Author Archives: josephmcole

About josephmcole

I'm a husband and father who loves to read, think, and write fresh ideas for living life. Currently, I serve as Lead Pastor at Tabernacle of Praise and freelance as a copywriter.

April Blogging Sabbatical

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Dear Reader,

If you have been reading for a while, you know that every now and then I take blogging sabbaticals. These sabbaticals give me time to complete other writing projects, but most importantly to renew my creativity and ideas for future posts. This month I will be taking a break from posting in order to complete a federal grant writing project for a local nonprofit.

The grant funds will be used for a program that seeks to facilitate the reentry of ex-offenders into society. For some, ex-convicts reentering our neighborhoods is a vile thought, but we must remember that these offenders are still people! Most of them are moms and dads with children who need them.

I’m proud to be working on this project. Once I find out how much I can say about it (there are a lot of confidentiality issues here) I’ll let you know how the project went.

In the meantime, rest assured that May will come soon and with it…more fresh ideas! By the way, even though I will not be posting this months, I’ll still see your comments and will be happy to reply to you.

Blessings to you all!

The Scandal of Palm Sunday

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Palm Sunday is coming up right around the corner. As far as holy days go, I think Palm Sunday gets shoved in the corner a little when standing so close to Passover, Good Friday, and Resurrection Sunday. What does this sometimes obscured day have to do with us?

If you answered, “It’s Jesus riding in on a donkey! His triumphal entry as a peaceful king!” You couldn’t be more wrong–about a lot of things. There’s so much more!

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[c]

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Matthew 21:6-11

So you’ve got me. It is about Jesus riding a donkey triumphantly into Jerusalem as the peaceful king. Yay. *Yawn*

But what does that have to do with us, I ask you. Where is the power, the punch, the OMG moment?

Well, let’s keep reading:

Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”

14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.

Matthew 21:12-15

What a scandal! As soon as He gets into the city, Jesus–the peaceful king–gets down from His donkey and whips some tail, heals people, and religious people are enraged.

Jesus had a plan for that day long ago. A large crowd of people were gathered for the Passover feast, waiting for their turn in the Great Temple of Jerusalem.

They were waiting to see God, feel God, and be changed by God.

Many of these faithful worshipers had traveled thousands of miles on foot, donkey, or boat with weary families, just to see the Temple and worship. The sick, blind, lame, and demon possessed came too. They waited eagerly for a Passover miracle to deliver them from their plight.

When they finally arrived at the majestic Temple of Herod, many begin crying at the sight. They were finally there! Now, God will hear them. Now He will heal them. Now He will deliver them like He did in Moses’ day.

But they can’t get in.

The bouncer at the door (this is no joke) callously informs them that their offerings (animal and grain offerings) were no good after a long journey. They’ll have to buy an offering provided by the Temple staff. But wait. Their foreign money is no good here in Judea. There’s a convenient currency exchange for them, no problem–Oh! I’m sorry. The cripple guy isn’t allowed in. The gentleman with a rash too. Not allowed. The girl with a cleft lip? Sorry. No can do. Go home.

At that moment, a shout arises from the north gate. Hosanna! Palm branches and bright, beautiful coats are being strewn on the street making way for a man on a donkey.

The great Rabbi, Jesus, stops at the Temple. He dismounts. He walks up to the bouncer.

In His hands is a whip. In His eyes, a fire.

His strong arms beat down the bouncer. His whip cracks over the backs of the oppressors. His calloused, work-worn hands lift the tables, flinging money across the floor. Dozens of the poor rush to the coins bouncing on the ground, scooping it up like mad men.

In a triumphant voice, Jesus declares that the House of God is once again open for all nations. Money is no longer a barrier. Using the same hands that subdued the Temple guards, Jesus bends down and heals the cripples, the blind, and the deamon possessed. Disease is no longer a barrier to God’s House.

The people’s joyous roar is heard across the city.

What barriers are keeping you from God this Holy Season? What is paralyzing you? What is holding you down in the same old bad habits?  We all get stuck in routines. Roads going nowhere. We feel oppressed by other, more powerful people. the only way your life can change is through the scandal of the King of Kings entering your world.

We all need a Palm Sunday, my friend.

The Cause of Your Depression

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Is it hard to imagine that today is full of good things for you? That today is packed with wondrous opportunities, refreshments, and blessings? If not, than your first uncovered treasure of the day could be this blog.

Each and every day is a repository of God’s goodness and rich generosity towards us. He is mind-blowingly generous! Read one of the first passages of the Bible to see what I mean.

Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:8-9

One of the first divine acts of creation: God planted a garden. And He made sure that the plants He cultivated were pleasing–pleasing to eye, delighting to the tongue, and soothing to the stomach. In the midst of it all, He placed a tree of life, so the pleasure could remain forever.

Of course, Adam was awed by all of these sights, sounds, and textures. Imagine being alive for the first time. All of these stimuli barrage your fresh senses. You spend the better part of the day taking stock of all you have access to. You are living, and loving to be alive! The time flies by quickly as you enjoy yourself.

Then you see it. The tree.

It’s the one tree that you are not to eat of. It’s called the “Knowledge of Good and Evil.” You don’t even know what that means. You have no idea what would happen if you eat it. Something about dying. But what’s that? No one’s ever died before.

Suddenly, all the delight and pleasures of Eden fade like an old pair of jeans. That’s the tree you want. And you wait for the right moment to get it.

Meanwhile, you never realize that you stopped living and loving to be alive.

Today is your garden of Eden. It is stuffed with delights and pleasures as well as chances and treasures. Don’t let what you can’t have steal your day.

When Do You Build Your Dream Home?

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My bare foot lands on soft, white sand. Wind rustles palm branches nearby. A rush of ocean water leaps onto my feet, covering them in briny froth. The sun is a orange globe in the distant horizon perched on top of the blue waters.

I turn inland from the inviting blue panorama. Up the dunes a good walk sits a house. Not just any house, it’s my home. Just yards away from the edge of the sea is the place I hand my hat, love my family, and enjoy life.

That’s my dream home.

Want me to show you what it looks like? Well, you’ll have to come over sometime. After I visit you in yours.

You see, we all have a dream home. Maybe yours is nowhere near an ocean, preferring instead the pristine glory of Colorado mountains, Tennessee woods, or small-town, country living. Or, maybe you’re the socialite who dreams of an artistic flat in New York City.

Our dream homes are so much more than a dream. It’s the image of what we desire for our future. Those homes shelter our inner selfs and who we want to be. It’s important that we spend some time living in those dream homes, even if in our imaginations.

However, I see many people trying to live in their dream homes before their time.

Put your outdoor work in order
and get your fields ready;
after that, build your house.

Proverbs 24:27 NIV

Before you build your house, the outside work in the fields must be done. Sure, day dream about your future, but do it while you’re working! Youth is not a gift to be wasted. It is a temporary treasure to be invested.

Finance guru Dave Ramsey says, “If you want to live like no one else tomorrow, live like no one else today.” Everyone today is trying to live like they’ve already made their millions. You don’t have to. You can live within your means today, in order to have greater means tomorrow.

If you don’t have a dream for your future, there is no passion for your present work. Yet without the daily grind of meaningful labor (work that gets you where you need to go), your dream will be just that and nothing more.

Here’s to the satisfaction of work, and the promise of dreams to come…

Four Things to Remember When Approaching a Mentor

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On this brisk Monday morning, I would like to bring this series of posts on mentorship to a close. Let’s say you’re convinced of the value of mentorship, you’ve looked deep in yourself and picked one of the thousands of options available (a live person, that is), now what do you do?

Asking someone to mentor you can be a scary proposition. What if they don’t have time? Not interested? Never done it before? Or, what if they just don’t like you?

While all of the above may just happen, it is so much more likely that your prospective mentor will feel differently and say, “Yes!” Why?

Because if they are a success, they’ve had a mentor (or at least could have used one).

Here are some fresh ideas on making the ask. Use these tips to pitch your idea, and your chances of success will go up exponentially.

State your goal.

Tell your prospect what you want from the mentorship and why they are the perfect person to get you there. As a writer, I’ve asked two people to mentor me. The first was a screenwriter. I told him I wanted to learn how to write stories. He was a story expert. Guess what? He agreed and has been a mentor to me for more than three years.

Propose a Duration and Frequency of Meeting.

Not every mentor has to be with you for three years, and more than likely, they won’t want to meet with you weekly for three years. That’s a heavy commitment! The duration of your mentorship is dependent on what you’re learning and the depth of your relationship with your mentor. If you are learning a craft or skill from scratch, your mentorship will last sometimes years. If you are already proficient at your craft, yet need to grow in certain facets of your trade, then the duration can be shorter.

The rule of thumb for frequency of meetings is the longer the duration of your mentorship, the less the frequency of your meetings, and vice versa. If your mentorship will be for several months or less, meet more often (weekly or biweekly). If you suspect it will take longer, meet less often–monthly is a good start.

Create Boundaries.

Every good relationship has well defined boundaries that are respected. Make sure your prospective mentor knows that you will not make excessive phone calls, that you’ll do your homework, that you’ll not ask them for money, that you’ll not try to sell them something (Avon, Amway, etc.), and that you will be flexible to their schedule and locations.

Remember, they are doing you the immense favor that will pay off in spades. To you, their time is more valuable, their agenda more important. Treat them that way.

Finally, go and ASK!

Email, call them on the phone, or meet them in person. Just do it and watch your life change.