my enjoyment

i was asked to share more of my emotions..

so right now i'm talking with some of my best friends on skype and we're having a good ole' time...

right now my emotion is "Happy" and "Content"

more to come!!.....

When I think of all I have to do for school I feel overwhelmed.

When I think of God's love I feel at peace.

When I think of all the pain in people's lives I feel broken.

When I think of how Jesus is the same everyday I feel content.

When I think about myself I get depressed.

When I think about the One who made me I feel complete.



Thank You Father!!!
without you I am not worth a thing...
it is You that makes me...
help me not to put school or grades above You...
You are worthy of all praise....

1 John 3:16-18

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.


No matter how you look at it we need to be doing something...

www.i-heart.org (check it out)

an idol??

Lately i've been feeling God's pull on my heart to examine my heart, my motives and especially my priorities.

As i was searching and asking God to reveal the problems in my personal life i noticed that the biggest thing i've been worshiping is me...

i've been making sure i'm comfortable...
making sure i'm taken care of...
that i have enough money...
that i get what i need and that i'm happy...

I haven't been letting God be first in everything i do...
I've been so selfish...

i have asked God to be the center of my life, and that He would take control of everything, but i didn't completely let that go of everything...

I keep trying to hold on to those things i think i can control...
i want to make sure that everything i do is going to work out, so i figure the best way to make sure things work is if i take control...

i've been so wrong...

i need to let go...

i need to be uncomfortable...
i need to give 100%...
no more apathy...
no more judgment....
i need to stop thinking i know what's best...
i need to serve more...
i need to sacrifice more...

I've made myself an idol...
and i've been worshiping that idol more than i worship my Creator...

maybe you know what i'm talking about...
maybe you are saying "that's is exactly where i'm at joe"

i'm not going to try and give you advice on this one...
i mean...
i'm just as guilty...

here is what God's word says...

Matthew 22:37-39
Jesus said to him, "you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love our neighbor as yourself."

Philippians 2:3-4
Let nothing bed done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interest, but also for the interest of others.

Exodus 20:3
You shall have no other gods before me.

John 3:30
He must increase, but I must decrease.

Matthew 19:30
But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

1 Corinthians 10:24
Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

1 John 4:7
...let us love one another...

slave or son!!??

Galatians 4:6-7 says,
"God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ."

Do you ever wander away from God?? Do you ever just get so busy that there seems to be no time to give God attention??
It seems that there are so many things to do that we simply put God lower and lower on the priorities list because we think "well...God is always there...He'll take care of me"

I's gonna be honest with you...i do this...a lot

I get so busy and I seem to push God out...

but yet our souls are crying out!! they are crying out to God, the Creator of the universe, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Father.

then, when we don't turn to God with our time and our choices things seem to start to get harder.

problems start to arise
temptation seems to be overwhelming
everything seems to be going against us
we start to lose hope

we've all been there...it sucks

but the best part is this...
"WE ARE NO LONGER SLAVES, BUT A CHILD"

did you get that??

YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD!!!

we don't have to think we aren't worth it
we don't have to listen to the lies anymore
we don't have to think God has forgotten about us
we don't have to feel worthless anymore

we have a promise...
because we are God's children He has a plan for us..

a plan not to harm us
not to do us wrong
but a plan of hope
peace
love
joy


that is something to celebrate!!

Abba, Father
Thank you for giving us a future and a hope. Thank you for your Son Jesus Christ and what He has done for us, your children.
We owe you our lives.
I pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ who have forgotten that they need you. They have lost focus and have tried to go their own way.
Father! I pray that you be merciful to them and that you will show them a way back to your perfect will for their lives.
Thank you Father!!!

your servant,
joe

lately in life

I have not really updated what's been going on in my life in quite a while.
Soooo....I thought I would keep my peeps up to date :)

School is in full swing and it's keeping me super busy. I'm only taking 15 credits this semester because I had an A-Term class before the semester even started. I'm really enjoying my class on Postmodernism and the Emergent Church movement. The class is really engaging and the discussions are engaging.

I'm also working in the GBC Kitchen this semester. I'm only working about 10-12 hours a week, but it definitely keeps me busy on the days I don't have classes.

Personally: I'm doing really good. God is working in a new way in me each and every day. I was having a hard time with doing daily devotions and significant time to God. This last week thought I've been doing really good with that. God has been speaking to me about disciplining myself to organize my priorities and to give my top priorities more time.
I've been especially surprised about how content I've been so far this semester. I've definitely had a sense of God's presence throughout the days so far, and it has helped so much. I know a lot of that contentment has been because of you all praying for me.

Thank You!!!

Lastly I just want to encourage you with a verse God has been laying upon my heart. It's Philippians 1:6

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

To know that God is going to continue to use His children, no matter what happens in our lives is exciting for me to think about. He has a plan for us and He's going to complete it!!!

it's not about being attractive. it's about being real.

"It's not about being attractive. It's about being real."

This comment was made when talking about witnessing to unbelievers. Many people have this idea that in order to bring others to Christ we need to show how our lives are "awesome" and they can't live without what we have. It's become a competition to "out-attract" the world.

But in this new age the world's entertainment and attractiveness is out of our league. The Christian world has no chance at outdoing what the world offers to a non-believer. It is no longer a priority to go to church in our culture. It's become a competition to see who can win people's attention.

We don't have to compete in this game the Satan has created. The idea of being real with those outside of our faith may be a new concept to you, but I believe that our authenticity can bring a difference to unbelievers that will help bring them along in their process of finding Christ.

We don't need to defend God. We don't need to try and outdo the world. God is the ultimate Judge and Jury. He gives the final judgment to everyone. No matter where you've been, what you've chosen to believe, or where you've been, God will give the judgment on our lives. We don't have to put words in God's mouth. He'll take care of those who chose to not believe.

I believe that if we, as Christians, would be more authentic and real with those we come in contact with, instead of putting on our "masks" we will see a difference in how people look at us as Christians. If we would share what's really happening in our lives with others people would see a difference in us, as Christians.

Maybe we've been neglecting the power of the Holy Spirit and how it can convict people. We start to think that we need to convict people by our actions or words, so we put on those "masks" to show how attractive our lives are, when really we're giving them a fake.

Are we being real with those around us? Or are we putting on the "mask" to show others someone we are not?