Day 7

I ended up going to Lawrence last night to see my brother and had a fun time bowling with him and just hanging out. He actually got into Kansas City a little early today (he spent the night in Omaha and met with some clients today) and asked me to meet him in Lawrence again and of course I did because I love spending time with family. He has been a blessing to me even though he is hard on me sometimes.

Anyway, I opened up to Lamentations today and began reading chapter 1. For those of you who have never read it, the chapter discusses the misery of Jerusalem after it has become unclean. It is shown that its allies have deserted it and essentially become enemies, the city is barren and has no one to comfort it because it has turned it's back on God. Verse 14, "He has handed me over to those I c

annot withstand" the Lord has formed an army against Jerusalem with no help in sight. This is not a happy Chapter in the book, in fact most of the book talks about God's displeasure with the city of Jerusalem and it's people.

This applies to me in that I need to always stay fixed on God because if I turn my back, he still loves me but it disappoints him and can lead to some dark days. My strength will be limited and the enemy will be able to come in and deceive me rather easy. I will have essentially taken off the Armor of God and left myself vulnerable to Satan and the powers of this dark

 world (Ephesians 6). I have learned that now that I am truly seeking God, there is not one moment where I can let my guard down. I have almost slipped up greatly in the last 2 days but I have stood firm and immediately gone to God for help. In order to be a good servant I need to give God my WHOLE heart, not just half, not a quarter, but everything. HE needs to consume my every thought and when I start to drift, I need to get back on track because those few minutes that I take off that helmet can lead to the next mistake. I'm not saying I have to be perfect, (nobody is perfect, except for Jesus/God/Holy Spirit) I just need to strive to be perfect, because that is when i know i am giving my all. I should stand out as the kid who does not party or go to clubs, the kid who stays in to study and read his bible instea

d of going to that movie I should not be seeing anyway. If I do not turn on God, he will be there to comfort me and provide safety. He is the one I can run to when I have a problem and he can get me through it as long as I have him by my side.

Don't be the person who always feels empty because no one knows what is going on. Be open with people and seek God. It is the only ay you will feel complete. A relationship, drugs, sex, alcohol, and anything else that you try to make yourself complete with will never be enough. When God is enough for you, then a relationship is in order, do not feel like you have to prove your existence with a relationship. The only relationship you need to prove that you are a strong person is one that is between you and God.

The last thing I want to talk about is something that ca

me from my parents. I received this gift for Graduation and recently pulled it out a box that I moved to school with. It is a c

ross and one of the verses says " "I will GUIDE you along the BEST PATHWAY for your life. I will ADVISE you a

nd watch over you." Psalm 32:8. This is pretty much self explanatory and the words

 don't even begin to describe the meaning of this gift. Take a look and see

 for yourself.

In my opinion, the cross explains it all and the Journey is just the symbolism of what we have to face day in and day out. Also, the journey of jesus on earth ended on the Cross. (What I mean by that is when he died, he had made the atonement. The resurrection was a huge part of prophecy as well and is needed, but the cross is the symbol of what he bore for us and the resurrection is the hope of new life for us.)

God Bless, 

Joseph