I am beginning to realize that I leave for another year at college in just about a day. I am packed up and will probably load my car tomorrow night. It has been an eventful summer to say the least and I am very excited to see what God has in store for me this school year. Last year it was growing closer to him and diving into his word more and this year I expect more and to really undergo a huge transformation in Christ. Sure I have had my share of mistakes and situations to learn from but that is what makes me unique as a Christian. My downfalls and triumphs make my testimony relate to the unchurched and show them the hand of God on my life. While I do not condone sin or purposefully making "mistakes" in order to make your story good, I do think that we should take our experiences that have hurt us and use it for the glory of God in how is has changed us. Sometimes we feel like we have to be on the outside looking in just to fit in like everyone else but honestly who sits outside when there is a party going on inside that they could join? The answer is simple, those who are too afraid to join and those who feel like they will not fit in. The nice thing about God's party is that everyone is invited, it is just a matter of whether or not you choose to join. Sure people might look at you as if you do not belong but the Bible says it is not our place to judge and that God is the ultimate decider. I might spend my whole life striving to do good and end up making mistakes everyday until I die but if God looks at me and says, "You did everything you could to live for me and stayed out of situations you should not have been in, and I thank you for that,"then I know that I have done a good job. I cannot be disappointed for doing my ABSOLUTE best and failing when I know that occasionally I will fail. Ted Williams once said, "Baseball is the only field of endeavor in which a man can succeed 3 times out of 10 and be considered a good performer." It has to be noted that failure is a part of life, how we view that failure and how we bounce back is probably one of the things people will remember most about us.
God warns us about repentance and the consequences of having a hard heart as well as sin. The one thing that brings sadness to God is sin. Sin is responsible for all that is bad in the world. Sure people make decisions and carry out that sin but without sin, our world would be perfect. People could not die because there would be no penalty for sin. In regards to temptation and sin, those of us who know better and have sinned are able to help those who struggle with sin and do not know better. Just as Jesus was tempted so he could sympathize with us, we are able to do the same. As I stated before though, we should not praise our sin or that we have downfalls but we should use them to build others up and be teachers as we experience what every other human being experiences. When it comes to repentance, God had some very stern words that he spoke through Zechariah in chapter 1 of Zechariah. Starting with verse 2, he states, "The Lord was very angry with your forefathers. Therefore tell the people : This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Return to me,' declares the Lord Almighty, 'And I will return to you.' says the Lord Almighty. Do not be like your forefathers, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.' But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. Where are your forefathers now? And the prophets, do they live forever? But did not my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your forefathers? 'Then they repented and said, "The Lord Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve, just as he determined to do.' " You see, it is not just Christians today saying, "Turn or burn," this has been going on for year. While not the most effective way of ministry, it should be noted that everyone know their fate should they choose a path of destruction. Whether you are a Christian or not, EVERY knee will bow and EVERY tongue WILL confess as stated in Philippians 2:10-11. The clock is ticking and nobody knows when it will run out, or if it will in this lifetime but as we read the other night, "The Kingdom of heaven is near." why wait to make sure that you are going to heaven?
I hope you all read this with a sincere heart and Christian or not, think about dedicating/rededicating yourself to the Lord if you have made some mistakes but you have not thought to seek forgiveness. Please let me know in a message or comment that you did so. You can remain anonymous, but just know that I DO care and that I want to see God move in a radical way across this world. You can even text/call me and let me know, my number is 480-292-1754. I hope you all have/had a wonderful day and I hope to hear from some of you.
God Bless,
Joseph Robinson
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Blessings or Curses Pt. 2
So as I said, I would be back late in the night to finish the second part of Chapter 18 of Deuteronomy. As I said at the end of the last post, verses 15-68 of this chapter are not the most encouraging words in the Bible if you are looking for comfort. The warning could not be more clear and the reality of what will come upon those who disobey is rather harsh. Now this was written to the next generation of Israel as they prepared to enter the promise land and God wanted to make it very clear to them how important obeying is. Sure we hear about respecting elders and honoring our father and mother but what about honoring God, our heavenly father? It takes a lot of work to be obedient every second of every day because we like to go out and do things on our own or one could say it is in our human nature to be defiant. From the time we are infants, we do stuff we are told not to do because we are curious as to where it will lead us. The idea though is that we learn as infants what leads us into trouble and we stay away from those things as we grow up. This is why the Bible says we need to stop taking the milk at some point and eat solid food. Spiritually we must grow and we must move towards the throne with every passing day otherwise we will go on making the same mistakes and never moving forward. I know that it can be tough to accept that we need to grow up but it is apart of life and it needs to be a part of the Christian walk. If we choose not to grow or to continue being disobedient, then God wants us to know that we will not be welcome into his kingdom and that we will live a life of sorrow, regret, and complete unhappiness.
What kind of stuff is waiting for those who disobey? Well, the rest of the chapter is rather long so I will just point out a key paragraph that I believe is applicable today and illustrates God's point rather well. Verses 45-48 state, "All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the Lord your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you. They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever. Because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity, therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the Lord sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you." If this is not enough of a warning and does not show the wrath of God, I do not know what would convince a person to make a lifestyle change in order to follow God. Just to understand the difference between receiving blessings or curses is great wisdom. Being able to discern what is best and to live a lifestyle that not only makes you happy but also brings joy and honor to the Creator is a great way to go about life. Why do we not always live an obedient life? Well as I stated before, human nature. We are just so caught up in what we want and what our body and mind tell us, that we tend to forget about the spirit or we just ignore the spirit for awhile. Hiding from God or the spirit can make getting back on track tough because just as Satan tears you down, he does not want you to get back up and will try to convince you that you cannot get back to the point you were at before so you should just stay down. The truth is that if you want to get up, God is still there with open arms and will allow your spirit to be renewed so that you can fight the devil and his evil schemes. I will be honest that not a day goes by where I do not face some sort of decision that could lead to sin, whether it is old decisions that have hurt me in the past or new decisions that could lead to a whole new world of trouble, I go up against temptation everyday and I cannot stand up against it without the help of God. Until I am willing to let God take control and guide me, I will never be able to get by and be obedient to him.
Read Mark 14:38. If you do not have a bible, search online for the verse, if you would like a bible, let me know.
God is at work and we need to acknowledge him, keep pressing on and do not ever give up. Please continue to pray for me and I will pray for the blog and those that read it. Hope you all had a great day and leave comments if you would like.
God Bless,
Joseph Robinson
What kind of stuff is waiting for those who disobey? Well, the rest of the chapter is rather long so I will just point out a key paragraph that I believe is applicable today and illustrates God's point rather well. Verses 45-48 state, "All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the Lord your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you. They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever. Because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity, therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the Lord sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you." If this is not enough of a warning and does not show the wrath of God, I do not know what would convince a person to make a lifestyle change in order to follow God. Just to understand the difference between receiving blessings or curses is great wisdom. Being able to discern what is best and to live a lifestyle that not only makes you happy but also brings joy and honor to the Creator is a great way to go about life. Why do we not always live an obedient life? Well as I stated before, human nature. We are just so caught up in what we want and what our body and mind tell us, that we tend to forget about the spirit or we just ignore the spirit for awhile. Hiding from God or the spirit can make getting back on track tough because just as Satan tears you down, he does not want you to get back up and will try to convince you that you cannot get back to the point you were at before so you should just stay down. The truth is that if you want to get up, God is still there with open arms and will allow your spirit to be renewed so that you can fight the devil and his evil schemes. I will be honest that not a day goes by where I do not face some sort of decision that could lead to sin, whether it is old decisions that have hurt me in the past or new decisions that could lead to a whole new world of trouble, I go up against temptation everyday and I cannot stand up against it without the help of God. Until I am willing to let God take control and guide me, I will never be able to get by and be obedient to him.
Read Mark 14:38. If you do not have a bible, search online for the verse, if you would like a bible, let me know.
God is at work and we need to acknowledge him, keep pressing on and do not ever give up. Please continue to pray for me and I will pray for the blog and those that read it. Hope you all had a great day and leave comments if you would like.
God Bless,
Joseph Robinson
Monday, August 17, 2009
Blessings or Curses?
Today's post or rather yesterday's post would have been up last night but I was busy spending time with my family yesterday and got side tracked. When I finally was going to post, I was unable to get on the computer so I thought I would just post early this morning and again later tonight. I still have to work out getting into habit of making time to post everyday like I used to and prioritizing things that are beneficial to me so that I can complete everything that I want to everyday. Yesterday my post talked about following the Lord and doing what he commands rather than simply just saying, "I know him." Unfortunately if you do that he will say in the end, "I do not know you, depart from me." Life appears to be a walk in the park for many as they find it relaxing yet sometimes stressful and they just have to go through the routine everyday to get by. Just getting through the grind every week is enough for most people and they think nothing of it. As Christians, life is a constant struggle against fighting Satan and sin. We can make the choice to follow God but sin will come knocking when it has the opportunity and how we respond to the temptation shows us how devoted we are. I myself can make decisions and when a tough time arises or I know that I want to change my decision, it becomes a struggle. Sticking with the original decision and following what is noble, trustworthy, and pure will be much more rewarding than choosing to give in the answer is found in the Old Testament.
We see in Deuteronomy 28:1-14, we see that obeying the Lord not only makes you the quality of person that he is looking for but he also promises to bless you and look out for you. Verse 9-10 states, "The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord and walk in his ways. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you." How can people know you have been called if you do not show the difference in a life following the call and someone who has not heard the call? People look for something different in Christians and Christians always have the spotlight on them. I do not believe it is because people are looking for flaws but because people want to see the good and perfect but they come up disappointed by those who simply say they know and do not follow. I cannot call out other Christians as I am guilty of this at one point or another but it is a warning to step back and analyze the life you live in private as well as when you are around others. We have been called to a higher standard because an example needs to be set for all to see and if we hide in the shadows for fear of persecution or just simply being alone, we should know that God is in control and he will never leave us so we will never be alone. In regards to standing alone, if the church stood with common ground and everyone together made a stand, one person would not have to live the "called" lifestyle alone. The truth is that we have all been called and if we answer the call we will receive the blessings as stated in chapter 28.
In closing, I would like to make some statements about the closing paragraph of the first section of Chapter 28. Verses 12-14 state, "The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them." The blessings are endless and God tells us that we will give, give, give, to others and borrow from none. Our blessings will be rich with his love and he will never forsake us. It is important however to understand God's time and to let his plan take it's course because we cannot force him to give us what we want. He also says we will always be at the top, never at the bottom and if that is not comforting to hear, I do not know what is. Most people would kill to be at the top of something but to be promised to be at the top is most certainly a blessing.
Later today, I will post regarding the curses should one choose not to follow his commands and let me warn you, that it is a much longer section than the blessings. We might enjoy the blessings we receive but we most certainly do not want all the curses for being disobedient. I hope you all had a great day and that Monday has started off well for you. Please let me know of any prayer requests you may have.
God Bless,
Joseph Robinson
We see in Deuteronomy 28:1-14, we see that obeying the Lord not only makes you the quality of person that he is looking for but he also promises to bless you and look out for you. Verse 9-10 states, "The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord and walk in his ways. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you." How can people know you have been called if you do not show the difference in a life following the call and someone who has not heard the call? People look for something different in Christians and Christians always have the spotlight on them. I do not believe it is because people are looking for flaws but because people want to see the good and perfect but they come up disappointed by those who simply say they know and do not follow. I cannot call out other Christians as I am guilty of this at one point or another but it is a warning to step back and analyze the life you live in private as well as when you are around others. We have been called to a higher standard because an example needs to be set for all to see and if we hide in the shadows for fear of persecution or just simply being alone, we should know that God is in control and he will never leave us so we will never be alone. In regards to standing alone, if the church stood with common ground and everyone together made a stand, one person would not have to live the "called" lifestyle alone. The truth is that we have all been called and if we answer the call we will receive the blessings as stated in chapter 28.
In closing, I would like to make some statements about the closing paragraph of the first section of Chapter 28. Verses 12-14 state, "The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them." The blessings are endless and God tells us that we will give, give, give, to others and borrow from none. Our blessings will be rich with his love and he will never forsake us. It is important however to understand God's time and to let his plan take it's course because we cannot force him to give us what we want. He also says we will always be at the top, never at the bottom and if that is not comforting to hear, I do not know what is. Most people would kill to be at the top of something but to be promised to be at the top is most certainly a blessing.
Later today, I will post regarding the curses should one choose not to follow his commands and let me warn you, that it is a much longer section than the blessings. We might enjoy the blessings we receive but we most certainly do not want all the curses for being disobedient. I hope you all had a great day and that Monday has started off well for you. Please let me know of any prayer requests you may have.
God Bless,
Joseph Robinson
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