Tag: Jesus

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One of Jesus’ Biggest Asks

Did you know that central to our faith is being a disciple? Did you further know that central to being a disciple is making other disciples? It seems that most Christians, including Catholics, aren’t aware of this.

Two of the most important things Jesus shared with us in Scripture, that He asked of us,
directed us to do, are the:

  • Great Commandments, Mark 12:29-31 – Jesus said, “The first is this…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
  • Great Commission, Matthew 29:19-20 – Jesus said to His disciples, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

Jesus wasn’t making mere suggestions. Both are clear to anyone who wants to listen. Critical to our individual spiritual growth, they are also very important to the health of the Church.

What Does It Mean to be a Disciple?

Being a disciple is living the life taught to us by Jesus Christ. It is both the Great Commandments and the Great Commission. Although in some ways simple, it’s not easy. It’s the journey of a lifetime.

With much having been written about it, one aspect that is often ignored is making disciples. Many, including me for a long time, don’t have an idea of what it means to make a disciple. There are those who don’t care and can’t be bothered by it. Others believe they’re doing it, but when you ask them how, they’re very short on details.

Proven Model

I work for the Conference Office at Franciscan University of Steubenville, where several years ago we became very interested in truly understanding discipleship. Endeavoring to find a model that results in spiritual multiplication (disciples making disciples making disciples) over an extended period of time, we researched over 50 organizations during a 2-year period.

The hard work paid off. We found a model that has worked for over 35 years. Developed by Greg Ogden, it’s detailed in his book, Transforming Discipleship, where he points to the benefits of “micro groups” over one on one discipleship and traditional small groups of 6-10. Time tested and proven, Greg’s model is the only one we found that could meet our criteria.

It Serves Your Needs…Not Just Others

We refer to them as Discipleship Quads, where 4 people (men with men, women with women) meet weekly over the course of a year, both learning and living the behaviors of a disciple. If you’re like most, first hearing that seems daunting. But having spent the last twelve months in a group, I can tell you that it’s one of my favorite parts of the week.

I read a study not long ago that indicates that 49% of adults complain about being lonely. Wow…that’s 1 in 2. With the advent of the smart phone and our lives becoming busier and busier, this statistic has dramatically increased. An intentional part of the Discipleship Quads is the fellowship time. Combined with the review of the week’s content, meaningful friendships are born and true learning of our faith is accomplished, all related to your personal journey.

With each taking his/her turn facilitating the group over the course of the year, it’s easy for those interested to start a new group. Not only for you individually, but think about it for your Parish. If just 2 groups (8 people) started in year #1, that would potentially mean 8 groups/32 people in year #2, with possibly 30+ groups and over 100 people in year #3. What would the impact be on your Parish with 100 engaged, enthused Disciples?

The Best Part

Here’s the best news (other than it being a proven methodology)…it’s 100% free. No gimmicks, no tricks….it’s FREE OF CHARGE. Just go to https://steubenvilleconferences.com/discipleship-quads/. There you’ll get the details of the model, how we’ll support you through the process, and how to get the content. Did I mention that it’s 100% free?

Please feel free to get back to me with questions or comments at Mark@MarkJosephMinistries.com.

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

Mark Joseph

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Where’d You Come From?

Did you ever wonder where you came from? Where your roots are? Who your ancestors are or what their lives were like?

My wife and I just spent 10 days in Ireland, visiting towns like Kinsale, Killarney, Dingle, Doolin, Galway, Spiddal, and Ennis. We saw things like the Ring of Kerry, the Dingle Peninsula, and the Cliffs of Moher. Instead of hotels, we stayed in Bed and Breakfasts, mostly out in the country, where the views were second only to the hospitality, including the traditional Irish breakfast.

You’ve heard the expression, “when in Rome….” Well….when in Ireland, we ate more fried food, especially fish and chips, than you can imagine. It’s amazing how good it is when it’s fresh caught fish and hand cut fries. The fish chowder was excellent as well. In addition, the restaurants we went to for dinner, where we had specially prepared fresh catch fish dishes, were wonderful, each more so than the last.

Lastly, although never going to bars back home, we made it a habit to go hear live Irish music at the local pubs on several nights. We became quite fond of Irish coffee, Irish Whiskey included.

     
 

Finding Your Roots

As great as the sites and the food, it was equally enjoyable trying to figure out our roots, tracing them back to parts of Ireland. As it turns out, my wife’s great, great grandmother was a Quinn. My mother’s maiden name is Logan. From what we could determine, the Logans came from Derry. It will be interesting to compare that against what my Aunt Gen found in constructing our family tree years ago.

Many, many of us in the US (and many parts of the world), due to long-time immigration, are now a combination of nationalities. My brothers and I are Lebanese, German, and Hungarian, in addition to being Irish. Our kids can add to that list being English.

While all the above can give us some context, it doesn’t inform us as to who we are.

So we all come from different places, with different foods, cultures, climates, and customs. That said, we have incredible commonalities:

  • While no two of us are identical, our anatomies are consistent, female and male
  • Our basic needs are the same…food, clothing, shelter
  • We all have dreams and desires, talents and gifts, each wired differently than the other

Your Real Identity

What makes us most alike and most unique is not where we are from, but how we were created and who created us. It was God our Father who conceived of us thousands of years ago, making each of us very uniquely and with our own individual gifts and talents. He put each one of us on this earth for a very specific purpose, to do great things. God made us (you) for Greatness!!!

While it’s neat to see where you came from, who your ancestors were, what the culture and customs were like, what’s most important is who you are, what your identity is:

  • You are a child of God, loved unconditionally
  • As exemplified by His Son’s death on the Cross
  • Through Jesus’ resurrection, you are made to live in His glory.

Remember….it’s not where you’re from (although that’s neat to know), but who you are that really matters. You’re a child of God, made for Greatness!!!

Please get to me with questions or comments at Mark@MarkJosephMinistries.com.

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

Mark Joseph

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What Would You Attempt if You Knew You Couldn’t Fail?

I have a plaque on my desk that reads, “What would you attempt if you knew you couldn’t fail?” Think about that question. Pause and ponder it in your mind, “What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?”

  • How would your life be different? (I know mine would be)
  • What would you try?
  • What would you be?
  • How would the world be different if everyone lived this way?

If your biggest fear is failure (like most), it only makes sense that you would try more things and do them differently if “you knew you couldn’t fail”. You would exhibit more courage. You may possibly think differently about what direction you would go in. You wouldn’t be so nervous when trying a new endeavor.

Why You Really Can’t Fail

As you’ve read in my blogs, God made you with special gifts and talents, putting you on this earth for a specific purpose. He loves you unconditionally and wants the very best for you. God made you for Greatness.

Although the above is absolutely true, it doesn’t mean that you’re born perfected in your gifts, talents, and purpose. It’s all of your life experiences, each and every one, successes and failures, that help you hone those things.

And all of it happens for a reason, according to God’s grand plan, for you individually and as a part of all of humanity.

To believe these things, and I do, is to believe that you can’t fail, but only learn and advance. For it is because of those successes and failures that you grow into the person that God intends you to be, the person as such who will live a life of Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment….given all the above.

You Can Do Something About It

In last week’s blog, I detailed how you discern your gifts, talents, and purpose. Now, TRY, RISK, DARE, and DO all that you feel called to. Those who truly love you, those closest to you, will never leave you. They’ll always love you for your “who”, not your “do”. And God our Father never sees you as a failure, nor does His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins, dare I say our faults and our failings.

Again, TRY, RISK, DARE, and DO. It’s all part of God’s grand plan for your life….the same God who loves you unconditionally, made you perfectly, and wants you to be happy.

What are you waiting for? Go do it and master your Greatness!!!

How do you feel about the above? Please share your thoughts with me at Mark@MarkJosephMinistries.com.

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

Mark Joseph

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Why Bad Things Happen….Remembering 9/11

If you’re like me, you know exactly where you were and what you were doing on 9/11, when the jetliners hit the twin towers, flight 93 went down over Shanksville, PA, and the fourth jet crashed into the Pentagon, combined killing over 3,000, in the largest terrorist attack on US soil, in history.

I was sitting in a conference room in Wheeling, WV, with Brian Joseph (no relation), CEO of a manufacturer my company was doing business with. It was incredible and unbelievable seeing it all unfold on TV from Brian’s conference room.9/11 not only changed the country and the world, but millions of individual lives as well.

Why Bad Things Happen

The question is often asked…why do bad things happen? An additional question asked is…why does God allow bad things to happen?

I’m not a Scripture scholar nor a theologian, so my answer has much more to do with my personal experience than the teachings of the Church. That said, my very specific lived experience would indicate that God allows bad things to happen to bring us closer to Him. Without question, minus the personal tragedies I suffered through, I would not be on this faith journey today.

Maybe you’ve experienced “conversion” and like me are on your own faith journey. If so, when good things happen, you thank God in gratitude. If not, it’s likely that you don’t go to God in the good times…you believe you have everything handled on your own. But in bad times, in desperate times, many, many of us go to God, pleading for His help. From what I understand, that’s what happened on 9/11. For weeks afterwards, Churches were full and confession lines very long.

What Bad Things Happened to Me

To know my story is to know that I lost my family as I knew it, I lost my business, and I lost a lot of money. I refer to them as the three 2×4’s that came across the back of my head. Being a control freak and having lost control, I had a“conversion” experience that changed my life forever. Praise God!!!

My wife and I kid around, saying that it would be nice to not have experienced all the things, specifically the tragedies, that we do in our lives. The fact is that it is every single circumstance that makes us who we are, the good and the bad. I thank God for EVERYTHING that’s taken place in my life, including the tragedies, because I know I would not be who I am without each and every one of them.

Attitude of Gratitude

I choose to live in a place of Gratitude, believing that everything happens for a reason, as part of God’s grand plan. There are no accidents, mistakes, or coincidences. We may not know the reason on this side of Heaven, but I’m convinced thatthere’s always a reason for the things that occur in our lives. For me, it was to bring me closer to God.

Although 9/11 was an incredibly tragic event for our country and the world, it’s my suspicion (and experience) that it brought a lot of people closer to God.

Please feel free to comment to me at Mark@MarkJosephMinistries.com.

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

Mark Joseph