This second week of Advent explores a radical understanding of peace—not as mere tranquility, but as the alignment of our minds with the Spiritual Realm. When Jesus said "I did not come to bring peace but a sword," he revealed a deeper definition that challenges our worldly assumptions.

True peace begins with our connection to God, then extends to ourselves and our relationships with others. We examine powerful passages from Matthew 10 and Colossians 3 that reveal how authentic peace requires us to elevate Christ above all earthly attachments, even family when conflicts of honor arise.

The episode traces God's peace plan from Abraham through Jesus, showing how the Jewish expectation of a warrior Messiah missed the transformative nature of Christ's mission. Jesus came not to restore a physical kingdom, but to reconnect broken minds to the Trinity through renewed thinking.

We explore how the devil continuously poisons our mindset through worldly systems and experiences, creating judgment, betrayal, and condemnation. The antidote? Practicing disciplines of silence and meditation on Scripture, allowing the Spirit to purify corrupted memories and replace them with biblical truth.

Peacemakers aren't simply conflict-avoiders—they're children of God who think, speak, and act like their Father. This requires tearing down broken mindsets and rebuilding with Scripture through the Spirit's wisdom. It's about abiding with Jesus to create separation from the devil's lies.

This week, we challenge you to examine relationships that keep you from Jesus, allow His sword to cut those ties, and connect more tightly with fellow believers aligned with your journey. Discover what Jesus meant when he said, "My peace I give you"—the assurance of eternal connection through the Holy Spirit.

Join us as we explore how peace with God creates peace on Earth and goodwill toward all.

Join us at www.ReignMakersforge.com for Online Chat Tuesday Nights at 7 PM.

Engage with the transcript and the workbook of the same title at www.ReignMakersForge.com/blog

#AdventSeason

#BiblicalPeace

#SpiritualTransformation

#MindRenewal #ChristianPodcast

#FaithJourney

#PeacemakersOfGod

#AbidingInChrist

#SpiritualDisciplines

#EternalConnection

Welcome to our first episode of Journeys Through the Fire, where we witness how God refines us and burns away the corruption that influences and traps us.

In this episode, we sit down with Lance Hardin of Hardin Fitness—worship pastor, husband, father of four, and concierge nutritional and fitness coach. For nearly five decades, Lance has lived by two mantras: "Practice doesn't make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect" and "We don't live to eat, we eat to live."

What You'll Learn:

The Science of Transformation

How muscle memory gets stored in the body through engrams (neural pathways in the central nervous system)

Why it takes 500 repetitions to code a good engram but thousands to overwrite bad ones

The parallel between retraining physical movement and renewing spiritual patterns

From Pride to Purpose

Lance's journey from being a pride-driven "gym rat" starting at age eight to surrendering to the Lord in his twenties

How proximity to excellence in his father's gym shaped him, but proximity to God transformed him

The danger of "beast mode" as a fear-based coping strategy versus the freedom of "no fear" performance in Christ

Core Foundations—Physical and Spiritual

Why retraining core functional movement is essential (like protecting a house from termites)

The ballerina under the umbrella: staying centered under God's protection

How spiritual disciplines like fasting and silence engage our spiritual core

Three Levels of Excellence

Immediate goals: proper form and function

Lifetime goals: sustainable health and movement

Eternal goals: building character and proximity to Christ

Ministry Through Movement

How Lance serves both churched and unchurched clients, impacting them spiritually and physically

The connection between 1 Corinthians 9:25 and training with eternal perspective

"It's not about behavior, it's about proximity. If you're close to the Lord, you will become like the Lord."

Key Quotes:

"Every poor repetition requires ten perfect repetitions to erase and overwrite the correct movement."

"We don't live to eat. We eat to live."

"The Lord gave me this vessel to serve Him, not to serve myself."

Connect with Lance:

Website: www.lanceHardinFitness.com

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (512) 799-8943

Hashtags

#JourneysThroughTheFire #ReignMakers #FaithAndFitness #ChristianAthlete #PerfectPractice #SpiritualFormation #CoreStrength #KingdomFitness #NoFearPerformer #ProximityToChrist #MusclMemory #Engrams #BeastModeToPurpose #WorshipPastor #FitnessMinistry #TransformationTestimony #ChristianPodcast #FaithJourney #SpiritualDiscipline #EatToLive #HardinFitness #FromFearToPassion #ChristianCoaching

This Advent reflection explores hope as confident expectation in God's promises. Drawing from Isaiah 7:14's prophecy of Immanuel, we examine why Jesus had to come and what his arrival means for humanity.

At creation, God breathed his Spirit into humanity, creating a perfect connection. When Adam and Eve chose disobedience, they severed this vital link—leaving humanity as "animated but dead creatures" with broken hearts. The disconnect from God's Spirit meant losing our source of life and protection.

Jesus came to restore what was broken. Born fully human, he lived his entire life surrendered to God through the Spirit's guidance—the same Spirit now available to us. He experienced every human struggle while maintaining perfect connection with the Father, checking off all the boxes to undo the fall's damage.

Hope addresses the brokenness we feel in our bodies—our nervous system's response to fear and need for protection. Since the fall, we've developed coping strategies that work like bandages, covering issues without healing them. But the Spirit offers true stabilization, casting out fear with genuine protection.

During Advent, disciplines like fasting ("hold-fast") train us to cling to Jesus instead of our broken coping mechanisms. This isn't about deprivation—it's about replacing faulty systems with God's design, experiencing our need for his help in every aspect of life.

God's protection works like an umbrella: stay close to the handle, and you're safe. Stray too far, and the enemy's influence grows stronger. Hope means trusting Jesus for protection even when we don't understand his ways, staying close to truth as our nervous system learns this new normal.

Through Jesus, we can now connect with God as he did—and as Adam did before the fall. God's promises have always come true. Hope in Advent celebrates both Christ's arrival 2000 years ago and our eternal future with him.

For links to community, Join us at ReignMakersforge.com

#AdventHope #BrokenHeartHealed #SpiritConnection #HolySpirit #FaithJourney #ChristianDiscipline #MessiahPromise #TrustInGod #SpiritualStability #AdventReflection

When connecting with God spiritually, we must humble ourselves. God imparts the fruits of the Spirit on individuals; even though who have wicked behavior. We unintentionally allow ourselves to become distracted by the world, the flesh or the lies we have been told and put into play actions that oppose God.

God knew Joshua was trustworthy because he willingly stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting for 40 years. Inferring from his appointment as leader after Moses, Joshua never complained of his role but focused on God’s honor; this bedrock of their relationship and humble connection enabled enabled Joshua to fill the shoes of Moses. This level of abiding created a level of trust he used to hear God from multiple supernatural methods of interaction.

It appears that Jonah saw or experienced first hand the brutality of the Physical Realm. The trauma he experienced paralyzed him, shutting down his heart to the people of Nineveh. God’s request of him required him to hold so tightly to the center of the umbrella to see reality from a spiritual perspective, but he chose to hold onto his trauma instead of the redemption of foreigners and ultimately, his own people.

King David had a heart for God and his writings captured in the OT reveal David’s connection with God and provide insight into abiding. His understanding that success came from God, that God holds the highest honor, and that Spiritual Realm trumps the Physical Realm kept him connected to the umbrella. His failure to embed that same understanding into Solomon devastated his kingdom.

Discussing 1 Corinthians, Paul reminds us that the Spiritual Realm holds information that we need for understanding God. We see in part because we think the Physical Realm reveals all the answers to life. Like children, we need to ask questions and allow truth to unfold with wonder.

In this Episode, we are diving into some diverse passages from both Old Testament and New Testament that reveal moments where the Physical Realm and Spiritual realms intersected. The verse below reveals how Jesus spoke simultaneously about both. Jesus' death created the bridge, or wormhole, or whatever helps you visualize that we go through him to the Father. The Substance of the Trinity is connected to us constantly. It is up to us to allow God to open our eyes to see it. Until we place God at Highest honor over our lives, align our lives in simplicity to his goodness, appreciate the separation of the realms, and submit our understanding to his, we will not demonstrate the character needed to see God's glory. This is not a formula, it is proximity. It is holding onto the umbrella so we can soak up God's substance and allow his character to become our own.

I will emphasize what I added. For whoever wants to save their physical life will lose it, but whoever loses their physical life for me will find an empowered life. Thinking back, Jesus considers this physical realm life a dead end. Until we realize that, we will never let go and search for what is really vital. Let's now look at verse 24 adding some context. “Whoever wants to be my disciple by living a spiritually empowered life, must deny the body’s desire to take on corruption and take up their freedom won on the cross and grab hold of my umbrella handle.”

Learn more with this podcast cluster.

Jesus tells us in John 5 :28-29,“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.” Living in Kairos time is mandatory. God is not playing. We must learn to hear with our whole hearts and obey. This world will burn, we do not want to experience that. Grab hold of the handle of the umbrella and learn to hear his voice, and nudge.