Which Book Are You Showing?

 One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth. Proverbs 13:7, New International Version

It is said that in China there are three sets of books. One set you show the tax man at tax time that shows you are poor.

One set you show people who want to invest in your company that says you are rich. In reality they are no where near that wealthy.

Next they have a set of book that states that they are one step from bankruptcy. Again it i a lie. They are doing okay but do not want to pay the taxes. 

How many times do we see rich people who claim to be poor and bankrupt to cheat investors out of money?

In reality they have tons of money stashed off shore and life like kings while laughing at the suckers they fooled.

At the opposite end of the scale, how many times do wee see poor people pretending to be rich (another phrase may be “Keeping up with the Jones’” Just out of curiosity, who are these Jones’ anyway? I have never met them, have you?) They strut around like they are so haughty and pretend to be wealthy but in reality they are in debt up to their eyeballs playing this stupid game.

It is not the fact that a person has riches that keeps them from heaven, but the fact that riches have them. Dr. Caird

Then lastly there is the real set of books which states how much the man or woman is really worth. That one they try to hide.

My motto is “who are you that I have to impress you?

This is me, if you like me let’s be friends, if you don’t like me let’s try to get along in spite of our differences.”

Now  we all want and need attention sometimes, but let’s be wise, not stupid.

If you pretend to be something you are not, when the truth is discovered you will be the laughing stock and will be humiliated.

On the other side of the coin is Jesus. He says: “Come as you are, warts and all. I will love you.”

Speaking from experience I can assure you that no earthly relationship can even begin to compare to the exhilarating and awesome relationship Jesus has to offer and will give to any and all who accept Him.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:1 New Living Translation

Prayer: Thank you Jesus Emet (God of truth) for blessing me with the wisdom and integrity to live the life of truth. You, Jehovah and the Holy Spirit are the only ones I desire to impress.

The gift of love, the gift of joy, the gift of peace, these are the greatest gifts that can be given. They are given in abundance to all those in Christs family by our Heavenly loving  Father. May you be blessed with plentiful opportunities to share these with those around you today. Joseph a son of Jehovah

Photo and article @ Joseph a son of Jehovah 2019

Here is the Catch

 “See, I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you. Pay close attention to him, and obey his instructions. Do not rebel against him, for he is my representative, and he will not forgive your rebellion.  But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you. Exodus 23:20-22 The Holy Bible, The New Living Translation

It is a good feeling that those who chose to be my enemies make themselves enemies of Jehovah. BUT, here is the catch, we must be obedient unto Him.

I believe the angel referred to in this instance is the Holy Spirit. Yes He is the best guidance councillor there is.

When we rebel against Him, He withdraws His protection and guidance. Woe be to the man or woman that puts themselves in that situation. I speak from a lot of personal experience. It only leads to trouble, agony, confusion and heartache. The beautiful thing is though, that when we repent He is quick to return to us.

We ignore the Holy Spirit at our own peril. Joseph a son of Jehovah

Prayer:Thank you Jehovah Mekaddishkem (Exodus 31:13) – The LORD that Sanctifies me for blessing me with sending me The Holy Spirit to teach me and help me to be obedient unto all of Your wise instruction. I know You give this for my own good.                                                                                     He is the most awesome Teacher. He knows how to teach me so that I will understand.                               I remorsefully apologize for the times I am a rebellious student. I know it is not possible but I would love to be perfect so that I would never hurt Your treasured heart.                                                                        I exalt You in the name of the best Teacher ever, Jesus Christ. Amen

May Christ bless you with love, joy and peace today and every day. Joseph a son of Jehovah

Photo and article @ Joseph a son of Jehovah 2020

I Have Found That

 The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray. Proverbs 12: 26 The Holy Bible, The New Living Translation

In my life I have found that the righteous give advice to help us. Most of it comes from their life experiences whether it be personal or whether it be from witnessing it in others lives. We ignore their advice at our own peril.

The wicked give advice to con you into doing something that will be to the benefit to them but will harm you. You obey their advice at your own peril. Choose wisely.

The best way to choose who to listen to when advice is given is to take it to Jehovah in prayer. He will send the Holy Spirit to guide your choice. Joseph a son of Jehovah

Prayer: Thank you Jehovah El Emeth (Psalms 31:5) – LORD GOD of Truth for blessing me with sending me the Holy Spirit to guide me unto the truth to guide my way in this confusing world with so many deceptive voices crowding for my ears. I exalt You in the name of He who exemplifies truth Jesus Christ. Amen

Whatever is beautiful, whatever is meaningful, whatever brings you joy, may you be blessed with an abundance of it this every day this year. Joseph a son of Jehovah

When We Run Into Problems

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. Romans 5:3-5 The Holy Bible New Living Translation

I do not know about you but I do not exactly dance for joy and sing praises unto Jehovah whenever problems and troubles come into my life.

At first I used to ask why it was happening to me like a whining little child (come on we all do ).

Then I would be asking what the Holy Spirit was trying to teach me through these events.

Now, I understand that even though bad things happen to good folks for no reason every problem and trouble can be used to fortify some part of our character (which most time either I though I was strong in them or did not realize how weak I was in them).

Jehovah has a purpose for every problem. He uses them to mature your character and to develop Your relationship with Him ever stronger. Joseph a son of Jehovah

Prayer: Thank you Jehovah Tsori ( Lord my Strength ) Psalm 19:14 for blessing me with problems and troubles to help strengthen my character to become ever more of the holy child You desire me to be. I exalt You in the name of my strongest savior Jesus Christ. Amen

May Christ bless you with love, joy and peace today and every day. Joseph a son of Jehovah Photo and article @ Joseph a son of Jehovah 2019

I am Vindicated.

  And you shall know [with an understanding based on personal experience] that I am the Lord; For they shall not be put to shame who wait and hope expectantly for Me. Isaiah 49:23 Holy Bible Amplified Version

Have you ever experienced confirmation from Jehovah from a Bible Verse or from Christians councilors of a certain event that is going to occur in your life?

I have.

Everybody laughed at me and informed me it was certain failure to attempt to follow Christs lead. In all honesty when this first began I doubted myself the outcome. In due course of time Christ did indeed accomplish in me and through me His Divine purpose in my life and through my life.

Now when my Beloved informs me of an impossible occurrence that will happen in my life I have confidence in His providential completion of it. The wonderful thing though, is that He never does it in a predictable manner. I believe this is so no one can claim it is just a coincidence. I always laugh and say: “ You are truly an awesome God and Your ways are so much higher than mine my Love.” with reverential love and joy.

I believe Jehovah does the impossible in strange ways to remind us of just how awesome He truly is. Joseph- Anthony: Green

Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]. Hebrews 11:1 Holy Bible Amplified Version

Prayer: Thank you Jehovah-Rohi ( Jesus is our Divine Shepherd ) for the amazing manner in which You have led and helped this sheep of Yours to accomplish incredible things for the glory of Your kingdom and the enlargement of it through those You have blessed me with guiding them unto You. I glorify You in You magnificent name. Amen.

May the gentle assurance of Jesus’ sweet love encompass you today and every day.

There is No Fear

There is no fear in love [dread does not exist]. But perfect (complete, full-grown) love drives out fear, because fear involves [the expectation of divine] punishment, so the one who is afraid [of God’s judgment] is not perfected in love [has not grown into a sufficient understanding of God’s love]. 1 John 4:18 Holy Bible, Amplified Version

I believe that John was referring to repentant Christians in this passage.

Those who do not belong to Christ and unrepentant Christians have every right to fear Jehovahs punishment.

Hell is real, it is not pleasant and is for an eternity. There is no plea bargaining before Jehovah nor parole. Joseph- Anthony: Green

On the other hand, there is no need for a repentant Christian to worry about Jehovahs wrath. Christ has paid for our ransom and repentance is the second key.

Yes, Jesus’ blood has paid the price for our sins but if we continue in them that sacrifice is made null and void.

When we love Jehovah we desire to please Him and that means living a righteous life.

No one lives without sin. If that was possible Christ would not have made His horrifying sacrifice.

However when we sin and come before Jehovah with a sincere heart that is remorseful for what we have done and pray for the Holy Spirits power to be in us to overcome this weakness not only will our sins be forgiven but the Holy Spirit will bless us to conquer our habitual sins which are too strong for us to defeat on our own.

I know, there were many strong habitual sinful habits that I tried to conquer on my own only to crash and burn. When they were surrendered to the Holy Spirit He INSTANTLY forever destroyed them.

Now sometimes we must work in conjunction with the Holy Spirit by say getting into good Christian counseling to deal with the underlying reasons for the weakness (so sometimes someone abuses alcohol and or drugs to kill the pain of something tragic and painful earlier in our lives that they have not dealt with).

Again, I know of that of which I speak because I was blessed with Godly Christian councilors that took a year of counseling to deal with those issues. Many others it takes two or three years.

Prayer: Thank you Jesus-M’Kaddesh (The Lord is my Sanctifier) for Your cherished gift of sanctification (sanctify: to purify or free from sin) through Your holy blood when we repent of our weakness (sin) and thank you through the gift of the Holy Spirits ultimate power of forever smashing the destructive addictions in my life. I am eternally grateful in Your wonderful name. Amen.

May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love bless you today and every day.

The Question is, Who Listens?

 Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you to fear the Lord [with awe-inspired reverence and worship Him with obedience]. Psalm 34:11 Amplified Bible

No, that is not your conscience speaking to you, that is the Holy Spirit.

The devil is an expert at twisting the truth into a lie so if you depend upon your “conscience” you are easy prey for Him.

Then how will you know if it is the Holy Spirit or the devil?

The answer is in developing a deep personal relationship with Jehovah by reading your Bible and obeying what it says.

From my personal experience when I am reading the Bible and a verse jumps out at me, that is the Holy Spirit speaking to me. I stop reading and pray for enlightenment. Then he guide me to understanding the Bible verse in context to what He is saying about my life.

Another way is to listen to good sermon like on sermonaudio and reading good Christian books like can be found on sites like goodread and https://www.gutenberg.org (personally my preference is for the old classics). Of course we should also have godly Christian councilors.

The problem I have sadly witnessed too frequently is that even when others know Jehovah is speaking to them the deliberately chose to ignore Him because he is telling them something they do not want to hear. They want their way, not Jehovahs. That is a sure recipe for disaster. Then when catastrophes occur they go cry babying to Jehovah and ask why He is doing this to them.

God is speaking to all of us, all the time. The question is not, to whom does God talk? The question is, who listens? Neale Donald Walsch

Are you experiencing difficulties in your life right now?

Are you listening to Jehovah as He is speaking to you?

Prayer: Thank you Jehovah Rabbi (God our Teacher) for blessing me with patiently teaching me to be wise, gracious, humble and meek like my Beloved King Jesus. Thank you for the tools You have blessed me with to receive an ever deepening of these blessings. I exalt You in the name of the wisest Rabbi of all Jesus Christ. Amen.

May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love bless you today and every day.

He also Brought Me Up.

He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. Psalm 40:2

mire a troublesome or intractable situation, heavy often deep mud or slush Merriam Webster dictionary

When I was a tree planter and we worked in deep mud it clung to our boots and made walking extremely labourous and difficult. Clay clings to you when wet and hardens like cement when it dries out.

What situation are you in that is clinging to you and dragging you into exhaustion, frustration and desperation? Is it a habit that is destroying your life?

You do not need self help groups or satanic politically correct filth that teaches that if you work real hard you will conquer whatever problem you have in your life.

You need the power of the Holy Spirit which Jehovah abundantly blesses us with when we surrender it unto Him. Now it may happen instantaneously or it may take a while.

When I surrendered the destructive addiction of alcoholism to Jehovah the Holy Spirit instantly crushed it and expelled it from me. When I decided to quit smoking it was a daily battle (at the time of this writing it has been two months and the struggle is still continuing). Some times I gave in and had a smoke but the determination is there to destroy this filthy habit. I know it cannot be done by my own will power but by working with the Holy Spirit we will eventually eternally eliminate it from my body.

For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again. Proverbs 24:16 Holy Bible, New King James Version

Either way, the Lord will bless you with firm footing to not only destroy the wicked destructive habit but He will bless you with a new firm path that leads you to a deeper love and appreciation for Him. When that happens and you encounter someone else trying to battle a destructive habit it is your duty to give testimony of how Jehovah freed you from your slavery and encourage them lovingly.

Prayer: Thank you Jehovah-Mephalti (The Lord my Deliverer) for blessing me with delivering me from destructive habits that were too strong for me to conquer on my own by Your mighty power. I exalt Thee in the name of He who is the name we call upon to rescue us from all devastating weaknesses Jesus Christ. Amen.

May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love bless you today and every day.

The Battle that Wasn’t.

 

 

You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You,Because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3 New King James Version Holy Bible

One morning as soon as I woke up my head felt like it was going to explode in flames and my finger tips felt like they were going to explode. I knew this was a with drawl symptom of stopping smoking. There was a quite little voice that informed me not to reach for any niccorette gum, lozenges or the patch. I felt Jehovah telling me He was going to beat it.

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. Romans 8:26 New King James Version Holy Bible

Now was decision time: 1 I could surrender to the craving and buy a pack. This would mean ultimate defeat.

2 I could trust Jehovah and obey His instructions.

I felt the Lord directing me to a quiet wood lot. Silly me, had the disbelief that it was going to be smack down time like in the phony wrestling some folks waste their time watching on TV. There was a fantasy of the devil pinning me to the mat and then my super hero Jesus climbing into the ring and giving he devil the what for and casing him away. The reality of it was I laid on a mat and was completely encompassed by peace and strength that could only be the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” Luke 8:48 New King James Version Holy Bible

Whenever the desire hits me I either reach for Rescue Remedy or the Bible.

The Bible and prayer works better.

In order to receive Jehovahs blessing it is a two part sequence. First you have to have firm faith and believe. Sometimes part of having faith is taking the first step.

Second Jehovah will then bless you. Now you may not receive your request coming to fulfillment because it is either ungodly or because it is not what Jehovah has planned for you.

There was once a prayer for revenge because of what was deemed a serious offense against me. That prayer was denied but instead the Lord blessed me years later seeing that what was done was nothing more that an unintentional misunderstanding.

For years I prayed to be blessed with a Godly woman to be my wife and for us to be blessed with children. That has never come to pass. It would have been impossible to serve my Heavenly King if I were married and had children.

It is impossible to be a Christian without faith. Joseph- Anthony: Green

Having faith is a lifetime of work. It is not a one time deal.

Each time your faith is rewarded your faith will grow but needs to continue to grow until we are walking the streets of Heaven.

Trust Jehovah with your life, His wisdom far surpasses ours. Joseph- Anthony: Green

Prayer: Please Jehovah-Jireh (God is our Provider) bless me with providing me with them means to grow my faith in You. In so doing my Love I will also be blessed with drawing closer unto You. I sincerely request this in the name of He who had faith enough in You to go to the cross Jesus Christ. Amen.

May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love bless you today and every day.  

Why Ask if You Don’t Believe?

 

 

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. James 1:5-6 New King James Version

Have you ever asked Jehovah for wisdom?

For me it was going into service for Him.

I wanted to go to Central America because I did missionary work in Mexico and loved it.

Jehovah however had other ideas. He wanted me to go to China. When I first put my resume on the internet after completing a T.E.S.O.L. Course to teach English I fully expected a contract in Central America. The only offers received however were from China. One in particular stood out. I really didn’t want to go to China being afraid of what would happen to a Christian in a communist country. The feeling however was very strong and off I went having faith that this was Jesus’ answer to where He
wanted me to serve Him. I have been all over China for eight years now faithfully serving the Lord. Although it has been difficult I am exceedingly glad that huge leap of faith has been taken. Not many have come to Jesus through my sharing of the Gospel, but even one is important to Jesus.

Believing in the future takes faith. … We cannot function effectively without a belief in that which does not exist. … You believe in tomorrow; you believe in progress Erwin Raphael McManus

Prayer: Thank You Jehovah Rohi (God is our Sheppard) for guiding me to where you know I can be of the best service to You. In the name of the greatest path finder Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

May the sweet sunshine of Jesus’ love bless you today and every day.