Belonging House Fellowship

In 2014, Zuzana Komendova prayed a simple prayer: Lord, give me a good teacher who will teach me everything. She was finishing a degree in jewellery and silversmithing in Slovakia, wounded by four years under an abusive professor, and hungry for someone she could actually learn from. She had no idea the answer would take ten years, arrive through a weekly email, and have nothing to do with metalworking. In this talk from Belonging House's Authentic Voices series, Zuzana — a Slovak artist now living in the UK, producing multimedia resources for Catholic schools — traces the gradual, drop-by-drop transformation that has reshaped her identity over a decade. Her father died suddenly in 2015, nearly taking her faith with him. Her old grid was built on pride, self-pity, and a victim identity so deep she couldn't tell the difference between God's voice and her own. She writes a Normal Manifesto now. She shares what changed: learning to pray with authority rather than from fear, recording daily Gospel voiceovers in Slovak for 250 days and counting, and understanding what it means to be a vessel — not to make chalices and patens with her own hands as she once dreamed, but to become one herself, carrying the most precious content there has ever been. Key Scripture: John 15 · Luke 10:39 Join us for daily prayer Monday through Friday at Belonging House. Connect with Belonging House International: Website: https://Belonging.house Substack: https://christjohnotto.substack.com Community: https://belonging-house.mn.co Give: https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org/donate

A stranger leaned against the wall next to Joseph Frost, said "you should think more about writing," and walked away. Joseph had been waiting to tear down sound equipment. He wasn't looking for a word from God. In this talk from Belonging House's Authentic Voices series, Joseph Frost — playwright, theater maker, and lifelong pastor's kid in the Evangelical Friends (Quaker) tradition — explores what it means to grow as a servant artist and how a kingdom worldview has quietly reshaped the way he makes theater. Joseph traces his path from a conservative Quaker church through multiple conversions, into graduate school theater, and eventually to playing Hamlet in an 800-seat theater the same week his second child was born. It was Hamlet that gave him the framework: his job as the lead wasn't to shine — it was to help every other character have their one great moment. Servant artistry. From there he draws the line between theater-as-body-of-Christ, the seventh day of creation reframed as show day, and how daily prayer at Belonging House has become an unexpected engine for his writing — with more than 400 short plays to show for it. Key Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12 If you feel the pull toward this community, join us for daily prayer Monday through Friday. Connect with Belonging House International: Website: https://Belonging.house Substack: https://christjohnotto.substack.com Community: https://belonging-house.mn.co Give: https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org/donate

Twenty years ago today, a man with $100,000 in debt, a life-threatening diagnosis, and no kingdom worldview sat down at a piano in his living room — and an angel showed up. This is the founding story of Belonging House International. In this landmark 20th anniversary message, Christ John Otto shares — for the first time in years, by his own account — the full account of the vision that launched this ministry: the gold smoke that filled his living room, the four pillars with golden bowls of incense, the multitudes in white robes holding palm branches and dancing in concentric circles, the four living creatures covered in eyes, the emerald disc hovering above a throne, and the being made of living fire who picked him up and set him among the dancers. And what the angel said. *"God is calling you to raise up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne on the earth — who will prepare a way for the coming of the Lord. Throw away your Rolodex. You are not to ask anyone for money. Only tell the story."* This is where every phrase Christ uses came from: - **"Fear not, God can be trusted"** — came from an angel - **"Listen to the Lord and do what he tells you"** — came from a priest - **"Raise up an army of artists to build Jesus a throne on the earth"** — heard directly But the road from that vision to this anniversary was not neat or clean. Christ shares the whole unvarnished journey: - How a denomination split trapped his ordination and set off 11 years of bad decisions - How he ended up in Winter Park, Florida, with a life-threatening disease, $100K in debt, and a priest named Father Al who told him he had problems beyond what he knew how to handle - How God's entire instruction for the first season was simply: pray, read your Bible, go to confession - How he moved back to Akron to die among people who loved him — and how God fired him from his job the day after he refused to quit - The sculptor Vinnie DiFilippo, who laid hands on him and prophesied a ministry to artists before anyone had heard of Belonging House - The cassette tape prophecy: *"When you dance, God is going to reveal something to you"* - A week at the International House of Prayer with no housing — and a furnished apartment that appeared the moment he walked in the door - A seven-week trip to Europe and Israel on a three-week budget, a bank account emptied by fraud, and a bus that dropped him off in the Palestinian Authority - Why it was the lockdown year in London where the kingdom worldview finally crystallized *"You only see God's provision in the rearview mirror. Looking ahead, you have to trust."* Twenty years. Still going. Still learning. In the healthiest season the ministry has ever known. **Key Scripture references:** Revelation 4-5 · George Mueller's journals · Hebrews 11 --- ### For Artists Especially The founding call of this ministry was spoken directly to artists: *raise up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne on the earth.* Not a nice idea. Not a program. A word delivered by a being made of fire, on a Tuesday, in a living room in Akron, Ohio, to a man with no money and no plan. If you have felt that your art was peripheral to the Kingdom — tolerated rather than essential — this message is for you. The army was the first thing named. The throne is what it's for. --- ### About Belonging House International Belonging House is a community raising up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne in the earth. This is not a metaphor. It is a founding call, spoken twenty years ago, that this community is still walking out. **Fear not. God can be trusted.** --- ### Connect & Learn More

Arlene Brown just wanted to lurk. She had been reading Christ John Otto's Substack for months — picturing an elegant Englishman writing by candlelight in a London pub — and when she finally worked up the nerve to join a prayer meeting, she accidentally crashed a Sunday church service instead. Camera on. No place to hide. Mortified. That moment turned out to be exactly what God had planned. In this testimony shared at Belonging House International, Arlene — a prophetic seer, encourager, artist, and holder of a master's degree in Neuroscience and Trauma — tells the story of a lifetime of searching: prophetic conferences, SOZOs, deliverance sessions, dream interpretation training with John Paul Jackson, inner healing work, and years of observing church culture that kept leaving her empty-handed. She had the gifts. She had the theology. She had the journals — orphan journals, as she calls them now, full of complaint and lacking faith. She threw them all away. What she didn't have was a new grid. And she couldn't get there alone. Arlene shares openly about: - Growing up Catholic in a chaotic home shaped by generational alcoholism and emotional abuse — and how she still wanted God even then - The vision the Holy Spirit showed her during her first Belonging House service: a child clinging to a dead mother in a ditch — and what God said next - Decades of "terminal uniqueness" and why orphans try to solve their own problems (including getting a master's degree to fix their church) - How her prayer life transformed from anxiety and "telling God what to do" to daily breakfast with her heavenly family - Asking Jesus what he is praying for her — and being astonished that he answers - The most meaningful Lent of her 39 years as a Christian, and the poem she wrote that she didn't share for likes or influence - Why you can build real community in 15-20 minutes a day — and why that community changed everything - A generous offer: she will personally ship a free copy of *Artists at a Shift in Time* by Christ John Otto to the first three people who reach out (one per household!) *"I don't know yet how God wants me to help build the throne. And I'm not worried about it. I will keep being a daughter and learn to obey and love people. That's plenty for now."* — Arlene Brown **Key Scriptures:** Ephesians 3:18 · Hebrews 4:14 · John 15 · Proverbs 3:5-6 --- ### For Artists Especially Arlene can paint, draw, dabble in drama, and play music — and for years she didn't know what to do with any of it. She had done art in church settings, tried to incorporate it into prayer, and kept hitting dead ends. She never even thought to ask God about it directly. What she found at Belonging House wasn't a formula for using her gifts. It was a Father who showed her things like a good dad would. A table to sit at. A story he was writing — about her and him — that she got to watch him draft. If you've been an artist in the church trying to figure out where you fit, Arlene's testimony is a word in season for you. The gifts don't need to be figured out. The daughter needs to be found first. --- ### About Belonging House International Belonging House is a community raising up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne in the earth. We believe that creative work is spiritual work — and that real transformation begins not with more information, more training, or more conferences, but with learning to listen to God and do what he says. The daily rhythm is simple: - Learn to recognize the voice of Jesus through the daily Gospel reading - Ask God smart questions and hear his answer - Say yes and do what the Lord says - Do this in relationship with others This is the ancient pathway. And it is new every morning. **Fear not. God can be trusted.** --- ### Get a Free Copy of *Artists at a Shift in Time* Arlene is personally shipping free copies of *Artists at a Shift in Time* by Christ John Otto to the first three people who request one (one per household). If you are ready to: 1. Let your current grid be challenged by God 2. Learn a daily rhythm so you can be a disciple 3. Help build a throne for Jesus on the earth — reach out to Christ through Substack or message Belonging House directly. --- ### Connect & Learn More

Val Davidson grew up in a forward-thinking Baptist church in Edinburgh, prayed over by her parents, shaped by community, and carrying a prophetic gift she didn't quite have language for. By the time she found Belonging House, she had lived through trauma, decades of faithful service — and a season of serious chronic illness that left her sometimes unable to sit up, unable to drive, unable to be present for her family the way she wanted to be. Then came the prayer. In this testimony shared at Belonging House Fellowship, Val traces a remarkable thread: from singing with Keith and Kristyn Getty in Edinburgh, to her son Luke's acting classes with Gerry and Elizabeth Averill, to a prayer report by Christ John Otto that caught her attention years before she ever met him — all the way to a dramatic shift in health, diagnosis, and daily life that her husband Paul witnessed firsthand. Val shares openly about: - Growing up in a pioneering church community in Edinburgh in the 1970s that opened its sanctuary to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and welcomed those with mental illness and learning disabilities - Carrying a prophetic gifting from her early twenties without a community that fully understood it - Living through proximity to the Dunblane shooting while training as a counsellor for children - Years of fibromyalgia and ME/chronic fatigue that reduced her from a full-time active parent to spending 12+ hours a day in bed - How prayer for trauma and Freemasonry renunciation brought a complete change in health — including a corrected diagnosis, dramatic weight loss, and restored energy - What it means to abide in Christ (John 15) and why praying in tongues daily in community has made a real difference - The Lord's Prayer as a simple, unifying structure for a life with God — crossing denominations, cultures, and continents *"I'm physically chalk and cheese to what I was then."* — Val Davidson **Key Scriptures:** Matthew 6:9-13 (The Lord's Prayer) · John 15 · Proverbs 3:5-6 ### For Artists Especially Val's story is woven through with the arts — from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe performed in her childhood church sanctuary, to her sons' music and performance gifts, to her own years working with children in creative and educational spaces. Her healing wasn't separate from her creative and communal life — it restored it. If you've been managing symptoms instead of receiving healing, or serving from a place of depletion rather than abundance, this testimony speaks directly to that. --- ### About Belonging House International Belonging House is a community raising up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne in the earth. We believe that creative work is spiritual work — and that real transformation, not just symptom management, is what God has for his people. Val's story is exactly why we exist: a woman carrying a gift for decades, finally finding a community where prayer goes deep enough to change not just your thinking, but your body. **Fear not. God can be trusted.** --- ### Connect & Learn More

For over 52 years, Nancy Lane tried to make her faith work — seminary, Greek, Hebrew, Bible translations, Christian service. And for 52 years, something was missing. The information was in her head, but the love never made it to her heart. Then a trauma release prayer changed everything. In this testimony shared at Belonging House International, Nancy Lane unpacks the concept of a **kingdom grid shift** — what it means to move from a wounded, secular worldview (built on reaction, religion without power, and orphan thinking) into a kingdom way of seeing God, yourself, and the world around you. Drawing on brain science, personal testimony, and deep Scripture study, Nancy Lane explores: - Why thoughts aren't free-floating — they're **trees**, with trunks, branches, and roots growing in the forest of your mind - The difference between **compliance and submission** — and why trauma keeps us locked in one without access to the other - How **forgiveness as release** (not just words) broke a 52-year cycle of unhealed pain - What a **sense of being** is, why so many of us were never given one, and how God restores it - The Jesus prayer in Matthew 11 — and the two "I AM" statements most of us completely missed - Biblical examples of grid shifts: Adam & Eve, Abraham, Joshua, Caleb, King Saul, and the people of Nazareth - Why the biggest obstacle to a grid shift is **the familiar** Nancy Lane also shares the trauma release prayer framework from *Artists at a Shift in Time* by Christ John Otto and how it became a daily practice — including forgiving others, forgiving yourself, accepting yourself as you are right now, and even releasing God from unmet expectations. **Key Scriptures:** Matthew 11:28-30 · 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 · 2 Timothy 1:9 · Galatians 5 · Ephesians 3:20 --- ### For Artists Especially Nancy Lane's testimony is deeply incarnational — which is the language artists live in. The idea that **love is tangible, thoughts are physical, and fruit is real** isn't abstract theology. It's the world creatives already inhabit. You already know that something either rings true or it doesn't. You already know the difference between something made from fear and something made from love. If you've been building your creative life — or your faith life — from a place of reaction formation (defining yourself by what you're *against*), this teaching speaks directly to that. A grid shift isn't just about healing. It's about finally having a horizon wide enough to create from. The cup metaphor Nancy Lane shares about the **sense of being** is particularly resonant for artists: you can be surrounded by beauty, love, and opportunity, but if your cup was never formed, it all runs through your fingers. This teaching names what many artists quietly experience and points toward what God actually has for you. --- ### About Belonging House International Belonging House is a community raising up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne in the earth. We believe that creative work is spiritual work — that the gifts God places in artists are meant to be alive, healed, and flowing from a place of kingdom identity rather than orphan survival. Teachings like this one are why we exist: not to give you more information to carry, but to help you encounter the God who meets you exactly where you are — in your imperfect, unfinished form — and says, *"I accept you."* **Fear not. God can be trusted.** --- ### Connect & Learn More

What if the way you learned about Jesus made him feel like a painting on a wall — something beautiful to admire from a distance, but not alive, not present, not *now*? That's what growing up Reformed-Presbyterian looked like for me. I knew my TULIP. I could explain cessationism. But I couldn't explain why communion felt like it meant something more — or why I kept waiting for a God who seemed to have stopped speaking. Everything changed in a cathedral in Orvieto, Italy. In this teaching from John 6:51-58, I trace my journey from a hard-core Calvinist upbringing through the feast of Corpus Christi, the medieval art of Luca Signorelli, and a stunning realization: the Eucharist is not a religious tradition. It's an encounter with the living Jesus — the one seated on the throne, who is coming again. **In this teaching you'll discover:** - What "de-museumification" means and why so many Christians have a museumified Jesus - The history of the Corpus Christi miracle and why an entire Italian town was built around it - How Signorelli's frescoes in the Orvieto Duomo connect the broken body of Jesus, the martyrs, and the resurrection - Why the Cathar heresy (denial of both the Eucharist and the Resurrection) still echoes in modern Christianity - How the doctrine of cessationism developed as a *reaction* to Catholic theology — and what was lost - What John 6 means when Jesus says "my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed" - Why the Eucharist, the Holy Spirit, and the return of Jesus are inseparably linked We can't go back to the past. Christendom is dead. But Christ is not.

What if the deepest spiritual resistance comes not from evil, but from our own ability? In this teaching on Pentecost, we explore three ancient rebellions—Eden, the hybrid race, and the Tower of Babel—and uncover why humans are always tempted to build in their own strength instead of surrendering to God's power. Pentecost isn't just about speaking in tongues or a moment in Acts. It's about the redemption of the nations and the restoration of humanity as the Image of God. Fifty days after the Exodus, God descended on Mount Sinai in fire and wind. Fifty days after the Resurrection, the Holy Spirit descended on 120 believers in the upper room. They became "little Mount Sinais"—living temples where God's presence burned within them.

Jesus ascended not to get out of here, but to fully accomplish his mission. His ascension into heaven is just as important as taking on flesh, dying on the cross, and rising from the tomb. Belonging House International is a fellowship of Christian artists and creative people who are called to raise up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne in the earth.   We are here to help you grow and thrive as a Christian artist, develop in your relationship with God, experience transformation, and discover the change you can make in the world.   Our videos and teaching are designed to transform your spiritual life.  Your inner life determines your creative output. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto.  We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://belonging-house.kit.com/06983bab0b You can find out more at https://belonging.house Fear not God can be trusted. #artists #Christian artists #thriving #discipleship #Jesus #Bible #creatives #creativity #healing #spiritual healing #prayer 

I have crafted a prayer for the renunciation of the religious spirit. Father, I believe that Jesus Christ is the only Son of God, and that he took on the flesh of the blessed Virgin Mary. By his death and resurrection,  I have been given the power to become a child of God. And I can only be a child  by the power of the Holy Spirit in me.   I renounce the lie that I have to do things to remain a child of God.   I renounce the lie that I have to do things  to make you come to me.   And I renounce the lie  that my works or activities, my knowledge or expertise will cause you to do things.   I renounce the lie that I have to do things to  shift the spiritual atmosphere, or have power over people, places, or things.   Only you have this power, and I submit to your work in my life.   I renounce the lie that my activities, my church membership, my political party, or my theology make me a better person  than others.   I know that this attitude puts me under the law of sin and death and blocks the flow of the Holy Spirit.   Forgive me for coming into agreement with  the prevailing religious culture in the United States. I am guilty of the worst of all sins, Pride and all the works that flow from it.   I acknowledge that the belief in my own activity opens me up to a curse, and that I am bewitched. I have allowed witchcraft to operate in my life. Forgive me for any way I have touched your glory.   Father forgive me, have mercy on me a sinner. I am powerless and helpless to be a Christian in my own strength, and all my "righteousness" is a filthy rag. I am no different than the woman caught in adultery, and I ask you to forgive me that I may go and sin no more.   Now I renounce the religious spirit, and any agreements I have made with  pride, immorality, or witchcraft. They have to leave me now and go to Jesus.   Open my eyes to see every way I have come to agree with this spiritual power and help me walk differently in the future. Help me walk softly before you.   I thank you Lord, that Jesus Christ became a curse for me on the cross so that I can enter into the blessing of Abraham. I break the religious curse operating in my life and ask you to release the blessing over me.   I now break the power of witchcraft and close the open door witchcraft has in my life.   Thank you Lord that it is for freedom that Christ has set me free.   Jesus, you promised that you would not leave me an orphan. I ask you now to release the Holy Spirit  in me and unblock the flow of life and healing so that I can walk in love and know the presence of the Father in me. Amen.   Belonging House International is a fellowship of Christian artists and creative people who are called to raise up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne in the earth.   We are here to help you grow and thrive as a Christian artist, develop in your relationship with God, experience transformation, and discover the change you can make in the world.   Our videos and teaching are designed to transform your spiritual life.  Your inner life determines your creative output. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto.  We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://christjohnotto.substack.com You can find out more at https://belonging.house Fear not God can be trusted. #artists #Christian artists #thriving #discipleship #Jesus #Bible #creatives #creativity #healing #spiritual healing #prayer   

In John 14 Jesus tells us that we will do the greater works.  How this happens is described in Acts, when God chooses seven men full of the Holy Spirit to become deacons. Belonging House International is a fellowship of Christian artists and creative people who are called to raise up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne in the earth.   We are here to help you grow and thrive as a Christian artist, develop in your relationship with God, experience transformation, and discover the change you can make in the world.   Our videos and teaching are designed to transform your spiritual life.  Your inner life determines your creative output. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto.  We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://christjohnotto.substack.com You can find out more at https://belonging.house Fear not God can be trusted. #artists #Christian artists #thriving #discipleship #Jesus #Bible #creatives #creativity #healing #spiritual healing #prayer   

Jesus Christ is the good shepherd, the door for the sheep.  His sheep here is his voice, and whenever he speaks he makes something new.  The Shepherd is always creating. Belonging House International is a fellowship of Christian artists and creative people who are called to raise up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne in the earth.   We are here to help you grow and thrive as a Christian artist, develop in your relationship with God, experience transformation, and discover the change you can make in the world.   Our videos and teaching are designed to transform your spiritual life.  Your inner life determines your creative output. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto.  We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co https://christjohnotto.substack.com You can find out more at https://belonging.house Fear not God can be trusted. #artists #Christian artists #thriving #discipleship #Jesus #Bible #creatives #creativity #healing #spiritual healing #prayer   

Jesus reveals himself in the Breaking of the Bread in Emmaus.  He moves us from our unreality of sin and death to the reality of his uncreated light. Belonging House International is a fellowship of Christian artists and creative people who are called to raise up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne in the earth.   We are here to help you grow and thrive as a Christian artist, develop in your relationship with God, experience transformation, and discover the change you can make in the world.   Our videos and teaching are designed to transform your spiritual life.  Your inner life determines your creative output. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto.  We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can find out more at https://belonging.house Fear not God can be trusted. #artists #Christian artists #thriving #discipleship #Jesus #Bible #creatives #creativity #healing #spiritual healing #prayer   

We are in a world that seems to be becoming more and more fake. We are warned that at the end of the age deception will become so strong that even the elect will be deceived. We have to learn what is real.  There is a big difference between peacemaking and peacekeeping. Belonging House International is a fellowship of Christian artists and creative people who are called to raise up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne in the earth.   We are here to help you grow and thrive as a Christian artist, develop in your relationship with God, experience transformation, and discover the change you can make in the world.   Our videos and teaching are designed to transform your spiritual life.  Your inner life determines your creative output. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto.  We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can find out more at https://belonging.house Fear not God can be trusted. #artists #Christian artists #thriving #discipleship #Jesus #Bible #creatives #creativity #healing #spiritual healing #prayer   

We aren't called to look at the past. We are called to live in the resurrection life of Jesus Christ. Belonging House International is a fellowship of Christian artists and creative people who are called to raise up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne in the earth.   We are here to help you grow and thrive as a Christian artist, develop in your relationship with God, experience transformation, and discover the change you can make in the world.   Our videos and teaching are designed to transform your spiritual life.  Your inner life determines your creative output. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto.  We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://christjohnotto.substack.com You can find out more at https://belonging.house Fear not God can be trusted. #artists #Christian artists #thriving #discipleship #Jesus #Bible #creatives #creativity #healing #spiritual healing #prayer   

Remembering is the act of reconnecting with your true self. Belonging House International is a fellowship of Christian artists and creative people who are called to raise up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne in the earth.   We are here to help you grow and thrive as a Christian artist, develop in your relationship with God, experience transformation, and discover the change you can make in the world.   Our videos and teaching are designed to transform your spiritual life.  Your inner life determines your creative output. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto.   You can get our Friday email at https://belonging-house.kit.com/06983bab0b You can find out more at https://belonging.house Fear not God can be trusted. #artists #Christian artists #thriving #discipleship #Jesus #Bible #creatives #creativity #healing #spiritual healing #prayer 

Christ John Otto teaches on John 11 and why you should be a Martha and not a Mary.  #resurrection #lazarus #faith Belonging House International is a fellowship of Christian artists and creative people who are called to raise up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne in the earth.   We are here to help you grow and thrive as a Christian artist, develop in your relationship with God, experience transformation, and discover the change you can make in the world.   Our videos and teaching are designed to transform your spiritual life.  Your inner life determines your creative output. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto.  We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://christjohnotto.substack.com You can find out more at https://belonging.house Fear not God can be trusted. #artists #Christian artists #thriving #discipleship #Jesus #Bible #creatives #creativity #healing #spiritual healing #prayer   

I Samuel 16   The Anointing of David. Today's reading are about blindness and seeing. Often when God speaks we think God is saying one thing, and God is saying something completely different. Belonging House International is a fellowship of Christian artists and creative people who are called to raise up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne in the earth.   We are here to help you grow and thrive as a Christian artist, develop in your relationship with God, experience transformation, and discover the change you can make in the world.   Our videos and teaching are designed to transform your spiritual life.  Your inner life determines your creative output. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto.  We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://christjohnotto.substack.com You can find out more at https://belonging.house Fear not God can be trusted. #artists #Christian artists #thriving #discipleship #Jesus #Bible #creatives #creativity #healing #spiritual healing #prayer     

Christ John Otto teaches on John 4, the Woman at the Well, and how we are called to build a culture of trust. Belonging House International is a fellowship of Christian artists and creative people who are called to raise up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne in the earth.   We are here to help you grow and thrive as a Christian artist, develop in your relationship with God, experience transformation, and discover the change you can make in the world.   Our videos and teaching are designed to transform your spiritual life.  Your inner life determines your creative output. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto.  We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://christjohnotto.substack.com You can find out more at https://belonging.house Fear not God can be trusted. #artists #Christian artists #thriving #discipleship #Jesus #Bible #creatives #creativity #healing #spiritual healing #prayer   

Christ John Otto teaches on the Transfiguration and how listening to God and doing are one.   #unseenrealm #michealheiser #listening #lent #transfiguration   Belonging House International is a fellowship of Christian artists and creative people who are called to raise up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne in the earth.   We are here to help you grow and thrive as a Christian artist, develop in your relationship with God, experience transformation, and discover the change you can make in the world.   Our videos and teaching are designed to transform your spiritual life.  Your inner life determines your creative output. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto.  We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://christjohnotto.substack.com You can find out more at https://belonging.house Fear not God can be trusted. #artists #Christian artists #thriving #discipleship #Jesus #Bible #creatives #creativity #healing #spiritual healing #prayer   

Matthew 5:17 says Jesus came to fulfill the law and the prophets.  This says something about the character and nature of God and his plan for our lives. Belonging House International is a fellowship of Christian artists and creative people who are called to raise up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne in the earth.   We are here to help you grow and thrive as a Christian artist, develop in your relationship with God, experience transformation, and discover the change you can make in the world.   Our videos and teaching are designed to transform your spiritual life.  Your inner life determines your creative output. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto.  We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://christjohnotto.substack.com You can find out more at https://belonging.house Fear not God can be trusted. #artists #Christian artists #thriving #discipleship #Jesus #Bible #creatives #creativity #healing #spiritual healing #prayer   

  What is the purpose of light? To illuminate the darkness. And Jesus says, you are the light of the world, and you have no purpose  if you put that light under a bushel. The purpose of light  is to bring light to dark places. The religious mind thinks from the outside in, and that the darkness will make my light dim.   No. The light in you will make the darkness lighter. ---- You can support Belonging House athttps://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/raise-up-an-army-of-artists, https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto.  We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://christjohnotto.substack.com You can find out more at https://belonging.house Fear not God can be trusted.

I am going to make your head explode this Sunday as we look at the Wedding at Cana. This is the first recorded miracle in the Gospel of John and John states that this was the first miracle of Jesus. John says that through this miracle Jesus manifested his glory and this disciples believed in him.   That's a big thing to say about  wine at a party.   Maybe it's not about the wine. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto.  We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://belonginghouse.substack.com

This word "call" in Greek, Kaleo, appears 148 times in the New Testament. It is the greek word used for the Hebrew word "cara." This word first appears at the beginning of Genesis when God speaks and he calls the light day and the dark night. In the Bible, and especially in the Gospels, the word "call" has an intrinsic meaning. The call defines a person  and calls them out of one reality  and into another. So Jesus calls fishermen, and in the call itself is the power for those men  to leave their nets, leave their family legacy, leave their place in society, and follow Jesus. And in the call is another reality. The call defines you. So Jesus calls them and says, from now on you will be fishers of men.   Notice what Jesus does here. He does not say You were once fishermen, and now I am going to make you  Christian accountants.   No. The call of God transforms what they are, their natural gifts and abilities, into something much higher. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto.  We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co   You can get our Friday email at https://belonginghouse.substack.com

God is always calling us out of our illusions and into Kingdom reality. The religious worldly mind  calls us backward into the realm of the past. And that realm of the past will then cause us to live in unreality. God is present future. He is always talking about now and calling us into future. This is why, when we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and then we move into his reality. This is why you feel free. You are back in sync with God. Sadly, many people conjure up and relive the past over and over again and they are living and being defined by things that are gone. This is the illusion that God has not forgiven. The religious mind thinks God forgives us but we still have to do something to make it happen. This is not reality.   In today's gospel, Jesus comes to John and John declares that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And then John says this, my ministry is for a season. My ministry and my baptism is only here to point the way to someone else, and this one is here.   And then John gives us the point. The one coming after me will baptize you in the Holy Spirit. You will not be baptized in water, but in the Holy Spirit. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto.  We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://belonginghouse.substack.com

Today we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord and I want to talk about a few BIG ideas that will lay out the next season of teaching.   In John chapter three one of the leaders of the sanhedrin, Nicodemus comes to Jesus secretly at night. And Nicodemus makes an observation to Jesus, no one could do the signs that you do unless God is with him.   And the Jesus replies, No one can enter the Kingdom of heaven unless he is born again. And then Jesus explains that unless you are born by water and the Holy Spirit you are not in the Kingdom. Flesh gives birth to flesh and spirit gives birth to spirit. The Kingdom of God is not a kingdom of talk, but a kingdom of power. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto.  We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://belonginghouse.substack.com

You are the light. Light is only useful in dark places. And you cannot be sacred space unless you learn to listen to the Lord, and do what he tells you. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto. We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://belonginghouse.substack.com

God delights in you. God is coming to earth, not as conqueror or warrior. God is coming to earth in peace with love, delight, and favor. Heaven is invading earth and it is an invasion of favor. Christmas is the miracle. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto. We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://belonginghouse.substack.com

This is why when we make scriptural declarations we see so much happen in people's lives. When we declare scriptural truth, even if that truth is not yet reality for us, we begin to see movement from our broken reality into God's reality. The incarnation is everything. Jesus came into a broken world and said I am salvation I am God with you. I am close and I can bring the life and love of God into your broken reality and bring salvation. That word salvation means healing, wholeness, shalom, transformation and blessing. And so we declare salvation over situations. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto. We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://belonginghouse.substack.com Find out more at https://belonging.house

What do you do when the fulfilment comes and it is not what you expected?  There is a back side to the forerunner calling and we need to talk about it. God is fulfilling promises right now in our community, and it is important to understand a core piece of God's fulfillment. Most people miss the day of their visitation and the day of the fulfillment because they are expecting one thing and God does another. God fulfills the word and the promise but it does not look like what we expected. And when this happens people either get disappointed or offended. __ You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto. We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://belonginghouse.substack.com

In Scripture there is really only one forerunner, John the Baptist. His message can be broken down into four parts: 1.Prepare the Way for the coming of the Lord. 2. Change your thinking. 3. Produce works that show you have changed. 4.  He must increase and I must decrease: when he comes turn to him and be filled with the Holy Spirit. ______ You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto. We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://belonginghouse.substack.com

The prophetic word is the end from the beginning.  If God gives you a word, He is telling you how things are going to work out.  It is designed to give you prophetic hope.  Hope keeps you going. A lot of people live in what is or what was. They live in what their eyes tell them about now, or the illusion of their experience in the past. And out of this, they get trapped in a poverty mindset with no possibilities or options. The Lord lives in what is and what will be. #Advent #BelongingHouse #Prophetic #ListentoGod You can find out more at https://belonging.house You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto. We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://belonginghouse.substack.com  

Patience is saying to Jesus, you are the most patient person in the Universe.  I need you to manifest your patience through me today. Settle it in your mind today. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto. We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://belonginghouse.substack.com

We are not living in ordinary times, but rather, a great time of shifting and transition.  I have been going over the words we received on our listening day.  I want to end this teaching today with a few practical thoughts for all of us going forward, but before I do that, let's talk about some big thoughts. I was asked a few days ago about the glory and how we carry the glory. And this related to something Bob Jones said before he died, that the glory of God was going to return to the church, and that the glory would accompany the great "end time" billion soul harvest, this harvest the described as the "House.   Related to this is the opposition those who are called to carry the glory would face. This opposition is described in Revelation as the "Harlot." --- You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto. We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://belonginghouse.substack.com x

Lord Jesus Christ, I believe that you are the Son of God and the only way to God, that you died on the cross for my sins and rose again from the dead. That on the cross you were made a curse with every curse that is due to me, that I might be redeemed from the curse and enter into the blessing.  Lord, I confess any sins committed by me or by my ancestors. I ask your forgiveness. I also forgive every other person whoever harmed me or wronged me. I forgive them as I would have God forgive me. I also forgive myself. I renounce all contact with the occult in any form and I commit myself to get rid of any 'contact objects.'    And now Lord, having received by faith your forgiveness, with the authority I have as a child of God, I now release myself and those under my authority from any curse over our lives. Right now, in the name of Jesus, I declare release. I claim it and I receive it by faith. In the name of Jesus. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto. We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://belonginghouse.substack.com

The most powerful thing you can do in spiritual warfare is to look at Jesus. And as you ignore the demonic that is feeding on your attention and your rebellion, the demonic realm begins to get starved for attention and just goes away. The most powerful thing you can do is not lose the plot. This is humility. ---- You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto. We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://belonginghouse.substack.com

When I began our series on spiritual warfare for artists, I stated that everything we do in discipleship is spiritual war. Your life of prayer, your practice of listening to God, your choice to do what God asks of you, and your regular rhythm as an artist and creative person is just like the daily physical training of a marine. ---- You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto. We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://belonginghouse.substack.com

You can listen to an in depth understanding of witchcraft here: https://youtu.be/O10iAaOWR7A?si=L0qYwUpRnNFRPbK3 Derek Prince has a foundational message on this topic here: https://youtu.be/fjeeInjMoJc?si=OFn8wqyXr2YFboOa You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto. We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://belonginghouse.substack.com

You are dealing with spiritual forces who are outside of time. They will outwork you and they will outsmart you if you try to fight them using a carnal understanding. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto. We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://belonginghouse.substack.com

This is part three in the series: Clash of Kingdoms.  This week we look at the nature of the spiritual forces of evil.  I promise you will never look at a fish the same way again. Acts 19:11-20 You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto. We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://belonginghouse.substack.com

This is part two in the series: Clash of Kingdoms.  This week we look at the nature of the spiritual forces of evil.  I promise you will never look at a fish the same way again. Ephesians 6:10-20 You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto. We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://belonginghouse.substack.com

The first in a series on Spiritual Warfare for Artists. You can support Belonging House at https://belonginghouse.betterworld.org or buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto. We have a Mighty Network for artists and creative people who are committed to a lifestyle of discipleship: https://belonging-house.mn.co You can get our Friday email at https://belonginghouse.substack.com  

Jesus is the Master Artisan. He is the Author of Beauty. He is more than a carpenter, and is the Creator incarnate.

This week is a celebration of thanksgiving. We have been doing this Belonging House adventure for nineteen years. There are some amazing things about this story, and how so many of the things that I did in the beginning became part of our DNA and part of our life together. We began praying in tongues together for fifteen minutes in my living room in Akron, Ohio. We celebrated holy communion together daily. We sat and listened to God together. We ate together. And all of this happened before we "formed" an organization.  

God is calling the artist and creative person to build the Kingdom of God on the earth.  In this teaching, Christ John Otto shares how Bezalel is a new Adam carrying out the original directions to Adam as the Image of God. Exodus 31:15  

Part two on the Big ideas for artists.  This week the Charashim from Zechariah 1:15-2:5.

The first in a series on Big Ideas for Artists.  Why you have power in the unseen realm as an artist or creative person. #incarnation #Artists #icon

How do you respond to Jesus? Our desire is to respond with a Kingdom grid.   The Father is always calling, always wooing. And there is a promise in scripture that very few people understand: If you draw near to me I will draw near to You.   A lot of people think that scripture says: If I repent hard enough, do the right stuff and serve God until he approves then I will have permission to come close but God may or may not be interested.   Jesus said, Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me. For my yoke is easy, my burden is light. ---- Christ John Otto leads Belonging House International, a fellowship called to raise up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne in the earth. His most recent book is Artists at a Shift in Time, https://a.co/d/3hPEiHT The heart of Belonging House is our Friday email.  You can subscribe here: https://mailchi.mp/44964233320d/friday-email-signup Christ John Otto writes at https://christjohnotto.substack.com We encourage artists to make the Belonging House commitment: https://belonginghouse.substack.com/p/our-commitment You can support us at https://www.zeffy.com/donation-form/raise-up-an-army-of-artists https://buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto https://buy.stripe.com/6oE9EG6ObfnF2nSbII You can view Belonging House Books here: https://bookshop.org/shop/belonginghouse

God calls some people to do things that do not make sense to the conventional order to push the direction. And honestly, if you look at history the people God choose are either a bit crazy or deeply broken. God chooses the people who are in desperate situations because they are desperate for God.   Christ John Otto leads Belonging House International, a fellowship called to raise up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne in the earth. His most recent book is Artists at a Shift in Time, https://a.co/d/3hPEiHT The heart of Belonging House is our Friday email.  You can subscribe here: https://mailchi.mp/44964233320d/friday-email-signup Christ John Otto writes at https://christjohnotto.substack.com We encourage artists to make the Belonging House commitment: https://belonginghouse.substack.com/p/our-commitment You can support us at https://www.zeffy.com/donation-form/raise-up-an-army-of-artists https://buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto https://buy.stripe.com/6oE9EG6ObfnF2nSbII You can view Belonging House Books here: https://bookshop.org/shop/belonginghouse

A few weeks ago we sat down with some of our community to review prophetic words.  We talked in depth about geo-political shifts, how God is using Islam to reignite his church, and glory that is beginning to return to the Body of Christ.     Christ John Otto leads Belonging House International, a fellowship called to raise up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne in the earth. His most recent book is Artists at a Shift in Time, https://a.co/d/3hPEiHT The heart of Belonging House is our Friday email.  You can subscribe here: https://mailchi.mp/44964233320d/friday-email-signup Christ John Otto writes at https://christjohnotto.substack.com We encourage artists to make the Belonging House commitment: https://belonginghouse.substack.com/p/our-commitment You can support us at https://www.zeffy.com/donation-form/raise-up-an-army-of-artists https://buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto https://buy.stripe.com/6oE9EG6ObfnF2nSbII You can view Belonging House Books here: https://bookshop.org/shop/belonginghouse

Christ John Otto leads Belonging House International, a fellowship called to raise up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne in the earth. The heart of Belonging House is our Friday email.  You can subscribe here: https://mailchi.mp/44964233320d/friday-email-signup Christ John Otto writes at https://christjohnotto.substack.com We encourage artists to make the Belonging House commitment: https://belonginghouse.substack.com/p/our-commitment You can support us at https://www.zeffy.com/donation-form/raise-up-an-army-of-artists https://buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto https://buy.stripe.com/6oE9EG6ObfnF2nSbII You can view Belonging House Books here: https://bookshop.org/shop/belonginghouse