The Forge

We have 3 new men at The Forge with nothing.
Share this up please!
Any clothes/shoes donations would be greatly appreciated!

👕 Shirts - L
XL
3X

👖Pants - 32x30
38x32

👟 Shoes - 9
9.5 or 10
12

🩳 Shorts - L & XL

❤️❤️❤️

When I know I want my life to change:

✅️ Desire
I realize that no matter how good or bad things may be outwardly, deep within my soul, I yearn to UNITE WITH & BECOME that which I can't express but that calls to me within.

✅️ Honesty
I courageously look at TRUTH (GOD'S WORD/PRINCIPLES), MY WAYS, & MY PART in why things are the way they are (& have usually been told by others as well)

✅️ Humility
I courageously own MY mess, MY weaknesses, MY lack, MY character defects, MY need for help 👉🏽 ON HELP'S TERMS & CONDITIONS

✅️ Confession
I courageously ADMIT my part to others who I have possibly affected in a negative way or resisted when they tried to address my faulty way of life

✅️ Amends/Restitution
I courageously take a determined RESPONSIBILITY to fix what I can (not excuses, justifications, or promises - but instead EFFORT, ACTION, EVIDENCE, PROOF)

✅️ Change
I wholeheartedly & courageously COMMIT to seek out, learn, & cooperate with God's redeeming restoring transforming PROCESS at ANY COST (over feelings) to become well, whole, different, complete - TO CHANGE ME - not others!

✅️ Gratitude
I stay intentional about being deeply GRATEFUL that I have been given the opportunity to turn myself around, restore & build meaningful relationships, & build a new life

✅️ Restoration
I patiently & courageously ENDURE (while staying committed to the process) as I transform & as the results & outcomes in my life progressively change, bringing a reality of UNITING WITH MY CREATOR & BECOMING THE MAN OR WOMAN THAT MY HEART YEARNED TO BE.

✅️ Give
I share what I experience & learn along this journey, showing others its reality through my life, my ways, my deeds, my words, & my nature, in hopes that they will believe & surrender their lives to the faithful loving Savior, who calls to their yearning souls as well.

⚠️ These also help me know if someone else wants their life to change or if they are just all talk.
This helps me set & exercise the proper personal boundaries that protect my life & the lives of those I care for from the negative effects that come along with a person who does not yet willing to commit to change.

EVERY CHOICE IS A TRADE. ⚖️
💯 A TRADE 💯

🤡 Fool?
😱 Coward?
👑 or King (True Man)?

NOT CHOOSING IS A CHOICE. ☠️
WE CHOOSE TO BE KINGS. 👑
WE CHOOSE TO RISE. ❤️‍🔥

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!!! ❤️‍🔥

God created man in His own image & then told man He put us here to walk with Him, to rule, to be fruitful, & to care for His creation.

We find true joy, life, & excitement when we are doing what we find is of value that we LOVE!
❤️‍🔥 (OUR PURPOSE ➡️ WALKING WITH GOD, RULING WELL, BEING FRUITFUL, ADDING VALUE TO OTHERS, MAKING WORLD BETTER).

BUT...

We find growth, strengthening, & equipping when we are doing what we DISLIKE!
💪 (OUR PREPERATION ➡️ HUMILITY, TRUST, PERSPECTIVE, DICIPLINE, CHARACTER, EXCELLENCE, COURAGE, INTEGRITY, PERSEVERANCE, HONOR, COMMITMENT, MOTIVE PURIFICATION).

We will never maintain, be equipped, be efficient, or enjoy the POWER in our PURPOSE without faithfully persevering in the process of our PREPARATION.

⚠️ Don't fight against or flee from the process of the fire 🔥 & the hammer ⚒️ that skillfully forges & prepares you for YOUR PURPOSE, WHICH IS TO BE THE MAN YOU DEEPLY DESIRE TO BE, THAT GOD HAS CREATED YOU TO BE, & THAT JESUS SACRIFICED HIS LIFE & ROSE FROM THE DEAD TO TRANSFORM & EMPOWER YOU TO BE!

Every choice is a TRADE.
- A TRADE -
Fool, coward, or King (True Man)?

Morning Marinade to soak in:

There are moments in my life . . that I get emotionally overwhelmed (fear) by life & all its pressures 🤯, discouraged by its seeming setbacks 🕑, or disheartened by its pains 😫, . . & I think insane and/or destructive thoughts 🧠, . . & am tempted to try vain outward solutions (escapes, compromises) for inward problems 🚪🏃‍♂️,... regardless of what it may cost me or do to others 💔.

But in those moments of WEAKNESS, God reminds me of HIS heart ❤️ for me displayed in JESUS Christ at the cross ✝️ & HIS SPIRIT draws me to abandon SELF SUFFICIENCY and to:
● run,
● walk,
● limp,
● crawl,
● or even just fall towards HIM.

Then there in my broken surrender, in a renewed awareness of HIS loving caring merciful presence - something beautiful begins to happen. . . . . . HIS strength 💪🏼 is made perfect in my weakness & there in the midst of my inner storm 🌪🌀 I experience: . . HIS healing truth, . . HIS empowering love, . . & HIS anchoring peace within.

HE is WORTHY.
HE is FAITHFUL.
❤️‍🔥 AND I AM HIS! ❤️‍🔥

Hebrews 4:13-16 = Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. ♥️💪💯🎯

🤡 Fool?
😱 Coward?
👑 or King (True Man)?

EVERY CHOICE IS A TRADE. ⚖️
NOT CHOOSING IS A CHOICE. ☠️
WE CHOOSE TO BE KINGS. 👑
WE CHOOSE TO RISE. ❤️‍🔥

🔥 ⚒️ ⚔️ 👑 ❤️‍🔥
• • • • • •

Lighthouses are not exempt from the fury of the unpredictable sea nor do they seek to be.
Rather they are built for the storm.
They find that their most fulfilling moments were in the midst of the most violent tempests.
They stand alone, steadfast in their Creator's design & the foundation upon which He built them.
They do not compare themselves with other structures that may be closely grouped together, more appealing to the eye, host grand parties, & who seemingly dwell in ease and comfort.
Lighthouses are appreciated only by a few and sought out only by those who in spite of their best efforts have realized themselves to be utterly lost upon the sea seeking refuge.
Their purpose is single & selfless.
They boast of no rescue in & of themselves but instead the light within them intrinsically invites & guides those who come to its brightness to a HARBOR of salvation & rest.

Check out link in comments to see video of what lighthouses endure to fulfill their purpose!

💯💯💯💯💯

Jesus says, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16)

Either BE the light drawing those lost upon the sea of life to the Savior or COME to the light and find the Savior who gives refuge & salvation.

🤡 Fool?
😱 Coward?
👑 or King (True Man)?

EVERY CHOICE IS A TRADE. ⚖️
NOT CHOOSING IS A CHOICE. ☠️
WE CHOOSE TO BE KINGS. 👑
WE CHOOSE TO RISE. ❤️‍🔥

🔥 ⚒️ ⚔️ 👑 ❤️‍🔥 . . . . . . . . . . .

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. 🤣)