Even If i Walk Alone

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

Are You Afraid?

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Are you afraid of what’s going on in the world? The amount of what looks like unrestrained evil does give one pause. Most people are afraid of something: death, financial ruin, assault, business crisis, family conflict, marriage woes, and the list could go on and on. As a whole, our culture is full of anxiety, depression, stress, and mental delusion.

Some days it’s difficult not to be afraid of where this is all leading. Of course, we have confidence that God is in control no matter how out of control the world seems to be (Psalm 103:19; Daniel 4:35). But sometimes that confidence gets a little shaky and seems a bit removed from our day-to-day needs and experiences. There is a solution to this overwhelming fear.

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Superficial Religion

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Charles Spurgeon said, “Superficial religion will always be fashionable because it does not require self-denial.” If you ever question whether your faith is genuine, ask yourself how much self-denial you are exercising in your life. Jesus made it very clear: if you are going to follow Him, you must deny yourself (Luke 9:23). You cannot be a Christ follower and live your life indulging in sinful lusts and behaviors (Romans 8:12–13).

There is a way that seems good, pleasing, and desirable to us, but that way of living only ends in death and eternal punishment (Proverbs 14:12). Genuine faith is manifested in self-denial, a putting away of the old ways of the flesh, and walking as a new creation in the power of God’s Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 2:19-20).

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Would You Follow You?

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Before His ascension, Jesus told His followers to make disciples all over the world (Matthew 28:19–20). A disciple-maker is one who leads a life worth emulating. Jesus had and has so many followers because He lived a life that everyone who fears God wants to live. He proved Himself worthy to be followed (1 Peter 2:21). Can we say the same? Do others see our life as one worth copying?

Perhaps a better question is, if you weren’t you, would you follow you? Jesus left us with the responsibility to look so much like Him that everyone else would want to know Him. That’s our mission every day. When we wake, we should focus on looking like Jesus. When we lie down at night, we should reflect on whether we accomplished that goal, and if not, why not?

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Perfect Holiness

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A hard truth is that you can devote your entire life to pursuing Christ and still never master living in complete holiness. We can draw closer to Christ, but will never be with Him until we die. Thus, we will never realize our ultimate goal in this life, no matter how hard we try or how much we persist.

Everything else in life is possible except for living in perfect holiness. And yet, this is what we are called to in this life (1 Peter 1:15–16; Matthew 5:48). The goal is to try every day to be a little more like Jesus than the day before. It is the only goal worth having and pursuing. Do you believe that? If so, does your life reflect that belief?

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Persevere to the End

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Life is the ultimate dichotomy. It is both short and long, and we feel the tension between the two every day. Our time on this earth is not even a blip on the timeline of eternity. We are but a vapor that is here one moment, and gone the next (James 4:14; Psalm 103:15–16). But the time spent living in that “blip” can seem grueling and never-ending. This is true for our walk with Christ as well. Not that Jesus Himself is taxing in any way; His burden is light and we find our rest in Him (Matthew 11:28–30).

But the world makes living for Jesus one challenge after another. We must choose Christ over our sinful nature every second of every minute of every hour of every day. Sometimes it can feel like a grind. It is why so many fall away (Matthew 13:20–21), and why we are called to persevere to the end (Matthew 24:13).

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