This is a Text I'm so glad I responded to.

Texting

I have used texting a lot to communicate with my wife and children.

I use to text my son from downstairs in our home. He would be just upstairs, but it was a great way to "suggest" it might be nearing a time for lights out..... or time for a friend to go home. It was discreet, direct, but still personal.

It's great being able to send a quick word of love and encouragement to Jane, even while she is in the middle of teaching choral music to 200 middle schoolers inside the loop.

And I still communicate direction and counsel to my son at college, without sabotaging his journey toward independence.

Isn't it great that God the Father send His living Text, over a great distance to speak His love directly into the lives of the people.

John 1:14

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Word,

Joe McKinney
Pastor of Creative Arts
StoneBridge Church

Your Great Name.

I took the day off today to rest and catch up on some chores around the house. As I was working I was listening to Max McClain read Luke Chapter 3. Max is this incredible orator with a really cool English accent and he supposedly has the entire Bible memorized. On my ipod I have the audio version of the 4 gospels with Max reading them. Sometimes when I listen to a passage read it stands out to me in a fresh way. Today this little verse stood out to me in Luke 3:16 "John answered them all, 'I baptize you with water, but One more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.'

Our eternal destinies are truly and completely tied to Jesus Christ. it is truly a wonderul and beautiful day when a person crosses over from death to life and trusts jesus as Lord and is baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit. On the other hand their is no scarier and more horrific thing than to reject Jesus and to meet Him as judge and the One who baptizes with the unquenchable fires of judgment. Of all the horrific judgments and catostropic events in the book of Revelation, the event that creates the most fear and horror among the people of the earth is the coming of Jesus Christ on the white horse. Jesus Christ is truly holy, awesome, majestic, loving, powerful, and on and on. The only question that truly matters when it's all said and done is 'Who do you say Jesus Christ is?' Will we either know Him as Savior or will we know Him as Judge?

Eternally grateful to the One who gave His life for me!

Brian

Guard Your Heart.

Proverbs 4:23 says Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

Today, we had lunch with some friends after church at a Chinese restaurant, as we finished and the fortune cookies came round, one of my friends handed me his fortune. He said this one was for me. It said, "Be brave enough to live creatively."

Why does it take bravery, to live creatively. I believe creativity flows from the heart. The word courage come from the same root as the word for heart. The reason it takes bravery to leave creatively is that if we become discouraged, we stop trying. We become disheartened.

The creative process has so much failure built into it, that if we lack courage, we simply will simply quit long before the end result can be achieved.

What if Edison had quit after more than 1,000 attempts to invent the first long-lasting electric light bulb led to bulbs that only stayed lit for a few minutes. One of Edison's colleagues asked him, "Mr. Edison, don't you feel you are a failure?" Lacking any sense of vanity, he answered, "Not at all. Now, I definitely know more than a thousand ways how NOT to make a light bulb."

What if he had let the colleague's comment discourage him? We might be reading this by candle light.

What does it take to discourage you? That's how courageous is defined.

In 1 Chronicles 28:20 David also said to Solomon his son, Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished.

Proverbs 15:13 says, A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.

Don't allow anyone to crush your spirit. Be strong and courageous and do the work.

Guard your heart, your creative life could be the one that touches another life with God's light and love.

Joe

Anticipate Him.

Having been gone the last few weekends, it was very refreshing to be back worshiping with you all on Sunday. In our weekly meeting, the design team was talking about the service and Joe said something that has stuck with me since; there is a certain expectation that adds to the environment on Sunday mornings. We expect great music, we expect a great message, we expect to feel God’s presence.

I love the line in “Waiting Here for You” that says, “we come with expectation…”. I can’t help but think that this expectation plays a part in things like church events and mission trips as well. I know when I look back on my trips to Latvia, there is an anticipation for what God is going to do. I find myself excited and drawing closer to Him because I feel He has shown up in big ways. But you know what is funny? God doesn’t have to “show up”, He’s always there. Maybe if I had that same sense of expectation in my day to day affairs I would be more in tune to Him. So as I begin to anticipate more from the God who never fails, I challenge you to do the same. Don’t wait until worship on Sunday mornings or trips around the world; expect His presence today.

Waiting on Him,

Lindsey

Our God Is Love.

I am excited to help lead a new worship song this coming weekend out of Hillsong Church called 'Our God is Love'. The song comes from the verses below out of 1 John 4. I particularly love the line 'our fear is overcome' as it's easy to allow our fears to hold us captive. When we encounter the love of God we are truly set free, and, in Him, we are fully forgiven, accepted and made clean. His love empowers us and gives us courage to face whatever obstacles and challenges come our way.

10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.'...18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear,'...16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

Verse 1:
Every soul every beating heart
Every nation and every tongue
Come find hope in the love of the Father
Verse 2:
All creation will bow as one
Lift their eyes to the risen Son
Jesus Savior forever and after
Chorus:
This is love
Jesus came and died and gave His life for us
Let our voices rise and sing for all He's done
Our fear is overcome
Our God is love
Our God is love
Verse 3:
Every distant and broken heart
Every prayer every outstretched arm
Finding hope in the love of the Father
Verse 4:
Age to age let His praises rise
All the glory for all of time
Jesus Savior forever and after
Bridge:
Age to age we will be singing
In the light of all He's done
All the earth everyone singing
In the wonder of His love

Come As You Are.

Who is welcome at StoneBridge? Who are we reaching out to?

I heard a church slogan today from Pastor Steve, we both liked a lot. It was, "We're the perfect church for imperfect people."

That's what we believe here at StoneBridge, because that is Jesus' mission and ministry.

Jesus said,

But go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. Matthew 9:13

19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. But wisdom is proved right by her deeds. Matthew 11:19

17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. Mark 2:17


I want to be in the company of those who have come to Jesus, without pretense, had their sins forgiven and are continually overwhelmed at the depth of the Father's grace and mercy. I want StoneBridge to be a place where you can come as you are.

Jesus tells the story of one who demonstrated her love to him by washing His feet with her tears and drying them with her hair.

He said of this woman,............... Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown.
But whoever has been forgiven little loves little. Luke 7:47

May StoneBridge be a place where we love much, because we've been forgiven much. And I pray that we will show that love by awesome worship and an even more awesome welcoming of every friend that Jesus brings our way.

Part of the Ragamuffin Band,

Joe

Little Pink Felt Purse.

Yesterday, my daughter Emily (7 years old) and I sat in church together. It was a great time of worshiping God through songs like 'I will follow', 'Waiting here for you' and 'Revelation Song'. So I was just singing and worshiping God but my little girl next to me kept distracting me in a good way. I particularly was distracted during the quieter moments of songs where you really hear people singing. What I heard was an amazing sound, my daughter belting out words of praise to her heavenly father. One thing that hit me was that she was not afraid to sing out with all she had. In fact the guy in front of us made a point to turn around and tell her, 'what a beautiful voice you have' as he clearly heard her singing as well.

Another teachable moment for me was the offering. As soon as we entered the worship center, Emily was asking me, 'have they taken the offering yet!' and I assured her that they had not. She had never asked me about that before. I then noticed that she was carrying this little pink felt purse proudly in her arms that had the remaining two dollars of her tooth fairy money (she later told us she had given the other 2 dollars and change to Ingred Michelle, the Compassion child our church supports). Finally the moment came where the ushers were approaching with the offering baskets. Emily was excitedly moving around in her chair. For a moment I thought she was going to lose patience and just run towards the nearest usher and tackle him with her money, but I was able to contain her until our turn came. As the basket came to her she quickly extracted the two dollars (completely emptying her purse) and placed it in the basket.

I walked away from that experience very challenged by my little girl. Do I worship God unashamedly and boldly like she does? Do I get excited about giving to God and His work like she does? This moment my daughter was teaching and challenging me. I think about 1 Timothy 4:12 that says, '12 Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.' 'God, help me to have faith like a child today and dare to trust You in a more complete and deep way!'

in Christ,

Brian

Today, Our Youngest Son Went To College.

So the dorm room is a bit crowded, but cozy. The carpet Jane found was a nice finishing touch. One that will be even more appreciated when winter in Denton brings a chill to the tile floor. He seems pleased with his new digs. And why not, his roommate is one of his life long childhood best friends, his older brother and his wife live only a few minutes away. His dorm is already a serious man cave, with computers, guitars, blue ray with flat screen, fridge, microwave, etc. There are at least two great churches in the area. He's just fine.

But are we? Empty nest after 27 years of parenting.

When our oldest son went to college, my wife tells about trying to put on a happy face.

But Peter our youngest son with wisdom beyond his years, said "Mom, sometimes you just need to sit with the sadness".

So for a time we may just sit with the sadness.


Though a little melancholy, we will trust and entrust. We will trust God with our son and with this new season in our lives. And we entrust our son to be strong in the Lord.

There is a famous blessing in the old testament called the Mizpah blessing. It says “May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other". I am trusting my heavenly Father with all that concerns my son.

I am also entrusting my son, to share the good news of God's grace to others.

2 Timothy 2:1-2
1 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.


Trusting and entrusting. A good place to be on this exciting and somewhat melancholy day.

Joe

I Wanna Be In The Light.

Last weekend David and I were in Denver doing some apartment shopping and we had the opportunity to visit a church on Sunday. Being on staff at Stonebridge, it had been a long time since either of us had visited a church other than our own, so we were very excited to experience something different. One thing that we really loved about this church was the message that was presented. They had been going through a series on Revelation, which can be a pretty big topic to tackle, but this particular week was all about Heaven and what Revelation 21 says the New Jerusalem is going to be like. Some of David and I’s favorite conversations to have are on Heaven; we love to talk about what we think it will be like. The coolest thing about it is no matter how elaborate we make our description it’s got nothing on the real thing.

On Sunday the pastor shared a verse I had not read in a long time. Revelation 21:23 says, “And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light.” I think the first time I read this I did not grasp how huge this verse is. In the new city there will be no sun, there will be no moon. God’s glory alone is enough. That is so hard for my mind to fathom…the only light needed is provided by the glory of God. We will literally live by the light of His glory, how cool is that?? So today as you go through your day, imagine what it will be like to bask in the glory of our Heavenly Father because, as believers, that is what we have to look forward to.

Walking in His light,

Lindsey

Knock, Knock.

5Then he said, "Imagine what would happen if you went to a friend in the middle of the night and said, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread. 6 An old friend traveling through just showed up, and I don't have a thing on hand.' 7 "The friend answers from his bed, 'Don't bother me. The door's locked; my children are all down for the night; I can't get up to give you anything.' 8 "But let me tell you, even if he won't get up because he's a friend, if you stand your ground, knocking and waking all the neighbors, he'll finally get up and get you whatever you need. 9 "Here's what I'm saying: Ask and you'll get; Seek and you'll find; Knock and the door will open. 10 "Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need (Luke 11:5-10a - the message)

The whole point of this parable is very simple. Jesus is telling us to be persistent. This guy shows up at a late hour and the only reason he finally gets what he wants is purely because he won't go away and he keeps on knocking and ringing the door bell and asking to be let in the house and given what he wants. There is a friend of mine who has been lifting up an acquaintance of hers for years now on a weekly basis. Every time I see her request I am very touched by her relentless undying commitment to beg and plead for God to touch her friend's life. I believe that God is going to honor her request one day. What do you want to see God do? Who do you want to see God save? How do you want to see God intervene? Your heavenly Father invites you to wear Him out and to keep asking, seeking and knocking....Don't give up!

in Christ,

Brian

Slow Down, Come Rest.

Busy, busy me, full of self-sufficiency
I have tried so fervently to earn Your love
But any joy that I once found is wearing off, is winding down
And I can hear You in the madness calling out

When You say come, rest -should I be working so hard
When You say love, rest -did You want hands or my heart
'Cause I have done my best and still I miss the mark
But I remember You said it’s done
So I come
I Come to the water's edge
I rest in Your promises
That all You ever wanted was me here
And if there's nothing left that I can do
To earn the love I need from You
Then all that's left to want is to be near
So I come...when You say come...
Come Rest- Lindsay McCaul

We think that to be Christ-like is to be constantly moving and doing physical acts on His behalf. While going on missions and volunteering is fantastic, it’s also important that we slow down and take moments to just rest in His presence. A favorite verse of mine is Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
“Be still and know that I am God”, just that much is enough to knock me into silent awe trying to really appreciate the meaning of those words. We worship the God of all creation, and there are times when He just wants us to stop and be with Him. In this fast-paced time we live in, our time can turn into a precious commodity; shouldn’t we share it with the maker of everything we are?

Slow down, Come rest
Hailey

Passive to Passionate.

'Behold this was the guilt of Sodom, she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease,

but she did not help the poor and needy." - Ezekiel 16:49. One of the most famous pictures of judgment in

the Old Testament was the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone from heaven. When

people think of Sodom they think of a city that was filled with godless perversion and sexual immorality (which

was definitely running rampant) but the above verse gives a different indictment against it. What really

brought about judgment upon that city was not sins of commission (outwardly transgressing a law) but rather

sins of ommission (failing to do the right thing or being passive and lazy).



God desires a people who are passionate about Hm. Steve has been teaching a series over the summer entitled

'Chasing Passion' and it is true, God made us to live passionately for Him. Sometimes we reduce Christianity

to a religion of very tame and nice people who sit in a corner and keep their heads buried in the sand.

However God once us to be engaged in what's happening in our culture around us. He wants us paying

attention to the poor and needy and feeling their hurts and doing something about it. I tend to gravitate towards

'careless ease' and comfort and I have to really be intentional about being an activist for Christ and not shying

away from the broken world around us. So may God help you and me to care deeply about the things that

break His heart today and may they break our hearts as well to the point of action!



fighting passivity,



Brian

Tearing Down Walls.

As many of you know, our team returned from Riga, Latvia this past Monday. There isn't much i don't love about this trip but I am always amazed at how God works during the time we are there. If you don't know much about the trip, we spend a week at a youth camp with many orphans and teens from Riga, many of whom speak little if any English. It would seem that our work over there is unimportant; I mean what can we really do in a week with a bunch of teens who we can't communicate with? But one thing we realized is that God is in the business of tearing down walls. Sometimes He comes crashing through and we are left amazed and speechless at what we have witnessed. Other times He demands our patience, as He removes one stone at a time. Have you ever felt called to do something or say something but you worry it would be pointless? If your goal is to bring glory to His name, God is capable of doing huge things through unlikely circumstances. So don't limit our Heavenly Father; He will impress you every time.

-Lindsey

Breakfast Taco Epiphany.

So this morning as I was driving into work I started contemplating my food options...oatmeal, oatmeal or oatmeal and then like a ray of sunshine through a dark and dreary day I remembered that a cousin of mine had given me a plate of home-made breakfast tacos that were waiting to be consumed in the church fridge...yes!!! (I get excited about food...pretty pathetic) As I'm stuffing my face with these tacos and some left over Pace Picanted sauce I found in the fridge I started thinking about the story behind these tacos.
Yesterday I went over to my cousin's house to drop something off and she hands me this plate of tacos. I then picked up on the fact that she makes these every Wednesday morning because she knows the landscape guys are coming to mow the yard and she likes to bless them with something they love...a freshly prepared taco. I thought about his verse out of Philippians 2 which says "3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." The bottom line of this verse is.....are you an others-centered person or a self-centered person?"
Jesus' whole mission on earth from His Father was to pour Himself out in service and sacrifice for others. This can happen in big ways but mostly in little every day ways. What if I started thinking more like my cousin? I would think...who am I going to see today? How could I serve and bless them? How could I encourage them? Could I write them a note? Bake some cookies? Run an errand for them? Engage them in a meaningful conversation? How can I really put others before myself today?

in His service,
Brian

I Lift My Hands.

Brian and I will soon be introducing a new worship song by Chris Tomlin called "I Lift My Hands".

Most songs about lifting our hands, have to do with joyful praising of God. This song is from a much different place.

This song is about when we are weary. This is lifting our hands in despair. This is a song about asking God to restore our faith.

Some people believe Christians sugar coat the tough times in life. I think sometimes we do. But I believe every human emotion and struggle can be found in the Psalms.

The text comes from Psalms 28:2.

2 Hear my cry for mercy

as I call to you for help,

as I lift up my hands

toward your Most Holy Place.

There's no sugar coating here. Real hurt. Real emotions. Transparency.

Here are the lyrics to I Lift My Hands.

Be still, there is a healer
His love is deeper than the sea
His mercy, it is unfailing
His arms are fortress for the weak

Let faith arise
Let faith arise

I lift my hands to believe again
You are my refuge, You are my strength
As I pour out my heart
These things, I remember
You are faithful, God, forever

Be still, there is a river
That flows from Calvary's tree
A fountain for the thirsty
Pure grace that washes over me

Let faith arise
Let faith arise

I lift my hands to believe again
You are my refuge, You are my strength
As I pour out my heart
These things, I remember
You are faithful, God, forever

So let's lift our hands to God in joy or by faith in the struggle.

Joe

Day at the Beach.

Today I stood at the beach, looking out to the ocean.

There's something about the ocean that reminds me of God's greatness. As I look out to the ocean, it fills me with a sense that God is limitless and I am any thing but. This sometimes causes me to feel very small and insignificant.

But it also makes me think of the of the vastness of God's love. That thought makes me feel highly significant and highly valued.

There's an old hymn called "The Love of God". Read it slowly. Maybe twice. Allow the fullness of God's love overwhelm you.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Ephesians 3:18
may have power, together with all the Lords holy people,
to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

Romans 8:38-39
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Scripture is clear, God's love for us through Christ won't be stopped, and is so great we cannot fathom it's depth.

Now that is love like an ocean,

Joe

Jesus Christ, God in the Flesh.

On Saturday our church participated in the The Response, a day of prayer for our nation, via a web stream from Reliant Stadium. During the course of the day one of the main things emphasized was the name of Jesus. To be a Christian is to truly lift up, worship, and speak of the name of Jesus. To simply say 'God' does not truly identify clearly enough who we are talking about these days. Many people when they hear God may be thinking the God of just the Old Testament (not revealed in Jesus), or Allah, or Mother Earth, or my inner self, etc. The point is God has revealed Himself most clearly and visibly in Jesus Christ.

I was reflecting on this verse out of John 1 today which says, 'And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.' What an amazing truth that the Word, Jesus Christ, took on a body and walked this earth in our shoes for 33 years. How awesome to think that Holy God, Creator and Sustainer of the vast universe, came into our neighborhood in order to feel our very temptations, struggles and aches and pains and then ultimately to carry the burden of all of our sins to the cross. He is a God that gets us and knows us. He is a God that is full of grace (unmerited favor, unfailing and pursing love) and truth. His grace draws us in and embraces us and washes us clean and His truth sets us free to have a new direction and purpose and calling in our life. So today let's boldly praise and proclaim and speak confidently of our God revealed fully in His Son Jesus Christ!

Rescued by Jesus,

Brian

Yearning.

Hello, this is Hailey and I’ve been on staff for a short while now, working with Joe and Lindsey to help make Sunday go smoothly. In the past few months I have become good friends with a woman who was looking for a church she could call home. A place to help her with the longing inside that she already knew could only be filled by God. We ride horses together and during our outings I would tell her a little about Stonebridge, so she visited a couple of Sundays and fell in love.

She has jumped into her walk with Christ with both feet; signing up for bible studies, attending every Sunday, and committing to being baptized this weekend. Every week she tells me how the message is just what she needs to hear. She has just been filled with a visible joy and passion to learn more about God and grow her relationship with Him.

I love to hear her questions and offer the best answers that I can; but as much as she thinks she is learning from me, I’m learning so much more from her. Learning to rediscover my passion and need for Christ.

We all have this need within us. A devotional I read the other day said, “We are designed to yearn for God”. Psalm 42:1 says, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God”

Being surrounded by ministry and trying to make sure everything functions properly can, at times, dull my senses and make it more difficult to really let go of everything and rejoice in Him fully. But seeing someone come as a child, so eager to learn, inspires me to not ignore that yearning inside me and let my love for Christ shine outwardly, like my friend does.

Psalm 34:5 Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.
Being the first Sunday of the month, we will be having baptisms after the second service and we would love to see many of you at the baptisms as we celebrate the commitment of those who are giving their lives to Christ.

Yearning for Christ,
Hailey

Here & There.

Today I was reflecting on Deuteronomy 6:4-7 which says, 4 "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. 5 And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again."

You know whatever or whoever you love, you will talk about. The true object of our worship just cannot be contained inside because it is just constantly leaking out of us. This passage challenges me because it reminds me that my true love and devotion to God is not observed on a Sunday morning during a church service but is seen by my children and my wife. This verse says that we are to have an all-consuming love for our God. It suggests that when we wake up in the morning, when we are hanging out on the couch, driving in the car, eating dinner together in the evening and going to bed at night that Jesus and our relationship with Him should be an inseparable part of our speech and conduct.

How am I doing? How are you doing? Not only am I affected when I give God my left overs and half-hearted worship but my wife and children observe the blatant inconsistency and disconnect. Recently I was told that 70% of 23-30 year olds are dropping out of church. This is the highest drop out rate of any generation ever studied. My kids desperatley need to see me living out a consistent life of worship from the chair in the worship center to the chair in our kitchen table to the driver's seat of my car. Lord, may I be an authentic whole-hearted worshiper of You!

in Christ,

Brian

Purity- Worship a matter of the Heart.

What is in our heart directly affects our experience as we worship God.
First, just to worship God, we first must have the faith to believe that He exists.

Hebrews 11:6 says without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.


I think the Psalmist give us great insight into how our own hearts' operate.
While the culture definitely makes it difficult to maintain a pure heart, the Psalmist is clear that purity is possible.

Psalms 119:9-11

9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By living according to your word.

10 I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.

11 I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.

\
So I see four truth's in our quest for a pure heart.

1 Living according to God's word

2. Seeking God with all our heart.

3. Seeking God's help so we don't stray

4. Memorizing and meditating on God's word.

While all of us are ultimately depending on the sacrifice of Jesus for our righteousness, we are also aware that God's word bring's purity and faith into our heart.

Ephesians 5:25-26

25 Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,

So go on the offensive with God's word as your weapon and fight for a pure heart.

Until the Whole World Hears,

Joe McKinney

The How and Why.

The great commandment that Jesus gives us is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as ourself. In 1 Corinthians 13 it says that you can be an incredible speaker, have amazing faith, give away all your money, and even be wiling to be martyred but if you do not have love it's all a noisy cymbal and counts for nothing. I was reading this morning in Revelation 2 where Jesus is speaking to the church in Ephesus and He says the following: '2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.'
He goes onto say if they do not repent, or make a serious change, He will remove their lampstand out of its place or they would cease to be a church at all. So they had alot of noteworthy actions and deeds and their stand for doctrinal purity was truly commendable but the spirit in which they conducted themselves was completely off. These passages remind me that it's not just about what I do but why and how I do it that really matters to God. Our God sees our hearts and He knows with perfectly clarity our inner motives behind our actions. I think this is why worship is so important. Whenever I spend time in personal or corporate worship and prayer it draws me back to the Creator and Author of love and I realize once again that I can only love because He first loved me.

Striving to operate out of love,
Brian