Unclean

My weekend was a really good one, we were able to take 2 out of the 3 in the series and I hit a home run to lead off the first game which was absolutely amazing, just the confidence booster I needed at the plate. I did notice that I might have given a wrong reference last week I believe I said I was quoting John 14:38 and John 14 only has 31 verses so that was inaccurate. The verse was found in Mark 14:38, I wanted to clarify that so that there was no confusion or someone thinking I was making up scripture. I have had a rough past week and have been doing my best to live for Christ with dignity and honor. It is a tough task sometimes if I have to say so myself and the devil tries to make me feel as though I am not good enough. I tend to give him routes into my daily life that hinder the way I live and cause me to stumble. I cannot help but feel as though I am just going through the motions sometimes and am just living a life that is not necessarily horrible but still is probably not pleasing to God 100% of the time. I need to watch my thoughts and my words more carefully because those tend to be the things that get me into the most trouble. Saying things I do not mean or things that are not good for building others up tends to be a problem for me and when I let my mind wander throughout the day, anything is possible. I have been making progress but am still not where I would like to be and that bothers me because I know he is looking down on me wondering when I am going to get it all together. I can spend my whole life trying to please God but until I actually do it, I have accomplished nothing in my walk. I am not saying you have to do good deeds to please God, but living a life pleasing to him is doing all the things that he has asked of us and that can correlate into what we consider "good" things or "good deeds."

I know I have used this scripture reference before but I was brought back to it tonight after having a song stuck in my head over the past week or so and I thought that it fit perfectly in what was trying to be conveyed to me. Matthew 15:19-20 states, " 'But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man "unclean." For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what makes a man "unclean"; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him "unclean." What Jesus is trying to say here is that we are unclean because of the things that go on inside of our hearts and that correlates to what we do. The physical outside of the body and performing rituals with them do not make us unclean. We are to examine our hearts and make changes so that we do not repeat things over and over which we are not supposed to do. Have you ever wondered why you more than likely to commit the same sin over and over instead of committing a different sin every time you sin? It sort of baffles me that we get deceived in the same way over and over and we "indulge" in sinful nature which we have already experienced and know that it is bad for us. I feel that when I know things have come out of my heart, I am unclean (which I am ) and I feel terrible but the only way to avoid that feeling in the first place is to live a life that is pleasing to God all the time. I have found that living for God 90% of the time can be easy but living for God 100% of the time is rather difficult. For it is easy to push God aside but it is hard to push tangible things aside when they are so easy to access. If I let my thoughts be consumed by Godly things everyday, then I would have an easier time getting through the day but when the mind wanders, anything is possible. God wants us to give 100%, 100% of the time so that we can focus on him and his goals and so that he can work in us and eliminate the possibility of us being dragged into sin.

It is nice to know that Christ is always there in the midst of our troubles and failures and I think the lyrics to "Holy One" by Rush of Fools depicts that pretty well.

Face to the ground, I’m not proud
Of all you must see when you look at me
I tremble at first, as You wash the dirt
The dirt from my feet
And I see my need for thee

CHORUS
You lift me up, Holy One, Holy One
When I but come, you’re enough, you’re enough
You fill me up with your love, with your love
To you I run, Holy One, Holy One

All other noise, fades away
Like all of the fear, when Your voice I hear
You’re beckoning me, to come and just be
A child at Your feet
Seeing my need for thee

CHORUS

Your enough to satisfy
When the world has left me only dry
Enough to save my life
When the world has left me here to die

I hope you all had a great weekend and sorry for the late post as well as the missed post yesterday but I am trying to get my sleep schedule back on and finish up some assignments and whatnot. I am praying for all of you and I ask that you continue to pray for me.

God Bless,

Joseph Robinson