A Christmas Wish by Pastor Brent Lokker

How was your Christmas?  That’s a question we often get asked in these handful of days that stretch into the New Year. Let’s see…how to answer that one.    Many of you experienced the joy of multiple family gatherings, but some of you were isolated and alone.  You may have experienced an odd mixture of feeling the warmth from Christmas songs you’ve known since childhood along with a tinge of sadness that certain people are no longer around so things can never be quite the same as they were.  You may have struggled with not having the same desire this year to put up all the decorations or to bake goodies while at the same time wanting to preserve certain traditions to pass along to the next generation.  Perhaps you wanted the people you love to feel special but just weren’t into the frantic gift buying that ensues each December.   So…How was your Christmas? It’s not such an easy answer, is it?   When children ask each other this question, they’re really asking, “What new toy or game or electronic device did you get?”  But as adults, for the most part we understand that the gifts aren’t the big deal. We really do. The older we get, the more our wish list of items one can buy in a store dwindle and our true wish list is something with much weightier significance.  So, while I had many special moments this Christmas (including the deeply moving Christmas Eve Eve service we shared with several other churches last Saturday), I would like to share with you my current Christmas wish list…   I wish each one of us truly knew and felt how loved we are by our heavenly Papa. I wish each one of us genuinely loved ourselves with no more self-hatred or shame. I wish each one of us were so healed from the deep wounds in our hearts that we were able to love each other without any weirdness…ever! I wish random acts of kindness that seem to be less random this time of year would be a way of life throughout the year. I wish we all were a bit more present with each other in the midst of all the things we have to do. I wish all of the abundant resources around the world were able to find their way to those who need food and shelter and clothing. I guess my wish list is really for more of heaven on earth until the day when heaven is our only reality and we are all gazing into the beautiful face of Jesus together.   I’m the first to admit I don’t always get it right, but my heart knows what it’s been created for.  I suppose this is why the older I get, the easier I cry when I hear the stories of how love is making a difference. Life is precious and life is short. Rather than that leading to a sense of panicked urgency, my prayer is that it will lead to a life that cherishes each moment and looks for ways to make someone else’s life a little bit better.   And if you’ve been feeling a little lonely or depressed or out of sorts, please do what you can to come join us this Saturday. Nobody there is without flaws, but we’re there together because we need each other. We really do. Our heavenly Father made us to need each other because He wanted it that way.   This Saturday as we embark upon a New Year, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend it than to worship our Lord and Savior Jesus together. Worship has a way of pressing the reset button of our hearts. It brings back the peace and fills us with the joy of belonging to our Father who adores us as His kids. Please come and enjoy God’s presence with us. And in the midst of 4 hours of worship (with three worship teams from 6-10 pm) there will also be the opportunity to receive encouragement from our prophetic teams as they speak out the heart of God with His truth that sets you free to be the real you. (You can find the details in the banner below.) If you can't join us Saturday, know that wherever you are, you are never alone and you are greatly loved!   I declare over you that the true miracle of Christmas, God with us who has become Christ in you  will fill your love tank every day of the year!   With Much Love,   Pastor Brent

The Child Who Changed Everything by Pastor Susan Fochler

A lot of prophetic words and actions in the Old Testament culminated in the birth of Jesus Christ.  Many of them seemed clear in meaning, others were hidden or obscure.  Some seemed figurative, others literal.  Hebrew tradition long heralded the coming of Messiah, and many traditional Jewish people are still looking for Him.   Jesus has Many Names Jesus was prophesied to be from King David’s lineage, and would be born in Bethlehem, David’s home town.  (Micah 5:2)  We read words about Him that seem in conflict with one another; He was a King, a Mighty God, the Prince of Peace; a Wonderful Counselor, a Savior, a Light; but He was also born a Child; and Broken, Wounded, Forsaken.  (Isaiah 9, 53)  So many words, no wonder it was hard for many to recognize Him when He came.  But those who were hungry to truly know Him found Him. Hungry for the Truth Wise men came looking for Him, recognizing the prophetic significance of a Great Light in the sky, long prophesied in Isaiah 9 to declare His coming.  They came looking for a King to worship and lavish gifts upon.  They were hungry for the True King. A Shepherd and a Sacrifice Angels came dramatically to visit shepherds out on the hills with their sheep to announce Christ’s birth.  Shepherds know better than anyone else how much sheep really need a Shepherd to take care of them.  Those shepherds also recognized the significance of the swaddling cloths Jesus was wrapped in-the same swaddling cloths shepherds wrap lambs in order to keep them perfect as they’re prepared for sacrifice.  The shepherds were hungry to meet their Shepherd and their perfect sacrifice. The Hungry will be Filled Did Mary recognize the significance of Jesus being born in Bethlehem (House of Bread) in a food trough?  Perhaps, perhaps not.  When she encountered her cousin Elizabeth the Spirit came upon Mary and she prophesied over her baby, “those who hunger for him will always be filled”  Luke 1:53 (TPT).  A strange thing to prophesy over your own baby!  But she knew her baby Jesus was the answer every human heart is beating for-to know the unconditional love of a perfect God who willingly came to earth and live as us. Prophetic Significance for our lives In the same way so many prophetic words played out to mark the birth of Jesus, God is at work in all of our lives causing His word over each of us to come to pass.  Some of those prophetic words we’re aware of, some we’re not.  Some are obvious and straightforward, others more unclear.  Some may be those things Jesus Himself is praying and prophesying over our lives that we may not fully know until we’re on the other side.  But even as the birth and life of Christ was carefully planned out and orchestrated to come to earth at a certain time and way in order to fulfill His destiny,  so is God at work in your life.   In ways hidden, in ways revealed, God is manifesting His Light with ever increasing brilliance in and through you.    Wishing you a Joyful and Light-filled Christmas; Susan

Empowered: Processing Forgiveness & Reconciliation by Pastor Russ Fochler

Wm. Paul Young took us on quite a journey last Saturday night with lots of stories, sidetracks-within-stories, hard-won wisdom and beautiful insights.   You can listen to the podcast here. I was deeply moved by what Paul shared about unforgiveness, forgiveness, and reconciliation.  His wisdom felt solid - both empowering and freeing.   Breaks in relationships and issues of unforgiveness touch most of us deeply —  and all too frequently.  Offense is taken over something, and then someone finds themselves feeling distanced or even “cut off” from a relative, neighbor, friend, or fellow member of an organization.    Often this is because we’ve leapt to assumptions about the other person’s intentions.  We can build whole court cases in our minds against someone that are based upon misperceptions and misinformation.  I believe these are examples of “vain imaginations” or “arguments” (the Greek word logismos) which the apostle Paul names in 2 Cor 10:4-5  “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” (NKJV) As we look to God’s Spirit to help us identify and disempower these assumptions and “cases” we make against each other, we become more and more freed to walk in koinonia - a Greek word meaning to share together in a valued reality greater than ourselves.   And yet, sometimes, the wounds and pain caused by someone’s actions are very deep and truly damaging.  What do we do then? Here is empowering wisdom from Paul Young: People often seem to confuse forgiveness and reconciliation.  And, as a result they can find themselves stuck in revolving cycles of abuse.   Forgiving someone means we let go of their throat.  This is mostly for our own sake - freeing us from staying in bitterness.  Yet, in a mysterious way, it is often felt by the other person.  We don’t need to wait until the other person asks for forgiveness in order to forgive them.   Indeed, many times they aren’t alive anymore or just don’t care about us. Unforgiveness is like a having a dead body chained to our back - poisoning every relationship.  When we decide we want freedom from unforgiveness, it is good to invite God into a conversation about it.  And it can help a lot to also include a few close people in our community in this conversation. Forgiving someone is often impossible to do by ourselves.  But we can trust God to empower us as we lean on Him to help.  Indeed, Paul Young notes that the passage about the faith of a mustard seed in the Gospel of Luke is tied to receiving the strength to forgive - to uproot something as strongly rooted as a mulberry tree and cast it away!   Luke chapter 17:3-6 (ESV):  “Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”  The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” Forgiving ourselves is often the hardest to do. Forgiveness is a process.  Paul Young shared about a time earlier this year when he became aware of anger towards his now 90 year old mother for not protecting Paul when he was a young boy from his angry father’s beatings.  Paul was surprised by the anger that came up in him, but the process of forgiveness now goes much more quickly than it used to - instead of taking 6 months, it is now more like 6 minutes to 6 hours.  Forgiving someone does not mean you have to automatically trust the person or have a close relationship with them.  Good, strong boundaries are often still necessary!  If we believe that forgiveness also means we must reconcile — even with a person who has little or no value for us, and continues try to bully/control us — this keeps us in cycles of abusive relationships. I’ve seen instances where someone repeatedly bullied another person and then repeatedly demanded they forgive him. “God says you have to forgive”.   A predator was using Bible verses to abuse and manipulate a friend of mine.   Jesus did not say “you have to instantly trust whoever hurt you.”  No.  Instead we can have wise, healthy boundaries without holding on to bitterness.  Jesus frees us and empowers us to live and love like him.   Reconciliation   Most of the time, reconciliation for smaller relational “breaks” can be accomplished by opening our hearts, remembering the love we have for each other, and seeking to understand each other.  Families usually have some kind of "reconciliation model” - how we got back to being "OK" with each other.  I encourage you ponder how that worked (or really didn’t work) in your family of origin - and then invite Father God to teach you the reconciliation processes of His family. Sometimes the damage done to a relationship is severe: betrayal, adultery, repeated bullying, serious manipulation and control, embezzlement, destruction of someone you love, etc. - where bridges of trust have been burned.  The pain in these cases is real and deep, and a slow process is needed to truly reconcile.     Here is Paul Young’s wisdom for seeking reconciliation after a major relational break: Reconciliation is about reestablishing trust once it’s been lost.  It is always up to the person who has been hurt whether they choose to move toward reconciliation.  For Paul Young and his wife Kim, it was an 11-year process and for most of the time, Paul did not know if they’d ever be fully reconciled.  For deep reconciliation to have a chance to work, the person who caused the damage to the relationship will need to: Really own what they did Be specific about what they did and the damage they caused Ask for forgiveness for those specific behaviors and the damage they caused (not generalities) Show real change over time. Paul Young still deeply regrets the pain and damage he caused his wife Kim and others.   But through the love of the Trinity for Paul, the shame has been taken away and only a godly grief remains - in a space where Jesus is with him. I can vouch for these points personally.  As I’ve shared before, I did a lot of emotional damage to my wife Susan in the early years of our marriage by acting in angry, threatening, controlling ways.  Our reconciliation process took many years.  I needed to be patient, own my stuff, have a shared reality with Susan about how I acted and how this hurt her.  And, Susan needed to see real change in me over time.   Because of God’s work in my heart, Susan has been able to see real change in the ways I respond to “triggers” and the ways I treat her.  And our marriage has become a life-giving blessing to both of us.

With Joy and Hope, Russ Fochler

Participating With God To Love The World by guest contributor Tim Vogel

Tim has been part of our Blazing Fire Family Connection for the past two years. Recently he submitted this prophetic word to me and it felt good and right to my spirit. Be encouraged and be wonderfully challenged at the same time. God is up to something so much bigger than any of us can comprehend. As we enter this Christmas season, remember that God so loved the world that He sent us His Son! ~ Pastor Brent

From the early part of 2017 through the beginning of the summer, I participated in many church services and events within the body of Christ. Sometimes I was an active participant, other times I felt disconnected.  Everyone was praying for a revival.  Since revival was a new concept to me, I did some research on past movements of the Holy Spirit.  The Azusa Street Revival, the Toronto Blessing etc. Places where the Lords spirit showed up and radically transformed generations. After I read about these past moves of God, I got excited about a similar movement. I was all in.   During this time I pursued Jesus for answers. Answers for myself and answers for what he was doing on the earth. I have no experience with a move of God over a Region or City. I was like that dude that shows up at a party and everyone is like, who is that, but no one actually goes up and asks him why he is there.  Out of pure ignorance, I asked God, “Is a revival going to break out because we seek you diligently and zealously praise you? Is a revival going to break out, as a result of you being God and choosing the timing?  Are our efforts to pursue revival in vain?  We want you Lord and we don’t want you to feel so distant.  We wish to experience your presence like others experienced you in the past.  Are we ignorant children pursuing a movement and not you?  Are we trying to reproduce an old movement and you want to do something new?”    Then one day, while attending a church service in the North Bay, I got frustrated with the subject a pastor was talking about. He was preaching about revival, again. “That’s all anyone talks about and it never happens, I’m over it,” I said to myself. These are my unfiltered thoughts at the time, so pardon the honesty. The Jesus I knew was different and I didn’t have to put my hope in revival to get to know him.  You know that tenderhearted spirit that shows up and gives me a big hug at the same moment I’m trying to hide from him, in shame. The healer, the one who has and still is restoring my soul. The nurturing one. The tenderhearted Father in heaven that pursues me. Was I supposed to be pursuing a revival in place of him?  I was being so judgmental. It was horrible, quite honestly.  Mathew 7:1-2 was upon me—the part about the same measure of judgment being applied. It was applied! At this point of submission and repentance something awesome happened.  Jesus finally spoke to me. This is what I heard:     The Lord is in our pursuit of him. Nothing that we attend for Jesus, or participate in, is in vain. He is part of it, but he’s doing something different.  He’s preparing us for a harvest. Something different from previous moves of his spirit.  And he is giving us the tools to participate in it with him, without us being aware. That’s the season we have been in.  Jesus is more zealous than any of us to love this world.  He wants his love out in the world more than we do and that’s why he chooses not to allow comfort right now. The world is a fertile ground and he needs help, but he wants us to know we are loved and have an endless supply of mercy to meet our needs. The Lord wants his body to know, I am their Father and I love them.  He wants this to be experienced in abundance.  Being in transition allows the Lords work to be completed. There is a certain amount of growth that can only occur in this place.  “I want my church unblemished like the bride of Christ.  I am jealous to see this revealed to the world. This world is seeking signs and wonders.  These things are given in more measure once you have fallen into my full embrace and completely yielded. I want to do this for you. Please let me...”   The Lord wants friends, not servants. The next revival will come through the hearts of man.  And the things he wants to do on earth, he wants to do through us, not independent of us. He wants us to understand why this last season was so difficult. Knowing who he says we are and what we have become because of what he has done to our hearts.  Do you see how he has changed you?  Are you thankful for these trials and desperate moments?  He has been healing you.  He has been restoring you.  We have been living in a James 1:2-4 season for a while.     Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds  because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.   I feel we are now stepping out of that season and are beginning to operate as sons and daughters of the one True King. We are now beginning to understand who we are. We’ve been given the same authority as Jesus (Mark ‪16:15-18). Now that we have begun to realize who we are, are we ready to take the next step?  Sometimes we want God to do everything for us yet he told us differently in Luke 10:19:   I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.   Let’s begin to seek our corporate and individual destinies with an unmeasured amount of faith. Let’s realize we don’t always have to wait for God to act on our behalf first and that it’s okay to move in a direction he’s already said was ours. Let’s realize that the dreams and visions he gave you are real and he is willing and able to bring you there.  Do you believe he can do that?  Do you trust him?  I can be honest and tell you that I haven’t always trusted him and still struggle, but he is big enough to deal with that too.  Let’s take the ground together that he has already given us.   The work to understand your vision/dream/purpose from all angles is not an empty pursuit, as the Lord is in that process. The Lord will help guide your thoughts and actions to be aligned with his will for your life. The Lord allows choice by design. Each time you act in a way that is specific to his purpose, the Lord’s wind of favor will be blowing upon it. When the words out of your mouth reflect what he has brought you through and his gentle, true nature of humility is apparent, this world will fall into his arms and they will receive the same prodigal blessing he bestowed upon you. The prodigal blessing of welcoming his children back home is the Lord’s to choose how to lavish. He is the king and all that is in his store shed belongs to you.  All you have to do is ask. He loves you and will meet you at the front door.  You can walk the floors of his many distribution centers and mansions to marvel at.  Ask for anything and it will be given because you are his child and he loves you. He invites all of us to enter this door of sacrifice and experience.  The Lord is there to bring you into his purpose.  He will not shortcut anything. You will experience every chapter in your pursuit of him because he has prayed for you and already released the favor and grace to go through it. The victory is already won. Continue to pursue your baptism of love. He wants to love all of those parts that you continue to block. He will continue to pursue you and he is always there.

Thankfulness Focuses Your Heart Again by Pastor Brent Lokker

Suzanne and I are so grateful to be part of the family of God on the earth today and to run with passion along side of all of you as we gaze on the beaming face of Jesus who leads us in a triumphal procession:   But thanks be to God, who always leads us in Christ’s triumphal procession and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of him in every place.  (2 Corinthians 2:14)   Continue to be the real you—the one who Jesus inhabited and lives through to bring His light and tangible hope wherever you go.  Remember that even though we face challenges in this life, we possess an unshakable Kingdom!   Choosing to be thankful is a great way to focus your heart back onto what is true and to find courage again. I encourage you to say out loud this thanksgiving declaration we spoke out together last Saturday night:   We thank you our good, good Father in heaven for choosing us to be your very own dearly loved children! We thank you our precious Savior, Jesus, for paying a price for our freedom that we could not pay! We thank you wonderful Holy Spirit for making your home in us and giving us comfort as well as dunamis power for living a supernatural life! Thank you for blessing the United States of America to be all that you have intended for her to be! Thank you that light is winning over darkness and love is winning over hate! Thank you that you are bringing revival and reformation to the earth! Thank you that your Kingdom is coming because heaven is invading earth! Thank you for the unity that is ours in Christ! Thank you for continually blessing us with your sweet, sweet presence! Thank you that we are alive for such a time as this!!!    HEALING IS BREAKING OUT! I also want to encourage you with how much the healing power of God has been increasing in recent weeks. Matthew and Karis Guillot, who brilliantly lead our healing ministry teams, experienced these miracles in their prayer line just this past Saturday. There were many others healed last Saturday as well (physically as well as emotional healing) beyond these testimonies:   A woman with right shoulder pain. When we first prayed for her shoulder nothing happened. Then we discovered that she was bearing too much responsibility for someone else. She broke agreement and partnership with taking on someone else's responsibility. We prayed for the shoulder again and the pain went 100% away!   A woman with a hearing aid. We prayed for her ear and at first nothing happened. There was some inner healing and belief systems that we worked through. We prayed for the ear again. She took her hearing aid off and from a distance, could hear me whispering to her even with all the background noise. She didn't need to wear her hearing aid anymore!    A woman with a blocked ear--couldn't hear very well. We discovered that she had a belief that she couldn't hear very well from God. So she broke agreement from believing the lie. Immediately, she said she felt a pop in her ear and she could hear normally again!    A woman had shoulder pain because her top rib would pop out. It was sore before prayer. After prayer, 100% of the soreness left!    A woman was wearing a brace on her wrist due to carpal tunnel. Prayed for her 3 times. The pain started as an 8, and went down to a 0 by the time we were done praying!    A woman had a headache, a dull ache. She was willing to grin and bear it calling it a "no big deal" headache. When we got her to see that she didn't have to live with pain, she had to renounce her agreement that the headache could stay. We had to pray 3 times because she was attached to having the pain. But by the time we were done praying, all the headache pain was 100% gone!    Thank you, Jesus!!! You are the same yesterday, today and forever!   Declaring a peaceful and joyful Thanksgiving to each one of you.

Nothing Can Stop Your Goodness Now by Pastor Brent Lokker and guest Michaela Thompson

One of my greatest joys as a pastor is to walk along side of a person to see God fulfilling his promise to transform them into the glorious image He’s always designed them to be.   Read this Scripture passage slowly and pay attention to how it’s all God’s intention as well as His action that brings about the transformation in our lives we’re all longing for:

“That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Jesus. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.” Romans 8:28-30 (MSG)

So as I’ve walked along side of many of you, some of you for a decade or more, I’ve watched the changes and they’re real! Knowing the struggles and heartaches you’ve had to endure, I’m so proud of you for making intentional choices to give God access to the hurting areas of your hearts and for staying in the game even when you’ve wanted to quit.   This past Saturday night at our worship service, God’s presence was so real and accessible that hearts were deeply tenderized which is often when a noticeable moment of transformation occurs (which we would call a breakthrough). I received emails from several of you in the past few days describing the astounding breakthroughs you encountered and each story caused tears to well up in me.   I want to share one of them with you from Michaela Thompson (with her permission). Thank you, Michaela, for being so vulnerable and transparent and for allowing your story to be told so others will have the courage to go on and experience the tangible hope that God is doing everything He said He would.   - From Michaela: I just wanted to share my encounter with Papa from this evening. As I drove to church this evening, my heart began to unravel and as always, I melt whenever I come into the safe loving environment of my BF family.   How do I find words to express what was going on in me? Except to say that I was wrestling with a long time nagging deep pain. As we moved into worship and sang Catch the Wind, the one line, “There’s nothing that can stop Your goodness now” caught my heart and is being continuously sung over me ever since, over all the areas of my heart that I’ve been bringing before Papa.... heartbreak, disappointment....all of it. The words of this declaration: “There’s NOTHING that can stop Your goodness NOW!!!!” flows unceasingly over those places creating hope where there was none.... NOTHING can stop Your goodness NOW!!! No, NOTHING can stop Your goodness NOW!!!   And I sat there all through your sermon, all the way home with those words flowing over me, through me to the people I care about, to the situations I’m praying into, and it’s saturating me with an incredible confidence I haven’t felt before. I can see and feel the flow of His unstoppable goodness into what had seemed impossible, impenetrable and immovable, but is now wholly succumbed by His overwhelming goodness, His overwhelming love.   What I realize is that His Goodness and Love have been flowing over my life all along - the difference now is that I am connecting with that reality more and more on an emotional level in those places in my heart where there was a disconnect. I’m receiving that flow more and more in and through me. Part of the process is allowing myself to experience the disconnect and accept that this is what has been happening in my heart — and this is where my heart unravels. This is where I let Jesus BE WITH me in that place and I surrender.     When things have been so difficult for so long, I began to believe that there was no other reality for me. I’ve had to face that deeply hidden lie and give myself permission to live, to have joy, to have hope once again. That’s the journey I’ve been on.... to allow myself to come alive, to flourish, to receive Papa’s upgraded life; Experience and live from peace, to live a joy filled life; to not settle for mere existence anymore, but BE the change, BE Kingdom of Heaven on Earth everywhere I go… I want to see people come alive inside!!! There’s so much MORE for us!!   I have moved from asking, begging, pleading God “Please heal me!” to giving myself permission to agree with Papa’s overwhelming resounding “YES” over my life.   My heart unravels and suddenly I find that the cords that once bound me  are wings with which to fly! I’M GONNA CATCH THE WIND!                                                                                                                         Blessings! - Michaela   (If you want to listen to Pastor Brent’s message this past Saturday, "A New Reformation: Heaven’s Culture Released Through Us!”, click here: http://blazingfire.podbean.com/e/blazing-fire-mission-brent-lokker/)

Your Love Will Tranform the Bay Area by Pastor Brent Lokker

Last Saturday night, Pastor Nabil Elfar, our dear friend from Jordan preached an inspiring and engaging message about our authority as royalty (kings and queens) who co-labor with God to bring about His transformation. He was challenging us to think bigger.   After he preached, I asked him to pray over us as a church, (You can listen to his entire message here: http://blazingfire.podbean.com/e/restored-to-his-image/. This prayer declaration begins at 1:10:07. In the transcription that follows, I added the Scriptures). God is waking us up to know the truth, to agree with the truth, and to walk in the truth. Be encouraged and allow your spirit to rise up and agree with who you are and what you carry!      Nabil’s Prayer Declaration:   I want you to claim that you are king over the Bay Area and that you bring this area to God's Kingdom this coming year. The Bible says, everything you step on is for you. Everything you look at and claim, it is for you.   I will give you every place you walk, wherever your feet touch, just as I promised Moses. (Joshua 1:3)   You have so much love. The bible says love is the ultimate, ultimate, ultimate power. There are many gifts, many authorities, and many powerful things in God’s Kingdom, but the ultimate power, like a fire, is the love. And the blazing fire is over you. Your love will shine to the people around you. You will win them with your love.   Raise your hands to the people all around you in this region and let your blazing fire fill up the Bay Area. You’re filling your neighbors, your relatives, your colleagues at work with your love. This is the most powerful thing ever, the blazing fiery love. More of blazing fire over you! More love that will burn everything out for His glory—will bring the Bay Area as a living sacrifice to His glory.   More love! More love! More love!  The very heart of the Holy of holies is love. Not the yard outside, but the center, the core of the Holy of holies is love. And you have it!   This church is anointed with love! This is who Jesus is. You’re taking in more of Him. He’s over you from head to toe. His love surrounds you. His blazing fire shines on you and your blazing fire is shining back on Him.   His head and hair were pure white, white as wool and white as snow; His eyes blazed like a fiery flame. (Revelation 1:14)   Your eyes are like blazing fire right now. You are reflecting Him as you’re becoming His image. You’re becoming His image! You have the most beautiful eyes. God is telling me in these coming weeks people will tell you, “There’s something beautiful about your eyes.” You’re going to win thousands of people through your eyes. Light, fire, love will shine through your eyes. That’s what God was telling me for the last two days about you.   I want you to put your hands on your eyes and receive the anointing of Jesus. Jesus’ eyes will be upon you. As you lift your hands, the eyes of Jesus will be in you. The most beautiful, shining eyes in the whole universe—you will have it.   You will appear among them as shining lights in the universe. (Phil 2:15b)   You will look like Jesus with his love. You will shine and radiate love to everyone around you and they will come and ask you, “What is it about you?”   As Daniel won the whole empire of Babylonia to the Lord, so you will win California to Jesus! You’re going to make a difference in the United States of America for Him!  God will use you in a mighty way. Claim it just as Daniel prayed for the Babylonia empire to serve God:  The entire USA will serve our God!   And that will be through you. Don’t underestimate yourself. You kill a lion and a bear with your bare hands (and with a toothbrush)!   (End of Nabil’s prayer declaration)   If you’re wondering about that last statement, you’ll have to listen to Nabil’s hilarious story about camping! http://blazingfire.podbean.com/e/restored-to-his-image/ It's more important than ever that we keep our gaze fixed on Jesus' eyes of blazing fire and that we keep loving with His love. Be encouraged that love is winning! Pastor Brent

Getting Out of Sorts by Pastor Russ Fochler

Have you felt “out of sorts” lately?  I have.   I won’t go into specifics.  Let’s just say it has do with how decisions and actions are damaging things I care about.    And, without fully realizing it, I’ve been sorting people into categories.   This is exactly what Danny Silk tried to warn about at the Bethel Leaders Advance last November (2016).  The Greek word for “accuser” (as in “accuser of the brethren Rev 12:10) is “kategoros” from which we get the word “category”.  The verb form’s original sense of “accuse” eventually weakened to “assert or name”.  Yet, as Danny shared, it is still true that when we “sort” people into categories and then devalue them based upon the category we think they fit into, we are really doing the work of “the accuser of the brethren”.   Have you ever experienced someone trying to sort you into a category?  When my sweetheart Susan lived in North Carolina in the early 90’s, people in the supermarket would scrutinize any blue clothing she wore.  They wanted to know if she wore the Carolina sky blue of the UNC Tar Heels or the darker blue of the Duke Blue Devils.  They first needed to know where her loyalties lay so they could know how to relate to her!   We all feel the pressure of pervasive “us versus them” mindsets in our culture. To meet our intense human need to belong and be accepted (and feel we are “in the right”), we’re tempted to compromise truth and the values God established in our consciences.    The Nazis continually portrayed Jews as subhuman, as disease-carrying rats.  So, removal and even “extermination” of Jews eventually seemed appropriate to many.  Dehumanization of individuals and groups is conveyed in many ways today including comedy sketches, politicians and commentators who play to prejudices, slanted news stories, etc.  Can we find the heart to stand up to this whether we like or dislike the person or group being dehumanized?  This is particularly hard when we’ve been taught to believe an individual or group is a threat to our way of life – and maybe to our existence.   Jesus challenges us to die to our self-centered judgments so we can be compassionate – even as our Father is compassionate.  27 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.  35b Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. Luke 6:27-28 and 6:35B-36 NLT    I’m encouraging myself to see people first as humans loved by Father God instead of first sorting them into categories.  This is not easy for me!  I’ll still feel scared or angry or both about how decision makers are degrading the well-being of future generations.  I’ll need to keep asking Father God to help me see people the way He does.    And may I remember to keep asking for Holy Spirit’s life and power to lead me in authentic and civil responses to people wanting to fit me into their ownl version of “us versus them”.   I found many helpful insights and moving stories in Brené Brown’s new book Braving the Wildernessabout her recent research into belonging, authenticity, and spiritual connection.  You can read a few quotes I picked out from her book here.   Jesus is challenging my heart attitudes.  I need to learn to trust Him more in the midst of the many short-sighted, destructive decisions my species is making.    As Heidi Baker admonishes us: “Stop and love the one.”  And “God is God, I’m not.  Hooray!”                                                                   With affection,                                                                              Pastor Russ Fochler