1. Praise God for the new year, new beginnings.  I sense 2009 will be a year of exciting things to come for me, my family and for PureHeart Ministries.
2. I praise God for each of you.  Prayer has been a priority for PureHeart from the beginning.  Your prayers are powerful.  We would not be where we are today without each of you.
3. I have been amazing and blessed by the young men who are partnering with PHM.  I praise God for them.  
4. Continue to pray for Brad, Ryan and me.  Pray for our marriages and our children.  
5. Pray for God’s direction for PHM.  Pray and ask God to guide us and direct us in areas concerning the ministry and it’s direction and focus.  
6. Pray for the PHM team.  We are planning a leadership retreat.  This is something I’ve wanted to do for the past few years.  

Transforming the hearts of man…

Fighting for the Heart of the Few......

 A Forgetful Heart

 Deuteronomy 4:9 (New International Version)
“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”

This week we continue on our journey to understand the human heart, and we learn that the heart can forget what God has done if we take our eyes and minds off of Him. 

Two things amaze me when I ponder this passage.  First, God’s holy word is absolutely amazing and timeless.  Second, these people had something we do not have; the privilege of seeing God move physically among them! They, or their parents or grandparents, had seen the pillar of cloud in the day and fire in the night. They had seen the Jordan River stop and had walked through on dry ground! How could their faith ever grow stale after seeing such miracles? Simple…they let the memories fade. 

I think the final pieces of God’s creation, first man and then woman, are often one of God’s greatest joys and one of His greatest sources of disappointment, all in one.  Oh, how things have not changed; another reminder why we must be intentional in our pursuit of God and living every second of every day in full surrender and in complete obedience.

Forget and Not Slip
One of the games we used to play in youth group was called Secret, I think.  It has been years but the analogy clearly explains what has and does happen. 

Basically, you whisper a short sentence in the ear of the person to your right.  That same sentence is passed from one person to another.  You would be surprised just how different it gets communicated by the time it reaches back to the beginning.  Something is lost in the translation.

I once saw a demonstration of this same principal played out on stage at an ORU chapel service.  The speaker pulled twelve volunteers up on stage to represent the various generations that have gone on before us. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and so on…  They were given a large box containing various items a college student would need.  They were asked to take what they wanted and pass the box to the next person, representing the next generation.  By the time the box reached the end of the row, it had nothing left in it but a stick of deodorant! 

Now, think of the “sentence” in the Secret game and the “box of items” in the chapel illustration as God’s truths.  Words can be lost, dropped and changed.  The blessings and truths found in the box can be picked over and the full blessings the box contained can be missed by those further down the line. 

And how easily the heart and mind can let truths slip and soon become forgotten if they are not as the above scripture says, “Taught to your children and your children’s children.”  (Steve’s translation) 

Why is this?
I am no expert on this but I have observed some things in life that might help answer that question.

First, you must be proactive in this teaching and understand the eternal value of doing so.  It is easy to be short sighted.  I write from personal experience.  I find it easy to be complacent and not take the personal responsibility to do my teaching. 

Second, people cherry pick the scripture to meet their belief system instead of forming a belief system based on all Scriptures. 

I want to close with a devotional I recently received.  I know that if we learn from it we will be less inclined to forget truth and prevent it from slipping from our hearts.  See if you agree.

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      Profitable Tuesday, December 02, 2008

    All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

    All Scripture is profitable! Knowing this, we cheat ourselves when we do not access every book, every truth, every verse, and every page of our Bibles for the promises and commands God has for us. Because every verse of Scripture is inspired by God and gainful to us, we should not pick and choose which verses we will read and study. We should not claim verses we like and ignore those that convict us! If we are to become mature disciples of Jesus, we must allow every Scripture to speak to us and teach us what God desires us to learn. Scripture enables us to evaluate the soundness of doctrines that are being taught. Scripture ought to be the basis for any reproof or correction we bring to another.

    If you are not firmly grounded in God’s Word, you will be bombarded with an assortment of doctrines, lifestyles, and behaviors and you will have no means to evaluate whether or not they are of God. You cannot develop a righteous life apart from God’s Word. Righteousness must be cultivated. As you fill your mind with the words of God, and as you obey His instructions, He will guide you in the ways of righteousness. Scripture will equip you for any good work God calls you to do. If you feel inadequate for a task God has given you, search the Scriptures, for within them you will find the wisdom you need to carry out His assignment. Allow the Word of God to permeate, guide, and enrich your life.

Devotion from:  http://www.blackaby.org/devarchive.asp

Please join me praising and praying to God for the following:

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  1. I praise God for the reason for the Christmas season!  I find myself hustling frantically around this time of year.  We have been blessed to attend several band concerts and church Christmas musicals that have been truly worship!  I praise God for those times!
  2. PHM Co-founder, Ryan Doe and wife Johanna are proud parents of a healthy baby boy.  Watch for the upcoming winter 2008 newsletter for more details.  Praise God for the miracle of birth!
  3. We praise God for the 2008 winter graduating class of 2008.  Pray for the graduates as they begin a new chapter of life.  Pray they will take the life lessons learned at OWU and through PHM and minster God’s truth to a hurting world wherever that may be.
  4. This will be the final note and prayer request from me for 2008.  Thank you so very much for your faithfulness, your prayers and your financial support.  Your prayers carry this ministry.
  5. Continue to pray for PHM.  Pray for God’s guidance, direction and vision for a new year.  Pray that we will be sensitive to His voice and direction. 
  
  

Merry Christmas and God Bless
From the Heart,
Steve

1 Chronicles 16:8
"Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done."

1. Praise God that despite being hard pressed, crushed; perplexed, persecuted, and at times feeling abandoned and struck down, we have not been destroyed and have not lost the God given vision and passion that we have been call to.  (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)  For over five years God's been touching lives through PureHeart Ministries

2. I thank God and praise Him for our many blessings, health, family, friends, body of Believers who stand with us and cover us in prayer.  Thank you God and thank you!

3.  Pray for each of the young men that partner with us.

4.  Continue to pray for Brad, Ryan and me.  Pray for our marriages, families and us as individuals trying to remain balanced in this calling.  Pray especially for Ryan and Johanna as they make final preparations for the arrival of their baby. 

5.  I praise God and thank Him for His word!

Sharing and Praising God from the Heart,
Steve