Worth It

My last post was more or less about persevering through times of doubt and even times of tribulation in your Christian walk. It is rather easy to just walk away when you feel like you are no longer "good enough" to be Christian or a follower of Christ. The thing is that God calls the broken and those that cannot figure it out, to dive deeper into him so that they can learn and grow in him and reflect the standards that God has called all Christians to. As I have said before, everyday is a struggle and it is an important battle that is fought in the heavenly realm as well as in our souls for control and ultimately for one side to call you "theirs". It is a scary thought that one day we will end up either in heaven or hell and we will spend the rest of eternity there. We make decisions everyday on a very small scale but everyday the decisions we make all are apart of a bigger choice of where we will spend eternity when we die. We get one chance on Earth to live and we get one shot at doing something worthwhile for Christ. Freedom of choice has been given to us by God and we can utilize the opportunity we have been given or we can waste it and say thanks, but no thanks. Quite possibly, we have been the greatest opportunity in the history of eternity as humans in that we get a chance to give back to our creator and savior by doing his work here on Earth. I would just encourage you to reconsider the things you do before you make important decisions especially if you could end up walking away from God.

Job felt like he had no purpose whatsoever after he lost everything he had except for his very own life. He was pushed to the limit of being alone and had every right to just walk away from his faith in God as well as curse God. I find myself in much better positions that Job was ever in and I still find a way to complain to God and place the blame elsewhere. Job did have a period where he questioned God and wanted to know why everything was taking place, we find this throughout the book of Job but I like a particular set of verses where Job complains. Chapter 10 verse 18-22 state, " 'Why then did you bring me out of the womb? I wish I had died before any eye saw me. If I only had never come into being, or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave! Are not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so I can have a moment's joy before I go to the place of no return, to the land of gloom and deep shadow, to the land of deepest night, of deep shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness.' " Job did complain but he kept battling and I think he was just frustrated from the trials he had faced. I know that I get frustrated rather easily and disheartened sometimes and unfortunately that can be a huge downfall for me. Job wanted to give up on life and wondered if even being born was worth it but in the end God blessed him and he knew that his purpose was more than he could have ever imagined. Every breath that God gives you is worth it and every moment and mistake is worth it if we continue to seek after God and allow his blessing to come to us in due time. If life was not worth it then I think that God would just take it away from us but we all serve a purpose and sometimes heartache, heartbreak, pain, suffering, failure, disappointment, and broken promises are just a means to the result which is a blessing beyond what any of us could ever hope or imagine. Let us not forget the sacrifice and trial that Jesus faced so that we would have the opportunity that we have and let us live in daily reverence of the one who created us.

Thank you again for your support and reading, I love hearing what people think about these and I can handle criticism so feel free to comment and let me know what was going through your mind as you ready this. Conversation is healthy so do not be shy. I hope you all are having a great weekend and are getting some rest from the week.

God Bless,

Joseph Robinson

Holding On

I have found myself at the end of the rope and wanting to just cave into the ways of the world for good because it can be a much easier path. I always seem to find my way back into the word and will not walk away from Christ because something has been instilled in me. God tugs at my heart because he knows that I am just another person struggling through the ways of the world but my desire is for him alone. I have a very hard time committing to the ways that God has called me to and a lot of that has to do with the life choices I have made regarding my schooling, what I wanted to major in, and just how I planned things out for myself. I get so frustrated that I start blaming people around me for why everything is crashing down around me when really it is my fault to begin with. I cannot completely harden my heart towards these people or towards God because I know deep down that I am the cause of most of my problems. I drive myself into the dark alley knowing that there is trouble at every corner in there and I find myself always looking for a way out. I could be in many different places right now and I could be having a great time as well as looking forward to the coming school year. I am now in the third year of what I have viewed as a "mistake" and I find myself counting the months and pretty soon the days until I graduate and hopefully avoid Minneapolis all together after I graduate. I tried taking a different approach into last year and I crashed and burned rather quickly, I had a miserable school year mostly because of the decisions I made as a whole. There is hope however and I have one last chance to turn this around before I look back on the last three years of college as possibly my most hated and most forgettable years of my life. I love the Christian atmosphere at NCU but the small, tight campus is just not my style and it frustrates me on a daily basis. I wish I had more options, I wish there were more to do and I wish I had somewhere where I could actually get better at baseball. I wish for a lot of things but I am only able to take ahold of the opportunities and chances I have in front of me so I am going to try and actually make that happen this year.

Scripture is something that can be instilled in your heart and I believe that whether you know it or not, it can have a profound impact on your life on a daily basis. I studied Hebrews when I was a freshman in high school and I think that I have stored some stuff in my heart that will last a lifetime. Hebrews 3:12 states, "See to it brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first." I think this has been something that has kept me on track through the years because I know that I could never turn fully away from God. I unfortunately have bumps in the road and I need to limit those, especially the ones which really damage any work I could do for Christ, and I need to keep working toward the goals that God has set before me. I wish life were easy and I wish I could say that I knew I would be okay and that I would not mess up again. I really hope that is true and I want to be able to stand up in front of my friends and family and say that I put forth my best effort day in and day out (as I do on the baseball field). I have worked hard to be in good positions but I usually find my way out of those because of fear or just a lack of confidence in my ability. Israel had so many opportunities but they squandered them and they rebelled against God some of the generations were even told they would not even be able to find the promised land because of their disobedience! I feel like I still have time to turn things around and I pray that I will continue to utilize the resources I have around me so that I can grow closer to God everyday and find my way through the narrow gate. I pray that none of you will ever walk away from God and if you have not yet found what you are looking for, that you would be blessed and one day make a commitment to God that you will follow him and accept Christ as your savior. Do not go to bed another night with a hardened heart because you never know when your last night or day may be.

Thank you all for reading and please continue to pray for myself as well as others around you. God is continuing to do great things among his body and we need to make sure that we are all apart of it. If you enjoy these posts, feel free to recommend them to your friends or family and see what they think. Hopefully it is at least an encouragement if nothing else and maybe you can benefit in some ways from it.

God Bless,

Joseph Robinson

Dying

Just a few weeks ago, I lost my 4th and last grandparent. It was a rough time for my family but as always we fused together and made it through together. We did whatever it took to get the whole family out for the funeral and I do not know how long it has been since we were all together last, it truly was a blessing. One very unfortunate part of living is that in the end we all die, the question that has been debated for ages is what happens after we die? Well, I believe that there is a heaven and hell, followers of Christ (as outlined in the Bible) will ultimately go to heaven. Anyone who is not a follower goes to hell, simple enough right? Once again, maybe not so much when it comes to a definite answer. Nobody likes to think of hell as somewhere in which their loved one might spend eternity but the hard truth is that it is a possibility and it does happen. People die everyday and for some people it seems to be that they are just another speck of dust that has been kicked up by the wind but it is so much more than that and a soul needs to have more value than that. No one should ever feel alone in this world whether they are actually alone or they have a ton of friends. I have found myself in both positions and it is never fun. There are many people out in the world who are lost and dying and as Christians it is our duty to step in and provide hope for them whether they just need someone to lean on or we can provide the hope of Christ to them as well.

Reggie Dabbs spoke at North Central during my first year there and unfortunately I was not able to hear him. The good thing is that we have chapel sermon archives and his message is one of my favorites when it comes to evangelism. One of his most emphasized points in the sermon was out of Mark 5:27 and it states, "When she heard about Jesus..." and he made it rather clear and pointed out that someone had told her about Jesus and that is why she was in the position that she was in. If they never hear a clear message or never get a real opportunity, then how can they ever decide whether to go to heaven or hell? As a Christian, I can sit back and condemn people based on the fact that I do nothing to try and change them. John 3:17, "For God did not send his Son into the world, but to save the world through him." God does not want to condemn people nor did he put Christians in the world to show people their flaws, he has placed Christians on earth to show others how to live. Now it is kind of funny when we think of showing others how to live. Usually we take that statement to imply that Christians show others that how to do "the right things." I actually agree with that idea but I think it is more than that, I think we are to show people the joy and benefits of living life in Christ. The idea of truly living rather than just passing through this life with nothing but shattered dreams and the conception that everything sucks. I believe we create our own opportunities and we have the power to do whatever we want with the tools that we have been given by our creator. We all serve a purpose but we have the opportunity to waste it, never think that you cannot do what you feel called to do, keep pushing and find what you have been designed for and strive to be the best that you can be at it.

Everywhere I go, I see people dying, dying for truth, hope, peace, comfort, and love. They are desperate for something and I know that there is one man, one savior who has paid the price and opened the door for them to experience what they are lacking. I hope that you will pray for those that you know and even those that you do not know who are headed for destruction. God will greatly bless you because of it and he might just open a door for you to change somebody's life for eternity.

Thanks again for reading, I hope this has been insightful for you and I hope that you will continue to read and allow God to speak to you on a daily basis. I am praying for those that read this and hope that God will continue to use you in a mighty way.

God Bless,

Joseph Robinson

Immeasurable

I have not written in a while and to be honest I have not really known what to write. Life was a mess this past spring aside from baseball. If someone asked me what I want for myself in the next 6 months I could not honestly come up with an answer that would make any sort of sense. I have just been trying to go with the flow of things but more often than not I have found myself looking for a way out. My concern for others usually leads me to places I do not want to be. I wear my heart on my sleeve and that gets me into trouble more often than not. Not only do I need to guard my heart, I need to ensure that when I open it up, it is for the right reasons and that I can benefit from doing so. I have had some good conversations with people over the last few weeks and it is amazing what people go through and only reveal to a select few. I know that I have held things in for fear of being judged or just completely shut out by others. It is completely eye opening to see how your attitude changes when you actually control your emotions and allow for something to develop. I have learned that people are not so bad even though I still want to believe they are. I usually like to joke around about people and usually say things that are a little out of line but when it's all the time it really affects your heart and how you think about people. The mindset that you take into something usually affects the result towards that particular way of thinking. I typically enter something and try to convince myself of what I want to happen but my heart and my mind are usually going in opposite directions and my mind wins more often than not. If I can learn to guard my heart and let it lead me then I have no doubt that I will continue to grow and become disciplined in my way of thinking and the way I take care of things. Emotionally, we are only as strong as we allow ourselves to be. I have pushed myself down into the grave way to many times in the past and I hope to cover up that hole forever. The truth is that we all make mistakes and we are all forgiven by the grace of God. The grudges we hold on earth will only hold us back from who we can become in Christ and they will ultimately hinder our relationship with many people.

I have tried many different ways to get through my day and nothing has been sufficient except for when I chase after God wholeheartedly. I may have what I consider a successful day but ultimately I find myself laying my head down at night and cannot even find the strength or will to pray and thank God for the day because I know that my actions have not been completely pleasing to him. I am not saying that makes me a bad person or if you are not always pleasing to God than you are not a good Christian but if it becomes habitual and your lifestyle reflects poor decisions then it is time to reevaluate where you are going and what you are doing to make changes that will ultimately show your decision to follow Christ. Being set apart is a not a bad thing when it comes to God and being a Christian. If people keep you out of bad situations because they know your stance on something, you should thank them for that respect and try to use the situation to share why you choose to live that lifestyle. It may not be for them completely but if you can plant a seed then who knows where it will go. We must continue to grow each and everyday otherwise we are going to fall from where we are and we will have to climb and claw our way back to where we were at before. Satan uses our past failures to drag us through the mud and the more we have, the more difficult it is to overcome. The good news is that in and through God, we have access to the strength and willpower to overcome those things. Ephesians 4:20 states, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever! Amen."

I can only do so much to help myself but I need to do all that I can and I need to be sure to guard myself and not let myself become so easily entangled in the ways of the world. I can say that I am very good at some things but in other areas I need to improve. If we work together and seek the good of God for all, then we will succeed and enjoy the fellowship that God has designed for us. I want to thank all of you who read this and may God's mercies follow you throughout the week.

God Bless,

Joseph Robinson