The Forge

Saturday was my 27th REBIRTH-day.
❤️‍🔥 27 years of walking as a son with my FATHER. ❤️‍🔥

On May 17th, 1998 I responded to the pursuing of God & the sacrifice made by His son, Jesus.....by surrendering my heart & life (past, present, & future) to His care & leading.

That day a lost, broken, tormented, angry, destructive, alone, addicted, & empty young man who lived as a slave in the KINGDOM that he was created to rule CAME ALIVE when I surrendered to the ALMIGHTY, who then graciously gifted me as His son with His precious Spirit!

Then began the process of getting to know my FATHER, letting Him teach me TRUTH, & cooperating with the intentional WORK of restoring the war-torn landscape of my soul...rescuing every part of my fractured, wounded, deceived, & enslaved identity (kingdom).....

THIS FORGING PROCESS IS ONE OF BECOMING (IN REALITY) THE MAN THAT THE KING OF KINGS HAS GIVEN ME HIS AUTHORITY TO BE BY MY BIRTHRIGHT, MY INHERITANCE, WHICH JESUS SACRIFICED HIS LIFE TO PAY THE RANSOM & REDEEM BACK FOR ME!

This weekend was our The Forge spring retreat & I was surrounded by men who have also lived the miserable life of being dethroned kings.
Every devil assigned to their lives from birth surely believed these men would die as slaves, never realizing their worth, their value, their true identity as kings, their Father's deep loving pursuit to find & restore them, their Savior's sacrifice to secure their inheritance (kingdom).....because of the abuse they broke them with & the lies they had infected their souls with since their royal birth.

BUT GOD!!!!

I got to spend my REBIRTH-day weekend seeing my FATHER call these men to SONSHIP & the sure process of restoring to them LIFE, SECURITY, SIGNIFICANCE, BELONGING, DOMINION!

I got to see the LIES which enslave bow their knee to the TRUTH that makes men free!

I got to see some of our men who have been in this forging process move in their purpose of helping other men reclaim their souls as well!!!

As I laid on my face at the alter Saturday night, after the men went back to our dorm, I took the time needed to deeply reflect:..on the intense intense intense journey of 27 yrs of walking the narrow, confined, pressured, & buffeted way which leads to life......on the hardships of living out your calling to this trench warfare of the Kingdom, the heartache of so many losses, the deeply discouraging seasons, the refusals, the betrayals, the weariness of pouring out your life for others all while fighting the struggles of your own, the many many mistakes I've made along the way as I grew that caused those most dear to me pain, the fire & the hammer of God's forge molding me, shaping me, tempering me, sharpening me for His redemptive purposes......then my mind went to this weekend, spent with a beautiful God & these precious precious men, then to the thought of leaving here to go home to the riches of my wife & my sons,....& there at that alter in the deepest place of my soul I was reminded once again.....

MY FATHER IS FAITHFUL!
IT'S ALWAYS ALL WORTH IT!

❤️‍🔥 WORTHY IS THE LAMB TO RECEIVE THE REWARD OF HIS SUFFERING!!! ❤️‍🔥

Brad Serbert made 2 years with us yesterday!!!
From THEN a hopeless all alone yellow sickly alcoholic who saw only failure in the mirror to NOW a beloved son of the Almighty, a caring brother we can lean on, a trusted partner who loves with purity, a faithful father figure that guards & protects, a vital staff member of The Forge, & my friend.
This is what surrender & commitment to God looks like.
We love you Brad.

PS: You ready to grow some more? 🤣

Happy snowday from the chosen ones of The Forge!!!

💪🏼❤️‍🔥👊🏼

(Or at least the ones crazy enough to go outside in it. 🤣)