Jesus is the ultimate substitution for every requirement! Here’s what’s ultimate about it – there is no substitution for Him!

Today is Day 48 of the counting of the omer. Two days until Day 50, Shavuot.

Why is Shavuot so precious and valuable and important for me and my family?
I read something recently that got me thinking more about what it was like for the people who lived on the earth while Jesus was here in the flesh. In John 6 He starts talking about how His flesh is food and His blood is drink! And He tells the people to feed on Him in this way in order to live! Simple right? NO! The Bible tells us many walked away at that point. And the disciples who stayed complained about His words and Jesus calls them out on being offended by them! Jesus’ response is what really gets me here. He says if THIS level of fellowship with me in the flesh offends you, what will you be like if you see me leave and go back up into heaven?! Wait. What’s this got to do with leaving us??????

You’re offended if I’m here…you’ll be offended when I leave…well aren’t we all winning?! (NOT!)

But He helps them by using something they already understood – the Word being given on Mt Sinai on Shavuot. They understood this Word (Torah), as Israel, as their lifeline!! He says, “The WORDS I speak are SPIRIT.” Jesus connects it with something they can’t understand yet – the Spirit that would soon be poured out on them as a witness of The Word. This would happen on Shavuot to come! (*exit second wave of “followers no more”.) But Jesus is using this language so they won’t have need to be offended when He leaves them. What do we humans do when we get offended or disappointed? We create substitutions to fill the void. He was letting them know the Word and the Spirit won’t be substitutions! HE will be in them!

This is why the two things given on Shavuot should be so valuable to us.

First, God’s Word given on Mount Sinai on Shavuot.
Second, the Holy Spirit, His presence, poured out on Shavuot.

If Jesus is not here, in the flesh, I absolutely cannot ignore that God has used Shavuot to give us what He knew we would need in order to live where He placed us! His Word and His Spirit.

Don’t overlook this God-appointed time! Don’t say, “well it’s not important because Jesus Himself didn’t ‘do’ anything.” He did do something. He gave us necessary gifts for living. This is part of HIM! He said it in John. He is The Word and His words ARE Spirit! I feel too many times we’ve made this season optional. If you are alive on this earth right now, like me, then these two things mean everything for you! They are what God has given us to navigate here! We cannot live without them, because they are HIM!

Shavuot is all about God coming through on His word and promises.
~Giving understanding and words to live by and for guidance for a mass exodus of people who still didn’t have a homeland…
~Counting grain to watch and see God continue to provide and cause them to be fruitful…
~Giving His Presence and Power to us while He’s “away”…
So let it point us to the day of PROMISE… of the full revelation of the person(Word & Presence) of Yeshua Himself, with us, face-to-face! That is the end goal. That is what we look for. Him. The Word. The Fire & Breath that stirs and enlivens us. The King. Yeshua!

Join us for the trip of a lifetime! October 23-October 30, 2020

Father’s Joy is partnering with Pastors Tony & Shanda Simoncini of Missio Dei, South Jordan THIS FALL for what is certain to be a powerful time connecting with God in His land! The Scriptures will come alive as we journey from place to place in the Galilee, Judea and Samaria and ascend to Jerusalem, the mountain of the LORD, worshipping together. Follow the footsteps of Christ on His journey to the cross, His resurrection, and stand on the Mt of Olives where He will stand again!

For pricing and registration information, please email us at fathersjoymusic1@aol.com

Space is limited!

Our most recent trip to Honduras was clothed with His goodness, His unfailing mercy and His unceasing love. Our first days were spent delivering groceries to 3 different widows and visiting a local orphanage. One of the widows we visited comes to mind – her name is Marina.

As we walked into Marina’s house she lit up with joy. She began to say, “ me gozo, me gozo, me gozo ( translated – it’s giving me joy). “ The team began to sing in spanish and we followed up with prayer just before presenting Maria with about 3 weeks supply of food. She could not quit smiling and thanking us. Marina is a wheelchair bound senior who’s husband passed years ago. She lost both of her legs to diabetes. By the joyous look on her face you would have thought she was standing at attention. What we didn’t know about Marina is that she was the church cook for many years. She had labored among the people of God in her local church for many years. You get the picture now – she served the Lord and now the Lord was serving her.

We also saw God’s love demonstrated in the local orphanage on the outskirts of La Ceiba. We were able to encourage the 14 kids there as well as make friends that we can continue to keep in contact with.

Our team ministered in 3 different congregations while seeing several come to Christ for the first time and many others healed and filled with the Holy Spirit.

Lastly, we held a pastors conference ( of which I believe is a seed for many more to come) and the word was brought forth out of 1 Chronicles 16: 9a – “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him……….” God wants to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to HIM!

God loves the nations of the earth and we at FathersJoy are called to the nations, to see them worship Him – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Blessings on the the team from Fountain of Life and Chelsea from Seattle who made this mission possible!

Mark & Bridget Moses
FathersJoy

When I mentioned to friends that we were headed on a mission to Albania most said, “Where is that?”. And to be quite honest I would not have known where it was myself, if it wasn’t for our missionary friend Cleon who has been there for over 20 years. For the first time, we were able to visit him this month in Albania. With practically no knowledge of this country, we set off on a simple directive from the Lord to, “Go and worship with these people.” Why and what would we encounter? Not a clue! Here is a little bit of what we learned and encountered and the beginnings of how we are seeing God wants to use us to partner with the saints there.

Albania is freshly out of communism, breaking free in 1991. Their official, national religion prior to 1991 was atheism! The land and people have been moving on from that, but it is still littered with the aftermath of communism. Abandoned houses, factory compounds and high unemployment is everywhere you look. There were over 174,000 bunkers that were built for the elite and the military in case of an invasion during the 1900’s, and the corrupt leaders used the people’s money to build them. These bunkers, now serving as museums and haunting reminders, are so large they take up whole city blocks. Just to reiterate, at least one of these bunkers can be found in EVERY SQUARE MILE of this country!

But also there, under the ground, are the deep wells of salvation and freedom! Paul preached the gospel to those in Illyricum (Albania), as he said in Romans 15:19. And those wells have begun to be re-opened since ’91 by people like our missionary friend, Cleon. So past the physical scars of communism there is a first generation of believers, yes FIRST GENERATION believers that are plowing very hard ground. It was exciting to meet these precious people and begin to be a part of their lives. As we sat listening to one of the worship leaders from the church we went to in the capital city of Tirana, we couldn’t help but get a small sense of what is was like for the early church – trying to follow the Holy Spirit in working out the practical, relational and spiritual issues that come bobbing to the surface of this vast sea of a new way of life for them! There was something refreshing about it, reminding us American believers of what the essentials really are.

Our time was spent building relationships, teaching on worship, leading worship and helping plan for future discipleship in the country. There are people like Beni and Erma, Vaso and Margarita who are pouring into the lives of young worshipers of God. It was our privilege to be a part of bringing 10 churches in 3 different cities together to pray, worship and teach about worship and it’s importance in the furthering of HIS KINGDOM. We were encouraged to hear the sound of heaven in Albania. The young people are hungry for God’s Presence. We were able to meet with musicians who long to learn more about Him and to learn more about there instruments. One of the biggest things we saw was how evident it is that God has gifted Albanians with distinct musical ability! We did not expect the amount of pure, natural ability from all 3 regions we visited. We are talking about very small congregations from 10-50 people on average. And these talented, yet infamous, musicians and singers are happy and honored to serve in worshipping God in whatever place He has put them! Our heart is to see the Albanian writers begin to release their own original songs and sound to God into the surrounding areas. God is continuing to give us directive on how He wants to use us.
We were also privileged to be interviewed by the local radio station, Radio Emanuel, about worship and its impact and why it’s important to the lives of Christians.

We want to thank each one of you again who gave, prayed, and supported us in this mission to Albania. We believe this is the first of many.

Blessings,
Mark & Bridget Moses
Fathers Joy!

Timing is a very important thing.  Try to catch a football on a timing route and fall down. Try to go down the boulevard and not catch just 1 red light, but all of them. Or what about playing music in a band?   For all of these scenarios timing is very important.  

The Lord has recently drawn me to this word through several scriptures.  One is Isaiah 60:22.

He “…will hasten it in its time.”  The first part of the chapter speaks of the Gentiles helping the 

Jews, and then verses 19-22 speak of the Jews inheriting the land forever, that His Name will be glorified, and that He will hasten it in His time.

Second, is Habakkuk 2:3-“The vision is for an appointed time.”  This scripture speaks of a prophetic word that will happen in its appointed time.

Third , Ecclesiastes 3:11-“Everything is beautiful in His time.”

I think we can all agree that timing is important! But what are we doing up until the point of the appointed time?

God’s Word also says those who wait on the Lord will not be put to shame.  

Hannah and Simeon waited to see the Messiah.  They waited in the temple and found HIm.

Psalm 84:4 says, “Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; They will still be praising You.”

While we were living in Washington state,I took an afternoon to prayer walk in downtown Tacoma. I prayed and walked, and I prayed and walked and I wasn’t hearing anything!  After about 2 hours of praying in the Spirit, I blurted out, “Lord, just speak one word to me. Just one!” As I was saying this, I looked across the port of Tacoma and my eyes were fixed upon this huge blue building and on that blue building was a logo.  It said, “GLOBAL”.  The logo was a globe.  Ha – the Lord answered and confirmed what He has called Bridget and I to do.  To lead the NATIONS in worshiping Him in spirit and in truth.

That happened 2 years ago and we know that the Lord’s timing is now.  For Father’s Joy, we believe this is our appointed time to “GO”.  His heart is for the nations to worship Him!  We are seeing doors open to different places in the earth and we are taking steps in Him to GO.

He’s opened a door for us to go back and minister in Washington in June.  He’s also opened a door for us to teach and lead in worship in Albania in September.  In November we are taking a team of 13 to Honduras. Other doors are opening in the city as well.  It’s in His time – His timing not ours. 

Will you pray for us and partner financially with us so that we can GO?

Blessings,

Mark & Bridget Moses 

“Trust “ – it is a word that is thrown around quite a bit. All of us at one time or another have experienced someone not being trustworthy or someone breaking our trust or maybe we haven’t been a person that someone can trust. Trust is an action that our Father in heaven beckons us to do on a daily basis – HE invites us to trust Him! Isaiah the prophet says, “those who put their trust in Him will not be disappointed.” Psalm 118:8-9 says “ It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord that to put confidence in princes.” Proverbs 14:26 says “ in the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence , and His children will have a place of refuge. “ Another words as we place our confidence in Him, Adonai will be our refuge.

We used to sing a song in Sunday school called “Trust and Obey.” This song is simple but yet so true. Trust is the catalyst that leads to obedience. God want us to trust Him because His ways and steps are right and true. And they are the best for us. Our part is to first trust and then follow through with the courage to obey. There has to be a corresponding action to trust.

Our trust must be solely in Him! Even in our deepest times of doubt we must be like the man in Mark 9:24 who said, “ Messiah help me to believe in my unbelief.”

Trust is the beginning point – the launching point to tasting the new wine. Yes, it’s a bit scary and, yes, it will cost but, YES it is worth it! Especially on that day when we stand face to face with Him ,our Messiah, and He says well done my trustworthy servant – enter into your rest.

Dear Friends – We are so grateful for you in our lives! We love what God is doing in the earth! He is transitioning us once again. The Moses’ are on the move and value your prayers for every step of that move. God is speaking to us that this next place will provide a brief rest in order to prepare for things ahead. It’s an in-between season for us. By the 1st of 2019, we will be living back in Mobile, Alabama.

There are a few key things on our itinerary for the 2019 that we would love for you to pray about joining us in, including trips to Honduras, Israel, and more worship gatherings! God has re-positioned us in the body where we no longer feel we are to operate from a pastoral position at a church at this time. Having operated from that for 20+ years, you can imagine how this will feel very different for us. Have you ever experienced a time when things seemed so clear and yet very unknown all at the same time? That’s us! But we know He is preparing us to be sent out more and more. Our hearts burn like never before for open heavens in worship, and for the alignment and unity of the global body of Christ.

So much more to come! Please have patience with us as we make changes to our website so we can enhance our communication with you. All of the upcoming events I mentioned above and much more will be posted there so be looking for that! God is opening doors and we are so excited to see what He is doing. We invite you to press into Him like never before! The earth is the LORD’s and the FULLNESS thereof!

Planted in the Land 

FathersJoy has just returned from Israel. We led a team of 38 from 2 congregations in Tacoma, Washington on a 12 day tour. Our time there was incredible from visiting all the sites to getting to meet Benjamin Netanyahu’s son, Yair.

Over several months spanning from April – August 2018 there has been a reoccurring theme in my study of scripture and I don’t believe its a coincidence – it’s what I call a confirmation.

The first one was: 

Amos 9:14-15

I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, And no longer shall they be pulled up From the land I have given them,” Says the Lord your God.

The second was: 

Jeremiah 24:4-7

Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart. 

The third was: 

Ezekiel 37:14  &  37:21

I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’ ”

“Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land;

The fourth was: 

Isaiah 65:21-23

They shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.They shall not build and another inhabit; They shall not plant and another eat;For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, Nor bring forth children for trouble;For they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord, And their offspring with them.

As I was in Israel on the last day I walked into the FOZ ( Friends of Zion )  museum and in the third room some of the scriptures from above were on the walls and even more scriptures that said the same things.  Prophetic things about people returning to the land.  It was then upon walking into that room that I realized what the previous four months were about.  These scriptures the Lord gave to me were not necessarily about me  ( that I would be planted and not plucked up) but that I, as a gentile, would be a part of these prophesies being fulfilled.  Ah – now it makes sense.  The big Questions is HOW……that’s up to Him to reveal.

I’m excited to see what these scriptures have to do with FathersJoy and until then

we will pray for the peace of Jerusalem as well as the return of His people to the LAND!

And stay tuned for our dates for our next tour to Israel in the fall of 2019………….

Honduras – June 2018

As you know, this past June we took a team of 13 people from Tacoma, Washington to Rio Mario, Honduras to put the finishing touches on our new Missions House, Casa de La Luz.  As always, our trips are full of ministry opportunities and great adventures that lead to lasting relationships.  This trip was no different.  After a full week of ministering in schools, a soccer outreach, preaching at churches, delivering groceries to a widow, visiting an orphanage and planting over 400 bushes and removing rust from a gate surrounding the 1 acre property and painting it – we finally took a day to relax.  Oh, and all of that in 90 degree plus weather and the humidity to boot!

Our heart for missions is to make an immediate impact, while simultaneously establishing long term relationships that last.  This trip couldn’t have been more true to the goal.  Many times we see things and value things differently than God does.  We look at the tons of kids that came to the soccer outreach or the great service we had at the church building. But what about the bushes – or the work on the wall – or better yet, the day off?

Let’s talk about that day off.  We took our day off to Cayos Cochinos  which is an island that is well know for snorkeling.  Our team left early Friday morning for a 45-minute boat ride that would lead us to the most beautiful water I’ve ever seen.  We were coupled with other people who had signed up for the tour.  Bridget and I were seated in the middle of the boat with another couple from out of town.  We could tell immediately that there was something  different about them.  Through our interpreter and our broken spanglish, we found out that they were there for their 25th wedding anniversary and they were pastors!  I wanted to talk to them more but also wanted to give them space so they could enjoy their 25th wedding anniversary.  So I gave them space.  It wasn’t until later as we got back on the boat to return that we began to converse even more.  We wound up inviting them to Casa de la Luz.  We road with them to the house and showed them what we were doing.  They were very impressed by the work we’d accomplished on the missions house, but I sensed I was drawn to them for a greater reason.  Before leaving, I asked if we could pray for them.  We started praying and God began to minister encouragement to this couple.  They began to weep and immediately I knew this would not be the last time of seeing them.  Before they left, they extended an invite to Bridget and I to come and visit them in Santa Rosa, Copan.   Little did we know we would wind up in their city on August 24th,  just 2 months later.  That’s a whole story in itself! 

Fast forward – we just got back from spending 4 days with Pastor Josué Barrientos and his family ( the couple we met on the boat).  We had an incredible time with Pastor and his family.  In those 4 short days, God opened doors on so many levels.  We had the privilege of meeting with local pastors, we were invited to share our vision on the local radio program and finally we were invited to meet the mayor of Santa Rosa.  In getting to know the mayor, we learned that he is new believer and that he is open to the gospel being preached openly in his city.  In fact, he invited and gave permission for Bridget and I to come and do whatever God put in our hearts to do in the city!  We shared with the mayor that we would like to come and lead a strategic city-wide worship and prayer TO THE KING!  In his short time as mayor, he is already cleaning up the city in the natural AND the spiritual.  Santa Rosa is heavily tied to the spiritual idolatry and practices of the ancient Mayans and the masons.  Many of their statues are set in prominent places in the city.  This mayor has begun to tear these places down.  One place ( the picture shown below), is one of the highest points of Santa Rosa, complete with a long road of steps all the way up the hill that leads to the (previous) monument at the top. It is at this “high place” the mayor has already had the largest mayan statue/idol to be torn down. And that’s not all! In its place, a massive, stone Holy Bible opened to the ten commandments is being erected! Wow! I believe this is the first of many great strides for the Kingdom of God for this community.

We are currently planning a trip in 2019 back to Santa Rosa to start walking through the doors God is opening.  Our heart is to partner with the existing Jesus-centered churches who want to see their city establish His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.