Blazing Fire's Encouraging Blog

Negative thoughts running through our minds and tearing at the fabric of our joy is a universal problem. Jesus is the universal answer, if we will trust him to tell us what the truth is and agree with his assessment.   Theologian Richard Rohr states, “Jesus came to teach us the way of wisdom by bringing us a message that offers to liberate us from both the lies of the world and the lies lodged within ourselves.”   This is precisely what the Apostle Paul is getting at when he writes, “The weapons of the war we’re fighting are not of this world but are powered by God and effective at tearing down the strongholds   erected against His truth. We are demolishing arguments and ideas…We are taking prisoners of every thought,   every emotion, and subduing them into obedience to the Anointed One, Jesus.” 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (VOICE)    If you would like to hear more about how every thought (healthy as well as negative) takes up space in your brain, making those...

We love because God first loved us. We forgive because God forgave us first. We extend mercy because of the mercy our Lord extended to us beforehand. We show compassion because of the compassion first granted to us by our tenderhearted Father. And we are hilarious givers because God first poured out in lavish abundance his extravagant goodness and every possible gift we could ever need. And why do we follow in God’s footsteps to do what he does? Because we are created in His image and share in his likeness. We are children of the King, partakers of the divine nature, and one with the Trinity because we’ve been ‘de-otherized’ through Christ’s death and resurrection to be in perfect union with our Creator. In short, our most authentic self is just like our Dad!   I remember as a young, excited follower of Jesus how I discovered the sheer joy of giving. I was part of our church college choir and each Monday evening when we gathered to rehearse, we would first share testimonies of God’...