Even If i Walk Alone

...this i choose to do.

Mark

Nothing to Fear

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We spend too much of our lives in fear. We fear violence, terrorism, being disliked or ridiculed. We fear speaking up for justice or being the dissenting opinion in a crowd of peers. Some fear dying, while others fear being alone. Still others fear being forgotten, passed over, overlooked, or ignored. We fear financial markets and technology. There are so many things about which so many are afraid. This isn’t the way God designed us to live.

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He created us to be more than conquerors (Romans 8:37), with a spirit of boldness, not timidity (2 Timothy 1:7). You were created to love, not fear (1 John 4:18). Since God is for us, we know nothing can stand against us (Romans 8:31). As long as we are living our lives in the pursuit and will of God, we have nothing to fear.

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Eliminate Hurry

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Dallas Willard once wrote, “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.” This is difficult for me to hear. I struggle slowing down. I have a need to always be accomplishing something. I admit to having difficulty enjoying vacations because I’m always focusing on what’s next instead of taking time to enjoy the moment. Perhaps you can relate. The issue is if we never slow down, we will miss what God has intended for us to notice along the way.

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Did you notice Jesus was never in a hurry? He seemed to always have time to stop and have a conversation or to touch someone in need. While others were busy trying to fill His agenda, Jesus went off by Himself to pray (Mark 1:35–37). He understood the value of eliminating hurry from His life.

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Prosperity and God

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I was sickened by the results of a recent poll taken by Lifeway research concerning prosperity and God. Lifeway polled Americans with evangelical beliefs who attended Protestant churches at least once each month. The results were startling: 75% believe God wants them to prosper financially; 41 % said their churches teach the more money they give, the more they will be blessed; and 26% agreed they had to do something for God in order to receive material blessings from Him.

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It made me wonder what Bible these people and churches are using? It sadly confirmed the common suspicion that people aren’t even reading their Bible’s. None of the above can be found in Scripture. Yet this is what many churches are teaching today, and worse, it’s what people are believing.

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Everything Matters

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For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been haunted by an old Geoff More lyric. It’s from the song, “God Believes in You”, and says, “Everything matters if anything matters at all / No matter how big, no matter how small”.  The implications of the lyric torture me. I think we would all agree some things matter, particularly when it comes to knowing Christ. Knowing some things matter, I am compelled by Scripture to believe everything matters.

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Every word I speak, every thought I think, everything at which my eyes look, every interaction I have with people, how I spend every moment – they all matter. They all will be either for the Kingdom or against it. They all will be either pleasing or displeasing to my Lord.

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Holiness

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It seems to me in this day and age Christians are content to stop short of holiness. Our churches don’t talk about this very much. We talk about many ways to get along with and in our culture, but little is said about living life in a countercultural way. The vast majority of sermons I hear these days are almost a sort of self-help message wrapped in a Christian cloak.

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When was the last time you left a church service less comfortable than when you entered the building? Today’s typical Christian is content with comfort. This is a travesty disciples of Jesus cannot possibly let stand. The whole point of our lives is to live a holy life looking like Jesus. How can we glorify a holy God with a life so far removed from His holy standard?

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