Day 9

Today was game day here in Manhattan, we were blessed with a beautiful day that provided much sunshine and a rather warm temperature (65-75). It was not a great homecoming game except for the 28-28 tie with 8 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter. Clearly the team who battled and wanted it more came out on top. 

Anyway, God has been moving great through this blog and I have had many positive responses. Today, I just prayed that God continue to speak through me, I know that his will is going to be done as long as I follow what he has planned. I still have trouble understanding some things that have happened in the last year but I am trusting God to show guide me and give me peace. Prayer has definitely been powerful in the last week and has done wonders not just for me, but for others as well. 

My devotion today as fairly short but it has quite a bit of depth to it. Matthew 7:13-14 quotes Jesus, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only few find it" You may ask how this applies to me and why I would not already know it after being in church all these years. The point is not knowing it, but applying it. For those of you wondering why the verse is in red, some bibles put direct quotes of Jesus in red to signify that they are his and their importance. Staying on the right path is essential to growing. This verse pretty much says that it is not going to be easy, but it's going to be worth it.

The way I can apply this to my life is that whenever I am tempted, I need to remember that my walk with God is not always easy and it is much easier to just give in to sin and then go to God for forgiveness. However, this is not how God wants us to live. Instead, he insists that we work at staying on the narrow road to enter through the little gate that leads to our eternal life. This statement could have very easily been made by another person and inspired by God, but it was SO important that it was spoken by JESUS himself.  I know how easy it is to get caught up in the world and lose hope. Giving in to sin and conforming to the world is so much easier than standing firm in the faith as I have already spoken about. Once again, God is the rock that we can lean on and the strength that we need to stay on this path. Do not give up, it will be so rewarding in the end if you can just hold on to the faith and mercy you have received. 

If do not do so on a regular basis, I encourage you to pray every day when you wake up and ask God to guide you through your day and to give you the strength that you need to make it through. When sin presents itself, ask God to help you and to pull you through. There is only one catch, you have to mean it. Halfhearted prayers will not get you anywhere, you have to give yourself up to the Lord. Trust me, I have tried it and failed miserably. He wants to help you, all you have to do is ask. 

My prayer line is still open as well as the open invitation to call me anytime to talk. Working for God's glory is more important than anything else I have going on so please take advantage of this if yo need it.

Joseph

Day 8

Today i decided to not waste my afternoon and that I would spend time in God's word while listening to worship music with my door open. I prayed that God would not only use me, but speak to me regarding my previous ways. I found a rather interesting section in the book of Proverbs and think it applies to anyone who might have fallen away or just does not accept what God has for them.

Proverbs is a great book, I studied it a little bit in 5th and 6th grade but I did not really take anything to heart out of it. I found a section titled "Warning Against Rejecting Wisdom" it is in Chapter 1 and begins with Verse 20. The gist of this section is that if you continue to live in your simple ways and do not listen to God's rebuke, he will not answer your call when you are in need. This does not mean that God is a hateful God, but he only takes care of his children which are essentially those who call on his name and seek him. It says those who rejected knowledge will "eat the fruit of their ways" but those who listen will "live in safety and be at ease without fear of harm." 

My application of this is that there have been times when I "try" to accept what God has for me, but I only do it because I think it is what I "should do." There have been many times in which I should have responded to an alter call and decided to just sit in my chair and try to just take of things by myself half-heartedly. I never really wanted to turn everything completely over to God, it was a lack of faith on my part and was the most foolish thing I could have ever done. Verse 32 says, "and the complacency of fools will destroy them", we cannot become complacent with where we are at in Christ, instead we need to find new wonders about him everyday and continue to follow his plan for our life. It takes patience, and believe me, I have the hardest time with being patient. God will not completely reveal himself to you all at once, that would defy the point of seeking him. Staying in the word everyday and finding different concepts to apply to life is one of the best ways to have God move in your life. There is wisdom and knowledge in the Bible and we need as much of that as possible for our lives. People say they do not understand God and why things happen the way they do, but if they would read His Word, so much could be revealed to them. When disaster hits, go to the Word and find a story that is similar to yours, study it and apply it to your situation. 

I have seen that seeking God makes my days so much more enjoyable and much easier, he provides for me and gives me strength. I wish i would have started reading everyday much sooner than I have. Find something that works for you and follow it. God wants you and is waiting for you to answer the call (Christians and non-Christians). 

I'm still taking prayer requests and distributing Bibles for those who are interested. My phone is also always on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Feel free to call/text, I would be more than happy to talk with you and discuss the word or something that might be unclear to you. Also, if you catch a mistake in my writing or have an opinion, please voice it. I am new at this and would love to learn and grow from mistakes. God is starting a revolution, this Nation will see change soon. It starts with my generation and all we have to do is try.

Joseph

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

Day 6

Today is kind of unusual because I am going to Kansas City to see my brother. I am very excited about this because we have much to talk about. This was my first test, because today I did not have an open afternoon to do my devotional, I had to MAKE time to meet with God and i was looking forward to it all morning. 

I read today out of James, Chapter 2. Section titled "Faith and Deeds" the verses are 14-25. The question that comes from the bible is "if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds, can such a faith save him? 

What I gathered from these verses is that I need to put my faith into action, otherwise it is not really faith at all. Believing is not enough, verse 19 states, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even demons believe that... and shudder." Wait a minute, demons believe there is one God? Why would they choose to follow Satan then? They know that God exists and have seen his power yet they still have no faith in him. Abraham's faith was tested when God asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac. His faith was exhibited through his actions. I know that in my life I need to show my faith in god through my deeds. This does not necessarily mean I need to help people all day everyday, but I need to be obedient to God and trust his plan for my life. Verse 23 says, ' "Abraham believed god and it was credited to him as righteousness,"'and he was called God's friend.' I need to be more faithful to God in order to fulfill his plan for my life and become a servant of his. When I am unsure about what needs to be done, I should not go off on my own but instead that is when I need to be in prayer and asking for guidance. Faith and actions work together to make faith complete. Verse 26, "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."

Live the adventure... Letting your faith show is the title of the side note in my bible.

"Putting your faith in the Lord means believing that his plan for your life is the best possible one. If you really believe his plan is best, then you'll commit to follow his instructions about how to live. If you follow his instructions, you will help people in need, forgive those who hurt you, and tell people about Jesus, among other things. Those who refuse to do these things should take a closer look at their faith. Something may be missing"

Now that we have faith, we must demonstrate it by seeking God's plan for our life and trusting in him for every outcome. Be faithful and you will find delight in him. Don't say you have faith, show it. Pray when something happens and you are in a public place, give him praise when it is due, be the example instead of blending in. SHOW God that you love him and that you have completely given him everything, don't just tell him.

Pray for my travel to Kansas City, the weather is very poor from Manhattan to KC and that I will enjoy my time with my brother.  Well, I am off to class, the joys of being a college student!

Your Brother in Christ,

Joseph 

Day 5

Today has been an awesome day, it is raining here in Manhattan and even though it is very cold, the warmth of God has made this day absolutely amazing. He is beginning to do amazing things in this small college city. I have started working out again and have set a goal which I will reveal at a later date (some of you may know already). I am already planning classes for next semester which is rather weird because it seems like school just started and I am already a semester in.

While I was running on the turf last night at Old Stadium, I was listening to my Ipod, it was not the normal music though. I decided to listen to Christian music only and see how that went. Let me just say that I have never pushed myself more in a workout and I still had a fairly easy time getting through it. I even was singing out loud because I was so into the music and was jumping around between sets because I was just giving it all to God DURING my workout. I have definitely found a new routine :) 

My preparation prayer today was a little different, I asked God to speak to me with something I could learn about but at the same time give me something that would reach out to those who are seeking something and would be interested in a relationship with him. I have come across people who believe in God and think that is enough to get into heaven, but the next few days I am going to concentrate on what it takes to get there as well what it means to have faith.

Hebrews 11 is a great place to read on Faith, in fact it is a whole chapter dedicated to Faith. The first 3 verses state, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." The rest of the Chapter names many influential people in the Bible such as Abraham, Noah, Moses' parents, as well as events such as the wall of Jericho. The chapter explains how these people were not looking for earthly reward, but rather the reward in heaven and they were longing for that reward. It then goes on to state that some who had faith were beaten, chained, sawn in two, flogged, stoned, and ridiculed. But it also says that the world was not worthy of theses people. These people gave up so much and never received what was promised, but God has a plan that will be better for everyone!

I know that Faith is one of the hardest parts of being a Christian. It is impossible for us to understand everything that God has done and what everything means because we do not have the capacity to hold that type of information and if we did, we would essentially be God.  Galatians 3;23-24 states "Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law." We have to stand strong in our faith and understand that even though we have a God that we cannot see, he is real and he will return. He is always there for us and will never leave. Faith is not easy to have, as the 1st verse of Hebrews says, we have to be sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. We have to be sure that God is real and be certain of our salvation even though we do not get a title of saved on our chests to signify we are saved, there is a record in The Book of Life. I have been a "believer" since I was a kid, but my faith has just recently surfaced. Being able to trust God and enter into his presence and being confident that his is there with me is one of the most amazing feelings ever. I continue to discover new things about him everyday and have realized how little i knew.

I feel that as a Christians we need to "step out in faith" and be who God wants us to be, there is no more being scared of what people will think of us. It says "the ancients were commended for this" They knew they were going to die, be beaten, be spit on, be thrown in jail, and be ridiculed, but they still did it. Our nation and our World is dying while we sit in our comfort zone and act like nothing is wrong. Students are falling away from God as they grow up because they do not get into the word and take it to heart. We seem to think that going to church every Sunday will hold us together, but let me tell you something from experience, IT WONT. Maybe it is just me, but it was one of the biggest lies I have ever lived. I tried that and it only hurt me and showed me how much I needed to grow so that I could gain the full understanding of every good thing that I have in Christ. 

Once again, the comment section is open forum, feel free to discuss or ask questions. If you would like a bible, I will find one for you at no expense to you, just let me know. I will take prayer requests and pray for you if you would like. Hope you all have a wonderful day

For the glory of his name, 

Joseph Robinson

Day 4

I want to start off by saying that I am starting to enjoy this more than I thought I would. I am inspired by what I have set out to do and already I am seeing things change not only in my life but in other people's as well.  I look forward to this time everyday and do not set aside a certain time to do it, but rather when I feel my heart is fully prepared to receive what God has for me. 

I read from the Book of Psalms today, Psalm 1 to be exact.  I have heard this many times in sermons and never really understood how it applied to me until I gave it a look tonight and saw how I have been living. In short, it says "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers" then it goes on to explain how this man takes delight in the lord and his tree bears fruit and does not wither. It goes on to describe the wicked and how they will not stand during the judgement or be in step with the righteous.

This applies to me in that there are been some times when I have been completely in the wrong, playing church, not walking at all with God except for when I would show up for church. My friends had the biggest influence on me and would drag me down. Being at school was easy because I could fit in by just being like everyone else. Sure there were some different aspects about my life, I attended church and knew about God and was occasionally living for him. My friends knew I was a Christian and would not do certain things but they also knew that I would push some limits and some wanted to see how far I would go. By the grace of God, I stayed strong and never gave into drinking, sex, and smoking/drugs. I would definitely let my tongue slip because I was on the field playing ball or because I knew that there would be no shock factor among my school friends. This was and is a very poor way to live as a representation of your faith. You either have to be all in or back out, there is no in between, I have learned that in many different ways since July. 

What I am trying to say is that I was walking in the counsel of the wicked and standing with the sinners, I was not surrounding myself with those that would build me up. We need to pray and talk with God everyday, not just when it is convenient for us, or when times are bad. We need to be faithful in the good times and the bad. Spreading the word and being a light everyday and with every opportunity given. If you fall down, let someone pick you up and encourage you. If you do not push yourself in your faith, you are going to fall and those who God does not know will be turned away and punished by eternal death in Hell. God is ready to receive us when we seek him and as Psalm 1 says, the man who bears fruit will prosper in whatever he does.

Sidenote in my bible titled "Choosing Your Friends Wisely" states " Did you choose the friends you have now, or did they choose you? What led you to start hanging out with them? Would God be excited about your choice of friends? If you have friends who make it hard for you to live life the way God wants, be willing to make a difficult sacrifice. Being in this world, but not of it means that your influence on unbelievers should be greater than their influence on you."

Briefly I will discuss this by saying that since I have been at Kansas State I have made friends in the dorm, I have been given opportunities to go out and get drunk, go to parties and meet girls, and possibly be pulled into many other things but I have done my best to surround myself with the Chi Alpha students here when possible. Not having that support would make my time here much more difficult. I have said "no" to many different people who want me to drink and they still talk to me and hang out with me, they respect me for who I am, but I have done a poor job trying to influence their decisions. It is OKAY to have non-christian friends, but make sure that you are working in them and they are not working in you. Being able to stand strong and not conform to the pressures of high school and college will help you grow as long as you seek God everyday.

Change starts with us, Hillsong United has a song called "Free" that says, "Would you believe me if I said that we are the ones who can make the change in the world today?" The answer is that we should believe this, students can make the greatest impact on their peers and with God on out side, anything is possible as long as we seek him. 

The rest of the verse ends with, "Would you believe me if I said that all of the dreams in your heart can come true today? Would you believe me if I said that life can be all that you want it to be today?" I want you to think about these two lines and if you would like to comment on them, you are more than welcome to. 

Joseph 

Day 3

Sorry for the late post, I had 2 baseball games today and needed a mental break when I got back at 6:30. I made it to church for worship this morning but was unable to stay for the sermon as I had to be at the field at 12 for the games. Don't worry, I don't go a week without being fed anymore and I will be listening to the podcast shortly. 

As I already said, today was a long day but I stood strong in the faith and was able to control myself in front of others and not conform in the way of my word choice and my actions. As I was praying for my devotional, I asked for mental strength and just for the Lord to find new ways to use me everyday. It's hard to be a servant for God EVERYDAY because we are tempted and are surrounded by Worldly things, but there is hope!

I went back to my Bible Quiz roots today and remembered a few verses in Hebrews. It is Hebrews 2:14-18. This talks about how Jesus shared in our humanity to free us who lived in fear of the devil. It explains that he had to be made like us in every way so as to make atonement for sins and help us when we are tempted since he himself was tempted.

The hope I was referring to in the first paragraph is Jesus Christ. If we want to live for him, we have to live WITH him. The two come hand in hand. He was made a human so that he was able to share the same experiences we go through and by his strength we are able to overcome. Jesus is superior to us, but he also shared in the creation with us and experienced with world in a bodily form, his only way out was through the cross and he knew that. It says that by his death he might destroy the one who holds the power of death which is the Devil. This applies to us in that is shows we have a loving Savior and Father who were willing to give up so much in order to give us a new hope. They cared so much about YOU that they made the ultimate sacrifice. As stated in DAY 1, what do you do in return? Do you knowingly sin and spit in the face of God because you know that you still have forgiveness? I am guilty of this and I don't deserve what God has given me. But this is where his mercy comes into play and if you can show that a change has been made, he will welcome you with open arms back in. Know that the strength of God is there when you ask for it and he will be there. If you do try to leave him behind and do it on your own, you might fall, but he will be there waiting to pick you back up and walk with you again.

I have tried to live my Christian life on my own, I have fallen into sin countless times and tried to justify it by saying "well I have forgiveness." This is not the way to live, it is almost as you are living without hope, except for when you want to look for it. If we earnestly seek him, he will do more than we could ever imagine and he will open doors for you. I have only tried to grow in God when he was doing great things for me and will honestly say that beginning this blog is the first time that I have tried to step out and grow when things are not necessarily going my way. I can't bear the thought of just cruising through a day anymore, I need more of God in my life and am pushing myself to be great in all I do and make sure it is for the glory of his Kingdom.

If anyone has prayer requests, I think I am able to handle praying for you. Just let me know. Also, if you would like for me to pray for you or you would like to speak more about topics with me, my number is 480-292-1754. I have always been there for my friends but was always afraid to share God and I have been selfish in that aspect. Also, if you are reading these and do not have a bible but you would like one, let me know and I will see what I can do. If numbers are not too high, I will gladly buy you one because everyone who wants one should have one.

God Bless
Joseph