More of Pastor Joe's 'Diary Devotions
NO RESERVATIONS NEEDED
BY PASTOR JOE SANTOS
MANY HANDLE GRIEF IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS. THE WORLD OFFERS MANY ALTERNATIVES TO FINDING PEACE. WELL THIS WEEK I DISCOVERED THAT RELIGION OFFERS AN ALTERNATIVE NO TRUE BELIEVER CAN ACCEPT. IT HAPPENED AS I SPOKE TO A MOTHER WHO HAD LOST A SON, AND FOUND SOLACE IN SOME THING A RELIGIOUS MINISTER TOLD HER. IT DUMSTRUCK ME, WHICH ISN' T ALWAYS THAT HARD TO DO. SHE SAID HE TOLD HER NOT TO BE CONCERNED WITH THE DEATH OF HER SON TO ALCOLISM BECAUSE GOD HAD"GOD IS ALWAYS HERE FOR US"
BY PASTOR JOE SANTOS
WE TEND TO TAKE THINGS FOR GRANTED SOMETIMES, PERHAPS TOO OFTEN. GOD GIVES US SO MANY DAILY BLESSINGS WE FEEL THAT THESE BLESSINGS MUST ALWAYS TAKE ON THE SAME FACE. WELL, THE FACT IS THAT SOMETIMES THE FACE OF HIS BLESSINGS IS ONE OF PAIN AND SUFFERING, AND WE FEEL AT THESE TIMES GOD HAS SHORTCHANGED US IN THESE BLESSINGS TO US. WELL GOD NEVER DOES SHORTCHANGE US ,AS THE HYMN STATES, HE IS OUR GOD IN THE MOUNTAIN ,AS WELL AS THE VALLEYS. I LEARNED THIS AGAIN THIS PAST WEEK. A NIGHT OUT WITH MY WIFE WAS NOT UNUSUAL BUT IT WAS WELCOMED TO JUST GET AWAY FOR A WHILE. WELL, THIS VISIT WAS DIFFERENT FOR AS I GOT UP TO GO TO MY SEAT IN THIS RESTAURANT MY LEGS AND ARMS WENT NUMB. TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT, UNLIKE MY SERMONS, I ENDED UP IN THE HOSPITAL FOR A BRAND NEW PACEMAKER. YES ,YOU COULD SAY THAT AT THIS TIME I WAS IN THE VALLEY, BUT REGARDLESS MY GOD WAS THERE ,HE GAVE ME THE NEEDED STRENGTH. YES IN THE MEDICINES AND THE SURGERY, BUT ABOVE ALL THIS, IN HIS PRESENCE. WE CAN TRUST HIM IN EVERY DETAIL OF OUR LIVES. NOW, THIS DOES NOT MEAN WE WILL UNDERSTAND HIS WAYS BUT SO WHAT. HIS WAYS ARE HIGHER THEN OURS, AS THE HEAVENS ARE FROM THE EARTH. DO WE TRUST HIM IN THE VALLEYS?, OR IS IT ONLY IN THE MOUNTAIN TOP EXPERIENCES OF OUR LIVES. HE IS WORKING OUT ALL THINGS FOR OUR GOOD. HE NEVER TELLS US," OH JOE THE THINGS ARE GOOD AND PLEASANT". NO HE DOESN'T SAY THAT. HIS PROMISE IS IN THE END RESULTS WHICH ARE INDEED FOR OUR GOOD. DID IT SEEM GOOD WHEN OUR LORD WAS FALSELY ACCUSED ,BEATEN, SPIT UPON, AND NAILED TO A CROSS. NO, OUTWARDLY THIS WAS DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND THAT IS UNTIL THE RESURRECTION THEN THE GOOD ALL FITTED IN NICELY, AND SO BELOVED WILL IT BE FOR YOU AND I. EACH DAY IS A BLESSING FROM GOD NO MATTER WHAT OCCURRED IN OUR LIVES. DO WE IN THE DIFFICULT TIMES, AS WELL AS THE GOOD TIMES TRUST HIM? WELL, IT COMES DOWN TO ONE DENOMINATOR, AND THAT IS TRUST IN OUR LORD IS WHAT DETERMINES THE VALIDITY OF OUR LOVE FOR HIM. TRUST THEN IN HIM WITH ALL OUR HEARTS AND LEAN NOT ON OUR UNDERSTANDING, AND THE PROMISE FROM PROVERBS 3 IS THAT HE WILL DIRECT OUR PATHS. PATHWAYS THEY ARE OF PEACE AND VICTORY. PRAISE AND THANK HIM IN AND FOR ALL THINGS.
"Thank God Wrinkles Don't Hurt"
by Pastor Joe
I BELIEVE I AM BEGINNING TO GET A LITTLE SELF CONSCIOUS AS I REACH THE SUNSET OF MY YEARS HERE ON EARTH. LET ME SHARE WITH YOU MY LATEST EXPERIENCE WHICH HAPPENED THIS WEEK. I WAS WALKING UP THE STREET AND NOTICED 4 YOUNG LADS PLAYING CATCH IN THE STREET. AS I APPROACHED, I SAID TO ONE OF THEM IF HE PLAYED FOOTBALL WITH THE JETS. HE STOPPED AND STARED AT ME WITH AN EXPRESSION OF HORROR. YOU WOULD THINK HE RAN INTO DOCTOR FRANKENSTEIN. HE JUST STARED WITH THAT EXPRESSION OF FEAR. WELL, TO SAY THE LEAST I DROPPED MY GAZE AND WENT ON MY WAY MUCH TO HIS DELIGHT I WOULD SUPPOSE. I GUESS WRINKLES HAVE A WAY OF MAKING ONE SCARY LOOKING., BUT REGARDLESS SPEAKING FOR WRINKLES ,I WILL TELL YOU FROM EXPERIENCE THEY DO NOT HURT AT ALL. OKAY LETS SEE WHAT COMES TO MIND IN A SPIRITUAL SENSE. ONE THING FOR SURE IS MY WRINKLES WILL ONLY BE WITH ME ON THIS SIDE OF GLORY. I AM FULLY ASSURED THAT, THEY ARE NOT WELCOMED IN GLORY AND EVEN IF THEY ARE THEY WILL BE GLORIFIED WRINKLES. I CAN LIVE WITH THAT. BUT SERIOUSLY, AS IF I COULD BE THAT, OUR LORD TOLD US THAT WE, WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR BRETHREN ,WE ARE NOT TO SEE THE FLAWS, PERSONALITY OR OTHER WISE. NO, WE ARE TO SEE THE THINGS WHICH ARE GOOD WHICH ARE NOBLE AND KIND AND OF A GOOD REPORT. WHAT OUR LORD IS SAYING HERE IS THAT WE MUST LOOK AT THE REFLECTION OF CHRIST IN ALL OUR SISTERS AND BROTHERS IN CHRIST. WILL THERE BE FLAWS IN THEM? OF COURSE THERE WILL BE. WE ALL HAVE THEM, BUT YET THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS EVIDENT IN ALL OF GOD'S CHILDREN. THAT IS TO THE DEGREE THEY ABIDE IN GOD'S WORD. OH, BELOVED LET US REMEMBER ONE THING AND IT IS THIS .WHEN WE ABSORB GOD'S WORD WE ARE IN ESSENCE ABSORBING MORE OF GOD INTO OUR INNER BEINGS. WE, WHEN WE ENGAGE IN READING, MEDITATING, AND OBEYING GOD'S WORD WE THEN WILL REFLECT MORE OF CHRIST TO OTHERS. WE WILL NEVER BECOME CHRIST BUT WE CAN REFLECT HIM MORE OF HIM AS WE LOVE HIS WORD, AND IN DOING THIS LOVE HIM MORE. IT WILL BE THEN THAT WE WILL LEARN THE BEAUTY OF CHRISTLIKENESS. WHAT GLORY THIS BRINGS TO OUR HOLY GOD. I HOPE I WILL SEE THAT LITTLE BOY AGAIN AND ASSURE HIM I AM NOT HIS WORSE NIGHTMARE. BUT THEN MAYBE HE HAS SEEN ENOUGH. LET ME LEAVE YOU WITH THIS FROM GOD'S WORD THOUGH THE OUTER MAN IS WASTING AWAY THE INNER MAN IS BEING RENEWED DAY BY DAY.I WONDER BELOVED AM I THAT SCARY LOOKING? ONE OF MY SISTERS IN THE LORD TOLD ME THIS SAME WEEK IF I WANTED ANYTHING PICKED UP AT THE BEAUTY SHOP. I TOLD HER I WAS PAST HELP. OH WELL ,GOD LOVES ME JUST THE WAY I AM. SO THERE. HAVE A GREAT DAY IN THE LORD BELOVED ONES AND REMEMBER EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL IN IT'S OWN WAY.
"A TEST I COULD NOT HANDLE"
I THINK WE WILL ALL AGREE THAT SOMETIMES ,PERHAPS MANY TIMES ,THINGS THAT REALLY SEEM TO BE ARE NOT IN REALITY THAT WAY. ALLOW ME TO GIVE YOU A REAL LIFE EXAMPLE IN MY LIFE. IT HAPPENED THIS PAST WEEK WHEN I ACCOMPANIED MY WIFE TO CMC HOSPITAL FOR HER MAMMOGRAM. SHE WAS CALLED FROM THE WAITING ROOM WERE WE WERE SITTING AND TO HER X RAY. WELL AS I WAITED FOR HER TWO LADIES CAME INTO THE WAITING ROOM. AS WE SAT THERE IT WAS NOT VERY LONG BEFORE ONE OF THESE LADIES ASKED ME, IF THE PURSE MY WIFE HAD ME HOLD WAS MINE. I TOLD HER NO IT WAS NOT MY PURSE, AND THEN I JOKINGLY SAID THAT ONLY ON THURSDAY'S DO I CARRY A PURSE. SOMETIMES MY JOKES BACKFIRE, AND THIS WAS DEFINITELY WAS ONE OF THOSE TIMES BECAUSE THE NEXT QUESTION SHE ASKED ME WAS THAT IF I WAS HERE FOR A MAMMOGRAM. WELL, THIS WAS OUT OF LEFT FIELD TO SAY THE LEAST AND I TOLD HER THAT IF THE NEXT PERSON CALLED FOR A MAMMOGRAM WAS I THEN SHE COULD PUT THIS IN RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT. WELL AS WE TALKED IT WAS EVIDENT THAT THIS DEAR LADY WAS MENTALLY CHALLENGED SO THAT EXPLAINED EVERYTHING ,AT LEAST I HOPED SO. BUT LETS GET TO THE SPIRITUAL APPLICATION BEFORE I RUN OUT OF PAPER. IT COMES FROM 2 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 4 VERSE 18 WERE WE ARE TOLD, TO LOOK NOT TO THE THINGS THAT ARE SEEN BUT TO THE THINGS THAT ARE UNSEEN. FOR THE THINGS THAT ARE VISIBLE ARE BRIEF AND FLEETING BUT THE THINGS THAT ARE INVISIBLE ARE DEATHLESS AND EVERLASTING. YOU SEE BELOVED WHAT SOME PEOPLE SEE, AS THAT DEAR LADY DID, IS NOT REAL. IT ISN'T REALITY. IN OTHER WORDS WHAT THEY SEE ARE PERCEIVED THROUGH NATURAL EYES ,AND NOT BY A SPIRITUAL EYESIGHT. WE ARE, AS BELIEVERS, TO SEE THROUGH THE EYES OF FAITH. SO WERE IS OUR FOCUS I ASK? IS IT UPON THE MISLEADINGS AND UNTRUTHS THIS WORLD POLISHES UP FOR THOSE WHO DESIRE IT. OR IS IT ON OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR? HE AFTER ALL IS THE TRUTH. WE NEVER CAN GET MISLEAD OR ABSORBED INTO THE WORLDS FALSE PRESENTATIONS. SATAN IS A MASTER COUNTERFEITER, AND HE IS THE god OF THIS WORLD. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE GET INTO GOD'S WORD AND SEE WHAT IT TELLS US ABOUT ANY SITUATION WE FIND OURSELVES IN . OUR LIFE IS TO BE A LIFE OF FAITH AND NOT A LIFE DEPENDED ON OUR NATURAL INSTINCTS. WE ARE TO BE DOERS OF THE WORD OF GOD AND NOT HEARERS ONLY. WE MUST WALK BY FAITH. AND AS I WALKED OUT OF THAT WAITING ROOM I AM GLAD, AS I WENT MY WAY I HAVE THE WORD OF GOD TO DIRECT ME IN THE PATHWAYS HE HAS ORDAINED FOR ME AND CERTAINLY IT WAS NOT A PATHWAY FOR A MAMMOGRAM OR ANYTHING CONTRARY TO HIS WILL FOR MY LIFE OR YOURS.
"NO WRONG DIRECTIONS FROM OUR LORD"
BY PASTOR JOE SANTOS
THIS WEEK MY DIARY DEVOTION HAS TO DO WITH A TRIP TO WAL-MART IN DICKSON CITY. I HAPPENED TO BE STANDING AT THE ENTRANCE WAY FOR MY WIFE TO COME IN. WHILE I LOOKED OUT FOR HER A MAN CAME UP TO ME, AND HE HAD A PACKAGE IN HIS HAND. HE BEGAN TO TELL ME HOW THE PRODUCT HE PURCHASED WAS DEFECTIVE, AND ON AND ON HE WENT, GOING OVER EVERY DETAIL. I DID SYMPATHIZE WITH HIM I SAID I WAS SORRY FOR HIS TROUBLE. HE THEN LOOKED AT ME, AND SAID WELL, I WANT YOU TO MAKE IT RIGHT. HOW CAN I DO THAT I REPLIED .HE SAID, WELL GIVE ME BACK THE REFUND. AT THAT POINT I REALIZED HE WAS SPEAKING TO THE WRONG PERSON SO I TOLD HIM I DID NOT WORK HERE. HE WOULD HAVE TO GO TO THE MAN ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR WHO WORKED FOR WAL-MART. HE LOOKED A LITTLE EMBARRASSED AS HE WENT ON HIS WAY. AS HE WENT I ASKED HIM, IN A JOKING WAY ,IF HE WOULD PUT A WORD IN FOR ME FOR A JOB AT WAL-MART. HE LAUGHED AS HE WENT ON HIS WAY. WELL, WHAT SPIRITUAL LESSON CAN WE OBTAIN FROM THIS ? ONE THING IT IS THIS. WHEN WE ASK IN A WRONG WAY TO OUR LORD WE ARE BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE, JUST AS THIS GENTLEMEN DID, FOR THEIR IS ONLY ONE REASON FOR OUR PRAYER REQUESTS .IT IS NOT TO FULFILL SOME DESIRE WE HAVE, OR WISH. IT IS FOR ONE REASON WHY WE PRAY, AND THAT IS FOR GOD'S WILL TO BE DONE ON EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN. OUR LORD TAUGHT US THIS. HE WOULD CRY OUT TO HIS FATHER IN THE GARDEN, AS HIS CRUCIFIXION WAS NEAR AT HAND . HE SAID: FATHER TAKE THIS CUP OF SORROW FROM ME BUT NOT MY WILL BUT THINE BE DONE. SO BELOVED I ASK, DOES GOD GIVE US THE DESIRES OF OUR HEARTS ? ABSOLUTELY, BUT THEY WILL ALWAYS BE ACCORDING TO HIS DETERMINATE WILL. GOD IS NOT, AS I WAS ,IN THE WRONG PLACE. NO HE IS ALWAYS WHERE HE SHOULD BE ,AND THAT IS AT HIS THRONE OF GRACE TO DO WHAT IS THE VERY BEST FOR ALL HIS CHILDREN. MANY TIMES WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE WHYS, OR WHEREFORES WHY OUR REQUESTS WERE ANSWERED IN THE WAY HE DID THEM, BUT AFTER ALL HIS WAYS ARE HIGHER THEN OURS AS THE HEAVENS ARE FROM THE EARTH. HE KNOWS WHAT IS BEST FOR US AND HE IS WORKING OUT ALL THESE THINGS FOR OUR GOOD. HE IS AN ETERNAL GOD, WE ARE TIME LIMITED CREATURES .SO WHENEVER WE OBTAIN THE ANSWERS TO OUR PRAYERS WE MUST FOCUSED ON THEM 0N THE ETERNAL, NOT IN THIS LIMITED TIME FRAME WE EXPERIENCE ON THIS SIDE OF GLORY. ONE OTHER THING WE MUST TAKE AWAY FROM THIS WAL-MART EXPERIENCE I HAD. IT IS THAT OUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS THERE ALWAYS FOR US. WE DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY THAT OUR PETITIONS ARE BOUNCING OFF THE CEILING. HE IS ALWAYS THERE TO HEAR US, AND TO RESPOND TO OUR REQUESTS. WE IN RESPONSE TO THIS ARE TO TRUST HIM, AND TO NEVER CHALLENGE HIS DETERMINATION AND HIS ANSWERS. FOR HE WILL NEVER LEAVE US OR FORSAKE US. WHAT A PRIVILEGE AND POWER THERE IS IN PRAYER. AMEN?
"CAGED AND FORGOTTEN"
BY PASTOR JOE SANTOS
I HAD THE OCCASION TO VISIT THE GRIFFIN POND ANIMAL SHELTER THIS PAST WEEK. THIS WAS MY FIRST VISIT THERE. WHAT I SAW REALLY TOUCHED A SOFT SPOT IN ME THAT I HAVE FOR ANIMALS. I SAW SO MANY CATS AND DOGS LOCKED UP IN CAGES. AND WHEN I LOOKED AT THEM YOU COULD SEE BY THE EXPRESSION ON THEIR FACES THAT THEY WERE PLEADING WITH ME TO LET THEM GO FREE. I RECALL STANDING BY THE CAGES, AND AT ONE POINT, ONE OF THE DOGS REACHED OUT AND TOUCHED MY ARM. I WISHED I COULD OF ADOPTED THEM ALL, BUT THEN I WOULD DEFINITELY BE IN THE DOG HOUSE WITH BARBARA. THE SADDEST OCCURRENCE WAS WHEN I WAS AT THE DESK WHERE YOU FIRST CAME IN. THERE WAS A GENTLEMAN WHO WAS GIVING UP ON HIS DOG, AND YOU COULD SEE PLAINLY THE FEAR IN HIS DOGS EYES. THIS POOR POUCH WAS SHAKING IN HIS FEAR. AND I WISHED MY WIFE WAS WITH ME BECAUSE EVERY IMPULSE IN ME WANTED TO TAKE THIS DOG HOME IF I COULD. WELL I COULD NOT SO I PROCEEDED HOME. AS I THOUGHT OF ALL THESE PETS IN THEIR CAGES I SEEKED A REASON, A SPIRITUAL ONE, FROM MY LORD AND I RECEIVED ONE. THESE DOGS AND CATS WERE LOCKED IN CAGES. THEY WERE NOT FREE, AND IT BOTHERED THEM IMMENSELY. BUT IN REALITY HUMAN BEINGS ARE LOCKED UP, NOT IN CAGES, BUT BY THEIR SINFUL REBELLION TO GOD. THEY NEED HUMAN BEINGS ARE LOCKED UP, NOT IN CAGES, BUT BY THEIR SINFUL REBELLION TO GOD. THEY NEED A PASS TO GET OUT JUST AS THESE PETS DO IF THEY ARE TO BE RELEASED FROM THEIR CAPTIVITY. THAT PASS IS A PEACE TREATY WHICH IS NEEDED TO ACCOMPLISHED THEIR FREEDOM, AND THAT TREATY IS THE GOSPEL WHICH CONTAINS GOD'S POWER TO EFFECTUALLY FREE ONE FROM THEIR BONDAGE TO SIN, AND THEN MAKE THEM FREE IN CHRIST. WE, AS BELIEVERS, HAVE THAT PEACE TREATY TO GO TO THOSE WHO ARE CAGED IN THEIR SIN, AND AS GOD'S GRACE TOUCHES THEM FREE THEM TO SERVE JESUS CHRIST . I FELT SYMPATHY FOR THESE PETS AND RIGHTFULLY SO, BUT I ASKED MYSELF BEFORE GOD'S THRONE OF GRACE IF I HAD THE SAME SYMPATHY FOR THOSE WHO ARE MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD. I SUPPOSE WE ALL, AS BELIEVERS NEED TO ASK THAT QUESTION. ANOTHER SPIRITUAL TRUTH WHICH I RECEIVED CONCERNS THIS DOG THAT WAS BEING GIVEN UP BY THIS MAN WHO SAID HE HAD ENOUGH OF HER, AND WANTED THE POUND TO TAKE HER. THE SITUATION HAD TO DO WITH ADOPTION. HE HAD ADOPTED THIS PET AND WAS IN THE PROCESS OF GIVING HER UP. WELL, WE WHO ARE IN CHRIST, WERE ADOPTED ALSO.WE WHERE ADOPTED THAT IS INTO GOD'S FAMILY WHERE NO ONE ,NO POWER CAN EVER UNADOPTABLE US FROM GOD'S FAMILY. WE ARE SAFE FOR ETERNITY. WE . WE ARE SAFE FOR ETERNITY. WE ARE ALSO FREE AS THESE PETS IN THE CAGES WERE NOT. FREE, NOT TO LIVE OUR LIVES IN OUR WAY BUT FREE TO SERVE OUR MASTER JESUS CHRIST. THERE ARE NO BONDS, NO SHACKLES, THAT CAN HOLD US FAST FOR WE ARE FREE, FREE, TO SERVE, TO OBEY HIM, AND TO PRAISE HIM. WE BELONG TO THE ONE WHO LOVES US WHO LOVES US ETERNALLY. LET US TAKE ONE MORE ILLUSTRATION FROM THESE PETS AND THAT IS AS THEY FOLLOW THEIR MASTER, AS THEY GIVE HIM, OR HER UNCONDITIONAL LOVE THEN WE ARE TO FOLLOW OUR CHIEF, GREAT, AND GOOD SHEPHERD. HIS YOKE IS EASY HE TELLS US . I FOR ONE JUST LOVE HIS YOKE HOW I DO NEED TO LET HIM DIRECT ME, AS HE SPELLS IT OUT IN HIS WORD. I KNOW HE CARES FOR THE SPARROWS AS WELL AS ALL HIS CREATURES AND THOUGH THE CREATION IS GROANING AWAITING THE FULLNESS OF THE REDEMPTION OF GOD'S ELECT THAT DAY WILL COME WE WILL SIT WITH THE LION, THE WOLF, THE POISONOUS SNAKE ,AND NOT BE HARMED BECAUSE THE CURSE WILL BE LIFTED. NO LONGER WILL THERE BE A NEED FOR DOG POUNDS ANY LONGER WILL THEY BE IN CAGES. ALL THIS BELOVED BECAUSE OF HIS GRACE. WHAT A DAY AWAITS US AND ALL OF GOD'S CREATURES.
KEEPING PACE WITH JESUS
BY PASTOR JOE SANTOS
