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 ~ What is involved in a person’s personal ambition? It is a strong desire to do or achieve something in someone’s life. It is deeply personal and is usually influenced by an individuals’ beliefs, values, and experiences. Here are some perspectives that people often consider when thinking about their ambition in life: it is to find meaning or purpose, have personal growth or fulfillment, connection and relationships, happiness, and well-being or legacy and impact. These perspectives may include pursuing one’s passion, becoming the best version of oneself, building and nurturing relationships, taking care of one’s physical and mental health, or creating something enduring or inspiring others. Ultimately, one’s ambition of life may evolve over time as an individual grows and changes.
Jesus himself had a personal ambition for His life. The world would have had Him come as a conquering King. One who would overthrow the Roman government. One who would have delivered the Jewish people from their oppression and persecution. Jesus’ ambition was different from the world’s view for Him. His life was to have meaning and purpose by doing the will of His Father. His life was to fulfill the law and the prophets. He came to build a connection and relationship with the human race. His existence was one that brought joy to the world. His life left a legacy and impact that has affected the life of man on Earth like none before or ever will. But He had one secret ambition. An ambition that was misunderstood by His family, His closest followers, and His devoted friends. It was one that would not be fully understood or realized until after His ultimate sacrifice for us all. It would ultimately be His claim to fame to all mankind for eternity. Mark 10:45b says, “the Son of Man came…to give His life a ransom for many.” Nobody knew it but His secret ambition was to give His life away. It was His secret ambition, His sacrifice that gives us eternal life and allows us to have a personal relationship with Him. ~ God’s blessings, protection, and favor to all.
FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK ~ “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice. In the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” Psalm 5:30The day before Billy Graham was scheduled to be interviewed on The Today Show, his director of public relations, Larry Ross, requested a private room for Graham to pray in before the interview. But when Mr. Graham arrived at the studio, his assistant informed Ross that Mr. Graham wouldn’t need the room after all. He said, “Mr. Graham started praying when he got up this morning, he prayed while eating breakfast, he prayed on the way over in the car, and he’ll probably be praying all the way through the interview.” Ross later said, “That was a great lesson for me to learn as a young man.”
Prayerfulness is not an event; it is a way of being in relationship with God. This kind of intimate relationship is developed when God’s people view prayerfulness as a way of life. The Psalms encourage us to begin each day by lifting our voice to the Lord (Psalm 5:3); fill our day with conversations with God (Psalm 55:17); and to face accusations and slander by giving ourselves totally to prayer (Psalm 109:4). We develop prayer as a way of life because we desire to be with God (Psalm 42:1-4; 84:1-2; and 130:5-6). Prayer is our way of connecting with God in all life’s circumstances. God is always listening! (from a devotional by Marvin Williams)
Let’s remember that talking with the Father should be as easy as discussing what’s for dinner with our spouse. God is listening and waiting because He wants to have an intimate personal relationship with us all. ~ God’s blessings, protection, and favor to all.
FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK ~ “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you -- unless, of course -- you fail the test?” (1 Cor. 13:5). I have often heard that the hardest test that any of us will ever take is a “self-examination”. We, like the church at Corinth, are challenged by the Apostle Paul to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. This test is so important for us as Christ followers as we witness the direction of our society and culture in these last days. The test of “self-examination” requires us to answer questions of ourselves that make us uncomfortable to confront.
Pastor and author Rick Renner has posed several probing questions for us to consider in this test. We must open our hearts, be honest, talk with ourselves and God as we consider our answers: 1. What do you do with your time? (Do you make time with God in prayer and Bible study a priority?) 2. What do you do to serve others? (Do you serve God in a practical way in the church or a ministry?) 3. When you pray, what do you pray about? (Do you pray for yourself only, or for the needs and dreams of others?) 4. What personal sacrifices do you make to serve the Lord? (Do you give up something to walk in obedience to God or to serve others and to make a difference in someone else’s life?) 5. What do your spending habits reveal about you? (Do you spend money on your interests, personal possessions, and other non-essentials, and then compare it to the amount of money you invest in the Gospel?) 6. What does your lifestyle reveal about your priorities? (Does your daily lifestyle reveal what you love and that you are consumed with your own needs and offer no service or help to anyone else?).
As we may agonize over but honestly answer these questions, it will hopefully expose those areas in our lives and thinking that need to be changed. By doing so, when all truth is exposed, we will be able to stand before the Father joyfully and confidently knowing that we were found in the faith. ~ God’s blessings, protection, and favor to all.
From John’s Gospel: “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (3:3); “Truly I say to you, he who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life.” (5:24a); “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty.” (6:35); “The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” (6:63); “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (8:12); “If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (8:31b-32); “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” (10:10); “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.” (11:25-26); “A new command I give you; ‘Love one another’. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, all men will know that you are My disciples if you love one another.” (13:34-35); “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (14:6); “If you love Me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever--the Spirit of truth.” (14:15-16); “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (16:33b); “'It is finished.' And with that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.” (19:30b): “Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you... and I will come again and receive you to Myself that where I am, there you may be also.” (14:1-3). ~ God’s blessings, protection, and favor to all.
FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK ~ “But one thing I do; forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead.” Philippians 3:13. The world will tell you that the dominating influence in your life is your past. If you came from a difficult home life, that would determine the direction of your life. If your culture was treated unfairly, that will dictate the condition of your life today. If you were hurt or abused or if your youth was spent in rebellion, the remainder of your life will be spent struggling with your past. The world is preoccupied with the past because it faces an uncertain future. Christians on the other hand, live in freedom because Christ has overcome our past. The “old things” have been done away with and the “new things” have come (2 Cor. 5:17). God has so totally forgiven the Christian’s sin that He chooses not to remember it (Isa. 43:25). Christians do not forget the past, but we are not controlled or motivated by it. The Christian looks to the future with hope.
The people of the world focus on what they are overcoming. Christians focus on what they are becoming. Christians know that the Holy Spirit is conforming them into the image of Christ. Christians know that ultimately, they will stand before Christ to give an account of their actions and will spend eternity in the presence of God. Christians know that eventually every injustice will be addressed and every hurt comforted. They know that Satan, and death itself, will finally be brought to an end. The Christian’s future is so full and rich and exciting that it supersedes whatever happened in the past.
If you are preoccupied with your past, ask God to open your eyes to the incredible future that awaits you and begin, like Paul, to PRESS ON to what is ahead! ~ God’s blessings, protection, and favor to all. (Excerpts taken from a devotional by Henry Blackaby).
