Even If i Walk Alone

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

God’s Great Mercy

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It’s easy to gloss over the opening greetings in the various New Testament Epistles, but to do so risks missing out on some enormous treasures. Take, for example, the opening verses of First Peter: “Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.

You are being protected by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5) Take your time and read it again and notice all the essential, consequential, and unquantifiable eternal gifts that are ours because of God’s great mercy.

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Making Deposits

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No matter what we do, we are making deposits into an eternal account or throwing away the time given to us. We fill our days with decisions ranging from what to wear, what to eat, what to say, what to think about, or what to do. Every moment carries with it the choice to honor God or worship ourselves. Satan chose to worship himself, and look how that continues to turn out for him.

Despite being the most beautiful of all the angels (Ezekiel 28:12-15), he considered himself greater than his creator. (Isaiah 14:13-14) The tragic results of such pride are eternal separation from God, unending torment, and no hope for the future. (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10) The same fate awaits all who refuse to bow their knee in worship of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Good Enough Is Never Enough

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Because Jesus is in Heaven, we sometimes forget how close He is. What if He were still on earth in His physical form? If He gave you a task to do, how urgent would you be in getting it done? Would you put it off until a more convenient time or jump right on it? What sort of effort would you expend to accomplish it? Would you cut corners and do just enough to call it done?

I think every one of us would do whatever we could to put in our best effort to present Jesus with a result that reflected how much we revere and love Him. Shouldn’t we do the same even though He is not speaking to us in His human flesh? When serving Jesus, good enough is never enough. (Colossians 3:23-24; Ecclesiastes 9:10)

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Never for Nothing

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Do you ever grow discouraged in your walk with Christ? People who reject Him, spit on His image, and defame His name go unpunished and even seem to live more carefree and happy than we do. Are you ever tempted to ask, “Is this all worth it?” Wouldn’t it be easier to just stop trying to follow Him and swim against the tide than to always seem to face conflict and struggle? (Psalm 73:3-5)

Maybe you wonder if the payoff will be worth the price? When the world is intent on wearing you down (John 16:33; 1 John 5:19), doubts will creep into the hearts of even the most steadfast. But following Jesus is never for nothing. It is worth the struggle, and He is always worth the pain. (Romans 8:18; Hebrews 12:11)

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Hypocrisy

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If you paid a stranger to watch the way you live for a week, what would they say was the focus of your life? Would they see Jesus? Would they understand what it meant to be a Christian from watching what you did and listening to what you said? We Christians can talk a pretty good game, especially when we’re cloistered safe inside our places of worship or surrounded by like-minded believers.

The manner in which we exercise our faith is less convincing. There’s an old word for that: hypocrisy. Nobody I know ever wants to be called a hypocrite, but if your actions don’t align with your words, what else would someone call you? To behave like this is the same as looking at yourself in a mirror and then forgetting what you look like the moment you turn away. (James 1:23-24)

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