Overcoming Frontal Assault

Sometimes I think I am slow-learner but the Holy Spirit is so persistent than even slow learners can come into amazing wisdom and revelation.  The Kingdom of God is advancing and moving forward, retreat is not part of His vocabulary.  I have heard it said that the armor of God in Ephesians 6 doesn't have an armor for your back side, in other words the armor is only effective in advancing.  As I was getting ready to step into a new realm of ministry (radio), amazingly the day before I am while working on a plumbing project (something else I have done little of) I was assaulted with lies saying "I am a failure."  I am not saying this is true for everyone but I have found that when Father is taking me into a new area of ministry and identity, the enemy seems to assault me with lies to try to intimidate me.

Could it be that the areas that Father wants to bring breakthrough also include lies that need to be displaced.  In other words often before a breakthrough we often come to a place of weakness because this is the very place His power is made complete.  Father is much more concerned about your identity being upgraded than even the fruit because He knows that good fruit comes from the work of His Spirit in you (good root).  Christ being manifested in us always means that we must come into agreement with the truth of who we are.

What if we were to see the frontal assault of lies by the enemy as our next upgrade.  I believe this is how the Father sees it because in Romans 8:28-29 He is chiefly concerned about us being conformed to the image of Christ using all things in our lives to this end.  Since Christ overcame sin, death, betrayal, the Law, other's sickness, and the enemy then Christ is our victory.  There is only one victorious and overcoming life, that is the life of Christ manifested.

As for the rest of the story I did the radio interview and it was going so well, we ended up doing three radio shows in a row.  There was a great flow of the Spirit and I believe there will be many listeners who will be touched.  I celebrate Father's goodness and love being manifested in and through my life.

Advancing the Kingdom,
Bret

Momentum

As we had the Memorial service for our neighbor (her and her two boys), the night before I was deeply triggered by the trauma and found myself in the middle of the abandonment, rejection, and uncertainty of my father's suicide.  Showing up at the Memorial service on 1 hours sleep I was in a raw place as the grief, abandonment, feelings of being overwhelmed by the tragedy, and rejection were all very one the surface.  At one point I believe like many who are on this journey that Jesus would heal you and you would simply live life gloriously healed and whole.  The rawness of experiencing a dimension of my deepest wound in life reminded me that this is certainly not the reality for me and not the reality for others as well.

I believe for us to have momentum we must see the times when we get lost in our wounds or overwhelmed by shame in the perspective of Father's love.  There are times it's like we are driving a jeep through the jungle with so much mud and rain on the windshield that it seems impossible to see.  Just when we catch a glimpse of the road ahead the windshield wipers streak mud and water across the windshield clouding it over again.  It seems we must navigate by the glimpses between the completely clouded windshield.  This is why our journey is to "walk by faith and not by sight", we must trust that Father is "causing all things to work together for our good."  Even when there are emotions that "trigger" us to drop into a painful place, He is forming us into the image of His Son. God spoke to Graham Cooke and said, “Graham, I want you to get to a point where there is no such thing as a good situation or a bad one. There are no good days or bad days, just days of grace.”

We only have one true identity and that is our identity "in Christ", every other identity is based on a lie or something that want last.  God is not working on your old self, this self has been crucified and He is now developing your new self, throwing off the old ways of thinking and living.  I believe continuous momentum is knowing who God is (revelation) and experiencing who we are in Him.  Identity is central to momentum because otherwise we will rely on what will fail, like our works, fleshly efforts, or the performance of others.  God is always writing our story and that is always one of Redemption because Christ is our Redeemer and we are in Him.  Our story is forever intertwined in our story and every interpretation of life apart from Him will fall away.

In His Story,
Bret

In Tragedy: God is Love

A mother and her two boys were found yesterday in the family's minivan dead, they were our neighbors (I can see there house from my front window).  Overwhelmed and shocked by the tragedy yesterday morning, we were led to a have a "prayer vigil" for our neighbors.  There were 24 of us plus kids crammed into our living room, sad, bewildered, overwhelmed, and suddenly awakened to the reality of our need for one another.  The father and husband who lost his family joined us and there was an outpouring of love, care, and concern for him.  As I continue to grow in the revelation "God is Love" this seemed in exact contrast to a God of love.  Yet I am convinced when darkness strikes, it is the silence of those who know the "Light" (God is light) that allow the darkness to grow.  Just the night before I was reading a book to my daughter "The Prayer of Protection" based on Psalm 91 where he quoted Isaiah 60:1-2 which says, “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.  For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you."  As those who have the "light" we need to arise and shine, especially when the darkness seems to invade.

In the midst of a room of people impacted by tragedy, it was time to declare "God is Love" not loudly but simply to allow Him to shine through our family and our other believing neighbors.  The world though it is covered in deep darkness doesn't even understand why or how it happened, there is just simply continued agreement with the darkness.  Nothing dispels darkness but light and the true light is Jesus Christ and He is in us.  It is not so much our actions as our identity that brings light.  Of course actions that are life-giving and light filled come from an identity that is in agreement with the light within (Jesus Christ).  We are told in Scripture in Colossians 1:27 that, "...Christ in you, the hope of glory."

We naturally have a tendency to use our experience as the lens that we see God through, which when it is tragedy begins to deeply distort His character.  God reveals Himself as love through Jesus Christ and unless we are looking through His chosen lens we will have distorted view.  I believe knowing the nature of God is fundamental to us knowing who we are but also being able to show others who He is accurately.

In His Love,
Bret

God Sees only the New You

As I have seen many believers over the years in ministry, I realize that most of us see ourselves after our sin, failures, inadequacies, or weaknesses and have less than glowing view of ourselves.  Now I am no way pointing a finger because I have also seen myself the same way.  It is outrageous to see the truth that Father God is no looking at our sin, our weakness, our bad habits, our failures, our lack, or our rebellion.  Why because He dealt with all of these things through the blood of Jesus to take the complete punishment for sin and then through the cross of Christ where our old identity was crucified on the cross.

So if God is not focus on our junk, what does He see when He looks at us?  He sees us "in Christ" which means He sees the fullness of everything Jesus had done being manifested in who we are as New Creations united to Christ.  Instead of seeing our sin, Father sees Christ's blood covering every sin and taking it away on the cross.  He sees a completely forgiven person, even when we keep getting stuck in the same sin.  Instead of seeing the identity we have formed in our sin and the habit in our lifestyle, He sees the love that is expressed in Christ functioning in this area.  I learned how to worry and be anxious about being provided for from a young age, I lived in the reality that there is not enough.  As I put off how I see myself with worry and anxiety on me (according to Ephesians 4:22-24) which looks like a snake always whispering bad possibilities and me listening.  As well as eating stale bread.  Jesus gives me in place a royal robe with a crown on my head, being united to Jesus I experience that everything that has been given to Him is mine.  "My God will supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."  (Philippians 4:19)

Every negative that comes at us, God has made provision for us in His grace through His promises so that life is released and manifested.  Really every negative that comes into our life is a place where my functional view of God can grow.  Negatives in our life push for attention and focus, getting us to seek to always be dealing with the difficulties and the problems of life rather than be caught up in God's majesty, goodness, and love.  The enemy knows that we are transformed to look like what we focus on.  Rest is key to not being pulled into this negative cycle, from a heart posture of rest we can perceive who God is for us that overcomes the negative.  We don't have to fight the negatives that come into our lives by our own effort, could it be God being bigger than all the negatives that come into our lives has extravagantly provided by giving us Himself "in Christ".

God's view of the true you "in Christ", which by the way is the True You, is full of life, full of God's light and love, and amazing.

in Christ,
Bret

Law of Love

I was struck as I listened to a series on "The Truth about Deception".  In this series Holy Spirit highlighted the truth that to be free from the law of sin and death, we live from the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.  The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2) is all about living in the relationship of the Father to the Son, which is a relationship of endless love and kindness.  As we step into the truth of the Word of God allowing Holy Spirit to guide our imagination to see the truth of ourselves "in Christ" then we experience more of life from our union with Him.  The law of sin and death operates through fear which appeals to the flesh for a solution, then when we make choices according to the flesh then we get the fruit of the flesh (Galatians 6:8).

A law is a principal that works the same way each time.  For us to rise up in who we are "in Christ" means we need to access the love of God through the Holy Spirit who is in our spirit.  Love is foundational to life in the Kingdom of God, while fear along with selfish ambition is the operating system of an orphan planet.  Through fear and selfish ambition the law of sin and death constantly appeals to the flesh to meet a person's needs.  Even though as believers we are set free from the law of sin and death, we can still function under it.  Why is it at times it seems to be easy to operate in love and other times it seems that are being squeezed to the point where operating from fear seems to make sense?

Since God is love, God empowers us to love yet there seems to be a power that works through fear pulling us towards the flesh and sin.  The law of sin and death is like the law of gravity, it's always on and just because you believe you can fly by jumping off your house it doesn't mean you will.  In fact we live with the law of gravity everyday to the point that people once believed manned flight was not possible.  Yet two brothers at Kitty hawk with a whole lot of passion, tons of failures, and an inspiration that gravity could be overcame flew that day.  The law of trust and aerodynamics overcame the law of gravity.  Yet without trust or aerodynamics working properly many a plane crash have shown that the law of gravity is in no way gone.

We are to soar in the Spirit "in Christ" above our old identities, sin habits, fears, limitations, and even above demonic forces.  This is our destiny in Jesus Christ and God's promise to His Son that there would be a people that would soar in Union with Him.

Learning to Soar above,
Bret

Being the Beloved Overwhelmed by Love

As New Creations in Christ we are the Beloved, all of heaven is attentive to Christ in us.  God's endless affection towards us can only be received as we see ourselves the same we He sees us.  When we see ourselves after our sins, our failures, our inadequacies, and weakness then through this image of ourselves we have a very difficult time receiving love.  When we begin with how God sees us as His Beloved son or Beloved daughter than the reality of who God is as love begins to be revealed to us.  It is certainly easy to get overwhelmed by sin, fear, bitterness, lack, poverty, anger, and darkness but these all come from seeing ourselves after the old nature and not the new.  Scriptures is clear in Colossians 3:3-4 says, "For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory."  These verses are not reserved for some future glory, the truth is you have died (old self united to sin) and now you are living from your new life (in Christ).  Every time we agree with the truth of who we are "in Christ" then Jesus is manifested through us, which means there is a dimension of glory released.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, constantly lived under an open heaven with the Father's affection and love flowing to Him without end.  We have been placed "in Christ" as sons and daughters of God with His life resident in us.  How can we live out the purposes of God if we are not empowered by the same love Jesus was?  I believe to live the life God intends for us "in Christ", we must be overwhelmed by the nature of God, God is love.  Love creates all kinds of possibilities and outcomes that are all filled with God or we are going to be given over to fear with all it's negative possibilities.

This is why I believe worship is so important, even though worship is focused on God He in His love catches us up in His affection, kindness, and goodness.  Worship positions us to be overwhelmed by God's infinite love, all the possibilities love creates, and resting in His goodness.  In this place all the negatives in life fade away, because the negatives all involve possibilities and viewpoints that are not filled with who He is.  Right now in the national dialogue of where our country is going, so many of these are filled with the negatives which are devoid of God.  The only way we as a people are redeemed is God intervention "in Christ" and the only way our nation will be saved is through God's intervention bringing His Kingdom.

Position your heart as the Beloved of God, not because of what you have done, will do, or will stop doing but because of who God is and what He has done "in Christ" to make the Beloved.  Enjoy being radically loved, overwhelmed by love, and undone by love.

Beloved of God,
Bret

Promises: Doorway to Experience Father's Love

As internally I was having a difficult day, since I had not slept well the night before and the darkness seemed to overshadow me.  I remembered a promise the Lord had given me that I had meditated on in Colossians 1:12-13.  Yet when I pictured myself in the Promise which is what you do through a way to meditate on Scripture called Lectio Divina I was led into a very profound encounter.  There have been many a preacher who has used the verse in Revelation 3:20, "Behold I stand at the door and knock..." as a message that Jesus is inviting the pre-believer into relationship.  There is truth in that but I believe the primary invitation is to the Bride of Christ to come into relationship and intimacy with Him.

There are 750 promises in the New Testament that are all doorways into a new dimension of relationship with Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit.  These are also doorway into experiencing the Kingdom of God and a bit of heaven on earth.  Yet for most believers they are content to have them as cute little reminders on their refrigerators.  Could it be that there are profound encounters waiting for each of us with God through these Promises where we are catapulted into new dimensions of relationship with Him?

Whatever situation, negative, or difficulty you may be facing there is a Promise the Father has waiting for you, a doorway to a new dimension.  I think of the wardrobe in the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  The Wardrobe was the doorway into another world, the land of Narnia filled with adventure, important roles, and whole new identities.  This is a wonderful picture of the reality that we have been invited into, to live from heaven to earth.  Yet most of our thoughts are of earthly things and concerns.  How can we bring heaven to earth as Jesus instructed if we don't encounter Him in heavenly places?  We are citizens of heaven who are called to experience the reality of heaven now to manifest heaven on earth.

Some will say that if you are too heavenly-minded then you are no earthly good but Jesus in the Lord's prayer connected the two when He said, "On earth as it is in heaven.."  Encounters with Jesus lead to an impartion of relationship and His nature than transforms us into His image, then we manifest Him to others.  Our pastor says that in studying Scripture he realized how imporant encounter is throughout the entire Bible.  The invitation is open to every person who will go through the door of Promise to encounter who God is for you.

A Child of Promise,
Bret

Faith and Trust come from Love

I have longed to trust God more fully to be bold in stepping out in His leading.  Yet I have found places of an orphan heart where there is unbelief and distrust.  Following this discovery is often disappointment and frustration, yet the problem is that there is deception in this viewpoint.  The truth is that God loves me because of who He is and thus from His love rises up trust.  We are transformed by receiving Father's love for us and seeing ourselves as the Beloved of God.  As we see we truly are the Beloved faith and trust begin to rise up within us, actually it is who we are to trust God.  You cannot try to trust or try to believe, trust comes from a heart that experiences His love.  In Galatians we are told that "faith works through love", if faith is not working then we are not receiving His love.

Since God is love and loves us with an unrelenting, overwhelming, and powerful love the limitation is on our side and connected to what we believe about our identity.  It is amazing to me how much we as believers try to do for God apart from experiencing and knowing His love.  Love is the initiator and we are the receivers, which is a humbling place but also the most powerful place.  I believe our limited view of God's nature as love, through our painful experiences of love as being rejecting, disappointments when we wanted love but didn't get it, and religion which has taught us that God only loves us when we are good has slowed the ocean of God's love down to a trickle.  Father has designed that in our New Nature as Father's Beloved sons and daughters that we would be perpetually overwhelmed by His love.

Father legally paid the price in Jesus Christ for us to be filled with all the fullness of God.  I love how the Amplified Bible says it in Ephesians 3:19, "and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God's presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself]."  I know that I am not full but I want my inheritance in Jesus Christ and being filled with God Himself is the inheritance.  Things or resources are wonderful but to receive God Himself is truly our destiny.  I am tired of trickles or even encounters I want to experience being the Beloved 24/7 since we are habitations of God on the earth.

In Father's Love,
Bret

Anger's Importance

As we watch the news seeing reports of horrible violence perpetuated against people, murders, and assaults it quickly leads us to condemn all violence and anger.  Our attempts to make people be nice seem only to suppress a deep rage within those who are suffering injustices.  This is evidenced by the lashing out of the Black community in America against police and police brutality.  Efforts to squelch the violence and make the Black community calm often result in more clashes and anger.  Jesus was angry on more than one occasion and yet did not sin in it.  Jesus cleared the temple with a whip overturning tables, clearly expressing anger that His Father's House had been turned into a business.  Scripture clearly talks about Jesus anger with the Pharisees but Jesus never goes down the road of wrath.  Wrath and anger are different, a person with wrath has sought to be god themselves determining how the person they have wrath with will be punished (judgment).

So Jesus was filled with anger at times and yet in the next scene after clearing the temple, we don't see Him whipping the disciples for their stupidity (they certainly displayed it at times).  We don't need to look far inside or outside the church to find how anger is expressed in unrighteous ways, there actually seems to be a growing anger/rage underneath the surface.  Road rage is on the rise each year and 37% of road rage cases involve a firearm.  I believe all the sin involved with anger has given anger a bad name.  After all Ephesians 4:26 says, "Be angry, and yet do not sin..."  It seems overall in the Body of Christ we seem to major on "...yet do not sin..." and wander why men are not as interested in church.  On a given Sunday there is an adult crowd that is 61% female and 39% male.  When church sends the message to men that they must be nice, the fierceness that is in men is quietly made unwelcome.

I am realizing that much of my anger has been surpressed in an effort to please my female run home as a child.  I have found the more my anger gets surpressed, denied, or pushed away there is a loss of the fierceness and passion needed to face life's toughest circumstances.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:12, "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force."  I don't know any violent men who don't have anger to go along with the violence.

How do we see the fierceness within our identity "in Christ" released and how do we see the Body of Christ rise up as the warrior bride she is called to be.

In the Fierceness of the Kingdom,
Bret

Father's Love: Old Self Crucified

As I worked with a ministry in the past for 7 1/2 years there would be much talk of your Old Self being dead and others who were learing their identity would talk about "dying to self".  I have to be perfectly honest all this talk about "dying to self" was not really inviting or encouraging because it seemed contrary to a God who is love and life.  In this ministry they would even talk about how God killed you (Old Self) to free you.  Again from a place in my heart and spirit this did not sit right, another part of me was offended and I know I missed some of the truth that would have helped me in my journey.

Then as I talked with someone who was stuck in the cycles of the flesh with anger, animosity, unbelief, and control I realized that the most loving thing Father could do was crucify this Old Self hiddeously married to sin.  Father was not after killing our True Selves (our identity made in His image and then united to Christ) but ridding us of the slavery of sin.  Romans 6:6-7 says, "knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin."  I believe our issues, struggles, and difficulties come from the memory of our old self and then all our attempts to fix, change, or improve what is dead.

Freedom is not to work on the Old or even listening to the Old Self it is dead but to listen to the Spirit of Christ in us who is united to our New Self.  I woke up this morning realizing that I still often feel obligation to figure out my days and orchestrate everything.  Holy Spirit said to me, "whatever you (flesh) intiate you will likely feel responsible to keep going."  Father is inviting me into a place of upgrade to be led by His Spirit and the New Man at a whole new level, yet there is a tendency to feel bad about all the distrust, disobedience, and rebellion toward Him I have walked in.  Praise God the Old Man is dead, this Old Man was crucified and done away with.  I am a New Creation, a son of God, and a New Man who is learning to trust the Holy Spirit's leading in every area of life.

What if we were to begin every day with the truth of being New Creations, beloved sons and daughters of God, seated "in Christ" in heavenly places, royalty, and righteous?  Simply leaving all the Old behind and allowing it to stay dead.  Father's love freed us from the tyranny of being obligated to the flesh, we are now obligated to the New Creation we are "in Christ" daily seeing more of who we really are in Him.

Living out my true identity as a Beloved Son,
Bret

Covenant and Inheritance

In our American society that is full of contracts with tons of legal eze and escape clauses, the whole idea and understanding of covenant is hidden.  Contracts are written with a lot of "if then" clauses, meaning that if you do this then the other party will do such and such.  Most of the time a contract to buy a car or other big item are all about protecting the parties and often benefit the seller or store.  Covenant is different, a blood covenant is based on unconditional love and is actually giving of oneself to another.  Blood covenants which are throughout the Bible and the most glorious of all covenants is the one in Jesus Christ.  Covenants are usually made between two parties, often they were made from say a lesser tribe who needed protection from a stronger tribe.  They would make a covenant binding the two tribes, that when the lesser tribe was attacked the greater was bound to come to their aid.  Since the relationship covenant was bound through blood, agreements/oathes, and a meal it would not be broken until one party died.  Different than previous covenants, the covenant in Jesus Christ is unilateral meaning from God to human beings.  God being the stronger one to a weaker one (us).  Since all of the previous covenants (Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, etc..) all had a human representative who was unable to completely fulfill their side of the covenant, God chooses the only one who will not fail Jesus.

Since Jesus Christ the Son of God is both a God and man, He can perfectly represent our side by being human but will not fail because He is God.  The New Covenant does not depend on our performance, our ability, our works, or anything we do.  The covenant is between God the Father and Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit been the revealer to us of the covenant.  What is your inheritance?  There are 750 promises of God made in Jesus Christ that according to 2 Corinthians 1:20 are "yes" and we say "Amen" (so be it in our lives).  These are all the Promises (which are the life of Christ) given to us, they touch every area of our lives and our needs.  Yet many of us are not standing in the Promises of God because we think we are unworthy, don't believe it is possible, or think it is up to us.  So when we experience lack, difficulty, and adversity in our lives being ignorant of the Promises of God we wallow, fight in our own strength, or simply experience more defeat.

We have been given the Promises of God that the Holy Spirit reveal to us and fulfill in our experience so that God is glorified (2 Corinthians 1:20).  God is not glorified by your defeat or even your struggle, He is glorified when the Promise He has given is revealed to us, fulfilled and manifested in us.  The enemy of our souls is always looking to disqualify us by getting us focus on ourselves, our circumstances, or past failures.  We are in a spiritual battle and we advance by our intimacy and trust in God's goodness through His finished work in Jesus Christ and His promises.  Every promise of God is accessible to you and in every situation where there is difficult God has attached a promise so you can overcome.

In His Goodness,
Bret

God is always the Initiator

Orphans always feel like everything is up to them, nothing will get done unless they do it.  In a world that thinks like orphans there is constant pressure to handle life, it is in this backdrop that the Father speaks His words of life through Jesus.  We are bombarded in our modern world by messages of:  how to get ahead, how to get healthy, how to lose weight, how to be beautiful, how to get rich, etc...  All these assume one core truth, there is no loving Father who has already made provision for your deepest desires and needs.  I was struck by this in my own life, when a deep need of my heart came up and I was amazed that a root belief is "it's all up to me".  It is in this backdrop of being bombarded that Jesus invites us into rest.  During His time it wasn't the same exact messages that were being hurled at people, there was a ton of obligation in the religious world.  They had taken God's laws, which they believed fulfilling them would please God, and added over 600+ rules.

God is always the Initiator, He is the One who began the plan to save us from our eternal death.  Since saving was all God's idea that we had nothing to do with it, our ongoing salvation and saving is what He continues to initiate.  Imagine God saying, "I know I did a good job getting you "born again" but now the rest of your journey is completely up to you."  Yet this is often how we live.  Paul confronts the church in Galatia in Galatians 3 that having begun in the Spirit are they now being perfected by the flesh.  It is an offense to our pride and a death blow to say that we are always to be the Responders to God, He is always the Initiator.  Christ in us who is the One who is outrageously creative, who gives us our "good ideas", did you really think the idea came to you apart from God.

Romans 5:8 is so encouraging, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners,Christ died for us."  We see that love initiates salvation when we were not looking for it, because we were sinners (consumed with ourselves and sin, not alive to God).  This is such good news because God is unchanging in His character, which means that since salvation was all His idea He continues to initiate your salvation on a daily basis.  This is a huge relief for me, like the day God revealed that when Jesus proclaimed "Our Father" that He took responsibility on Himself to Father us for all eternity.  Jesus saying that the Father is the Vinedresser in John 15 means that He is the One who is perfecting, changing, pruning, and transforming us.  Our response is to surrender and submit ourselves to Father's work in us, which includes in every situation that comes into our lives (God causes all things to work together for our good.....).

God being Initiator frees us from needing to initiate everything in our lives and brings us into a beautiful place of child-like dependence on God.

Resting in Father's Love,
Bret

The Power of Light

It seems that when God wants to do a new thing in us that He first seeks to remove the old.  By inviting us to discover a dimension of His nature, the unveiling comes as we let go of the veil (lies) that have kept us from seeing.  God has fully revealed Himself through Jesus Christ, He is hiding in plain view.  Scripture says it this way in Hebrews 12:14, "Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord."  Sanctification means the removing of the old being replaced by the new person "in Christ".  As I was recently ordained there were several people who spoke over me that there was an anointing for deliverance on my life.  Some think of deliverance as focused on demons but I believe true deliverance is to be delivered from the domain of darkness (Colossians 1:12).  Darkness is where lies, fears, bitterness, lust, selfishness, sin, unforgiveness, hopelessness, control, and many others rule over our thinking, our feeling, and our life.  Yes, the enemy of our souls does work in the domain of darkness.

The Lord began to invite me to experience and know Him as Light, yet Light exposes us.  I realized that I had learned how to walk in the darkness, simply by hiding my feelings, my thoughts, and the places in me that I felt ashamed of.  As a child I also was deceived to partner with hopeless thinking, self-pity, and isolation leading me away from openness, honesty, trust, and love.  As God, who is Light, was calling me out of the darkness I had to admit that I chose the darkness (men loved darkness) because it provided some protection (although deceptive).  The lying promise of the dark is we will be covered and no one can see the things we do in the dark.  I heard of a picture of this:  there was a cave a mile down underground where a river flowed through it.  You could drink from the river in the cave because it had nothing growing in it because there was no light.  Yet farther down river where the river flowed on the surface of the earth the river was teaming with life because the sun shone on the river.

The Word of God says in Proverbs 23:7, "For as he thinks within himself, so he is."  The thinking that comes out of the darkness that infects our mind and heart will come out as sin in our life.  As the Holy Spirit reveals the nature of God as Light, we are invited into a place of being transformed into that same image of Light.  When light comes into the place of darkness, darkness always is displaced.

Delivered from darkness,
Bret

Victims or Overcomers

I was in a meeting talking about Identity and the Holy Spirit began to speak to my heart about not being a victim.  I have read books on the "Victim Mindset" and yet there was a deep belief in my soul that the reason I still had struggles was because of what someone had done to me in my past.  Yet the Holy Spirit began to remind me of Ephesians 2:1-2, "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,  in which youformerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience."  I began to get revelation that I was still in bondage in some areas of my soul because of my sin and my agreement with the lies.

I had learned to be a victim early on with my father committing suicide when I was 6 years old but also internalized a sense of powerlessness in life.  Even though God had done significant work in my life, I still felt in bondage to worry, fear, self-pity, and anxiety.  It was revealed that I was 100% responsible for my response to people's sin against me in my life and that I had chosen to come into agreement with lies.  For those of us who have had painful and damaging childhoods, we often feel like victims but when we were placed "in Christ" we were infused with the DNA of an overcomer.  One of the biggest enemies we must see that has been overcome by being "in Christ" is our sin.  Romans 6 shows us that we were once slaves to sin but now by being place "in Christ" sin no longer has mastery over me.

Since I still believed I was a victim at some level I didn't fully acknowledge the depth of my sinfulness.  In other words being a "victim" was a good excuse but excuses don't set you free, having the penalty paid for sin sets you free.  As I remembered, before salvation, the depth of my sinfulness, curses, lies, shame, fear, disobedience, unbelief, distrust, doubt, lust, selfishness, and all else that came with it I could see it was sin that was robbing me of life.  Seeing myself united to Christ in His death because of my sin put on Him and me dying with Him, the true grotesqueness (is that a word?) of my sin became evident.  Only in Jesus could I be forgiven and resurrected from my sin, I was powerless in my own ability to overcome.  Praise God for resurrecting me in Jesus Christ to newness of life.

Resurrected to New Life,
Bret

The Heart

The Holy Spirit reminded of Proverb (4:23) that is important to me, it says "Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life."  Actually the heart has an important role throughout the Word of God.  I even have a Board Member that says he has discovered where the heart is, it is the connection between the soul and spirit.  I believe this is an important discussion with equally important revelation, yet this is not what I am after.  I also was reminded by the Holy Spirit of the multiple ways Jesus said to, "You shall love the Lord with all your heart, ...."  Our hearts are very important in our connection with God but also in our connection with others.  Yet as I have met with leaders over the years and for myself as well, one area that we often fail in is watching over our own hearts.  

I know I have tended to sacrifice myself by giving too much of my time to clients, not valuing the most important relationships in my life, and most importantly putting more resources into other people's relationship with God than my own.  I know being in full-time ministry means I get the joy of navigating this and making my fair share of messes in this area but I don't think I am alone.  I believe one of the reasons we live in such an orphan hearted culture is that we don't watch over our hearts but they often lead us.  As believers "born again" in Christ we have a new spirit united with Him, it is from the place of the spirit that the Holy Spirit actually watches over our hearts.  Yet often we can ignore, suppress, deny, or not be interested in what He is reporting.  At times the Holy Spirit is sounding the alarm like a "check engine" light on our cars, yet we just keep going hoping it will go off.

The second part of Proverbs 4:23 is important, "...For from it flow the springs of life."  The New King James Version says, "...For out of it spring the issues of life."  Boy do we have issues, in our country we have economic issues, we have political issues, we have immigration issues, racial issues, crime issues, and issues upon issues.  Could it be that as country since we have so many issues, that there is something wrong at the heart level.  Our same Board Member that talks about where the heart is also talks about what brings hardness of heart, which are wounds and choices.  It is the affections of the heart that can lead us towards God or can get us far away from Him.  I believe the call of God on this generation is to not only have a revival that brings life to our spirit but touches our very hearts where all the issues are springing forth.  Remember that from the Father's love, He sent Jesus out of His bosom to be the manifestation of His love to us.

Responding from my heart to God's love,
Bret

The Power of Receiving

As I was between wake and sleep the Holy Spirit kindly gave me the impression of Romans 5.  As I began to read Romans 5, I was drawn into verse 17.  I love that walking with God is truly an adventure, even though many times I want it to be all planned out and safely boring.  God is too amazing to fit in my box of boring, so He is constantly getting out of the box to show me who He is.

All of us through our lives in our story seem to hit a dimension where it turns darker, more tragic, and there doesn't seem to be a way through.  In other words it was not only Adam and Eve that experienced a Fall.  It may be that the relationship we were pinning our hopes on for love is not working, our dreams for success seem to be crashing, our financial situation closes in on us, or the secret sin habit seems to rule more of our life.  Tragedy and Fall is not unknown to most people's story, yet many cover this over only to redouble there effort to overcome but you can only do this so many times before reaching utter exhaustation.

Romans 5:17 speaks to this place in our stories, the passage says "For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ."  Could it be that when we reach these places of tragedy we are only simply discovering the condition "death reigned through the one."  This phrase speaks of Adam as a type of king who ruled over the entire human race and that his fall was all of our fall.  Our destiny was tied up in his destiny.  Some proudly say, "if I was Adam I would not have eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."  Yet if we are to examine their lives, in theirs like mine we all have a fall.  It is amazing that as a people (apart from Christ) who are actually functioning "in death" call it life.

In this passage God points us to life, which is the God-kind of life (zoe).  God-life is one that is completely tied up in relationship, majesty, beauty, love, kindness, goodness, and eternal grace.  I have found that God is overly concerned about my circumstances as He is about His relationship with me.  In this relationship He is growing us in our identity in Him as His sons and daughters, where everything about our lives are caught up in Him.  It is not making sure your circumstances go the way you want but finding Him in whatever circumstance you find yourself.  It's amazing how Joseph has a dream, in his youthful exuberance shares it with his insecure and overly jealous brothers.  These same brothers sell him off to get rid of him but the favor of God on his life leads him to become the chief of a rich man's house.  Joseph seems to be at the top of his game, when the darkness enters in to steal this favor and Joseph is cast out of the house accused of adultry.  Joseph finds himself in a prison, more like a pit with a few others guys.  Joseph again finds God in this place and turns this prison into a palace because he knows who His God is and who he is.

Receiving life, which His grace, His love, His kindness, and all that He is changes everything in our lives.  Our life is now bound up in the destiny of another, fortunately Jesus was destined to reign over all humanity.

Receiving His grace,
Bret

Freedom in Vulnerability

As I have been a part of leading a group on experiencing rest "in Christ" I came across a message that has impacted me not because it's new but has taken me to a new level.  I have attached the video by Brene Brown called "The Power of Vulnerability".  We live to experience love, love from God, love from our family, love from our friends, and love to our family and friends.  I believe this is the abundant life that Jesus invited us into, is a life of being radically loved and loving others.  What power raised us from the dead into New Life?  Ephesians 2:4-5 reveals that it is the power of God's love that raises us from the dead.

How can we experience God's love for us and others love for us if we are not vulnerable and known?  We can't.  I would like to suggest to you this is why the Pharisees and religious leaders of the day didn't know Jesus because they didn't let Him know them.  I have to be honest with you I have had a love/hate relationship with vulnerability.  I love it when I take a risk to be known but hate when the fear of being known is overwhelming (shame).  I like the idea of walking in the Light (Jack Frost talks about this in Experiencing Father's Embrace) more than I embraced a lifestyle of living in the light.  It seems altogether too risky, I could get hurt, and I may be disappointed.

As I listened to what Brene Brown discovered I became more and more convinced in my spirit that vulnerability is the only way to live.  By the way Brene Brown says she had a spiritual awakening and through another speaker I found out she has become a believer in Jesus Christ.

I believe in our American culture we are crying out for relationship, community, love, and family.  Yet our popular culture elevates intimacy without sacrifice.  Therefore sex without really knowing a person is elevated as the ultimate type of love and romance, when the truth is it is only one step away from prostitution.  The pornography industry is over $10 billion in America and $97 billion globally.  Yet if we dig deeper underneath the counterfeits, we see a society that craves intimacy, connection, and love.  Casting stones at the counterfeits does little to lead people into freedom and love.

I believe us embracing a lifestyle of emotional and personal vulnerability before those we long to connect with (especially God) can bring us into a place of powerful freedom.  I know this from counseling people for 19 years, there is never breakthrough without true vulnerability even to the point of a person feeling hopeless and powerless.  Jesus seems to ride in on His white horse to deliver and bring freedom when we are willing to be in this place.

Vulnerable His,
Bret

Rest is not about the Easy Chair

Many times when we think of rest, we think about physical rest.  Certainly, as the days of summer roll by with kids out of school and less strenuous schedules there is time for physically relaxing.  I know that I have sought rest in taking vacations, avoiding responsibilities, denying things in my life, and even hoping to escape to a deserted island.  At times the pressures of life seem unrelenting, does Jesus really have a place of rest for us to enter.  In Hebrews 4 we are told there is a Sabbath rest for the Christian to enter, not taking one day a week to rest (though that is great) but a place where we rest from our striving, seeking to please man, busyness, and anxiety.

God wrote into His creation for us to begin our weeks with a day of rest and even had His people rest the land on the 7th year.  He provided for this 7th year by giving them a 3 fold harvest in the 6th year, talk about a picture of trusting God.  While these are wonderful fulfillments of the Sabbath Rest, the greatest fulfillment is in the finished work of Jesus Christ.  When Hebrews 4 tells us to labor to enter into His rest it seems like an oxymoron.  Yet I find that the world system around me wars to pull me from a place of rest and overall does not value rest.  Since our resting from our works requires us to trust God.

Being busy and achieving are much more valued than rest and intimacy.  We are going to need to stand in the place that Christ has purchased for us and proclaim His finished work in the face of mounting responsilibities, pressures from our jobs, worries and fears about our kids, increasingly difficult problems in our world, personal struggles, and people hurting in our own families and friendships.  All these war to pull us away from simply trusting in who Jesus is for us and in us.

I see amazing believers and leaders who have entered into a place of rest but they have had to stand in the face of much that would seek to steal that rest.  The answer is not to seek to impose control and limits on the world around us so that there is peace.  As a father and husband how many long days working have I come home hoping there would be peace in my home, no issues with the kids, no more talk of schedules that don't seem to connect, or problems with the house.  When I look for peace outside of Christ I become irritable and frustrated with what does not line up with that peace.  When I dwell in a place of peace and rest with Jesus, then I am able to release this peace to others around me.  We must set boundaries but not to control others, so we can priortize the relationship which all life flows from.

Entering His Rest,
Bret

New Endeavor, Rest First

Life seems to be a series of transitions, including new seasons, starting new things, at times loss, and leaving something old behind.  In God's design from the beginning in Genesis we see a rhythm where God creates in the first six days, creating human beings on the end of the six day then God rests.  God declares the seventh day to be a day of rest (Sabbath) and blesses and sanctifies this day.  Did He rest because He was tired and somehow worked too hard.  God did not have to rest but chose to and began a rhythm that we still loosely follow today with our 7 day week.  So God works first in creating and then rests, which is exactly the opposite of the rhythm He gives for human beings.  Adam and Eve are created at the end of the sixth day, with their first day being the Sabbath.  God designed for man to rest and then work.

In laying out the beauty of redemption, God parallels Creation when Christ finishes His work on the cross, is resurrected, and then exalted to the right hand of the Father being seated on the throne (Ephesians 1:20-23).  When you sit down you take off the weight from your legs and naturally relax, this is a position of rest and authority.  There were no "born again" believers till after Christ went to the cross finishing His work, thus all believers were "born again" as New Creations from a place of rest not our working.  Many wrongly believe that they found Jesus but I believe that when we are in sin and living as orphans we are not looking for Him.  The Word tells us that "...the Father draws all men to Jesus."  In Ephesians 2:6 God seats us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ, in a place of rest and authority.

The question is do we grow in our walk with the Lord, increase in spiritual gifts, or be transformed in our inner man by our own striving, effort, or disciplining ourselves.  There is effort and discipline involved in places in our growth but we don't start by working but by resting.  "Every new spiritual experience begins with an acceptance by faith of what God has done- with a new 'sitting down' if you like."  It's actually from a posture of rest that faith comes forth as God breathes on His written Word to reveal it to us.  Many have studied the Word of God believing that it is by their self-effort that the secrets contained in it will be unlocked, only to be frustrated and may even become more religious.

In Father's Love He is the initiator and we are the receivers.  We are in a place of dependence, need, and even weakness.  Yet to those who learn dependence and rest there seems to be no limit to the grace God is willing to give them.

In Rest,
Bret

The Power of Rest

Most of us have had the experience of coming back from a relaxing vacation feeling refreshed, energized, and having fresh perspective.  I experienced this after coming back from North Padre Island in Texas, where the beaches seem to go forever and the ocean water was warm and inviting.  Taking time for physical rest, relaxing, and reflecting on life is so revitalizing yet what is true in the natural is true in the spiritual.  Learning how to live from a place of rest with God dwelling in us is so important for our well-being.

In Genesis God creates the heavens, the earth, the animals, the plants, and all that is within it.  After God creates on the seventh day He rests, He sanctifies and blesses that day (Sabbath).  God will always bless our rest because we are entering into the place He is, since after Jesus completed His work on the cross and ascended to the right hand of God He sat down.  Ephesians 2:6 tells us that we are "and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus".  This is a passage that mirrors Genesis 2, we are to begin our new life "in Christ" from a place of being seated where we don't work for salvation.  God works and then He rests.  We are to rest and then work from a place of rest.

Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God."  Resting is all about being aware of God, connect to His Presence, and receiving from Him.  I have found when I am working for what Father has already purchased for me "in Christ" then I am focused on myself, resent God at times, and have a hard time hearing Him.  As we learn to cultivate the "secret place" of rest and peace with Father, then we can live from this place of dwelling "in Christ".  So many times people are wrestling to get something from God, when resting and trusting by faith actually draws what they are looking for.  You came into the Kingdom of God by grace, do we really grow in the Kingdom by anxiously working, striving, or earning.

I believe there are treasures that God has for us as we position our hearts in a place of rest to receive from Him.  He has everything good-peace, joy, love, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, and self-control to mention a few.  Even physical rest is one of the ways that we promote healing, health, and overall well-being.  Yet we are so often deceived to believe that our performance, striving, earning, pushing, self-effort is going to bring us the treasures of the Kingdom.

Be at Peace,
Bret

Honesty with Father

I have met with many people who struggle to admit that they are angry with God, because we are not supposed to be angry with God.  It was Teresa of Avila who once said to God, "If this is how you treat your friends, no wander you have so many enemies."  She was a person who knew God deeply and saw many miracles.  Jesus addressed this issue when He spoke to the Pharisees about how they prayed and that they used flowery language to impress.  Jesus highlighted in a story that the man who beat his chest and felt so unworthy to receive was the one who would receive.

Is Father really impressed by our spiritual language, our prayers that we pray because we believe we are showing God's power, or our hiding our true condition of our soul's temper tantrums.  I believe any time you are in a church culture, a religious mindset is a temptation.  This is not real intimacy or relationship with God but something that appears like you are spiritual but really has no substance.  It was refreshing to sit down with friends, ministry partners, and peers to talk about rest.  Even though the Father has given me wisdom and insight in this area, I have more disappointments, frustrations, and barriers than success.  The refreshing was being able to be honest with Father about those but also with others.

Self-pity and the victim attitude are dangerous territory to inhabit but to steer so clear of them that we live in the land of "fine" with flowery Christian ease is equally as lethal to true relationship with Father.  Is God really scared of your secret frustration with Him, your disappointment, your fears that He won't come through, your questions about why things happen in your life, or even the pain of His seeming absence.  Do we have an overly sensitive, touching, insecure, and weak Father?  Jesus is the exact representation of Father, Jesus entered into the smelly, dirty, gritty, sinful, raw, and often contentious reality of an occupied Israel with all the Roman brutality.  I never see Jesus shocked by people's sin, overwhelmed by the demons they carry, deterred by the their lack of knowing who He was, or even offended by their lack of respect for Him.

I believe God loves when we get honest and real without making excuses to stay stuck or looking for God to validate our self-pity.  I believe true spirituality must have an element of rawness.  Jesus shows up in the middle of people's pain, unbelief, sin, anger, distaste for religion, and even their outright rejection of God.  We have been given permission through Jesus Christ to get real.  Couldn't God have made all those people bow down and worship Jesus.  Absolutely, but then love does not exist because real love requires the freedom to choose.  The freedom to choose means the freedom to reject.  Jesus walked right into our rejection of Him with a bold love that was unstoppable and captivating.

In Father's Love,
Bret

Overcoming Negatives in Our Lives

Sometimes the negatives in life seem overwhelming, whether it be difficult circumstances, problems in relationships, financial issues, personal habits that we aren't overcoming, or losses that enter our life.  These negatives put pressure on our identity and areas of weakness, insecurity, fears, deception get exposed.  Jesus said in John 16:33, "In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”  Our world can be a very trying place at times putting pressure on who we believe we are.  Character is not achieved but revealed and then appropriated into our lives.

I have often wandered how it is true that "God causes all things to work together for our good...", later in this passage it talks about us being conformed to the image of Christ.  How exactly does this work and how do we partner with God?  Father has provided a way for us to partner with Him by giving us a promise that is the opposite of the negative in our life.  There are over 750 promises in the New Testament.  These are doorways into overcoming negatives in our lives.  The Holy Spirit is amazing at showing us how to move in the opposite spirit and discovering who God is for us in our circumstance, difficulty, or trial.

Instead of remaining in orphan thinking, the promises of God call us out to a whole new realm of living in union with God.  Jesus said He overcame the world, we don't overcome in our own strength but on reliance on who He is for us.  Promises open us up to the joy of who God is for us in where we are in life.  If we continue in our old orphan ways of thinking, we will get what we have gotten in the past.  We can't think like an orphan and live like a son.  We must adopt a new way of thinking as a son or daughter united to Christ through the indwelling Holy Spirit.

This is not something we achieve by striving, we learn to receive as we quiet ourselves to come before Him to receive meditating on the Promise He gives us and the new thoughts He gives.  What if we came to a point in life where we could actually find joy when we are bombarded with life's negatives because of who God is for us and the upgrade we are receiving to our identity.

Overcoming in Him,
Bret

Father's Love in Losing your Life

It was not a popular message when Jesus in Matthew 10:39 says, "He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it."  Many wander what this means, was Jesus talking about us dying where our earthly life is over.  The word for "life" is actually "psyche" which in the Greek translates into our soul.  In other words there is a life that has been constructed from the soul which includes our own constructed identity, our provision, and our protection.  This is the very essence of the "orphan heart" which is everything that has been built apart from Father's love.  I have found where Father's love is not flowing through me is where I am still seeking to function and draw life from an "orphan heart".

Could it be that God's grace is that we realize that everything "orphan" in us is dead.  All orphan thinking, living, and grabbing for love in relationships is dead before we even go down this road but we must discover for ourselves that it has no life.  I am convinced that life is to be fully and radically loved by God and to give this love away freely to others through my unique personality.  Even though at times I am deceived to think protecting myself, hiding, withholding my heart, or hoping to be respected or honored by humans is what is important.  Life is actually in exposing our wounds, our great need, and even our hunger for more to the Father to be filled.

I was struck this week as I dealt with personal rejection from others, disappointment in others choices, and even accusation. Where I am still bothered me is where I have not reckoned myself dead (the old orphan life).  There is a joy in loving back those who reject you, accuse you, and even disappoint you but there is a still a tinge of wanting to be honored, have my investment in people recognized, and even a desire to defend myself.  I find these death throes are minimal as I embrace primary purpose of being conformed to the image of Christ.  Jesus loved those who rejected Him, betrayed Him, and even accused Him of being of satan's kingdom.  When we decide to love in the face of rejection, anger, accusation, and others letting us down, it is God's pleasure we experience.  I believe this is when we "...if indeed we suffer with Him that we may also be glorified with Him..."

I believe what Father is desiring is to so fill His children with His love that they no longer need the love of those in the world to fill them.  Then we are completely set free to love unconditionally as He loves.  This is life, to love freely, openly, and fully.  We will be rejected, insulted, and even accused but Father is looking for laid down lovers that will be conduits of His great love to a broken world.

In Father's Love,
Bret

Experiencing Father's Love: Destination or Adventure?

We are planning a vacation to the Gulf Coast of Texas which includes driving about 16 hours, we have a destination.  We aren't necessarily looking for grand adventure as we drive down there but the truth is the best laid plans don't always work out like you think.  Is this the goal of life?  To lay out plans that will work out; meaning that getting to the destination we intend is most important.  After seeing a movie called, "A Story Worth Living" by John Eldredge I began to see that Father was bringing some guidance to my heart.

As I studied the story of Abram who became Abraham (Genesis 12-13), there were dimensions in his story that touch mine and yours as well.  You see "story" is truly where we find meaning, direction, and understand in life.  As a people we love good stories, whether it be a classic tale penned long ago or a more modern tale displayed through Sci-Fi (like Star Wars movies).  It seems we have a constant appetite for "story".  Abram is called by God in Genesis 12 to leave the household of his father to pursue the ongoing journey of the Promise Land.  Abram has a destination, yet  God emphasizes the Promise He has made to Abram and his decendents.  Abram sets out on this grand adventure with all his family, his possessions, and even Lot (another relative).  Yet on the way to his destination (the Promise Land) he hits a snag, there comes a famine on the land.  A famine means that resources like food from the land, feed for the livestock, and water can be in short supply (drought can cause famine).

Abram forgets he is on a grand adventure of trust with God and begins to focus on how will he get his whole enterage to the Promise Land if there is not food or supplies.  Abram turns to go to Eygypt where they have mastered being able to supply themselves and don't need to rely on God.  Then there is another problem with his plan, Sarai his wife is beautiful even though she probably in her 60s.  Since they both lived until they were about 175, she looked more like she was in her 30s.  When the Bible says that every other woman looked like a "monkey" compared to her she must have been a real "looker".  Abram's plan (leaving God out) meant he had to figure out how to slip his gorgeous wife into a hostile country without causing a problem or getting himself killed.  Ah Hah!  The perfect plan came to mind (with the original orphans help), he would simply say that Sarai was his sister so she would still be protected but he would save his own skin.

Abram's plan to get to his destination seemed to be working because this pagan king bought it but he was so enomered with Sarai that he took her to be his wife.  Then because Sarai was supposedly Abram's sister (actually half-sister), then Abram was treated well.  The best laid orphan plans look good in the beginning but then begin to fall apart at the seams.  Soon the king discovered the truth and rebuked Abram and finally kicked him out.  Abram made the destination more important in his focus than being on an adventure with God.

If life is truly a "story" and an adventure then there will be many twists and turns that will challenge us to trust God at greater levels.  Since on an adventure He is actually growing us up through relying on Him.  I am seeing that I have often turned life into a destination rather than allowing it to be an adventure.  Truly, adventures are much more fun but will always include risks, challenges, valleys, and mountain tops.

On Adventure with Father,
Bret