The Original Black Friday by Pastor Brent Lokker

It's interesting that when Jesus was born at night, the sky lit up like day with a bright star. Then when Jesus was crucified during the day, it became as dark as night for three hours. (Matthew 27:45)

What happened on the cross was a divine exchange. Jesus was made sin so we could be made righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21). Righteous means we were made to be a perfect match for God.

On the original Black Friday, Jesus did all the purchasing and we did all the receiving. He bought everything we would ever need for a life of purpose that's filled with hope and saturated in love. And he did it all in a day...

"For you know that the price of your ransom from the futile way of life handed down from your ancestors was paid, not in anything perishable like siler or gold, but in precious blood as of a blameless and spotless lamb, Christ." (1 Peter 1:18-19)

Retailers have used the term Black Friday to indicate the sales making their ledgers black (not in the red) with the profit. Jesus' purchasing power was infinite and He used it to forever put you and me on the positive side (in the black) with God!

"Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrifical death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way." (Romans 5:9, The Message Bible)

As we enter into this Christmas season, giving and receiving gifts, let's do so honoring the One who willingly came to pour out his life for us as a a gift beyond comprehension. The highest honor we can give Jesus is to receive His gift of love and forgiveness with open hearts and to freely give to others what we have freely recieved from Him.

Declaring over you this Christmas season all of the peace and joy that Jesus purchased for you in full!

With much love,
Brent

God's Promises & Our Response Pastor Brent Lokker

On Monday, Nov. 17th, Blazing Fire turned 13--We're officially in our teen years now!

Last Saturday night I shared the significance of the number 13 (A number of great blessings from the Lord) and how that ties in with the journey Suzanne and I have been on. From the bottom of our hearts, we truly thank those of you who have chosen to travel on this journey with us. Each of you are a priceless treasure and an important part of the Blazing Fire family!

I want to strongly encourage you to listen to my message from last week because in it, I am laying the ground work for where we've been (the promises God has given us over the past 25 years here in the Bay Area) and where I see us going (our response together as a family), including an update on Blazing Fire's search for a place of our own to host God's presence 24/7. Part 2 of this message is coming up tomorrow. I ended last Saturday's message with a prayer for God to breathe on the promises you have received from Him through the years. If you've been discouraged about the timing of the promises you've been waiting for, you will be greatly encouraged listening to this message! You can listen by clicking here: http://blazingfire.podbean.com/e/brent-lokker-11-15-14/

Bill Johnson of Bethel Churh in Redding recently proclaimed that God is about to pour out the greatest measure of FAVOR, RESOURCES & AUTHORITY that believers have ever seen!

He declared that we are in a Psalm 67 time:

1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine on us
2 so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples with equity
and guide the nations of the earth.
5 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
6 The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
7 May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.

God has every intention of blessing each of us as His treasured children in a big way SO THAT the nations will be saved! These are the times we are living in and this is why we have been allowing God to prepare our hearts for the increase.

I bless you in this season of giving thanks to the One who has outrageous plans for our good. It's a great time to be alive!

With much love,

Pastors Brent & Suzanne

Hope For All Seasons - Todd Benjamin Lout

Here it is folks! We’ve arrived, again, at the wonderful holiday season. Amazing how fast it comes and goes and comes back again. Many have nicknamed this time a, “season of hope”, and rightly so as there’s such a focus on Jesus and all that was born into the world with Him.

Interestingly, though, our common use of this word, “Hope”, is reduced to a wish. Often it’s even used in a negative connotation rather than a positive one: “Gee, I sure hope I get a raise.” (said with rolled eyes and no expectancy at all). BUT, this glorious aspect of our perfect Father, this promise that we can open and keep, is a wonderful one because true hope is the joyful anticipation of good!

Abraham and Lot were both referred to as “righteous men”. In 1st Peter we see something interesting: “Righteous Lot was oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men.” As Lot looked around and saw his surroundings, hopelessness crept in, swallowing hope and allowing himself to become defined by his surroundings. BUT, Abraham, (Lot’s uncle), hoped when things seemed hopeless, (Romans 4:17). He defined his surroundings by painting it all with hope. Both men considered righteous, but Abraham was called God’s friend and was given much more than an honorable mention when the entire chapter 4 of Romans is dedicated to him. God is recognizing the value of hope here.

Hope and Faith are married and we know that God loves faith operation. Hebrews 11:16 even tells us that we just can not please Him without faith. In fact, it looks like promises come to us because of our faith, (Hebrews 6:12).

Dare to apply…no, baptize, your dreams, your burning desires, in Hope. Get your hopes up, as they say. The desires of your heart, whether ending human trafficking or sending an encouraging note to someone, are real-estate that God occupies when hope is there. Hope becomes the atmosphere that faith grows in.

If you’re feeling like hope has been swallowed up by hopelessness, I urge you to let hope arise again. As hope is stirred up a little bit more in this time of year, grab onto it! It is infectious, you know. Let it skyrocket all through the year, every year!

Say, with hope, “I am who God says I am!”

Three Chairs, One Papa! by Pastor Brent Lokker

Last Saturday at Blazing Fire Church I further explained the three chairs that Leif Hetland had described two weeks ago. You can listen to my message and see the accompanying keynote here: http://blazingfire.podbean.com.

Everyone on the earth is sitting in one of three chairs:

Chair #1 is the chair of commitment to the Lord, based on His covenant with us--promising to work all things for our good all the time. In this chair, shalom is your companion--God restoring you in all ways, making you whole and complete. Those who sit in this chair know that they are Papa's sons or daughters who live from heaven to earth, who see challenges as promises to be received, who think brilliantly with the Lord, and who experience rest!

Chair #2 is the chair where believers in Jesus compromise love and integrity for the sake of convenience. In this chair, the "frogs" of distractions overtake the shalom of the Lord that is your promised inheritance. Those who sit here behave as orphans who are in lack, who live from earth to heaven, who see challenges as problems to be acheived, who perceive life as continual limitations, and who live in striving and stress.

Chair #3 is the chair of those who are not yet saved. The god of this world has blinded them from seeing the glory of Jesus as well as the glory they carry as those made in the image of God. (2 Cor. 4:4)

Believers can move back and forth from chair #1 to chair #2, but we were designed to operate out of chair #1. This is our inheritance in Christ! By living life in the Spirit instead of letting our soul lead the way, we actually will choose life and love every time!

“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.” Romans 8:5

Here is the 28 day challenge I extended to you: To wake up each morning for the next four weeks and pray a prayer like this:

Holy Spirit

Today, I choose to be led by You!

Because my spirit is engaged with you,

My spirit will lead and my soul will follow

As you show me the frogs that distract,

I will give you access to my heart

and receive your Shalom

Finally, I want to remind you of this: Our heavenly Papa loves every one of His children with the same intensity. He doesn't love the children who reside in one chair over those who are in another, but with His whole heart, he wants all of His children to enjoy the fulness of His passion for them and to be saved through Jesus' perfect sacrifice to enjoy the inheritance that Jesus paid for!

Brent