LEAVING & FINDING JESUS - by Jason Clark

“I am ready to leave Jesus,” she said in an almost threatening way. I was talking to a friend over the phone. This was nearly the first thing she said at the beginning of a two-hour conversation in which she railed at God for her broken circumstances, deep sorrows, and vast disappointments. She was in incredible emotional pain, a drowning woman thrashing about for something solid to save her, something good, something she could trust, something better than the seemingly indifferent and controlling God she was so angry with. She was devastated and ready to leave her faith. I listened. I have been in many such conversations over the years. In these moments I’ve learned it’s not my role to fix things, it’s to simply listen with compassion, hope, and love. “Holy Spirit, guide my heart and thoughts with your affection.” I prayed quietly and I waited. In forty-six years of walking with my best friend Jesus, I have plenty of life-changing principles I can pass along; good and wise words. But when someone is drowning in existential crisis, wise words won’t save them, only love revealed can meet this kind of desperation. And I’ve learned love wins, love always saves. Somewhere near an hour and twenty minutes, she came full circle. Like a lawyer who had systematically laid out the evidence that supported her case, she began her closing arguments by repeating her opening thesis. Flailing but exhausted, she stated again, “I am ready to leave Jesus.” There was a pause. Just enough of a pause. “I think you should,” I said. My response wasn’t what she expected and I think it both terrified and further angered her. “What!” desperation tinged her voice. I responded, “The Jesus you have been talking about, he’s killing you, I think you should leave him.” She was quiet for a moment, then, “What are you saying to me?” “The Jesus that reigns down pain and disappointment to teach you something about his love, the behavior obsessed Jesus who uses shame to manipulate you into doing what he wants, the abusive Jesus you have been describing to me for more than an hour, I think you should leave him. Personally, I left that Jesus a long time ago… I left the angry justice Jesus who demands retribution for all my sins, who practices distance and separation until I say ‘sorry.’ The Jesus who releases condemnation every day and twice on Sundays, who gets his glory through some form of eternal conscious suffering, yeah we’re no longer friends. The narcissist Jesus that sits on a throne reveling in my desperate prayers and the insecure worship songs that highlight my need, the controlling Jesus who loves to compare my weakness to his strength, we haven’t hung out in years. The fickle bi-polar moody Jesus who is happy one day and depressed the next, we don’t even text. The Republican or Democrat Jesus, the political Jesus, we wouldn’t even share a cab. I left the unkind, ungenerous, short-tempered, judgmental, punishing Jesus many years ago…” Yeah, I didn’t give my drowning friend such an extensive list of all the Jesus’ I’ve left, but she got it, she knew the truth when she heard it. Why, because God is love and we are His beloved; because God is a Father and we are His kids; because you recognize Truth as you are being set free. The rest of our conversation was spent on discovering, and choosing to believe in, an always good, always restoring, always forgiving, never leaving or forsaking, mercy extending, grace transforming Jesus. I believe we are all on a journey of discovering God; the Triune God that is perfectly revealed through Jesus on a cross reconciling all humanity to Himself not counting our broken thoughts and beliefs about Him against us. The list of Jesus’ I have left, some folks refer to it as deconstruction, or rethinking, or reimagining. Jesus referred to it as repenting. Repent, change the way you think because the Kingdom is within reach, even closer still, it is within you. (See Matt 3:2 & Luke 17:20) Repent, exchange the way you think about God with how God thinks about Himself as revealed through Jesus. Repent, see yourself and your neighbor the way your heavenly Father does. Repent, He is better than you think, so keep awaking to better thoughts. I continue to leave my ego-driven Jesus. I continue to leave the Jesus made in the image and likeness of my broken experiences or some preachers fear; the prescribed Jesus of a rebellious fallen mindset. And the more I repent the more clearly I recognize the good news, the gospel; God is love and Jesus never leaves. Nothing separates me from His love, His great affection, peace, joy, hope, righteousness, forgiveness, grace (see Rom 8). God is love, so every time I leave my ego-driven, fear-based, shame focused Jesus, I discover more fully a transforming intimacy with the Jesus that never leaves…

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A FATHER WHO WON'T LET YOU EARN HIS LOVE - by Brent Lokker

Love is a gift given, never a reward for good behavior. If you were shown otherwise by your parents or others in life, who perhaps meant well but demonstrated love with strings attached, you already began walking along a path of striving for acceptance, approval, affection and belonging. It’s a path worn by heartbreak that leads to futility and frustration, sapping your joy with the never-enough syndrome.   The laws (commands) God gave to Moses were given to a people who had already convinced themselves God was a hard-to-please, distant deity who only loved with strings attached based on good behavior, causing them to fear the Lover of their souls. They didn’t know their tender-hearted Creator who desired for his children to encounter closeness and intimate connection with him. The Law wasn’t God’s choice, it was theirs by default because they believed a lie of distance and disapproval. Therefore, the Law became a sad reality for a long season of Israel’s existence. It was the gift of a Father who knew that once his children chose hiddenness, shame and fear, they would need some guardrails to protect them from utterly destroying their own lives through their wayward, independent choices.   Jesus came to draw us back into the awareness of our union with a safe and caring Father by including us in his death (dying to the distortion and lies of a distant Father) and in his resurrection (being brought to new life in our awareness of our union with the Trinity). This was all the Trinity’s choice and doing—their gift to bring genuine love back into the equation for all.   Jesus told us this inheritance of love, acceptance, approval and belonging was easy to receive. All we must do is be like a little child who simply runs into the awaiting arms of their Father. This, said Jesus, is what it means to enter into the Kingdom of heaven—the realm where blissful union with Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit is our continual reality.   When Jesus met an extremely rich young Jewish man who had walked along that well-worn path of striving in his well-intentioned attempts to perfectly adhere to the Law, he had deep compassion. In this man’s yearning for something more satisfying in his life, he approached Jesus, yet only knew how to ask a question familiar to the path he had been traveling on his entire life: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” While it may seem to us that Jesus could have simply told him to get off that path of ‘never-enough’ that was killing him, Jesus knows the depths of each heart and knew this man still had to walk that path a bit more to get to the end of his striving that had created a false independent self. Sometimes in his deep love for us, our Lord will allow us to exhaust ourselves to eventually become like a child, falling limp into his compassionate arms, done with the attempts to be good and finally allowing his precious life to flow through us.   This is why Jesus’ response to this man’s question was to sell everything he had and give it to the poor. Not because this was the magic formula allowing him to inherit eternal life, which is a gift given, but instead to bring him to the end of what he thought he could do for God to make himself right so he could enter into all that God had already included him in.   We don’t know the end of this man’s story, but this certainly wasn’t the end of God’s involvement in his life. Jesus said, “When I am lifted up (on the cross), I will draw all of humanity and every definition of judgement unto me.” (John 12:32, Mirror). This man was included in Jesus’ inexhaustible pursuit of all he included in his death and resurrection.   Jesus’ followers were convinced after this interaction with a rich, young ruler that no one could be saved (completely misunderstanding how Jesus, in his love for this man, was helping him). Jesus said, “With humans (in our own independent ways) this is impossible, but with God all things are possible!” (Matthew 19:26)   Let’s continue to enter into our inheritance of acceptance, approval and belonging, like little children who know they are loved. In this way, we get to enjoy the embrace of our tender Father with no strings attached!

HOW DO WE DECIDE IF HE'S GOOD? - by Karena Lout

by Karena Lout “For the Lord is always good and ready to receive you. He’s so loving that it will amaze you- so kind that it will astound you!” Psalm 100:5 (TPT)    I’ve noticed that sometimes I struggle to truly enjoy the good things happening around me because there are also difficulties looming to get my attention. Life is often a mix of both good and hard things that co-exist. We can easily gather enough evidence to prove that God is good while simultaneously looking at challenges we’re facing and tragedies in the world to try to prove that he’s not. This tension is a good place to invite Jesus into because it’s there that he wants to meet us.   So much of the time we want to define our circumstances as “good or bad.” When enough time has passed, I can look back on those “bad” times in my life with thankfulness and a new perspective. I can see growth, the way Jesus held me, wiped my tears and revealed a part of his nature I wouldn’t have known otherwise. I discovered who he was as my provider when I didn’t have a place to live. I experienced him as my comforter when I lost someone. I knew him as healer when I was sick. That’s not to diminish the struggle and pain we experience. It’s an invitation to see Jesus in it with us. “Jesus is the radiant and flawless expression of the person and intent of God. He mirrors God’s character and exhibits his every attribute in human form.” Hebrews 1:3 (Mirror)   Thankfully our circumstances don’t define us and they don’t determine whether God is good or not. God’s goodness exists because it’s who he is. Jesus built his case when he went to the cross for us. His blood is the proof. His resurrection points to a greater reality than our bad days. Our belief about his nature may get shaken but it doesn’t change who he is. That is good news. As you celebrate life’s victories, while also working through the losses that come, I pray you would experience his enduring, unchanging love through it all.   Love, Karena

THE OIL OF INIMACY - by Tiffany James

In this honest and transparent account of Tiffany’s own journey, you will discover a bit more of your own story and be invited away from striving and contending into sweet, genuine intimacy.  You can watch / listen to Tiffany's entire message here @ 1:22:25

When the Lover of my soul first called out to me, nothing else mattered being that for the first time in my life someone saw all of me and yet still chose me—a truth I would later learn is the epitome of true intimacy. So, I left my past behind to become His bride. Yes, I was His bride, and He was my one true prize. However, there were those who would contest, failing to forever hold their peace, questioning whether I was worthy of the honor of being the bride to the King of Kings. I was rejected, overlooked, and underestimated, but it didn’t matter because the eyes of my heart were fixated on the Lover of my soul, reminding me that our Father in heaven never doubts what He has ordained and created. However, like Ruth, I eventually felt like I had to fight to defend my truth. In doing so, I took myself out of the Potter’s hand and chose to put myself on the potter's wheel instead. This meant I was more driven by my call, my gifts, talents, and the expectations of man. I became so busy, consumed with everything—including ministry—that I didn’t realize the enemy was using it as a funnel to drain the oil of our intimacy, dimming the light He placed within me. My Lover's voice started to fade, and I struggled once again to capture His gaze, unable to discern what He was calling me to do. I became double-minded, blinded by loss, betrayed by disappointment, riddled with pain, and wrestling with the spirit of intimidation, causing me to look to man for validation. I was stifled by confusion, and for the first time in my life I found myself fretting with fear of the future. I had started off running a virtuous race, for God had leveled every mountain and made every crooked path in my life straight. But I was distracted on this journey of faith which had been paved by His grace. It wasn’t because I no longer sought His face, but because something I once possessed was lost along the way. I searched and continued to strive in my works, seeking what was missing. As I looked around, I became grieved because even in the church, what was lost could not be found. Not to criticize, but if we are honest, we might recognize that Jesus Christ, the Lover of our souls, is no longer the prize. Rather our dreams, visions, status, and agendas are now what is being prioritized. For there is a way that seems right to a man when he or she becomes wise in their own eyes. Then we wonder why there is no rest for the flesh, for it is never satisfied. I grew weary of winning outward battles that testified before man while losing the internal war that was draining my soul. It is said that when you come to the end of yourself, you come to the beginning of God. I had come to the end of myself. I had to admit to myself that I had done many things well, but my Lover had one charge against me, and He was grieved. I had lost my intimacy. I had forgotten my first love—my best friend—the One who, when everyone else doubted me, still chose me. The One who called me when no one knew my name. I had to go back to where it all began, back to the secret place. I shut myself in, fell on my knees, and cried out in complete humility, craving once again to get back to the rhythm of His heartbeat. I wept and poured my heart out like an endless river before the Lord. I cried out, "Do not turn Your face from me; cast me not from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me." It was in that moment that I felt His arms wrap around me, covering like blooms of morning glories, and I was drawn into an indescribable intimacy. I could feel His banner of love over me, and once again, I witnessed my Savior's true beauty. God said, "If My bride will humble herself and draw near to Me, I, the Lord your God, will restore in you the oil of intimacy." The oil sets you apart. The oil speaks. The oil heals, and the oil sets free. The oil stirs, and the oil allows you to come boldly before Me. The teaching anointing is in the oil. Did you know you can’t prophecy of Me without the oil of intimacy. You can’t evangelize without the oil. You can’t pastor My sheep without the oil of intimacy. The apostolic anointing is in the oil. Love is poured endlessly within My oil. My authority stands sound in the oil. Joy and peace flow like a river in the oil. Patience rests in the oil. Kindness and goodness are hidden gems in the oil. Faithfulness is like a sweet fragrance in the oil. Gentleness and self-control are in the oil. Lay down your crowns. Reflect and return to the Lord. Reconnect with His heartbeat and take up His sword, which is His Word, steeped in His love, drawing us back into intimacy. The Lord says, "Let Me anoint you once again with the oil of intimacy, for in Me, the oil will never cease."

THINGS JESUS DIDN'T SAY

“For God was so disgusted with the world and you that he gave his one and only Son.” “I have come to bring you a new religion.” “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have correct theology.” “If anyone would come after me, let him disparage all other religions and their followers.” “If you love me, you will regularly attend a church of your choice… within reason.” “Blessed are the tithers for they shall be called the children of God.” “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in Heaven after the earth goes up in flames and destroyed.” “You have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor,’ which means the people with whom you attend church and relate to in your Christian sub-culture.” “In my Father’s house there are a limited number of rooms. But no worries, there is plenty of room in Hell.” “The kingdom of God has come!… Well, not exactly. I mean, not completely. Let’s face it, the really-real kingdom comes after we die. Hang in there. It won’t be long.” “And you will know the truth and the truth will make you superior to all the other simpletons who never learned Greek or Hebrew.” “You are the light of the world…. in a sinful-filthy-scum kind of way.” “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you a checklist of things to do and not do in order to remain in God’s favor.” “For God so loved the world… you know like theoretically… as in, God loves the world mostly. But when it come to you specifically, there are quite a few things that would need to change for God to actually and love… or even like… YOU.”   Thank God that Jesus would never ever say such things as these. Rather, He came to give us life and life abundantly. He came to display the heart of a perfect Father. He came to save us, not to condemn us. He IS love!

REMEMBER ME - by Elijah Breon

It is easy to forget how much I can rely on God. Life comes at me from all angles, and over the days I end up carrying the heaviness. But, at some point, I hear him say, “Remember me?” “Yes!” I always reply in my heart. Of course I remember you. So I stop and listen a while.  “I have so much more for you than worry. Don’t let the season wear on your memory. I have taken you places you never knew you’d be. Remember that you gave me your future? I have walked with you every day of that path. I have met you in the very difficult days and I’ve always opened up doors that you couldn’t see. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You can rely on me that can be your mind’s focus. When you are trying to calculate and weigh options and possibilities, remember me. I have Grace for you.” We don’t walk this life alone. We have a Father who is mighty and immensely interested in our lives. “Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.” Psalms 37:4-5 NKJV

IN US, THROUGH US AND AS US: MOVING AS ONE IN THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF THE TRINITY - by Joel Pollard

2 Corinthians 4:6-7 in the Mirror declares, “The light source is founded in the same God who said, “Light, be!” And light shone out of darkness! He lit the lamp in our understanding so that we may clearly recognize the features of his likeness in the face of Jesus Christ reflected within us. And now, in the glow of this glorious light and with unveiled faces, we discover this treasure where it was hidden all along, in these frail skin-suits made of clay. We did not invent ourselves; we are God’s idea to begin with and the dynamic of his doing and amazing engineering!” It is not God in us, it is God as us. It’s not Jesus in us, it’s Jesus as us, for we are joint heirs in Christ. What does a move of God actually look like? I believe that the body of Christ has been looking externally for the answer so long to this question instead of internally. We’ve been looking “out there for the next move of God” when the move has been in us all along. When see God externally, it creates a sense of separation and alienation from Him. The good news of the Gospel is we don’t just have love, we are the very love of God, for there is no separation in Him, for we are one with God. He’s not working through us, He’s working as us for we ARE the very expressed image and likeness of Jesus! We’re the object of His greatest affection - we are the pearl of great price. We have been invited into this great adventure with the Trinity. We died with Christ, and because our life is now His life, this means that we’ve literally been given Jesus’ relationship with the Father (Col. 3:1-4). This is a place where we enter pure grace and rest; we already are because he is; as he is, we are already. When we already know who we are, it stops us from thinking who we are. It’s important that we don’t confuse behavior and identity - they are not the same thing. In the words of one my friends, Dr. Matt Pandel, “Mankind’s original sin is a propensity (a behavior pattern, not an identity or state of existence) to strive for what one already possesses. Our behavior often expresses what we believe about our identity. We “act” according to our beliefs about ourselves and who we think God is.” Faulty beliefs bear the fruit of faulty behaviors. For example, some of us may have experienced trauma in our past and the behavior from that has created a pattern that is not in who we inherently are. Trauma makes you who you aren’t but healing allows you to be the person you were always meant to be. My prayer is that as we awaken to the reality of who we really are in the Father, Son and Spirit, who we’ve been all along from when we were created before the foundation of the world, that we would come to further experience and encounter the reality that we are One with the Trinity, as They continue to move in us, through us and as us.  With Love, Joel

A SAFE FATHER WHO DOESN'T JUDGE US - by Brent Lokker

Language is a funny thing. How do we convey deep realities in the spirit and of the heart using sounds (phonetics) that we’ve created over the centuries to be able to communicate with one another? And then, how do we adequately translate the depth of these specific words across languages and cultures when often there just aren’t ways to adequately express the same nuances?   Take, for example, the verb to judge (judging, judgmental, etc). There are dozens of Greek words with hundreds of variations in the New Testament (woah!), but the word most often used is krisis. Though simply translated as judgement in English, it doesn’t carry the meaning of damnation or condemnation even though most of us who grew up in the church were instructed otherwise. Rather, the Greek word krisis usually conveys something much richer: “setting affairs right between different parties, deciding an issue, coming to a conclusion.”   In this way, we can see how God used his perfect and loving krisis/judgement/decision to come to a conclusion about us. What is that conclusion? Before the foundation of the world, the Father made the decision that we would be holy and innocent before him in love. (Ephesians 1:4; Colossians 1:22) He decided that through Christ, our intimate connection with Him would be fully restored. (Romans 5:1-2) He decided to set things right again by dealing a death blow to the devastating problem of our wayward independence that gave us a distorted view of God, and therefore of ourselves. (2 Corinthians 5:14; Colossians 2:13-15) And by his choice, He created us in his image and shared with us his divine nature to live in eternal union with the Trinity. (Genesis 1:27; 2 Peter 1:4; Romans 6:5)   Jesus told us in no uncertain terms that the Father judges no one but has entrusted all judgement to himself. (John 5:22) Then Jesus says though we judge by human standards, he (Jesus) passes judgement on no one. (John 8:15) Here he’s clearly talking about the ways in which we look down on another and judge others as less than in some way. He is letting us know, “My Father and I don’t do that to anyone…ever!”   Yet another time, Jesus says there is no judgement against anyone who believes in him, but if we don’t believe in him, we have already been judged. (John 3:18) Here’s an intriguing question to ask yourself: who is doing the judging? Jesus never says that it’s him nor does he say it’s the Father, but that’s an assumption most of us have made, mostly because it’s what we were taught, thus it’s the lens through which we see. If we look back to the deception in the Garden of Eden, some kind of distortion gripped God’s first children to suddenly hide from him in shame, somehow anticipating his punishment though previously all they had ever known was deep intimacy with a safe and loving Father. What was their Creator’s response? “My child, why are you hiding from me?” and later, “Who told you that you were naked?” Their loving Father was letting Adam and Eve know, “It wasn’t me!”   So again, who is doing the judging? I propose that the most telling answer is, WE are! And this is often the case when the word judgement is used in the New Testament. We end up judging ourselves when we look through distorted lenses and make up our own stories about who God is and who we are. We have a tendency to come into agreement with some pretty awful, condemning judgements—accusing ourselves, accusing others and even accusing God of being something other than who he is as the purest Lover of our souls.   This truly is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the complexities of the nuances of this one word, judgement. So the big question is, how do we gain more clarity? In a Word…Jesus. We gaze at Jesus who perfectly displays the heart and nature of our heavenly Father. Another way of saying this is, if you don’t see it in Jesus, it can’t be true of the Father. Remember, Jesus was the one to whom all judgement was given and what did he do with that? The only one who was given the authority to accuse and condemn—should he have chosen to do so—relinquished his right to be right in that epoch moment on the cross when he cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.”   If you have questions regarding what judgement is all about, gaze at Jesus and see how he loved people—like the woman with a poor reputation who anointed his feet with expensive oil and tears of deep gratitude because she encountered a Savior who was safe and who did not judge her in any way (you can read this story in Luke 7). When you wonder what the Father is really like, look no further than the person and life of Jesus and remember how faithfully he has loved you no matter what you have done in your life or where you have found yourself. That’s never going to change! Then, with those lenses in place, the Holy Spirit will lead you on a never-ending adventure of discovering how wide and how long and how high and how deep is the love of Christ!   And this is why you can run full on into the loving arms of your safe Father who will never condemn you but who has already chosen you to be his forever!

OUR CENTRAL REFERENCE POINT - by Russ & Susan Fochler

At a recent leader’s meeting, Susan felt God’s presence and saw an angel holding a large sword vertically with the point up.  And in her spirit and mind Susan heard “plumb line” and she understood our plumb line or central reference point is God’s love.  While other things are important, everything else is rightly valued and understood when we build our life upon His love.   What does this mean?  Last Saturday night, we looked at these scriptures:  - Psalm 89: 1-2, and 14-15 in the NIV - Isaiah 28:16-17a in the NKJV - 1 Cor 13:1-7, 12-13 in The Source New Testament - Hebrews 12:5-11 in The Message Bible - And 1 John chapter 1 in The Passion Translation - Saturday's talk starts here at an hour and 26 minutes. - “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily. Also I will make justice the measuring line, And righteousness the plummet;”    (Isaiah 28:16-17a  NKJV) God declares this prophecy in response to the problem of the scornful men ruling Jerusalem seemingly getting away with evil.  But, the true scope of this prophecy is for the whole world throughout time.  Unless our hearts change, the devastations and desolations resulting from heedless self-protection and self-promotion continue to ripple outward.   Jesus the Messiah is our cornerstone - our central reference point of other-centered, self-giving love.  His justice is the restoration of every violation of love (Jennifer Toledo).   And righteousness is established by God (Abba, Jesus, and Holy Spirit) through living inside us, living in communion with us while we grow in trusting and agreeing with His glad, loving heart. This song beautifully captures this: “Holy, there is no one like You There is none beside You Open up my eyes in wonder And show me who You are And fill me with Your heart And lead me in Your love to those around me   And I will build my life upon Your love It is a firm foundation And I will put my trust in You alone And I will not be shaken”   (Build My Life by Pat Barrett)   With hope and joy in Jesus,  Russ & Susan

THE CRUCIBLE - by Bill Hernandez

- Prov 17:3 - The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts.

Every situation we are in and every relationship we have the Lord uses as a crucible to draw out two things. One is all the negative fleshly things to expose them that we might let them go. The other is to reveal the gold or the righteousness of God that we have become as it says in 2 Cor 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” He says that in the world we will have tribulation, but to be of good cheer because He has overcome. We are overcomers. In Romans 8:28 it says that He causes all things to work out for good. The good is that our true selves, new selves are being revealed. Our true selves are flowing with the fruits of the Spirit as it says in Gal 5:1, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control...”   The Lord has been preparing us in intimacy with Him for what He is about to do across the whole world. He’s peeling away the old that we would emerge as He has wrought us full of wisdom and holiness because this next move of God will be like no other. It will be several degrees increase of power and anointing above previous outpourings. It’s going to require an ability to walk in our true identity. It will be a genuine walk in our higher selves that’s not legalistic, rule keeping or performing for God. We won’t be able to fake it. It will be natural and second nature to walk in newness of heart, mind and soul. We can’t rush it, but we are encouraged to be proactive with the realities of life that are front of us. We are called upon to chose what our higher selves would and that higher self is Jesus in us. We would do what He would do as new creations. We are currently becoming the perfect landing strip onto which heaven will fall. Our closeness to Him will prevent us from the abuses of past revivals and misguided religious practices. He’s showing me that we are crowning like an infant ready to be birthed or breaking out of the crysalis like a butterfly.   In Galatians 5:1 it says, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” In Colossians 3:1-3 it says, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." We are being called upon to make choices to walk in love with all patience, kindness, forgiveness, selflessness and honor among all other good attitudes and behaviors. This is where peace is. This is the kingdom He lives in and He wants to bring that kingdom to Earth through us.   All that we are going through in every circumstance and relationship is shaping us to shine with His brilliant glory of love for the world. He’s revealing that we are clothed with the new self, the image of Him our Creator. We’re being refined as His ambassadors.   Eph 4:22-24 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.   Romans 8:5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governedby the fleshis death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.

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I'd love for you to take part in blessing our community again this year. I'll be collecting these items at Blazing Fire on July 6, 13th and 20th: (More details coming soon) School Backpacks   -   Crayola Pencils 12 count Crayola Classic Markers 10 count   -   Crayola Crayons 24 count Ticonderoga Pencils (sharpened)   -   Pink Erasers Glue Sticks   -   Boxes of Kleenex Thank you so much! Love, Karena  karenalout@gmail.com

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A FATHER WHO DOESN'T LOOK FOR WHO'S TO BLAME - by Brent Lokker

Expending our energy trying to discover who is to blame is a wide-spread pursuit in our world. It began with our original parents in the Garden of Eden who were the first to be deceived about the nature of our tenderhearted Father, to the degree that hiding from the Lover of their souls and blaming each other seemed like the best course of action.   Fast forward to Jesus who came to reveal the Father to us because, without any distorted understand of his heavenly Father, he was able to live out for us a perfect representation of the Father’s nature and also to perfectly mirror to us, our most authentic selves.   In John 9, Jesus has a remarkable interaction with a man who was born blind that gives us a clear understanding that our Father has never been in the business of blaming or shaming. After Jesus approached this man, Jesus’ followers ask him, “Who sinned—this man or his parents that he should be born blind?” or quite simply, “Who’s to blame for this?”   You have to understand that in the culture of the day, that was a perfectly legitimate question to ask. It was common for someone blind or maimed in any way to be accused of being cursed, even accompanied by spitting at them as an awful way of outwardly agreeing (I add my agreement to this curse by spitting upon you).   Given only two choices, Jesus’ answer was completely counter-cultural and revolutionary. Or at least it seemed so to his followers because they were part of a culture that bought into the lies about the nature of God that simply weren’t true, and Jesus came to set things straight about his Father and about the kingdom of heaven that we are immersed in. Jesus’ answer was “Neither!” He was conveying, “You’re barking up the wrong tree! You’re looking for blame when there is none. My Father doesn’t curse and he doesn’t blame. I’m here to make things right because that’s my Father’s heart and I only do what I see him doing.” (this is my own interpretation that includes references to things Jesus said on several different occasions about himself and his Father).   Then comes a pivotal statement that has been rendered incorrectly in most translations, based on the Greek (please watch my message for much greater detail). John 9:3 in the NIV (and in most translations) reads: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. But if this is what Jesus actually said, it certainly appears his Father caused this tragedy to happen so that decades later Jesus could come to the rescue. This would fit with a world view that God punishes, so someone must be guilty of sinning, which sets up a troubling dichotomy pits Father and son against each other, pulling in opposit directions with Jesus trying to undo what the Father did.   So what is an accurate rendering of this verse? In the Greek, this verse does not say, “this happened” or “this man was born blind.”  Translators added a verb (“happened”, “born”) to make it fit with their understanding of hina “so that/in order that” which implies a cause and effect. But in this verse hina is an independent clause (no verb is present to be attached to it) which makes it much more accurate to understand hina is stating a command or wish—"Let this be so!”   Putting this all together, the most accurate rendering of this verse is: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned. But let the works of God be revealed in him.”   Or here is John 9:3 in the Mirror translation: “Jesus answered emphatically, ‘His condition has absolutely nothing to do with any sins committed either by himself or his parents. Neither him nor his parents were guilty of sin. This is an opportunity for God’s action (in Christ) to be unveiled in him.’”   So many have stumbled over this verse because it portrayed a Father who Jesus was rescuing us from. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus wasn’t rescuing us from the Father—he was re-introducing us to the genuine heart of our Father that we had been blind to. He was showing us the truth that would set us free to be able to give our hearts willingly to the Author of Love and Grace and Mercy, in whose image and nature we co-live.   To finish the story, Jesus healed the blind man by spitting on the ground and making mud that he placed on his eyes. What the??! Why would Jesus do that? Because, perfectly representing his Father’s heart, Jesus brought the shame and deep wounding of this man who was cursed with spit his entire life, full-circle to fully heal and restore him and to say, “I don’t curse you, I bless you, because your heavenly Father blesses you! I’m here to restore your entire being and to set you free to be your authentic self!”   Friends, you and I are created in this very same nature. We don’t need to expend energy looking for who is to blame. Instead we get to be participants with Jesus in bringing healing and restoration to each and every person created in the glorious image of our Father!

VOLITIONAL LOVE - by Bill Hernandez

The Lord showed me that as we get closer to Him, He opens our eyes to see things as they really are with greater discernment and understanding. Our inner world is transformed and the outside world including people and everyday circumstances comes into focus. As we emerge from a kind of denial, what we perceive around us can bother us, upset us, unsettle us or move us to instant compassion, acts of kindness and thankfulness. Seeing people’s hearts and motives more clearly with newfound understanding and discernment can present challenges for love. Just because we see, doesn’t guarantee we’ll suddenly become loving, kind and accepting. Overcoming our former ways or habits of how we interacted with others and the world requires being proactive in choosing to love, forgive and accept unconditionally also known as Agape. For those who understand psychology, our former construct is overturned by His loving presence and it takes a bit of work to establish a new one or new habits of the heart and mind that reflect Him. In I Cor 13:11 is says, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” Being loved doesn’t necessarily make us loving, but shows us why we ought to choose to love or greatly inspires us to do so. It puts a wind behind our sails. Knowing His love, evokes behaviors and choices to love the unloveable and imperfect. So now we have a choice to forgive what we see and make peace with the world. In this is peace, contentment and certain quietude, the place where He dwells. The Lord chooses to love the cruel, the bitter, the angry and the irregular. The Lord loves the world He created and is filled with unquenchable hope. In Psalm 103:8-10 it says, “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.” He doesn’t condemn, but saves. Aligning ourselves with His heart of unconditional love is powerful to change the world. The challenge to love is to make a decision to choose it and it can often involve longsuffering, not tolerance. It can require determination, conscious effort and selflessness. There may be pain and hardship. Love can be a sacrifice of inconvenience. Remember Him who died on the cross. Loving and forgiving doesn’t guarantee it will change situations, but we remain in love because we care for the relationships like He cares or at least we eventually endeavor to care. It’s not easy sometimes at all and especially when it comes to difficult people, strangers or life circumstances. The impetus to love starts with Him and we can ask Him to help us to walk in it which is our inherited divine quality. We aren’t left alone in our choice to love, forgive and accept, but we and Him together love by His ability and power to care. We and Him together endure. We have to be persistent in pursuing this to overturn old constructs. He showed me that we are kind of like breaking out of a shell, our former selves falling away to reveal the new creation that we are. This transition can be off putting because we’re faced with an inner battle to let go of the broken familiar way of interacting with the world and to flow in the new. We’re surrounded by imperfect people, an imperfect world, imperfect circumstances and He’s calling us to think like Him and do like Him. Loving, forgiving, praying and thankfulness is being in parallel with all of who He is. Stay in that zone and ask Him to bring you into it and keep you in it. Pray then, “Lord, I do love. Help the part that doesn’t.” Love not only applies to people, but also applies to jobs, finances, possessions, health, living situations, politics, the weather, etc., all of which require forgiveness, blessing, compassions, not judgments, anger and curses. It’s an attitude adjustment for the new person we are. It’s actively looking for the silver lining around every cloud. He causes all things to work out for good. We can ask for help for that too. Gal 5:22-25 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit as well. Luke 23:34 – Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

LESSONS FROM AN ORCHID - by Pastor Susan Fochler

I have several orchids that sit in front of a window in our living room.  While looking at them recently, God started speaking to me about their roots.  You see, they have two kinds of roots, the primary ones that grow down into the pot and provide most of the water and nutrition, and others that grow out horizontally into the air, hence called “air roots”. These air roots are kind of ugly and gnarly, but do provide a small portion of the moisture the plant needs.  We are like those orchids.  As believers, we draw our identity, primarily, from the heart of God as we grow in knowing who we really are as beloved sons or daughters in our union with Him.  But, because we are born into the world’s broken system, surrounded with messages of scarcity and legalism, we use self-effort to grow our own “air roots” into those things we think we need to protect, comfort and justify ourselves independent of the love of God.  These aren’t necessarily bad things, like our possessions, jobs, ministries, giftings, etc., they just were never designed to be the primary source of our identity.  We seek them because we have a hard time believing God can really love us as completely and unconditionally as He says He does, without us doing a thing to prove our worth.  It has been an ongoing journey for me to learn to love and accept myself.  At times I can feel a pressure to prove something to somebody, somewhere, and, of course, that something is never enough, because I would be trying to prove it to a false system.  The truth is, all I need do is accept the “endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding” and that “pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!”  (Eph 3:17, 20 TPT.)  What would it look like if we really believed this was true! How do we come to know this love?  By allowing His compassion to touch every hurting place, and being curious to understand why we react in ways that aren’t consistent with who we really are.  Instead of choosing to reject and condemn ourselves, we start accepting that we are His choice, and that we are worth loving.  And that we can continue to let go of all those self-created attachments we have made with the world that produce a false sense of self.   As we do so, we are the Prodigal son walking into the outstretched arms of a loving Father, recognizing there is nothing we need do to cause Him to love us more than He does at this moment.  And knowing and accepting that is exactly what heals our heart. May we all come to know we are holy and without blame before Him in love.  Eph 1:4 NKJV. With love; Susan