My Heart Is Full by Brent Lokker

“Tonight was truly special, even magical! Thank you for the creative way we sang Christmas carols throughout the nativity movie that made it so meaningful!”   “This was the first time I finally slowed down this Christmas season to reflect on the wonder of our Savior coming to be with us. Thank you!”   “It filled my heart to connect with so many dear friends tonight.”   These were just a few of the many comments I heard after our Blazing Fire Christmas dinner two weeks ago and I wholeheartedly agree!  I left with the beautiful sensation of my heart being filled to overflowing with the genuine love that was flowing and the laughter echoing throughout the room.   Though the food was delicious and the decorations festive, it is the brilliant light inside of each one of you that continually added to the expansive life that filled the room as you arrived! Created in the image of our Father who is love and filled with the light of Christ in us, our hearts come more alive when we are together because love and light must be shared to be experienced in its fulness. It’s a perfect picture of why Jesus came as Emmanuel, “God with us.” Our Father’s intention of being united with us at all costs resulting in the harmonious Trinity making their home right inside of us explains our need for genuine connection with one another. We were made to experience real moments of authentic joy that comes with a kind smile and a warm hug.   This Saturday, December 31st at 6 pm on New Year’s Eve, we’re going to have another opportunity to share life with one another as we gather to linger in the Lord’s sweet presence in an extended time of worship and communion. I want to share with you a profound and highly encouraging dream I had just two nights ago about God’s Spirit pouring out upon us as the bride of Christ. Then several people will share some prophetic insights and lead us in making declarations together in agreement with our heavenly Father, whose very light and life has been deposited deep within us.   To each one of you, Suzanne and I see you as a treasure and we sincerely want to thank you for being a rich blessing in our lives!   With Love,   Brent

YOU are Included in Jesus' Lineage! - by Brent Lokker

Whether you look at Matthew’s genealogy that lists the fathers from Abraham to Jesus or Luke’s genealogy that lists the sons from Jesus all the way back to Adam being the son of God, both are making a crystal-clear point: YOU are included in Christ’s lineage because you are one with Christ!   This means that through Christ, Abraham is your father and therefore God’s promise to bless Abraham and make him a blessing to the nations is fully your promise as well!   “God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say ‘to his children,’ as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says ‘to his child’—and that, of course, means Christ. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.” Galatians 3:16, 29 (NLT)   That’s a promise God can never go back on! You will always be his blessed child. Jesus made sure of it! And you WILL be a blessing to others from all nations. The light of Christ in you guarantees it!   And whatever we may think of the mess Adam got humanity into, Jesus’ act of bringing us into the righteousness of God was far superior in every way:    “Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.”  Romans 5:18 (NLT)   And John puts his final stamp on the genealogy of Jesus conversation by saying,   “In the beginning the Living Expression (Jesus) was already there. And the Living Expression was with God, yet fully God. They were together—face-to-face, in the very beginning. And through his creative inspiration this Living Expression made all things, for nothing has existence apart from him! A fountain of life was in him, for his life is light for all humanity.” John 1:1-4 (TPT)   Being one with Jesus, whose origin is traced back to his sonship with the Father, gives you the clearest possible perspective on your own origin as a son or daughter of your heavenly Father.   And YOU, created by Christ and one with Christ, are now seated with Christ:   Ephesians 2:6 (NLT) “For he [our Father] raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are [right at this moment] united with Christ Jesus.”   Just how blessed are you as a part of Christ’s royal lineage? You have an eternity to answer that!

God Offers Rest - by Todd Benjamin Lout

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely God require of you will be Pleasant and easy to bear.” MATTHEW 11:28 - 30

LIFE IS NOT EASY!  And God never once told us that if we become followers of Christ that everything would become easy. Anyone under that assumption is in for some eye-openers. Our Father, our Good Shepherd, does, however,  promise us that He would take us on a journey with Him as the head, leading us perfectly through this broken world we are still existing in. He has given us the keys to resting in Him, even while we face our crazy day to day. God knows that life has enough to deal with and that things like religion and people pleasing adds much more strife to it all. We have layers of things that humans pile up on top of us. We, ourselves, pile it up as we take on society norms and church life.  In HIs tenderness, our Father offers us a place to offload all of that…..right in Him. He exchanges it for rest, for His peace. Corrie Ten Boom, the Dutch clock maker who was caught hiding Jews in her walls during the Nazi takeover, has shared much about experiencing peace and rest in extremely dire circumstances. She was put in the most terrible concentration camp, yet connected with the Shepherd of her soul and found rest in the middle of chaos. Here’s one of her thousands of genuine quotes: “ If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God, you’ll be at rest.” Her story is an inspiring one if you need to read or see something to help pull you out of a rut and into God’s lap. Ultimately we will end up in perfection, itself. that place beyond this realm.  But God will still help us along the way in this Earthly journey.   BIG LOVE, Todd

FATHER GOD'S PLAN: TO BRING US INTO THE HOME OF HIS HEART - by Russ Fochler

The holiday season (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and more) has a way of turning our thoughts towards “home”.   As humans, we often feel things more keenly when we’re missing them.  For those who are missing family or close friends, I ask the wonderful Trinity to give you comfort.   And also hope and a foretaste for the Home all of us long for - even if we don’t yet know about it. When Jesus told the story of the Prodigal and His Father (and the Elder Brother), Jesus had all of us in mind.  Leaving, becoming aware of our longing for the Home of our Abba’s Heart, and humbly returning with greater appreciation.  Or perhaps being risk averse and staying put - but missing the fullness of our Abba’s heart because our own heart stayed small and full jealous comparisons. I love these quotes from George MacDonald about our home with Father God:   “This is and has been the Father's work from the beginning—to bring us into the home of his heart, where he shares the glories of life with the Living One, in whom was born life to light men back to the original life.”    “His children are not his real, true sons and daughters until they think like him, feel with him, judge as he judges, are at home with him, and without fear before him because he and they mean the same thing, love the same things, seek the same ends. For this are we created; it is the one end of our being, and includes all other ends whatever.” “None but a child could become a son; the idea is—a spiritual coming of age; only when the child is a man is he really and fully a son.” George MacDonald - Unspoken Sermons Series I., II., and III Last Saturday, I talked about this and then looked into some of the ways we take part in God’s work growing and transforming us from children - to full daughters and sons.   We also considered how Jesus’ obedience to His Father’s plan for our rescue, and healing - was the only way for our rescue, and healing to be fully accomplished.  And how our simple obedience to Jesus’s leadings in our daily lives brings heaven to earth. You can watch the video here. The talk begins around 1:30 And, if you would like to read my notes - including the scriptures, quotes from George MacDonald, etc., Click here for the link to the pdf With Love,                     Pastor Russ Fochler

We are Known, Loved Children of God - by Joe Lapazinski

As we approach Thanksgiving I recall how we move in an “attitude of gratitude”.  There are many things that come to mind that we are thankful for in the natural world in which we live and breathe.  It can be a challenge to “see” the spiritual and natural realms as one realm. The Word of God can lead us to keep the spiritual realm in focus as we live out our daily lives. Thank you Holy Spirit for leading us today. God intimately knows us. He made us mysteriously complex children of God! Everything that God has done is marvelously breathtaking!  Standing in this light, we can regularly feast on the Word of God, and then rest in confidence in Him. Here are some truths from David in Psalm 139.  As you read this, which of these truths is the Spirit reminding you to Engage in this week?     O Lord, you have examined my heart     and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up.     You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel     and when I rest at home.     You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say     even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me.     You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,     too great for me to understand! I can never escape from your Spirit!     I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there;     if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning,     if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me,     and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me     and the light around me to become night— but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day.     Darkness and light are the same to you. You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body     and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!     Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,     as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born.     Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out     before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.     They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them;     they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up,     you are still with me! In Christ, Joe

Let's Talk Adoption - by Brent Lokker

Me:     Did you hear the great news? You’ve been adopted by your heavenly Father!   You:    Cool, but I didn’t know I wasn’t already God’s child.   Me:     Well, you are his child, but you’ve also been adopted.   You:    Wait, huh?   Yes, you have ALWAYS been God’s child and you always will be! But the Apostle Paul, in his writings, also uses adoption language to get across a point that wouldn’t have been missed by his audience at the time.   Children adopted into a family in that day were given all the rights of the firstborn, which included a double portion of the estate. Why is that significant? Because Paul is making the point that while we are already God’s children, as a consequence of Jesus’ redeeming work, we have been adopted as sons and daughters as well, sharing in the spiritual inheritance as heirs of all that God promises. We have all the rights of the firstborn, and the firstborn of all creation is none other than Jesus (Col 1:15).   What’s his is ours! Isn’t that the heavenly exchange that’s taken place? A crown of beauty instead of ashes! The oil of joy instead of mourning! A garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair! (Is 61:3)  Does it get any better than this?   And when was this glorious decision made by our very dear Father?  The stunning truth is that you’ve always been his and you were adopted before the foundation of the world!   “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.  God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great delight.” Ephesians 1:4-5 (NLT)   This is what HE wanted to do—by his choice—to make a covenant with us of astonishing proportions. Always for us, never against us, blessing us at every turn by including us in Christ’s death and resurrection so that everything that belongs to Jesus is ours. Everything.   The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. 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.So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? Romans 8:29-31 (MSG) How can we lose? It’s abundantly clear that because of what Christ has done…we can’t!

Encountering A Loving Father - by Brent Lokker

We’re all on a lifetime journey but we often don’t know where that journey is supposed to take us. What if our primary purpose in life is to be loved? Could it be that simple? When each of my sons were born, it was that simple.   Cradling each son when he was born, my emotions burst forth and I wept tears of wonder and awe. I couldn’t help it! It was a miracle beyond words. The sheer joy of tenderly securing each of my tiny, beautiful sons in my trembling hands was extremely moving. I felt so much love for my sons and I took great pleasure in them too. They were perfect! And here is a stunning truth: my sons couldn’t do a single thing for me to make me love them. No, I loved them with an extreme passion and I was wildly pleased with them for one reason alone: they were mine! My intense feelings of delight for them gripped me to the core of my being as I thought, How can I already love you this much?   These feelings of love and pleasure are the very same ones that your heavenly Father has for you every second of every day. His tender sentiments for you never change. You are that tiny, helpless baby in the outstretched hands of your heavenly Papa all the time. The stunning truth is that you can’t do a single thing to make Him love you. He just does. Your Father loves you, not for what you do or don’t do for Him, but because you are His. Period. He’s thrilled with you! He gazes upon you in amazement and says, My precious child, you have no idea what you do to Me. You are Mine. You’re beautiful and you’re everything I always wanted. When I made you, you were My dream fulfilled!   “You must see what great love the Father has lavished on us by letting us be called God’s children—which is what we are!” (1 John 3:1)

The One Thing - by Susan Fochler

When David said in Psalm 27:4, that “the one thing I seek above all else;  … living with him every moment in his house, finding the sweet loveliness of his face, filled with awe, delighting in his glory and grace”,  he meant that more than winning a battle against Saul, more than becoming the king, more than fame and wealth, he wanted to live in the presence of the Lord every day of his life.   David knew this was not to simply be a transactional relationship but an intimacy in knowing, enjoying and beholding Him, recognizing His beauty, glory and love.  And as we read in Song of Solomon 2:`14, God is calling us into the secret place not just that we would behold Him, but that we would experience Him beholding us;  for he wants to see our face, hear our voice; it may be hard to believe, but He actually finds us sweet and lovely!   When I first got saved, I came to Jesus out of an overwhelming sense of guilt and shame, simply because I felt so unworthy of love.  I deeply yearned to be freed from my prison of depression, and hoped, somehow, Jesus would “fix” me.  I had no grid for a heart to heart connection with Him, or anyone as far as that goes.  It was like I invited Him into the entryway of my heart, but no deeper. It wasn’t until years later, as I was introduced to Holy Spirit and hung around people who engaged in passionate worship that I began to realize Jesus wanted to be invited into every room of the house of my soul.  What a difference that made!    I began to spend time simply enjoying Him, and started to realize how much Jesus wanted to be with me too.  The “one thing” Jesus invites us into is the realization that being in His presence is the sweetest, most satisfying place we can live from.  And it is not for now and then, but a living experience available to us every day, every moment of our lives.  It is a simple awareness that once we have said “Yes” to Him, God gives us the key to His heart.  That means, the door into His presence is always open.  As I look back on my earlier life, I can see how filled with self-hatred and self-rejection I was.  I didn’t know how to respond when kindness was extended to me.  I couldn’t believe it was really true that someone could care so deeply and actually want to be with me.  As I have gradually learned to accept myself, It’s become easier to believe He wants to fully indwell the house of my soul, not out of obligation but because of the high value God has for me.  If we struggle to believe we are lovable, it can be hard to believe God wants  to be with us.  If that’s you, this is where grace becomes our only sufficiency.  Psalm 84:3 says that even the “sparrows and swallows” belong in His courts, how much more a child made in His own image, like you?  Jesus has laid down a red carpet of His sacrificial love and grace straight into the throne room.  Come with confidence into His welcoming arms With Love, Susan

Better Than Our Best Understanding - by Jason Clark

Two thousand years ago Jesus was a living expression of perfect theology. His life, death, and resurrection revealed exactly what God is like. And God was not like what we thought He was like.   Jesus seemed to do stuff God wouldn’t do. He also often seemed to contradict scripture. He was counter-cultural, challenged cruel ideology, and confronted punishing theology. He was simply better than our best understanding, and often offensively so. For instance.   He healed people on the Sabbath, something many were convinced God wouldn’t do. “Stretch out your hand,” Jesus said, and the man with a shriveled hand “stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.” And many of those who believed they knew best what God was like, were murderously offended. They “went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.”(See Mark 3:1-6)   Jesus seemed to value children more than His disciples thought God would. “Let the little children come to me…” He said, confronting His disciples who were in the midst of rebuking parents. “Do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (See Matt 19:14)   Jesus’ kindness and mercy toward women, especially those most oppressed, was offensively better than what the Pharisees thought about God’s kindness and mercy. “If Jesus were a prophet, he would know that the woman touching him is a sinner!” they thought with their hierarchy of disdain. (Luke 7:39)   Jesus even valued gentile women in a way God surely wouldn’t, “tell her to go away… she is bothering us” the disciples said. But Jesus ignored his disciple’s offense, engaged with the woman’s faith, and released eternal life. He was offensively better than how His followers thought God should be. (See Matt 15:21-28)   And remember when Jesus didn’t call down fire on that village? Remember when He didn’t savagely rain down holy hell on men, women, and children even though His disciples not only believed it was something God would do, they wanted God to do it. They even had biblical precedence to support their malicious offense when Jesus confronted them saying, “you know not what kind of spirit you are of.” (See Luke 9:55)   And Jesus didn’t cruelly punish that woman caught in adultery even though those who had dragged her naked before Him were certain that’s what God would do. They were so convinced that they had already picked up rocks as willing accomplices. They too pointed to scripture to justify the us or them, for or against, punishing spirit they participated in. And yet Jesus said, “where are your accusers” and there were none, not even God. (See John 8:10) Even on the cross, torn flesh, bones out of joint, a death rattle in His lungs, Jesus just kept offending us with God’s goodness. “Father forgive them, they know not what they do,” He said, even though it sure as shit seemed like they knew what they were doing. (See Luke 23:34)   Jesus constantly did things that were better than how humanity believed God would do them. Even better than how the Bible seemed to describe what God was like. And all along the way, in every act of Greater Love, in every expression of kindness, in every interaction of forgiveness, mercy, and grace, Jesus offended people with how good He believed God was. Especially those who thought they knew God best.   And nothing has changed.   Humanity has always had ‘god-boxes.’ We have often demanded God’s goodness fit within our capacity to comprehend. We measure His forgiveness through our insecurity, fear, and shame. We balance His grace with our often-cruel thoughts about Him and ourselves. We determine the measure of His mercy and kindness based on our finite thoughts about mercy and kindness. And we use the word justice to make God small. Mankind has been submitting the goodness of God to our broken experiences since the fall. But thankfully, Jesus is the goodness of God revealed, and He climbs inside every god-box we create and blows them up from the inside with His goodness. Jesus continues to reveal that God is better than our best understanding, even better than our best Biblical interpretations. And He continues to confront our certainties with the Cornerstone of all certainty, Greater Love…

There In The Middle - by Karena Lout

“Beloved, we are God’s children right now; however, it is not yet apparent what we will become. But we do know that when it’s finally made visible, we will be just like him, for we will see him as he truly is.” 1 John 3:2   We’ve all received prophetic words and promises that we haven’t seen fulfilled in our lives yet. The waiting can sometimes cause pain, disappointment, and disillusionment. Paul told the Galatians that he felt labor pains until he would see Christ fully formed in their lives. We live in the tension of “the already and not yet.”   “Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” Romans 8:28 (The Message)   Isn’t it comforting to know that Jesus acknowledges our condition? What is God developing and forming in you? He is right there with you in the middle of your story.   While we’re waiting to see some things come to pass in our lives, it’s also important to recognize what God is doing right in front of us. So many didn’t recognize Jesus when he came to earth because they had preconceived ideas about what their Messiah would look like. Our prophetic words and promises might not always come in the form we thought they would. God is always bigger than the boxes we try to build around him.   I encourage you to take some time and ask Jesus, “How are things working FOR me and not to me?” I’m confident he will show you how he’s already fulfilled promises in your life and he will be faithful to you in your tomorrow.   Love, Karena

Authentic You - by Brent Lokker

Queen Elizabeth’s death last week is a stark reminder that even that which appears to be the most constant and stable in this world is, in fact, not and that the only solid bedrock foundation is the person and character of Jesus. He said it this way:   “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” Matthew 7:24-27 (NLT)   Notice that both houses (which represents two different people in this metaphor) experienced the same battering conditions of wind and rain. This is consistent with Jesus’ words to us: “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)   Jesus doesn’t promise that intimacy with him eliminates all the hard challenges that batter us at times, but rather his promise is that these difficulties won’t cause our lives to crumble and shatter—that somehow, we can even walk through the valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil because we are so aware of our sweet union with Jesus who has us securely in his affections.   This parable is making it clear that each of us has a choice. We either trust that our Savior Jesus, in his kindness, is always truthful as he reminds us of who our authentic, genuine self is so we can experience the fulness of life he promised, or we choose to do life on our own terms, which includes assessing for ourselves what we think is true. We either believe him or we believe our own perceptions. The latter is equivalent to living out of our false self (our flesh, our prideful ego) which doesn’t bear any resemblance to our authentic self, our life-in-Christ self. It’s the only real self we have—the one created in the image and likeness of our heavenly Father.   Here are just a few examples to help you become more aware of what the difference between your false self and your authentic self is your authentic self vs. your false self: Your false self wants and needs attention, whereas your authentically-created-in-Christ self doesn’t need the spotlight because you already know your value in Christ! Your false self has a need to be right which leads to judging and categorizing others, whereas your authentic, in-Christ self doesn’t feel any need to prove yourself or put others down because you can see them as having infinite worth as created in Christ just like you. Your false self is all about self-preservation, but your authentic in-Christ self knows you’re already living in his eternal life so you can enjoy the moment you’re in without being anxious for what tomorrow holds.   Paraphrasing what the Apostle Paul was affirming as his reality: “My false self is dead to me—it no longer lives. The only true life I have is lived as the Christ-in me self! This is the only authentic me that exists.” (my paraphrase of Galatians 2:20)   Only the Spirit of Jesus within you can help you see and know what is true about you and what lies needs to be removed by his kind and gracious love. I pray for each of you the supernatural grace of God to be made more aware of your union with the life of Jesus, to be more willing to believe who he says you are, and to be more courageous to let him remove the old perceptions of yourself that haven’t been serving you well.   The authentic you is enough and exactly who your heavenly Father intended you to be.   With Love, Brent

Our Source of Validation - by Bill Hernandez

The Lord is rearranging our priorities in regards to where we get our nurture and care. Being recruited by the Lord to serve in whatever capacity great or small was not meant to bring healing or resolve to our personal issues. It’s a misuse and application of the callings and anointings in our lives. He said that healing comes from us being intimate and honest with Him and letting Him in deeper into all that stuff inside. All the accolades, the applause, the admiration and respect that can come from being used by Him can become a kind of medicine for our damaged, hurt souls. This damage can come from rejection, an orphan spirit, being humiliated and dishonored, being abused and judged. A way to compensate for these things is to rely upon the very public we serve to assuage and ameliorate our suffering. He says that it’s His job to do this in His intimate relationship with us. None of the our power anointings, our spiritual abilities and our holy passions are as important to Him as His connection to us and our connection to Him in the deepest transparency and honesty. Everything else pales in comparison to this covenant. The 1st commandment, not to have any other god’s before Him is about this. Relationship first. We can lose all abilities, anointings, powers, and assignments, but what remains will always be the holy bond we have with Him that never ends. He is in love with us and knows us. Any calling or ability is merely a tool that He supplies for us to get a job done – spreading the good news. He is not in love with the tools, but with us. We are the object of His glorious love. The more we become enthralled with Him, heart to heart, the less important all else is. His love is perfect and, in a way, we do away with in our hearts, clinging to power and anointing as we become more and more reliant on the perfect, tender care He abundantly supplies. The only person that can fill any void inside our hearts is Him. We respond to clinging to Him and reprioritizing our affections. This happens through fearless openness with Him and thereby discovering His great compassion for us. He’s calling us to serve blessings or deliver the good news extracting nothing from the hearer or recipient. We’re called to be other centered. We deliver expecting nothing in return nor requiring any accolade, thanksgiving, payment, nothing. We let it go that His words and will be done.  Not only is He having us reprioritize our relationship with Him, but He is also changing our motives. Nothing will do except Him for our health and wholeness. As the Good Shepherd He is guiding us to hear and follow only His voice. May our hearts be healed in relationship with Him of all our pains and may we be servants that respond to His calling with clean motives. May no man serve us for what we supply on His behalf. His callings were not meant to be validations. Validation comes from intimate interaction with Him over all things in the heart. This is where we get significance, validation, comfort, honor, accolades, healing, compassion, understanding, care and joy. Those things were not meant to be acquired through our assignments for furthering the kingdom. If we look to our callings and assignments for those things, there’s no end to the constant hunger for those things. There is no end to a compromised message or ministry. There’s no satisfaction or fulfillment and in the end they abandon us and we are left hollow and starving. When the assignments, callings, credibility, admiration are withheld and we feel anxious, hurt, pain or humiliation, this is an indicator that something is amiss. Our priorities and motives need an honest personal assessment. I believe this is what the Holy Spirit is dealing with now. In the end we can’t barter what we did for Him for His acceptance. Grace has already been supplied freely and we have everything we need in His deepest love for us. He wants us to walk in being known by Him. There’s no want in His love. There’s no fear of punishment or emptiness in it. His love is all. The things that we feel condemn us before Him don’t, but even more so invite greater love and tenderness from Him. We are uncondemned forever. In light of this exhortation from Him, I believe this is all part of Him getting us ready for powerful assignments, anointings, gifts of the Spirit and astounding works of power so therefore there’s nothing wrong with asking for these. This is the ship we are sailing on and He is saying to keep our hand on the rudder and don’t abandon the ship through impatience. He’s preparing us by getting us used to always being dazzled by the depth of our relationship with Him. His works can then flow through us unencumbered by any emotional need we might have because He will be the center of our care and warm kindness. Our messages will be pure and objective not being influenced by fear of man and we won’t be fishing for compliments by what we do. As I have alluded to in previous messages, all this takes time and being proactive, and always saying yes to letting Him go deeper into all areas of our lives. Hebrews 4:16  Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Colossians 3:23-24  Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. - THIS MESSAGE COMES FROM WHISPEROFLOVE.ORG -

Building the Church and Expanding the Kingdom as Kings and Priests - Joel Pollard

Jesus declared that “The Kingdom of God is within you”, meaning that it was already within reach and available for people to experience now, in this life. Luke 17:21 in The Passion says, “The kingdom is not discovered in one place or another, for God’s kingdom realm is already expanding within some of you”. In the Aramaic, the implication here is that God’s kingdom realm is a person, Jesus Christ. The reality of God’s kingdom appears when Jesus lives within us by faith. Paul explains in Romans 14:17 that the Kingdom of God is for now, and it consists of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. The inheritance that we have in and through Jesus is for now, not for when “we get to heaven” but it’s a living inheritance for now, “on earth as it is in heaven”; we inherit everything that is ours as sons and daughters of the Most High. Not only is Jesus Lord over a Kingdom, but He is building a Temple, the House of God to dwell in, the Church! He’s building it made out of His living stones (sons and daughters) and in Matthew 16:18, Jesus told us that this Temple (Ekklesia) would be victorious and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. THE CHURCH IS NOT THE KINGDOM!!! To see this distinction, think of the Temple and the Kingdom in Solomon’s day. Solomon’s Temple was glorious, yet small compared with the Kingdom which encompassed the Temple and reached to lands far beyond it. Similarly, the Church is glorious, yet smaller than the Kingdom of God over which Jesus reigns. Why does the Church and Kingdom exist? The primary purpose of the Church is to be a dwelling place for God. Of course, there are other purposes, e.g. equipping, inner healing/deliverance, sending people out for ministry but the foremost purpose is to be a community of believers in whom God dwells. In contrast, the primary purpose of the Kingdom is to establish the rulership of Jesus Christ, and that’s why we pray out of Matthew 6:10, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.” It is time for you to be released in to Kingdom. It is time to discover who you are! This is the time to arise in your own giftings! What does it mean to be a King and Priest? Jesus came into the Earth as both King and Priest. Now He sits at the right hand of the throne of God as King, and He is making intercession for us as the Highest Priest. He rules over a Kingdom and He is building a Temple. Through our inheritance in Jesus, we are Kings and Priests. Some of us may be called to serve within the church or it may be to expand the Kingdom of God into every area of society, every area of influence. We are the salt and light, hands and feet - Jesus unlimited. Marketplace ministry is not going to happen just because it’s a good idea. We must renew our minds and change our theology, allowing the paradigm shift to embrace the values which yield these compelling kingly motivations. This is not about how to be successful at your job. It’s about how to be successful at your dream, allowing the Lord to unveil the oneness of your vocation, your pursuits, your ministry, and God’s purpose for your life because working with God instead of performing for Him is fun, addictive, pleasurable, adventurous, joyful, meaningful, and rewarding. Holy Spirit, help us shift our mindsets. Take us from a place of “religious” to “relational” motivation and keep returning us to our first love. Amen! Love, Joel

Control or Surrender? - by Karena Lout

Does it feel that life has been unpredictable, uncomfortable, out of control? Unfortunately, that’s been the reality for most people (especially the last few years.) There’s a tendency to want to jump in the driver’s seat when that happens. It takes a great amount of trust to surrender areas of our life that still feel “in process.” Control can be more appealing than trust because it gives us a false sense of protection. But ultimately, our safe place is in knowing that Jesus is our good Shepherd.   Jesus doesn’t just want to be our Savior. He wants to be our King. His leadership is perfect in every way. He uses his power to heal us; to love us. I heard someone once say, “In the world, we surrender when we lose. But in the kingdom, we surrender to win.” I’ve found that surrender isn’t a one-time thing. Every day, I have a choice to hold a firm grip on all the things I think I can control OR I can live with my hands open, giving Jesus access to it all.    “Father, into your hands, I commit my Spirit.” Luke 23:46  “Father, I surrender my Spirit into your hands.”  (TPT)   As we took communion last Saturday night, we remembered how Jesus completely submitted himself to his Father when he went to the cross. I encourage you to tell him today, “Father, I surrender my Spirit into your hands.” Then ask him to show you what that looks like every day in your life.   Love, Karena

The Origin Of Love - Brent Lokker

“Beloved, love always includes others, since love springs from God; its source is found in the fellowship of the Father, Spirit and Son. Everyone who encounters love immediately knows that they too are born of the same source. It is not possible to fully participate in love without discovering God. To love is to know God; to know God is to love.” 1 John 4:7 (Mirror)   The “knowing” spoken of here is not an intellectual thought about God and his love, but a relational encounter with our Father, our Holy Spirit and our Jesus. It’s an immersion into the deep love they have always shared with one another and have warmly invited us to share with them. Each time you allow your heart to be awakened by Love’s embrace, you soar ever higher into a sweet confidence in their tender affection for you as the Beloved!   Love is not defined by our love for God, but by his love for us. It is not our response to God that attracts his attention; we have always had his undivided affection as declared in the prophetic promise and finally demonstrated in his Son’s commission and work of atonement for our sins. 1 John 4:10   I remember vividly my desire for God that for years and years was marked by an earnest attempt to let God know how much I truly loved him, yet something in me felt like a fraud at times and I was sure God knew it too. My well-meaning attempts at convincing God of my love was rooted in…myself. That was the problem and it took quite a while to be wooed by the Lord to finally see what he knew all along: my deep love for God originated in his love, the only source of love that exists. As I stopped measuring my own attempts at how well I thought I was loving God and simply enjoyed his intense pleasure over me as his treasured son, the love within bubbled up and over in delight for my Father and Lover of my soul!   Loved Ones, if this is true about God’s love for us, it is equally true of his love in us for others. God was never visible to anyone until Jesus brought him into full view; now your love does the same.Our love for one another is evidence of God’s seamless union with mankind as witnessed in his love perfected within us. 1 John 4:11-12   This pure love that originates in and with the Trinity—Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit—is more than sufficient for us to love each other. Friends, our Father has always planned for his kids to be so loved into a blissful joy of belonging to him, that our love for each other becomes the attraction and tangible proof of our Father’s heart is for those who long for genuine love and still need to encounter him. In other words, our genuine love of Jesus within is the first of Jesus they will see until they discover what we already know—that the Origin of Love has made his home right inside of us!   Take a moment to tap into this Living Love. Not by striving to love better, but by immersing yourself in a tender Father and his merciful Son, Jesus and the sweet, eternal Holy Spirit who are all sharing their love and affection and honor and deep joy with you at this very moment!   His own Spirit is the source of this gift of knowing that we are continuously, seamlessly, and very consciously present in him and he in us. 1 John 4:13

The Amazing Gift of Your Imagination - Russ Rochler

Many followers of Jesus have been taught to be suspicious of our imagination.  In the talk I gave on July 23rd, I started by looking carefully at this in the Bible:  Romans 1:21, 2 Corinthians 10:5 as well as Isaiah 26:3.  I encourage you to learn more about this on Blazing Fire’s YouTube channel  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qdr4LNBT9Ec starting about 1 hr 50 minutes. I believe our capacity to imagine is from our Creator.  When we connect with revelation from the Holy Spirit, when we engage with the mind of Jesus, this involves our right brain (imagination, emotions, joy, love, and playfulness) as well as our left brain (logic, reasoning, words, historical context, etc.)  I believe revelation from Holy Spirit as well as perceptions and memories from our soul and spirit - can all be displayed and interacted with on the “white board” of our imagination. Creatives use the gift of their imaginations to envision remarkable artistic expressions using the visual arts, music, and words.  Scientists and inventors use the gift of their imagination along with their knowledge base to develop new solutions to needs or problems.  One famous example are Albert Einstein’s “Thought Experiments” which he used to investigate physical truths through his imagination.  Einstein would then seek mathematics that could precisely express these dynamics.  You can read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein's_thought_experiments Like other profound gifts from the One who created and loves us, our imagination can also be hijacked and misused.  When we’re motivated by lusts and pride, we fall under evil influences.  Or, when we engage our imagination to “future trip” - to project into the future bad things that could happen.  This robs us of being in the present with the Trinity.  And worry will not magically prevent bad things in the future! Here are some helpful “guardrails” that can help us affirm or correct what our imagination is displaying. Love  Father God’s love for us and love for others.  Are the images, ideas, daydreams, etc.  we are imagining motivated or led by love?  1 Corinthians 13 is a key guide to help us.   Also, living in and from God’s love for us: Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV) “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind (yetzer - imagination) is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Scriptures  Read and meditate about what Jesus is like, what Father God and Holy Spirit are like.  Savor the varied and sometimes startling imagery in the Psalms, Daniel, Ezekiel, etc.  There are many beautiful images that help us recognize when the real Jesus is revealed in our imagination.  And, the seemingly strange visions of in the books of Daniel, Ezekiel, and Revelation help us to not automatically dismiss what our imagination is displaying to us. Discernment  If something appears “right”, but feels off in your imagination, you are empowered to “test the spirit” behind that being .  One way is to ask the One True God to reveal the true nature of the spirit behind the image.  1 John 4:1 ESV  “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world” People Who Know Jesus  Sometimes its very helpful to share what appears to be a revelation from God with people who know Jesus well.   Even Paul the Apostle checked with a few trusted apostles about the revelation of the Gospel he received.  See Galatians 1:15 - 2:2 How do we protect this amazing gift of our imagination?  And how do we nurture and engage with it? Protecting Your Imagination  Consider what you are “taking in”: videos or images of horror, violence, sexual lust, occult, etc.  Tune in with Holy Spirit about what you are considering watching or hearing. Nurturing and Engaging Your Imagination Childlikeness: Openness, curiosity, wonder, playfulness Reading and entering in with your imagination into Bible Stories. Be open during worship (and other times) to images, thoughts, ideas, or understandings that may be coming from Holy Spirit.  Sometimes we need to resist what are truly distractions from worship.  Yet, surprisingly often we may receive a download from Heaven and/or an answer to something we asked God about previously.  Sensing the presence of Holy Spirit and paying attention what comes into our mind is an important part of “life in the Spirit”. When praying/ministering to others.  You may get a “word of knowledge” where you “see” body part or feel a pain in your body or just “know” what to agree with God for this person. Towards the end of the talk I gave, we did a fun exercise with our imagination.  If you’d like to experience it too, you can find it at about 2:15  (the 2 hour, 15 minute point) in the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qdr4LNBT9Ec   Pastor Russ Fochler