Council Fire

Intertribal Life Ministries
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  • CHRISTIANITY

Council Fire is a podcast and book set of daily devotionals written by Indigenous followers of Jesus across North America. It's a year long journey through Scripture and story. Council Fire is a collaborative project between Intertribal Life Ministries and Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.

  1. 20H AGO

    Why They See Jesus in Us

    “For you were formerly darkness, but now you are a light in the Lord; walk as children of light.” Ephesians 5:7 (NASB) Just because I am a born-again Christian does not mean I don’t have struggles. One that I remember clearly was when a young teenage boy had beaten up one of our sons in school with a hard object. He hurt him pretty bad. As a mother this was hard to take, but God gave me grace to forgive. Not long after this had happened, the young teen came to our home and asked for my son. At the time, I was having a bad day and was tired. I grumbled at him and said, “What do you want here? He’s not home. Go away!” So, the teen went away. A few minutes later God’s Holy Spirit spoke to my heart about my attitude and rude words. I felt convicted and felt so awful. I told my husband, Bert, to pray with me. We prayed for this young teen, that there would be another opportunity to talk to him. A few days later he came back and, thank God, our prayer was answered! This is the conversation that he and I had. I said, “I was really mad at you for what you did. That’s why I even laid charges against you. But I dropped the charges, as God would not let me do that, and this is the reason why. “I read in the Bible how people beat up Jesus Christ, God’s own Son, and God forgave those people. So now I want to tell you that I forgive you for what you did to my son. I am sorry for being rude to you. Will you also forgive me? I am a Christian and I love Jesus. Now I want to tell you that Jesus loves you and wants to be your friend, so you can have everlasting life in Heaven with Him, if you give your life to Him.” – Liz Genaille   Council Fire is a collaboration with Intertribal Life Ministries and Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The Council Fire Daily Devotional Book Set is available on the Intertribal Life Ministries website. Learn more about Council Fire at councilfire365.org

    3 min

  2. 1D AGO

    Spiritual Breath

    “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:6,7 (NASB) As a young Christian, I attended a seminar given by Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ. I learned about a process called spiritual breathing. This practice has kept me in touch with God to this day. Put simply, spiritual breathing means to confess our sins, which is exhaling, and asking the Holy Spirit to take control and guide us, which is inhaling. 1 John 1:9 (NIV) says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” In addition, in Ephesians 5:18 (AMP) God instructs us: “Be filled with the [Holy] Spirit and constantly guided by Him.” I believe that this is extremely important in our walk with God. To receive ready answers to prayer and continued growth in our faith, we must keep the flow of the Spirit in our lives. Romans chapter 7 expresses how, as human beings, we constantly battle with our lower natures. Then chapter 8 of Romans relates the victory we can have as we walk in the Spirit. In my journey, I have learned that spiritual breathing is essential for me to please God and serve Him unimpeded. God in heaven, have mercy on us and help us in our weaknesses. Help us to remember that You are waiting to help us to triumph over our lower nature and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. – Theresa Bose   Council Fire is a collaboration with Intertribal Life Ministries and Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The Council Fire Daily Devotional Book Set is available on the Intertribal Life Ministries website. Learn more about Council Fire at councilfire365.org

    3 min

  3. 2D AGO

    Broken Strings

    “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1 (NIV) Just before we left on a tour to Alaska, I bought some cheap bass guitar strings. Figuring that they’d do for the trip, I saved a few bucks and wound them onto my Fender Precision. We were only three days in when the first one broke! I didn’t think too much about it until the second one snapped a week later. Then the third! Before that last “E” string followed the doomed path of its predecessors, I preemptively changed it! Since there was no place to buy new ones, I finished the tour on “recycled” strings. The problem with broken strings is that they throw everything out of tune! All the other strings change pitch when one breaks. It sounds horrible and you need to change that wire ASAP. When we allow sinful things in our lives, they have the same effect as a broken guitar string—throwing our spiritual lives out of whack. When things like unforgiveness, envy, bitterness, self-pity, or selfishness are allowed to creep in and hang around and get a foothold in our soul, our whole spiritual “melody” goes sour. We find that it becomes hard to pray, that our attitude gets stale and moldy, and “Joy” is just the long-forgotten name of our third- grade teacher! . . . until you change that broken string. Whatever it takes to deal with your spiritual disharmony, get it done! Give forgiveness. Work on the attitude. Let go of the self-pity. Dump the bitterness and let God replace your selfishness with His ways. It’s only when you get rid of that dysfunctional string that your spiritual melody can become sweet and real. – Kene Jackson   Council Fire is a collaboration with Intertribal Life Ministries and Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The Council Fire Daily Devotional Book Set is available on the Intertribal Life Ministries website. Learn more about Council Fire at councilfire365.org

    3 min

  4. 3D AGO

    Heaven Can Wait

    “You have turned my mourning into dancing.” Psalm 30:11 (KJV) We all want to go to Heaven. But not yet ... not now. Last year I had a minor heart attack. I went to a doctor and I asked him, “Am I going to die?” He laughed and said, “We’re all going to die!” That wasn’t the answer I wanted or expected, and I resented his laughter. Okay, it’s true that everyone dies, and everything dies, but we all want it to be in the distant future ... not now. Even “good Christians” who are looking forward to Heaven, are not in a hurry to die. There are things they want to do, places they want to go, people they want to see. The Bible mentions heaven hundreds of times. We want to go there ... but not now. We have today, and maybe tomorrow, and maybe a few years or more. What are we going to do with the time we have left? I cleaned house, threw away bags of clothes, papers, “stuff” and clutter I didn’t want to leave behind for my children to dispose of. I planned my funeral. I received a large box from my best friend. When I opened the box, there was a big stuffed toy cow that played music and danced and flipped into the air and did somersaults and mooed. As it flipped across my kitchen floor, I started to laugh for the first time in months. I was laughing so hard, tears of joy were running down my face. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d laughed so much. I wasn’t dead yet. I was alive. I might live for years, yet I was preparing for my death and funeral and not wasting whatever time I had left. I was alive and apparently, I needed a musical cow bouncing around my kitchen to remind me I was alive and could still laugh. Lord, I’m looking forward to Heaven ... but not yet. – Crying Wind   Council Fire is a collaboration with Intertribal Life Ministries and Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The Council Fire Daily Devotional Book Set is available on the Intertribal Life Ministries website. Learn more about Council Fire at councilfire365.org

    3 min

  5. 4D AGO

    God Cares About the Little Things

    “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT) God blessed me with the opportunity to attend Briercrest Bible College, which I am very thankful for. During my time at Briercrest, I was part of the College Singers and loved every minute of it. Each Christmas, Briercrest put on a huge production and had multiple presentations, which we started practicing for weeks beforehand. I have such great memories of being a part of those concerts. Singing as a group with all the intricate harmonies and parts deepened my love for music and was one way I worshiped and felt closer to God. In December 2020, fifteen years after I graduated, I was telling my mom how much I missed being a part of College Singers. It was a quiet desire of my heart. About a week later I received an email from Briercrest saying they wanted to do a video of “Agnus Dei” and invited me to record singing the alto harmony. What a blessing! I was nervous at first because I hadn’t sung in so long but, with some encouragement, I decided to go for it. (They compiled all the video submissions and created a virtual choir that year.) God cares about the big and little things—the desires and the disappointments and worries. Just give them to God. Oh, how wonderful God is! How He cares about and loves us. Thank you, Father, for knowing exactly what we need before we ask. You are a mighty God who still cares about the little things in our heart. – Leana Patenaude   Council Fire is a collaboration with Intertribal Life Ministries and Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The Council Fire Daily Devotional Book Set is available on the Intertribal Life Ministries website. Learn more about Council Fire at councilfire365.org

    3 min

  6. 5D AGO

    The Power of God’s Word

    “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And God said, ‘Let there be light: and there was light.’” Genesis 1:1-3 (KJV) I am not sure how much I can grasp the power of God’s Word as in the above Scripture. With one word Almighty God created the heaven and earth to existence. With one word, there was light. Let that sink in a bit. We serve a powerful and amazing God! Throughout the Bible, here is how He displayed His power: The parting of the Red Sea to bring His people out of bondage (Exodus 14) . . . Jericho’s walls fell as the Israelites marched around the city (Joshua 6) . . . God saved Daniel in the lions’ den (Daniel 6) . . . Elijah was lifted to heaven on chariots of fire (2 Kings 2) . . . The birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ (Matthew 2) . . . Lazarus raised from the dead (John 11) . . . Jesus died to save us from our sins (John 3) . . . God raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 6) . . . Jesus ascended back to heaven, and in the same way will return (Luke 24). These are just a few examples—you may have your own favorite Bible stories about God’s power that have impacted you. Hebrews 4:12 says: “For the word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner (able to judge) of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (KJV, clarification added) I often mention, when counseling, that my own words are so limited. But when we apply God’s Word, it goes way deeper into our hearts and can bring us out of bondage. It is so important to mediate on His Word each day. David said in Psalm 119:11: “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I may not sin against thee.” (KJV) I pray God will give each of us a greater desire to understand His Word. – Liz Beardy   Council Fire is a collaboration with Intertribal Life Ministries and Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The Council Fire Daily Devotional Book Set is available on the Intertribal Life Ministries website. Learn more about Council Fire at councilfire365.org

    3 min

  7. 6D AGO

    Guiding Arcturus

    “Canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?” Job 38:32b (KJV) I felt like I had missed something. I needed to go back to the library and find the astronomy book again. I had researched the star groupings of Pleiades and Orion that God had pointed out to Job (in Job 38:31), but I had no idea what I had missed. I thumbed through pages, searching chapter headings. Then I saw it: Arcturus. We can find Arcturus by locating the first bright star off the handle of the Big Dipper. Arcturus (also called “the Bear” in the NIV) is 23 times the size of our sun (we can fit nearly a million earths into our sun), and it is 37 light years away. The most amazing fact is that it is one of the fastest moving stars in our Milky Way galaxy and was headed straight for our planetary system! This would not be good; yet, over the years, its forward speed slowed and its sideways speed picked up, causing it to miss us. Have you ever felt like your life was out of control? Job went through great loss as Satan plotted to cause him to curse God to His face. God even allowed Satan to touch Job’s body with suffering. Satan wanted God to know that no person would ever simply love Him for Himself, but only for what humanity could get from Him. After God revealed Himself through His creation, Job said, “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you” (Job 42:5, NIV). God, in all of His magnificence and power, loved Job. He hoped Job would love Him back, even when things were difficult. As we look at what God made, we can ask ourselves: is He worthy of our love? Lord, open my eyes so I can see who You really are. I want to love You no matter what—not because of what You give me, but because You are You. – Sue Carlisle   Council Fire is a collaboration with Intertribal Life Ministries and Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The Council Fire Daily Devotional Book Set is available on the Intertribal Life Ministries website. Learn more about Council Fire at councilfire365.org

    3 min

  8. FEB 5

    Residential School

    “Children are a gift from the Lord, they are a reward from him.” Psalm 127:3 (NLT) As a child, I remember going for a ride with my parents and siblings one day after sundown. My dad was trying to convince my mom to send us to residential school, since our family was growing so fast, and he wanted to save mom from having too much work. I remember Mom saying, “No, I will never send my kids there. Those people don’t know who God is!” She convinced Dad that this was not a solution. Dad believed in God, too, but didn’t go to church (though he had been raised going to church). Once again, Mom strengthened my faith in Jesus just by standing her ground to keep us from potential harm at the residential school. She never spoke of her own experience in the residential school but was very sure she did not want us girls to go there. It wasn’t until I met and married the father of my children that I started to hear the terrible things that happened in residential school—the very poor conditions. He spoke of having to steal apples from the orchard due to hunger, and children who tried to escape being brought back and punished in front of everyone. The abuses were many from these people who claimed to represent God. It is miraculous how some people who suffered these abuses came to believe in Jesus and accepted Him as their Lord and Savior! As it says in Jeremiah 29:11, “ ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.’” (NIV) The man I married did just that, and trusted Jesus, amazed at God’s love for him. Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your plan for our lives. Thank You for Your Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit who seals us as Yours. – Loretta Oppenheim   Council Fire is a collaboration with Intertribal Life Ministries and Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The Council Fire Daily Devotional Book Set is available on the Intertribal Life Ministries website. Learn more about Council Fire at councilfire365.org

    3 min
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About

Council Fire is a podcast and book set of daily devotionals written by Indigenous followers of Jesus across North America. It's a year long journey through Scripture and story. Council Fire is a collaborative project between Intertribal Life Ministries and Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.

Information

  • Creator
    Intertribal Life Ministries
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    43
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Intertribal Life Ministries
  • Show Website
    Council Fire