Fellowship....

We had an amazing day of fellowship yesterday.  Rather than normal, we had a big party that lasted all day.  There were lots of friends, family, Chinese and American food, music, singing, Word, good fellowship.  The fellowship time was a great change of pace, but more importantly, a safer alternative for this particular week.  It is fun to watch as this local family has formed over the past three and a half months.  They really have moved towards becoming a family.  "Greater is He is in us, than he that is of this world".  I am glad I am on the side of the "Greater One", and everyday, I have the privilege of seeing so many eagerly pursuing the same.

On the job training :-) ,

Hi,
Today, I discovered that I am going to hlep coordinate a "seminar" for 750 (with.....uh-um....only one month until d-day).  I have also learned that there are more details than I could have ever imagined that goes into this, especially here.  So, if anyone has any suggestion or tips, feel free to send me an email.  One thing I have learned over the past few years here, is to always expect the unexpected, and that I am what I need to be, when I need to be it.  This next month will be an interesting ride, but will be worth it.  I can't wait to see the fruit of such an impact.

Eyes on Me?

While working with two young women yesterday with their English skills, (and they were helping me work on my Mandarin), one of the girls spent most of the afternoon mimicking everything I said, as I said it.  I was trying to read Eph. 1:17-23 in English to the other girl, and the other girl repeated everything I said, as I was saying it.  It was hard to focus on the reading with her right there, repeating everything.  She did not even wait for me to finish a sentence before she began.  She just continued.  It made me think of a child trying to get on someone's nerves by repeating their words.  At least the child usually waits for the person speaking to take a breath before he begins the repetitions.

It took me a bit, but after a while I managed to tune her out and continue the language lesson out of Ephesians.  I have realized,over time, that our sphere of influence (the people around us:  on our jobs, at school, neighbors, etc) is our greatest witnessing tool for spreading the gospel.  As we live our daily lives, (becoming more Christlike) we have a great opportunity to teach others about Him without ever having to even open our mouths. People watch others very closely, especially when they notice something different in that persons life.  They begin to see God's favor, they may not know what it is, but they see it.  They begin to see His Grace, and faith that brings into manifestation the image (and power) of Jesus within us.

People take notice when you always seem to come out on top life's daily situations.  People take notice when they see a family working, rather than falling apart.  People take notice when they see commitment (faithfulness) to a life of Christ.  People take notice when they see others overcome and walk in victory.
It is our daily walk, every step, that creates a testimony unto God.  I ask myself, what do people see when they see me?

Good morning....

Good morning, (evening for you guys in the US)

It is Sunday morning here.  I love Sundays!  (I love everyday, but I really love coming together with my fellow believers.)  It is a very young group (spiritually speaking), who is learning foundational basics.  I love to watch the lights pop on in their eyes as they grasp it with new understanding.  The whole new experience is opening up to them.

I also love to go over and over foundational priniciples within God's Word myself.  It keeps my foundation from settling and cracking.  It keeps me down the middle of His Word.  Some would say, "Don't you prefer the meat of the Word?".  It is meat.  Everytime I go over basic topics of the Word, I actually learn something new, something deeper, with greater revelation than ever before.  This happens each and every time.  It is like pealing an onion, a new layer opens up, and creates a whole new depth of meaning.  The layers seem to never end.  As I mature in the Word, I have learned to never close my ears when a topic I have heard before is being covered in service.  Rather, I open my ears, and pay particular attention to details.  I know I can expect new revelation to come to me.

Mirror Images

I'm not sure of the direction of today's post on  this blog.  So, I am just kinda talking, and we will see where it leads.

I have a lot on my plate this week.  I am trying to create a logo that represents the work of the particular ministry it will be designed to represent.  It is very hard to create a logo for a ministry or anything else, unless you know the ministry and the leader's vision, what they see.

His Word tells us that we are to be mirror images of Him, representing Him--just like the logo I am creating is to represent the particular ministry.  Most of us, though, have not taken the time to get to know who He is.  How can we be like something we do not know.  What are His likes and dislikes?  What is His character?  What is His disposition?  How does He handle situations?  Who does He spend time with?  What type of work does He do?  Where does He do it?  When does He do it?  Is He angry and vengeful?  Is He loving and compassionate?  Is He a stickler about rules?  Is He forgiving?  How can we be ambassadors, acting for and representing, a God that we have not taken the time to get to know.

Maybe most of us do not take the time to get to know Him because many tend to see Him as an untouchable, and unreachable King, separated by the distance of Heaven and Earth.  Or, maybe, many of us just see Him as a figure that we read about just like people and events from our History Books.

Once we take the time, to begin to get to know the sound His voice, the feel of His presence, how to see through His eyes, the smell of His sweet aroma, the taste of His goodness, He is as real as you or I; never separated by distance, but always available within us, waiting ever so patiently to fellowship, to lead us, to guide us, to provide for us, to protect us, and most importantly to love us.

How do you spell ministry?

In Bible School, I was taught that you spell ministry W-O-R-K.  Looking at my to-do list, I tend to agree.  I'm not sure how it all gets done, but it does.  Thank you Father.

Let's see, there is the portrait I am working on drawing for a ministry supporter, I was told yesterday that I need to do a canvas painting for a logo for a ministry I am connected to here in country.  There are the past months photos from services that still need editing, and the photos from a birthday party of a close friend that need editing, there is the counseling protocol manual (that one will take a year or so), the new welcome pkts that need to be designed and created, the ministry introduction packet for when traveling that must be designed to coordinate with a website, this week's powerpoint presentations for the service (both message and praise and worship), several meetings, and too much more to think about at this moment.....of course this does not include prayer time, study time, etc.

My days are busy, and ministry is much like any other job, it is lots of work.  However, I am very blessed to be in a job (full-time ministry) that I love, with the Greatest Love (My Heavenly Father). By doing what I love to do, it makes it easy to go through each day and do what has to be done.  My stress level stays very low, because I enjoy what I do and whom I do it for.  Thank you Father.

Wow!!!!!!

This past Sunday, the pastor asked everyone who had been saved since they have begun to attend this church, to raise their hands.  Almost the whole room raised their hand.  This church only began three months ago and has almost 300 now.  Thank you everyone for your support that has made me a part of planting this church.  There will be many more to come!  Again, Thanks.  You helped to make it happen.

Thank you for your prayers and support!

Blessings,

---joy neasley

P.S. -- if you want to make a donation to the ministry account, the fastest way is to click on this link and make an online donation. Simply click here and select my name:  www.WorldOutreach.org/donations. Or, mail your check to World Outreach, PO Box B, Marietta GA 30061

Why to we try so hard to get what we already have?

Rom. 10:9 tells us that if we confess with our mouths the Lord Jesus, and believe in our hearts that God has raised him from the dead,we are saved.

The word saved (if you look it up) here, includes healing, prosperity, blessing, deliverance.  Jesus paid the price for sin.  He has already purchase our freedom from the enemy.   Many do not know that it is theres, and therefore do not walk in it.  Many choose not to walk in it by denying (through ignorance, disbelief, fear,doubt, etc) that their freedom was purchased.  This reminds me of Texas and the June 18th and 19th celebration of freedom.  This holiday is also known as Freedom Day.  In Texas, it was a little over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation took effect, in 1865 before General Granger and 2000 federal troops arrived in Galvaston, TX to enforce the emancipation of slaves in the state.

The slaves were actually free in January of 1863.  They could not act on what they did not know.  It was not announced in Texas until June 19th 1865 that all slaves were free.  Celebrations began and from that day forward they began to walk in freedom (yes there was more to it than that, it took years to truly see a renewing of the mind in the people and for true freedom to take place).

Many also tend to not walk in the fullness of their salvation because they cannot seem to believe that it is a gift.  That it is theirs.  That Jesus did all to pay the price.  We just walk in it.  We tend to try to come up with steps and processes that we have to follow to get our healing, our prosperity, the promises that are in the Word.  We tend to go as far as ask God to heal us, to provide for the bills, to bless us, etc.  According to Rom. 10:9 and the meaning of "saved".  He has already given it to us.  We just need to receive it.  How?  Rom. 10:9 tells us to confess and believe.  Is it really that simple?

I have learned that usually when I am not walking in what is already mine.  I am the problem (my thinking is usually the problem to be more accurate), not God.  He has given me more that I could ever have tried to get on my own.  It is all a gift (by Grace).  My job is to receive, and then act on what is mine.  If I am already healed and whole, I must act like it.  The enemy cannot decieve me into thinking otherwise, because according to the Word, it is mine, already.  I don't have to do anything to get it!  The gift has already been provided to me.  I can unwrap it and receive it if I choose, or I can deny it and choose to walk in what the enemy gives me.  It is one or the other.  There is not in between.

details???

It is Sunday morning here.  I am full of expectations today!

That brings me to hinderances.  I have watched as so many difficulties and details and distractions (both subtle and outright) quickly move into place, both in the people and in the one giving the message.

So today!  I rebuke every hinderance, out of place detail, and distraction.  These are of the enemy, not of God.  Every ear, every eye is open and on Him this morning.  Every vessel is ready to receive.  The Word this morning is received and lands in good ground, ready to be watered and grow.  Thank you Father for your goodness and love this morning.  Thank you that you are merciful and kind.  Thank you Father that you take the time to nurture us and care for us as Your children.  Your Word, your Love, Who You are, and Who We Are In You is reveled today in the eyes, ears, and hearts of your children.  Thank You.

My place

I am at the moment preparing to teach a class.  Part of the lesson will be to teach new members that they have a perfect fit in the Body of Christ.  In this lesson, I will be using the classic "Puzzle and each person is a piece that fits in only one place within the puzzle" example.  During the preparation for this class, I realized that we tend to focus on where we belong in the Body of Christ, always seeking to move up, in what we consider to be our purpose.  We focus on "ourselves" and where "we:" belong.

God's focus is on "us" and our eyes should always be set on Him, relationship.  Whenever our eyes leave Him and move to us, we have our perspective and motive all wrong.  We may be going through the right motions, but is our heart right?

What happens when a finger is cut off from the body?  The body and head still function, but the finger withers and dies.  What happens when a leg or arm is amputated?  The body and head, although it must compensate, still function, but the limb withers and dies.  What happens when one is paralyzed from an accident?  The  body and head, with the aid of proper equipment, continues to function, despite it's hinderances.  The affected parts of the body become lifeless and useless, but the rest moves forward to live a full life.

What I have learned through this is that we are placed within the Body of Christ, not for Him, but for us.  His desire is that not even one shall perish.  When we do not plug in, and function with the head and the rest of the body, we wither and die spiritually.

 I have even seen people who are paralyzed from the neck down, who still continue to function, even though the head is all that works properly.  The rest of the body is compensated and carried through.  Regardless of whether we take our place in the body of Christ.  The Head, Christ, will still fulfill that which is prophesied.  He is still coming.  He may have to compensate for the body that is now hindered, but He will fulfill His part.

His desire, is that we are with Him, and functioning with our eyes on Him.  I want to be able to here Him say, "Yes, I KNOW you", when that time comes.  I want to develop a relationship with a real, and loving Father, who desires even more to have one with me.  It is because He first loved us, that we love Him.

About this blog...

I spent the night considering how to best go about posting on this blog, and still be able to share the experience of getting to know our Father personally with you.

I have decided this is best portrayed in my just talking and sharing Him with you from my daily life.  This type of posting can get personal and open my life to others.  I do not mind this as long as you keep in mind that I am not perfect.  That I also make mistakes, even in my path to becoming more like Him.  Just like when a baby learns to walk, he starts off wabbly, and falls down often.  He still gets back up and tries again.  This is how my walk to be Christlike has take place.  I have learned that eventually, you don't fall down very often.  But, you do find new areas of development that come as we age.  This is also true as we age spiritually.  Welcome to this journey of growing up spiritually to experience a real Heavenly Father.

Cactus Pricks

Hi,

I am going to begin this blog with a thought from a dream.  This was directed to a particular person, however, it also applies to many who will read this.

In this brief dream, I saw a tall, dark green cactus with its many thorns going all the way up.  My eye was led to a beautiful red flower at the top.  I saw someone walking up to the cactus, determined to see the flower.  As he tried to smell and touch the seemingly irresistible flower, his finger was pricked, with a drop of blood.  He quickly pulled his hand back and tended the prick.  However, he could not resist trying again to get to the flower.  This continued until his hand was bleeding and really sore.  A few times, he actually reached the flower, but after a while, he was getting pricked continually.  He could not seem to resist this flower, even though he was hurt from trying to touch it.

This reminds me of the world.  As children of God, we often see, seemingly harmless, things in the world.  We step in to touch and smell, and it did not seem to affect us much at first.  So, we continue, until we get deeper and deeper, becoming desensitized to the hurt it is pushing us further into.  The devil is so subtle, that we often do not know that we have stepped not just onto the fence, but over to the other side until it is too late.  He dangles what looks good and harmless just like a carrot right in front of us.  And most often, we tend to follow it until we look around and cannot seem to figure out how we got where we are.  We often tend to not even realize we are in trouble until the pain is so bad that we have hit rock bottom.

I am so glad He is a merciful and forgiving God, patient with us.  There is only one way to keep from falling into this trap.  That is to know your Heavenly Father, His character, His voice, His love.  It is through knowing Him intimately that we are able to recognize the fake, the false.

My favorite verses are Proverbs 3:5&6:  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and He will make your path smooth and straight"  (paraphrased from a few different translations).  It is only when you know someone, have a relationship with them, a close relationship, that you can truly trust them.

Meditate on these verses for a while.  I will continue and add to this thought in my next post.

Blessings,
---joy