Guarding Our Hearts

Several days ago, before I was fully awake, I heard Holy Spirit say, “Guard your heart.” If you haven’t noticed, this year has brought about many differing opinions in our world, whether it be who to vote for, wearing masks and the list goes on. I’ve had my own convictions and thoughts but I haven’t voiced them much; except with close friends and family. I didn’t think I was allowing offense or divisive thoughts in. But in His kindness, Jesus began to show me ways that my opinions have become walled cities. This “fortress of personal opinions” slowly gets built around us and around the church and the world has no desire to see what’s behind it. Jesus has been asking me to lay down any need to be right for the sake of relationship. After all, only He is always right and thankfully He is bigger than the boxes we try to build around Him.    “So above all, guard the affections of your heart, for they affect all that you are. Pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being, for from there flows the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23   In John 2, Jesus tells the religious leaders to destroy the temple and He will raise it up again in three days. They were offended and scoffed at Him since it took them 46 years to build. But Jesus was referring to His death and resurrection. The temple is His body. Like the religious leaders, it can feel painful to realize we’ve spent many years building something that we thought was substantial, of huge worth, only to find that it wasn’t really built on the solid foundation of Jesus. This can be our dreams, ideas, thoughts, opinions or our belief system. God has been revealing things in my heart that I unknowingly built on sinking sand. This is a season of rebuilding for many. But take courage! Jesus has given Himself as our new foundation that won’t crumble under the weight of any shaking.   God only reveals the vulnerable areas of our heart because He’s so faithful to heal them. He knows how offense, judgements and criticism can damage our hearts and cloud our vision. It doesn’t usually happen overnight. It slips in there subtly over time. This is a great time to be much more intentional in guarding your heart. I’ve been checking in with Jesus daily and asking if I’ve gotten off the path He has for me and away from His way of doing things.    I gave a challenge during our livestream last Saturday that I’d love to encourage you with too: Ask Jesus to show you how He sees and feels about someone who is completely different than you. This may even be someone (or a group of people) who you’ve judged or been offended by.   We all have different life experiences and stories that shape how we view the world but there is room for all to have a seat at the table. You are each needed, valued, loved.   “It is in Him that we are ONE and at peace with everyone; He dissolved every definition of division. In that He died mankind’s death, all grounds for tension and hostility were entirely removed. The peace He proclaims reveals one new human race, created and defined in Christ, instead of two groups of people separated by their ethnic identity and differences.” Ephesians 2:14-15 (Mirror Study Bible)   With so much love and gratitude for you, Karena

Gaining God's Perspective

Last Saturday at Blazing Fire, we enjoyed a beautiful family time together with intimate worship, communion, the deep sharing of hearts and a profound word the Lord had given Susan Fochler about how He’s inviting us into the process of removing old structures and old ways of perceiving ourselves and others. He’s doing this in order to build upon the foundation of Jesus something in us that knows our true self and that will hold the weight of His glory as He will reveal it. Several more people then shared spontaneously about engaging in this process of giving the Lord access to the deepest places of their hearts. In today’s email, we wanted you to be encouraged by another such story by a courageous one among us. Here’s Shannon’s story:   I am finding out quickly that no matter how you feel, no matter what you are going through, no matter how many jackhammered-turned-temper-tantrums you have, no matter how distant from God you feel, He still speaks to you, He still gets your attention and He still loves you. I’ve literally been asking for this, but I didn't think it would look like this. It’s terrifying at times to be face to face with your deepest emotions, good or bad. The pendulum swinging of the eruption within the foundation of your true self, the tearing of the old thought patterns, the changing of perceptions, and embracing who you really are can be challenging when wading through the junk of the past. The enemy only remembers where you have been, God knows where you will be. The challenges I have personally faced are the demons of the past. Oh, how the enemy wants to destroy me, but I am forever holding the strong hand of a Father who cherishes me deeply. It is His strength going through every fiber of my being to remain faithful to His word, His truth, and embrace deeply His love.   My entire life, from the womb until present day, all I have known is to fight. Conceived out of wedlock, born to a young married couple, I literally flew into this world with the doctor arriving just in time to catch me in his hands. That was the foundation—the beginning of my fight to live in this world. I was born six weeks early, weighing 3 pounds 7 ounces. According to the doctor I wasn’t going to make it. My father's words were, “Let her die here, I don’t want to get attached and have her die at home.” Two days later the doctor declared I would live because I was a girl and fought for my life. When I reached 5 pounds, I was able to leave the hospital. Little did they know this was just the beginning of my fight to fit into this world!   Because my mother had Rubella (German measles) I was a sick baby. I was born with a cataract in my right eye, leaving that eye blind. I was born with all my baby teeth falling out one by one and a few adult teeth growing in its place. When I was three, they found I was profoundly deaf. To Satan, I am a threat to this world, so he tried to shut my mouth, my eyes and my ears. Silly thing, didn't he know that spiritually I can function well in all three? What the enemy stole in the womb, God knows how to restore. He did, He has and He will!   The enemy tried so hard to shut me down in so many ways. Yet I stood and remained in the fight for my life, for the world I live in, for the love I so needed, and for the embrace of God. Do I want to give up? Yes and no. Hiding is not an option, neither is fleeing. In my continuing to fight, finding rest and peace has not been easy as everything within me is being remodeled to have that stronger foundation the Lord is building upon. So, I continue to keep my eyes focused on HIM. As the whispers of the enemy come and go, I lean in to hear my Father's voice, clearly. Thank God He doesn't have a mask on! It is His crisp and clear voice that speaks while I go through the shakings of my inner being. I get to truly see with a different perspective and know that He is my hope, He is my strength, He is my lover, He is my friend, He is my biggest cheerleader and He fights for me. With that being said, the piece I wrote is called Perspective. Enjoy and be encouraged! Perspective When you turn to a new perspective When you change your mindset You no longer see what you thought You believed No longer are you in the shadow Of the night You are now in the shadow under His wings Reach up and hold His hand Let His strength run through Your veins and Help you to stand again Lift up your head, Child Upon His face, is a beautiful smile Melting away all the pain No matter where you have been, Where you are or will be He will always love you Every tear that you cry Falls upon your heart He holds it to soften, to heal, And be made whole Oh, Child, He fights for you No matter the journey You are on He is always for you His love runs deep Setting your heart free Never forget who you are Child of God Oh, Beloved Child of God © Jennifer Shannon

Getting Ready For His Glory

A few days ago I opened up my journal and invited God to speak.  I was surprised at the impressions that started to form in my mind.  Initially I thought it was just for me but then as I pondered further I realized it was for the body as well.       So I offer this word as a way to understand the process we’ve been undergoing during this season.   Yes, it is unto something!  No, it has not always been fun or easy.  The dying process never is.  Your Father is at work on your heart, and you are invited into the demolition and rebuilding, otherwise known as the renewal of our mind (Romans 12:2)  We may not yet understand all His plans, but we are coming to trust that His ways really are higher, and better, than ours.   He has a goal for your life and it is really, really good: to create in you a beautiful bride so captivated by His love that your heart beats as one with His.  (Rev. 22:17)   1. He is building in us a new foundation, rooted in His love, and clearing away our tendency to be independent in our opinions, expectations and understanding.  This new foundation is building deep, solid girders into Gods heart.   Just as a two-story house requires a stronger foundation than a one-story home, what is coming will require a stronger foundation.  For we, His kids, are to be the containers of His manifest glory He would radiate through to the world.   (Rom 8:19)  And yes, that is each one of us!   2. He is asking us to be patient to wait as He does His work in us, for the work will build a new awareness of the essential need for the Holy Spirit to empower us in all things.  (Jn 14:26)  We are becoming more sensitive and tuned into the ways of the Holy Spirit.  Just as a sail is utterly helpless without the wind, so are we learning complete dependency on Him.  To think with Him, love with Him, and breathe with delight every breath with Him.  (Acts 17:28)   3. This process is an unlearning of what has been familiar and a surrendering of what has, in the past, kept us secure.  Without realizing it we have erected boundaries in our hearts that He has respected.  He would have those come down so He can enter in as never before.  Beyond what we can yet imagine, partnering in power, in love, in revelation as we live from heaven to earth.  His Voice would reign supreme in our hearts.  (Ps. 29)  Holy Spirit would become the greatest influence of our lives.   4. He delights in our worship and our desire to know His heart.  And he seeks to satisfy these deep desires for more of Him; what’s coming is beyond anything we could expect.  We are to surrender our expectations, lay down our limitations and let all of who He is have full access to all of who we are.  He would inhabit our hearts as one in inseparable union. (Eph 4:24)  He asks you: Do you want that?   With Love; Pastor Susan

A Sound Is Rising

As I write this article, the election of the next President of the United States hangs in the balance.   The Father of Lights and the King of the Universe does not.   No matter how this election turns out, half our country will be bitterly disappointed and the narrative for those disgruntled, fearful ones will begin of how horrible the next four years and beyond will be. Are you going to buy into that narrative or believe in a superior King and His Kingdom? Honestly, you do have a choice.   The enemy is doing his best to lure us into finding any reason to divide and to see another human being as less than how God sees them. Don’t nibble on this and certainly don’t bite!   We have a choice daily, not just every four years, to find our hope and peace in Jesus alone. Not Jesus and the president any one of us thought in our very limited understanding was going to be our hope for the next four years. Not Jesus and anything else in this world’s system. Just Jesus.   In pondering this, I remembered a scene from the Christmas cartoon many of us grew up with, “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.” I’m sure you know the story well. After stealing all of the Whos’ Christmas presents, decorations and food, the Grinch couldn’t wait to hear their sad despairing “boo hoo” voices. But he never heard them! No matter what earthly riches were stolen, no matter how their rights may have been violated, the Whos down in Whoville did not take on a victim spirit or plan a way of revenge. They simply gathered as a family, a community who had love for one another, and they worshipped!   --The Grinch did hear a sound rising over the snow. It started in low. Then it started to grow.--   They worshipped with sincere joy. The kind that comes from something deep within that can’t be taken away. You may be thinking, I don’t remember them worshipping. Weren’t they singing something like “Fahoo fores, dahoo dores”?  The point is, the words themselves weren’t the essence of their worship. Their worship in that moment was to cling to joy, to hold fast to the hope within, and to love each other deeply no matter what. Holding hands in a circle, seeing the light within each other, nothing could be stolen from them!    This is who we are together in Christ and this is our moment to worship in the way we love each other and hold onto hope. This is what the world will take notice of!   This Saturday, we are going to gather to worship. And it won’t necessarily be about the lyrics we sing, though they will be significant. The essence of our true worship will spring from the very Spirit of Jesus within us rising up in this moment with hope and joy because we live in an unshakable kingdom and we trust in our very dear Father.    We carry the heart and sound of our good, good Father and that sound is rising up from within and growing! Love, Pastor Brent Lokker