Amazing Revelation

(An encouragement from Tammy Von Horn who will be preaching at Blazing Fire this Saturday night)

Didn’t you just love Pastor Brent’s email last week describing Jesus as our most awesome and powerful King? Didn’t that email both remind you of truth you already know and challenge you to be amazed all over again at the absolute majesty of our Savior?

John the Baptist spoke something very similar in John 3. John’s disciples approached John with a tone of concern that more people were beginning to go to Jesus to be baptized instead of coming to John’s camp.

In response to their concern, John beautifully describes his perspective of Jesus and himself,

"You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for Him.’ It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the best man is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at Jesus’ success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. Jesus has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but He has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else. He testifies about what He has seen and heard, but how few believe what He tells them! Anyone who accepts Jesus’ testimony can affirm that God is true. For Jesus is sent by God. Jesus speaks God’s words, for God gives Him the Spirit without limit."

Because of the amazing revelation given to him, John understood who Jesus was and also knew who he was. We, like John, are invited into this revelation where we also behold and understand the majesty of Jesus and in that knowing come to understand how precisely we were created and reborn into His likeness.

In the beginning when God created everything, He deliberately created you and I in His image. Now on one end of this spectrum, this may mean that some of us have His nose or His chin or even His ears. Or that likeness may apply to your mannerisms – do you laugh like God or sneeze the way that He does? But on the completely other end of the spectrum, you were designed to mirror your big brother Jesus, shaped to carry as He does, God’s spirit without limit. Aren’t you amazing?!

I am so excited to share even more about this very topic on Saturday. And just to let you in on a little tip, if you come with your Bible (we’ll be camping in John 3, 6 and 9) AND a hand mirror, you will be just as blown away as I’ve been lately at how unfathomably kind God was towards us when He simply conceived, shaped and presented us in His very image.

KING JESUS!

This morning I experienced the extravagant joy of knowing that Jesus is the King of the earth. Now that may seem really obvious at first, but in light of all that is happening, both in our personal lives and also in the United States and the nations around the world, it is easy to begin fretting about what's going to happen.

In a most glorious moment, purely by God's grace, I was ushered into a near euphoric state of bilssful confidence in my King Jesus! Jesus knows EXACTLY what he is doing! He can let me know everything that I need to know, but nothing more than I should know. He is the King and I am not!

My primary job is to remain in his presence and enjoy Him, fully confident in his strength, not focusing on my weakness. That's just extremely good news right there!

In light of that, I bless each one of you today with the deep peace that comes from knowing that your King is working all things out on the earth and that he is in your corner working things out for you at this very moment! I bless you with the joy of experiencing the depth of his very real passion for you that never changes! And I bless you with the grace of staying in this place of resting in the astounding goodness of God continuously.

We love you!
Brent & Suzanne

BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE!

Hello Amazing Saints!

Yes, YOU!!

Don't let the world tell you who you are. The world doesn't know the first thing about your astounding new nature in Christ! The angels are looking on in awe at what the Lord has chosen to do to make you a carrier of His divine glory!

Colossians 1:5 in the Mirror Transalation says this:

"Heaven (the spiritual realm) is the limitless reservoir of your expectation. The announcement of the goodness of God is not far fetched or too good to be true. The word you heard is absolutely true!"

Do you know what this means? It means that the goodness and love of your Father towards you, who absolutely adores you and is proud to call you his son or daughter, is absolutely 100% true!! You can bank on it!

Colossians 1:10 explains what you get to do with this exceptionally Good News:

"Go on a walkabout tour to explore the extent of the land that is yours under His Lordship. Now you can conduct yourselves appropriately towards Him; pleasing Him in every harvest of good works that you bear. Meanwhile you continue to increase in your intimate acquaintance with God; this results in the most attractive and fulfilled life possible."

Your singular job (if you want to call it that) is to draw in closer and closer to the One who wants you with all of his heart! As you do that, the deepest longings within you find fulfillment as the Lord saturates you with his tender love and mercies every day of your life. This is what you have to look forward to for all of eternity!

You are truly blessed beyond measure! Get used to it!!

We love you!
Brent & Suzanne

Jesus is Holding it All Together!

With all of the upheaval and apparent uncertainty in the world, it is more crucial than ever that we have a firm grasp on the immensity of Christ who is the certain hope of the world! Check out Hebrews 1:1-3 in The Mirror Translation (with some of my thoughts in blue):

"Throughout ancient times God spoke in many fragments and glimpses of prophetic thought to our fathers.

Now, the sum total of his conversation with man has finally culminated in a son. He is the official heir of all things. He is, after all, the author of the ages. (Sonship, as represented in Jesus, is the crescendo of God’s conversation with man).

We have our beginning and our present being in him (Christ in us, the author and perfector of our faith!). He is the force of the universe, sustaining everything that exists by his eternal utterance! (did you get that?? He is THE one and only force of the universe, sustaining everything! Keep yourselves firmly fixed on that truth whenever you are feeling unsettled by what you see going on around you!) Jesus is the radiant and flawless expression of the person of God. He makes the glory (intent) of God visible and exemplifies the character and every attribute of God in human form. This powerful final utterance of God (the incarnation) is the vehicle that carries the weight of the universe. He is the central theme of everything that exists. The content of his message celebrates the fact that God took it upon himself to successfully cleanse and acquit mankind. (acquittal means that the case against you was thrown out of court for all time because there is absolutely NO evidence against you!!) Jesus is now his right hand of power, seated in the boundless measure of his majesty (where you are also seated with Him--WHOA!). He occupies the highest seat of authority, in which our innocence is represented."

Uncertainty on the earth? It's true that everything that can be shaken is being shaken, but nothing could be any more certain than Jesus Christ who holds everything together! He alone holds the keys to His unshakable Kingdom and invites us to rule and reign with Him!

"For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body." (Colossians 1:16-18, The Message Bible)

Church, we are in EXCELLENT hands!

Much love you to all!
Brent & Suzanne

Phrases from a Good Papa!

Last Saturday, I shared about our amazing Papa God (who also has a Mamma's comfort) who has uplifting things to say to you. Receive these words of encouragement straight from His heart to yours. And as you receive them, you will have the very same words to share with others who also need His encouragement through you!

So...Papa God says to you:

* "I'm proud of you!"

* "I celebrate you!"

* "I will never, ever give up on you!"

* "I am always for you, never against you!"

* "I see the treasures in you and I will continuously call them out!"

* "I am cheering you on!"

* "My ceiling is your floor! I am committed to your success!"

* "I will allow you to make mistakes and learn, but I will not enable you!"

* "I will discipline you because I love you!"

* "I will make sacrifices to assure your success!"

* "I love you!"

What you have freely received, you get to now freely give away!

The Empty Tomb Is Our Launching Pad!

It's the week after Easter.

Last Saturday at Blazing Fire, we filled you with the unchanging, spectacularly Good News that because of Christ’s sacrifice, you are perfectly right with God and you have access to His presence ALL the time!

Admittedly, we can begin to lose sight of this truth when the long list of "to do's" and the circumstances of life start chipping away at our peace and joy. BUT WAIT!! We can choose to seek first God’s Kingdom (which is defined as Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit!) and all these things that we were worrying about will be added unto us (Matthew 6:33). We can go about our routine and still stay out of the rut because we know our lives have been forever redirected by heaven's power and Jesus' abiding presence. We will not allow circumstances to steal away the assurance, encouragement, and hope of what Christ finished on the cross for us! We will remember that the empty tomb is our launching pad for hope, transformation, and victory!

The Lord isn’t dead! Christ lives in you! He lives for you! His victory is yours! Nothing will ever change that!

Here is my paraphrase of Titus 3:4-7 that I read to you last Saturday night at Blazing Fire. Read this out loud and fully agree with the truth that never changes!

“Because Papa’s outrageous love and extreme kindness were undeniably displayed through Jesus’ sacrificial death on our behalf, it has become crystal clear that this action was all God’s doing and had absolutely nothing to do with us earning His acceptance and approval. We were completely and perfectly saved for one reason alone—God’s faithful love and desire for us compelled Him! We have been purified and made holy through and through with complete access to enjoy God’s glorious presence as a brand new creation of Christ-like glory! Because of Christ’s death on the cross--doing for us what we could never do for ourselves in a million years--we have already been tried and found not guilty. As a result, we are filled with child-like, giddy joy, knowing that everything Jesus purchased is already ours--especially eternal life with Papa who loves us, desires us and wants us to be with Him forever!”

The empty tomb is our launching pad to transform the earth with the love, joy and power of Jesus that fills us every day of our lives!! GO FOR IT!!!

Seeing From Heaven's Perspective!

Enjoy this encouragement from Karena Lout (captivatedbytheking@gmail.com), an elder of Blazing Fire Church who, along with her husband Todd, are amazing pastors of our on-fire teenagers!

We've all heard the saying "Some see the glass half empty and some see it half full." Perspective is everything. Do we only see what's missing or do we see an opportunity for more? At the beginning of March, Jesus encouraged me to keep a journal for 30 days, writing down three things.

1. Something I'm thankful for

2. Something I saw God do that day

3. A declaration of something GREAT to come

I have to admit, I haven't always been very consistent with keeping a journal but this seemed pretty feasible. And after all, how could I say no to being encouraged! I soon found myself being thankful for rain on days when others were less than happy about it. I saw God do some pretty amazing things that I may not have noticed before I began looking for His goodness. When you focus on what God IS doing and not on what you think He isn't doing, you see everything through Heaven's perspective. This isn't to say that we ignore difficulties, pain and tragedy that so many are facing. But when you contemplate on what Christ has done, you become part of the solution that so many are looking for. You can't help but be encouraged! Jesus is after all, the eternally extreme optimist! His glass is ALWAYS FULL! And so is yours!

So I encourage you to take some time to thank Him for the simple things, the monumental things, the ways He's moving in your life and on the earth. Believe me, it won't be difficult and you will not be disappointed. Each day is an opportunity to breathe in and savor the goodness of a God who is so in love with you!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever" Psalm 107:1

"Becoming affectionately acquainted with Throne Room thoughts will keep you from being distracted again by the earthly realm" Col. 3:2 (The Mirror Translation)