Hi My name is Robert Johnson and I hope and pray that these little devotional thoughts will provide food for your soul as you grow in your walk with the Lord.

Good Morning,

05-01-2008

Today I am going to continue my little journey through what the book of Proverbs says about a fool by touching on foolish actions. A fool generally does not do the right thing because they either fail to think before they act or they just don’t care. The “I don’t care attitude” when adopted by a fool can really lead to a catastrophe of major proportions. We find in the following scriptures that a fool delights in evil, is quick to anger, he displays his ignorance, he is hotheaded, he is reckless and is destined to repeat the same mistakes over and over again because he just does not learn. I can recall as a youngster watching one of the old television shows and a saying that stuck with me all my life. I do not recall whether it was on Andy Griffith or Gomer Pyle that I saw it since it was Gomer that made the statement that his grandmother Grandma Pyle’s used in her infinite wisdom, it goes like this; “Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me!’             I know from my experiences while incarcerated that the prisons are full of fools. Their foolish actions, their anger and their “I don’t care attitude” ended them up behind bars. I believe that we all have a capacity to learn and not be a fool if we so desire. I don’t believe that once a fool always a fool. What I find difficult is that being a fool is a choice and it is a choice that too many choose to make. There is many men and woman in the prison systems that never seems to learn and are doing what we call “life on the installment plan.” Their foolishness found them suffering severe consequences. Don’t let your foolishness allow you to suffer the same type of result. Here is what I found in the book of Proverbs about foolish actions. “Foolish actions.” Proverbs 10:23 A fool finds pleasure in evil conduct, but a man of understanding delights in wisdom. Proverbs 12:16 A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult. Proverbs 13:16 Every prudent man acts out of knowledge, but a fool exposes his folly. Proverbs 14:16 A wise man fears the LORD and shuns evil, but a fool is hotheaded and reckless. Proverbs 26:11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.             Even though I will turn 51 this August I still catch myself acting a fool too often. This usually happens when I allow my emotions get the best of me; you know those negative thoughts that bring about reactions that are a direct result of not thinking. I end up doing something that I regret and have to spend a great deal longer making amends and undoing what my foolish mouth has caused. How many of you have felt the same way? You may be tired, feeling frustrated, angry or even overwhelmed by your current situation and you react without thinking. These are prime opportunities that satan likes to use to lure you back into doing something that you will regret. I thank God that when these things do occur God is patient and willing to forgive. Psalm 86:15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.             Will I continue to act a fool? Probably, it is inevitable since I am not perfect and will never be. I can only hope and pray that those around me will have it in their hearts to forgive me. That is why it is so important that I keep in mind when others act foolish that I too must forgive them if I am to be forgiven. Luke 6:37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.             So my friends there will be those times that you will inevitably act a fool in your life. There will be times that it will be on accident and there will be times when it will be on purpose. What is important is how you act afterward and if you act in a way that would be pleasing in the eyes of the Lord or you end up being a bigger fool then before. Do not put of making amends in these situations thinking that it will soon be forgotten because if you think that people easily forget when they are treated bad then the only one that you are fooling is yourself. Keep in mind that how you act directly reflects He that is in you and can very well make the difference in someone’s mind who is trying to decide if being a Christian is what they want to be.  A Fool Never Learns Why are you such a fool? You never learn the golden rule. To do unto others as you would like To be treated throughout your life.   Repeating the same mistakes You never take a moment to think. What you did just might be wrong. Instead you continue your foolish song.   Stirring up trouble, hate and despair acting as if know one cares. The truth you will find in the end Is loneliness comes to nobody’s friend.   Robert L. Johnson II 7-17-2006

Good Morning,

05-02-2008

When you are a fool you not only bring consequences upon yourself you can make things so much harder on those around you. You will bring extra hardship upon your family and often become a burden to them because they will do their very best to love you no matter what since they say “blood is thicker than water” yet it is so unfair to test the boundaries of that love when you act a fool to those around you. All you are accomplishing is driving them away by making a fool of yourself by placing those that you should treat with love, honor and respect in an awkward position by treating them as though they truly do not matter to you with the end result leading ultimately to loneliness and despair.             The Bible tells that a fool robs the parent of the joy that should exist between a parent and a child. As parents all we desire is the best for our children. For them to grow into mature happy adults that are capable of living a happy life, a person that is capable of having and being everything that we never could and someone that will honor not their earthly father but their Heavenly Father as well. We are so blessed that we have a limited number of children in our lives and less opportunities for them to turn out to act foolish, oh how are Heavenly Father must feel at times with so many fools in the world.             A fool has consequences to pay for their actions and we have established that everyone else suffers too. Being foolish is a decision that can alter the whole world. What if the founding fathers of our great nation chose to be fools rather than follow their dreams to begin this great nation of ours? So today I am going to close with there is consequences to being a fool and there is no honor among thieves alone but also fools honor. So represent who you are and who is in you, do not be a fool! “Results of being a fool.” Proverbs 11:29 He who brings trouble on his family will inherit only wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise. Proverbs 17:21 To have a fool for a son brings grief; there is no joy for the father of a fool. Proverbs 26:1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, honor is not fitting for a fool. Father’s Hope I teach them as best I can Taking my children by the hand. Teaching them right from wrong ultimately knowing it won’t be long.   Until they grow up and long to be The person that they want to be. Experiencing the world on their own When the time comes they leave my home.   I pray that wherever they may go Forever they will always know. When they need me most of all All they have to do is call.   Robert L. Johnson II 7-17-2006     Now let’s address the fact that a fool is a virtual “A legend in his own mind.” Some of us seem to think that they are always right, never will admit when we are wrong and we are often self-centered. This is what Paul says about thinking highly of ones self. Romans 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.             Have you ever met someone that the word humble or meek does not come to mind when you think of them? We are all equal in the eyes of God because all have sinned (Romans 3:23). Jesus came to save the lost and we all are lost since all have sinned. (Luke 19:10). So it stands to reason that we are all equal in God’s eyes and it is foolish to think you are better than anyone else. You just can’t seem to tell a fool anything because his mind is set right from the get go. It is not only an attribute of immaturity to not be able to take constructive criticism in life it is down right foolish. A fool often can’t seem to learn because he just plain does not listen. Sound like someone you may know, maybe even yourself? I know I can be prone to act a fool when I fail to think. “A legend in his own mind.” Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice. Proverbs 15:5 A fool spurns his father's discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence. Proverbs 17:10 A rebuke impresses a man of discernment more than a hundred lashes a fool. Proverbs 26:12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.           The thought for today is remain humble and meek, don’t raise your self higher than anyone else in life. After all how can you expect to communicate well with others when you fail to be able to look them in the eye because your nose is in the air? God treats everyone the same so if you think you are better than anyone else you are setting yourself up for a big let down! Romans 2:11 For God does not show favoritism.   Do You Truly See? The unfortunate thing about reality Often it is so hard for you to see. When you have your nose up in the air You don’t ever see what’s truly there!   The world around you has so much more Too bad you forgot what you’re looking for. When all that really matters my friend Is where you end up in the end.   So take my advice and look around For it is there that true life is found. For that is when you will finally see There is no difference between you and me.   Robert L. Johnson II     7-18-2006

Good Morning,

05-03-2008

Good Morning,

05-04-2008

Good Morning,

05-06-2008

Good Morning,

04-01-2008

As you read this devotion I will be beginning my 5th day of commuting a little over 30 miles to work each day. Some of you may know me and already have heard about my job situation, probably tired of hearing about it at that but for those who have not I will briefly explain. You see upon my release from prison I was blessed to find a job that was willing to hire me with my prison record. By blessed I mean that I was able to gain employment within a month from my release and begin rebuilding my life. Unfortunately there are those who are not as equally blessed who upon release can not find employment because of their past and are set up for failure because the cards are stacked against them. I read awhile back that 1 out of every 100 people will be incarcerated and the majority will be released someday. Out of them 50% will return to prison within 3 years. For me the job that I found had to close its doors for good and I found the past rear its ugly head once again and doors shut in my face as I tried to find a job locally and had to settle for driving a rather long distance to work and with gas prices and a not so fuel efficient vehicle I am looking at around $70 a week in gas. Trust me there is nothing that could ever take away from me my new found life in Christ and cause me to make the mistakes of my past but what about those who do not have what I have in Jesus where will they turn when faced with similar situations?             Society which is you and I must realize that we are not an island set apart from this problem and that we are affected by it in the fact that if we choose to not open doors and give those who have paid their debt to society the opportunity to succeed and rebuild their lives the right way than we are going to be paying to build new prisons and support their displaced families in the future! Have you ever heard the term “generational curse?” That is what may be considered happens when you see poverty and strife passed from parent to child over and over from generation to generation because of the way they choose to live their life. When a family is forced to live impoverished because of the past mistakes of a parent and the children observe this happening to the point that the parent has limited options and chooses to return to the only life they know the children begin to see this as a norm. All destined to repeat the mistakes of the parents because they choose to live the same way because that is all they know and what they are taught.             When a child sees a parent lie, steal, do drugs and never work they consider it a normal way to live and think “if it’s okay for Mom and Dad its okay with me.” When a parent is released from prison and the opportunities to change and begin to make the right choices are limited and they do fail who is affected. We are in that we will pay financially that is a given but what about when we go before God and He asks what we did to share the love of Christ with these brothers and sisters by leading them to the blessings of Christ giving them a chance to live a righteous life what are we going to say? What about the children left behind when they see their parents set up for failure and make the wrong choice to return to the old ways to put food on the table and kill the pain they feel in defeat through drugs and alcohol. In their eyes it is the right thing, the only thing available for people like them to survive and they embrace it as the only way. Why do you think that there is so much hatred and anger in the world today? Not everyone has an awesome job. A wonderful life, two cars in the garage, awesome job and can afford a vacation in the Bahamas.             I know that there are those who will say that they struggled for what they have and work hard. I agree but they had the opportunity to succeed and many of the opportunities are not available when you make mistakes that continue to exist in your life preventing you from being more than what society views you as. Once a felon always a felon; Hallelujah God forgives but unfortunately society refuses to do so. What prompted me to slide out the soap box from where I always seem to have one hid and climb up on it preaching about the plight of the incarcerated is that I had forgotten how hard it is to find a job because I found mine soon upon release and become complacent overlooking the need of my brothers and sisters who faced the same “felony monster” in their resume. I got caught up living my life and I needed a reality check and losing my job became just that!             I guess the purpose of this devotion is to make you think as my reality check made me think. I will close telling you about a friend of mine named Mike. I ran into him at a local grocery store soon after I found out the place that I was working was closing. He came up to me, shook my hand and gave me that man hug that brothers who have a common bond give each other when they meet. Ours was time spent together in prison. He told me how he was losing his house because he had been working at a job for someone who owes him 5 weeks pay and refuses to pay him. He proceeded to tell me with what I thought were tears forming in the corners of his eyes that he did not know what he is going to do. Mike has been in and out of prison a few times; a veteran of the penal system and he told me that he does not want to go back. What I discerned from what he was saying is that if he does not find an answer soon he will do whatever he has to do to survive! With that attitude and outlook on life Mike is destined to do as what we call “life on the installment plan.” I gave him my card and told him that I would be praying for him. I told him to give me a call and I would ask around; I mentioned coming to church and what we had to offer but I do not think that he was listening. As a matter of fact I plan to call him when I get up from the computer.             Mike as everyone else struggling as he is needs hope; the hope of Jesus Christ in their life. We as children of God must reach out a helping hand and offer what we have and share that very same compassion that compelled Jesus to shed His blood so others may live. When someone has paid their dues and done their time are they not worthy of forgiveness and a second chance. I can not help but wonder these questions. When someone becomes who the world perceives them to be and treats them as such why is everyone so shocked when they become who they are repeatedly told they are? When is it time to forgive? Matthew 6:15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.             If you examine yourself closely you may find that there are things that you may have done that may have placed you behind bars; when I was incarcerated many of the volunteers that came to minister made the statement that the only difference between us and them is that we got caught. So when you choose to not forgive think about if it was not for the grace of God that could be you. Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Good Morning,

04-02-2008

Today I am going to begin writing on a message that Pastor Dan Berry at Cornerstone Family Church taught some time back that I feel is worth repeating titled “Glory to Glory.” It will contain some of what I was taught by him as well as what the Spirit of God inside of me was revealing to me. We are all going to go through difficult times in our lives because we all are going to have to deal with an enemy that is out there who desires for us to not succeed. What we need to do is learn how to navigate through these difficult times without losing course of our destination which is God’s purpose for our lives. We need to be able to navigate through and sometimes around difficult times without becoming shipwrecked so that we do not faint, lose heart or give up which is what difficult times make some people do. They become frustrated and disillusioned because they think that if God is on my side then why am I going through all this stuff? They think such thoughts as “if there was a God then why is there all this evil on the earth?” these are things that we said before we found God and if we do not learn how to navigate difficult times we begin to say things like “I thought that God was on my side and I did not know that it was going to be this hard!” We need to check ourselves at these times and realize that we are children of God, soldiers for Christ and need to develop some spiritual backbone in our lives so that we can continue with out faltering to be pleasing to the Lord. The title for this message “Glory to Glory” came right out of the Bible in Paul’s 2nd letter to the church of Corinth.  2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. My Pastor read this very same verse as it appears in the Amplified Bible to further illustrate the message. 2 Corinthians 3:18 AMP And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit. The Word of God is like a mirror and when you look in a mirror you see you and when we look into the Word of God we see Christ. The goal of God is to transform us into the image that we see in the Word that is Christ and we are to become Christ like; that is why we are called Christians. We are to become Christ like in our walk, in our speech, in our conduct and in our actions. Most Christians are striving to become like that and the way to do that is to continually look into the Word of God as if it were a mirror and see the image of Christ that we are to be transformed into as God takes us from Glory to Glory as He moves us towards that image. This can be very hard at times and many falter because let us face it as we look out into the world around us we see too little of God and too much unrighteousness and to stand up for Jesus and what we believe would cause us to stand out like a sore thumb attracting negative attention to ourselves causing us to many times to be rejected by the world just as Jesus was and what is important is for us to not compromise what it is that we believe and begin to conform to the world and its ungodly ways just because we do not want to risk not fitting in. Jesus was prophesied before He walked the earth to be rejected (Isaiah 53:3) and this was fulfilled when He was crucified. As we become Christ like we too are going to encounter rejection by the world as they are not ready to give up their selves and selfish desires in accept what we have found in Christ; they are to busy trying to fill the void that is created when someone is not living out life in the way that they were originally created and that was to live a life in close relationship with God. Their eyes are clouded so much with their wants and desires that they fail to recognize what God desires and why that they were placed on earth; until their eyes are opened they will continue to fail to catch that satisfying peace and joy in their live that they continue to chase each day and will continue to reject those that are attempting to bring them the news of Christ Jesus! No one wants to be left out of the loop and not fit in, remember how it was in grade school? Still we can not allow ourselves to give in to the world and compromise what it is that we believe by going back to the worldly ways that we left when we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior. How are we going to remain focused? As this though crossed my mind the following verse came to me. Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. The Apostle Paul knew what it would take to not return to the ways of the world, we are to allow God to transform us through the Word as it changes our mind and we no longer think as the world thinks. This transformation is ongoing and a continuing daily process, not something that happened immediately when you gave your life to God and accepted Jesus. Sure the transformation began the moment you were saved but my friends we must continue to pursue God through the Word with bulldog tenacity clamping down on the Word, holding fast, digesting it and allowing it to dwell deep within our hearts. Well this is enough for today as I have noticed that the message is beginning to turn from teaching to preaching. I will pick up here tomorrow, until then take care and continue to seek God allowing Him to transform you into the image of His Son. Glory to Glory Glory to glory A journey for me. That I must endure In order to see.  The fullness of life God’s perfect will. To travel this journey I can not stand still. I must face each battle Boldly and strong. No matter how tough No matter how long. For the length of the battle Is not determined by me. So I face the enemy With tenacity. For when it is over It is then you shall find. The glory is God’s And shall never be mine.   For all that I am Is determined by Him. My Lord and Savior I carry within. Robert L. Johnson II 5-19-2007

Good Morning,

04-03-2008

Today I will pick up this message “from Glory to Glory” with this statement, “we have all been in situations where we were not very happy with our current set of circumstances.” Have you ever been in a season in your life when you were not happy with what was going on? Have you ever had a time when difficulty was not just looming but was engulfing your life and you were facing things that were contrary to what you wanted in your life? Every one of us as children of God find ourselves in situations where we are not very happy about our current set of circumstances and not everything is joyous. It is at these times that some of us may draw comfort from this scripture. 2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. This comfort that we receive is in knowing that glory is just around the corner even though our lives may at this point in time be in a mess, yes we have that hope we have in Jesus and the promises for us that are found in God’s Word this is true. But this scripture does not say that God will move us from mess to glory; it does not say that He will take us from difficult situations to glory. We can not get this mindset that when we are in a difficult situation God is just going to magically pull us out of our bad situation and put us in a better situation; that is not what that scripture says. We need to know what this scripture is talking about, we can’t think that if we just close our eyes and grit our teeth everything is going to turn out okay because glory is just around the corner and Pastor taught me that glory may not just be around the corner for me. If we do not learn how to deal with the circumstances of the situation or the season of life that we are in then we are not going to experience the next realm of glory unless we take the situation that we are in and make it glorious. I am not going to go to the next level of glory until the season that I am in becomes glorious; God is not just going to circumvent His plan for my life. He is not going to take me out of school, He is not going to help me avoid lessons that I need to learn in life and move me on to another level of glory. God is not going to feel sorry for me, He is not going to look down on me, He is going to have compassion for me but He is not going to change His plan, His school; or His plan for my life by jerking me out of a situation in my life that I am unhappy about because of what I want and put me into a circumstance that is more glorious. Look at school for example; just because one grade level or class was difficult did you ever see the teacher pass anyone to the next level without them earning the right to go on? such is life we are there to learn and when we are snatched out of a learning situation we fail to grow in knowledge. So we won’t be moving on to something more glorious until we make our current situation glorious; then and only then will God move us on. Too often we want to skip the season of life that we are in especially if it is not joyous. We may want to skip over our current circumstances but in all possibility we may be circumventing the plan that God has for our lives. Anyone can quit God, anyone can give up on their family, give up on a marriage and quit a job but if you do that you may be circumventing what God has in store for your life and that plan me have unforeseeable blessings in store that you may not see at the time. Pastor said that “just because it gets hot in the kitchen does not mean that you can leave the kitchen.” There are lessons to be learned, there is opportunities there that are designed to exercise our faith to allowing it to grow.  Pastor made the statement that he is smart enough to realize that trials do not make us stronger because if they did we would be spiritual giants because we have all gone through enough trials. It is not the trial that makes you stronger but it is what you do in that trial that makes you stronger, it is the muscles that you exercise to stay faithful, it is the muscles that you exercise to do right when things are difficult that cause you to become stronger so just because the situation becomes uncomfortable and the circumstances are not joyous is no reason to abandon ship in your family, in your marriage, in your church or in your job. You can go from mess to mess but you can not go from mess to glory and if you are going to go from glory to glory you have to take where you are at and exercise your faith, you have to take the Word of God, apply it to your life and you have to get God’s help to make the situation that you are in glorious before God will move us onto another level.   You can move yourself for example someone may give up on a marriage because the going gets tough and move on finding someone else thinking that they have found the person of their dreams, walked out on one and moved in with another one praising God all the way when God never had anything to do with it, moving from one mess creating another, making a mess of one person’s life only to mess up another’s life because you quit. It is also like a job situation where you may not like your boss and they might not like you or your current circumstances and you could quit your job and find a different one thinking that God gave you another one when in all actuality He did not do it, you did it yourself. God wanted you to stay where you were exercising His Word, He may have wanted you to be a light in that company and because it became hard you quit. Anybody can quit, it takes somebody to stay in there and exercise the Word of God and be a light to those that are lost inside, God may want you to endure that difficult situation just so that you can win that nasty boss to the Lord if this the case may be. I am going to close for now picking up right here and ask you this question “are you too busy looking for a way out rather then making the situation that you are in glorious?”

Good Morning,

04-04-2008

Today I will pick up this message from “Glory to Glory” where we left off yesterday speaking about too often how when things get difficult we think that glory is just around the corner when it is not; it is not going to be glorious around the corner until you make where you are at glorious and when you make where you are at glorious then God will promote you. When you stay faithful to whatever it is that God has asked you to do then and only then He will move you on. We also established that you may be in the situation that you are in because it is an opportunity for the Lord to be glorified and if you quit you may circumvent God’s plan for you to touch the lives of those around you. It is easy to see why that some people remain in the mess that they are in because they continue to circumvent the plan of God. They go from mess to mess and move out of the will of God for their life because it gets too hard and difficult. They end up changing when God’s will was not in that change and His will was in you staying there trusting in Him to help YOU make that situation glorious before you moved on. We need to learn that when things get rough we can not just stick our heads in the sand and pray that things will just go away and that glory is just around the corner. We need to get our head out of the sand, we need to take the Word of God that we have learned while we have been saved and thank God for this opportunity in the valley of the shadow of death to appropriate His Word to our lives, to trust Him to help us make this situation glorious as we apply what He has taught us. Pastor used this example that some people just want to move into a new house where everything is done, everything is new and everything is nice yet there is some people that like to move into dumps and turn them into glory. We may not be asked to do this someday in a house but someday in your spiritual life you are going to find yourself amidst a dump and you are going to have that opportunity with God’s help to turn that dump into something that somebody would be proud of. Sometimes that is what God wants us to do in our life and that is the reason that God does not answer our prayers the way that we want Him to and God leaves us where we are at. It is not because He is a cruel God but a loving God and He cares about the people that we are around as much as He cares about us; God knows that we have the answer to what they need and He will give us that opportunity to stand in the midst of darkness and let His light shine through us if we do not quit. As you look at a lot of peoples lives you can see how they go from mess to mess and do not understand why. I noticed this a great deal while I was incarcerated and watched men go in and out of prison like it has a revolving door. They come back with that woe is me attitude vowing to make changes, they attend church and suddenly see the light only to when it is their time to leave back into society they extinguish that one true light that will lead them down the necessary path that they must follow in order to never return again. Sure some make a good effort but when the going gets tough they resort to the old habits because they feel that they do not know any other way and that the world is against them so they stay out for anywhere from a few months to a few years only to soon forget what they vowed while locked up and repeat those very same mistakes. They miss that opportunity to turn their mess into glory by choosing another mess. This graphic Proverb is applicable to just such situations. Proverbs 26:11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. I myself found myself in a mess of my own doing when I was arrested for drugs and received a 50 year prison sentence. At first I prayed for an easy way out vowing to turn over a new life if God would only remove me from my mess. God in His all knowingness knew my heart and knew that if I was given another chance and do the same thing over again. God is a compassionate God and not a stupid God, He knew what was up. No loving parent would provide a way for a child to go out and get into more trouble by giving them an easy way out, a loving parent would care enough to prevent their child from enduring and creating more pain in the world around them. So I received a rather tough sentence and had to do my time, I spent over 5 years until I was released in God’s time, not mine; I was released when my heart was not only ready for change but was ever-changing for the good. I seized the opportunity to turn my mess into God’s glory by giving my life to Him, getting my BA in ministry, becoming ordained and devoting my life to writing what God has placed upon my heart. I now seek God’s will to His glory and not mine. We all have these choices and opportunities available but the key word is “choice,” you have to do like Joshua and make a commitment to serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Isn’t that what it is all about, choices? There are good choices and there are bad choices. Bad choices for example is when I chose to quit school, when I chose to take my first hit off of a joint, when I chose to disobey the law as well as God by selling drugs and when I chose to marry for ungodly reasons rather then someone who was who God desired me to be with. Good choices are when you choose to seek God with all your heart, find His will for your life and never give up pursuing it. When our choices bring about consequences that we may not enjoy such as when I had to go to prison I could have allowed it to harden my heart causing me to be a bitter man but instead I asked God to search my heart and help me take my mess and use it to glorify Him. No matter where you are or what you may be enduring God can through you turn it into something that will allow you to become better and glorify Him. Take a moment and think about this, when you are facing trials and tribulations you are not alone, the world is watching how you will react as a child of God and how you will react just may determine whether or not they will choose to accept what you have in Christ Jesus.  Tomorrow we will continue on from here as I close with a poem that I shared with you last February that I feel fits very well with what I talked about today called “Glory Bound.”