Living in the Presence by Pastor Susan Fochler

by Pastor Susan Fochler We did church a little differently last week.  We opened up space to encounter God experientially all over the sanctuary.  From divinely inspired art, to soaking and communion, hand washing and intimate prophetic encounter; to joyous laughter and fresh infilling.  The atmosphere was charged with His presence; I could feel His joy at how His kids were ministering to one another, giving, receiving, and flowing in His river of life. Giving Space for Daily Encounters I was reminded of how much God is willing to encounter me daily, just like what happened last Saturday night.  However, the tyranny of “busyness” can dull my awareness of where God might be in a situation, a conversation.  In our oh-so-busy world it can be hard to remember to stop and just be for a while.  Yet when I dial down and allow my true heart to surface, I am reinvigorated, joy returns and I am refreshed with the awareness that He is always right here.  His “still small voice” somehow becomes louder as distractions fade away. Gods Presence Heals Our Perspective Nothing compares with being in God’s presence.  We start thinking more clearly, anxieties dissolve and little annoyances diminish.  The Psalmist describes his struggle with the many injustices he experiences in his world, and felt overwhelmed and confused.  He couldn’t sort it all out, until he came into God’s presence.  “...It was too puzzling...too much of a riddle to me.  But then, one day I was brought into the sanctuaries of God, and in the light of glory, my distorted perspective vanished.” Ps. 73:16, 17 The Passion He will Satisfy your Hungry Soul! Let's agree with the revelation King David had about what is available to us when we come to our God hungry and thirsty for the One Thing:  “O God how extravagant is your cherishing love!  All mankind can find a hiding place, under the shadow of Your wings.  All may drink of the anointing from the abundance of Your house!  All may drink their fill from the delightful springs of Eden.  To know You is to experience a Flowing Fountain, Drinking in Your life springing up to satisfy.  In the light of Your holiness we receive Your revelation.”  Ps. 36:7-9  The Passion Oh, yes, Jesus!  Give us an encounter with You as a Flowing Fountain, a Source of life that never runs dry.  You are the One, the only One who meets us and satisfies us as none other.  And launch us, I pray into a new reality of the Kingdom of God that is not about what we eat or drink or do, but Life overflowing in Your Righteousness, Peace and Joy, Unending! Love, Susan

Joy and Vulnerability by Pastor Russ Fochler

Last Saturday night I shared about “Leaning in to Joy”.  We honored the Holy Spirit on the eve of Pentecost/Shavuot.  And we savored the justice, peace, and joy we have by means of the Holy Spirit.  Then I showed several video clips of Brené Brown talking about how we “armor” ourselves against being “present" when we feel vulnerable. Brené listed three basic types of “armor” most of us use to a greater or lesser degree: Foreboding joy, perfectionism, and numbing. Something is foreboding when it is a cue to us something bad is about to happen.  Movies and TV shows often use dramatic music to create a sense of foreboding.  Brené made this observation: “When we lose our tolerance for vulnerability, joy becomes foreboding”.  This means we pair joy with a foreboding expectation something bad is about to happen. Brené noted from her research; no other “affect” or emotion feels as vulnerable as joy.  For example, watching a sleeping child and becoming aware of how much we love them, how much joy we share with them — feeling great joy and vulnerability together.  How often do we then “go” to imagining how we could survive the loss of this one we love more than life?  Brené talked about our choice to “soften into joy”, to “lean into joy” instead of imagining the loss of those we experience joy with. So what do we do when we experience a joyful connection and we’re immediately tempted to imagine/calculate a tragedy around the corner — to try to “beat vulnerability to the punch”?  Or when we feel vulnerable, and we’re inclined to find safety through trying to do everything right — so maybe nothing bad will happen? (This is perfectionism).  Or when those vulnerable feelings tempt us to “numb-out” on food or TV or shopping or alcohol/drugs or porn or finding something to get offended about?   First, it’s important to become curious about what we’re feeling and where our mind is going.  When we realize: “Oh, I guess I’m feeling vulnerable/uncomfortable.”  Then we can respond mindfully instead of catastrophizing, striving to be “perfect”, or numbing. We can receive Bill Hernandez’ encouragement from his talk “Arms of Love in the Night”.  Bill shared his experience of asking Father God to hold him when Bill felt vulnerable – and feeling God’s tangible arms around him with comfort and kindness.  We can do this too!  Another response is to practice gratitude.  Developing a habit of expressing gratitude to God and others in the midst of joy and other vulnerable feelings.  Brené shared how surprised she was when she tried this when she found herself catastrophizing about the possibility someone could invade her home and attack her family.  Being thankful to God for her family, for the joy and love she felt for them actually shifted the foreboding and fear.  The Apostle Paul talks about this:      “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit.”  1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 NKJV      “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!  Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:4-7 NKJV There are connections between rejoicing (responding with joy), giving thanks, sharing our needs with God, and the work of the Holy Spirit in us. Feeling thankful for you.                              Russ Fochler

Renewed Thoughts by Pastor Karena Lout

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every high thing that exalts itself above the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” 2 Corin. 10:3-5     The Apostle Paul uses militant language like “waging war” because there’s often a very real battle in our minds. My compassion tank is full for those who have felt stuck in destructive thought patterns. I’ve struggled with this myself and know the pain and isolation that can accompany it. The good news is that God has provided a way out. I believe the area of your thought life that you feel the most attacked in, will be the area you will have the greatest victory!     I love that Jesus invites us into a participatory relationship with Him. He uses present tense action verbs throughout scripture (renew, set, take hold, do). "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the Earth.  For you died and your life is hidden with christ in God." Colossians 3:2 The word “set” means to make an ongoing decision. Jesus invites us to live out on a daily basis what He purchased for us on the cross. He has provided new mercy and grace every day that we can grab hold of, to take thoughts captive before they become a stronghold in our lives.     In 1 Samuel, David was anointed to succeed Saul as king. But soon after, he finds himself on the run from Saul and his enemies. He hides in the cave of Adullam. Most archaeologists believe the cave wasn’t far from the place where David killed Goliath. He went from being celebrated, to hiding like a criminal. David’s family followed him to the cave, along with men who were “down and out”. David became the leader of 400 men there.     There are a few things about this story that I think are vital for us when we’re going through difficulties. It’s important we don’t isolate ourselves. Allow those who love you to come alongside you and remind you who you are when you can’t see it for yourself. The cave can be a place we fall into despair, allow our thoughts to spiral and become a victim of our circumstances. OR the cave can be a place where we lean into God’s faithfulness and love for us and grow through the pain and struggles. Adullam means Refuge. God was David’s refuge and help in times of trouble. When he faced hardships, he continually submitted his thoughts to God because he knew how vulnerable his thought life could be during those times. “Search me, oh God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Psalm 139:23-24

Getting victory over our thought life cannot be done in our own strength. It’s by His Spirit that our minds are renewed. Our part is acknowledging our need for God on a daily basis. We can’t do this without Him! I pray that you would hear God’s good, kind and loving thoughts toward you today. I pray He would calm the tumultuous waters and that the traffic in your mind would come to a stop. Jesus provides peace and rest for the weary. Listen to the heartbeat of Heaven for you today.                                                     Love,                                                          KARENA

Embraced in Our Process by Bill Hernandez Prophetic Ministry Overseer

Ps 30:5 "Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning." We all have areas in our lives that are going through their dark seasons which I call the night season, but the glorious outcome is the same for them all, a season of the shout of joy. In these seasons, we have an everlasting companion holding us, namely Jesus, Papa God, the Great Hugger. We are all emerging from dark areas, conflicts and difficulties into our true destiny and selves, guided along by our ever present God. In the night there can be weeping, anxieties or tremendous angst. Some areas can take decades to work through in the case of various abuses and traumas. We can also be working through self esteem issues, communication issues, relational issues, life dominating addictions and behaviors. All of these are layers of night seasons in our lives and we are progressing through them even though it may not seem apparent to ourselves. We are making it because the Lord is with us even if we don't feel Him. When you feel bad, it's hard to feel that you are indeed being consoled and comforted by Him. You have to evaluate your feelings. Self condemnation is so common among us as we review our imperfect selves in our night season and we become our worst enemies and worse judges. The Lord does not agree with our assessments of ourselves, when in fact His great concern is that we let Him love us, hold us, cherish us and cheer us on. His great embrace squeezes the life out of the things that take us down. His nearness will powerfully neutralize life dominating issues. God is for us. Who or what can be against us? It's only a matter of time to victorious goals! The shout of joy season is guaranteed for us all who believe in Jesus Christ and receive His sacrifice for our ills. If this is so, and you are in the night in whatever area of your life, the light will dawn and you will surely enter into a place where you take a hold of your victories in time. Emotional, psychological and spiritual maturity is a shout of joy. I feel more serene and less conflicted in various areas of my life and those are shouts of joy to me. In James 1, he talks about joy in the midst of trials and I realized that joy is not necessarily laughing, giggling, skipping and hopping. True joy is hope and contentment and to have these is like the sun rising in the morning, warming your life with its golden rays. This joy is an equipping to spread it to others and to cheer others on. Please take a moment to ask the Lord to hold you in whatever place you are in and whatever you are doing and repeat this often. Let Him embrace you in your processes. God is not ashamed of you, no matter how badly you have fallen or mistakes you make in the future. He only adores you and He knows His love will dissolve the tears in the night and draw you to a shout of joy in morning. Be encouraged. You are in. He is with you on your side, hugging you, kissing you, blessing you and building you up to comprehend how awesome you are and what an amazing destiny you are on. Be held and be patient! Bill Hernandez PS - I expand on this message in my sermon on May 25th which you can listen to in our podcasts - "Arms of love in the night."