Even If i Walk Alone

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

The Persecuted Church

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Every November, congregations around the world take a Sunday to remember the persecuted Church. Perhaps yours did or will. Maybe you could even spearhead such a campaign with your local body of believers. Regardless of whether your church spent time remembering our brothers and sisters in chains, these brave and hurting souls should never be far from our prayers. (Hebrews 13:3; Colossians 4:2-4)

For many of those enduring persecution today, they could once worship without fear of consequence, just like most of us. It’s why we can never take our freedom to worship the one true God for granted. We can lose those freedoms quicker than most of us would ever imagine. As you pray for the persecuted, thank God for the enormous privilege of having the freedom to pray to Him and for them. (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

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How Much Are You Willing to Sacrifice?

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How much are you willing to sacrifice in doing the Lord’s work? Are you more concerned with success and a comfortable life or willing to forsake everything for the sake of Christ? (Luke 14:25-33; Philippians 3:7-8) We often think of “forsaking everything” in terms of physical possessions. That’s true, but everything might also include our health, safety, comfort, dreams, and goals.

“Everything” is all-encompassing; it touches every area of our lives. Are you willing to do that? Is Christ worth surrendering everything you’ve ever wanted and everything you might have dreamed to achieve? Is He worth your comfort, safety, and even your life? (Luke 9:23-24; Revelation 12:11)

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Living in Sin

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Too many of us are living in sin. I’m not talking about sin happening in our lives, but sin being the pattern of our lives. We cannot love God and continue to live a life delighting in sin. (1 John 3:6-10; Romans 6:1-2) Sin is repulsive to God, and it should be repulsive to us. (Proverbs 6:16-19; Romans 12:9) It’s obvious that people indulge in sin because it is enjoyable, but how can we enjoy sin when we see what it did to Jesus?

His life was one of perfection. (Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22) He knew no sin until He bore our sins on the cross. (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24) By accepting our sin, Jesus allowed sin to do what it always does, and it killed Him. It wasn’t someone else’s sin that killed Jesus; it was ours. (Isaiah 53:4-6; Romans 4:25)

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Selfish Ambitions

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The more I study God’s Word, the more difficult it becomes for me to justify selfish ambitions of any kind. I believe God instills specific passions, talents, and desires into every person. The catch is He expects us to use all of those things for His glory and to build His Kingdom. (1 Peter 4:10-11; Romans 12:6-8) There is no part of life that should be for our glory or satisfaction. (1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17)

The reason we have the interests we have is so that we can figure out how best to channel those interests to draw others to Christ and put His excellencies on display. All our lives, we’ve been encouraged to follow our dreams and be true to ourselves. Such advice stands opposed to God and His Word.

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Proof of Love

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Jesus nailed our sins to His cross when He allowed Himself to be crucified. It wasn’t just His human flesh that died that day; it was an end to sin’s power to control you ever again. Sin is part of the “old things” that have passed away and no part of the new things you have in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Because of this, habitual sin cannot be a pattern in the life of a true follower of Jesus. The only way we can sin is to decide to be in willful disobedience to God’s commands, and those who love Christ obey His commands. (John 14:15) This leaves us with only two options: either God’s Word is not true or we don’t love Jesus like we say we do. If we continue to sin, where’s our proof of love?

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