Even If i Walk Alone

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

Archives for November 2012

Inside Out

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life purpose,steven furtick,elevation church,john maxwell,the 15 invaluable laws of growth,greater,character,character development

I read a great quote from Steven Furtick recently: “Sin offers a temporary fix for your pain – while it slowly destroys your purpose.” When the going gets tough, it seems the tough give in to sin. It is a paradox how those of us who know that comfort and peace can only be found in Christ can be so quick to lean on the crutch of sin when something breaks in our lives. Our first instinct should be Jesus in everything, yet instead we run purposefully into the arms of the enemy. This makes no sense and only emphasizes how weak and desperate we are for a Savior to rescue us from our penchant for self-destruction.

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Using Your Talents

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talents,skills,god's will for your life,why am I here,life purpose,spiritual gifts

Most of us are familiar with the parable of the talents found in Matthew 25:14-30. In the story, the master gives his servants a varying number of talents before he goes away on a long trip. To one he gives five, to another two, and to the other one. When the master returns, he calls in his servants to see what they have done with what he gave them to use. The first two servants doubled what they received, but the other one simply offered back exactly what he had been given. The servants who multiplied what they had were praised, while the one who had done nothing received harsh judgment from his master; he was stripped of what he had and thrown out of his master’s presence.

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Thankful

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Thanksgiving,reflection,grateful,being thankful,giving thanks,personal inventory,remember,journaling

It’s a holiday here in the United States, and I struggled considering whether or not to write about being thankful on Thanksgiving. It seemed just a little too easy and far too cliché. At the same time, I have been learning the importance of reflection, so I know it’s important to take the time to pause and consider how much God has done for us. Holidays are ideal for this sort of activity. They are markers along the road of our lives. Just as Joshua set up a pillar of stones to mark the passage into the Promised Land and as a reminder of where they had been (Joshua 4), days like Thanksgiving can serve to remind us of all that Christ has done for us.

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What Do You Value Most?

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Jesus first,discipleship,dave ramsey,total money makeover,financial peace,living for Jesus,values clrification,values

Are you living by the values of society or the values of God? It’s easy for the line to get blurred. Sometimes it can be difficult to discern whether something is God’s blessing or simply the result of selfish ambition. Especially for those of us in the West, the temptation to conform to what our culture considers to be normal can be overwhelming. We try to keep up with the Jones’s instead of humbly serving and loving them. Our focus tends to be on our personal enjoyment or on the size of our retirement nest egg. Satan is having a field day with our values, and too often Christians are excusing it in the name of God’s favor.

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A Small Group Primer

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intentional community,shane claiborne,the simple way,discipleship,small groups,life groups

Perhaps no single idea has been so universally embraced by the church over the past 30 years as that of the small group. It is the strategic backbone of larger and smaller congregations alike. Too often these groups become nothing more than just another clique or a social club. Friendships develop, and there is a passing attempt at working through a Bible study booklet, but rarely do you find these groups engaged in the mission of Christ. There are exceptions; perhaps you belong to one of these. I do know of groups building intentional communities with tremendous outreach; they exemplify the early church. However,  if you belong to one of the more common implementations of a small group – one not engaging your culture – then it’s time to ask some hard questions.

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