Year In Review
What a year 2022 has been for both the ministry of First Stone and for me.
FSM's Highlights
- God's Voice Conference in April - Oklahoma
- Leaders On Fire at the State Capitol - Oklahoma
- Family Under Fire Conference - Idaho
- Multiple speaking engagements in and out of Oklahoma
- Support Group runs through the end of May 2023.
Joseph's Highlights
- December '21 - January '22 - Home re-piped for natural gas. (Emergency expense)
- January - October - I participated in a 12-step support group through my church called Re:Generation. While it's quite different than the groups FSM does, I really loved it and have developed friendships with men from my church.
- April - With a major expense behind me, I hired a contractor to fix my back entry/utility room foundation. Thankfully, it wasn't terribly expensive and I'm glad I didn't try to tackle this myself! I prefer their solution over what mine would have been. The rest of the work I wanted them to do was cut short by the next issue that presented itself while this work was being done.
- April - Internal water line crumbled when the plumber attempted to replace an outdoor faucet. The best solution for the age of pipes was to re-pipe from the meter through the whole house. (Emergency expense)
- June - A new friend invited me to hike Handies Peak in Colorado. The only major cost to me was clothing for multiple climates when hiking and food.
- July - Whole house air-conditioner condenser quit working. Rather than entertain a new unit or major repairs, I opted for a large window unit to keep the main part of the house cool until I know I can "afford" to replace HVAC system. I already have 2 small window units to help cool the bedrooms. Using only window units helped save on the electricity bills this summer. The broken unit has since been repaired and is ready for next summer.
- November - I was invited to share my testimony along with Laura Beth Perry at my sister's home group in western Oklahoma.
Another matter that's hit my resources is two donors who have had to discontinue giving. Starting in January, my base income decreased by $250/month. Then again in November, my income decreased by $200/month. While this has been a rocky fiscal year, I continue to rest in His faithful provision. I have less than $8,925 remaining from the unpaid home-related expenses. I trust in God's faithful provision!
(Photos from the hike in Colorado.)
For a full album of photos, click this link.
The Leaven of Unsafe Friendship
At least twice now, I have had to part ways with dear friends. About 21 years ago, I had to stop fellowshipping with a friend who had quietly and fully given himself over to a gay identity. Those friends with him in my circle didn't do the same as I, and I didn't expect them to do so; however, I now wonder how they were affected by it.
You may wonder why I found it necessary to remove myself from fellowship with him. 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 provides insight into the conditions warranting such action. In my friend's case, he fit the model the text calls for in purging him from fellowship. In my case, I was the only one doing the purging. No church body that I know of did the same. Perhaps he was out of regular fellowship already and no action was warranted. In the reasoning provided by the surrounding text of 1 Corinthians 5, Paul teaches that a little leaven leavens the whole lump. He also equates this leaven as allowing sexual immorality (tolerating it) to remain in the church's midst.
I came to the decision to remove myself from his fellowship when deep hopelessness settled upon my mind. In an interesting back and forth with the Holy Spirit, I started by asking myself why I was hopeless so suddenly. To which the Holy Spirit interjected with, "Yes, when did this begin?" He took me back to the previous Thursday to ask how I was doing on that day, then Friday, then Saturday. Saturday was the day I spent with my friends, including this person. Then the Holy Spirit reminded me of the warfare that surrounds a person who questions their sexual expression/identity whereas before it was accurately viewed/lived out through a Biblical lens. Under this reasoning, the Holy Spirit warned me that my hopelessness was brought on by my willingness to fellowship with someone who was giving permission to lawlessness and darkness in their own life.
Once I saw the correlation, I made the necessary, but difficult decision to cut them off. Should this person ever walk in repentance, then depending on circumstances, it may be permissible to restore fellowship.
Likewise, last spring, a slightly different situation arose with another long-time, close friend. Several months prior to the break in friendship, the Holy Spirit told me to get ready to say good-bye to this friend. I figured it was because this person had often wished he could move closer to his family. Then in the spring of 2021 a couple months after my mom passed away, the Holy Spirit told me that this friend was bitter and in danger of falling into a spiritual snare. Hebrews 12:14-17 was the text that was brought to mind. Another factor was that he had befriended someone who was walking in compromise, much like my former example.
I made a concerted effort to warn my friend that a trap lay before him, and that bitterness and his ongoing fellowship with a compromised "friend" were the tools of ensnarement. In our meeting, something I said kicked the door of his heart open and a deep flood of bitterness came pouring out of him. To say the least, I was shocked! Too much happened in that meeting for me to warn him, but later I sent an email urging him to turn back from his bitterness.
In short, he would have none of my warnings, and he chose to cut me off from fellowship with him. Twenty plus years of friendship, gone!
I don't want you to see my actions in these examples as though I think I'm something special and can never do anything wrong. I have failures I've made in friendships. My heart breaks for the ways I failed to stand up sooner to some of the bad attitudes I saw in this friendship. I am also remorseful for how I gossiped, and it came full circle to expose my error. I am not a model friend in that regard; however, I am loyal and willing to grow beyond my mistakes.
If my friend hadn't cut me off but remained bitter and in fellowship with his other friend, I would have had to cut him off myself. That prior example from my life was warning enough that I too was in danger of falling into a snare of confusion, and darkness. Scripture seems to warn that no one is strong enough in just themselves to stand against that kind of darkness. (1 Corinthians 10:12)
You may wonder why I found it necessary to remove myself from fellowship with him. 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 provides insight into the conditions warranting such action. In my friend's case, he fit the model the text calls for in purging him from fellowship. In my case, I was the only one doing the purging. No church body that I know of did the same. Perhaps he was out of regular fellowship already and no action was warranted. In the reasoning provided by the surrounding text of 1 Corinthians 5, Paul teaches that a little leaven leavens the whole lump. He also equates this leaven as allowing sexual immorality (tolerating it) to remain in the church's midst.
I came to the decision to remove myself from his fellowship when deep hopelessness settled upon my mind. In an interesting back and forth with the Holy Spirit, I started by asking myself why I was hopeless so suddenly. To which the Holy Spirit interjected with, "Yes, when did this begin?" He took me back to the previous Thursday to ask how I was doing on that day, then Friday, then Saturday. Saturday was the day I spent with my friends, including this person. Then the Holy Spirit reminded me of the warfare that surrounds a person who questions their sexual expression/identity whereas before it was accurately viewed/lived out through a Biblical lens. Under this reasoning, the Holy Spirit warned me that my hopelessness was brought on by my willingness to fellowship with someone who was giving permission to lawlessness and darkness in their own life.
Once I saw the correlation, I made the necessary, but difficult decision to cut them off. Should this person ever walk in repentance, then depending on circumstances, it may be permissible to restore fellowship.
Likewise, last spring, a slightly different situation arose with another long-time, close friend. Several months prior to the break in friendship, the Holy Spirit told me to get ready to say good-bye to this friend. I figured it was because this person had often wished he could move closer to his family. Then in the spring of 2021 a couple months after my mom passed away, the Holy Spirit told me that this friend was bitter and in danger of falling into a spiritual snare. Hebrews 12:14-17 was the text that was brought to mind. Another factor was that he had befriended someone who was walking in compromise, much like my former example.
I made a concerted effort to warn my friend that a trap lay before him, and that bitterness and his ongoing fellowship with a compromised "friend" were the tools of ensnarement. In our meeting, something I said kicked the door of his heart open and a deep flood of bitterness came pouring out of him. To say the least, I was shocked! Too much happened in that meeting for me to warn him, but later I sent an email urging him to turn back from his bitterness.
In short, he would have none of my warnings, and he chose to cut me off from fellowship with him. Twenty plus years of friendship, gone!
I don't want you to see my actions in these examples as though I think I'm something special and can never do anything wrong. I have failures I've made in friendships. My heart breaks for the ways I failed to stand up sooner to some of the bad attitudes I saw in this friendship. I am also remorseful for how I gossiped, and it came full circle to expose my error. I am not a model friend in that regard; however, I am loyal and willing to grow beyond my mistakes.
If my friend hadn't cut me off but remained bitter and in fellowship with his other friend, I would have had to cut him off myself. That prior example from my life was warning enough that I too was in danger of falling into a snare of confusion, and darkness. Scripture seems to warn that no one is strong enough in just themselves to stand against that kind of darkness. (1 Corinthians 10:12)
Please prayerfully ask the Father in the name of Jesus Christ if any of your friendships are compromised in these ways. Ask Him for the strength to obey His word so that you may be strengthened rather than weakened in these final days/hours.
Prayer Needed
Please pray for our churches. As it stands today, the Respect for Marriage Act should be signed into law. The amendments to protect churches and Christian non-profits weren't added as amendments. This means that organizations and churches will be brought before the courts and fined for refusing to bow to the demands of our culture. Will we be compelled to give in to LGBTQ+ mayhem or will we stand with God's mandate for our sexuality and the right to foster Godliness in our children's lives? Our ministry, and the Church will undergo much tribulation over this matter.
How can First Stone Ministries encourage you or your church? Let us know by using our contact form on our Contact Us page.
Prayerfully consider how you can support my work at First Stone Ministries. I need new pledges of at least $500/month to make up for my lost donors in 2022.
How can I pray for you? Please let me know by clicking here!
Support Joseph Thiessen
If you can make an end-of-year or special donation to any of the needs mentioned and/or listed below, or if you would like to become a regular donor, please use the donation card or scan the QR Code to go directly to the donation website.
Thank You!
As always, I'm thankful for all my friends in the Lord! May 2023 be rich and full of Godly exploits for His Kingdom!
C. Joseph Thiessen
PS: I purchased several gift licenses for the Pro edition of Bible Memory, an application for memorizing Bible verses. If you'd like a license, ask me for one by using my contact form.