thisispressplay.

Press Play Hits Phoenix (Episode #2) from Press Play on Vimeo.

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Here I am humbled by the love that you give
Forgiven so that I can forgive
Here I stand, knowing that I'm your desire
Sanctified by glory and fire

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i'm so small. but You're so big.

driving truth.

once again, Thursday service @ the dreamcenter was a refreshing midweek boost--the thought-provoking and challenging issue of motives and intentions. What's really driving the truth that we're pushing in our cart? Pastor Brad Reed speaks on Driving Truth.

Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Simply put: blessed are those who have no ulterior motives. 

Pastor Brad went on to touch on enlightened self-interest, especially in business. The intention to say that you have someone's best interests at heart and yet have another agenda behind it. Gap's (RED) products, Starbucks Shared Planet, Budweiser's Drink Responsibly campaigns... these are all true, but what's driving these truths? 

whatever you connect with emotionally, you support.

Matthew 6 ¹"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

 ²"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 

So everything we do must be motivated by the love of Jesus Christ. The point being: you can have Truth in your cart, but if the devil's pushing it, no one's going to receive it. What's pushing the agenda of your life right now?

In Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira and how they kept part of the proceeds of the sale of their land and not being honest about it. They wanted the 'perception' that they were giving all they had but they were really not. They could have told the apostles that they were keeping part of it etc, the point being that they weren't truthful. They had an agenda of their own, while parading the Truth in the cart they were pushing in front of them.

So what now? 

Hebrews 4:¹²For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart

If we want to have pure intentions in whatever we do, we can't be doing it on our own. For the spirit might be willing but the flesh is weak. We need the Word of God to expose us for what we really are--the carnal nature that we possess.

James 1:²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴ for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. ²⁵ But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. 

So looking into the mirror on a daily basis, and asking God to show you what areas are lacking, respond. 

Get in the Word.

Pastor tells us that a simple gauge of your intentions is your dependence on God now versus your dependence on God when you first got saved. 

Paul's progression:

1st: he says he's the least of all the apostles

2nd: he says he's the least of all the saints (Christians)

3rd: he says he's a sinner in need of a Savior

at the end: He's a sinner of whom he's chief (the Chief of Sinners). 

wow. Staying broken and getting more broken for God. 

Gauge: if you sit consistently in church and think that the message is not for you all the time, do a heart check. 

Is giving God glory what's driving your life, or giving yourself glory? If you aren't, your life won't be as fulfilled as it can be. 

Blessed are the pure in heart.

the amazing part? God never expects you to change on your own. Just ask, and it shall be given.

Take all of me.

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Hillsong + Delirious? - Majesty (Here I Am)

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Episode #1 - An Introduction from Press Play on Vimeo.

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get the pre-release here.

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rain down.

It rained in LA today. Actual rain. Pouring rain. Blessings from heaven. 

Had to wait it out inside GFS so I plugged in my earphones and turned on my ipod, and was again refreshed by a beautiful song i've heard some time ago and wanted to share, but somehow didn't get to. Till now.  

had a long moment of thanksgiving. of the Lord's favor, and His grace. of how graciously He has helped me, even those moments when i thought it was all me. it's funny. it's exciting, really, to lean on His grace every breathing moment, and then marvel at how blessed you really are. like the presentations i've had so far this semester, all rather unprepared, but trusting in God's favor really makes the difference. i wonder if it's the light of Jesus they see. 

the first verse of the song didn't take long to hit me. i don't know why, but it's this God-given miracle that i keep coming back to. that gives me strength. dwelling on a couple other issues, it's also funny how skeptical of other people's intentions you can get because you can't resist the temptations that you encounter. but then God helps you overcome all of that and then you realize that you actually can. it's like a light-bulb that turns on inside your head. you look and see where you were from, and now where you're at, and you're that much more grateful.  

Call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household. :)

Gateway Worship - We Cry Out

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Father of life seated on Your throne of grace
It’s only by Your mercy we are saved
Lord, You have said if we call upon Your name
We and our families will be saved

release.

Leviticus 14

49 To purify the house he is to take two birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop. 50 He shall kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot. 51Then he is to take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn and the live bird, dip them into the blood of the dead bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 52 He shall purify the house with the bird's blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn. 53 Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields outside the town. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean."

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familiar? :) we're alive. 

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v50 He shall kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot. that's Jesus in an earthern vessel right there. He as a man. 

v51 the live bird, dipped into the blood of the dead bird and the fresh water--we're covered in His blood and the washing of water by the Word. 

v53 we go free. 

shout.

can't wait for the album release.

haha and the acoustics at church are so much better.