Entering the Journey With Jesus by Pastor Russ Fochler

This coming Sunday is the time that most Christians mark as "Palm Sunday".  When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on that day almost two thousand years ago, it marked a "point of no return" for him.  The coming week was the appointed time of Pesech - "Passover" and for Jesus to reveal Himself as "The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."

I encourage you to walk with Jesus this week. We often touch upon and analyze passages from the last week of Jesus' life when He was visable to all.   But how often do we just immerse ourselves in this part of His story? We know that Y'shua yearned for the hearts of His disciples to stay present with Him when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. What if we could give Him that gift now?  I believe that we can. Let me explain:

Time and our human spirit We know that God lives outside of time.  He dwells in eternity.  We are aware of living in the construct of time - and it helps keep things understandable for us.  However, when we're united with the "God of the spirits of all flesh" (Num 27:16); He can take us places beyond the time and space limitations of our physical bodies.

A Story in Jerusalem A few years ago, a group of folks from Blazing Fire went to Jerusalem to help one the houses of prayer (Succat Hallel).  During our breaks, we explored the "Old City" and the country side.  On day, we visited the house (palace) of Caiphas the high priest at the time of Jesus' trial.  At the lowest level there is a dungeon pit hewn out of rock. As we entered this pit, we were given time there by ourselves. And a spirit of intercession gripped us.  Kelly Rashe, Susan, and Karena in particular - sensed strongly the presence of Jesus as he waited in this dungeon pit.  We all felt a supernatural grace to express our love, gratitude, and compassion to Jesus - believing that He was receiving our expressions as He waited there almost 2,000 years ago.  I would say that this was the most significant experience of that trip for me.

Jesus' Last Week (plus a bit) A surprising percent of the Gospel texts focus on these days:  The Gospel of Matthew: ~34%  (Starts Chap 21:1) The Gospel of Mark: ~ 39%  (Starts Chap 11:1) The Gospel of Luke: ~ 23%  (Starts Chap 19:28) The Gospel of John: ~ 47%  (Starts Chap 12:1)

I encourage you to "Journey with Jesus" though His last week by inviting the Holy Spirit to read with you - and empower you to "enter into" His journey.  I suggest that you read one of the first three (synoptic) Gospels and then the Gospel of John.  My wife Susan describes this - as entering the "holodeck" of the Holy Spirit.  It is my prayer; that as you do this, that your heart will connect even more deeply with your Savior, King, and Betrothed Bridegroom. Russ Fochler

JUSTICE FOR PAKISTAN: CRISIS = OPPORTUNITY RADICAL ISLAM or RADICAL LOVE Due to the radical events that took place this last weekend in Pakistan, Approximately 200 Christian homes were burned and destroyed by radical Muslims. I was up during the night on the phone with our GMA Director in Pakistan, as well as one of the top Muslim leaders of Pakistan.  They are both directly in the midst of the tragedy that has taken place in their community.  I can hear the urgency in their voices as they express the need for me to go there. When Israel was in a crisis, David stepped up to the challenge of Goliath.  When Esther's family was facing annihilation, she put her life on the line and stood in the gap to save them.  Our family in Pakistan is in the midst of a crisis.  I MUST go!  We will have no authority in our message if we do not do something!  I WILL NOT let this Goliath or Haman intimidate me.  I have spent 17 years building trust and relationships amongst the top Muslim leaders in Pakistan.  This is our opportunity to be His Glorious Light in the midst of great darkness.  This is our opportunity to bring Justice to the Christians in Pakistan. I will return to Pakistan April 6 even if I go without a team.  I'm committed to this precious nation Father God has entrusted to us.  Within this battlefield I will still conduct a mass Evangelistic Healing Meeting anticipating 80,000 names being added to the Lamb's Book of Life.  But I will also go back and walk those same streets I've walked before which are filled with smoldering ruins. I will encourage and strengthen the persecuted church (mine and your family).  But this time I will bring together a mixture of Christians and Muslims.  I will take up the first shovel in helping to clear out the ruins. I will work side-by-side with Muslims and Christians erecting new houses.  If my daughter's, Laila, home were burned to the ground, I would be there to assist in the rebuilding.  I feel the same way about our family in Pakistan. I am sending you this letter with an urgent plea from my heart.  I would like to bring a minimum of $200,000 with me to help rebuild homes for our families in Pakistan. Would you go with me by sacrificially giving to our brothers and sisters in Pakistan?  I will take photos and videos of my time there and make those available to you upon my return. Thank you for hearing my heart.  Thank you for taking part in demonstrating RADICAL LOVE amongst radical Muslims! Lief Hetland If you feel led to help Leif please make checks out to Blazing Fire Church and put Pakistan in the memo. We will send all monies to his ministry as it is collected. Blazing Fire will be receiving monies for this cause until April 6th. Lief Hetland

 

Extravagant Giving by Pastor Angela Ellis

Partnering with God is a constant ebb and flow of love, awe and   wonder. Our Daddy is an extravagant giver of all things. He withholds nothing. He graciously presents opportunities for us to build His  Kingdom with Him in every facet of life weather it be time, finances  or talents.

As I’ve walked with Jesus I have been in many situations where I have been asked by God to partner with Him in giving. I love to give as the  Lord directs because I am then left in expectation in what He is going     to do with what He has asked me to sow. It’s exciting to know that the Lord is always placing opportunities in front of me to partner with Him to bless others. I don’t see it as a duty or a burden. It’s fun to me. I love standing in awe of how God uses His children to love on each  other especially with finances and personal treasures. It’s an honor to  truly be a reflection of His giving loving heart!

I am not one who sows with a demand on return from the Lord. I give  because I love the Father and I love how He loves His kids! I love to  partner with what He is doing in the Land and I love to watch as He  supernaturally multiplies His blessings.

Because I know the heart of the father, I am assured that He will take  care of my every need and there will automatically be a return in all  that I have given. That’s just who He is! I am assured that He will  multiply what I have sown in His timing and the way He sees fit for  my life. I have come to a place where I see the act of giving as  glorious opportunities to step into what the Lord wants to do not  just for me but for His purposes of His kingdom and the faith of  others. I have come to a place where the fear of giving my last dollar,  my treasured possessions or my time is no longer there because I have  been witness to the Lords lavish love not just for others but for me as well. It’s actually jaw dropping when I am blessed to witness it!

It seems in this hour Blazing Fire is being presented with some  wonderful opportunities to partner with God to give lavishly into  what He wants to do throughout the earth. Below, you will find  excerpts of a letter Blazing Fire received from Leif Hetland who is  a father to many in the Body of Christ as well as local opportunities  that directly affect the Blazing Fire family. I encourage you to pray  about these opportunities and partner with the Lord in what ever He is leading you to. Take this opportunity to walk in faith with Daddy and trust in what He is telling you! He is an extravagant giver with a  joyful heart. Here is your opportunity to reflect that aspect of His  heart!

Thank you Jesus that there is always more than enough to give!!  Thank you that you have provided each person something in which they can partner with you in expanding and blessing your kingdom! 

In His loving name,

Pastor Angela Ellis

Encouraging Twitter One-Liners

TWITTER One-Liners

that will encourage you

and give you hope and courage!

 

 

For those of you who are not on Twitter, here are some examples of the type of Kingdom encouragement that are flooding the world daily.  If you ever want to follow me, I'm @BrentLokker.

 

Enjoy and be massively encouraged by some of the voices that we have had speak into the life of our Blazing Fire family (starting with my own):

 

From Brent Lokker:

* God is not looking for an excuse to reject us, but is looking for every opportunity to take us into His arms of love!

* Stop for a moment to listen to the heartbeat of the Father for you..."You're mine, you're mine, you're mine, you're mine..."

* God is SO much bigger than your mistakes! Get back in the game and engage your heart with His!

* Love crushes fear, demolishes hopelessness, trumps shame, pummels rejection and reverses destruction! Who can you love today?

* When you choose to see the best in others, you're looking with the heart of God!

* When we judge someone instead of extending the Father’s love and mercy, we disqualify ourselves from being the one to impact them.

 

From Kris Vallotton:

* When someone fails it's important that we don't make them feel like a failure least they spend their days living out a lie!

* If you believe you are warring with your old nature you can't win... you haven't engaged the real enemy. Our struggle is not with the flesh.

* Any thought that doesn't inspire HOPE in you is not rooted in the redemptive nature of our King, and is not worth dwelling on.

* Endeavor to be in secret what you appear to be in public, and God, who sees in secret, will promote you in public.

 

From Danny Silk:

* Truth is established through the exchange of truth. Truth isn't what I think about you, truth is what is going on inside of me.

‎* "Into-me-see" happens because I show you. Intimacy only happens when people take responsibility over their own emotions and courageously share with others.

* Remember, you don't control anyone else. On a good day you can tell yourself what to do and you'll obey you.

* Honor is about two powerful people in a relationship working together to meet the needs of one another.

 

From Doug Addison:

* Advancement in the spiritual realm does not always look & feel like you are doing great. Trust the process as God is at work

* If you are asking God for confirmation on something look no farther than God's peace in your heart. Peace is the best fleece

* God is full of fun surprises and happy endings! Don't let negative reports & news bring you down. God is at work in it all

* Taking small steps toward what God is calling you to will big big results quickly. Do something today and see...

 

From Graham Cooke:

* “When we return to a place of joy and laughter, the Lord will overcome your staleness and refresh you.”

* "Be overwhelmed. It's the only way you can understand God!"

* "The Lord has fullness that you need to inherit. You need to learn how to facilitate abundance."

* "We always give our way into our blessing and our future. See your life as a contribution."

* "My prayer is that we would never make any provision for mediocrity or dullness. We should live our lives astonished!"

 

From Bill Johnson:

* You can have a life of understanding and live in a small world, or you have heaven's peace and live in a world without limits.

* Living in regret will become your biggest regret.

* Many stop short of a divine encounter because they are satisfied with good theology. The word of God is to lead us to the God of the word.

* Outside of the presence of God everything is subject to distortion.

* We don't have the capacity to exaggerate God's goodness. We can distort it, or even misrepresent it, but we can never exaggerate it.

* Every loss is temporary. Every victory is eternal.

* The Law requires. Grace enables.

* It takes courage to expect the best. Anyone with unbelief can expect the worst.

Pastor's Todd & Karena Lout are going on a 2 month Sabbatical

What's a Sabbatical?

The word comes from the Hebrew shabbat from where we get the word Sabbath rest. It literally means "cease" as in what God did on the 7th day after creating the heavens and the earth.  In today's venacular, we're saying that Todd and Karena have been going full bore without any lengthy rest for 7 or 8 years now at Blazing Fire Church, and it's time!!  Between the two of them, they have been overseeing Blazing Fire's worship, youth group, children's ministry, young adults, intercession and greeters. (whew!)  And that doesn't count their involvement in our Kingdom Training School of Supernatural, our sozo ministry, and being there for hundreds of people on an ongoing basis.  Did I say yet that it's time for them to take a rest?!

They will be taking the months of March and April to recharge their batteries by doing things away from Blazing Fire that are life-giving for them.  PLEASE do not disturb thier rest during this time--the remainder of the pastoral staff are still here to help you should you need that.  We have an amazing family at Blazing Fire and many of you have already willingly and lovingly stepped up to fill in the places where extra help was needed in their absence.  Thank you!!

Let's Bless Todd & Karena BIG!!

We are going to take a special offering for Todd & Karena this Saturday, March 2nd, during the worship service to bless their family to be able to do some extravagant things they wouldn't be able to do otherwise.  We would love, with your help, to give them an over-the-top blessing to express our love and deep appreciation for them. If you won't be there Saturday, but want to contribute, you can send checks (make them out to Blazing Fire Church and put "Sabbatical" in the memo) to Blazing Fire Church, P.O. Box 1599, Pleasanton, CA 94566.

Todd & Karena won't be there this Saturdays at Blazing Fire (they are leading the One-Night RAIN ralley that night as their last duty before resting), so this financial blessing will be an unexpected and overwhelming surprise for them.

I LOVE THIS PART

God has a highlight reel of your best moments in life waiting for you in heaven!  He’ll provide the popcorn (in heaven you can have all the butter on it you want!) as you are reclining together and watching His version of your home movies, He’ll say over and over again, “I love this part!”

I love this part when you gave your milk money to another child because they didn’t have any!

I love this part when you said a kind word that gave that lonely person hope in a dark moment!

I love this part when you patiently waited and even joked around with others in line when something went wrong with the cash register at the grocery store!

I love this part when you wiped the tears away from a child’s eyes, gave them a hug, and told them something that made them smile again!

I love this part when you sat down and cried with me and believed how good I was even in the midst of an extremely difficult situation.

I love this part when you lifted up your tear-filled eyes to me and said, “I trust you, Father!”

I love this part when you chose to forgive another who had wronged you because you remembered my mercy and released them!

I love this part when you smiled at someone,
when you stopped to open the door,
when you gave a lost person directions,
when you picked up the phone to talk to encourage someone,
when you took the time to listen as well,
when you helped another up,
when you gave a meal to someone who had none…
...and the list goes on and on.

And you’ll say, but Lord, what about the other parts that weren’t so good.  And he will look at you with a quizzical face and say, “My child, I really don’t remember that.”

So we are made holy because Christ obeyed God and offered himself once for all.  By his one sacrifice he has forever set free from sin the people he brings to God. The Holy Spirit also speaks of this by telling us that the Lord said, “When the time comes, 
I will make an     agreement
 with them. 
I will write my laws 
on their minds and hearts. Then I will forget 
about their sins
 and no longer remember 
their evil deeds.” When sins are forgiven, there is no more need to offer sacrifices. Hebrews 10:10,14-18 (CEV)

Jesus can’t get back up on the cross again because He did it all for you the first and only time!  He has made you holy and put you right with God.  It’s time to enjoy that relationship and live out your life true to your real self.  It’s time to make more wonderful memories in this life that you and your heavenly Father will watch together again when you will hear Him say with delight,

“I love this part!”

We are going there Together! by Pastor Susan Fochler

At our recent Elder Retreat, Pastor Brent led the elders in looking deep into who we are as a church, and from there we formulated the Vision Statement above.  One of the underlying themes that kept coming up is that we are going there together!

We are learning relationship, together
In seeking to encounter God, in exploring what it means to be family and in discovering the fullness of Who Christ is in us, we are together in this journey.  As Leif Hetland reminded us last year, everything in the Kingdom is a matter of the heart.  God is first and foremost relational.  We are created to be in relationship with Him, and with one another.  Together, interconnected.  We learn from one another, encourage, inspire and sometimes challenge each another.  Most of us did not come from a family background that gave healthy examples of communication and connection, so we are learning now, with God's love and Holy Spirits help.

We are growing up into Christ, together
In growing relationships with one another, we are growing up into Christ, as His one Body.  We are the clothes He chooses to wear here on planet earth, and we each wear a different outfit that expresses a unique facet of His glorious presence.  We surely are altogether lovely; (as we) look to Him we are radiant; (our) faces shall never blush for shame or be confused! (Ps. 34:5 AMP)

Keeping our love (and vulnerability) on: for others and ourselves
Those days when I have lost my focus it is typically because I have felt disconnected from God, and then start disconnecting from my own heart.   It is a matter of not allowing myself to be vulnerable with God, which makes me  lose touch with who I really am to Him.  But often one of you has come alongside to help remind me that I still belong.  By accepting me, showing patience and simply being present.  This is, perhaps, our biggest challenge: to keep the connection with Him, and one another, and refuse to engage with our old independent, self-protective ways.

A quote from Madeleine L'Engle is a good reminder to me:  "When we were children, we used to think that when we were grown up we would no longer be vulnerable.  But to grow up is to accept vulnerability.  To be alive is to be vulnerable."

We all Belong
Romans 8:15-17 from the Message gives an awesome expression of this temporary life we are living as His supernatural, beloved family:

This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What's next, Papa?"  God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are: We know who He is, and we know who we are: Father and children.  And we know we are going to get what's coming to us--an unbelievable inheritance! 

With Courage, Compassion and Connection we can do it!
Yes we are going there together, and our Good God will give us all the courage, compassion and ability to connect that is needed! 

Love,
Susan

The Call To Pray by Bobby Conner

Blazing Fire Family, be greatly encouraged to draw into the deeper places with the Lord with this word from Bobby Conner:

The Call to Pray

The Spirit of God is calling each and every Believer to come aside, approach the Almighty, and spend time with God in prayer.

Do you realize that there is absolutely nothing more powerful and productive in the whole earth than the prayers of the saints? It is a mystery of the Kingdom that God indeed restricts His actions when we do not pray. Without prayer, He does not move; with prayer, however, He can do anything. Through our prayers and petitions to God, all things are possible.

Truly, prayer moves the hand of God...and when the hand of Almighty God moves, nothing and no one can stop Him. Let's set our heart to activate the hand of God with our prayers.

Captured, Consumed, Compelled

It is time not only to petition the Lord in prayer but also to be still and truly know who God is (see Psalm 46:10). The Spirit of God is calling each of us to prayer, but this call is not just an invitation to make our requests known, as important as that is.

On a deeper level, God is inviting us to intimate communion with our Maker.

Imagine! We are being called to be captured by Divine Love.

We're invited to become consumed by the Holy Spirit.

And we are being compelled to ascend to the Throne of God.

When Jesus Christ was crucified and finally gave up His Spirit, the veil of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem was torn from top to bottom, the veil that prevented access to the Holy of Holies to everyone but the high priest. What does this mean for us today? The Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ opened wide our access to the Almighty God.

What an outstanding honor: each of us has an open invitation to speak with our Father heart to heart. We as created beings are invited by the Creator Himself to communicate and commune with Him, to approach His Throne boldly because of the shed Blood of Jesus Christ.

Who, Me?

Yes, you! The King of Kings and Lord of lords has issued an invitation to you to draw near to Him. What could be more magnificent and heart stirring than communicating with the Creator of the entire universe? What an awesome privilege you have been granted! You are called to talk to God and hear His voice in turn.

Why? God desires to commune with you because you are incredibly precious and unspeakably special to Him as His child. You are deeply cherished by your Abba-Father. Set your heart upon this thought. Contemplate and ponder this truth: your heavenly Father, Maker of Heaven and earth, yearns to hear your innermost thoughts and desires and share His heart with you.

In other words, God wants to engage with you personally, intimately, continuously, as you learn to abide in Him and practice His presence throughout the day. He is interested in every nuance of your thoughts and feelings that rob you of His peace or shalom; He wants to heal and deliver you from every offense and wound because He is deeply touched by whatever touches your life.

Beloved, set aside every distraction and all unnecessary activities, secondary interests and carnal, worldly pursuits, and contend with all of your heart to find that secret place with God. May the Spirit of God so motivate our hearts with a "holy hunger" that we, too, find immense joy spending time communing with our Heavenly Father and bear much fruit for His glory!

Bobby Conner
Eagles View Ministries