Some Things You Only Learn As a Child

As we draw close to the day of Christmas, we remember how God invaded humanity through a infant boy. Theologians use big words like "incarnation" but to reflect on God limiting Himself to a baby that poops, pees, has to be breast fed, and have his swaddling clothes changed is truly amazing. The Lord has drawn me to a revelation about receiving His Kingdom that goes contrary to our thinking. Our society elevates those who are learned, smart, intelligent, shrewd, and calculating but I don't find this same appreciation when it comes to God's Kingdom. Wisdom is definitely a theme in Scripture, especially in the Proverbs. Wisdom is different then knowledge, wisdom has it's source in the character of God. As I woke up one morning I was hit by disappointment (my wife didn't get a job we were expecting she would get), then I listened to a message talking about prayers and promises that you stopped praying, and then I felt deep inside there were other disappointments. As I went off to meet with a prayer partner, the Lord began to show me that I had a pattern of experiencing disappointment. As my prayer partner led me in prayer to go into the roots of the feelings of disappointment, I began to see a childhood pattern of feeling set up for disappointment. The Lord began to show me that I had closed my heart off and began to become cynical about trusting. Human beings will always disappoint us because we were born of the Spirit to trust a completely faithful God, yet we often inwardly measure God by the people who raised us. The Lord began to speak to me about trust, I was saddened to realize that because my child-like trust had been distorted through the Enemies lies that I had believed God would not come through. When you believe that God will not come through for you (we all have some unbelief), then the only alternative is to try to do things according to your own power (the flesh). As I looked at Matthew 18:1-5 the Lord began to speak to my heart that there revelations that could only be received by becoming as a child. There are a number of people who I see God working through mightily, I am amazed at their child-like faith. Some of these people even talk about being like a little boy with a Big Dad. I found that inside of me was this inner-cynic because I had been hurt and disappointed as a little boy. I am all for studying, understanding Scripture in context, and even understanding the meaning of words in their original language. In this though we can get lost in believing that it is our effort that unlocks the mysteries of omnipotent God but this God seems to want us to know with a heart of a child. Jesus gives the disciples a lesson when they are acting like selfish and competitive children (asking who will be the greatest in the Kingdom) by bringing a child before Him and telling them to become like this child. The word He uses is be converted which carries the meaning to change directions or your mind. Clearly Jesus perspective on the Kingdom was vastly different than the disciples, the disciples are thinking of a corporate structure of upward mobility. Jesus points them to a child and challenges them to take the downward journey of humility. A child is likely to trust easily, open their heart, and enjoy the journey of discovery. We as adults have learned how to protect ourselves from being so silly, innocent, and trusting. We access to vast amounts of information, research, and counsel before we make a decision. I am not suggesting any of these are bad, only that they may prevent us at times from receiving the revelation of who God is. This shows us why it is important for our child heart to be healed from the wounds that we received as we grew. We have a common tradition in the Body of Christ that the better you study the Scripture, the more you know, and the better you can articulate Scripture the more faith you must have. Jesus doesn't seem to elevate these people as what is desired in the Kingdom of God. If you have a seminary degree don't be offended but realize that being great in the Kingdom of God is not dependent on all you know. It is child-like trust and faith that is required to enter the Kingdom of heaven. My question is this the first-time we enter the Kingdom, meaning when we accept Christ as our Savior. Or maybe it means that if we want to experience the realm of the Kingdom of heaven, we must humble ourselves and be like a little child. Also a quality about children is they have amazing imaginations and love new discoveries. I love that kids have a sense of awe, my son has discovered that Corvettes and Mustangs (especially GT500s) are so exciting. When he sees a Corvette you would think he won the powerball by his excitement. So my prayer is that you would open your child-heart and let the Lord show you things in His Kingdom that are beyond your imagination.

In His Grace,
Bret

Christ as Our Reference Point

It is so amazing as we discover through the Holy Spirit's direction that we have been given a brand new life "in Christ". We all come to this discovery through desperation, failure, and a sense there must be more. It is another big step to have Christ be the reference point for how we look at all life, especially ourselves. Jesus says in John 8:32 "and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." Is Jesus really saying that when you get through all your wounds, your inadequacies, your places of lack, and your weaknesses then you will be free or are you free today. The Scripture clearly says that since Jesus said you have been set free by the truth then you are free. Why do we always make truth conditional? I believe in a world filled with ungrace, grace is light in the midst of darkness and totally different than how most people see things according to being "in Adam". It makes sense that the New Covenant approach is that we are free through the truth of the finished work of Christ and that Galatians 5:1 tells us to "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." So why can't I continually walk in the Spirit and in freedom. It is because I believe lies about who I am, these are not superficial thoughts but deeply rooted beliefs that are removed by an encounter with the spirit of truth. I was recently feeling stressed and I was having trouble identifying what was going on. I began to see that since I had experienced a lot of loneliness as a child, I was approaching the pressures of life from the perspective "I am all alone and I have to handle it". I felt stressed but wouldn't readily tell you this is what I was believing til I stopped to take time to be with the Lord. It is amazing to me how much time, energy, and life the Enemy sucks from us through our belief in lies. I find it so easy to slip back into myself and my perspective as a reference point (really an orphan heart). Instead of Scripture says in Colossians 3 to set your mind on things above, not on the things on the earth. I am so thankful that the Lord has set me free from only thinking about myself, my problems, my challenges, my tasks, etc... The old man is dead and now our reference point is the unconditional love, acceptance, and grace of our God. It definitely is a spiritual battle to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, allowing Him to be my lens for all of life.

In His Grace,
Bret

A Love Greater than all Fear

This comes out of my reflecting on 1 John 4:11-21, there are so many amazing revelations out of this passage. But as is my journey with the Lord, I am driven to Him by desperation first and then seeking revelation. I reflected on my journey with the Lord, not in pride, but saying I have come far through many fears. Seeking to raise our kids in the atmosphere of Heaven (His love and peace), I looked back at how I was raised in a continual atmosphere of fear. Many times the environment of fear was so strong that it was overwhelming and suffocating. This is what I knew as a child, my mother was raised in the same kind of atmosphere. The Lord has taken me through so many fears and yet still before are many others. I do not choose to evaluate where I am anymore from my own myopic perspective but from Heaven's perspective (God's). This passage in 1 John 4 points to the reality that none of us even loved God, it was in this place that He revealed His ultimate love in Jesus Christ. It is important to state this because too many believers get deceived to pursue loving God without having the object of their focus being God's love for us in Jesus Christ (v. 19 says "We love, because he first loved us."). Because I grew up in an atmosphere where I was told "I love you" sincerely and yet there was so much fear, in my feelings experiencing being loved is a daily struggle. I must rely on faith in the truth of the Word of God, when my experience does not line up with the truth of the Word of God. I am pressing in to experience this truth (v. 18 that I would be perfected (brought to completion) in love). This connects with Ephesians 3: 19 which says "and to know (by experience) the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you be filled up to all the fullness of God." The Amplified version talks about being a body, filled, and flooded with God Himself. What an amazing picture it is, to realize that God wants us to experience His love in us expelling all fear. I know that if I was filled and flooded with God Himself, I would not be full of fear, worry, or frustration but joy, peace, and life. Fear is the weapon of the Enemy to keep us from experiencing the joy of having every part of our being filled with God. If you think about the foolish decisions you have made in life, I will bet that the root of most of them is fear. We all do foolish things when we are afraid. Then often times anger follows as we experience the consequences of our poor decisions made in fear. As we realize that we cannot control ourselves or our surroundings, fear is simply the absence of God's presence. I am thankful that as I look at the finished work of Christ through His promises I see that God has left no area for fear to rule. Through Christ death was conquered, sin, lack, insignificance, powerlessness, and the Enemy. I know I still fear because there are places in my heart where I have not let the presence and power of Jesus rule. These are areas I still seek to manage life my own way, fear is natural to the flesh. I am again amazed as a client sits in front of me breaking out in tears as he watches a video displaying the love of God, we are so ignorant of how deeply we need to be unconditionally loved. This is the cry of every human heart and we have all been disappointed by poor substitutes, it is only the very presence of Jesus that will fill our thirsty heart. The more I mature "in Christ" the more desperate I am for the touch of His presence, power, and life. I exist to be filled by Him and to have His love flow through me.

In His Power and Love,
Bret

Love the Darkness or the Light?

Recently the Lord revealed to me that as a child I learned to love the darkness, "...men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil." - John 3:19. No child naturally loves the darkness, like a dark room or even being alone but can begin to find a cover there. Growing up in an environment devoid of faith, lacking love at times, filled with loneliness, and with the air of death (due to my father's suicide) led me to look for shelter in the dark by hiding. I learned how to hide inside, not get my hopes up for fear of disappointment, grumble and complain, and be downcast and discouraged. As I woke up I was struck by the fact that there is a draw to the darkness. I recently watched one of my favorite series, "The Lord of the Rings", in this trilogy there is a creature Gollum (who was a simple man formerly) who's mind is poisoned by the "Ring". The "Ring" is symbolic of the power of sin that draws us to get our needs met independent of God and to use other people for our own purpose. The "Ring" is evil but it has a draw, to such a point that Gollum calls it "my precious" and begins to secretly scheme to get the "Ring" back from the Hobbit Frodo who is going to destroy it. In one scene Gollum is arguing with his flesh and his identity as the more benevolent Smeagle, there is a veil of darkness and secrecy around his schemes. Every person in the movie who encounters the "Ring" is drawn by it's power, the darkness holds a draw. For some it is power, for others it is significance in another's eyes, for some it even holds out hope, and for others the belief that they could wield it's power for good. Yet all who would seek to use it's power are themselves taken over by it, it is only Frodo who is yielded to destroying the "Ring" who can carry it. I realized through this journey that there was part of me (flesh) who desired to be hopeless, downtrodden, and stuck because to hope once again and risk failure leaves you vulnerable. See I learned the safety of the dark, don't hope and you won't be disappointed, don't express strong desire or you could fail, and don't reveal your true self or you could be rejected. I am thankful that Jesus chose to enter into my life as me to save me out of my darkness, sin, selfishness, and all that I was connected to sin being my master. I am thankful that the new person I am "in Christ" loves the Light and the One who is Light. There are lots of veils that bring darkness whether it be religious performance, addiction, avoidance, isolation, image management, enmeshment in relationships or hiding behind a position. I believe that real freedom comes as we are fully known by God and others and our true self is accepted.

In His Light,
Bret

God's Passion- Part 1

We are so often consumed with our own lives, our own problems, our own issues, and so many other things. Religion tells us to strive to be good enough for God, to pray enough and so many other religious activities. It seems that religion can become part of our inexhaustible to do lists. But what is God's passion, I believe Jesus gives us a powerful picture of the Kingdom of God through the story of the Father's Heart (also know as the Prodigal Son). In it Jesus gives a picture of the gospel and the Father's Heart and Passion. This verse in Luke 15:20 is amazing, "So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion {for him,} and ran and embraced him and kissed him." What an amazing verse opening us up to the very heart of God towards us, religion so often paints a picture of God as being distant, not pleased with us, angry, and withholding. Yet Jesus the first begotten Son of God (the Word became flesh) reveals the heart of the Father is wide open to His children. The Prodigal is actually a picture of a sinner who is blowing his life and the Father's inheritance through selfish and sinful living. The Prodigal makes up this speech really not totally repentant but because he is hungry and his life sucks. The Father's response is not to chastise him for all his sin and selfish living but to run out to him with a wild embrace and deep love for His son who He says was dead and now is found. We are God's treasure which He has paid the ultimate price for not just to forgive our sin (this is part of the gospel) but to restore us to our original glory and even more. Through Jesus He entered into our sin, our darkness, our brokenness, all our problems, and became us to save us out of the life Adam passed on to us to place us back in the family of God (in Christ). Too long has the Gospel been portrayed as a "to do list" for God, rather than God's passion to bring His children home. God revealed amazing glimpse of His heart when we were adopting my son Joshua from Kazakhstan. It was a difficult and amazing journey with many battles. After we finally got him with us after being in Kazakhstan for about 6 1/2 weeks, we were told by the American Embassy that if we flew through London with Joshua he could be deported. The Embassy said that the United Kingdom does not recognize international adoption from Kazakhstan, so we would not be his guardians if we landed there. As we asked the Lord what to do He brought Julie and I into agreement that we would fly through London anyway and trust Him. The Father Heart of God rose up within me and I said if they deported Joshua I would do whatever took to bring my son home. I would go to the ends of the earth to get my son, because he was my son not because he earned anything. This is just a glimpse of the love of God towards us, the Father is not disappointed in you one bit. The Father longs to be with you and for you to share the joy of being in His family. Let Him overwhelm you with His passion and love for you which will transform you into being a son or daughter of God. My prayer is that we would see the gospel for the Good News it is and let Him transform us into being the Beloved of God. I believe God's passion for us is not satisfied until we take our full place of inheritance as sons and daughters of God, the Father not only runs out to embrace His son but He restores the Prodigals place in the family as a son (the robe, the ring, and the sandals) and throws a feast to boot. Our Father is so amazing, He has so much for you I pray that you come into a new place of receiving His love, His grace, His favor, and His passion for you.

In His Amazing Grace,
Bret

Father of Family

Many think about the Church, the Body of Christ, as being a group of people who believe something similiar. We don't often take by faith that the Bible calls us a family, we are brothers and sisters in Christ. Ephesians 3:14-15 point to the fact that god is the Father from who every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. The Lord recently took me through a time of grieving the loss of family in my life growing up, being an only child with a single mother did not feel like the family I had always wanted. I seemed to be stuck trying to make my current family into what I didn't have growing up. This only seemed to cause more pain, disappointment, and longing. Then realizing that the Lord had given me family "in Christ" and that He was redeeming what had been lost. I seem to have a much lower view of family then the Lord does because family is to be one of the main manifestations of His glory on earth. The world has reduced it to be the people who take care of you as you grow up, they are really there just to be a launching place for independence and real life. In America extended family is not nearly valued like it is in other countries. In America we have invented so many variations on what family is: from the gay couple with a child, single parent and children, blended family, and the traditional nuclear family, that even the word family brings confusion. But family finds it's ultimate pinnacle in the family in heaven that God is assembling. I want to see more about this family in Heaven that I may see this kind of Kingdom family on earth. I have been thankful for my losses in the sense that they have led me to desire God and His ways. These losses have come with tremendous pain and sometimes the redemtion seems to come with a great deal of pain as well. I believe God's original intent in creating Adam and Eve out of love was to have a family, where the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit could share the unending love of the Trinity. If the very roots of humanity is family, then family has an important part of God's plan. I am praying that I will see what God sees, that the eyes of my heart will be enlightened. I look forward to what the Lord will reveal, not look backward to what I lost. My mom would always joke that I needed to be born into a big family. I pray that God would begin to renew your mind to how He sees family, freeing us from the deceptions and lies of the Enemy.

In His Amazing Grace,
Bret

The Face of Jesus

I was reading some verses in 2 Corinthians 4 as I prayed for an unbelieving friend who could be nearing death. I believe that God delights to show His children (us who are "in Christ") mysteries but sometimes it is like hide and seek. I believe God wants us to find the treasures but we must engage in relationship and the adventure. So as I was reading these verses I looked across the page and a phrase leaped off the page, "glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (vs. 6). I was struck by the words the face of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit began to reveal that face is where we most clearly see someones identity. I recently had a new client that I knew her face was vaguely familiar. At first I ignored my sense of familiarity but then we began to talk about where she came from (having recently moved) and one thing led to another only to discover she had worked under the youth pastor that I got saved through. Now that I look back I can remember meeting her at an earlier time when I was back in my hometown. My point is that it was her face (thus identity) that tipped me off. Under the Old Covenant there were very few people who interacted with God directly because the Israelite nation was afraid of dying if they saw God. Under the New Covenant Hebrews boldly says "all will know Me, from the smallest to the greatest of them." (8:11) The Greek word for know (Ginosko) is not to have logical information but to experience another person. Thus the invitation under the New Covenant is one of incredible intimacy, to even see the face of Jesus (which is the glory of God). If we were to do a study on the glory, we would find that Jesus was not glorified until He ascended to the right hand of the Father. Then the Word amazingly declares in Ephesians 2:6 that we are seated at the right hand of the Father "in Christ" in heavenly places. So Paul in Corinthians is giving us a key to seeing the glory of God by looking at the face of Jesus Christ. Christos is the Greek word for "the Anointed One and His Anointing", this is important when we understand the activity of the Spirit of Christ is to bring the Anointing which is how the yokes of bondage and burdens are lifted off of people. Since we have the Anointed One in us and we have His Anointing on us, then we can expect people to be set free through our prayers and the laying on of hands. Back to the face of Christ, it was Peter who was asked by Jesus who He was and answered that He was the Messiah. Jesus immediately told it was not flesh and blood who revealed this to him but the Father who is up above. Jesus identity was central for those who ending up responding to Him. Not just what does Scripture teach about Jesus, but how much of who Scripture says He is have we experienced. Christ is the fulfillment of all 7 covenant names of God. For example do we know Him as Jehovah-Rapha, the Healer, to know Him in this way is to actually see people who we pray for experience healing. It is the intimate co-laboring with the Holy Spirit to actually see what the Bible says lay hands on the sick and see them recover. Not just hope they get a little better. I see the face of Jesus when I see a person in terrible inner bondage and then see Jesus set them free. There is definitely glory when I have seen this happen. Glory is the manifest presence of God. I know there is still more to this that I am not seeing and I trust the Holy Spirit to show me more. I do believe that the question Jesus asked Peter is relevant for us today but remember Peter had been with Jesus for 2-3 years. This was not some textbook question but a penetrating question to someone who was close to the Messiah. It was Peter who I believe saw the face of Jesus but it would also be Peter who would deny that he ever knew Jesus. I am so grateful for the powerful Grace of God that redeemed Peter and set him as a rock for the church. I believe it was because Peter was first to see the face of Jesus (who He was) that Satan demanded later to sift Peter like wheat. Satan was not wanted to remove the bad stuff from Peter but I believe destroys Peter's faith in the Messiah who he knew. I heard one person say that the greatest experience every person has is glimpsing God, then they constantly are looking to repeat that experience. The problem is they don't know it was God, so they get wrapped up in so many other things. I am so thankful for what Paul declares in 2 Corinthians 3:18 "And all of us, as with unveiled face, continued to behold as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; from the Lord the Spirit." How amazing that the person, Moses, who represented the Old Covenant met with God face to face for 40 days but then veiled his face because he was afraid the Israelites would see the glory fading from his face (he thought it was because of him), this is a foreshadowing of we under the New Covenant get to experience. We can continually be looking to the Lord because under the New Covenant sin has been done away with, our old sin nature has been taken care of on the cross, condemnation has been wiped out because we have died to the Law (Romans 7), and we have ascended with Christ. God has removed every reason for us to hide our faces in shame like our ancestors Adam and Eve. We can now come to Him openly and He will transfigure us. I believe there is much more to this that Holy Spirit hasn't revealed but I look forward to receiving more.

In His Grace,
Bret

Acting as if?

As I was reading Malcolm Smith's book "The Power of the Blood Covenant", he has a chapter on walking in the Spirit. In this chapter he talks about "acting as if" what God says is true even though this doesn't feel true. God's Word makes incredible statements about us like, we are saints, the royal priesthood, we are in union with Christ, and righteous. There are many days where I don't feel these which leads me down one of two directions- feeling bad because I don't believe God or trying to make it true in my experience (so it is really true). In other words trying to earn what I already have by grace. I believe God's idea of a hypocrite is one who believes he is less than what God says because of how he acts. I don't believe it is being hypocritical to agree with God's Word even though it is not manifested in my life. It is actually true that right in the middle of our worst sin, we are the righteousness of God in Christ. The Old Covenant (Law) screams at us- if it walks like a duck it is a duck! The Law always points to what we do reveals who we are. This is not agreeing with God's Word but our judgements against ourselves and others. It is hard for us to imagine that God stays true to His nature and His Word even when we don't. I have an uncle who used to say "just fake like you know what you are doing", I used to frown at this like it wasn't being authentic. Yet God's idea of being authentic is agreeing with Him by faith, not by appearances or performance. It makes so much sense to why now Paul would exhort us to rejoice in the Lord always and give thanks in all things (1 Thessalonians 5:23 and Ephesians 5:20). Praise and thankfulness actually build faith because I agreeing with reality (according to God) rather than my own distorted perspective. Could it be true that God is as good as He says and we are truly blessed beyond our capacity to even bear it. Yet we still so often live as orphans because or our past experiences and family messages. So act as if today you are in union with Jesus Christ, totally loved and adored by the Father, and blessed beyond your ability to even handle. We are truly rich people, what joy to experience what God has so graciously given to us. This is the journey, to experience what has been stored up for us in heaven now.

In His Grace,
Bret

A Picture of Unconditional Love!

Often we neglect the small pictures in life that God shows us of Himself, that aren't the wonderful sermons or the great exposition of Scripture. I am not saying these aren't valuable but I find that being like a child is how I best receive revelations from Him. We have a 2 year old golden retriever who is the picture of joy and unconditional love. I never had a dog growing up so it has taken me a while to warm up to her. I tend to want dogs to have their place as pets, I admit it because I don't always know how to receive their love. Shilo, our golden, is so full of joy that she will roll for many minutes on a loved toy in the back yard like she is in heaven itself. She greets every person with an irritating exuberance not matched by many dogs, she loves each new person that dares to dawn our doors. She especially knows dog lovers and seems to revel in their affection like they are the only person on earth. Sometimes her wild displays of affection downright embarrass me because she doesn't hold back. There has only been a few times when I come through the door when I am not greeted like she hasn't seen me in years. Of course I am her "alpha", even though I did not seem to earn this title. It was cemented in Shilo's heart the day she decided to test the side of a waterfall to see if it would be fun. Fortunately the waterfall was not a vertical drop but a gentle slope of maybe 20 degrees, before we knew it she was going down the waterfall backwards. In a moment of bravery and stupidity I jumped in after her and pulled her to safety. It was truly inspired by God because I am normally timid and cautious, but this day I was brave and noble. After this rescue I was not only "alpha" but seemed to have a position (in Shilo's eyes) close to the Almighty Himself. I like most dog owners have had their times of irritation, frustration, and outright wanting someone else to enjoy my dog. But at the end of the day her fun-loving, joyful, not always smart personality has won me over. She is truly a small snip it on earth of unconditional love because even if I scold her she still wants to be close to me. If God created a creature with such a disposition as a golder retriever, isn't there something of His fingerprints on her. Maybe some way we can learn more about Him. I know that my life is richer because of Shilo, though my pride hates to admit that. It was not my idea to have a dog but I can see why dog is "man's best friend". Why because most men don't have friends because of our pride. I am finding a true man is one who can be loved and love others. I pray that this story will encourage you and if not at least add a little laughter to your day.

In His Grace,
Bret

Sin Reigning?

Paul exhorts us in one of the 5 commands of Romans 6, to "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts," (Romans 6:12). I relearned this again recently, when an emotional reaction of fear was triggered in me. Since I was raised in an environment of a lot of fear I have often justified and even justified the sin that is a result of obeying its pressure. This fear was triggered, which was rooted in lies that "I am a failure and all alone in it". As my emotions were flooded with this fear, it was difficult to not give into these beliefs and go down the road of despair and condemnation. This is the pathway that I had walked many times as a child but I know now that I am dead to sin and I don't have to let fear reign. Every one of us experience fear in our life to some degree, just like we experience anger, shame, or a myriad of other emotions (often rooted in lies). It is the path we choose in the midst of experiencing these emotions that will produce either life-giving fruit of fruit for death (according to Romans 7). I found after I was triggered that my emotions didn't immediately go back til a normal level, til I was willing to face what I really believe inside but also to not let sin (in this case fear which is the opposite of faith) reign. Many people will justify fear, anger, bitterness, envy, and jealousy. The Bible is clear these come from our old man (in Adam) and are not who we are in Christ. Specifically, the Word tells us perfect love casts out all fear because fear has to do with punishment (1 John 4:18). I admit that I let sin reign longer than I wanted to, it began to weigh me down. Instead of blaming someone else for my choices, even expecting God to choose for me when Paul clearly gives us (as New Creations) the command. I admit I hate the foreboding heaviness of fear and the darkness of not being able to see an easy way out. Since I spent so much time as a child in fear without an understanding of how to walk through it, it is a very well- worn path to death and not life. I praise God that I was able to be open and honest with a brother "in Christ" who gave me encouragement because of the Spirit of God in Him. I admit I was starting to go down the road of hiding from my family and turning inward. I am thankful for the Holy Spirit who shows me that my lie-based belief system has been triggered but that I don't have to obey it but renewed in the spirit of my mind (Ephesians 4:23). I want to encourage you and myself, fear is not normal to a child of God no matter what the circumstances. We all will experience fear at times (maybe even a lot) but we don't have to be consumed by it. I am so thankful that God loves me unconditionally, even when it feels like He is a million miles away. I pray my small testimony will encourage you in your journey with the Lord and take another step into His loving arms.

In His Love,
Bret

Christ in you the hope of glory!

As I have been reading Colossians for personal study time, I have come to one of my favorite verses (1:27) "to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." This is truly an amazing verse when you connect it with other verses throughout the New Testament like Romans 8:19 "For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God." These are just a few of the amazing verses that tie God's manifest glory as coming through these very earthen vessels. St. Ignacius said, "The glory of God is man fully alive." So much of religion, the culture, and even well-meaning believers reduce us to "sinners saved by grace", nothing special, a person striving for holiness, or just plain failures. It is amazing to me that God has done such a work through Jesus Christ that He is delighted in who we are. You doubt that God could enjoy who you are, then you have been lied to. Scripture over and over again recounts God's being pleased with those who rely solely on the finished work of Christ. We often follow the latest self-improvement trends, diets, exercise programs, motivational speaker, or even religious re commitments to be better. It may surprise you but I believe God finds these detestable because they are not presenting yourself as a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God (Romans 12:1). Could it be that receiving God's amazing grace is how God transforms us into sons and daughters of God who contain His glory. Why is it we look at some saints and think we can never be like them, when Scripture clearly says each of us have the right to become sons and daughters of God (John 1:12). Children of God look like their Father and are like Him, thus things that are normal for God (the supernatural) then become normal for us. I have been so stuck by the revelation that the glory is going to come from Christ in us, the location is not God revealing His glory independent of us but through us. This is a huge problem if you basically see yourself as worthless, not very special, or trying to get your own glory. All of these hide the treasure that is in you. We have whole systems in our society which are not based on a believers true identity but one that is tied to the worldly system. It seems instead of celebrating our true identity we are often put on a performance track to earn a hoped for identity that will give us value, blessing, fame, or material wealth. As a new creation you cannot earn what God has already bestowed on you but you can delight in His grace. I sat across from a client and asked her what her dreams were, she told me a nice office job like data entry. It is sad that her sights are set so low, Christ in her is the hope of glory. Glory does not necessarily mean some high paying fancy job, but it does mean displaying the love, life, and essence of who God is. God is special, so are we because we are in Him. My challenge to you is what would you look like with Christ in you the hope of glory coming out of your life. Resurrection life flowing through every part of your being body, soul, and spirit. God does not do things part way as we do, His New Covenant transforms the whole person (this was before Eastern Holistic Healing). Recently at our church a man got up to give a testimony of being diagnosed with cancer, having the elders pray over him, and then recently his doctor saying he was cancer free. Can you see the glory, the resurrection life where the world pronounced death. So often we in the Christian crowd (religious) can be just like the world labeling other people as hopeless, rather than speaking life into a place of death. We may say nice things like they are "in sin" or "backslidden". Tell me how this brings life into a situation of death. We may even put spiritual terms on suffering, "I'm sure they are learning a lot about God in being poor." Yes, I understand Jesus said "Blessed are the poor in spirit" but He doesn't leave them there. Jesus says, "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." If you have big dreams for yourself, I can tell you that God's is bigger. I am very encouraged that what God says He will do, He will do often despite our fumblings. Dream big, it is God who put those dreams in you.

In His Grace,
Bret

Exchanging your life!

The name of the ministry I work for (Exchanged Life Ministries or ELM) is a profound statement about how we live. For so many life is what you make of it, rather than life is a gift from God to be received not earned or achieved. The struggle is that I must be willing to exchange or sacrifice what I call life. Often we call life what God calls death. The man who is desperately trying to be the most successful in his field because he gets praise but is sacrificing his family on nights and weekends. When we come to the revelation that God has given us a new life "in Christ", it is rather offensive to every way we been living in contradiction to this new life. God does not just want to be an addition to my life, He has come to be my very life source. This means that God brings about a change in my identity, the way I see things, my relationships, and the way I function. This is not a minor course correction but the total transformation of life. It is mightily upsetting when you come to the place to realize you have been existing in a state of death but are being invited into life. This revelation hit me again as I realized that the way I have approached raising support and having provision for my family has had more death in that I want to admit. The problem with this kind of death is we are deceived to believe it is actually life, until the true fruit begins to reveal itself. Ways of thinking are not simply ideas but deeply embedded beliefs that guide our whole way of thinking. If these ways of thinking and viewing life are contrary to God's revealed Word, it is only a matter of time before the dead fruit reveals itself. None of us can boast, when we agree with Scripture that "we like sheep have all gone astray." As the arguments about Health Care Reform rage, the truth is no one but God is truly right. Everyone has their opinions but the Word is clear that "the wisdom of man is foolishness to God." We as the people of God don't have to wander and search all over the place to find life, the life of God has been given to us so we can turn to the Word to have revelation of how to live in this new life. I so thankful that I don't have to be tossed to and fro by all that is being said, lived, and touted in the world (and religious world). God's revealed truth is what will stand when everything else falls. Admitting we have been wrong in the way we see things is one thing, but to admit that we have been living out death and then receive His life is a whole new way. This is repentance, which is change of mind but not just a mental shift but a change to connect to a new power source with a new way of living. I find more and more that God's Word is not religion but a wholly different way of seeing the story of life that each one of us are involved in. Day by day I am amazed at how God is shifting the way I see myself, others, and all ways of living. I am amazed that God through His grace is not just offering life but resurrected/ascended life "in Christ". We don't need to understand this life to receive it but simply to say yes to the New Life, pressing in to see Him bring revelation. Revelation is not simply a different idea, it is the Spirit of God revealing who God is in us. I pray that day by day you will exchange your old life (mindset, way of looking at and living life) for Christ's new life.

In His Amazing Grace,
Bret

Life or Death Outpouring?

I have been on vacation so thus the absence but I am back now. Times of rest are so important. The Word tells us in John 7:37 "From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water." Jesus wants us to drink of Him and then out of our spirit will flow rivers of living water for healing and life to others. My question about what is the outpouring comes from my experience this morning. I woke up this morning after losing sleep the night before, so still somewhat fatigued and then I had some oppression. It felt like I was slogging through quicksand and my attitude matched, I was obviously not walking in the Spirit. I read the Word, spent some time in prayer, and even repented for being stuck but I continued on walking after the flesh. The Word tells us in Romans 8 that the mind set on the flesh is death. My mind had been stuck my dwindling support account, not making calls, and not wanting to deal with support raising. This progression led to a sense of hopelessness which was triggering some lie-based stuff in childhood. All this got me stuck in quicksand and then I started to drag my family into it with me. As I spent time with my son and daughter I became very focused on my daughter and her issues! Really who was having the issues but dad. My wife came home and was like what happened. We laughed as I called her on the phone later to apologize for being a dispenser of death and not life. Walking after the flesh is not only the wrong power source but begins to infect others around us with the aroma of death. So how do we have rivers of living water pouring out of us (Holy Spirit). I have found I need to be totally honest with God and myself about the power source I am relying on (flesh or Him). If the fruit is bad in my life, then it has a bad root (lies) and I walking after the flesh. Also the people closest to you can be a good indicator if you are walking in Father's love or after the flesh. The Enemy doesn't have to be right there working in our life for us to smell of death, he has planted lies/strongholds in our heart (usually in childhood) which will be triggered and bring forth death. I find that when I am not actively agreeing with the Word of God then I am vulnerable to agreeing with deception and then walking after the flesh. The Bible clearly points to Satan being stripped of his authority and the believers victory over darkness through the finished work of Christ, but there is a continual clash of kingdoms over our lives. We must stand in the finished work of Jesus Christ and take back ground in our lives that the enemy has claimed through deception. The outpouring of Christ's spirit (the Holy Spirit) within us results in His life being displayed (the Fruit of the Spirit), this brings life not only to us but to others as well. I pray this will bring some encouragement and the Holy Spirit will shine greater light on how He is working in your life. I believe we are in the "End Times" which means the darkness is getting darker and the light (Christ in us) is getting brighter. Let us stand in His strength.

In His Grace,
Bret

Why be tender-hearted?

I have not always appreciated that God has created me to be a sensitive person, when you are a young boy this is not a trait highly valued by your peers. I have seen that being sensitive means that God has grace me with a sensitivity to His Spirit, which allows Him to minister healing to many broken hearts. In Ephesians 4:32 the Word says, "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." The Holy Spirit is telling us through Paul that walking in the Spirit will result in being tender-hearted and kind to one another. In Proverbs 4:23 God is telling us through Solomon to guard our hearts because out of it flow the springs of life. I realize that there are times where I have allowed a hardness to build up in my heart because I reacted after the flesh towards someone or towards the Spirit. I find when a hardness (rebellion) builds up that I am not as responsive to the Spirit, I am not getting my needs met from God, and I will tend to continue reacting after the flesh. "Blessed is the man who reverently and wonderfully fears [the Lord] at all times but he who hardens his hearts will fall into calamity." -Proverbs 28:14. Now I see there is a process of (just as James 1:14-15) being drawing away from our daily abiding in the Vine, it doesn't just "happen". When I begin to develop a hardness of heart, I also see that I fail to recognize sin for what it is and begin to justify not moving in love. Since in the New Covenant we are given a new heart (Ezekiel 36:25-26), we need to learn how to live from this new heart united to Christ. I recently was subtly confronted by my mentor that I had been walking after the flesh and was in idolatry, I was offended at first when he challenged me to repent. Then as I looked over my week I began to see the pattern of where I had been drawn away from living in Him. As I allowed the Spirit to bring about repentance my heart was again open to worshipping Him in tenderness and love. I had been frustrated earlier in the week that my needs were not getting met and I began to feel a sadness/hurt inside. Since I spent much of my childhood alone and didn't learn how to share my deep inner world, the Lord is teaching me how to keep the temple (our Body) filled with the Holy Spirit and not other things. It is amazing to me when my heart has a hardness how much easier it is to be selfish, be harsh with someone, or resists the Spirit's leading. Looking at the Proverbs 28:14 verse from New Covenant lenses, we have the Spirit of Christ in us who does fear/reverence the Father. We don't have to try to produce fear of the Lord, Christ is in us but we can go back to our old ways "in Adam" and try to do life independent of the Spirit within us. I have to admit there is part of me that doesn't want the authority to choose to stay tender-hearted, the seed of the flesh wants to be lazy and say why can't I just flow through life. I am reminded by the Lord that we are at war, the Kingdom of God is colliding with the kingdom of Darkness. I was reminded of this yesterday when I was tired but trying to play with my kids by having a water balloon fight, then the doorbell rings and there stand two 18-20 year old Mormon missionaries. I have already described a little bit of my heart condition this week, part of me was ready to do battle and the other part was just generally irritated. I began to engage in some discussion, trying to hold our dog back from licking them to death. I could feel myself being a little nervous, angry, and then being reminded that love is what triumphs. So after a short time of challenging their assumptions based on the Book of Mormon, I asked to pray for them. They both look a surprised and even took a step back. They asked I pray for success in their ministry (which there is no way in Hell I would pray for), so I prayed for truth to be revealed, their protection, and that the love of God be shown to them. I am telling you this to reveal that I was definitely at a vulnerable time and here comes the kingdom of darkness seeking to invade, coincidence? I think not. We are at war, if we forgot this the struggle seems meaningless and we will seek the world's way of wanting things to be easy. I am thankful for this wake up call by the Lord to show me more about His Kingdom. So be tender-hearted, the Spirit of Jesus within you is always tender-hearted but we will yield to Him or go or own way Today.

In His Grace,
Bret

Jesus the destination?

It seems that I am in the stage in my life, as with others to want a more clear vision of where I am going. Life is a journey and everyone is on that journey but not all of what people call life is really life-giving. It is a dangerous, risky, sometimes cloudy, and always interesting journey. The people who give pat answers whether they be religious or cliche often cannot make these answers really function in life. I am thankful for the people who are willing to be honest and open about life's disappointments, dangers, and yet find life. The Word of God defines life as a person, Jesus in 1 John 5:12. When I was deep in prayer and in a time of disappointment in life, the Lord spoke to my heart and told me He was my destination. I have to be honest I have veered from that path a times but through God's faithfulness I am finding my way back to live that truth. Everyone has some vision for life otherwise they would be dead, vision gives hope. It is what or who we behold that either can give life or bring death. The crack addict has vision of getting his next fix, only to find yet again that it did not satisfy the ache inside so back for another. Don't judge the crack addict because we are not so far from him, we often have a desire for something or someone that doesn't end us up in fulfillment. Everyone is searching for life and those of who call ourselves Christian and who the secular world calls "religious" don't seem to have the corner on life. There are many who are Christians who are just as empty, disappointed, lonely, and miserable as the world. Only Jesus is defined as life and therefore our destination as well. Isn't true that Jesus is coming back for a pure and spotless Bride, if we don't die beforehand we will see Him returning for us. He is ultimately my destination, it is not to live as though Heaven doesn't exist and is not my eternal place of rest. So what does it mean that I will one day see Him in all His fullness and in that moment be truly free of all encumberances (sin, the flesh, and the enemy). Isn't it true like a flying a plane that in order to fly level (w/o instruments) you need to focus far out in front of you on the horizon. If you focus on the ground or clouds you will get disoriented. The horizon is fixed and will keep you going in the direction you need to go. We have the privilege as followers of Christ to know the end of the story, written in Revelation, that the Bride will be with the Bridegroom forever and Satan will be cast into the lake of fire. All this to say that to see, know, and experience Jesus is not only where we are going but also life today. Also I think of the verse in Matthew 6:20 that says "lay up treasure in Heaven..." Am I really yielding to His Spirit and Life to let Him do works through me that are laying up treasures in heaven. Having an eternal perspective according to the Kingdom of God impacts the way I approach the people I will meet today and how I will treat my family. I believe as I see Jesus as my destination that my vision for how His Life will unfold in me will become more clear.

In His Love,
Bret

Blessed are those who Mourn?

Jesus was always teaching about the Kingdom of God (a realm where God is King) and demonstrating the Kingdom of God. What a strange thing to begin His public ministry saying that the Blessed are the poor in spirit and those who mourn. The Kingdom of God is not like this world and operates not based on self-sufficiency but humility. After 5 years of solid ministry I realize that I am tired, fatigued, and in need of some renewal. I am getting back to the basic foundation of encountering Jesus and being filled by Him. I realize that there has been a "great sadness" lurking beneath the surface in my heart that tends to spill out in areas of my life. I tend to do what most Christians do, stuff it and suppress it because I am supposed to be joyful as a follower of Christ. Yet Jesus seems to tie experiencing great mourning with being blessed and comforted. We all have things in our life to mourn: broken dreams, disappointments in relationships, loneliness in childhood, lack of experiencing love, financial loss, lost relationships, death of someone close, etc.. I could go on with quite a list because we live in a world that is deeply infected by sin and the death that it brings. It is amazing that Jesus doesn't call to the learned who have been studying the Scriptures to know about the Messiah or those who have diligently been working to keep the Law, He calls to those who are low, hurting, desperate, and in need of hope. We don't encounter Jesus with our intellect but out of the deep needs of our heart. So I am entering into this deep sadness to mourn, fully believing this is the very place that I will encounter Jesus. In Nehemiah we are told that the "...joy of the Lord is your strength" to a people who were mourning and weeping. I am so glad that the Lord does not expect us to supply our joy for the Christian life but invites us to exchange our pain, loss, sadness for His joy. I do expect blessing out of this journey into mourning and sadness. If you are human like me, you probably have your degree of sadness and loss. Jesus doesn't want us to handle with our own strength, trying to cover up this sadness with a surface happiness, He wants to take us on the journey to reach the other side entering into His joy. He is here to comfort and encourage you (and me).

In His Comfort,
Bret

Self-security= No Security!!

As the Lord has taken me on a journey of challenging the security I find in my own protection (armor) and my own resources (our finances), I have been struck how fleeting security in yourself is. In the journey of support raising, we recently had a very low month which exposed deep insecurities in me (my flesh). As a child I did not feel secure in my parents love or God's love (I didn't know Him at the time), so I began to build a fortress for my own security. This included not trusting others but only trusting my own alarm system if I may be hurt, so then I would withdraw inside myself (my fortress). Though I did not like the loneliness of the fortress, the fear of being rejected and hurt seemed greater. I now am compelled by love and desire to reach out to those who are hurting or just need love. Yet at times I still seem to love my fortress more than I love others (through the love of God). My spirit is grieved because I know the real me, is the one that loves without barriers and does not withhold. I find God's answer is not one I like, it is that my fortress die so that the me "in Christ" is more free to love. This fortress has been much of my life, that I don't risk being rejected or hurt because then I will lose my security. It seems that God is bent on getting rid of my security, so that He can be my security. As I turn 40 years old and reflect back on my life, the greatest fruit has been as I have lost my life and given to others out of the love of God. These are truly when "lay up treasures in heaven" has happened, not when I did something led by my self-protective ways or fear. It is a strange thing to realize that you were "born again" to give your life away. Jesus says clearly "you cannot serve two masters, you will love the one and hate the other", He is right because when I am trusting in my fortress for my security I am mad at God's tug on my heart to love others sacrificially. I want nothing of the self-life but I find pieces of it resident deep within me, thank you to Jesus who has delivered me from the tyranny of the flesh. It is amazing how this struggle with finances has revealed such deep insecurities within me, even going back to being a baby. I am standing on Jesus finished work on the cross and God's amazing love. His love includes finding a deep security in Him. I declare that He is my security, my rock, and my fortress. I stab through the heart my false security (the fortress) for it has only sought to separate me from my true heart and leave me alone. Maybe you have a fortress that needs to be brought to death, that you may truly live. This new life is all about really living, death is on the way to resurrection life. I am thankful that no matter what we are going through there is resurrection on the other side, it may not include change in our circumstances right away.

In His Amazing Grace,
Bret

Living in the Present

I seem to find it easy to get stuck in the past or fearful about the future but all of this robs the joy of the present. Paul says, "...for me to live is Christ..." This is written in the present tense, we are to experience an awareness of Christ in this very moment. It seems silly to some to need to be aware of Christ in every moment, for others this seems like a Law but still for others He is a necessity. In Christ's first major sermon, He begins with saying "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." To be poor is not desired in our society but the poor do understand something, what it is to be thirsty and hungry. It is out of desperation that I believe the poor in spirit discover the kingdom of heaven, because they are willing to do anything for life. I could definitely lament about the past and there are enough uncertainties in the future to get me anxious, yet this moment is the one where there is life and Him. I can't say that I am very schooled in how to live in the moment because my gaze has been one way or the other. We have been forgiven of all our sins past, present, and future; we have been brought out of death into life and finally we have been embraced by God through the Holy Spirit. I find that His grace is so huge and yet I find that I need His grace for every day's challenges and hurdles. Being a tenderheart and sensitive my heart can be affected by the weight of sin's consequences on hurting people. To enter into human suffering and not be consumed, I must keep my eyes on my Jesus. He alone brings life and hope in the darkest situations. Jesus is the light, if we take our eyes off Him we are left with the world in the darkness and without hope. I heard one author and counselor talk about allowing the client to only go on so long about their pain and hardships, then turn all eyes to Jesus. Since the Word of God defines Christ as life (1 John 5:11), all other ways of defining life are ultimately deceptions. Sometimes in our religious world we can get close to Jesus but be far away at the same time: WWJD (What would Jesus Do?) - leaves me to figure out what Jesus would do and try to do it (in my own strength), statement of faith/doctrine (good to have truth but the person of Christ brings life), study the Word (great but do you encounter the Word became flesh), and so many other word oriented sermons where we don't encounter Him. I am not being critical, simply saying that my heart cry is to know the living and resurrected Christ daily. Can you feel and experience that His blood (the Lamb's) is flowing through you at this very moment, He is alive and living His life in you. Will we yield to His love, His power, and His life in us? It is so easy to get distracted in life with the kids, budgets, people's issues, my own issues, disappointments, worries, and all the concerns of modern life but do you see Him today? Listen for His voice, His voice is often still and small but full of love and life.

In His Grace,
Bret

Never Alone!

I am amazed at the truth Jesus speaks in John 14:18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." It was one of those days when I felt utterly alone in the world with my problems, issues, circumstances, and barriers. Some days it just lands on you and it seems hard to keep your head above the water. Yet just because this is my experience does not mean it is the truth, Jesus said He will not leave me as an orphan. So often God would say to those He called, "I will be with you". He said these words to Moses, Joshua, Gideon, and then the ultimate to the disciples when He says they (we) will be one with Him just as He and the Father are one (John 17:23). I realize the times I have real difficulty is when I begin with the belief "I am all alone", then you fill in the blank. We were not designed to live life on our own, we were designed to be live in the reality of God's love and provision all the time. I have had so many experiences in my childhood where the lie "I am all alone" was planted in my heart, so now there are many times when these lies get triggered as an adult. It is amazing that as I am about to turn 40 years old this year, I can still feel just like that 7 or 8 year old little boy. I take great comfort that Jesus said in Matthew 18:3 "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." I believe we have a lot of believers acting like adults but inside they are really like little children hurting inside and in need of a loving Father. Shall we come to Our Father like little children, be vulnerable, in need, weak, and trusting? Or shall we put on a religious face and pretend to be together. We were at a birthday party for a sister in Christ who goes to our church and we spoke with some friends we had not seen in a while. The wife commented to me she had always admired my desire to seek God, in a moment of vulnerability I told her it was out of utter desperation and brokenness. She commented that we are all in that same place of desperation but others just don't admit it. I see the people that Jesus continually lifted up as an example to follow were those who came to Him desperate, thirsty, hungry, and longing. These all depended on Him in a way that left them either to be rejected or received, Jesus received each of them. Jesus was not able to receive those who rejected Him because of their lack of vulnerability. Walking by faith does not mean we become religious, distant, and unhuman. I am convinced that the gospel of Grace allows us to be human, imperfect, flawed, weak, and yet be loved by incredible love that not only receives us but changes us into another person. I think sometimes we believe it would be so great to have someone who truly understood everything we are going through and was right with us. This is not a dream but a reality, the Spirit of God is with you right where you are. It is not searching for His presence but acknowledging the truth of His presence by faith, so you can enter into experiencing His presence moment by moment. What a privilege it is to be the Temple of the Holy Spirit and to bring His presence where ever I go. Sometimes I still believe the challenges, difficulties, and trials I face are greater than His presence but this is a lie. As I said in an earlier posting, I believe the greatest privilege is knowing Him and that begins by awareness of His eternal presence with us and in us. The obstacle in our path is often not removed until we experience His presence, then our perspective on that obstacle changes (faith), and then it is time to release this faith toward the obstacle. What ever you are going through in your life right now, He is with you and He loves you. God is bigger than whatever mountain we face, but we must choose to see Him.

In His Amazing Grace,
Bret

The Kingdom of God- Upside Down to the World

As I stared reading a book "Compelled by Love" I began to be reminded that the Kingdom of God is so different than the world system. The world system seems have an insatiable hunger for dependence on The Lie (self-sufficiency and independence) while the Kingdom of God is about humility, dependence, and desperation. I will be 40 this year and I can honestly say I have never been successful at living in dependence on The Lie. It seems I have never been successful at being strong, independent, or self-made. Yet Jesus tells me in the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven." I have felt poor in spirit for most of my life, except for those moments where I soar high into pride only to fall flat on my face. In the book she talks about how the Kingdom of God is so manifest to the poor because of their absolute desperation and dependence. Desperation and dependence are very unpopular ideas in our success-driven, independent, and self-reliant culture. I had another opportunity to rely on the Lord. Each of us as supervisors for our Advanced Training students needed to say some words about them. I decided I would ask the Father if He had something to say about each person because my wise, intelligent, and polished words would not compare to what He had to say. I was nervous about sharing what I sensed was the Father's heart for each of these people because the word was very personal. How easy it would have been to rely on my own way and not take the risk. It was encouraging to see how the words the Lord gave me for each person touched their hearts and drew them closer to the Father. I realize depending on the Lord in a new way is scarey, yet reliance on myself has not produced security, freedom, or Fruit of the Spirit. I still don't like being needy, desperate, and weak but I am beginning to be more used to it. When Jesus said "Truly I say to you, it will be difficult for a rich man to get into the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 19:23), I always thought it was because of the man's riches. I believe it is because this man has learned to use his riches as his source of provision, protection, and identity. Thus the reason the it is difficult for the man to enter the Kingdom of God is because of relying on The Lie to make life work. I believe a person can have riches and yet be poor in spirit but it is more rare. I pray that the Holy Spirit will open the eyes of your heart (Ephesians 1:18) so that you would see the Kingdom of God, not for what you think (according to your filter) it is but by the revelation of the truth by the Holy Spirit. I realize that everything good is a gift from above, even the air I breathe today.

In His Kingdom,
Bret

Ultimate Privilige

What is the ultimate privilige of the Christian life? Is it to see successful ministry, or meaningful service, have a good family, see many come to know the Lord, see miracles, know the Bible very well, be free of all our bondages, or fill in the blank. I believe the ultimate privilige of the Christian life is said in Hebrews 8:11 "...For all will know Me, from the least to the greatest of them." Also in Ephesians 2:13 "But now in Christ Jesus you who were formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." This is not some future thing that will happen, I believe Satan has been deceiving through tradition, our wounds from imperfect parents, and just lack of knowledge. We have been brought near not through our own efforts, our acts of service, or our perfection but by the blood of Christ. The kind of "knowing" that is referred to in Hebrews is not some intellectual information, this is knowing by experiencing a relationship (even saying like Adam "knew" Eve and she bore a child). God has invited us into the ultimate privilige to actually know the Creator of the Universe, the King of Kings, and the Alpha and Omega. Unfortunately, we have been deceived to just expect to know about God rather than actual encounter with the Divine. I know of no one who encountered Jesus who was not changed, even those who walked away from Him were impacted or those who insulted Him. I am accepting the invitation that My God has put before me, I will know Him intimately not from a distance. In knowing Him we are transformed, families are changed, circumstances are changed, the physical realm is changed, and the atmosphere of Heaven is brought into earth. We come just as we are, don't think you need to clean up because the blood of Christ is sufficient to clean you up. If only we understood what Jesus has done to make intimacy with the Father available to us. I find in these days that I don't want to pray, trying to get God to do something. I just want to know Him, it is the cry of my heart to know Him deeply and to be known by Him. All of the life, freedom, power, and love flows out of this place of intimacy. I find that I am so weak when I am not in that place of intimacy because human strength is so insufficient when God has called us into the impossible. Seeing God's glory over the earth is a huge dream, the Kingdom of God can only be release in power when we enter into this deep intimacy. I am going deep with Him because I know the life He wants to pour through me is His. I now understand why praise is so powerful because in praise we declare to all of the powers of Hell that we are the Beloved of God and have total access to His throne room through Jesus Christ. It now makes sense why hearing God's voice is often thought of as unusal or impossible, if we can't hear from the One who loves us we will only hear the voice of the Enemy, others disappointment, and the world's constant barrage of expectations. What a joy to hear from the One who knows us best and loves us, then we can really know Him. The Lord recently touched my heart through the 1 John 3 which says "Beloved, now we are children of God....". As I looked up this word I was overwhelmed to see it meant "worthy of love". There are times I don't feel or believe I am worthy of love and yet God chose me and saved me through Jesus Christ so I could know Him and be loved. Everything else that is not consistent with this truth is a lie against my heart. Because of being shown an imperfect love through our parents, it leaves openings for us to internalize lies about who we are. I accept that I am the "Beloved" of God and I announce it to the world. This is the quality of love God has bestowed on us (1 John 3:1) that could take us from "children of wrath" to His Beloved. It is one thing to accept this truth, it is another to walk in and live in the reality of His love for us daily. The Gospel allows us to know Him, be loved by Him, love ourselves, and then love others. This seems to be the order of it but I think we often just go to the last one of trying to love others without any real power and love from God. Be the Beloved today.

In His Love,
Bret

Aslan is on the Move!

Sometimes in the busyness of daily life, we can often miss the subtle but powerful hand of our supernatural God. In a society where we are focused on where we are going, what we are doing, who we need to talk to, etc.. Basically much of our thought life is preoccupied with ourselves, what others think of us, is someone upset with us, and did we do everything right. Our whole society is based on the Lie of self-focus, self-sufficiency, and us meeting our own needs. The gospel does not just cleanse us of sins but also opens up a new way of living, where we are no longer the center of our existence. Our awareness and sensitivity to the Spirit of God increase as we realize that the promise of the New Covenant is that He is constantly at work transforming us into a totally new person. Ezekiel 36:27 tells us "And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall heed My ordinances and do them." Clearly we are the receivers of this awesome promise but not the initiator or the one running the show. As I sat with a friend who has struggled with an orphan heart ever since I am known him, I began to see in his eyes a flicker of the Spirit of God moving Him. An orphan heart is a person who believes his heart has no home and thus searches to meet his needs on our own. We all often have feelings of loneliness, emptiness, shame, fear, and insecurity. These lies from the Pit of Hell move us into a place of being an orphan rather than being at home in the Father's Unconditional Love. My friend had move closer to be at home in the Father's love, yet when there is not a huge experience the subtle hand of Father's Love can be missed. As I met with some new friends involved in a ministry for healing hurting shepherd's the Lord began to confirm the vision He put on our hearts. We connected because we desire to see the Kingdom of God go forth and yet we each have a unique part of this overall dream to see the glory of God seen around the world. I can tell the dream in our heart to see orphans come home to the Father's love made an advance today, in the unseen realm. Faith is evidence of things hoped for, the substance of things not yet seen (Hebrews 11). As I shared the vision the Lord has put on our heart and these new friends affirmed the need and the call. I believe as citizens of Heaven, we are born of the Spirit to be attuned to the movements and rhythms of Aslan's moves. Aslan is purposeful and intent but not in a hurry. You were born of God to inhabit Heaven, are you willing to have God train your senses to His movements? If you are "in Christ" then Aslan is on the move in your life, it is not about getting God to do something but becoming aware of His movements.

In His Power,
Bret

Radical Love

It amazes me that God's grace is displayed best in the darkest places of our lives. God's grace as displayed through Jesus, reveals a radical and unchangeable love that is more powerful than sin, brokennes, weakness, selfishness, and rebellion. It is easy to condemn those who have fallen deeply into sin, it is a radical love to accept these people and restore them. Since God by nature is love (1 John 4), then He really can't be any other way. When we look for God to respond in a way that is punishing, disappointed, or angry we have a very distorted picture of God. It truly is good news to know that He loves you right now, whatever your failures or weaknesses. As we begin to have His love revealed, He is inviting us to dive into the depth's of His grace where we will live out all eternity. It has struck me that God is not changing some things in my life, He is transforming me into His very nature. This deep transformation was accomplished through our identification with Jesus on the cross, we are so changed by His love that we now can actually love ourselves. It is legalism and religion that devalues people looking only to their outward performance instead of the heart. If we are truly displaying God's nature, it will result in loving one another. Loving another person is not something you can do from a distance, you must enter into their failures, broken dreams, regrets, and pain in their life. God does not love us from a distance but seeks to know us a deep level, it is us that can prevent Him from knowing us completely. I am convinced that fear is what robs us of knowing and experiencing God's love. You don't have to look far in these times to see the evidence of our fear-based living, the news constantly speaks of recession and ads glorify being able to hide your weaknesses. It is Jesus that invites us to come close with our greatest weaknesses, failures, and broken dreams. Unlike what we may think about Him, He will only give us grace and healing. In all the years of ministry I have never seen Jesus reject someone, the Holy Spirit has spoken to many people over the last 10+ years. Why is it that I still hide at times from this kind of radical and unconditional love? It seems I still have places of fear in my heart but His Word assures me He is bringing me into experiencing His perfect love which casts out fear (1 John 4). As we receive His love for us fear is cast out and we are able to love others with His love. Fear leads us to do crazy, destructive, and sad things to one another. His love is so much greater than your earthly parents for they were not the exact representation of His love. Won't you let Him heal your heart and begin to soar higher in His love.

In His Love,
Bret

Resurrection is coming!!!

No matter what we as believers are going through there is hope because resurrection is coming. One of the saddest things about the teaching in the church that often falls short of the Gospel is that we are not taught our identification with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection. On this Good Friday as I am going through a season of death, I realize that my resurrection is coming where I will experience more of His resurrection life coursing through me. I will experience more of His love, His grace, His power, and His goodness than I have in the past. My weakness is God's opportunity, this is a Kingdom view not an earthly worldview. Don't feel sorry for me for my resurrection is coming. Yet we often get close to resurrection but pull out as we enter the tomb and thus don't see resurrection. Jesus chose the cross, we must also choose the cross for the joy set before us (His Resurrection Life flowing through us). It is sad that the church often stands and looks at the Cross and the Resurrection as observers rather than as participants. Isn't this what Communion is all about, is for us to actually be united to Jesus. There is such a cry in my heart to experience Union with Jesus, even though the Cross is right before me. I know deep down inside that on the other side is a greater revelation of His love than I have ever known and it will be worth it. Suffering without purpose is torture, suffering to enter into love is where the joy is. My cry for the church is that we would no longer be observers but participants in this amazing invitation given by the God of unconditional love. God's love is so radical, so deep, so powerful, and so amazing that it will destroy fear and shame. I pray that you would joining me in saying "yes" to His love and being changed by the depth of love that He challenges us to taste (Ephesians 3:14-21). Grace is not tolerance, it is transformation which is only something the God of the Universe can accomplish.

In His Love,
Bret

Grace is still standing!

As I read a friend's story that he sent me about a father who forgave his son's murderer and talk to a high school friend going through a divorce. I am amazed at how God's grace still stands, the power of His love displayed on the cross is bigger than the worst human sin committed against love. We were made to live in God's love and when we go against love we pay deep inside. We may be able to hide the damage inside for a season but like David said "let the bones you have broken rejoice". Our hearts do not heal when we choose justice, our way, selfishness, worry, or indepedence. We are only at home in His love and no other comfort will do. God's Word is timeless when everything around us is constantly changing, but His Word tells us "there is nothing new under the sun". Humans search for answers to the daily problems that confront us and yet God's Word is considered by so many to have nothing but religious language written in ancient times. If we as believers only understood the power of God's revealed Word to transform lives, broken marriages, broken relationships, and ultimately broken societies. His Word is what points us to a relationship with Him that gives life. As I have personally struggled with many fears, anxieties, and darknesses in my life over the past few months which are deeply rooted in my childhood, I am reminded by the Holy Spirit of the passage in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 which says "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everthing give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." This is a difficult section of Scripture for me when I have spent the last 15 months wrestling with deeply held strongholds of belief which have caused me to lose a lot of sleep. I am to rejoice, pray without ceasing, and give thanks. This sounds like insanity but yet the revealed Word of God breathes life into us. I choose to rejoice in His salvation of me though I did not deserve it, for taking me out of the darkness of sin and putting me into the light, and for loving me when I am my most unlovable. I have a wonderful wife, two great kids, co-workers to minister with who love the Lord, and God has given me breath today. I pray that the Lord will do a transforming work in me that I will rejoice always, this is not something that comes naturally to me. Growing up I learned how to complain, look for the worst, be critical, and the pathway to discouragement was paved. I am sowing seeds in life and these negative seeds will bear fruit. We were born to live in Eden where we would walk in God's love and life all the days of our life. We were born to spread His glory over all the earth, grace in places of darkness is what brings His Light. God is light and Him there is no darkness (1 John 1:5). At the end of many lifetimes Grace will still be standing because the goodness of God is what we long for. When we see Him then we are truly alive. Could it be that the darkness in our world is not because of the economic situation, crime, broken families, or war but the lack of God being lifted up. Grace is an atmosphere that softens hearts, heals, brings hope, and restores. Grace is who God is because Jesus is the fullness of grace and truth. My choice today is to live in His grace and love, though apart from His grace I deserve death. I pray you will choose to rejoice in the Lord, no matter what you may be going through.

In His Amazing Grace,
Bret

Is God Nurturing?

I ask this question because as I was reading a book about Experiencing the Father's Embrace it touched on the mother wound. I realized that over the years God has done so much healing and transformation in me around the wound of my father's suicide. This train wreck through the center of my life, has been the focus of much prayer and healing. So to realize that God wanted to be nurture me like a mother to fill the places where I did not receive was a surprise to me. I had not seen God as nurturing or in anyway mothering. Don't let me lose you here, there have been distortions by New Agers about Mother God. Yet as you look at the Word you see that God is indeed nurturing, tender, and caring. Psalm 91 and Psalm 22:9 & 10 reveal the picture of a God who cares and raises us up. I am learning to accept the nurturing and tenderness of my God that is healing a place in my heart that was wounded. As I ministered to a man who had been deeply hurt by both of his parents and out of his wounds had sought women for comfort and being wanted, I began to see the nurturing heart of God. The man was shocked to realize that God could be this for him, he realized he had hurt many people by seeking to fill this need his own way. Especially for men who are taught by our society to be tough, strong, and aloof it is revealing to see that we need the nurture, tenderness, and love that comes from the feminine qualities of God. I realized in my own life that what caused difficulty in my marriage was my inability to receive nurturing, thus to be tender and loving to my wife the way God wants. I have realized you cannot give what you have not received, so if you did not receive something growing up then receiving it from God allows you to be a conduit of His love. Why do counselors talk about the past? Because our identity has been formed through our experiences and to take on our new identity in Christ we must release the old to walk in the new (Ephesians 4:22-25). I also see in my own life that I am not good at nurturing myself (receiving it from the Lord), I tend to be driven too much by fears, demands, or others expectations. I am learning how to allow God to nurture and love me with His tenderness. I pray that God would reveal this dimension of His love to you.

In His Love,
Bret

Lies and Darkness

I was recently amazed that we can walk in internal darkness. The Word says God is Light, we often think that is great but don't know how to apply this to life. I found that I hit some internal darkness in my life which was very painful and difficult to walk through. When we believe lies about our identity it produces an internal darkness that we may try to avoid or medicate but can only be displaced by an encounter with the one who is light. As I was having emotions overflowing to the top, I actually got physically sick. After going home and going to bed God began to reveal some things to me. I had a picture in my mind of approaching the throne of Jesus and He told me that I couldn't bring "that" with me. I had worn old rags of hopelessness, a twisted love, defeat and despair, and loneliness. These were a darkness that weighed me down and kept me hunched over. These different things met needs in a twisted way and I was scared to take them off because they were all I ever knew. I was scared to be exposed because I felt totally ill-equipped to love and be loved. After finally discarding these defiling garments I was able to sit with Jesus and talk. He showed me His scars and what they meant for me. He answered the deepest questions of a little boy who had been deeply hurt. I realized I needed a Jesus who could be there in a more tangible way to meet those deep down love needs that had not be met. Jesus was always patient and didn't seem to mind my questions. It was very powerful when He wanted to listen to me, I had not really felt heard in my childhood. Jesus was patient to listen to all that I had to say, even asking me "what else". There is something so powerful about being deeply heard, this brought healing to a broken heart. When we encounter God we may not visualize Him but if we truly have encountered God there will be transformation in our lives. Confronting the darkness in our life takes the courage of God but also it takes desperation. It was those who hungered and were desperate who approached Jesus and then never walked away the same. It was those who relied on an intellectual system of religion but would not come to Jesus needy, who missed encountering the Savior. We all believe many more lies about our identity than we want to admit, otherwise the whole earth would covered in His glory. To be God's beloved children is the most amazing truth but an even more wonderful truth to be experienced and lived. It has struck me over and over again through the Word that "roots" are important. This is not the physical roots but what we really believe deep down inside. Since the Word says "love your neighbor as yourself", then having our identity "in Christ" as our root is primary in being able to love others. This is an identity that comes from "the Word became flesh" which means receiving our identity from the Spirit of Christ. The Word of God tells us about this identity but it is the Spirit that reveals and takes us into this identity.

In His Grace,
Bret

Spiritual Ears to Receive

As I was preparing to do my second sermon in history on "Receiving" the Lord led me back to the beginning (Garden of Eden) to understand where our barriers to receiving from God came from. In Genesis 3:10 "He [Adam] said, 'I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself". The phrase "heard the sound of You" jumped off the page, God revealed something I had never seen before. Adam and Eve would have received God's Word by revelation (in relationship) before the Fall but for the first time Adam was relying on his natural senses (hearing) and not his spirit. Since God is spirit Adam and Eve would have related with God through their spirit. In another words Adam and Eve would have sensed God was in the Garden with their spirit but now they are trusting their 5 senses because their spirit died. This is significant because we often now attempt to relate to God via our senses trained by our soul (mind, will, and emotions), rather than trusting His voice to be spoken in our spirit. It is also significant because the first response to God after the Fall is fear, which is then what trains our senses. It now makes sense to me why Jesus would continually be saying "...he who has ears to hear let him ear..." Since for so many years people have lived with a dull sense of hearing, Jesus is waking them up. How would you like to have supernatural hearing? Isn't it frustrating to listen to so many sermons, read books, and even read the Bible and not see transformation in your life. How many ministers are frustrated because it seems the congregation never really "hears" them? Hebrews 5:10-14 tells us that the dullness of hearing is being "unskilled in the word of righteousness". Righteousness is most talked about in Romans and this is the understanding that we are totally accepted by God based on the finished work of Jesus Christ and not our own works. When I was struggling to grasp righteousness, a friend said "it is being naked and unashamed". This means we can come to a Holy God with our flaws, sins, failures, weaknesses, and difficulties yet He accepts us. We are changed when we encounter the Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:16-18), not when we try to change ourselves. All of us need to be changed to walk in God's love and truth. It is being skilled in the word of righteousness, so we walk in the reality of God's unconditional acceptance of us which is His love which is what casts out all fear. I know in my life because of rejection, disappointments, and unmet needs I am too often afraid of experiencing these same things again so my senses have been tuned to these fears. As God continues to free me from these fears and live in His love my senses trained by to love. I have often thought I was "too sensitive" but I realize it was just that my senses were trained by fears instead of resting in Love. It makes sense to me that you cannot mature if you have not had a revelation of righteousness. Thus you are always trying to earn God's approval by striving to do what you believe will please Him and make you acceptable. If we don't find our acceptance and love in the arms of the Father, then it becomes very easy to turn to people, addictions, job, and other counterfeits for His love. Practicing our senses being trained to His Spirit means that we can experience God and His Word, not just a mental ascent. We were created to live in the reality of His love and in continual relationship with Him. Let's have ears to hear.

In His Love,
Bret

Enemy's Weakspot- Part 2!

The Lord keeps bringing me back to this topic. I have been sharing with my family 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 and just this morning we shared our weaknesses. But instead of the typical poor me/pity party we boasted by faith that God's strength would be made perfect in these our weaknesses. As I have moved into this revelation I have been shocked to realize how much time, energy, money, and other resources I have put into managing my weaknesses. Not having a father most of my life, being isolated and alone for much of my childhood, and not being your man's man has taken a lot of my resources to try to overcome. Ultimately I just failed because God was looking to do way beyond what I could do and that is that I would glory in and boast in my weaknesses. It is sad to admit how much time I have spent crying over the loss of not having a dad. It is a significant loss but compared to the riches in His glorious inheritance in the saints. No comparison. I challenge you to boast in your weaknesses by faith, as we glory in these we see God's power manifest. The revelation to Paul is opening up a window into Heaven, that we don't have to only pray to get rid of our weakness but instead delight in the revelation of God in the midst. As one speaker said it is not that reality on earth is not reality, it is that Heaven is a superior reality. We desire to see Heaven manifest on earth, this is truly God being glorified through us. I believe according to the Word that joy is part of the activation of God working in a situation and in us. Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him. Jesus had the grace (empowerment) to go through the cross because of that joy. God give us a revelation of the joy set before us, whatever we are going through right now. According to Ephesians 1:19 it is God's resurrection power that is at work within us. I pray His resurrection power into your circumstance, weakness, insult, or persecution.

In His Amazing Grace,
Bret

The Enemy's Weak Spot

I will continue talking about Receiving and Sowing but the Lord has put this on my heart. It was spoken to me many years ago that God would reveal the weak places of the Enemy. I have not forgotten this but in the midst of life it was lesser priority. I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit being the One that brings things to rememberance (John 14:26). I was in the midst of feeling some burnout, emptiness, weariness, and lack of love. I know that teaching, counseling, and sharing grace means I should never experience these but I am as human as you are. I hit a proverbial wall, my own sense of being responsible for raising support put me over the edge. It is in the midst of this that God began to reveal a principal from His Word that has given me a whole new perspective. We are all familiar with Paul's thorn in the flesh in 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 but God showed me something that had not come into full view before. Paul has had temendous revelation but then he was given a thorn in the flesh to buffet him (messenger of Satan), Paul like all of us prays to get out of pain three times (probably more). When I have a hardship it still seems my first response is to try to get out of it, if it is a temptation then we are to look for an escape but this is different. God's response to Paul's prayer is probably not what we want to hear, "My grace is sufficient for you, for the power is perfected in weakness." The world is constantly giving us ways to be strong, together, self-sufficient, and maintain a good image but this is not God's way. God says His power is perfected in your weakness. Paul gets this revelation because he says "Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me". Paul goes on seemingly like a mad-man, who is well content in weakness, with insults, etc.. What is the secret? Grace is revealed in our weakness or inability. The secret weapon is to run to your weakness with the joy of God being revealed in the midst of your powerlessness, helplessness, and hopelessness. The problem is we do not realize that this is where God's glory is going to be manifest, so we agree with the world's assessment and hide our weakness. As I was experiencing my own utter weakness and seeing that some of it was connected to not experiencing the revelation of the Father's Heart (my earthly father wounds), I began to hide in shame. As God began to reveal this new secret, I realized that this is a wonderful opportunity for God to manifest His glory. I am in the process of setting time aside to receive ministry that in my weakness I may experience a revelation of the Father's love. I am running towards my weakness in anticipation not of the pain but of the glory. As we get a revelation of this truth in the Word I believe then we will be able to delight in our weaknesses, instead of seeing them from our distorted perspective.

In His Amazing Grace,
Bret

Receiving!!!

As I talked about becoming a Sower, the Lord has led me to an important that God provides seed to the Sower. Seed, which is revealed from Him comes in the most unique ways. In my rawness of realizing my total need for the Lord and beginning to accept living as a broken vessel I glimpse the beauty of receiving. True strength comes in weakness boldly revealed to a loving God who embraces us and strengthens us. But because we have been surrounded by rejection (a culture of rejection) our hearts often close up to being vulnerable, raw, and in deep need. It is this deep need that reveals our true beauty, to vessels to contain the living God. I am going to meet with our pastor to talk about how to prepare the congregation to receive the ministry of the Spirit from the prayer teams but also from one another. In the midst of this I am painfully aware of my own need for love, acceptance, and belonging. Here is one who was raised in rejection teaching about receiving. God you do have a sense of humor. I believe according to Ephesians 3:14-21 there is a dimension of the love of Christ that we will not see manifest unless it is together with all the saints. This is why we go to church meetings looking for the allusive "community" (a place to be real), often we are disappointed to find that the meeting is more about someone's agenda than about a group of people looking to encounter the Living God. I am convinced that true "community" does exist and that it happens by the moving and leading of the Spirit and a group of people who are available to receive. Everything that Adam and Eve had in the Garden of Eden was by receiving, until the fig leaves nothing had been made by human hands. God freely gave to His beloved children whatever they had need for and even recognized Adam's imcompleteness without Eve. Adam received the animals and named them, he received the air he breathed, the plants and animals for food, and finally in the crowning of Creation he received Eve. Adam did not receive Eve conditionally for a trial but proclaimed her as "bone of my bone". After the Fall and eating the tree of the knowledge of good and evil we seem to judge people and things by their ability to meet our needs. The eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil began rejection, whereby we reject certain people or things. If you go into any gathering of human beings you will quickly find out the rules and guidelines for acceptance into their group. Since we have such a need to belong we will conform ourselves to this image, only to find out the allusive sense of belonging and acceptance goes with our new image. Deep down we long to be received in our raw, vulnerable, and broken vessels. So the pathway to our heart (our will) closes up at times and then gets to open some in "safe" places. I dream of a place like Paul prays for in Ephesians 3:14-21 where we can be continually open to the love of Christ together with all the saints. This is the true definition of family. No program or human effort can create such "community" only the move of God Himself through the Holy Spirit. I am beginning to see that receiving and thus genuine giving are an important aspect to the Kingdom of God. This is why the Kingdom when it comes to finances is giving and receiving versus the world system which is buying and selling. In our Western culture too many of our interactions with other human beings (created in the image of God) are based on buying and selling. Jesus told the disciples that "...freely you have received, now freely give..." (Matthew 10:8). I am learning how to receive, so that out of that will come freely giving. Will you join me on learning how to receive?

In His Grace,
Bret