Hold Fast

Tonight was a wake up call to me. No matter how many times you tell yourself you will not do something, you never know until the time comes to make a decision. Sometimes it is God's plan that opens your eyes and tells you to search yourself and go back to your roots. We work so hard everyday to cut down evil in our society but when it comes to us, what are we doing to cut out the evil from our lives. I woke up this morning with a great idea of what today was going to be like and it turned out to be nothing like I had expected. God showed me that when I think I'm safe, I need to guard my heart and turn back to him. I was walking from my car to my dorm and told God that I knew he was walking right next to me and I needed to spend some time with him because I wanted him to know that I had not forgotten about him, I had not left him behind for other things or other people. We tend to get distracted easily and when God "brings" something or someone into our life, we thank him but sometimes he still tends to get pushed to the side when he should be the center of our focus. Promises do not mean a thing unless you uphold them, we need to hold firmly to the faith we profess and not let anything hinder us. Just as in the past, God has been trying to get my attention and it finally took something big for me to realize that I need to stop trying to do it on my own. I am saying, "Jesus I surrender it all to you and I'm ready to let you take 100% control, I am not going to do ANYTHING on my own anymore, you will be the center of my life."

There are many sayings, "Good things come to those who wait," "In the end everything will be okay," "Do not give up, just know that the end is near." I know a few of them are a stretch but in one form or another, they are all true. Galatians 6:9 says it best, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." God has a plan, a time, and a place for everything. He wants us to be happy and he wants us to grow, he also wants us to have patience and see that everything he has for us will be great as long as we work on his time. He does not hide things that are beneficial to us, instead he teaches us to find our desires by seeking him and becoming lost in him and we takes care of the rest. I have lost sight of that before and I do not want to do it again. I serve a God who is all things, above all things, and through all things, and I am not ready to give up on him. It takes an earthly man to fulfill the desires of the sinful nature but it takes a mighty God to fulfill the desires of the heart and of the spirit. Let us not forget that he paid the price so we do not have to. We account for all things we have done on the day of judgement, what will you have to account for?

I hope you all had an awesome day, please keep praying for me as I need it for sure. I am praying for all of you and will be posting regularly as I know God will strengthen me through it. Keep seeking him and do not lose sight of the reason why we are here.

God Bless,

Joseph Robinson

Smart

This past weekend was amazing. The retreat I went to in Kansas City was one of the best experiences I have ever had. Applying what I learned will be a tough task but I know that I can and that I need to do it in order to really seek God and allow him to move in the ways I have been talking about on here since last October. God has showed me a lot of things in the past week and he has definitely showed me that I am strong but not that strong. He has showed me that I need to watch out not only for myself but also for others so that I do not allow them to slip. God brings great people into our lives but he also allows us to decide what we do when we meet those people. Making promises is a big thing and keeping those promises takes a lot of work and restraint sometimes in order to make those promises come through. Sometimes where you feel you are your strongest, you are at your weakest. The verse that keeps standing out to me is Mark 14:38 because even though the disciples were with Jesus, he still told them to watch and pray so as to not fall into sin. Talk is great but the actions that back up that talk are what truly shows your character and it can define who you are or who you become. When people begin to trust you, they look to you for guidance and help in situations they are going to have a hard time getting through but you have to stand strong and allow that trust to develop because at first they have faith that they can trust you but until you show that they can trust you, they will never know. If there is one thing I learned away from the conference, it is that when people make mistakes, they tend to regret them and if they find God or turn back to him, they know that when he made a promise or said something would be better if they just listened, he was telling the truth. When we make wise or smart decisions (however you want to say it), we put ourself out of harm's way and we do not put ourselves into situations in which we will not be tempted. Even when evil is knocking on the door, we have to overcome and stick to our promises and hold to the promises that God gave us.

I struggle everyday as I would assume most of us do. There is a constant spiritual battle for our souls and Satan desperately wants to win so he will throw anything at us. I can tell right now that Satan wants me, and he tries to whisper to me and put things in my head that I do not want to be thinking. I have God with me and have been doing a MUCH better job of listening to him. I am not only grateful that he has empowered me to do this but I am proud that I have been able to actually listen for once and not keep screwing up. No matter how hard I work, there will always be more to do and it will be an uphill battle until I find myself at a point in which I am completely serving God 24/7. I know that I will still be tempted and Satan will try to pull me down but I will be stronger and will be ready to stand against anything that he throws at me. The Bible says that we prowls around like a lion seeking to devour those who are weak. Well, I have news for him. With the help of God and the strength that he provides, I am going to be waiting for him when he comes out of the cave and the rifle will be cocked and loaded. When we have the the tools to overcome him, we had better use them because they are there for a reason and God has not given us stuff to just sit on. I am excited to see where God is leading me and I am continually seeking his guidance.

I hope that you all had a great day! Sorry for not posting over the weekend, a conference 2 hours away, 3 baseball games, and some studying made for a busy weekend and free time that was spent with friends. Please keep praying for me and if you would like prayer please let me know.

God Bless,

Joseph Robinson