News items from Joe's Blog
Remember Summertime?
Last night as I was driving through the snow I heard a commercial for an awning for your back patio or deck to protect from too much sunshine. A summertime commercial in the middle of winter. How strange.
Well, I thought I'd give you a taste of summer in the midst of this arctic cold: Don't worry the winter won't last forever!God bless you today!Joe28673
Knee Time
Hey Friends,
Yesterday I shared a message with the church that the Lord put strongly on my heart. It was about the need for humility in prayer. If you have about 12 minutes you might take a listen.
Here's some of the key points:
- Of all the things that stop progress in your life most of the blockages are inside of you.
- Pride is one of the biggest
- God resists the proud
- Get pride out of the way
- Humble yourself
- Kneeling down is a method of humbling yourself
Dan 4:37 "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride."
1Pe 5:5 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.
1Pe 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,
Dan 6:4 Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him.
Dan 6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.
The Lord spoke to me to especially encourage the men of the church to do what Daniel did: kneel down and pray, it's a humbling thing. But it's better for us to humble ourselves than for God to do it for us.
God bless you
Love ya
Joe
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Merry Christmas????
Well for years we've been trying to do a Christmas letter. It has happened once or twice, but I'm not sure we had any kids then. Well it finally happened. Not in time for Christmas, but I hope you enjoy reading it.
This is what we looked like a few years ago.
Click here to see what we're doing now.
Blessings on youJoe28531
Fresh Bread
Son, my Spirit is with you.
Rely on Him.
He’ll never fail you; never let you down.
Look to Him.
He’ll guide you and show you what to do and how to do it,
all through the day.
Receive it.
He is such a gift to you.
Bless you friends, hope this word from Him helped you today.
Joe
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Gotta Stay Steady
Heb 12:1 ...let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
It is so easy to get side-tracked. It is so easy to get knocked off track. But you don't have to let that happen.
Discipline yourself to go back to the things you wrote down. Those things you wrote when you were being inspired. The things that make the road before you clear.
Emotional storms may come. Go back to what you wrote.Fear may come. Go back to what you wrote.Uncertainty may come. Go back to what you wrote.
But Joe, I haven't written anything yet.
Well, if that's the case, I think you know what you need to do.
Blessings,Joe28454
Time To Get Away
Nancy & I are getting away for a few days to pray and seek the Lord. There is so much coming up in this new year we've got to have the Lord's direction.
The church is going great and so are things with the family. We are starting a new ministry called Joseph Barlow Ministries. The focus will be on:
- Music
- Ministry
- Missions
Joe28431
Missions Are So Cool
Prayer
I've been noticing something interesting in the media (news, movies & shows). I'm sure you know this but they don't make any room for God. So many shows are about the badness or goodness of mankind. They depict a world in which God does not exist, has no voice or doesn't matter. But this is a lie. The portrayal of this world view is a lie. It does not tell the whole story. God is present. He is real. Many don't see Him because they reject Him. Many don't see Him because they've never heard the Gospel. But God is real. He is present. He is available to all who call.He has made a way to be active in your life. He doesn't like to barge in. He likes to be invited.Give God an invitation to move, work, act, speak in your life today. The Bible says that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.His name is Jesus.Simply pray!28365
Are You Ready For This?
Take a look at this video and let me know your thoughts. Just post a comment below.
Blessings,
Joe
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Love Will Flow
Nothing but Me
Hey Friends,
Here's an entry from my journal the other day. Hope it helps:
Joe
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Father, I love you.
Love me, son; with all your heart. Let me lift you. Let me strengthen you.
You’d be amazed and you don’t know yet how much my power can lift you and strengthen you. You haven’t experienced it.
But are you sold out to me completely? Have you given it all up for me? What are you holding on to that is so important that it’s more important than me? Examine these things. Let my Holy Spirit show you what is holding you back; what you are holding onto.
I love you son. Be free from the constraints and trappings of this world. The satisfaction to come to you far exceeds what you’ve experienced.
Nothing but me. Let that be your focus: nothing but me. Everything else will fall into its proper place when there is nothing but me. You’ll see how everything fits.
So Glad
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Financial Hard Times? Here's Some Encouragement
Check out this video of a song I wrote several years ago.By the way you can download the whole album from the link on the left(Faithful Is He).Blessings,Joe
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A Funny Email
Hey Friends,
This came in my email today.
True or not, there's truth here.
Enjoy,
Joe
FLORIDA COURT SETS ATHEIST HOLY DAY
In Florida , an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter & Passover holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians, Jews & observances of their holy days. The argument was it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized day(s).
The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, 'Case dismissed.'
The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, 'Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter & others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur & Hanukkah. Yet my client & all other atheists have no such holidays.'
The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, 'But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant.'
The lawyer said, 'Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists.'
The judge said, 'The calendar says April 1st is 'April Fools Day.' Psalm 14:1 states 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day.
Court is adjourned!
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Check This Out
Check it out.BlessingsJoe27917
The Power of Questions
So, what would you think if I did a whole blog post and only asked questions?
Would you read it?
Could you get anything out of it?
Would you be willing to try????
- So, what's your name?
- How old are you?
- How did you vote in the last election?
- What are your plans for eternity?
- What are you doing after high school?
- When was the last time you had an intelligent, enjoyable conversation?
- What would you like for Christmas?
Have you ever considered the power of questions?
Have you ever wondered what life would be like if there were no periods or exclamation marks, just question marks?
Do questions open up a void or a vacuum demanding an answer?
Aren't vacuums so powerful that they'll draw anything available into them?
What if you ask the wrong person the right question?
Will you get the right answer?
Do questions create tension in our thinking?
Do questions lead to learning?
When was the last time you asked an intelligent question?
Do you think you could learn better if you asked better questions?
Do you know what you need to learn?
Do you know what questions to ask?
What if you ask the right person the wrong question?
Will you get the right answer?
Have you exposed yourself to the body of knowledge necessary to get you where you want to go?
Do you think knowledge will just come to you without you pursuing it with a question?
What if you asked God a question?
Would He reply?
What if you didn't know what to ask Him?
What if you asked Him what you should ask?
What do you think?
Did you get anything out of this blog post?27875
What's Normal?
If there was such a thing as a normal life, what would it look like?
Remember that the word normal means conformed to a norm. A norm is a set way, it's predefined by someone.
If you decide the way your life should be and you make it that way that's one thing.
But, if you're living your life in a way that conforms to the rest of the world or some predefined pattern that you don't like then it's time to change things.
Do you like your life?
You might want to take a moment and assess what you like about your life and what you don't.
For me, when I think of a normal life I think of what normal Christianity should look like. If I'm walking like Jesus walked then I'm living the normal Christian life. If I'm not living like that then I'm not conforming to the norm that I really desire. I want to be like Him. I want to live like Him. I want my life to reflect God's love, His glory and as many of His attributes as it can.
For me, normal is a good thing. Because for me, normal is defined by Jesus Christ and His word.
Love y'all!Have a normal day!Joe27629