“You take me to a place where you know I need you”
Sitting in an airplane feels like the journey we experience in life. It is beautiful outside. You cannot explain the limitless boundaries of the sky and universe. It is beautiful but can be frightful also. It is hard to believe and accept at times that we have no control over the airplane and the winds of turbulence that come and go. We may not have control of these circumstances but we know we can control the direction we are taking as we pursue a final destination that we have chosen. God’s will for our lives ultimately is to get us to our final destination if we allow and trust him. We can pursue and direct ourselves to where we want to be, but we are not capable to control the circumstances and experiences we will face along the way in reaching our final destination.  But He does. He holds the whole earth in his hand as we fly through the skies of life while he carefully brings us to our final destination. So the choice is ours. Do we sit impatient with anxiety wondering where we are traveling to?  Not knowing what to expect as the plane starts to rock?  Or do we rest and trust him with his gift of peace for us as we choose to pursue our final destination waiting patiently as He steers us through the skies.

Peace is more than a lifestyle decision. Peace is a gift from God which results from conforming our will in life to His will for our life. Peace is much more than surface feelings of well-being. Real genuine peace comes from the depths of our heart as we choose to rest in his plan and direction for our life. Therefore the choice of peace comes from choosing to accept God’s plan even when we don’t know where we are going at times but we know that He is leading us to where we are going. The prince of peace comforts us as we walk with him with faith through the journey of life.

Just because certain circumstances or choices do not always seem peaceful or smooth, it does not mean it is not His will. Often our greatest times of growth is when His will and our will collide and spiral in a direction that will make us feel uncomfortable. It is in those moments we have a vital decision to make as we can choose to believe with faith and carry out his will instead of our will which often at times our will would be easily the more comfortable decision. How can you grow without being stretched? How can you as a light shine brightest without being in the darkest of places? As your faith increases your peace will also increase.

Jesus admires faith. He gives us many examples from Peter walking on water for a moment to a small mustard seed that can move giant mountains.  Faith is not easy. It is hard at times. Faith allows us to experience peace. How can you have peace in the darkness without faith? Peace and faith go hand in hand you can’t have one without the other.

If you want real genuine peace for your soul and whole being and not just surface peace of the mind and body you must surrender your will and life to him. He will give you the peace and faith required to follow him as you find your place in this world.  Peace is found by knowing who you are in Christ.  And what better way to discover who are by getting to know the one who knows you best!

Let’s pray!
LORD you have not given me a spirit of fear but of a sound mind. Lord you word says do not worry about tomorrow. Look at the birds they do not sow or reap. How much more will you take care of me. I come to you burdened as you give me rest for my soul.   Because you are my help I sing under the shadow of your wings I cling to you. Your right hand holds me your righteousness sustains me.

“The prince of peace met me there. Be still my heart”
By Joseph Corapi

January 4, 2016

“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight, At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more, When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death, And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again”  (The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe Ch 8, p79).

The traffic finally clears, as I patiently wait through the bumper to bumper hour long traffic on my way home from work. With excitement I begin speeding towards my way home to enjoy five hours of freedom until I do work all over again the next day, yes living the dream. Just don’t speed though, as I just about got a ticket as there was a police car driving beside me. Looking over at me the police officer angrily yelled demanding me to slow down. Anyways…. back to my really cool story of me driving home from work. I like to put loud music when driving home from work; it keeps me awake during the slow traffic, as I sing to God pretending I’m a famous worship singer with a static praise 106.5 FM transmission playing in the background. And then a thought hit me. Have you ever had the most random thought come into your head?  Like a random quote or something that reminds you of something that you begin to think deeply like where did this thought come from? Or what does this mean? Well I did, it was a quote, “Aslan is on the move”. I started to repeat it out loud to myself feeling confused. I realized it was a C.S. Lewis quote from his book, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. I’ve read the book back when I was 12 years old and saw the movie a few times many years back. I am not a big book reader or movie lover, so I myself was surprised. As I arrived home I raced into the door eagerly searching throughout my house for the book instead of raiding my fridge hungry for dinner. I was so determined to figure out what this quote meant as I felt excited, repeating out loud to myself “Aslan is on the move!”

And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don’t understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning — either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into the dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside (The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe Ch 7, p 68).

Something definitely jumped inside me when thinking about this quote, “Aslan is on the move”. Aslan is a mystical lion character that is soon to come into the lives of these children, bringing a sense of courage and triumph to their lives. As you continue to read the novel, Aslan is being portrayed as a coming savior to crush the evil witch, and renew the land from a dreadful constant winter to a wonderful warm spring once again. Author C.S Lewis has simply portrayed Aslan as Jesus, a savior who is coming to the land of Narnia to make things right.

Jesus is on the move in your life, He came into this world to give you victory and courage overcoming sin and death. “For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost” (Matthew 18:11). Life is a great exciting adventure; it is more than our daily routines of work and or school. Jesus has come to bring you a life of excitement and purpose. He is always there on the move in your life cheering you on and wanting to make things right, giving you a life greater then you can dream of.  “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).  “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). There will be times and seasons in life of long cold winters that seem to never end, but I can tell you with confidence Aslan is on the move, whether your aware of it or not he is coming to make things right. Take heart and do not  give up. “The Lord will fight for your; you only need to be still” (Exodus 14:14). Therefore, “Compose yourselves, by confidence in God, into peaceful thoughts of the great salvation God is about to work for you. If God brings his people into straits, he will find a way to bring them out” (Matthew Poole’s Commentary Exodus 14:14). You don’t need to panic or make big decisions during times of trouble or uncertainty. The best decision you can make in troubling times is to be still. Let God bring you out of your situation as you trust in him. God is in control and he has a plan for you with your best interests in mind. Begin to fill your hearts with thanksgiving during this thanksgiving holiday, speaking out the good that God has done for your life and the good that He will continue to do. Continue to rest in Jesus as He is on the move in your life. “Come to me you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest for your soul” (Matthew 11:28).

By: Joseph Corapi

October 12, 2015

“For while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)

I am a murderer, a rebel, a thief, a great sinner. Sitting in my cell in the darkness, I can hear from a distance the sound of clinging keys growing stronger, and footsteps thumping down stone steps. From the corner of my eye I began to see the guard’s shadows growing, reflecting off the wall, as their torches then shined bright into my eyes. “Wake up Barabbas”, they shouted “Today is your lucky day”. As I was being dragged by the soldiers up from the prison, I began thinking to myself today is the day I will be crucified, for it is the law. As we neared the final steps making our way outside, the stones began to shake and I began to tremble, as I could hear large crowds yelling, “crucify him”, and chanting my name, “Release Barabbas”. With the sun blinding me, I now stood in front of a large crowd as they continued to yell. I looked over my shoulder and saw a man dressed in a purple robe with a crown of thorns on his head, as blood began to slowly drip from his head down to his feet. The crowd again began to scream louder and louder “Crucify him!”. Pilot, the Roman Governor, determined in his speech exclaimed, “Why? What crime has he committed?” The crowds continued to grow larger, dust from the sand arose as it became harder to see, the soldiers quickly grew in numbers confronting the crowd, as the crowds voices louder and louder screamed , “Crucify him!”. The soldiers came and unlocked my chains, I was now free. I stumbled down the steps with my body aching, and my dry mouth thirsting. I walked down towards the crowd looking back at a distance watching as this innocent man was being slapped, spit on, and mocked. He was being sent to be crucified as I quickly fled towards my freedom.

The greatest exchange in human history; Humanities sin never to be remembered in exchange for the death of a man named Jesus. It started before the cross, it started with Barabbas. A man who rightfully deserved death for his inhumane sins of stealing and killing. Who is Barabbas? I am Barabbas, and you are Barabbas. While we were hopeless sinners, deserving death, Jesus came and freed us. It was not the people who freed Barabbas, it was Jesus. He loved Barabbas; he loves you and has broken your chains of sin and death even when you were not aware of it. He took your spot on the cross, setting you free from the law of sin and death. Jesus took upon himself the penalty of Barabbas, taking your sins, your real life struggles, your real life addictions and making you clean, pure, content and full of life! “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). You don’t have to earn you way out of your dark cell, or work hard to become free of your temptations, sins and struggles. You are not bound by them, Barabbas did not earn his freedom, for it was grace that saved Barabbas and it was grace that saved you even when you didn’t expect it or deserve it, grace found you. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Take heart, let Jesus take your place; let him have your sin, your pain, your guilt, and your shame. Jesus took your place. Jesus is enough.

“The greatest challenge is not your discipline, devotion or focus, your greatest challenge is believing the gospel” (Judah Smith).

Article By Joseph Corapi

An inspiration to my article, check it out:
Jesus is loving Barabbas- Judah Smith

April 18, 2015

Confined Spaces

“The Circumstances we ask God to change are often the circumstances God is using to change us” (Max Lucado).

My heart began to race as my hands were gripping the ladder tightly. I began to descend lower and lower, through 60 steps and 3 different sets of ladders. The light began to darken; the air became heavier, and my breaths became shorter. I hit the bottom, with a small flashlight by my side, surrounded by utter darkness. Fear was staring at me, speaking to me telling me there is no hope here. The heat intensified as I began to walk with my body sweating profusely.

Part of my environmental studies includes confined work spaces. I knew it was going to be a challenge, but at the same time I knew God wanted me there for a reason, when many others refused the challenge. Something changed in me that day while spending all day working in this confined space. I was terrified when I first entered, feeling hopeless surrounded by tight claustrophobic spaces and utter darkness. As I asked God for peace and began to worship him with faith, he quickly started speaking to me as my surroundings became irrelevant. This hole not only represented physical separation from God and his light but also eternal spiritual separation from God’s salvation and hope. “It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore” (Isaiah 59:2). This is the greatest travesty in life, total physical and spiritual separation from God due to our choice to reject Him. He gave me a taste, an experience of what that looked like. It was truly the worst feeling I have ever felt in my life. It was a place of silence, darkness, and hopelessness. However, the longer I was down there; I became more comfortable and confident as His light shines the brightest in the darkness. I never felt His presence so close, yet it was in the darkest of places I have ever been in. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).

As the day ended, I began to make my ascension up the ladder back to the surface. I never felt so excited to climb a ladder. The light began to brighten, and the air becoming fresh. I was out, and was in awe of the beauty of His nature, and couldn’t believe where I was now, it seemed like paradise compared to where I was. Seeing His sun light, nature and mountains, it truly felt that God brought me from a place of hell to a place of paradise.

As believers in Christ we tend to take for granted our salvation, which is the greatest gift and privilege that we can receive in life. The fact that we have an eternal hope and relationship with our father is greater than anything else this world can offer and give us. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). Why do we then worry about ourselves and become self-minded? “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes” (Matthew 6:25). There are people who are living in utter darkness, who are bound for eternal separation from God; they are waiting for you to share the message of salvation.

To those who are living in confined spaces, in darkness, and hopelessness. There is hope for your circumstances. You don’t need to live just trying to get through each day anymore. The answer is simple, “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). Just like the thief on the cross who was speaking to Jesus, he responded in faith to the message of salvation (Luke 23:33-43). Like the thief, we didn’t deserve salvation, we didn’t earn it, and frankly we deserve the punishment of death for our sins. But the gift of salvation will always be available to us even to our last breath. Allow Jesus to give you a new life. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

by Joseph Corapi

A Great leader.
What kind of leader are you on a daily basis?
Being a leader isn’t just about the fame that is heard around the world. To be a good leader is what you do on a daily basis.
Remember every day you have the responsibility to everyone around you to lead your life in a way that will impact the world to be a better place. The challenging part for most people is the responsibility. It holds people back in a state of indecision for fear that they may make a mistake.
Never allow fear to hold you back from becoming the leader that people need. If you choose to let your strength of being a leader fade away then who will step up to the plate in your place?
I encourage you today become the kind of leader that people will follow, even if you had no title or position.