Day 54

Well, today I was able to manage a 68 on my first college final only to bounce back with an 81 on my next one and my Algebra final tonight hopefully is an the 80s to 90s range. I definitely prepared better for the last two finals and I know that I got the grade I deserved so the only person I can be upset with is myself. Slacking is not something I usually do but I thought I could cruise the rest of the way and I definitely was put in check. I know that next semester I will spend the whole semester making sure that I go 100% in the classroom as well as outside the classroom. With Baseball season around the corner, I will definitely be busy just playing club ball but there are many more important priorities that will need to come before in order that I can be successful all around. I will continue to seek God and try and eliminate some things that have consumed me throughout the semester such as laziness, arrogance, games, movies, facebook. I know that things have started to become sort of a priority in my life and in a sense, the correct terminology would be that they are becoming idols. We are warned to be cautious of setting idols before us whether they are physical or mental. 

It is said in Ezekiel 14:1-6, "Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me. then the word of the Lord came to me. 'Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and have put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all? Therefore speak to them and tell them, "This is what the sovereign Lord says: When any Israelite sets up his idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet, I the Lord will answer him myself keeping with his great idolatry. I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have deserted me for their idols." ' 'Therefore say to the house of Israel, "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices." ' " Sorry about the confusing quotation marks, the Bible was confusing me and I was trying to figure them all out and decided to just start putting them where I saw fit. Anyway, This is pretty much saying that we must learn to put God first and not let other things get in the way of our time with him, then these things become idols and that is against the commands of God. This applies to the Israelites at the time but in our age, this is more of an issue with video games, movies, internet, books, TV, sports, and work. Some of these are extremes but for the most part, we can limit how much of these activities we do and in other cases these are beneficial to us growing as well as surviving in life but they still should not completely consume us. We are told that when we put a stumbling block in front of us and then search for answers, the Lord will answer in regards to the idolatry in hopes of bringing us back to him and taking us away from the idols we have set in place.

I know that this is a struggle for me, as I mentioned, facebook can consume much of my time during the day. Video games and movies are also a major problem and I know that I need to make changes. It takes away from me doing my devotion at a decent time in the day when I am more comprehensive and can make clearer statements. I have let myself become somewhat consumed by things of this world, rather than using these things as leisure during my time here. I think that once I apply the fact that life is finite and that I can only do so much constructive stuff in the short time I am here, I should not spend my time with frivolous things that will be detrimental to my walk and to my effectiveness on this earth. I have talked about a higher calling and I feel that everyday and every step we take should be towards that higher calling. Sure there is time to relax but at the same time, we have tons of work to do and at this rate most of us will hopefully be disappointed that we could not do more when our time is done. If we recognize it early enough, we can make changes and I think that is what I started doing about 9 weeks ago.  My eyes have been slowly opened to so many things that I never knew and now applying everything is the real task, but I hope I can be the best at being who God wants me to be and I hope that I can instill change in myself as well as those around me.

Well, I head home tomorrow (weather permitting) and I will be in Oklahoma City for a day to spend time with some family at this time of year when family is the focus and we learn to appreciate some of the smaller things in life (hopefully). I hope that you all have been having an awesome week and I hope that everyone is encouraged everyday and that the buck does not stop with me blogging, but I hope that you will pass this on to someone who needs it or that you will just invest in someone else who you know is searching for something. Have a great night and God bless.

Joseph Robinson