Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

Who Are We

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Who are we to demand anything of Jesus? When He was on trial, the authorities of both the Jewish and Roman empires demanded that Jesus answer their questions and accusations against him. But He kept silent. (Isaiah 53:7) He owed nothing to these men. He was their Creator, possessing knowledge so far greater than theirs that they could never imagine. (John 1:3; Colossians 2:3)

And yet they demanded answers from Him. The creatures were questioning their Creator. (Romans 9:20) Don’t we do the same? In our prayers, we demand Jesus answer them and answer in the way we want Him to. (James 4:3) Who are we to think we can demand anything of Christ? We proclaim Him to be our Lord and then act as if He is subservient to us. (Luke 6:46)

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Vertical Prayers

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While we should be praying vertical prayers, too often we are stuck praying in a horizontal manner. I’m not speaking of the posture we assume when we pray, but the direction of the content of our prayers. There’s a stark difference between the prayers of Jesus and the way we pray. So many of our prayers focus on the people and the world around us but give little attention to the One we are speaking to.

Part of the problem is that we lack the proper realization of what prayer is. It’s not a vehicle to get all the things we desire or even need. After all, God already knows what we need before we ask. (Matthew 6:7-8) We’re not bringing Him new information, but it often seems as if we think we are.

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4,000 Weeks

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I came across a book called “4,000 Weeks” and read a brief sample of the introduction. The premise of the book is that the average human has 4,000 weeks of life from birth to death. While I have not read the book, it was obvious the content would be about maximizing that time and understanding how short a time 4,000 weeks is in the grand scheme of things. It was also clear that the book was coming from an evolutionary starting point, which meant it was flawed from the outset, so it isn’t something I would recommend.

But the idea stuck with me. Given health and family history – and knowing only God knows and controls how long I will live – at 58 years old, I figure I have somewhere between 1,040 and 2,080 weeks left. That’s how much time I have remaining to serve the Lord in this body. (Psalm 139:16; James 4:14–15)

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Why Does It Have to Be So Hard?

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Why does it have to be so hard to follow Jesus? Do you ever ask yourself that? We want to obey and serve Him, but it always seems to be a battle. Why does the road to Heaven have to be so narrow? (Matthew 7:13–14) A better question might be why God provides a road at all! One sin makes us fall short of God’s requirement to live in eternity with Him. (James 2:10; Romans 3:23)

Every day we prove over and over how unworthy we are to be in His presence. (Isaiah 64:6) The gate isn’t just narrow, it’s impossible to pass through. (Matthew 19:26) Instead of focusing on how difficult it is for us to live for Christ, we should focus on the amazing mercy and grace that allows us to live at all. (Ephesians 2:4–5; Titus 3:5)

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Unpopular

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From the earliest days of adolescence, almost everyone aspires to be popular. I never met anyone when I was younger who told me they wanted to be unpopular. As beings created in the image of God, we all desire relationship and communion with others. (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:18) Some personality types desire this more than others, but we all need it. In our formative years, popularity is something we crave. We all want to fit in, to be liked, and to have others respect our opinions.

Such desires don’t vanish when we finish school. It continues to resonate with us as we enter the workforce, move into neighborhoods, and develop social relationships. Even in our church communities, no one wants to be unpopular. When everyone desires something, it should set off warning bells in our minds. (Romans 12:2)

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