When It All Falls Apart.

As I was reading through my Twitter acount yesterday morning there seemed to be a common theme among alot of the leaders I respect:

@JohnCMaxwell: Success represents the 1% of your work which results from the 99% that is called failure. -Soichiro Honda

@DailyKeller: "Jesus delivered his people not through great triumph, but through crushing defeat."

@DaveRamsey: “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”― Winston Churchill

The question is not how will you respond if you fail, but rather, how will you respond when you fail? Maybe you're there right now. Maybe you're looking at your house, your family, your work situation, or your personal life and it falls dismally short of where you thought it would be or where you wanted it to be. Maybe your efforts to hold it all together are no longer working and it's falling apart. Maybe a dream you always held onto just died.

How do you get up today? How do you not lose enthusiasm? How do you now throw in the towel and give up? I love the words from Lamentations 3. These words are all the more powerful when you realize their context. They are written by Jeremiah after the destruction of Jerusalem. If there was ever a time to want to throw in the towel and give up hope, this was it for Jeremiah. Yet, check out his words:

"17 I gave up on life altogether. I've forgotten what the good life is like. 18 I said to myself, "This is it. I'm finished. God is a lost cause." It's a Good Thing to Hope for Help from God 19 I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness, the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed. 20 I remember it all - oh, how well I remember - the feeling of hitting the bottom. 21 But there's one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope: 22 God's loyal love couldn't have run out, his merciful love couldn't have dried up. 23 They're created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! 24 I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over). He's all I've got left. 25 God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. 26 It's a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God."

So when failure and brokenness come, let's not fear, but once again cling to the God who is bigger than our failures and difficulties we face. Truly, His resources and power are inexhaustible and available to us today!

in Christ,

Brian

Simplify, Share, Invite.

I was watching a video about inviting people to church with you. I know, the initial thought is probably, “How do I even bring it up?” or “They’ll think I’m some Bible thumper and just reject it”. Well, this video showed a group of little boys walking around their neighborhood inviting the people in every house to church and tying a balloon to the mailbox if they said yes. Then the video shows one man outside who asks, in a skeptical tone, what they are doing. The boys explain as a narrator says, “In the eyes of a child it’s simple to invite someone to church. You’re just telling them about something you love” while footage of these boys talking about their church in large excited motions plays. You could see that they really were just telling someone about something they love.

When I eat somewhere delicious or go to a fun place I’m sure I tell plenty of people about it and invite them to experience it as well. But when it comes to church we tend to become more reserved.

As adults we tend to overcomplicate things. Maybe if we just simplify, we will see a change in ourselves. We could lose that anxiety and experience the joy of sharing something great with someone.

Simple,

Hailey

Public Worship or Private Worship.

Which pleases God the most? I think we all know the answer. If I am kind and loving to my wife when I am in public, but at home I am preoccupied and disconnected, how strong is the relationship? Likewise, if we worship with great fervor on Sunday morning, but lack any private worship during the week, how authentic is our devotion?

So as we "love the Lord with all our heart, all of our soul and with all of our mind and with all of our strength," let's not skip Monday through Saturday.

-Joe

Matthew 6:5 - 6
The Message (MSG)

“And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?

“Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

The Life Together.

I love this picture of the beginning of the church in Acts 2:

'42 They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers. 43 Everyone around was in awe - all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! 44 And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. 45 They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person's need was met. 46 They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, 47 as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved. '

I had the privilege of visiting one of our StoneBridge Table Groups (Home Groups) on Sunday night. It was beautiful to see this small microcosm of StoneBridge coming together in a home on a Sunday evening. I got to sit back and watch them have a time of worship together, share with one another, express doubts and questions, dig into God's Word together and wrestle with it, and constantly encourage and listen to each other.

I was talking to one of the members about what made this time so special and she replied that 'they were like family.' Indeed, you don't really know the joy of Christianity until it goes from a religious activity to a family where you belong. It reaffirmed for me the power of community. It is in these little house gatherings where people really flesh out their Christianity, open up with others they trust, and begin to understand and experience the love of God. So if you haven't taken a step to get connected with other Christians like this, then I encourage you to take that step. Learn more about a Table Group at http://www.gostonebridge.com/tablegroups/

In Christ,

Brian

If You Have Been Redeemed, Say So

Our faith in Jesus is personal, but it's not private. As we care about people enough to show them Christ's love, we also need to care enough to tell them of God's love. As Pastor Steve says, "the gospel is not intuitive, the Story needs to be told."

If our goal is to make disciples of Jesus, following Christ' example, we need to speak into their lives. So ask the Lord to bring into your life those who might hear Gospel. To those who receive the Gospel, continue to teach them, so that they might mature in the faith.

So if you have been redeemed, say so.

I am redeemed,

Joe

Psalms 107:2a
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,

Obedience Test.

On Wednesday I had a situation happen where I was tested in my willingness to follow a Christ-like conviction. I picked up my kids from a half-day of school in order to take them to lunch. As they jumped in the car, I was met with two incredibly disappointed faces. Apparently they had made their own lunch plans with their friends and I was royally messing that up. So I called their friends' Mom and we arranged for our two families to have lunch together. As I'm driving to Chik-Fil-A, I panic and realize that I'm on my way to a lunch where it's me, this mom and our kids.....Not good.

One of the convictions that has been handed down to me by wise mentors is 'to never be alone with a person of the opposite sex.' So as I'm driving I panic and frantically try to figure out how I can get out of this awkward situation. I had no choice but to call this Mom and explain to her my conviction. Thankfully, she understood. I ended up dropping my kids off and then going over to Kroger across the street where I ate lunch by myself. As awkward and lonely as my little lunch was, I was reminded of the daily cost of following Christ and avoiding the temptation to compromise.

John Bevere comments that 'in God’s eyes, partial or selective obedience is the same as rebellion to His authority. It is the evidence of a lack of the fear of God.' There will be times in our life when we have to follow God and it's awkward, hard, lonely, and scary. There will be many times when there is a tremendous cost to follow Jesus and the people all around us won't understand. I am reminded of the words of Jesus in Matthew 19:29, "29 And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will have eternal life."

So when our obedience is tested today, let's trust Jesus. He is faithful.

in Christ,

Brian

Sanctuary.

I’m writing this on a gloomy day. It is raining.

This week a friend of mine had the sad duty of saying goodbye to her father. I affectionately refer to her as superwoman because of her strength and perseverance in all circumstances that come her way and her steadfast faith in God all the while.

Browsing through my itunes library I rediscovered this song Steve Dupree showed me a while ago by the trio Red Horse. It is a song perfect for anyone going through going through trials and sadness, battles and despair. A song that says despite all the things I go through, we have a safe place in the love of God.

It is called Sanctuary. Here are the lyrics.



Yeah though I walk through the valley of the shadow thou art with me
though my heart's been torn on fields of battle thou art with me
though my trust is gone and my faith not near
in love's sanctuary thou art with me

Through desolation's fire and fear's dark thunder thou art with me
through the sea of desires that drag me under thou art with me
though I've been traded in like a souvenir
on love's sanctuary thou art with me

Through the doubter's gloom and the cynic's sneer thou art with me
in the crowded rooms of a mind unclear thou art with me
though I'll walk for a while down a trail of tears
in love's sanctuary thou art with me



Hailey