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 ~ “Forgetting what is behind...” Phil 3:13b. There are times in all our lives that we all have failed, missed the mark, stumbled, struggled, offended, or hurt someone. It is easy for us to be weighed down and hindered by what we may have done in the past. I have often heard that the greatest tool of the devil is to remind us of our past. (But we can remind him of his future!) Thankfully, we serve a God who faithfully forgives and chooses to forget our past if we sincerely repent. This allows each one of us to look forward to a fuller and more meaningful life in Him.
As we enter a new year, a concentrated forward focus is the best way for us to minimize the past’s impact on our present lives. The rearview mirrors in our cars are but a small reflection of what is behind us. But as we look forward, we have a large clear windshield that allows us to see what is ahead and what we can expect. The expectation of the Christian’s future is so full and rich of possibilities that it supersedes whatever has happened in the past. But to make that become a reality, we must set our minds and spirits on what God has planned for us. Phil 3:13b-14 continues with, “and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” This should be our focus not only for now but also for eternity. The “goal” and the “prize” are the same but at different times. Both are for us to become more Christlike. The “goal” is to run our race in this life purposely to be more like Christ each day. The “prize” is to be ultimately like Christ when God calls us heavenward. For now, and as we prepare for eternity, our forward focus should be to make the changes in our lives that will make us to be more like Him. As it has often been said, “More of Him and less of me.” By concentrating daily on our relationship with Him, we can look forward to what He will help us become. ~ God’s blessings, protection and favor to all.
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.
FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK ~ “Your name, Lord, endures forever, your renown, Lord, through all generations.” Psalm 135:13 (NIV). “We live in a day of celebrities. They are all around us. We hold many people in high regard because of their ability to act, sing, compete athletically, and so on. Perhaps they are wealthy, successful in business, or philanthropic. Whatever the case, we esteem these individuals for their status and significance. However, over time, we lose our interest in most celebrities. Their skill, talent, or notoriety declines, and they are soon forgotten.
Yet Jesus Christ will never lose His status. He never wrote a song, and yet there are more songs written about Him than any other person who ever lived. He never wrote a book, and yet the book written about Him has outsold every other book. He never traveled more than 300 miles from the place of His birth, and yet people on every corner of this earth recognize His name. Your calendar is set by His entrance into human history as A.D. In fact, His renown only increases with time even though He has been physically gone from earth for more than 2,000 years.
Although Jesus is the greatest celebrity to ever live, He took the lowest form of humanity. He could have been born in a castle and portrayed Himself as a king, but then so many of us would not have been able to relate to Him. So, He came as a babe who was born in a barn. He was born to poor parents in the midst of a society filled with chaos. The good news of Jesus Christ is that regardless of how low you go, He knows where you have been because He came as a servant, humble and lowly. He came with a passion for His purpose, which was to bring salvation to humanity by taking on the sins of the entire world.” (excerpted from Tony Evans book, “The Power of God’s Names”). Inspired words that begin to describe the renown of Jesus Christ. ~ Blessings, protection and favor to all.
FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK ~ We have the honor and privilege on the last Monday in May each year to remember the men and women who have given their lives for our country. Those who gave, as President Abraham Lincoln called it, “the last full measure of devotion,” in our country’s defense. They also helped preserve the many unprecedented civil and religious freedoms that we hold dear. To remember what they sacrificed is a memorial to their lives and devotion.
We as Christ-followers, of all people, should understand the importance of remembering. We are truly memorial people because our faith depends on remembering. Our Heavenly Father has surrounded us with memorials for our remembrance. The feasts instituted for the nation of Israel are memorials. The rainbow is a memorial to God’s promise to the mankind (see Genesis 9:13). Every time the church meets, it is in remembrance and a memorial. Each time someone accepts Christ as Lord and Savior, each time we partake of the Lord’s Supper, each time there is a baptism, each time we celebrate Easter, each time we celebrate Christmas, they are all memorials. These memorials remind us of how much our Father in Heaven loves us and how valuable we are to Him. Remembering His love and grace is necessary to fuel our faith in God’s future faithfulness and leading in our lives.
John 14: 26 says, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” We are reminded of what Jesus has said by the Holy Spirit and by meditating on His Word (a memorial). Psalm 1:2 instructs us that “his delight is in the Law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.” By doing so daily, we are making every day a Memorial Day as we consistently bring to remembrance God’s instruction and His love for us all. ~ Blessings, protection, and favor to all.
FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK ~ We find in Exodus 15 that the Israelites are put to a test by God. They have just been delivered from Pharoah and his army by crossing the Red Sea on dry ground. Moses and the Israelites sang a song to the Lord praising Him for their deliverance. But just three days later after traveling in the wilderness, they could not find water to drink. The people began to grumble and complain. Grumbling and complaining is a sign of a failed test. They had just experienced a miracle of God of incredible proportion and now could not believe that God was aware that they needed water to drink.
Did you ever take a test in school that covered material that you had not covered in class or was assigned in homework? Some of us might have thought so at the time, but probably not. It would not be fair to the students to test them on material and information that they had not reviewed. The same is true about our Heavenly Father. He will not put us to a test that we have not received prior teaching or instruction. This is an important principle for us to remember as we face the challenges of life. How we respond to those challenges determines whether we pass, fail, or learn from the experience. There are tests we will pass that will allow us to continue to grow in our faith. Unfortunately, there will be tests that we fail. How we react to failure will affect us either negatively or positively. If we grumble and complain because we go through trouble, we have truly failed. But if we learn from the experience, we still have a chance to grow from the trial. Growth to be more prepared and equipped to successfully face obstacles in the future. James 1:2-4 says, “Consider it an opportunity of great joy when your faith is tested. Then your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when it is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”~ Blessings, protection, and favor to all.
FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK ~ Life is full of natural milestones that mark various stages or significant happenings in our lives. Milestones refer to specific times that function as markers in our journey through life. Natural milestones are things such as the day you got your driver’s license (mine marked with a flat tire), graduating high school or college, wedding day, the loss of a friend or a loved one, or your children being born to name a few. These are times that we look back upon that can bring us joy, encouragement, comfort, or even sadness at times.
As one author has said, “While natural milestones in our lives are meaningful, they are not as significant as spiritual milestones. Spiritual milestones lift our eyes from the challenges (or discouragement for the moment) and help us get a glimpse of the journey as a whole. They can inspire us to take that next step of faith and experience God at work.” Those steps help create examples of spiritual milestones such as the day that we became a Christ-follower, encounters with God forever etched in our minds and hearts, prayers written and kept in a Bible, specific verses memorized, songs that have touched our lives, or storms in life that we have survived with God’s help. We must make time in our busy lives not to neglect to mark, record, and share these important times on our spiritual journey.
“I shall remember the deeds of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old” (Psalm 77:11). Making the intentional effort to remember and celebrate the spiritual milestones in life will cause us to be aware of God’s presence in our lives. He is always present and working. It is a matter of whether we will see Him or not. Remembering our spiritual milestones in life will help us notice Christ and remind us we can always trust His lead. ~ God’s blessings, protection, and favor to all.
