Assisting Without Assisting?

Well, today was somewhat unproductive but there are still two days left in the long weekend so I feel that there is still much to do that can make the start of this semester a memorable one. I thought to myself on my way back from Arizona that "I go to school in Kansas!" It took me just about one full semester to realize that and I realized that high school was not the end of the beginning, but instead it was just the beginning of life. Now I make choices that affect not only myself but will affect tons of people from here on out. If I want, I could try to be the person who writes a book that influences many people and changes the world or I could be the person who threw his life away and contributed nothing to a society and potentially made it worse. I could give it all to God or I could be in the world and not care because I enjoyed my time here. Fortunately for us, we have to grow up sooner or later and the sooner, the better. We are called to do so much and if we choose to stay young and never grow then what exactly have we accomplished?  We must move on and embrace the beginning because this is where the fun really starts. Its not about parties or sex or drugs, its about taking ahold of what you value in life and never letting it go. Its about making opportunities and shedding light on the dark. Throwing away the past and putting yourself out there so that something great can happen in your life. Most of us have gone through at least one breakup and others of us many... I could say that, "everything happens for a reason" so just deal with it and move on but that is too cliche. It is not so much that everything happens for a reason but it is more that it was a growing experience and you will make yourself a better person and God will lead you to the one you are supposed to be with (it could be the same person in the future). Do not show pity for yourself but move on and let the wounds heal. Do not pour sand into an open wound, then it gets infected and then it spreads and can put you out for a while. Sometimes those we look to for help get drained because they have so much going on and there are ways we can be self-sufficient (with Christ of course) and take some of the pressure off of them.

Today's title was, "Providing strength for his leader" and the text was from Philippians 2:25 in which Paul states that he has received all that he can from Epaphroditus who was sent by those at Philippi to assist Paul. You see Paul had needs and could not always just take care of others. People always relied on him and he got drained even though he was receiving strength from God. He needed physical support from those around him and probably needed prayer as well as someone to help him preach. Paul did not have to worry about the spiritual standing of Epaphroditus because he knew that he was strong and that he could rely on him because of his faith in the Lord. In the same way we should stand strong and provide support for our leaders. Sure we need to take needs to them at times but when we run to them with every little problem we have, it can become overwhelming especially if we are working for them. As a potential student leader in Chi Alpha, the last thing Pastor Brian should have to worry about is the spiritual and emotional standing of his leaders. He has a campus full of kids and staff members that need help and are actually crying out on the inside for it. How does this apply to us? Well, we are the armor bearers and the servants who are looked up to, if we cannot be strong in our own relationship with God and stand firm in the faith, then how can we assist others? I know this is something I struggle with and before I accept anything anywhere (even becoming a youth pastor), I need to examine where I am at and make sue I am prepared to do what is asked of me without burdening my leaders who are counting on me to be an example.

Some tips for staying strong are "Staying full of God's Word," Proverbs 4:20-22 states, "My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are the life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body." Pretty simple, MEMORIZATION. Haha look at me the hypocrite. I talked about memorization yet have failed to do so. I will make a better effort, you have my word and I WILL let you know how it is going. The next tip is "building yourself up on your most holy faith by praying in the Holy Ghost. Jude 1:20 states pretty much what the tip says. Pretty self explanatory, if you have the gift, USE IT. Next, "Draw on the joy of the Lord for your strength. Nehemiah  8:10 in short says, "Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Be strengthened by might in God's Spirit in your inner man and the last tip states that we should maintain a personal and intimate relationship with God. Revelation 3:20 states, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." Next time someone asks where God was when something bad happened, say "Have you been there for him lately? Or have you let him around you so that he could help?"  it might not be the way to go about it but at least think about who said it or if it is okay to say it, then say it. He sits and waits for that day that we can finally be his to hold! He wishes there was something he could do because we go through so much and all he wants to do is help. When will we listen?

I hope everyone had a great Saturday and I feel like I am back and am refreshed and I have a good mindset going into this semester. I am praying for the blog and many people. Let me know if you need anything, I will be more than happy to pray for or with you. IF you want to talk about something, feel free to post or call/text me. My number is 480-292-1754. Hope to hear from you :)

God Bless,

Joseph Robinson

Bearing the Armor

I know it has been 8 days since I last posted and that is due to laziness on my part and now all of you have seen one of my bad qualities in that I am not always able to do what I say I am going to do. I have said 3 or 4 times now that I was going to try and break my record of consecutive days but I have been unable to do so. I think my goal should be to take one day at a time and to just see where God takes me. When I set my first goal of 30 days that was a challenge but every time I don't achieve a goal I just get discouraged and so I think I will just push myself everyday to go deeper and deeper into the word and see where that takes me. My mother so graciously went out and bought me 2 devotional books because I seem to have lost my other one and so tonight I am going to get started on a new one and I will work through one and then the other possibly. The book I am starting tonight is called "God's Armor Bearer." There are not specific days or a certain way to go about reading these but I think just going from front to back will be enough and will be the best way to go about this.

The first devotion is about attitude but I wrote about attitude last week. However I think that this is a whole new approach and looks at attitude from a different aspect so I will address it. We are told to have good attitudes in order to be helpful to the church and the choices we make reflect who we become. Sounds repetitive I know but just stick with me on this. Matthew 22:14 states in the NIV version, "For many are invited, but few are chosen." in other words, "Many are called, but few are chosen" It is our job to answer the call because the chosen are the ones who are able to follow what the call is on their life and live a life that is pleasing to the Lord in all aspects. Staying positive is one of the things that is very beneficial in standing strong in the Lord because when things get tough it is easy to give up on God. James 3:16 states, "For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice."  How true is that? I know that the sins I commit are usually out of personal gain or out of envy for others in what they have and I feel like I do not have as a Christian. Unfortunately this logic is twisted because we have everything and more in Christ and anything that is good for us here will be given to us in due time. It is hard to understand but if I could understand this and apply it, life would be 10 times easier and I would never worry about receiving what I want because I know that God will take care of me no matter what happens and he will make sure that everything good that I am supposed to receive will be provided for me. I have a bit of homework for some of you who are up to the challenge and have time. Read James 3:13-18 and post your thoughts on it. Or at least read it and see how it applies to your life and see if you can walk with God being pure and not hypocritical, bearing good fruit and being impartial. 

The book provides 2 warnings and tips for being able to have the spirit of an armor bearer. The first one is to recognize that the enemy is out to destroy the ministry that you are called to support. In my case this would be youth and Chi Alpha. I have great influence in these two areas and I know that the youth are the future of this world and the success of our country and I do not want to see them crumble before me. If Satan gets to me then he will have done a good job in affecting the youth of the next generation and that will be all on me. I am not going to sit back and let that happen. The next one in short says that we need to confess any wrong attitude we have towards our leaders or their ministry and receive forgiveness. This is due to the fact that Satan can use this to cripple a congregation or a church by using one person to express dissatisfaction with the pastor. Now if the pastor is clearly in the wrong then it is okay to point that out and question their work, Paul called out Peter in Galatians and said he was in the wrong. It is okay to restore someone but not tear someone down out of bitterness or envy.

Today I prayed to God for my friends and family and this blog before I went to bed and before I started posting and I feel so much more accomplished knowing that I gave the time to God that he deserves and I will give more time as I continue to grow but tonight was a stepping stone. I prayed for many people and remembered those that I have told that I am praying for and those that I say that I will pray for. I hope you all had a great day and last week off because I am ready to hit the word hard from here on out!

God Bless,

Joseph Robinson