Everyone wants to get to the other side, where the good things are. There must be more to this life than this. This isn’t what I signed up to do. I can remember my first day in the military. I thought, “This is not why I signed up. This isn’t how they said it would be.” Discipline and training doesn’t just come to us naturally. It would be nice if we were born with all of those attributes, but in reality, we are born with all the attributes of sin. What a mess? How do we get On The Other Side?

There is only one way that I know of to get to the other side and that, my friend, is through the cross of Jesus Christ. If you are like me, we’ve done things our way. It reminds me of the song, “My Way” by Frank Sinatra. “Let the records show, I took the blows and did it my way!” Been there! Done that! I have the scars and wounds to prove it. I like the Lord’s way better. I want this to be my song. “Let the records show, He took the blows and I did it His way.” I want peace in my life. I want to live in love, grace and mercy. I’ve tasted His love and it is good. I’ve shared in some of His sorrows and I see life from a whole new perspective. I’ve been in some of His resurrection power and let me tell you, there is nothing that compares to this.

Why would I embrace the cross and let go of my own life? It wasn’t easy and it was really impossible without His grace. This life is really a journey and each day brings a new segment. When I was going through the bad times, there was so much fear around me. Each fear I faced, brought a new discovery of who He was. He kept bringing me through every situation. There were many times I thought things were impossible and yet here I am. There were things I deserved and yet grace and mercy prevailed, time and time again. It was during the hard times I discovered the depths of His love. By laying down my life, my desires and my way of thinking, I found His plan and purpose for my life. I am doing the things that fulfill my life and I live in peace. There is nothing better than this. Most of my fears are now dead and buried and my faith continues to grow. This is what I call living.

Each of us has a God-given destiny and purpose. It is up to each of us to choose His or ours. We can’t blame our choices on someone else. In the end, we are the only ones responsible for our life. I challenge you to get to know the Lord. Dare to face the biggest challenges of your life and walk in the greatest blessings also. Things are not what they seem. Reality can change in an instant. Miracles happen everyday. The Lord loves you and He wants the best for you. He can take any bad situation and turn it for good.

I encourage you to check out some of my other posts. There are a lot on encouragement, how to get to know the Lord, and how to deal with certain situations. I have them categorized and also listed alphabetically by title for each year with a short summary of each. Feel free to share your comments or to write to me on our contact page. People are writing to me from all over the world. Some don’t know where to turn to for help. That is the reason this site exists. Somehow, we need to encourage each other. You and I need to know we are okay and that the Lord loves us. I get encouraged by hearing from you and by helping and praying. Encourage someone today. Smile to others and watch them refocus on something good for an instant. You just changed their life. You just made a difference. Something good happened to them today, YOU. Pass it on. It is great.

Joseph

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Do you ever struggle with the desires of the flesh? You know you want to walk the right way, but the fleshly desires of your humanness are loud and screaming inside to be satisfied. What do you do? How do you overcome? What do you do when you are in the heat of the moment and give in? What do you do afterwards? This struggle, this war within and without never ceases to end. How do we get the victory? How do we overcome? Wars of the Flesh!

Romans 7:21-8:4 …So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! … Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit…

Every time we meet with the law, we meet with defeat! Let me say that again, every time we meet with the law, we meet with defeat! When we try to live up to what we should do, we judge ourselves according to the law. The law has already judged us and we are worthy of death. We can’t help but sin, it is in our nature. There is no escape in the flesh. Paul says we are a prisoner of the law of sin within us. How will we overcome? Who will rescue us? There I go, except by the grace of God. Get this please, and my inner man also, except by grace we are capable of doing the same terrible and horrible things that are done in the world every day. Grace! Grace! Grace! If we can really understand this next scripture, it will set us totally free.

Ephesians 2:8-10 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

So now, if we are saved by grace, and according to Romans, we have been set free from the law of sin and death, why on earth would we ever want to live according to it again? We do, because that is how we were taught. Some church leaders need some kind of hold on their people, they can’t just let them run wild in the Spirit of God and have some fun and overcoming in Him, now can they? Now, this isn’t always the case, a lot of leaders simply don’t know. They don’t understand this passage. Get the whip out and let’s beat ourselves for missing the mark again. Does this sound familiar? It does to me, I’ve done it and sometimes I still get caught up in it. Woe is me, I failed again. SELF-PITY! The devil loves self-pity. He uses this spirit to render mighty men and women of God defenseless. As long as we are in a pity party, we are of no help to the Lord or ourselves. In all fairness, there are also a lot of leaders who understand this truth and operate in it bringing freedom to their groups.

REFOCUS! I am writing this as much to myself as anyone else out there. We are free from the law of sin and death. Focus on Life in the Spirit and you can’t be judged because the righteous requirements of the law have been fully met in Jesus. If we are living in the Spirit, we are the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. We are spotless and blameless and this is according to His word. The law has no more control over us, unless we allow it. The devil cannot blame us anymore unless we accept his judgments, nor can anyone else. We stand guiltless and sinless before the Lord. Is there anyone else that dares to judge us otherwise? Are they God? Do they stand against Him? We are His children and He will protect us.

Do some reading about the prophets and people of old? Were their lives perfect? Did they obey every word? Would you have chosen them to represent God? What about Abraham and his fears and mistakes? Look at David and his adultery with his friend’s wife and if that wasn’t bad enough, he had him set up to be killed on the battlefield. What about Paul and the fact that the Lord chose him as an apostle when he was the guy who was pursuing and killing the disciples. Peter denied the Lord not once, but three times and the Lord still put him in charge of others saying, “Peter, feed my sheep.” We are in good company. We are human. We make mistakes, but praise the Lord that it is by grace that we are saved. We are not under the law, but under grace. This doesn’t give me a license to sin, on the contrary, if I live in the spirit I won’t even focus on sinning or not, I’ll simply live. I’ll be focused on Him and His love. I’ll be focused on the needs of others. I’ll be so caught up in His love, some things simply won’t matter anymore. This is where I want to stay, wrapped up in His love while living here on earth.

There is a higher way to live. Take gravity for instance, for so many years we were taught that what goes up, must come down. Then NASA sent a rocket to the moon and it didn’t come back down. We simply superseded the law of gravity. This is how it is in the Spirit. This is how it is with the way of the eagle, soaring high above the things that would try to bring it down. We too, can fly above our circumstances. We realize they are there and we continue to work towards their resolve, but we can do it in an attitude of love and confidence that we will overcome. This is the difference.

I have posted other articles for your reading. We have free encouraging wallpapers and a questionnaire to help you showcase your desires, talents and abilities. There is also music and an art print on the path of life. Feel free to check back twice a week for new posts and if you know of anyone who needs to be encouraged, send them a link. If I haven’t quite worded something right, please forgive me, I am limited by my own humanness. Please catch the spirit of what I am saying. Let’s give each other the room to make mistakes. If you see any bloopers, feel free to laugh. Enjoy your life. Get caught up in Holy Spirit and your life will take on a new meaning. Check out some of my other posts if you want to know how to get closer to Him. As my friend in London says, “Have a lovely day.”

Joseph

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What do you do when everything goes wrong? Do you end your life? Have you gone through too many years to start over again? Do you feel like you are too old or tired to start all over? When Everything Goes Wrong!

Revelation 12:10-11 “For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”

Have you lost everything? Are you at the bottom of the pit and the way up seems insurmountable? Are you going to give up? Is everything really lost? Does it really matter? Are you just tired and worn out?

I know the feeling. It may have been different circumstances, but I have stood where you are now. Hopeless, alone, rejected, wounded, fearful of what tomorrow will bring. Where will the next meal come from? How will I ever overcome all of this? I am so far down, there can’t possibly be any way out.

Those days have passed. They have faded into the past and only their memory remains. The Lord has been faithful even when I lost all hope. He never gave up on me and He carried me in His arms when I couldn’t go on. He will do the same for you, if you let Him. The Lord isn’t limited by who we think He is or by what someone else says He is like. He is what He proclaimed in the Bible. He is not bound by our religious beliefs. He is not bound by the government or someone’s military might. He is not scared of terrorists. This is His earth and His creation. He created it. He died on the cross to save mankind. He has a purpose and a plan. He will overcome evil and establish His kingdom on the earth. He will wipe the tears away from His people and comfort them in His love.

He is worthy of our praise. I have seen miracle after miracle including physical healings, mental healings, and being translated from one place to another. I’ve felt His presence so heavy, I was unable to stand. He is more real to me than the people around me. He has done this for me and He wants to do the same for you. He wants to have a personal relationship with you. He loves you more than you can imagine. Just think, when He was in the garden of Gethsemane, He knew He was going to die on the cross. He had a choice to make. I believe He saw each and everyone of us and He thought, they are worth it. When He was on the cross, in such agony and pain, He looked up to heaven and said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” It was for you and me so that we could be restored to the Lord.

You are not at the end, my friend. You have only come to a crossroads. It is simply a change in direction and you are never too old to start down this path. Only Jesus Christ knows what you need. He cares enough to interrupt our lives to help us fulfill the purpose we were created. Are you ready for a miracle? If you turn to Him and ask Him for His help, He will. Dare to get to know Him. What do you have to lose?

I have been asked over and over to share my story. I will be starting on it in the upcoming posts. My life, in my opinion, is riddled with mistakes, distractions, and disappointments. I haven’t done the right things, nor made all the right choices. In my opinion, I am not a good candidate for a role model. I’m glad I wasn’t the one choosing. The Lord picked me up in the midst of my misery and changed my life. Lots of things stood against me, but He was on my side. My bloodline was full of unbelievers and sinners and such. My family life was dysfunctional, broken and torn. I had so many fears I didn’t know if I’d ever stand up strong. I searched and I searched for the truth, because I wanted to know. He was right beside me all the time. All I had to do was ask Him for His help. He’s changed my life. It’s been a journey. It’s been a relationship. I still have a ways to go, but I’m glad I made the choice. I can tell you from experience that He is alive. I have seen the miracles. He has healed me and others physically and mentally. He’s not just some words in a history book. He can change your life, if you want Him to do so. Check out these two posts if you want to get to know Him: “Who Do You Trust,” and “In His Presence.”

Since I’ve started this blog, I’ve had people from around the world write to me. You know what, we are all people. We all have emotions and desires. We laugh, we cry, we love, and of course we have the ability to do terrible things. We live under different laws. We have different religious beliefs because of different religious organizations. My goal with this web site is not to answer everyone’s questions. My goal is to encourage you to go on. My goal is to introduce you to the One who has made such a difference in my life. He is not a myth. He is real. One of my thoughts in the beginning was, “If I can just help one person not to commit suicide, that would be worth it for me.” Suicide is making a permanent decision for a temporary problem. It wrecks families and friends. If, for some reason, you don’t believe there is anyone else in the world who cares for you, I am telling you now, I do. You are the reason and there are more than one of you. I am here to tell you that your life wasn’t a mistake. You are not here by accident. You have a purpose and you have a destiny. You just need some help in finding it. Please check out my other blog posts and the web site. If you want, you can write to me from the contact page. I’ll answer as many as I possibly can. I also write new posts based on questions sent to me. Feel free to ask Jesus anything you want, after all He is the One who created you and knows you the best. I have a questionnaire on the site that will help you discover some things about yourself. I have two of my songs on a flash jukebox. As time permits, I will be adding more. There are four encouraging wallpapers available for free to download to your desktop. I also have an art print on the two paths of life. Check these out and I hope they encourage you. Then reach out to others, smile and encourage them. You will be more encouraged just by encouraging others.

Some of my readers have never been inside of a church building. Some do not even have the luxury of being close enough to go. Some won’t come out of their homes because of the fear in their heart. If we never meet, that is okay, but if you leave this earth without meeting Him, you will have lost everything. If you really want to know the truth, then search for it with all of your heart and you will find it. You are at the end anyway, so what do you have to lose. You are not alone. He is with you. All you have to do is ask. If I don’t meet you here on this earth, I hope to see you in heaven. May you live a full and victorious life. May the Lord fill you with His peace, guide your way, and make Himself known to you. May you find your purpose in this life, journey down the path of life, and fulfill your destiny.

Joseph

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Are you at the bottom? Are you so low, you can’t see any possible way out? Do you feel like your world is falling apart and there is no one around who can hear you scream inside? Are you around friends, but they can’t see you where you are? Is there no hope left? Is the flickering flame about to go out? Are others trying to help, but their advice is just all wrong? Down But Not Out!

Still, there is hope. You are reading this. Time hasn’t run out. Don’t find a permanent solution to a temporary problem! Suicide is not an option. It is a bad permanent decision for a temporary problem. What you are going through is temporary! I know, I’ve been there. We find ourselves in a hole thinking there is no way out. Our emotions lie to us. It is only a temporary thing, but it feels like it will never end. What if tomorrow things were going to change and it would be the major turning point in our lives that we had been waiting for so long, but the only problem was that we checked out of life the day before. That would be a catastrophe! Just one more day would have made a difference. The truth is we don’t know when, but if we give up, we are guaranteed to never make it.

Scripture says that there is nothing that can come against us that is not common to others. In other words, someone else has faced the same kinds of things we are going through. In my opinion, some find a way to make it through and others succumb to the pressure. I personally believe that the best place to come to in our lives is to come to the end of ourselves. Unless we come to this place, we don’t realize who we are.

When I was young, I thought I was invincible. I was very good in school and my grades reflected it and most of it came naturally. I didn’t have to study much. I was also very good with my hands. I came to a place of believing I could accomplish anything I set my hands to do. When I came to the end of myself, I couldn’t do a single thing right. Things that had come so easily before, were now beyond my grasp. We all have our weaknesses. It wasn’t until I came to this place that I was able to discover just how much I really depend on the Lord. Without Him, we can simply do nothing. If He forgets to give us our next breath, we simply die. If you don’t believe me, you still have a ways to go. We are the fortunate ones. Some people never experience the privilege of coming to the end of themselves. They think they are God’s gift to the earth. They live a life of emptiness, trying to fill a gaping whole inside with relationships and everything else that looks good within their sight. They’re the ones who live a life of misery and end up dead inside and lost for eternity. They have everything on this earth they need, yet they miss heaven in eternity. They gain the whole world, but in the end they lose their souls.

Let me tell you again, you are in a good place and if you make the right choices, it can become a turning point in your life. Later on, you will rejoice at having the opportunity to find out who your friends really are, what the real meaning in life is, and just Who the Lord really is. Ask Him to make Himself real to you. Pour out your heart to Him and then listen as He shares His with you. He cares for you more than you will ever know. He knows what is going to happen tomorrow and He knows your destiny. He created you for a specific time in creation, at a specific place on earth for a special purpose. If you choose to accept this destiny, you will be one of the most fulfilled people to walk the earth. A person who does what they were created to do are the happiest people in the world.

If you would like to know more about the Lord, please check out my other posts. I have archived them by title and a short summary for 2007 and 2008. If you find one you would like to comment on or share some encouragement, please do. Also, feel free to contact me on the Contact form. I have some encouraging wallpapers on the site. Feel free to use them on your computer to help keep your focus. I have a couple of the songs recorded that I’ve written in a flash jukebox. It is my hope that these words have brought you enough encouragement to make a difference and to help you overcome. Here’s to your bright future. Go for your destiny. I hope to see you there.

Joseph

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The pendulum swings from one side to the other, from extreme to extreme. Only in the middle of its journey is the balance. The clock, with its pendulum, is sometimes representative of our lives. It can also represent an action against us with a counter reaction from us. The balance of this lies in our response to the action against us and not to simply to react to someone else. Response Versus Reaction!

I have lived many days swinging from reaction to reaction. When others would tell me I was wrong, I’d react and go to extremes to prove them wrong. I had to find a solid foundation that I could stand on without being swept off of my feet again. The ground always seemed to be shifting under my feet and I wasn’t stable. I soon began to challenge everything I heard. I so desired to know the truth. I wanted some stability in my life.

As I looked back on my life, my father leaving me as a small child was the major source of my instability. Second in line were little fairy tales told to me as a child by adults. I was a child and I hung on to what others were telling me as the truth. Later in school, others would mock me at such beliefs. This caused me to really want to know the truth. I didn’t like being mocked. What about you? Do you remember any of that?

My pendulum went all the way to the other side for a while as I searched and searched. I even searched through different churches and their personal beliefs and I found that a lot of times they really didn’t believe everything they said they did. So in this search, I began to wonder if I’d ever find the truth. There must be truth out there somewhere, this universe just didn’t come into reality in a random way. The odds of that happening are too great. So I continued on.

It wasn’t until recently that I really began to realize that this was the way a lot of churches were established. They were established on the swing of the pendulum. They were established by a reaction to a reaction against them. It reminds me of Israel when they were taking the promised land. There were some who wanted to settle on the outside of the promised land while others chose particular places inside. The more I meditated on this the more sad I became. Here is this awesome promised land, they finally made it and then most of them just settled for less than their inheritance. I can’t and will not do that. I refuse to settle for less than Father wants for me and my family and for you. This is my battle and this is my dream, that everyone may experience all that Father has for each of them.

Many truths have been established over the years by numerous men and women of God. Most of these have now become their own denomination or non-denomination. I don’t believe that this is the Lord’s best. I believe He wants us all to go on and I believe, that if some of these men and women of God were still alive today, they would be appalled that their group simply stopped and camped on their revelation instead of handing it on to the next generation to go further into the purposes of the Lord. The Lord doesn’t stand still. He moves on. Take a look at Israel. They camped for a while and then moved on. The Lord gives new revelations of His Word to His people so that He can fulfill His promises to us and our generation. There is an awesome book by John Crowder, “Miracle Workers, Reformers, and The New Mystics.” Don’t be moved by the word mystic, it simply refers to being spiritual. John goes back through the centuries up to the modern day and explores the different moves of the Lord.

We are people who like comfort and it is easy to camp out for a long time when we get comfortable. Thank the Lord that He gently tries to move us on. We have a choice, just like Israel we can stay in a certain place or we can pack up our lives and live from glory to glory and go on to ever increasing faith. Our faith is built in the same way as our muscles. The more we use it the stronger it becomes. I challenge you today, go beyond living in mediocrity by making a choice. Choose to live your life in balance and respond to His word instead of react. Respond to others with His love when they react against you. Let love be the reason for your choices. Choose to change your life today and start to live again. Fan the spark, that you feel in your heart right now, into a raging flame of His love. Let it consume you and then pour it out to others. Life Of Balance!

How will others see if we keep it all inside? Will they ridicule and mock us? Probably! Don’t take it personal. It is Jesus they are mocking and not us. They don’t understand and they don’t know, yet! But some will and it might be because of your example. How much is it worth to you to see one soul saved? Is there a price you can put on it? Is there anything that can be as bad as hell? I wouldn’t even wish it on my worst enemy, not when they can experience the glorious grace, mercy and love of the Lord. Most of us have seen videos of people throwing themselves off of buildings to their deaths and we wonder why? Why didn’t someone try to help them? Why didn’t they just talk to someone? What if they did and no one heard them? Are we listening? How far will we go to save them? I know I am not where I want to be, but I am on the journey. Each day I want to get closer, how about you? Will you make the choice to get up out of your hurts, fears, and pain and dare to receive the inheritance that is yours and then help others find theirs?

Today is my birthday and I wanted to give this gift of encouragement to you. I so desire to see you healed, delivered, free, and engulfed in the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why hold on to rags when you can have His riches? Take a step and check it out for yourself. My gift from you would be to see your smiling face in heaven, to hear that you took the challenge and you lived the rest of your life on a new and glorious journey. Whatever comes against you, respond with His love. If I don’t get to meet you here, I’ll see you there.

Joseph

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What is faith? How can we get more? How can we become like the great leaders of faith from generations past? Does it seem like you will never get there? Measure Of Faith!

Romans 12:3-8 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

How does an athlete get strong? Does he just go out and benchpress 400 pounds? No, of course not. He starts out with the light weights and then gradually adds more into his workout as his muscles become developed to handle the extra weight. So, how do we increase our faith? We increase our faith in the Lord the same way. He has given each of us a measure of faith to come to Him. We have the choice whether or not to walk with Him. To choose to walk with Him is one of the first steps. As the relationship develops, there appear certain trials and situations that push against our faith. As we exercise our faith by choosing to put our trust in Him, our spiritual muscles get stronger also, ever increasing faith. As we continue to do this we go from glory to glory.

Where are we now? Does it seem like a long way to get there? The Lord has given us a measure of faith to walk in the path He has for us. Some of these are listed above, but there are more. A wealthy person might have the faith to deal in multi-million dollar deals. A cowboy might have the faith to wrangle cattle. Does this mean that one is weaker than the other? No, it means that each must walk in the way of his faith.

Romans 14:23 everything that does not come from faith is sin

If we don’t have the faith to do something, we should really consider waiting. If the Lord is telling us to do something, there will be that measure of faith. It may not be a whole lot, but it will be enough. The more we act on the little things, the greater and stronger our faith grows. We become sure of Father’s ability to help us the more we walk with Him.

Do we worry about things we can’t control? This also decreases as we walk more with Him and discover His ways with us. There is an old song that goes, “One day at a time, sweet Jesus.” It is still true today. Even the highest mountain can be scaled, one step at a time.

What is your next step today? Take it! What is your step tomorrow? Take it when it appears. You will get to your destination sooner than you think. Keep your focus. Measure of faith!

Some of my greatest tragedies, broken relationships, and discouragement have become my greatest foundations of faith. I have endured these things and have built a place of strength. Now, when these things come my way, they don’t affect me like they did. I know who I am, but greater still, I know who He is. I know that He will not leave me, but will help me get to where I need to be. May this be true of you. May you find the strength you need to go on. Climb your mountain. Stare down discouragement in the face and turn it into a pillar of faith. Look back on these times and gain the strength to go further than you’ve ever been before. The only thing that can stop you is you and your choices. Check out the wallpaper I designed on “Greater Things.” Download it to your desktop if you like and stay focused. I’ll see you at the top. If you need help, please use our form to contact us. Here’s to you and your victory.

Joseph

Comments

I can’t seem to say enough about this subject. I wrote another post in January titled, “Laugh At Yourself.” You might like to read it also. Regardless of what we are going through we need to laugh. I am not saying there isn’t a time to grieve or to be serious. These times do come and go and when they do, it is good to go through them. I am not referring to these times, eventhough it is good to find short periods of time to laugh during these times, if you can. Laugh, and Laugh Again!

Proverbs 17:21 “A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” (AMP)

One reason to laugh is that it is like a medicine. It works healing. I am not a doctor, I’m just quoting the scriptures. There is a lot to this scripture. It says that a broken spirit dries up the bones. Could this have to do with the chronic problem we have with brittle bones, especially in the elderly? Each individual has to come to grips with their own lives and choices. Now, nutrition has a lot to do with our health and just like nutrition, the state of our heart, feelings, emotions and judgments also has a lot to do with our health.

Life is too short to carry grudges and judgments. Who really cares anyway? We do, right? What good does it do for us? What good is it to those around us? Does it make us grumpy and complainers? Does this cause more stress? Does it keep others away from us? Can it keep our bodies from absorbing the nutrition we need? Yes it can. So, what can we do?

We have choices. Things happen in our lives. These things aren’t fair. Do we respond or react? Do we really, really, really trust the Lord? Does He really know what He is doing? This is where it all comes down to, the essence of our faith and what we really believe in our hearts. Do we believe that the Lord is able to help us through anything that we face? If we can’t forgive, can we choose to forgive with His help? Here again, it comes back to choice. Every step we take in life is by choice. We live in a society that holds on to wrongs and litigates at the drop of a hat. Whose fault is it? Well, they need to pay. They caused it. Pause for a moment and look at our society. Take a good look. Everyone is fighting everyone else with the exception of a few. What can we do? We need to focus on ourselves and how we handle each situation. Are grudges and judgments really good for us? Look at the bad that happens to those who hold on to grudges and judgments and then look at what happens through love and forgiveness with others. What quality of life do they live? What will be remembered about them? Will it change anyone else’s life for good or bad? We must decide.

Find some shows that are funny and watch them at least once a week. Try to find things that are done in good taste, so we don’t get caught up in someone else’s judgments on the show. Have some fun. Go out to a park, the mountains, the ocean and see the things the Lord has made just for you. He sits in heaven and laughs at the plots of the enemy because He knows that His plan will succeed. Stop by and sit with Him a while and laugh a little too. See everything from His perspective. He knows you. He knows what you need and if you let Him, He will help you. Get to know Him and gain true understanding. Laugh, Laugh Again!

My prayer for all of us is that we can truly see the Lord in all of His goodness. I know He cares for us more than we can ever know, this side of heaven. I long for His people to have the courage to go beyond our judgments and experience His love. To admit we might be wrong is the beginning of this journey. To admit we are wrong puts us firmly on the path. Spend time with Him and get to know Him better than your closest friend or spouse. He is our Father. He is our Creator. He is deserving of everything we can give Him. Laugh, laugh, laugh! The enemy can not keep you from your destiny, only you can. I so desire to meet you in this life, but if I don’t get the chance, I want to see you on the other side in His kingdom. Don’t settle for second best when you can have the best just by choice. Choose life, please.

Joseph

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We all know who thieves are, right? What about when it comes to the Lord’s kingdom? Who are the thieves? Who was Judas really? Who are the hired guns? No Honor Among Thieves!

John 10:11-13 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.”

1 Peter 5:1-4 “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”

I have met a lot of church fellowship leaders and most of these have a sincere heart. I have seen some of them crushed by the systems they uphold. They search for some organization that comes close to their belief system and then do what it takes to get the credentials necessary to lead the group or organization. I have also met others who have separated themselves from others, usually because of wounds and established a following for themselves. We have all heard of people like Jim Jones and have wondered how that could happen. Unfortunately, this happens more often than is seen.

Who is a thief? A thief is one who steals something that doesn’t belong to him or her. The Lord is the good shepherd. The sheep belong to Him and Him alone. We also see that there is a hired hand, a wolf and other shepherds. Peter admonishes shepherds to not be greedy for money, but be eager to serve. He also says not to lord it over others, but be examples to the flock. The hired hand, as the title suggests, is only in it for the money. As soon as the wolf is revealed in the midst, the hired hand is gone. It is then that the flock is scattered, separated and can be picked off by the enemy.

No honor among thieves! The enemy doesn’t care how he gets to people, he just wants to kill, steal and destroy. How are you doing? Are you alone and separated? Are you in a fellowship run by a hired hand? Are you in a fellowship run by someone who is greedy for money? Do they have your best interest at heart? There is One who loves you dearly. He wants to make sure you live your life in the fullness it was meant to be lived. Would you like that? What would you do to make sure you lived the destiny you were created to live? There is no honor among thieves. The end result is all the same. You can see them compete for the sheep. We have to have your money. We have to have your time. We need your commitment. We need your life. But what do they do for the flock. Do they care for His flock? Do they help the downcast, the needy and the poor or are they more interested in their buildings and material things?

Friends it is time to seek the Lord and make sure we are living for Him and not ourselves or someone else. There are a lot of good things out there that aren’t beneficial to us. We have a destiny that was planned for us before there was time. Before we were born, the Lord knew us. He is the Good Shepherd. He gave His life for us. Should we give Him any less? Should we let someone else’s influence be stronger than His? It’s our choice. What will we choose? As for me, I choose to serve Him with all that is within me. I may not get it all right, but I am going to do my best. Don’t let someone else take your life. Live your life to the full. There are leaders out there that truly care. The church isn’t as large as it seems. Dare to find your path. Let Him guide you, heal you, support you, lift you up and lead you to where you need to go. In the end you will hear the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” This is the cry of my heart, let it be yours too.

Joseph

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Are you tired? Are you weary? Do you not have much strength left? Maybe it’s time to rest a bit, regroup, refocus and receive a little peace. The scripture below has some instructions with it. Take a look at the whole chapter. There is a place of refreshing even in the midst of the desert. So if you are in the desert and you need a drink, just ask and then receive. Refreshing!

Isaiah 43:8-21 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.” (NIV)

“New Thing - Forget the former things, Do not dwell on the past! Behold, I do a new thing.”

Sometimes we can get weary in our journey even to the point of giving up, but this is not really what we’d like to do, it’s just that we are worn out. Sometimes as we are walking the way we need to go, other things come up and we think we need to carry them or they simply attach themselves on to our back. “I should have done this.” “I need to do that.” “I need to help this person.” All of these are burdens and if we let them pile up on our shoulders we will be weighted down and become tired. Each evening we need to make sure that we have let go of the cares of this world. Let the Lord do His part and let us do ours. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Guess what, that means that if what we are carrying isn’t light, we are carrying something that is not His. Take your sword and cut it off. Lighten your load. Drink from His stream and be refreshed and then share that refreshing with others and you will even receive more. We carry too many burdens that we don’t need to bear.

The physical world is very challenging and can be represented by a desert and solid rock. We just need to remember that while we are there, we can simply get the refreshing we need by tapping into the spiritual streams that are there to refresh us all the time.

This is the fourth photomontage I’ve created. The first is on the home page of this site and is available for use as a wallpaper by clicking on the image. Simply copy and paste to your computer. We will be adding the other three shortly and these 4 will be available to purchase as 13″ x 19″ poster prints on our site. These items help support this site as well as help fund ministry outreaches and projects we are developing. I hope you have been blessed and refreshed. Have a beautiful day.

Joseph

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Follow my lead, they say, but where are they going? Who are our heroes and mentors? Are they actors or real people? Do they have a real relationship with the Lord or do they have charisma? Where are they going? Follow my lead.

There are many, many voices in the wind. There are many preachers saying different things. Who is telling the truth? Who do we believe? There is an old saying that I really like. “To thine own self be true.” Did you know that when we leave this earth and enter eternity and face Jesus, that He isn’t going to ask us if we obeyed so and so. He is going to ask us if we obeyed and walked with Him. Yes, it is true there are mentors we are to imitate as they mirror Christ, but in the end, we alone are responsible for our walk. How did we react or respond to the circumstances around us? Did we receive the healing that was available for us? Did we get to know the Lord and let Him know us? Did we become His friend as well as He ours?

Life is about a personal relationship with Him. How does He speak to us? What does He say? He knows us and He knows what we need. Do we listen for His voice? Have we heard Him say that He loves us? When was the last time? There are things we can miss in our lifetime and it really not matter, but if we miss having a relationship with Him we will have lost everything.

Do we know that He treats us each as individuals and not as a number like this world system? He has a specific plan and purpose for our life that will bring us total fulfillment and joy. Those, who are living the life they were created to live, are the happiest people around. How do we get there? What can we do?

Follow His lead! Get to know Him. Ask Him to make Himself known to us and then listen and watch. Coincidences are not coincidences. Miracles happen all the time. Watch the little things. Pay attention to the details. Where is the peace? Is there a calm in the midst of the storm? This kind of life is an adventure because we never know what will happen next. There are ups and downs, twists and turns and we can expectantly wonder what is coming around the next corner. Check it out. Ask Him if He is real. Start following Him and see what happens next.

People let us down all the time, but He never will. Things might not happen as we believe they should, but it will always be better in the end. His thoughts are higher and His ways are higher than ours. He sees further down the road and He knows what we need. Trust, fix our eyes on Him and walk. Follow My Lead!

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