Even If i Walk Alone

...this i choose to do.

Matthew

When Tragedy Strikes

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When tragedy strikes our lives, it can be difficult to see past the pain. We know God is still there and our hearts are still towards Him.  Still, our day to day activities can become daunting and our vision blurs.  All we can see is the pain immediately before us. In these times the best we can do is to stay focused on Jesus. He is the One who calms the storms (Matthew 8:23-27). Only He is going to be able to pull you through safely to the other side.

when tragedy strikes,sin,evil,faith,hope,pain,Matthew 8:23-27,Jesus calms storm,Revelation 20:10,lake of fire

The world will offer its temptations, its own versions of comfort and false solutions, but we know better. Jesus has brought us this far, and He will see us through.  God is God when the times are good, and He is still God when the going gets rough. His love for you does not change.

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Drifting

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I recently heard David Platt say, “no one drifts towards holiness.” I have observed the truthfulness of this statement in my own life. When we aren’t intentional in the way we are living, the tendency is to drift into sin, not holiness. Unless we are vigilant, we will allow ourselves to be distracted and the drifting will begin. Life is rarely static.

drifting,purpose,intention,discipline,John 10:10,abundant life,Matthew 28:19,great commission,1 Peter 5:8,seeking someone to devour,satan is a hungry lion

We are always moving in some direction. Even when we think we’re standing still, the currents of life are still compelling us in the direction of their own choosing. Unless we are purposefully setting a course, we will soon find ourselves drifting to places we never intended to go.

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Moving Towards God

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I enjoy finding things secular writers write which are applicable to our Christian journey. It proves Jesus can use anyone at any time to speak to us. Seth Godin recently wrote, “It is possible to spend your entire day moving towards something you seek. Alternatively, you can spend your time running away.” This is true in our Christian walk. We can spend each day in determined and intentional pursuit of Christ, or we can fill it with trivial distractions and run away from Him.

moving towards God,purpose,priorities,commitment,Matthew 12:30,wither for me or against me

We choose how we will spend each minute, every hour, and every day. No one controls our time except for us. We make the decisions. We choose whether we will spend the next moment thinking of God or thinking of ourselves. We choose what we will look at, listen to, and the activity of our hands.

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Sacrifice

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I recently heard Pastor David Platt pose the question, “Will we sacrifice our lives so others will come to know Christ?” This is a cutting and important question. Are we willing to give up some or all of our freedom, financial security, social standing, and comfort for the sake of seeing others come to know Jesus? It’s easy to say we want the world to be saved, but when it comes down to how much it will cost us personally, we tend to balk.

sacrifice,obedience,commitment,love, surrender,Matthew 28:18-20,great commission,John 16:33,you will have trouble,Matthew 10:16-22,brother will betray

I know this is true about you because it is true of me and the evidence would say it is true of the Church at large. We who claim to be disciples of Jesus are often coming up short when it comes to fulfilling the great commission and making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20).

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Not Gonna Bow

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Years ago, Russ Taff wrote a song called, “Not Gonna Bow”, based on the well-known Bible story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  The theme of the song was how we as Christ-followers should refuse to bow to any idols, regardless of the consequences. There is nothing more important than to keep Jesus first in your life. It is the essence of surrendering our hearts to Christ. If He isn’t first, then we aren’t surrendered.

not gonna bow,commitment,discipleship,faith,focus,mission,Russ Taff,medals,Luke 9:23,greatest commandment,Matthew 22:37-38,take up your cross daily

Every day we are tempted to bow down to someone or something other than Jesus. When we put anything other than Christ first in our hearts, it is an idol and needs to be thrown out of our lives. Idolatry is subtle and creeps in constantly if we are not diligent to guard against it.

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