Day 21

Well, as many of you know. I am currently at Kansas State and I believe that this is where God has led m, but some good news has come to me since the last time I wrote you. Many of you are unaware that I am looking to transfer universities to play Baseball as long as it does not compromise my education and an opportunity has possibly opened up for me. Point Loma Nazerene University's head baseball coach is interested in having me workout for him over Christmas break and so I am going to see what their school has to offer as well as whether or not I will have an opportunity to play there. Please keep praying for me regarding this matter. I am still seeking God's guidance and am staying humble knowing that God can take this away from me if I get too arrogant.

Today, I am in Proverbs chapter 13 verses 1-10. The book of Proverbs is pretty much a book of advice that is in the Bible if you will. It instructs you by comparing the pros and cons of certain topics among other things and also heeds many warnings. I think in some ways I have failed my readers as well as myself because I feel that some of the days I was more focused on what I wanted others to hear rather than what I needed to hear. I am going to try and stick to me and then address how it applies to all of us at the end.

Verses 1-3 state, "A wise son heeds his father's instruction, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke. From the fruit of his lips a man enjoys good things, but the unfaithful have a craving for violence. He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin." Most of the time I have a hard time listening to what God wants for me and I tend to just ignore it. It applies the same when I feel that i do not agree with my father when he tells me something. Sometimes I will scoff at what he his saying and then in the end it comes back to hurt me. Listening to what God has for me is definitely something I struggle with and feel that it is an area I could grow. I do not know how many times I say something that is selfish or something to hurt a person and it just escalates the situation but when I speak kind words and lift people up, I tend to feel better. I think God is telling me that I need to watch what I say and make sure that I am always building others up (Ephesians 4:29). 

Verses 4-6 state, "The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied. The righteous hate what is false, but the wicked bring shame and disgrace. Righteousness guards the man of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner. I have found that when I am lazy or I am not seeking God, things tend to get worse and I do not see much in the way of blessings. However when I am seeking God and following his plan for me, i am able to do so much more and he is able to work for me and in me. I have seen that when I was addicted, all I was doing was bringing shame to myself and disgrace to my family and parents. They stayed away from that and hated it, but I was caught in sin and would not walk away.  Now that I have found that I have overcome the power of the devil, I am saved by faith through grace and have righteousness. 

Verses 7-10 state, "One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth. A man's riches may ransom his life; but a poor man hears no threat. the light of the righteous shines brightly; but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out. Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. The first two verses about being rich or poor have a much deeper meaning than just referring to money. I believe that God is telling us that we can feel as though we have everything but still be empty because we are living without him. I have been in that position and I pretty much felt like I was living a lie. Now that I have given myself up to him, I have been learning that it does not take much to please God, I JUST HAVE TO TAKE ACTION AND DO IT. Life may be easy and I could have everything in the world but I am risking my eternity without God, every time I think about falling into sin, I need to remember what I am here living for and what my goal is. If I have Jesus than I can be assured that whether I am alive or dead, I will still be with him for eternity. Paul states in Philippians 1:21, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." I believe that he is reiterating the fact that being poor means that man hears no threat. Regarding the light and the lamp, people will be able to see that we are living for God based on our actions and our execution of our Faith and God will guide us. It is no longer good enough and has never been good enough to be just cruising through life and being a Christian when I feel like it. The lamp unto my path will be extinguished if I walk away from God and I will be lost just as I was before. In regards to Pride, I have let myself get arrogant from time to time and it only leads to destruction for me and I get brought back down to normalcy but when I follow God's guidance and listen to the instruction of those around me, I am able to do more than I could have ever imagined.

I am really struggling with managing my time and doing this devotion when i feel that I have to get it done sometimes. I am going to make a conscious effort to get this done when I am bored instead of putting it off until I feel like it needs to be done. I should not have let it get to this point but I have recognized it and I know that it is not just enough to do it everyday. I need to do it because I WANT to grow, as should everyone. Please pray for me regarding this matter and continue to pray for our country.

As always my phone is always open for discussion, my number is (480)292-1754 and the comment box is still open so please do not feel intimidated to post. I want people to discuss and grow from it. I hope that you are taking this stuff to heart and not JUST reading it because I think that you can get something out of it as well. Hope everyone has a great night.

Joseph Robinson