Blazing Fire's Encouraging Blog

…written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God!  (2 Cor 3:2-3 AMP) Last Saturday, we explored what this could mean.  Karena Lout shared about the profound impact Pastor Tim Lout (Todd’s dad) had upon her life as an eighteen year old.  She experienced God’s love, kindness, warmth and life through Tim.  Jesus became real to Karena.   And Susan Fochler shared about two siblings she knew in high school who seemed to shine with life,  kindness, and joy.  And while they didn’t preach the “Gospel” to Susan with words, Susan was drawn to the life of Jesus in them.  Indeed, Susan wasn’t looking for words.  Susan was starving for the authentic kindness and spiritual life evident in their lives. We then broke into groups of 2 or 3 to share about someone who was a living letter from Jesus in our life.  I asked the people sharing afterwards to consider what felt different about this person.  Was it joy or kindness, peace, or someth...

From Bill Hernandez's web site, whisperoflove.net. Click this to see more. The Lord reminded me of this scripture and that this was about relationship with Him. He said it wasn’t so much about a change of behaviors where our actions and attitudes change for the better. It wasn’t about performing. It was about the depth of intimacy and quality of relationship with Him becoming more and more profound. It was about discovering a mutual bond of friendship and love where we are each other’s BFF – Best Friends Forever. It was about us developing greater trust and a sense of security before Him no matter what state we’re in. It’s a sanctuary of bold honesty. It’s a place of discovering His glory of all encompassing love. He reminds us of the First Commandment – “You shall have no other gods before me.” This is about us establishing Him as  the love of our lives and mutually enjoying each other. Here is happiness forever and a return to the garden. The rest of the commandments are a n...

Now it is God who establishes  and  confirms us [in joint fellowship] with you in Christ, and who has anointed us [empowering us with the gifts of the Spirit];  it is He who has also put His seal on us [that is, He has appropriated us and certified us as His] and has given us the [Holy] Spirit in our hearts as a pledge [like a security deposit to guarantee the fulfillment of His promise of eternal life].   Here we see Paul’s attempt to show the people that true leadership doesn’t have to look like eloquent speech and wealth and poise, but rather a simple person who considers themselves an bondservant to the one who is the king of love and points to Him….Jesus. He is giving emphasis to Corinth that God approves of him to bring messages, that he is sealed with God's approval and ownership. This passage also points to the fact that God has sealed us all. The Blood of Jesus has been mentioned several times in the Word as a seal over us also.  We are, in fact, His!...

This past Saturday, we continued our journey through the book of 2 nd  Corinthians. In chapter 1:23-24, Paul decides not to go to Corinth to confront them because he was working on reconciling with them. He previously made a “painful visit” where he rebuked the Corinthians about their sin and behaviors. But Paul quickly learns that he only has as much favor to speak into their lives as they had trust and relationship with him. As Paul is learning how to lead, he realizes he doesn’t want to rule over the Corinthians or manage their behaviors, but to empower them and come alongside as a loving leader would. Punishment focuses on sin, but Jesus is much more interested in the condition of our heart. He came to heal us wholeheartedly. Our poor choices are often symptoms of deeper pain. As we trust Jesus to heal the areas of wounding in our heart, we begin to live in a way that lines up with who we truly are.   The next part of Paul’s letter addresses a man in their community who ca...