Day 26

Tonight should be fun, I have a math test in a hour and then I have to go to guys bible study to watch a "Nooma" video. I am excited for what God is going to do here at K-State. I am officially 2 weeks out from being at home and I am very excited to say the least. I decided to have a birthday party while I am back because I will be leaving Arizona just 4 days before my birthday. It's definitely beginning to feel like the holidays again and we need to keep in perspective the reason for the next two holidays one of which is giving thanks, not only to God but also to those around us for being there for us. The second one is the gift of Jesus as he was sent down to be our savior and without him, the holiday would not even exist.

Today in preparation for my devotion, I kept it short and simple. I just asked God to keep speaking to me as I have been encouraged by what I have been doing. As I was scanning my bible and seeing what God had for me, I came across Romans 12:9-21 which has the section title of "Love". It states, "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written, 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap the burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

"Love must be sincere." This is pretty self explanatory for myself and for anyone else. I must not just tell people I love them, or tell God that I love him. I need to make it visible and show my love for them. It is easy to tell someone "I love you" but it is a whole other step to display that love. "Honor one another above yourselves." It is time for me to stop telling people just hat God is doing in my life and encouraging them, but I need to be looking at other people and tell them how well they are doing and be encouraged by them as well. "Never lacking in zeal" applies to love being sincere and not just going through the motions. I need to become more peaceful and not so violent when it comes to taking care of matters. It is not so much that I fight physically, but my words can be very strong sometimes and when someone attacks me, I tend to lash out or when it comes to people I just really do not like, I can say some harsh things that I do not really mean but it is still wrong to say it. I do not really need to explain "Share with God's people who are in need... be willing to associate with people of low position" I have addressed that issue more than once throughout the course of this blog and it explains itself pretty well. However for associating with people of low position, I will admit that I struggle with that and in all honesty it is really bad that I do that. I know I am not alone when it comes to that though and I will let your own heart judge whether or not that is you. Another thing I need to learn and remember is that God will avenge those who persecute us and cut us down, it is not our job to punish. Let me state that again, IT IS NOT OUR JOB TO PUNISH. However, God can use us to do his work and punish people but that is because it is God's judgement working thorough us, not our judgement on the people. Speak blessing and do all that you can in order to help your enemy, if they persecute you or do not accept the truth, then they will receive justice. I like the last verse, which is verse 21 and it is good to close with. It states, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

I have been changing so much over the last month and I am ready to look back and see how much I have grown when I finish in the next few days. I am dying to go to Youth Convention in San Diego over Thanksgiving break, but I just don't think it is going to happen. I know God is going to work wonders there and as it is only about 2 1/2 weeks out, now is the time to hit prayer hard for the convention and for God to start building up the revival of Christianity in our nation with around 5,000 students ready to make a change. I am believing that the leaders of this nation in the next 15-20 years will be Bible and faith believing Christians but in order for that to happen, we have to be willing to make the changes now that will impact our nation down the road when the time comes. 

Thank you to those that have been commenting and I encourage everyone to leave a comment to start a discussion or just say what you think because you never know if you might meet someone who shares your views or might meet someone that can build you up, so do not be afraid, take a chance and see what it does for your life. I have done it for the past 26 days and opened up, and I know it has touched me. I am not saying I am better than you if you do not do it, but I am saying you never know if you don't try! Have a great night in the lord and I am off to my math test :)

Joseph Robinson