Tag: Jesus

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Weekly Blog

Ministry Update: How Passion Feeds Activity

Of late, many have asked what’s going on with the ministry. Following is an update, indicative of how passion feeds so much activity.

You are one of several thousand on our email list. Our open rate, week after week, is above average. As such, we want to personally thank you for your participation in our ministry. I say “we” instead of “I” because it takes more than me to do this. Mary Kate (MK) Monin is my editor, videographer, and creative designer. In other words, MK makes our stuff look really good. Cyndi, my wife, is not only my best friend and biggest supporter, but closest adviser. I’m always bouncing ideas off of her, most often (should always in hindsight) heeding her advice. So, thank you, thank you, thank you…to them and you!!!

Starting on April 25, 2018, the Feast Day of St. Mark the Evangelist, we send out a blog every Wednesday, with the total to date being approximately 120. We literally have never missed a Wednesday, with the entire history available on our website. Although topics are varied, typically what is on my heart and mind for that week, often related to current events, they all tie back to the faith and our loving God.

Although I’m not certain of the exact timing, we started putting out videos (vlogs) every Friday. We’re also active on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

We published a FREE 14-week program, beginning May 6th and ending August 5th. The response we received was overwhelmingly positive. Hope you got a lot out of it…you can revisit any of the lessons through our website link above.

We’ve continued to update the website as things have developed, including our Speaking Page. As you might imagine, I’ve not done many events lately, with my last being a Parish Mission during Lent, just prior to COVID. With several having to be canceled, the next thing on the calendar is a Men’s Retreat in late October. We’ll see.

The thing we’re working on now is an online course we are hoping to launch this coming January. We are playing with the title of…

“Going from Overwhelmed to Fulfilled: God’s Master Plan (and Mark’s lived experience) on how to Eliminate the Stress from Your Life, and experience Peace, Joy, and Purpose”

We’re investing greatly in the project…hopefully it will be well received. Priced very moderately, we’ll have a hardship clause so that those who can’t afford it, can still enjoy the benefits.

Love to hear your thoughts on the title and idea of a course.

Although I have a full-time job, I love spending time on Mark Joseph Ministries. In fact, I’m passionate about it. The reason is three-fold:

  1. My life has been absolutely transformed in understanding the unconditional love and forgiveness of God. As such, I feel like God gave me a gift.
  2. I don’t hear the lessons I’ve learned (my message) delivered anywhere, definitely not consistently, inside or outside the Church
  3. Given how dramatically my life has changed, I am convicted to share the message with as many as possible…which includes YOU!!!

I sincerely hope that you and your family are doing well, especially with the pressures of COVID-19 and the current division within our country. I remind myself regularly…God is GREAT; He’ll get us through this too.

As always, I’m very interested in your thoughts, comments, questions, or concerns. Please feel free to email me at [email protected]. Even reach out with a problem or challenge you’re having. Always happy to try to help!!!

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

Mark Joseph

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Weekly Blog

Satan Must Be Pleased

Given what’s occurring in our country, I thought I’d write about two things this week that have been on my heart:

  • Destructive nature of Division
  • Importance of Unity

Regarding the first point, Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:25 “Every kingdom divided against itself will become desolate. And every city or house divided against itself will not stand”,

Abraham Lincoln made a very similar point, on June 16, 1858. When running for the US Senate and addressing the issue of slavery, Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand” (recognized by many as related to Jesus’ message in the Gospels).

Our country is about as divided as it can be. Most can’t believe what is happening, whether in our streets, in our government, within our Churches, or our families. We as a nation are divided and individuals are divided.

Unless things change dramatically, it’s difficult to see how we’re going to recover from this moment in history. The words of both Jesus and Abraham Lincoln would appear to ring true.
I’m sure our country’s adversaries are enjoying what’s happening. So is Satan, who must be very pleased, with one of his primary strategies being division, in addition to deception, diversion, discouragement.

Photo by Brett Sayles from Pexels

Importance of Unity

The older I get, the more I point to Scripture and the Church for the answers to life. Related to unity (and all other things), examples are numerous:

  • Jesus prayed for our unity prior to Him being arrested and crucified, in John 17:20-21, “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,Anchor so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us”.
  • The Catechism of the Catholic Church states in paragraph 817, “Where there are sins, there are also divisions…where there is virtue, however, there also are harmony and unity, from which arise the one heart and one soul of all believers”.
  • Colossians 3:12-14, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do, and over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection”.
  • 1 Corinthians 3:4-8, Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

Tying the above together, Jesus prayed for our unity, knowing its importance. Sin (we need to resolve to be better) creates division, whereas virtue (we need to resolve to be better) causes harmony and unity. We need to forgive others with compassion and kindness. Lastly, we need to love, as characterized above.

Given what’s transpiring in our country, I continue to discern what God is calling me to do. Regardless of where my prayer takes me, from the above I think it’s obvious that I need to first love those around me and bring unity wherever I can, balanced by the truth of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Please join me in praying for our country!!!

As always, feel free to contact me with questions, concerns, or comments at [email protected].

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

Mark Joseph

P.S. Cling to the Cross….our only source of TRUE PEACE!!!

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Weekly Blog

Our Upside-Down Lives

The following was posted on Facebook by a friend of mine last week. Called The Paradox of Our Age, I’ve not been able to get it out of my mind….it rings very true. It was written by Dr. Bob Moorehead, former pastor of Seattle’s Overlake Christian Church. I’d suggest reading it slowly.

 

Photo by Philipp Birmes from Pexels

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; we buy more but enjoy it less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life; we’ve added years to life, not life to years.

We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We’ve conquered outer space, but not inner space. We’ve done larger things, but not better things. We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.

We’ve split the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less real communication. These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships.

These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition.

These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom; a time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight…. ….or to just hit delete.

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.
Remember to say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent.

Remember to say “I love you” to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.
Give time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

I know the above is different than my traditional blogs…hope you enjoyed it. As always, feel free to get to me with questions or comments.

God Bless you on your continued Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

Mark Joseph

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Weekly Blog

Week #14 – True Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment

This is the 14th and last week of our program, where we provide Lesson #14, on True Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment.

We’ve started several of these lessons with some questions. How about this one? What’s preventing you from experiencing what I refer to as the “Big 3” in your life:

  • Peace
  • Joy
  • Fulfillment

If you’ve hung with us through the first 13 lessons, you know that the primary culprit to not achieving the above three is being overwhelmed. Practically everyone experiences it and in fact very few ever figure out how to overcome it. As explained, the source of us being overwhelmed begins when we’re young…we grow up believing that we have to earn the love of others. That “conditional love” most often turns into lack of self-love, which always leads to fear, preventing us from being, doing, and trying all that we’re called to. As such, regardless of fame or fortune, no matter what the successes, very few of us meet our full potential.

Believing what the world tells us, although our experience indicates differently, we try to fill the god sized hole in the center of our chest with what is never going to make us happy. I refer to them as the 4 Ps, prominence, possessions, pleasure, and people. Overwhelmed and on the hamster wheel of life, we try to make it go faster and faster, pursuing these things that will never bring us peace, joy, or fulfillment.

Photo by Simon Matzinger from Pexels

God is Our Only Answer

The ONLY solution to the above is to understand and internalize God’s unconditional love and forgiveness. This is accomplished through conversion, which begins when we determine that life can be better with Jesus as a part of it as opposed to not…when we turn away from ourselves and towards Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

It’s ONLY when we understand God’s unconditional love, that we come to know three things:

  1. The unimaginable is achievable
  2. We can live Heaven here on earth
  3. There is a distinct Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment

It’s the combination of several thing that allow you to come to this place…understanding God’s love, embracing your purpose, exercising your God given talents and desires, knowing you’re made for greatness, and surrendering all to God’s Will. You do these things and you’ll be fulfilled. You’ll experience true peace and have a joy that you’ve never experienced before.

Suggested Actions

So, here’s my suggestion for this week:

  • Go back to Lesson #1, which was emailed to you Wednesday, May 6th. Read and reflect on it, in addition to Lessons #2-14 (emailed every Wednesday) in sequence. Do it in one sitting or over the course of a week.
    • What most speaks to you?
    • What applies to your life’s experiences?
  • During your morning prayer routine this week, think about three things:
    • How have you been overwhelmed in your life?
    • What would it feel like to live a life of Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment?
    • What needs to happen for you to decide to do the latter?
  • Watch this Friday’s video on this same subject….it will be emailed to you.

Thank you for joining us on this 14-week journey. We sincerely hope that you got a lot out of it. If you have ideas on other information or resources that we could offer, that would help you in going from Overwhelmed to Fulfilled, please let us know.

As always, please feel free to get to me with questions, comments, or concerns at [email protected].

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

Mark Joseph

 

Week #1 – Being Overwhelmed
Week #2 – Earning the love of others
Week #3 – Lack of self-love
Week #4 – Fear
Week #5 – False gods, False happiness
Week #6 – Life’s Tragedies
Week #7 – Wounds, Resentments

Week #8 – Discovering God’s Love
Week #9 – Forgiveness and healing
Week #10 – Becoming the best Possible You
Week #11 – Path to Peace
Week #12 – Finding your Purpose
Week #13 – You were made for Greatness
Week #14 – True Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment