JOE: Welcome to FJM TV I'm Joe Jordan. I'm here today with Kris
Jordan, my wife, Gina Thompson. Excited to be here with you, to
be able to share from God's Word and from some of the truths from
God's Word and it's for you today. We want to just be a
blessing, share some hope, share some encouragement with you and
just share a little bit more of the love of God with you, but
you know this is also an exciting year for us. It's our
80th year in ministry from 1944 to 2024. 44 to 24 is how we call
it. Maybe you're viewing for the first time or you've only seen
it a time or two and you're like, what is Fred Jordan
Missions? What is FJM TV? Well, no one better to tell you than
Gina. How can they get involved? How can they know more and how
can they see more of Fred Jordan Mission?
GINA: Well, first of all, 80 years, this is a ministry that
you can give financially to and know that it's upstanding, that
every unit going to know where every penny goes to. The
faithfulness of Fred Jordan Mission is just beyond and
that's just a beautiful testimony in and of itself. Not
in spite of all the lives that have been touched and changed,
but just the faithfulness to God, faithfulness to those that
are hurting on Skid Row and that are in need and so the need is
great. So just go to fjm.org and see how you can get involved. We
need your finances, we need your prayers. We need you to come and
volunteer at our events. We've got some wonderful events coming
up this year, and just because maybe it's at Christmas or
Thanksgiving doesn't mean we're not starting to plan right now.
So the finances are very, very needed at this time of year. And
also our doors are open 24/7 there at Fred Jordan Mission.
We're doing lunches and dinners and we're giving out foods and
snack during the day. And just go to fjm.org, see how you can
get involved, how you can help. We greatly appreciate it.
JOE: What about social? There's a lot of stuff on social media.
GINA: We love our social media and it's just a great community.
Get over there. You get encouraged and see what's going
on, how you can get involved. And then also text from Joe.
What do they text the Bible?
JOE: Yeah, there's a number. Yeah, Bible (626)314-7703.
GINA: That's right. JOE: What is it though?
GINA: And you get a text from Joe, a scripture and just a word
of encouragement. And I love it because it is short, sweet, and
powerful, and it's right there on your phone. Whatever you're
doing during the day, if you need a little word of
encouragement, you can go right to that. The scripture comes up
and then just how you can apply it. So it's great.
JOE: Yeah, absolutely. GINA: Go check it out.
JOE: I even love it, because you know I wake up and about seven,
eight o'clock every morning, Monday through Friday, there's a
text from myself to me and it's great. Like one day, it was-
GINA: Good morning, Joe. JOE: John 3:16.
Hey, remember this, Joe. For God so loved the world, that
means you, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life. It's
just, it's a promise that lets me know that God in heaven
loves me, that Jesus died for me, that I put my faith and
trust in Him, so I'm not going to perish and go to hell. But I
have promised eternal life in heaven. I have the eternal hope
that no matter what happens on this crazy earth, to me, my
family, that I'm going to be with Jesus. And that's just such
a reassurance, and I want you to know that too as our viewers,
that God loves you and He's there for you. So you can text
that. You can get it every day. You can go to FJ- @FJMissions
on Facebook, Instagram, or just go to fjm.org. Like Gina said,
we'd love for you to be a part of Fred Jordan Missions. But
also we have a television program, FJM TV. It's been
on since 1951. Ladies, that's 73 years now. So for 73 years,
every single Sunday, this program starting with my dad,
then my mom, and now me, it's been coming into your home
and we are so blessed to be a part of that 73 years.
GINA: I remember watching it when I was a young girl every
Sunday I'd be getting ready for church and I'd be waiting there
in the living room and there would come Church in the Home.
JOE: Church in the Home, Fred Jordan and it was an hour
program back then. GINA: And all you kids would
be sitting there. JOE: Yep, yep. We were made to
sit there and it was great. We were made to watch it every
Sunday too with our parents. It was just part of being a pk.
If you don't know what that is, it's a pastor's kid. But you
know what? I am so grateful being people say, oh yeah, this,
that I was drugged to church. What do you mean they drugged
you and took you to church? No, they drug us to church. But
I'm so grateful because if they didn't-
GINA: I think we both, all were. JOE: You know I wouldn't be
here today. I don't know if I'd know Jesus. I don't know
if you would know Jesus. KRIS: Clearly not.
JOE: Because my wife of almost 36 years came to know Jesus
because I was a little away from Jesus when we met. But then-
KRIS: You shared the gospel with me.
JOE: Through some challenges and everything else in our
relationship when we were just kids, I shared the gospel with
you, and then my dad came and led you to Jesus and now we've
been in full-time ministry- GINA: That's amazing.
JOE: Together for 36 years. But anyway, let's get back to it
because we want to encourage you from God's Word today and we're
talking about from evil to good. Now, Genesis has a story of
Joseph. I'm named after Joseph and it's so cool. His life was
kind of meant to go in a bad way for him, and it did go bad for a
while, but there was a great ending to it. And God always has
the last word. That's what I love about life. This is what
Genesis says in 5:20. It says, you intended to harm me, but God
intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I
could save the lives of many people. This is the story of
Joseph and Joseph was the son of Jacob. Some say the favorite
child, but anyway, there was a lot of jealousy with all of his
brothers. So what did his brothers do back in the day?
They sold him into slavery? Can you imagine rotten, bigger
brothers? They sold Joseph into slavery. They were jealous of
him. There's a lot of family issues and a lot of our family's
lives. We all have something. But I'm grateful, I was never
sold into slavery. I mean, my brothers probably thought about
it once or twice. GINA: I wasn't going to bring
that up though. JOE: And I probably deserved it.
But anyway, but what's great is that he was sold into slavery.
He was put in prison, he was in Egypt. But while he was in
prison, God used him to interpret dreams that Pharaoh
had and Pharaoh was the great leader of Egypt then. And what
was amazing about the story is what was meant for evil,
what the devil meant for bad against him and harm. God
turned it around. He rose Joseph up to second in command. That's
like being the Vice President. If Pharaoh is the President
today, that would be the Vice President. And what's amazing
about it is, is that God used Joseph as second in command
to help save Egypt during a time of famine. The story of Joseph
shows us the sovereignty and the grace of God for those who
are faithful and followers of Jesus, and even though Jesus
was sold into slavery by his brothers, he remained faithful
and he trusted God to deliver him, and God did. So my
question, Gina, is this to you, why does God allow us to go
through those kind of situations like Joseph in our lives?
GINA: I love everything about this story. I love what it
teaches us. I mean here, Joseph is in prison, he's been sold
into slavery just like you said, but God still used him. And so
therefore it shows me that no matter where I'm at, what I'm
going through, whatever is so bad in my life, God can still
use me in that situation. And I love the fact that Joseph didn't
get all down about looking at his surrounding of here I've
been sold in slavery and everything's so horrible and
exactly where the enemy wants us to be when we're going through a
horrible situation, get our eyes on that situation off of Jesus
and that it's like, okay, it's over and done for me. No, Joseph
just kept his eyes on the Lord, and God did amazing things and
still used him right there in prison and so I love this story.
JOE: It's a great story. It's a great story.
GINA: And your question was, I'm sorry.
JOE: And even though I wasn't sold into slavery, I identify
with this because there's so many times in my own life and in
all of our lives that we've been sold out by the enemy to try to
ruin us and destroy us and hurt us, but God has the last say in
it, and I love that. What about you? What do you think about
that? Why does God allow those difficult situations and those
things to happen to us?
KRIS: Well, I mean, again, one of the things, I think there's a
misconception about Christianity. It's like, oh, if
you just become a Christian, your whole, everything's going
to be wonderful. It's going to be roses and butterflies and
Daniel, you're never going to have struggles. It's not true. I
mean, we live in a fallen world with fallen, sinful people and
bad things happen. But the good part of that story is that God
is still God and He is a redemptive God. I mean, Joseph
is perfect example of that. But one of the things that I love,
Paul talks about it in fact, I wanted to share it. It's in
Romans 5 and talking about like, okay, why does God allow bad
things to happen? Well, here's one of the reasons why He allows
it. I don't believe that He causes it. He doesn't want evil
for us. But it says in Romans chapter 5, verse 3, okay, Paul
writes and he says, and not only that, but we also glory in
tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces
perseverance, and perseverance, character and character, hope.
And I think sometimes the tough situations, we go through, the
difficult times, the things that challenge our faith, they build
our faith, they make us stronger. And like you were
saying about Joseph, he's in this prison and he could have
become bitter. I'm sure that the enemy was like, don't trust God.
Look what He did to you, and yet Joseph was faithful and God was
faithful, and He used that and He redeemed that, and I think
His faith, I think Joseph's faith grew stronger through that
experience. And so I just think that's one of the reasons why
God allows it is because He wants to grow us. He wants to
develop our faith, nurture our faith, grow our faith, and bring
us to maturity in Him.
JOE: Absolutely. And when we're on the top of the mountain and
just, oh, and everything's great and you're just following Jesus
and everything else, and everything's just smooth
sailing, many times you just don't really hone in and focus
on Jesus and His Word and everything as much because
things are so good. But I'll tell you, when you're like
Joseph and you're thrown in a pit or you're thrown in a
prison, or you're thrown out to the dogs and the wolves by your
brothers and sold out into slavery, you really turn to God
and you start looking to, how can I grow my faith and trust in
Him and let God take me through this? And it's just so important
to keep your eyes on Jesus.
KRIS: Well, I was just going to say, like one of our favorite
sayings is that there is more growth that takes place in the
valleys of life than on the mountaintop. And that's because
when life is good, we tend to kind of just put Jesus off to
the side. And yet, when life is hard and facing struggles and
difficulties, that's where we dig down deep and we really
cling to Jesus and we recognize how much we need Him
and we grow in those places. And so, you know, even though I
don't look forward to trials and I don't look forward to
difficult times like that, I don't like them. But I'm so
grateful, because I can see how God's taken me through those and
just made me stronger, deepened my faith, deepened my trust in
Him and my reliance on Him knowing that He's with me and
He's going to get me through it and I don't have to worry.
You know? JOE: Exactly.
GINA: And it's a great reminder that when we are in those
seasons that are good, how important it's to have God's
word in our heart, in our minds. So when those trials hit, we can
stand firm and strong and know that we know that we know God's
word is in our heart. And we can line our thoughts, our words up
with those scriptures and those- God's promises to
get us through. KRIS: And to walk it out.
GINA: And to walk it out. Yes.
JOE: So if you're going through a trial or a struggle, or you're
not, if you're on top of the mountain or in the deepest
valley, keep your eyes on Jesus. Keep your trust and faith in
God. His promises, His Word, keep in His Word. Keep that
relationship going and strong and tight, because if you do...
if you do, you'll go further up the mountain and you will come
out of that valley even better than when you ended up at the
bottom of it, because God will strengthen you and build your
faith. Stay tuned.
ANNOUNCER: If you ever visit the streets of Skid Row in Los
Angeles, you will see ragged tents, compromised E-Z Ups,
which is someone's home. If you walk down the streets of Skid
Row, you'll pass dirty blankets or old newspapers lying on top
of broken wooden palettes, which is someone's bed. If you come to
the corner of 5th and Towne, you will see people lined up to
join team Jesus for a hot meal in our dining room or a time of
song and worship in our chapel. What you also see at Fred Jordan
Mission is smiles and hugs, and hear wonderful stories of love
and care. Serving those on Skid Row for 80 years, feeding
millions of meals, caring for the saint and the sinner by
declaring the goodness of God through love and action. Please
continue to give, right now while it's fresh on your heart.
Pick up your phone or your tablet, go to your computer and
type FJM.org. It is there you can give a generous gift to help
us continue what we have been doing for 80 years.
JOE: Well, welcome back. You know, I just want to encourage
you, go to FJM.org. You can see everything there. You can see
all of our media, you can see how to volunteer, how to get
connected, how to give, how to pray for us. And also you can DM
us on any of our social media @FJMissions. Send us a message
and let us know how we can pray for you and stand with you in
your situations. But, you know, what's amazing is, is that God
is able to turn any mess into a message. And as I like to say
it, He can turn any mess into a miracle. He does it on Skid Row
all the time. He's done it in our life countless times. We
couldn't even get a calculator that would go up that high. But
what I love is that Satan means harm to us, he means bad and
evil, but yet God turns it around and uses it for good. The
devil tries to deceive us, to accuse us, to oppress us. But
God brings the truth and He sets us free. And we know in the end
the enemy gets destroyed. He gets cast into the lake of fire.
And it's so amazing, because the various tactics that the enemy
tries to use, the plans, sow seeds of doubt, temptation,
false teaching, creating division, and chaos, all of that
is wiped away by the truth because the Bible says the truth
will set us free. So I have a question for you both. And the
question is just simply this. When you don't see any way
possible for something to be fixed, how does God step in and
fix that situation when just don't see a way.
KRIS: I've been there. And there have been many times where I'm
praying and praying and praying and asking God, "Change this.
Fix this." And He chooses to give me grace to endure it
instead of fixing it. And there's... one of my favorite
pastors has said this quote, and I just, I love it. It's one of
my favorites. And he says, "God is not as interested in changing
your circumstances as He is in using your circumstances
to change you." GINA: That's great.
KRIS: And when you think about that, it's so true. And it kind
of goes back to what we were talking about earlier. Is that
God will allow difficulties, challenges, tragedies in our
lives, but He's going to use them for a purpose, a greater
purpose, and to change us, and ultimately to make us more like
Him. Because as children of God, His desire is to make us more
like Him. And so... yeah. Anyway. That just-
GINA: Well, and for me, when I'm in a situation like that, I have
learned that if I start speaking God's Words, start claiming His
promises, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens
me. He is for me. He has a hope and a future. Nothing can
separate me from His love. And as I begin to speak His Word
over myself, over my situation, and begin to praise Him, the
atmosphere changes. That worry and doubt starts to leave, and
joy and peace and comfort comes in its place. And so that's just
what I've learned to do when I've just been faced and
overwhelmed in a situation where I can't see the message yet
because I'm in such a mess, that I have learned time and time
again, God is faithful and nothing can separate me from His
love and that He is for me. And that as I begin to speak His
promises and just praise, put on some praise music and get my
eyes on Him, I'm off the situation.
JOE: Yeah. You know, the Bible talks about the joy of the Lord
as our strength. And I used to look at that and I said, "There
is no joy at all in this Lord." But, you know, I think I
confused, a lot of times, joy and happiness. Because there's a
difference. We're not always happy. I can tell you this, if
you think you're going to be happy in every situation in your
life that you face, you won't. There's a lot of really bad
situations that happen to us and they're not happy times. They're
sad times, they're tragic times. They're times that we are scared
and fearful and don't know exactly what's going to happen.
But that's where we just have to trust God and let the joy be our
strength. And you're like, "Well, so..." As I think about
joy, I think about the things that make me who I am. Created
by God, saved by God, sustained by God. And the joy that I have
inside that gives me strength is knowing that I know that I know
that Jesus saved me, that I'm going to heaven, and no matter
what is against me or who is against me or who is trying to
do something against me, that God is for me. And like you
said, if God is for us, if can be against us? And you know
what? If you're facing something and someone's against you, just
know that God is for you and He's greater than all that.
"Greater is He who is in us...," the Bible says, "...than he that
is in the world." So, you know, as we close on this kind of
great story of Joseph, just some thoughts. One thing that I think
is amazing about Joseph is Joseph had to forgive his
brothers. He didn't have to, but he chose to. Joseph forgiving
his brothers was one thing that honored God through his life. It
brought peace to Joseph, it brought freedom, and it kept
Joseph from bitterness. If there's someone in your life
trying to hurt you or hurting you or a situation in your life,
you know, it's not always forgiving them for their sake,
but sometimes we just need to forgive for our sake so that we
don't become bitter and angry and let that rotten stuff
destroy us. So Joseph forgave and he got freedom through it
all in his life. And then I love it because, you know, God took
what was meant for evil and harm, and He turned it around
for Joseph. What the devil meant to make upside down in his life,
He turned right side up in his life. And Joseph, through all
the rest of the situations in his life, trusted God. And
that's amazing. Will you trust God today with your life? I hope
so. We'll be right back.
ANNOUNCER: It's that time of year, as school bells ring
across the nation with kids of all ages ready to go back to
school, wearing brand new clothes, tennis shoes,
backpacks, a fresh haircut, and smiles from ear to ear. However,
consider the contrast with the kids in those communities
affected by poverty that have no other options, no choices but to
wear the hand-me-downs, the torn clothes, the shoes that are too
small or too big and dirty, or cradling a paper bag used to
carry their school supplies. Fred Jordan Missions looks to
change that for kids headed back to school once again, this year
at the annual Back to School Extravaganza. It's truly a party
on Skid Row, and we need your help to throw it. As FJM gives
hundreds of brand new shoes from the Foot Locker, fresh, clean,
new clothes, new backpacks, and new school supplies, and yes,
even haircuts to the kids of Skid Row and the surrounding
areas. We love the huge smiles and big hugs, and even the tears
of joy as precious kids pick out new shiny shoes, stock up on
needed school supplies, and even select a brand new backpack. We
invite you to be a part of this party and support this event
with the financial gift, great or small. Your best gift will
make a difference in the life of a child heading back to school.
To give, safe and secure online, go to FJM.org, or send a check
to FJM box 12345, Covina, California 91722. Do it now
while it's on your heart. All gifts, no matter what the size,
are so needed and greatly appreciated.
JOE: Just remember that we do what we do because of friends
like you. It's so true. We need you, and more today than ever.
This world is kind of falling apart right in front of us. But
with Jesus, and sharing His hope and His love, all of those who
suffer on Skid Row and beyond, and you at home can continue
hearing God's Word and being encouraged by God's Word, by
standing with Fred Jordan Missions. Stand with us today.
Send your best gift. Be a part. Pray for us, and we will
continue to declare and demonstrate the love of Jesus.
ANNOUNCER: FJM Mission has been giving hope to those on Skid Row
for over 80 years, and we need your help to continue declaring
and demonstrating the love of God. Donate right now online at
FJM.org. Or if a stamp and snail mail is more your style, then
please send your check to FJM 12345 Covina, California 91722.
Thank you.
FEMALE: (Singing) We will overcome this sorrow. We will
see the dawn tomorrow. We will soldier on down this road as we
reach for home, reach for home.
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, P.O. Box 12345, Covina, California 91722.
Please, will you help?
FEMALE: (Singing) Reach for home.
ANNOUNCER: The preceding program was sponsored by generous
friends and partners of Fred Jordan Missions.