavenly Realms (Eph 2:6). He’s inside of me (Col 1:27).

Because He’s in my heart – He feels the effects of busyness and feeling overworked first, before I do. I just got a revelation that every day I can know He is present – not just when I’m at church but when I am busy too. Most of my prayers the past month have been, “I just want to be with you.” When, in reality, I was.

What if I could enjoy His presence at work? What if I could enjoy His presence wherever? Whenever?

I would love to spend 3 hours daily with the Lord before going to work. That doesn’t always happen. I still want that. But what if I realized that He was with me, and I was with Him, all hours of the day, as much as when I was up all night doing reports or trying to meet deadlines? What if my connectedness with Jesus is based onHis omnipresence (not just in my physical or chronological location, but in my emotional and psychological state) and His love? What if I actually believed what His Word says about Hisfeelings towards me, versus how I feel about it?

In no time, I felt close to God again, and the feelings of guilt were gone. I have been way too hard on myself, which has kept me from entering His presence. I can easily just say, “Thank you,” and receive the gift of grace God has given me to work, play, or to be still, in His presence. His grace removes the barriers of our own hearts so that we can run into His presence without shame or hesitation.

The captain’s just told us that it’s snowing in Denver; and this California girl didn’t dress for the party. Looks like I’ll be going with Jesus to the store to buy a new jacket.

(Katherine is a long-time part of the Blazing Fire family, and even more importantly, Abba-Papa-Yahweh's daughter!)

Today is an Exceptionally GOOD Friday! By Pastor Brent

What kind of love would lead a man to willingly die for something that he did not do in order to pay the full price for a debt that was not his?

Jesus was gripped with a deep love for His Father in heaven as well as for a future Bride that would be His perfect match and so, "for the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2)

Are you ready to boast? We are given permission to do so!

"Far be it from me to boast in anything except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, I have been crucified in relation to the world, set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others!" (Galatians 6:14, The Message Bible)

So we can boast in an exceptionally Good Friday that changed our eternal destinies. Because of Jesus' sacrificial death on our behalf...

* We're Loved! (John 3:16; Romans 5:7-8; Galatians 2:20)

* We're Forgiven! (Matthew 26:28; Ephesians 1:7)

* We're Justified! (Romans 3:24; 5:9) Justified means that we have been tried and found NOT GUILTY!! This happened because Jesus took the wrath of God (Galatians 3:13) and He cancelled the legal demands of the law against us (Colossians 2:13-14; Romans 7:4).

* We're Free! (Ephesians 1:7-8)

* We're Holy and Blameless! (Colossians 1:21-22; Jude 24)

* We're Perfect! (Hebrews 10:14)

* We're Healed! (Matthew 8:16-17)

* We Belong to God forever! (Romans 7:4; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

* We're in His Family! (Hebrews 2:11)

* We're Alive Forever With Jesus! (Romans 6:5; 15:55-57; John 11:25-26; 14:3)

Now that's a whole lot of boasting, and it's ALL because of a Savior who first loved us and who says to us, "You are worth it, and if I had it to do all over again, I would do it in a heartbeat!"

Take a moment right now to read at least one of the Bible passages mentioned above and pray through it thanking Jesus for what He willingly did for you.

And please join us this Saturday night (6 p.m.) as we worship our hearts out for this Lover of all lovers! He's SO worth it!!

A Call to Action - Danny Silk's Intern

From Brent: 2 months after Danny Silk's visit to Blazing Fire, are we still allowing the Holy Spirit to teach us how to "Keep our Love On"?

Blazing Fire family, let's keep traveling together deeper into the Father's heart where He will burn away anything that keeps our hearts confused from the truth of who we really are and keeps us divided.

Read this blog "A Call to Action," from one of Danny's interns, and be inspired:

A Call to Action!

I love this whole idea of ‘Keeping your love on”.  It stirs up such emotion and hope, creativity and opportunity in my spirit. I have to admit, that initially it also stirred up some fear and pressure. Some stinking thinking sometimes still gets in my way… thoughts like, “Can I really do this all the time?” “What about when I am mistreated and I am justified in my hurt or anger…what then?” I have found in those moments, it is even more important for me to “Keep my love on”! I am discovering that keeping my love on is one of those things that is more about me than it is my circumstances or others. It is mostly about recognizing how my Father God loves me and then emulating that love.  Emulating it to myself first… then to others.

Danny Silk recently shared, “Our Father God has convinced us that absolutely nothing, NOTHING we do will separate us from His love. Let me say that again…because it bears repeating…nothing, no political belief, no sexual preference, no sin, no demon, no principality; NOTHING will separate us from His love!” That is the heartbeat of God, the heartbeat of love, the heartbeat of who we should be with Christ in us. This is huge! I wonder what my immediate world would look like if I operated with my love turned on all the time.  If I was the best me that showed up in any and every relationship, situation, place and task.  If all of us who say we are Christians operated with this level of love, I imagine we would have strong families, communities, cultures and even nations. Probably ‘World Peace’!

Can you imagine it…’Love on’ everywhere you go, no offense, no judgment, and no condemnation. WOW! I think that is what Jesus wants from us…He wants us to be the light of the world…a light to the world.

When we operate with our love on, we create for others an experience and opportunity for them to encounter Jesus. We begin to create a culture. The Bible speaks to a world of miracles signs and wonders following believers. How is that working for you? You might be thinking here, yep, I’m out doing these things…or maybe it’s nope, I don’t see evidence of that in my life, so am I missing something? Well, I think those miracles signs and wonders are not just the big things like miraculous healings, manifestations of the Spirit or other amazing things that make you wonder about God. I think those miracles; signs and wonders begin at home. They begin with our family and they spread to the people in our daily lives. It is from this place of intimate love that we affect our world for God. The miracles are in the confidence, power and freedom that our children and we feel in our identities within Christ. It is in the signs that we see in behavior and choices as we learn to navigate this thing called life. It comes in our growth towards Him and in sharing His love and Spirit with others. It is a miracle to raise a child in this day and age that knows not only who God is, but who he/she is because of Christ; a child that has a relationship with God, not just an awareness of God.

We are all called to “Go and make disciples of all the nations…” Consider that this call may look different than you imagined. Consider that there are possibly countless ways that you alone cannot fathom or accomplish to disciple the nations. Consider what you can do…. you can impact one person, one family, you can impact a neighborhood, a generation, a community, and even a nation by  “Keeping your love on”.

I feel that this idea, this concept of ‘Keeping your love on” is really a call to action for us as Christians. It is what sets us apart…they will know we are Christians by our love!

Thoughtfully submitted
by Ginny Comstock
Intern To Loving on Purpose

Knowing You Belong by Karena Lout

 “The conclusion is clear, you are no longer standing as a stranger

or a second grade citizen, you are where you belong; you are a joint indigenous 

inhabitant of your own country and part of an intimate

family where no one is suspicious, inferior or condemned.”

                                     Eph. 2:19 (Mirror Translation)

Over the years I’ve noticed the difference in how comfortable my kids’ friends are when they come over. Some will wait until asked if they’d like something to eat and others will walk in, open the fridge, help themselves to whatever they can find and plop on the couch. It’s pretty obvious which ones know they belong and don’t hesitate in responding otherwise. Todd and I have actually felt at ease when we’ve hadcompany stay with us, and they feel comfortable enough to make themselves at home.

  

I recently read the story of Mary of Bethany with new lenses, discovering she knew a real sense of belonging. (John 12:1-8). I’ve always been moved by her radical devotion as she poured out expensive perfume, a year’s wages, at the feet of Jesus. What beautiful extravagance! The disciples were upset by her outpouring of love, disputing that the perfume could have been spent on the poor. But Mary was preparing Jesus for His burial. I wonder if she understood the eternal significance of her act of love, that she would be united with her Beloved One through His death on the cross. I began thinking about how Mary approached Jesus without shame. She was surrounded by men, yet she didn’t hesitate to wipe Jesus’ feet with her hair. Women never unveiled their hair in public.

Mary knew intimacy without walls. She knew she belonged. This is a God given desire in all of us, yet so many people still feel like an orphan, like an outsider looking in. Maybe growing up, your parents weren’t available for you when you needed them. Maybe you were always the last person picked for the kickball team. Maybe you never felt like you “fit in” growing up. Maybe you feel like you’re the only Christian who struggles with depression. Maybe you feel like if people really find out what you’re “really like,” they won’t accept you. There are a lot of reasons we put up walls to protect our heart. We have knowingly and even unknowingly made decisions why we need to keep people and the Father at a safe distance.

  

I want to encourage you to begin asking Jesus some questions today on your journey to settling into a place of real belonging in Him. What would it look like to trust you with the job of protecting my heart? Is there any part of me that still feels like an outsider? Jesus, what truth do you want me to know about that? What does it look like to belong to You?

I pray that if you’ve never known inclusion before, you would see your chair at the family table waiting for you with your name on it. I pray that you would know and experience real belonging in the Father’s arms today. Jesus paid the ultimate price to have you as His very own for all eternity so you could approach Him with full confidence.

                                                                                           Love, Karena

In Demonstration of the Spirit and of Power by Pastor Russ Fochler

The Apostle Paul wrote this to the Corinthian Church: "And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God."   1 Cor 2:1-5  NASB

Note that Paul also said: "I was with you in weakness, and in fear...".  It's sometimes tempting to think that if we fully walked in the power of the Holy Spirit, that we would be invulnerable. But this isn't Paul's story, even though he saw God do powerful things through him. Instead, he declared: "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;"  2 Cor 4:7 NASB The treasure is the Person of the Holy Spirit living in us - even in our vulnerable human condition! Here is a story of what the Holy Spirit and our human spirits can do together.  It's a story told by John. G Lake.   I'll add a few comments in italics.

"In 1912, I was pastor of the Apostolic Tabernacle in Johannesburg, South Africa.   One of the cardinal teachings of our organization was the ministry of healing through faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The sick were brought from all parts of the land; and thousands were healed through the prayer of faith and the laying on of hands of those who believed.   Our church was then enjoying a great period of spiritual blessing and power. Various remarkable manifestations of the Spirit commonly occurred.   At a Sunday morning service before public prayer was offered, a member of the congregation arose and requested that those present join in prayer on behalf of his cousin in Wales (7,000 miles across the sea from Johannesburg), that she might be healed. He stated that the woman was violently insane and an inmate of an asylum in Wales.   I knelt on the platform to pray and an unusual degree of the spirit of prayer came upon my soul, causing me to pray with fervor and power. The spirit of prayer fell upon the audience at the same time.   (Note that this involved the entire congregation "entering in" with the Holy Spirit)   The people ordinarily sat in their seats and bowed their heads while prayer was being offered, but on this occasion 100 or more in different parts of the house knelt to pray with me. I was uttering the audible prayer; they were praying in silence.   A great consciousness of the presence of God took possession of me. My spirit rose in a great consciousness of spiritual dominion, and I felt for the moment as if I were anointed by the Spirit of God to cast out demons.   My inner, or spiritual, eyes opened. I could see in the spirit and observed that there was a shaft of seeming light, accompanied by moving power, coming from many of those who were praying in the audience.   As the prayer continued, these shafts of light from those who were praying increased in number. Each of them reached my own soul, bringing an increasing impulse of spiritual power - until I seemed well nigh overcome by it.   While this was going on, I was uttering the words of prayer with great force and conscious spiritual power.   Suddenly, I seemed out of the body and, to my surprise, observed that I was rapidly passing over the city of Kimberely, 300 miles from Johannesburg. I was next conscious of the city of Cape Town on the seacoast, a thousand miles away. My next consciousness was of the Island of St. Helena, where Napoleon had been banished; then the Cape Verde lighthouse on the coast of Spain.     (Note: Our spirits can travel outside our physical bodies. There are stories and references to this in the Bible.  But, unlike those who "astral project", neither John G. Lake nor we should ever seek to make this happen.  We can however, choose to welcome or allow it when we know that it is the Holy Spirit Himself empowering us.)   By this time it seemed as if I were passing through the atmosphere observing everything, but moving with great lightning-like rapidity. I remember the passage along the coast of France, across the Bay of Biscay, into the hills of Wales. I had never been in Wales. It was a new country to me; and as I passed swiftly over its hills, I said to myself, These are like the hills of Wyoming along the North Dakota border.   Suddenly, a village appeared. It was nestled in a deep valley among the hills. Next I saw a public building that I recognized instinctively as the asylum.    On the door I observed an old-fashioned 16th Century knocker. Its workmanship attracted my attention and this thought flashed through my spirit: That undoubtedly was made by one of the old smiths who manufactured armor.   I was inside the institution without waiting for the doors to open and present at the side of a cot on which lay a woman. Her wrists and ankles were strapped to the sides of the cot. Another strap had been passed over her legs above the knees, and a second across her breasts. These were to hold her down.   She was wagging her head and muttering incoherently.   I laid my hands upon her head and, with great intensity, commanded in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that the demon spirit possessing her be cast out and that she be healed by the power of God.   In a moment or two, I observed a change coming over her countenance. It softened and a look of intelligence appeared.   Then her eyes opened, and she smiled up in my face. I knew she was healed.   I had no consciousness whatever of my return to South Africa. Instantly, I was aware that I was still kneeling in prayer, and I was conscious of all the surrounding environment of my church and the service.   Three weeks passed. Then my friend who had presented the prayer request for his cousin came to me with a letter from one of his relatives, stating that an unusual thing had occurred. Their cousin, who had been confined for seven years in the asylum in Wales, had suddenly become well. They had no explanation to offer. The doctors said it was one of those unaccountable things that sometimes occur.   She was perfectly well and had returned home to her friends."   Source: John G. Lake: His Life, His Sermons, His Boldness of Faith pages 246-248

I love that story!  As we're focussing on the Holy Spirit this week - and also next week in the Home Groups for Winds of Change, I wanted to encourage you about what is possible.   You may get to consciously participate in the way that God answers a prayer!  And, may we all be aware of the grace that is available when in a meeting, our spirits come into agreement with God's Spirit for extraordinary things to be done on earth as they are already decreed and desired in Heaven.

Pastor Russ Fochler

Friendship With God by Dutch Sheets

I called myself a Christian for seventeen years before I discovered I could have a truly personal relationship with God. Prior to this, I certainly knew Him as God and I definitely knew Him as my Savior. I did not, however, know Him as my Father, and walking with Him as a friend wasn't even in the field of view.

I was not a hypocrite; I simply did not know how to connect with God personally and at any real depth. Satan and his team, with lots of help from religion, had painted God as a very distant, non-relational being.

Then came 2 years of rebellion. In 1973, when God lovingly pursued me into a bar, however, and loved on me through my anger, rebellion and drugs, how could I turn down His invitation to try a new relationship with Him? That night, I opened my heart to several months of talks with God, through which my heart was healed enough to respond to His seeking. Like the prodigal returning to his father's embrace, I walked back into the loving arms of my Papa God. When I did, I found more than pleasure; I discovered purpose.

Today, the thought of friendship with God is more than simply intriguing to me. It messes with me! It tugs at my heart and calls out to me. Like the natal homecoming of a sea turtle experiencing the invisible but irresistible pull to the place of its birth, it woos me. Somehow I know in the deepest part of my nature that it is my destination, my home. His desire for friendship was the place in His heart where we were conceived. Our quest and destiny should be to find it again.

A friendship implies closeness and takes time to develop. It is comprised of trust, compatibility, affection, and, of course, a high level of interpersonal knowledge. I have many acquaintances but very few people I call my friends. The few I classify as such are those I enjoy spending quality time with, sharing life's experiences together. We're vulnerable with one another, freely communicating our hopes and dreams.

I celebrate my victories with them and am comforted by them when I'm hurting. We keep it real. My walls are down when we're together; I'm unguarded and transparent, unafraid to let them see the real me—the unpolished version. I know they will always "be there" for me and I for them. Many more defining characteristics of friendship could be stated, but this much is clear: Friendship defines the highest level of relationship.

Our Destiny, God's Dream

Most Christians, unfortunately, have no true intimacy with God, spend very little time with Him, and have a very limited knowledge of His heart and ways. "A casual acquaintance" would best define their relationship with Him. We mustn't cheapen friendship by lowering the standard.

I want to quickly point out, however, that friendship with God is possible for every Believer and is His desire for us. After Adam's fall, Abrahams walk with God was the first and probably the most in-depth revelation of this type of relationship. Three times in Scripture God called him His friend—and it's what He desires with each one of us. This is not only a part of our destiny, it's part of God's dream.

In exposing our shallow understanding of friendship with God and the fact that so few experience it, I don't mean to impugn our intentions and motives. The fact is, we're much like Abraham was at the beginning of his journey with the Lord. Most of us begin our walk with God just as he did—wanting the benefits He offers. We aren't terribly interested in His dreams; we probably aren't even consciously aware that He has any. But we are aware that He can help us with our dreams, the basis of our needs, and remind Him that He is our Father—our source.

We are all so incredibly human. We see God as Provider. Do we really know Him as friend? No, not at the beginning of our journey. God understands this, however, and in His love and humility is willing to meet us where we are. "He first loved us," the Scriptures tell us (1 John 4:19), not the other way around. His love embraces us and makes us His child. And just as a natural child doesn't begin its relationship on a friendship level with Mom and Dad, our heavenly Father knows we won't with Him, either.

A Friend to My Father

Most of us, when younger and in our parents' home, trusted them to provide for us. Appropriately so. But for most of us the day arrived when we wanted to be more than just a well-cared-for child. I know I did—I wanted to be my parents' friend. At that point I cared more about their happiness, well-being, and dreams than I did their money. I wanted to give to them more than I wanted to take from them. We no longer talked only about my happiness; we discussed things that interested them, as well. Over the years their faith had been transferred to me, and we dreamed together about making a difference for God. Our relationship had matured into a friendship.

The same was true of Abraham. He started his journey with God looking for lands, blessings, and greatness. He embraced the promise of a biological son through whom he would produce a great nation. When God didn't provide the son He promised Abraham and Sarah in the way they expected, they demonstrated their lack of trust by choosing to have a son through Hagar, Sarah's maid. There were some rough spots along the way, but thankfully, the relationship grew.

Still, though Abraham demonstrated humanness, in the end he proved his trust in God had grown to a level few people ever attain. He was even willing to sacrifice Isaac, his long-awaited son, believing if he did so, God would raise Isaac from the dead. What trust!

The Lord so cherished His friendship with Abraham that, when Abraham died, He saw to it Abraham was buried at Hebron, which actually means "friendship." I can't help but believe that, like the hunting friend's mountaintop plaque, this was God's tribute to their friendship. Upon Abraham's arrival in Heaven, I like to think perhaps Jehovah stood, got everyone's attention, and honored the old patriarch: "This is Abraham, my friend. We dreamed together, and enjoyed the pleasure of one another's company."

When God is looking for someone in His family He can be vulnerable with, a friend with whom He can share His hopes, dreams, and, yes, even His disappointments, I hope He feels He can look to me. And when my life is over and my body laid to rest, if it can be said that He and I were friends, I will have been a success.

Won't you make this your life goal as well? Father God truly longs for your friendship. He wants to make some memories with you. Respond today and begin enjoying the pleasure of one another's company. Your Father will become your very best friend.