JOE: Welcome to FJM TV. I'm Joe Jordan. I'm here with two
amazing people. Yes, two amazing people. Gina Thompson, my wife,
Kris Jordan. And I am blessed because I have two amazing
people to come to you today and just share from God's word. We
hope and we pray that it's a blessing to you today because
it's not really what we say that matters. It's just all that God
says that matters. That's what really matters. And so we're
going to talk about God's word. We're going to talk about the
Apostle Paul. We're going to talk about a lot of things in
our life, but it's all because of God and what he is doing,
what he has done and what he continues to do and what he
wants to do for you. But you know maybe you don't know much
about Fred Jordan Missions and FJM TV. FJM TV has been around
for 73 years, since 1951. But we also have some numbers that are
really impressive, and that is Fred Jordan Missions has been in
Los Angeles on the same corner, the same street, the same
building, fifth in town on Skid Row since 1944. And
when you take 44 to 24, Gina,
GINA: It's our 80 year anniversary. 80 years faithfully
serving the Lord first and then serving those in need
who are hungry and you clothe them, love them.
And what a beautiful, beautiful, just testimony
of the faithfulness of Fred Jordan Mission.
And now you're carrying it on and doing an amazing job.
JOE: And I have right and left arms and all amazing
people helping.
GINA: A wonderful team you call Team Jesus.
JOE: We do. I call it team Jesus. We're small but mighty.
GINA: Yes. And you always say if you do a little something
and I do a little something then together, we're doing
great things. And that's what we're looking forward
to this year of our 80th anniversary. And we want all
of you to come on, get on board with us and celebrate
with us. And you just can go to fjm.org and all the
information's there, how you can volunteer and how you
can pray for us and how you can get involved in the events
that are coming up this year. And as we all know that every
day the need is great, every day at Fred Jordan Mission and we're
being able to feed and clothe in this time of year it's so cold
and so to give out warm jackets and blankets and socks and
beanies and all of that is just a blessing. However, we need
your financial support now more than ever. So go to FJM if it's
on your heart and give today.
JOE: Yeah, that's amazing. 80 years of serving Jesus
by serving others. And as my dad called them, his forgotten
people because they weren't forgotten to him and they
weren't forgotten by God at all. But sometimes society.
GINA: I know, but when we, no matter if we're on Skid
Row or we're here or you know wherever, you're in a mansion,
and it's like when you are going through a hard situation,
I mean, how many times have you said, God are you still
there? We feel forgotten.
JOE: Absolutely.
GINA: When we're hurting, when we're in horrible situations
that are just overwhelming, we can feel forgotten.
JOE: We can, and you might feel forgotten today. And we
just want to be an encouragement to you from God's Word,
from our lives to you and experience and just all that
God's taken us through. One thing I know the Bible
talks about that the joy of the Lord is our strength.
So in those times when you feel forgotten in those times
where you know you just feel like there's just no hope,
no way out, how do you have what we're going
to talk about today, a joy filled life, a joy filled life?
And how can you have it? Well, if you have the joy of the Lord
is your strength, you can have a joy filled life. And we're
talking about a lot of the book of Philippians, the Apostle
Paul, and it's just amazing how he had a joy filled life. And
how did he have a joyfilled life? First Paul in writing
Philippians, a great apostle, he was imprisoned when he wrote
this. He was locked up, chained up, bound up, and they threw
away the key. They did not like Paul in those days. And while he
was in prison, while he was suffering, he had such a great
attitude, I believe in my heart because the joy of the Lord, who
he was in Jesus and who Jesus was in him, took him through all
those situations. Why did he have that joy? Why did he have
that outlook? Why did he have that attitude in the midst of
those difficult situations? Because he knew who he was and
he knew who Jesus was and what Jesus did in his life in his
heart. So to me, that's amazing that the Apostle Paul that he
was in prison, he went and just gave it all to Jesus and all of
the troubles he went through, he still found a way of writing
about joy and peace and contentment. And it just reminds
me how important it is, the biblical truths of God's word
and what he wrote, the biblical truths of Jesus, the ultimate
example of love and grace and compassion and how if we look to
God's word and his truths, we can be strengthened and have a
joy filled life. The significance of Paul doing what
he did in prison for all of us. I just kind of am curious about
that. What do you think about the Apostle Paul suffering
through it all and yet what he wrote to encourage you Gina
Thompson today in 2024, as you read it, his suffering is your
joy. What an amazing thing.
GINA: I love this so much because it just shows us that
no matter what situation we're in, okay, we might
not be in prison, but we're imprisoned in certain situations
in our lives. We can be in a situation that looks so you
know dark and horrible that there's no way out,
but God shows us through Paul in Philippians how the
joy of the Lord is his strength. He wrote those amazing
scriptures while in prison, while being persecuted,
while you know feeling like you know there is no
way out you know? And God did make a way out for him and he
believed it. And so therefore, that shows me that no matter
what situation I am in, that I can put my trust, I can put my
confidence in God, in his word, what he says. And once I start
to do that, that's where the joy starts overflowing. That's where
the joy comes in, the peace of mind, the safe and secure
feelings, knowing that no matter this situation looks
bleak, looks like a prison if you will, but
God's with me through it every step of the way.
JOE: Absolutely.
GINA: That gives me encouragement.
JOE: Absolutely.
KRIS: And I was even going to say too, I mean you know
Paul was in prison in the latter part of his life, but
when you look at what happened to Paul before he was
in prison, I mean that guy faced some life and death
situations, not just once, but repeatedly. And yet the
things that he writes in scripture and his attitude,
it just mind blowing that how, because you know as
humans, we go through tough times and we want to play the
victim. Woe is me. Look what happened to me. I can't believe
that happened to me. And yet, here's Paul who's facing death,
imprisonment, shipwreck. You know a night and a day out in
the open ocean. All of these things happening to him and his
attitude, I just, when I look at the Apostle Paul, the one thing
that just is glaring to me is he had his eyes on the prize. He
was all about Jesus. He was all about seeing people come to know
Jesus so that they could have eternal life. And no matter what
happened to him, I just, he's like a horse with blinders on.
You know just doing the will of God, doing what God's called him
to do. No matter how much it cost him, he was just
so in love with Jesus. And so in love with people,
I mean, that man was just amazing.
GINA: He really did.
JOE: But he wasn't always that way, huh?
KRIS: No. Oh my.
JOE: Oh man. There's some stories. You know the story of
the Damascus Road and all of that. There was some stories
that he wasn't, you know yes, he wasn't always nice to
Christians. He didn't always like Christians. There was
a point he definitely didn't love Christians. But what an
amazing, amazing life as we look at Paul. And I just
want to encourage you, no matter what life and
what situations you're going through, if you know Jesus and
you take Paul's perspective on he kept his eyes on Jesus, he
kept his eyes on the truth. And remember what the Bible says,
it's very clear. It's a promise from God. The truth will set you
free. And Paul knew no matter what he was imprisoned in,
whether it was a situation, a storm, a trial or actual prison,
he knew that the truth would set him free. Jesus had already set
him free in his heart, his soul, his spirit, his mind. And so
we see that he was able to have joy in the midst of
it all because of that. We'll be right back.
ANNOUNCER: Jesus once said, "what you do for the least
of these you do for me." With your generous support,
Fred Jordan Mission has been fulfilling this calling for over
80 years by feeding hungry people here on
Skid Row. Together we made a difference. Together,
we have given hope to those less fortunate, and
together we have demonstrated the love of Jesus to those in
need. We deeply appreciate your support and we ask that you
please continue to give to this life-changing mission. Go
online to give at fjm.org. Whatever the amount, great
or small, your donation is greatly appreciated.
ANNOUNCER: Join the conversation by connecting with us on
social media. We are on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,
and more. Visit us at social.fjm.org.
JOE: Well welcome back. You know we've been talking
about Paul, the Apostle Paul, and it's amazing how
he had joy in the midst of the storms, joy in the midst
of the battle. And you know sometimes I just wonder,
Paul, your joy-filled life is just beyond even
imagination that he could do that. But then
I think of my life and you guys think of your life and think of
your life if you know Jesus, there's those situations and
those times where there's no joy involved in it, there's no
happiness involved in it, it's just a bad time in life. But
when you sit back and you read God's word and you really look
at who you are ultimately in him and who God is and Jesus
ultimately is in you, it brings such a peace and a calm to that
time that you're in. If you're locked away in some prison,
whether it's in your mind or your heart or relationship, or
actually in prison, you can always find joy in just knowing
that you are Jesus's. And that brings such a great peace to me
that the king of kings and the Lord of Lords is our salvation,
is our freedom, is the one to set us free from it all. And as
I said a little bit earlier, the truth, God, his word and who he
is, is what sets us free. And I'm so grateful that we're set
free because we've received him. Today if you're struggling and
you're locked up and imprisoned in some way, it doesn't even
have to be in prison because you stole something, you lied,
cheated, stole. But you could be in prison just in a situation in
your life or a relationship or just in your mind. Sometimes the
enemy just wants to lie to us. But Paul was filled with an
attitude of gratefulness and gratitude of who Jesus was. He
was so in love with Jesus. And I just know that when we're in
God's word and we're so in love with Jesus, it's kind of hard to
whine and complain. So with that in mind, Jesus being our
example, Paul being a great example in the word of God of
how to have joy in the middle of all of this. What do you think
the significance is of Paul's joy in prison to all of
those who are viewing? Like how can that
situation help someone who's in prison somehow?
KRIS: I think we talked about it earlier. You know
when I look at the Apostle Paul and what he was facing,
I mean, he was imprisoned, and that's not a fun situation.
That's not what somebody you know grows up and is
like, Hey, I want to be a prisoner, whatever, inmate.
But Paul kept his eyes on the big picture and I think
that's so important for us because you know we all go
through difficult times. Maybe we're not imprisoned,
but like you were saying, maybe it's imprison in our
mind or our heart, or we're in a relationship, whatever, and
it's not easy. But if we keep our eyes on the big picture. You
know, happiness and joy are two different things, okay.
Happiness is based on circumstances. We're happy when
things are going good. We're unhappy when things are going
bad, but joy is constant. The joy of the Lord is our strength,
the joy of our salvation. That's, for me, like that's what
keeps me going. It's remembering that this too shall pass.
This is temporary, but what's coming is eternal, and
nobody can take that away from me. You know?
JOE: How do you keep joy in the midst of the battle yourself?
KRIS: Lots of prayer, encouragement. You know
I mean, being real with people. If I'm having a rough
day, I'm going to, you know, usually I come to you and
I pour out my heart and you're there to encourage
me and to you know offer me something from the word or
pray for me or you know just help me stay encouraged because
I'd like to think that we can all just stay on the
mountaintop, but that's just not reality. You know but yeah, so
just getting encouragement from people, getting prayer.
Yeah, praying, going to God's word and just letting
God speak to me and you know just
JOE: Absolutely. And we're praying for you today that
Jesus will bless you and keep you and guard your mind
and your heart, your soul and your spirit from whatever
is trying to imprison you, hurt you, harm you, or just beat
you up just a little bit. It doesn't have to be this, I'm
imprisoned by something, I need some big set free.
Maybe that's true, but maybe you're just a little
discouraged, a little bit just bummed out. It's just not a
great day. We want to encourage you. I want to encourage you.
All of us want to encourage you. Just trust Jesus because he
loves you, and he'll be there in the midst of the battles. Gina,
what's your thoughts on that?
GINA: Well, I, two things. You know Paul was in prison
and he didn't keep his eyes on his circumstances, on
his surroundings, but he kept on God and he also had
a compassion and a heart for others. So sometimes when
we get overwhelmed and we feel imprisoned in a situation,
yes, we've got to keep our eyes on Jesus, but also get
our eyes on others. How can we be an encouragement
to those others who are going through a situation?
You know and I think there's something beautiful in
that moment where that happens or that takes place where you
know we look at our situation, we give it to God. Now, how can
we help those around us?
JOE: So true.
GINA: You know and also your point about happiness and
joy are two complete different things. Happiness the world
can give and take away, but joy is constant and it cannot
be taken away. And when we're grounded in God's word
and his love and love for others.
JOE: And if you think about it, here's Paul, the great apostle
that loved Jesus so much, yet he was in, I mean, it's not like
prison today. You know three squares a day. You get your
meals, you get your stuff, you get your exercise, whatever,
I've never been in prison, but I've known enough people that
have been and talked to them and ministered to them. And I just
know that prison today, it is not a good place. It's not a fun
place. It's terrible. But prison 2000 years ago, totally
different. Today, they would probably call it a country club
compared to back then. And yet Paul, in the midst of it all,
like you said, he found the joy of the Lord, his constant. But
it's amazing because everything that he wrote was to encourage
the people, then the church, the body of Christ. He was their
greatest cheerleader. He was there rooting for them and
saying, I'm here. I can do this. You can do it. And you know it
just amazes me. It reminds me of one of my favorite scriptures,
Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through Christ who gives
me strength. If today you need strength, the joy of the Lord is
your strength. But also remember, you can do all things
through Christ who gives you strength, but you have to look
to him. You know and just some last thoughts before we close
today. How important is it to rely on God's word and his
promises versus the situation that brings us down?
KRIS: Well, you know me, I'm a word girl, and I think
that I tell women this a lot because as women, we tend
to rely on our feelings, and we sort of let that dictate
our attitude and our outlook. And I always say, don't
base things on how you're feeling go to God's word
because also the enemy will come in and lie and
tell us this or tell us that. I'm like, no, go back to
God's word. See what God says. And so you know the word of
God's living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword and
it's life, especially to us as believers. And so I say,
go to God's word. Stand on the truths of
God's word. He will give you strength.
JOE: Yeah, absolutely.
GINA: I love that. I love that you say, many people think
our feelings dictate our actions, but it's our thoughts.
Then how guard your mind, guard your thoughts. Guard what
you're letting in and then out with word and then out
through an emotion. So let's get it prioritized, right? You
know? Think God's thoughts, say God's words and let
your emotions and feelings then flow from that and let your
actions be that of strength, stability, calm, trusting.
JOE: Absolutely.
KRIS: Filter all that stuff through what does God say?
Is it true? Is that what God says or not? And if it's not,
GINA: Amen.
KRIS: I'm going to stand on what God says.
JOE: Absolutely. Because the truth will set you free.
Don't let your circumstances, don't let what you're going
through today, tomorrow, or ever dictate who you
are. Also, don't let your past failures or mistakes, heartache
or imprisonments dictate your future. You are chosen
by God, handpicked to be his child. He created you.
But we have to build that relationship with Jesus. And
there's only one way, by saying yes to him, we
don't have to do anything except say, yes, God did
it all when he sent his one and only Son Jesus to die for
us, that if we would believe and receive, repent of our sins,
turn from our way to his, we can be saved. So all you have to do
is trust what Jesus did on the cross. Paul did. And even
though he was in prison, in the worst situation, he had
a joy-filled life. You can have one
too. Trust Jesus today, we'll be right back
JOE: Here at Fred Jordan Missions. Every day we see
all, all types of people. I remember as a kid, my father,
Fred and my mom, Willie, teaching me a song about Jesus
loves the little children of the world. Red and yellow,
black and white. We are all precious in God's sight. I still
know that song. I taught it to my children. And that's exactly
what we see here at Fred Jordan Mission every day. Red and
yellow, black and white, every single person that you could
think of from children all the way to seniors are here on
the streets living in LA. And they come to our doors to
be loved on, to be shared with that Jesus loves you and
Jesus saves. You know we hand out water, we hand out
drinks, we hand out snacks. We preach the gospel. We have
hot meals, we do special events. But if you want to know who
comes through our doors, it's all of us. There's no certain
person, there's no certain look. But like I said, in that song,
red and yellow, black and white, we're all precious in God's
sight. That's who we see here every day at Fred Jordan
Mission. People from all around this country that end up
on these streets can come through our door, and we will
serve them as we declare and demonstrate the love of
Jesus to those in need.
JOE: Well, as we close today, I just want to thank you for
allowing us to come into your home, to your iPhone, to
your iPad, your computer, just to share God's love, some
of his truths, his grace, his mercy. It's there for you
and it's there for those on Skid Row that we work with
every day. You know for 80 years now, we've been serving
Jesus by serving others, serving even you at home through TV
for 73 years. But in this 80th year of Fred Jordan Mission,
I would ask that you would think about, that you would
pray about how you can be involved in volunteering, in
praying for us, which we need a lot of because we're on the
front lines in the homeless capital of the nation, Los
Angeles, Skid Row, and also financially give. It's because
of your support, your prayers, and you standing with us as
partners that we're able to do what we do, sustain what has
been sustained for 80 years, declaring and demonstrating
God's love. We really can't do it without you, but with you, we
will continue to see lives changed. People broken out of
prison, and I'm not talking about a physical prison in LA,
but the prisons that hold them, whether it's drugs or alcohol or
mental illness, or not having a job, not having a home, or just
not having any hope. Help us provide hope today. Go to
fjm.org. Go to our social media @FJMissions, but get involved
and we can make eternal differences that will last for
eternity. God bless you.
FEMALE: (Singing) When the night comes and there's no
one, and you feel hopeless and abandoned, just take
my hand and lift your eyes. Change is coming, love
has arrived. We will overcome this sorrow. We will see
the dawn tomorrow. We will soldier on down this
road as we reach for hope, reach for hope.
ANNOUNCER: Please will you join us in feeding hungry
children and their families by phoning today, 844-FJM-FOOD
or donating online, fjm.org. That's fjm.org or mail your
check to Fred Jordan Mission, PO Box 12345, Covina, California
91722, please will you help?
FEMALE: (Singing) Reach for hope.
ANNOUNCER: The preceding program was sponsored by
generous friends and partners of Fred Jordan Missions.