With Everything

What good is a hero to a person who doesn’t need to be saved?
If we choose to reject our savior, why do we need to worship?
What is our purpose in life? Is it not to worship our savior and creator: the One who loves us so?
I remember when I decided to follow Jesus’ ways; to be in a relationship with Him.
I remember He spoke to me; He said: Josh, I’ve created you for bigger things- great things. Amazing works. What are you doing?
Those are the words of a loving Father to His son.
I broke down.
I said “use me; I’ll move where You move. I want to love what You love and hate what You hate”.
It says as Samuel grew with the Lord, the Lord never let Samuels words fall to the ground.
Samuel dwelled in constant intimacy with the Love of his life.
How many times have I failed?
How many words have I let hit the floor?
How many times have I taken the Love of the Lord for granted?

I used to dwell in despair for days at a time when I stumbled. I’d fall on my face and weep for breaking the heart of my God. Then I remembered His grace.
You see, His grace washed our sin away a long time ago.
That’s why Jesus came.
He lived to die.
He didn’t come to make bad people good; He came to make dead people live.
He didn’t come to set an impossible bar for us to strive for; He came to make sure we could obtain intimacy with the One who loves us so.
“He to rescue me from danger interposed His precious blood”.
“Because a sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free”.
“I don’t have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way that He loves us”.

I remember I struggled with worship for a while.
I used to think that I didn’t get a whole lot out of it.
I realize now that when I had that egocentric mindset, God didn’t get a whole lot out of my worship.

What good is worship if we don’t know what we’re doing?
Why do we need to worship someone we don’t really think we need in the first place?

I’m sorry God, that I was so arrogant and selfish.
Forgive me.
I know now that the worship I do, isn’t because I want to get something out of it.
Worship is necessary because I’m so thankful for what You’ve done in my life.

Sometimes I think we make worship about us.
I think when we do that we let our words fall to the floor.
We need a savior.
We have one.
When we realize what He’s done for us, that’s when worshiping in spirit and truth happens.
We realize where we could have been, where we could have ended up: eternal separation from Love.
We are thankful for our Hero.
We praise the One who paid our debt and raised our lives up from the dead.

He is worthy of our praise.
With everything we will shout for Your glory.
With everything we will shout forth Your praise.

We have reason to worship, brothers and sisters.
We have reason to worship, Always.
I hope you’re encouraged.

I love you all.
-Josh

a word (isaiah 6:1-8)

Isaiah 6

Holy, Holy, Holy!

^1-8 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Master sitting on a throne—high, exalted!—and the train of his robes filled the Temple. Angel-seraphs hovered above him, each with six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two their feet, and with two they flew. And they called back and forth one to the other,

Holy, Holy, Holy is God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
His bright glory fills the whole earth.
The foundations trembled at the sound of the angel voices, and then the whole house filled with smoke. I said,

"Doom! It's Doomsday!
I'm as good as dead!
Every word I've ever spoken is tainted—
blasphemous even!
And the people I live with talk the same way,
using words that corrupt and desecrate.
And here I've looked God in the face!
The King! God-of-the-Angel-Armies!"
Then one of the angel-seraphs flew to me. He held a live coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with the coal and said,

"Look. This coal has touched your lips.
Gone your guilt,
your sins wiped out."
And then I heard the voice of the Master:
"Whom shall I send?
Who will go for us?"
I spoke up,
"I'll go.
Send me!"


i read these verses this morning and my heart was pricked. isaiah is the place where i know the lord will speak to me. where he was so gracious to speak in 2006 and it has been really four years since i have returned to this place. dear place. and i desire nothing more than an honest word. not just the jolly rancher verses. or bubblegum prayers. but to really anticipate the word. and get into it. and get excited like a puppy to run up to my Master and greet him with happiness.

so get this. i love it. have you ever had a word or vision or something just rock your world in life and slam you in the face and you will remember. and by remembering you tell other people about it. you can't help but share. this is what it is for isaiah. this amazing sight of the cheribum the seraphs. these angels are crying out HOLY HOLY HOLY and they do this for eternity. that's their job. and the whole place begins to shake. and smoke comes out. really. ideally. this is true worship. and a house full of worship shakes the foundations. and if you know Jesus. that is where we stand on. it should shake our whole being. down to the core. who are you built of. maybe even a deeper question. who have you allowed in your house.

don't you see isaiah's response. when things go crazy. he freaks. i am doomed. i am screwed. life is crazy. um. i am just like the other people. don't kill me. i can just see him going nuts. because isn't that how we act when things don't make sense. but how sweet is our Father. he sends one of his angels. and brings him a coal and touches him on the lips. how sweet. how affectionate is that. sweetly telling us. shut up. just shush. and when we can quiet down. we can realize. our guilt is gone. our sin. our shame. everything is purged. thrown out the window. thank you for that blessed Jesus.

and after that. He calls to us. the Master. because we long for that. for anyone to acknowledge us. but how much greater is the God of the universe calling out "whom shall I send, who will go for Us? and will you...will you speak up.

"here i am Lord, send me."

no matter where you are. it's gonna be a risk. an adventure. it's not joke. sometimes you might have to put aside dreams. i did it. i wanted to be a youth pastor. i am now in the air force. not my idea. his. but i want it all. i want to be the one. saying send me Lord. where do you want me.

i hope this encourages you. i love you.

-stephenjoseph

Shipwrecked

I've been thinking about my life.
Again.
I was thinking about who I was last year.
I didn't recognize myself.
I remembered I met a Savior: all over again.
I fell in love again.
He changed me.
He fixed the shipwreck of my life.
With Grace.
I hope this blesses you.
This is the journey of my life as of the last few years.
Day and Night.
Love you.
-Josh

Shipwrecked

pictures run fast like the rush of a tide
cascading against the rocks in the cave of my mind
the sounds of my memories are screeching loud
they're fluttering about: they're bats that are spooked

in the shipwreck of my life
I'll watch my failures go down with the boat
I'll cling to my Captain who wont let me astray
I'm floating away in an ocean of grace

my tongue is an old flag full of disgrace
flapping about in vacant space
of a big rotten mouth: dirty and black
damn it to hell: I hope it never comes back

I'd made shipwreck of my life
But, I'll watch my failures wash away and go down with the boat
I'll cling tight to my captain who wont lead me astray
I'm being carried away in an ocean of grace

I met my Savior out on the docks one day
He hobbled over to me with pegs in his legs
said: "son I know you're lost, I can show you the way"
I grabbed His weathered, scarred, hands and never looked back

on the shipwreck of my life
I'll watch my failures go down with the boat
I'll cling to my Captain who wont let me astray
I'm floating away in an ocean of grace

oh what tender mercy and grace
that sunk my boat to the depths of the sea
I'll thank my Captain for staying by my side
and teaching me to float