Joseph's Storehouse is blessed with large truck loads of food each month to be a blessing to many in the community.
Cars begin lining up early before our gates open at 8:30 on giveaway day, which last until 11:30. There is plenty of food for everyone who comes during those times.
FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK ~ Because God’s children are human beings - flesh and blood - the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could He die, and only by dying could He break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could He set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying (from Hebrews 2:14-15 (NLT)).
Hebrews 2:14-15 connects the beginning and the end of Jesus’ earthly life, and in so doing, makes clear why He came. It is a step-by-step Christian view of Christmas. In sending Christ to earth, God has the salvation of His “children” in view. God’s design was to offer Christ to the world and effect the salvation of His children. Jesus was God but took on flesh and blood and clothed His deity with humanity. He became man while remaining fully God. The reason Jesus became man was to die. He could not die for sinners as God, but as a man He could. Therefore, He had to be born human. In dying, Christ made the devil ineffectual. This means that Satan has no legitimate grounds to accuse us before God. We must realize that Satan’s ultimate weapon against us is our own sin. With Jesus’ death, God has taken that weapon away from the devil. Satan cannot make a case for our death penalty because the Judge has acquitted us by the death of His own Son. We are now free from the fear of death because God has justified us. Satan cannot overturn that decree. If we do not need to fear our last and greatest fear, which is death, then we do not need to fear ANYTHING! We can be free: free for joy and free for others. What a great Christmas present from God to us, and from us to the world (a paraphrase from John Piper).
On behalf of Joseph’s Storehouse volunteers, staff, Community Advisory Council, and Board of Directors, we want to wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christ-centered Christmas and a Healthy and Prosperous New Year.~ God’s blessings, protection and favor to all.
FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK ~ “Oh God, You are so good. You are faithful and gracious, and you have blessed me beyond measure. Thank you for everyday blessings to which I have become accustomed, but never want to take for granted: clean drinking water, electricity, food in my pantry, hot showers, a roof over my head, and a bed to sleep in. Thank you for legs that carry me where I need to go and hands that enable me to accomplish many things. Thank you for my hearing and my vision and for a sound, healthy mind. Thank you for my family, my friends, my job, and my neighbors. Thank you for the freedom to attend my church, for my pastors, and for my small group, and for my many relationships. Thank you for the things You are doing in my heart and in my life. I’m grateful that by the power of your Holy Spirit, I am much different today than I was 10 years ago, or a year ago. I am even different than I was at the beginning of this year, and it’s because of Your power at work in me, continually transforming me into Your image. I love and adore you, Lord, and my heart overflows with gratitude for all these blessings. In the precious name of Jesus, Amen.” ~ By Julie K. Gillies
We at Joseph’s Storehouse are giving thanks this season for our many blessings. The blessing of the many individuals who help make the ministry possible. Those who consistently pray for the work and for our efforts to feed those in need. Their prayers help give us a road map to travel on. It is also with sincere gratitude that we are thankful for our many volunteers. It would be impossible for us to feed and minister to our clients without their help and support. Finally, we are blessed to have those who give sacrificially of their monetary resources that make it possible to meet our financial obligations. Your commitment means so much to help sustain our efforts. May this be a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. ~ God’s blessings, protection and favor to all.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled (satisfied with divine contentment)" Matthew 5:6.
When we are physically hungry and thirsty our cravings can only be met with food and drink. As Christ-followers we have an inner spiritual hunger and thirst that only His righteousness can satisfy. There is a difference between physical and spiritual hunger. Physical hunger works opposite of spiritual hunger. We ingest physical food and drink until our body is satisfied. We no longer have a need. When we are spiritually hungry and we are given a feast of good spiritual food, it makes us hungry for more. We cannot seem to get enough.
The reverse is also true. Missing a meal for our physical body increases our desire and appetite for nourishment. But if we receive no spiritual food over time, we can lose our desire for it and malnutrition will set in. Just like physical malnutrition, this creates short and long term spiritual health issues, slows recovery when we are wounded spiritually, and gives way to a higher risk of infection from the world. It also delays our spiritual growth and causes us to waste away spiritually.
Unfortunately, some of us are spiritually malnourished. It’s not because we don’t eat, but because we are consuming the wrong things. The world offers us an endless buffet of things that we can ingest that only satisfies our flesh but leaves us spiritually malnourished. And when we are given opportunity for something to feed our spirits, we become picky eaters. We only want to consume what we like or what makes us feels good. The only way to have a healthy spiritual diet is to have a desire to apply the righteous standard of God (His way of doing and being right) to our lives. The menu to obtain this is only found in His Holy Word. Our desire must be to hunger and thirst for what pleases Him. If we train our appetites to do so, we will be satisfied with divine contentment. ~ God’s blessings, protection, and favor to all.
FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK ~ An “agent” is defined as “someone who acts for or in the place of another by designated authority”. We all deal with licensed agents at some point in our lives. Real estate or insurance agents are to name a few. A real estate agent acts on behalf of the buyer, or the seller and the insurance agent acts as a representative of the insurance company. They both have been given designated authority to act accordingly.
Jesus Christ has charged His followers to be His agents, Agents of Redemption. Jesus does the work of redemption, but He gives His children the designated authority on His behalf to bring His redemptive plan and message to the world. Just as the agents that we deal with today must meet specific qualifications, the same is true for those who accept the charge to be God’s agents of redemption. We must first and foremost be a follower of Jesus Christ whose intention is to serve Him as master every day. Not our will, but His be done. We must be a person on a personal mission to pray, work, and hope for His kingdom to come. That is to see that His comprehensive plan and purpose is revealed in our lives. It is vital that we live a life in view of eternity and the life to come. As an agent of redemption, we have a personal calling to be engaged with individuals daily to demonstrate a transformed life of God’s redemptive plan for everyone. Our lives should be a witness and testimony to His infinite love, His gift of forgiveness, and His underserved mercy and grace.
Finally, we must strive to have the mind of Christ. We must think on that which is true, noble, right, pure, admirable, lovely, praiseworthy, and excellent (Phil. 4:8). This type of lifestyle takes courage, compassion, and conviction. It is critical for us to live this way to assure that God’s redemptive work continues in our world today. May we all accept the challenge to be Agents of Redemption for His glory. “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!” Psalm 107:2a. ~ God’s blessings, protection and favor to all.
We want to thank everyone for your continued support of the Joseph’s Storehouse Food Ministry and its mission to feed those in need. Whether it is to pray for us, to volunteer, and or contribute to us financially, we are eternally grateful. It is impossible for us to complete our vision of supporting deserving families without your help. We are humbled to partner with so many to see that hurting people in need of food are fed. Joseph’s Storehouse is seeing the largest increase in demand for food than we have in our 24 year history. Here are our January-June statistics year over year:
Families needing food in 2023: up 55% over 2022.
Total number of individuals in 2023: up 69% over 2022.
Projected pounds of food and drink to be distributed in 2023: 1.4 million
We would ask that you please continue to pray for us as we look to the days ahead. Pray that we will have ample supply of the food (especially frozen meats) that is needed and sufficient operational resources. Also, as your schedule may allow, come join us on one of our food distribution days. It is a great time to enjoy fellowship as we work together and to serve others. Jesus said, “the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve.” With Christ as our example, let it be so with us. ~ Blessings, protection and favor to all.
