We as the body of Christ are called to stand. In the mist of defeat we stand. In victory we stand. In conflict we stand. We carry the standard for our nation. It is we who set the bar. We have been mandated to represent the father’s heart to the whole earth. So much of who Christ is to the world is manifest through our words and actions. We have an opportunity in every situation to demonstrate the love of God in everything that we do…

So often, we let the circumstances of life decide what we will represent to the world. I can’t tell you how many times in the last few days I have heard someone say “Obamma is the Antichrist” or “ things are going to be bad.” Every time I hear these words, pain shoots through my heart. It is the Church, the BODY of CHRIST who has been sent to BUILD up the WORLD. Romans 2:4 says “ the goodness of God LEADS us to REPENTANCE!!!” As ambassador’s of Christ, how can we tear down the leaders of our nation and expect the kindness of God to invade their life? When we curse the leaders of our nation with our words, we are destroying the very thing we have been charged to build up. If you truly believe that your words create, then every curse that is spoken out of your mouth has a destructive effect in the world we are working so hard to preserve.

Change happens when we represent the Father heart of God everywhere we go. In order to be in places of influence and power, we must put on the mind of Christ and let compassion rule our tongue and actions.

Take a look at Daniel in the Bible. When trapped in an evil empire, ruled by a wicked king, Daniel put on compassion like a cloak and served Nebuchadnezzar with the heart of Jesus. Nebuchadnezzar received a dream from the Lord telling him that he was going to be torn down to nothing. Nebuchadnezzar did not understand the meaning of the dream so he called Daniel in to interpret it for him. Upon hearing the dream, Daniel became terribly troubled and replied, “My lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries! Daniel was heartbroken at the word of the Lord because of his deep love for Nebuchadnezzar (the wicked king). What troubles me is that most of the church would think this is the time for great rejoicing– God has judged Nebuchadnezzar! We would be saying, “This is what he deserves, he got what was coming”.

Have you ever had to discipline your children? Have you looked them in the eyes and let them know how their actions have torn deep into your heart? I can’t imagine their brothers and sisters saying, “This is what you deserve, that’s what you get”. This is what we are doing every time we rejoice in someone’s pain. God says to mourn with those who mourn, to weep with those who weep. It does not say to weep with those who did nothing wrong, He says to mourn with THOSE who mourn. Why? When we take time to mourn with those who mourn, we will also take the time to love them into health and restoration. When you love someone in their hardest season of life, you have now sewn seeds towards the prosperity of their soul.

Daniel’s heart for his king planted seeds of love into his life and because of this, Nebuchadnezzar surrendered himself over to the love of God. I will say it again, change happens when we represent the Father heart of God everywhere we go… If you believe that Obama needs God, then shine the love of God his way.

It is not our job to send destruction with our words, to hate those in leadership, or to curse Gods children. We do not overcome hate with hate. There is no fear in love and no peace in accusation. We have been hand selected, placed here to shine our light into the darkness, making it whole. The love of God is the only thing that breaks down the walls of death and destruction; it is the only tool that wins over the heart of a wicked king…

We are salt and light. We must learn how to guard our hearts and mind, for we know that salt and light belong in the dark and hard places of the world. The power that we draw from in these trying times comes out of our love, compassion, and honor for those we are preserving. When we fail to love, respect, and honor those who God has called us to, we violate our authority and misrepresent the Father, ultimately tearing down the very thing we are called to preserve. Put on the full armor of God. Guard your heart and mind with his truth. Wrap yourself in pure love and shine to the world the heart of our Father…

Jason Vallotton

In the product sales industry there are two main divisions of the business that have competing core values. There is the manufacturing division which typically has a zero defect core value and there is the Research and Development division that has a “discovery by trial and error” core value.

For example, when Apple Corporation went to market with their new iPhone, the goal of the manufacturing department was to have no defects whatsoever in the phones they were selling.

But the Research and Development department, that invented the iPhone, probably made hundreds of mistakes in the process of developing the product. If Apple tried to apply the same core values to the R&D department as it did in the manufacturing division they would never invent any products. This would eventually result in Apple having nothing to bring to market and soon they would be forced into bankruptcy.  In other words, even though both of these divisions are part of the same great company, success in these two departments is measured much differently. Mistakes are the inevitable process of invention but the demise of production.

Denominationalism has no paradigm for the nature of the discovery process that empowers innovation, invention, and revelation. When truth isn’t processed perfectly the first time, the entire revelation is usually discarded as “heresy” or maligned as “dangerous”.

The Shepherding movement is a great example of this.  This movement had some incredible insights into fatherhood, discipleship, authority and accountability, but many of their leadership used these truths to control instead of empower believers. Therefore the church threw out the entire revelation as unbiblical. This resulted in the Body of Christ making very little progress in these important areas.

Another case in point is the Latter Day Rain and the Manifest Sons of God movements. These Christians had some real insights into the true identity of believers. But many of the leaders of the movement began to use their insights to promote spiritual elitism and so the entire revelation was branded as heretical.

As a general statement, our individual character and our relationships with God and man is our manufacturing department, so to speak. This is the area that we should strive for zero defects.

Learning to apply truth, experimenting with the Holy Spirit, moving in the gifts, stepping out in faith, dreaming with God, attempting the impossible, believing the unreasonable, and so on, are the R&D departs of the church. It is essential that the Body of Christ develop and embrace an attitude of risk or soon we will find ourselves eating old, worm infested Manna. If we are to be the light of the world, then we must start shining cutting edge Kingdom insights and stop reflecting the worlds outdated, stale philosophies that are simply repackaged Greek and medieval mindsets.

As an apostolic people, we are called not just to lend a hand but to extend a Kingdom. Jesus said,

“And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give” (Matthew 10:7-8).

Extending the Kingdom is more than just a humanitarian effort. Healings, deliverances, and supernatural encounters are called “signs” because they point to the fact that a hand has pierced the veil of a superior kingdom and displayed the wonders of His world. Miracles are simply the natural laws of Heavens world being superimposed over an inferior, earthly ecosystem.

Contrary to modern thought, apostles are not church planters as much as they are cultural transformers. Therefore, it is the mission of an apostolic people to pull heaven to earth so that the kingdom of this world becomes the Kingdom of our God and His Christ.

One practical way we bring transformation to our cities is through supernatural faith in people. This faith is manifest in trusting folks before they deserve it. When Saul got saved (who would later become the great apostle Paul) Believers of his day refused to have anything to do with him because he was leading a massacre against the Church. But Barnabas, who’s name means “son of encouragement,” took a hold of Saul and mentored him for years. Barnabas refused to let a man’s past or his reputation intimidate him. This, of course, resulted in Paul writing thirteen books of the New Testament and becoming one of the greatest revivalists in human history. All because one man refused to treat another man according to their history, but instead called them into their prophetic destiny.

Allison, who is one of my former students, said, “I love to listen to other people’s prophecies.”

“Why,” I asked, with a question mark lurking on my face.

Allison answered, “Because then I treat that person not as they are but as God sees them and, in doing so, I invite them into their true calling!”

From that day on I have worked hard to not let someone’s past determine the way I envision their future. I also have decided to not let someone’s alias name, a name that God did not give them, like Mormon, Buddhist, Atheist, Occultist or any other alias name, keep me from valuing them and loving them as people who are designed in God’s image.

Jesus displayed this kind of faith in people all the time. He knew Judas was a thief but he made him the treasurer of his ministry. Why? Because he trusted people before they deserved it. This supernatural faith in people created eleven world changes but caused one man to hang himself. Demonstrating faith in people creates an environment where many will become world changers and a few will take advantage of your faith and sell your investment in them to the enemy. But if you don’t have Judas’ in your life, you will never have Peters (remember they both denied Christ). The culture of faith that grows world changers also waters traitors. But don’t stop believing in people. Who knows, you could be mentoring the next Apostle Paul.

Just faith it!

Kris

Devilish Deceptions

It’s been said that God does nothing in the affairs of men except they pray. Prayer is the catalyst for worldwide transformation. Prayer incites the angels, restrains darkness, and releases nations into their destiny. Prayer is the key to revival, building bridges between what should be and what will be.

The devil also knows the power of prayer and he understands that he can’t stop us from praying. But he is the master of deception and he tries to convince us that his destructive schemes are “acts of God” so Believers will not release the arsenal of Heaven against him! Unfortunately, satan has been more successful at deceiving the saints recently than he has for decades. One of the ways he has shrewdly crept into our society is by convincing the Church that it is our responsibility to release the wrath of God against sinners. This authorizes the dethroned prince of darkness to kill, steal and destroy while we stand aside applauding the demise of these ravaged people. To make matters worse, this evil prince frames the Lord of Redemption for his crimes, poisoning the people of His passion, which causes many of them to reject His wedding invitation. Meanwhile, those who have been empowered to police this property lack discernment and assist these angels of light in their killing spree.

The Reemerging Of The Dooms Day Prophets

In the last decade the “Doomsday” prophets seemed to have come out of hibernation. In 1997, my own parents moved out of the San Francisco Bay Area to avoid the wrath of a great earthquake prophesied to strike southern California. This quake was going to destroy Hollywood for its immoral pollution of the media and San Francisco for its homosexual perversion. The word also predicted that northern California would become “ocean front property.”
My Mom and Dad relocated from the Bay Area to Lake Tahoe near Nevada, hoping to find a prophetic “no-fly” zone. Just about the time my folks got settled, several prophets began to prophesy about an upcoming international famine. This became known around the world as the “Y2K bug.” This bug was going to judge us for making our intellect a god. It was the perfect “God Scheme.” The whole plan was to be hidden by our foolish confidence in man’s brilliance. It seemed that the Lord had blinded every computer nerd in the world, keeping them from discovering too soon that we would all be starving over the lack of a digit. What a way to go! There would be rioting in the streets; people would be fighting off the temptation to cannibalize their neighbors and children! Businesses and governments would crumble next. Some even predicted this would start the “Mother of all Wars.” People streamed in mass to buy generators and guns to protect their food in the “Name of the Lord.” Needless to say, these preparations proved to be pointless, and my parents are still driving for hours to reach the ocean.

September 11, 2001 will forever be branded in the minds of Americans as a monument to murder. America woke up to the sounds of people screaming, many of them on fire as they exited the black smoke of a man-made hell. Explosions could be heard in the background as buildings crumbled and thousands were trapped in would-be tombs. Weeping and wailing were heard for miles as people wandered aimlessly through the streets looking for their loved ones. Many jumped to their death from these flaming infernos. Deep sadness and fear blanketed the whole earth as the news spread. Everywhere, people were crying out for mercy for those who were still counted among the missing. People were glued to their TV sets, praying, hoping and believing that life would emerge from the rubble.

Although the “Prophets of Doom” had not prophesied this disaster, declarations of darkness began to emerge from what was supposed to be the “House of Hope.” Before we could ask ourselves why such a mindless act of horror would be perpetrated on the lives of the many innocent who died that day, numerous Prophets began to proclaim that this terrorist attack was God’s judgment for the sins of our nation. Their thesis was that God was angry over the abortion, homosexual, and pornography issues, so he decided to kill a bunch of people to make His point. Can you imagine the grief that beset those who had lost loved ones and were now being confronted by an angry God who wanted to kill more people? This attitude reminds me of something Jesus said, “In the last days the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12)…

Kris Vallotton

(Read the remainder of this message by clicking HERE)

I have a friend who says, “Today is perfect,” and another who says, “It’s the best day of my life.” They say this about every day…

Every day can be an adventure, especially if we’re living from the heart. How much risk are we willing to live in? How much uncertainty? Can we let go of control? How much? We must walk out these kinds of questions with God as we learn to trust. By trusting and risking, we aren’t guaranteed a reward of everything going smoothly. Life is messy, and we have much to learn.

Living from our hearts, the lifestyle of risk, means opening ourselves up to increased amounts of pleasure and pain. As the potential for pleasure increases, so does the potential for pain. Things can get messy.

We may taste the thrill of victory if we’re willing to risk suffering the agony of defeat. Nobody likes agony, but what’s better? To ache now and then, or to be bored all the time? To feel something– anything– or to be numb? If we never risk standing up to bat, we’ll never feel the pain of striking out, but we’ll also never feel the pleasure of hitting the ball and getting on base– or perhaps even hitting a home run!

We learn by trying, by moving, by engaging– by taking a swing. We learn by doing it, by practice and experiment. When we try, we learn, and we get better at life. Pressing through the resistance of fear, we grow stronger, and we see better.

As we see, we move. That is, what and how we see determines what we do. As we move purposefully, we learn. As we learn, we see better. As we see better, we make better moves. As we move better, life gets better.

Daily we are presented with opportunities to choose the adventure or play it safe. There’s a kind of reckless abandonment to Life that can become addicting. Tasting this kind of life pulls us in deeper. We’re being pulled into a lifestyle.

If we find ourselves stuck in the swamps of boredom, we can start to break out by trying something new and taking a few risks. These can be small, but they will stimulate our hearts towards Life. As we continue pressing in, we can develop a momentum that will start to carry us deeper and deeper into more abundant living.

Our ability to love ourselves will largely determine our ability to persevere. Nobody else knows what it’s like to be in our shoes. Comparing ourselves with others is calling for deception, and it sets us up for discouragement. We know when something feels risky to us personally, and we know when we took the risk and went for it. What feels extremely risky for one person may feel easy to another. A major victory for us may not even be a challenge for them. We must be patient and kind with ourselves, believing and hoping all things, thinking the best.

Celebrate small victories. Don’t live in regret over missed opportunities or seemingly failed attempts. Our victories define us in Christ. The rest is forgotten.

Ultimately, the adventure is about trusting God. And we can rest in the knowledge that its not so much about the outcomes along the way as it is about enjoying the journey of walking with Him.

Today is perfect because when we’re living from our hearts, out of who we most truly are, we are actually already walking in our dreams (in some form/measure). We’re not waiting to walk in our destiny. We’re not waiting for the great adventure to begin– for life to really start. We are living it today, participating in its progressive unfolding. Like the nature of the Kingdom in the earth, which is both here and continuously coming more, so it is with our dreams. They are here. We are in them now, and they are coming more into fulfillment.

The desire for “more” will likely pull us into challenges that we don’t feel ready for. The meaning of success and failure can become unclear, perhaps even irrelevant. We simply embrace the journey today, appreciating the moments we have– continually unfolding with Opportunity. Today is perfect– the best day of our lives.

Todd Stromback

Fear is a prison; it’s no one’s friend. It often comes packaged in pill form; take two a day and stay the same for the rest of our life. Fear is frequently rooted in our childhood realities that later create the logic and reason that we are bound to as adults. We buy into the beliefs that were scoured into our fragile young minds, negative mindsets about who we are and what we can accomplish. We become bound by the limitations of their substance and suppressed by their disempowerment. We soon discover that we have become slaves and fear is our master. We play the role of the powerless servant protecting ourselves from the consequences of freedom.
Even powerful people deal with fear. But for them, fear is an enemy. They use their passion for life to combat its controlling behavior. The desires of destiny give free rein to faith, hope and love that drive trepidation out of their lives. They take great steps to uproot the lies of adolescence that have been passed down through the generations. This kind of living takes courage; this is not for the weak at heart or the blind. Eliminating fear from our souls requires passion to live in freedom. We will need a safe culture of honor and unconditional love to push through its boundaries.
Mothers and fathers are standing on shores of peace, beckoning us to trust wisdom; they nudge us on like the mother bird does when the chick is ready to fly. Eventually she will push her offspring out of the nest, revealing the truth about fear, it’s a façade, and freedom lies in the free fall. Like the chick, your wings will open and nature will take its course.  You will begin to do something so frightening and foreign but yet so freeing…you will begin to fly.

Jason Vallotton

There is no victory without a battle, no testimony without a test, and nobody gets a miracle without needing one. For so many of us (myself included) we are surprised when we find ourselves in situations that can only be worked out with God’s supernatural intervention. I personally like it a lot better when I get to be a part of someone else’s miracle. Every time a person shares an amazing story of the Lord’s intervention into some impossible situation, I rejoice with them, but I also find myself cringing inside because I know what it is like to need a miracle for some time before you actually receive one. The fact is, that somewhere between God’s promise and God’s provision there is something called God’s process. I have discovered that this process is not always a yellow brick road, or a crystal covered sea, but more often it seems to be better characterized by a storm engulfed ship, looking to fulfill it’s mission of getting to the other side of the sea. Check out this story and tell me if this doesn’t remind you of some of the circumstance in your life?

Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away. After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray. When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. Seeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and said to them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.” Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened (Mark 6:45-52)

A few things stand out to me in this voyage account. First of all, even though the boys are on God’s mission and obeying His voice they are still being resisted by a storm. I really identify with this. I personally feel like the Lord has given my family some amazing promises but somehow there is a huge storm over our lives. This blizzard seems to be trying to kill us relationally, spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically.

The next thing that sticks out to me like a sore thumb is the fact that, although His best friends are straining at the oars, Jesus still intends to pass them by! I am just beginning to understand that God isn’t moved by our hard work. He is not impressed by the efforts of men, nor does he feel obligated to respond to our straining. Yikes! Too often I am trying to work myself out of a hard situation instead of faithing it. I have come to the terrible realization that I frequently trust myself or other people more than God. Man…this is hard to admit.

Another thing that I see is that Jesus appeared to them as a terrifying ghost and then, only when they cried out, did he come and help them. I think the point is that sometimes the answer we need seems scary at first until the Lord reveals Himself in it.

My final observation is that the disciple’s hearts were called “hardened” because they didn’t view their current situation with the last miracle in mind. Oh boy…do I understand that one! I have had the privilege of seeing and/or being a part of so many miracles over the years, that you would think I would be full of faith for the season I find myself in right now. But instead, I often feel scared, terrified, or stressed out by the circumstances we are facing as a family and a movement. My heart simply can’t remain hard. I must soften it with the oil of His testimonies, the passion of His presence, and the power of His Spirit that is supposed to be at work in me. How about you?

If we are going to live in victory we must remind ourselves of our supernatural history, our prophetic destiny, and the process of endurance that paves the way to the palace of His purposes in us and through us. I am convinced that Jesus often sends us to “the other side” so that He can deal with our inside.

Engulfed In His Promises,

Kris

    Whether you are young or old, male or female, or introverted or extroverted, you have more conversations with yourself than you have with anyone one else in the world. There was a study completed by a large university that found that the average person hears twelve hundred words a minute of self-talk. The study found that eleven hundred of these words are negative in most people! If you add to that fact that we tend to trust ourselves more than anyone else, what do you think happens when we talk down, punish or talk negatively to our self? I’ll tell you what happens; it destroys our confidence, kills are self-esteem and yields the fruit of depression, hopeless and fear.

Christians should be the happiest people on the planet! Think about it, Jesus prayed, “But now I come to You (Father); and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves” (John 17:13). Jesus wants us to be full of His joy!  The book of Hebrews says the Jesus was anointed with joy beyond His companions (Hebrews 1:9).  This means He was happier than the people He hung-out with.  Now that’s a lot of JOY!  To make us even happier, God sent His Holy Spirit into our lives to comfort us.  Isn’t it amazing that He wants us to be comfortable?  But wait, it gets even better. The Bible says that the fruit or evidence that the Holy Spirit is working in us is,” love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). There’s that joy word again.  We have the joy of Jesus and we have the joy of the Holy Spirit. Did you get that?  We have a double anointing for joy.

The Apostle Paul put it this way, …no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church. (Ephesians 5:29).”

The Greek word “thalpo” is translated “cherishes” in this passage.  Paul’s uses the same Greek word again in 1Thessalonians 2:7. He wrote, “…we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children.” The word,”tenderly cares” is the word “thalpo”!  Is that amazing!  We have been commanded to take care of our flesh the way a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children.

It is about time we start speaking kindly to ourselves and experience the joy of our Master! Just try it sometime.  Take yourself aside and talk to yourself the way the Jesus does.  It will change you forever.

Kris Vallotton

I am asking three hundred people to join us in something I am calling, “Operation Prayer Shield.” We are moving in a bunch of new areas as a team and we need to increase the prayer covering for our leaders and their families. I am looking for three hundred people to pray for Bill and Beni and Kathy and I, as well as the rest of our leaders at Bethel Church, for ten minutes a day until December 31, 2008. Our families, (our sons, daughters and grandkids) also need your prayer support. We really appreciate anything you can do for us in this realm. If you are willing to join Operation Prayer Shield, please email me so I know you are praying.

Thanks so much for covering us.

Love,

Kris Vallotton

Many years ago I sat with a pastor and his wife and their thirty year-old daughter and son in law. We were there to try and resolve a conflict between the couples. The daughter had really pulled away from her mom and dad, causing a lot of hurt in their lives. We sat in my office for a while, trying to get to the root of the problem when suddenly mom leaned over and put her hand on her daughter’s leg and said, “Honey, you will always be my little girl!” BINGO! I got it. Her little girl had grown up into a mature woman and was now a mother herself. But her mom wanted her to stay small. It made her feel needed and important. Unknowingly, her mom was keeping her from growing up. The daughter had to distance herself from her family so she could come into her God given destiny.

The Bible says , “humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time”. One of the main rewards of humility is that we get to live an exalted life. Why is it then, that most of us preach humility but never talk about living in greatness?

In Australia there is something called the Tall Poppy Syndrome. When someone tries to become great in that country, the culture pro actively sabotages their growth. This has resulted in Australia having virtually no national heroes.

The Church has it’s own Tall Poppy Syndrome, but it isn’t right. The Kingdom of God is supposed to be a place where people become great! We are called a Royal Priesthood by God and we are referred to as kings by the Apostle Paul. We must deal with our insecurity and create a culture that breeds champions. We have to remind our sons and daughters that it is their calling and privilege to do greater works than we’ve done!

Lets continue the legacy that Jesus began in our family by encouraging those we influence to grow up, become mothers and fathers, and change the world.

Kris Vallotton