Consumed With Fire

Happy New Year from the CWF family!

The words and phrases that encompass the CWF identity are boldness to live for Christ, conviction to live holy and righteously with an unquenchable hunger and thirst for Jesus represented by the fire that grows within us and is never extinguished. “For our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29) this scripture is the foundation of our brand.⁣
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Fire to us means passion, reverence, and devotion to God with a conviction to live holy and righteously. We wanted to ensure our brand was established and founded on helping Christians stay lit for Christ with those attributes as the focus.

When David arrived at Ziklag, he saw ruins in place of those he loved. His despair drove him to find strength in the Lord. Only the lord could encourage him when those around him blamed him, doubted him, and were furious with him. His habit of seeking shelter in the presence of Lord, who was the only one who could confidently tell him aggressively pursue those who raided despite the optics made him victorious. David recovered everything he lost both great and small!

There are things God is calling us to aggressively pursue even though the optics seem dismal and insurmountable. His strength yields confidence and faith that extends our vision beyond the ruins to recover everything we feel we lost.

If parts of 2020 have felt like a Ziklag season, drop a 🙏🏾 below so we can pray with you to see beyond the ruins and pursue your purpose and calling despite the obstacles, setbacks, and challenges.
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‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭30:2-4, 6, 8, 18-19‬ ‭NLT‬‬
“They had carried off the women and children and everyone else but without killing anyone. When David and his men saw the ruins and realized what had happened to their families, they wept until they could weep no more.

David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him. But David found strength in the Lord his God.

Then David asked the Lord, “Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?” And the Lord told him, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!”

David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives. Nothing was missing: small or great, son or daughter, nor anything else that had been taken. David brought everything back.”

God never commands us to hate our enemies but to love them! How do we treat and love those who have grieved us, hurt us, betrayed us.

When we ask God to transform us or change us very rarely will he touch us and transform us. No he will put us in situations and circumstances that will teach us patience, increase our faith, make us rely on him to realize he is our source etc. so he brings us into and through these circumstances to change us. Everything we go through isn’t Satan attacking us it could be God trying to grow us.

Present your persecutors to the Lord and pray for them. It is unnatural and it is very difficult but the quickest way to get free from hurt is to pray for them. Try praying for someone that hurt you in the same manner you pray for yourself or those you love and see the selflessness it requires. You can’t genuinely pray for someone and still hold onto the anger, pain, and offense. It has to subside for the power of God to wholly flow through you. Your prayer for them releases pain, bitterness and angst because it reminds you of their imperfections but also your own. What paid for and covered the stench of your past transgressions: the Grace and blood of Jesus. Don’t pray for judgment, fire and brimstone on them. Pray for their transformation and for increased revelation so they can see their wrong and turn from their sin.
Guard the reputation of the father Matthew 5:44-45. God calls us for our actions to mirror the Father for he is a God of love. So people will pass judgment on our father based on the way we treat others. The biggest complaint people have is not Jesus but the people. We must live in order to properly represent our father not satisfy our fleshly desires and emotions.
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‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:44-46‬ ‭NLT‬‬
But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.”