Even If i Walk Alone

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

Archives for June 2016

Prepared to Die

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As someone who has longed to meet Jesus for a long time now, I was particularly struck by a quote I read from one of the early church fathers named Irenaeus. He said, “The business of the Christian is nothing else than to be ever preparing for death”.  The statement also reminded me of Francis Chan’s latest book, “You and Me Forever”, in which he espouses the primary role of the husband is to make certain his wife is well prepared for Heaven.

prepared to die,Francis Chan,you and me forever,Matthew 25:14-30,Psalm 144:4,Job 7:7,Psalm 39:5,life is a vapor,life is a breath,unprepared to die,unprepared,not ready to die,five finger death punch

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Our entire lives should be spent preparing ourselves and others to meet Christ. This profoundly impacts the decisions we make and activities we engage in every day of our lives.
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How Will You Love Today?

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We are called to demonstrate the love and character of Jesus in every moment of our lives. We know this because it is what Jesus did. The problem is, if we aren’t intentional about this mission, it won’t happen. How many days have slipped through our fingers without showing more than a cursory amount of love to anyone but ourselves? As I was thinking about this, it occurred to me it would be a good idea to answer four questions each day.

how will you love today,daily planning,prayer,commitment,love,discipline,1 Timothy 5:8,Isaiah 58:6-7,Ephesians 5:22-28,love your family,love your friends,love your spouse,love strangers,marriage

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You can incorporate these into your daily planning. The questions are: How will I show love to my spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend today? How will I show love for a family member today? How will I show love for a friend today? How will I show love for a stranger today?
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Sin is Not Okay

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I’m seeing a disturbing trend in Christendom…  Somehow sin is becoming “okay”. I’m not picking on any individual sin because it’s all equal in the eyes of God. Jesus demonstrated this when He said anyone who has lusted has committed adultery in their heart and anyone who has harbored anger has committed murder in his heart. I don’t think I’d be going too far out on a limb to then conclude, if not for the merciful covering of the blood of Christ, we would all be adulterers and murderers in the eyes of God.

sin is not okay,sin,1 John 2:15-17,2 Corinthians 6:15-17,James 1:27,everyday Sunday,commitment,mission,compromise,heresy,hypocrisy

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I say this to make it known up front I am the worst of sinners. What’s worse than an adulterer and murderer? So I am throwing no stones at any other sin or sinner. My only premise is it should never be acceptable or even possible for a Christian to find sin acceptable. Sin is not okay.
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Tools for Building the Kingdom

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I was listening to a recent message by Andy Stanley (you can listen to the message here) and he introduced the topic of everything we own being a tool for building the Kingdom. Our money, our car, our house, our kitchen table – everything – can, and should, be thought of as tools for building the Kingdom.

tools for building the kingdom,andy stanley,Luke 12:13-21,generosity,humility,love,priorities,purpose

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I have long understood the time and money we are blessed with should in turn be used for God’s purposes here on earth. But I admit, I had never considered how everything we own should also be seen as tools for building the Kingdom. It’s a bold way of thinking with the possibility of opening new avenues of service to our King.
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Simple

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It occurs to me Jesus lived such a simple life because He knew by limiting distractions, He would maximize His focus on His Father. I think we often overlook the simple teachings of Christ because we are always looking for something deeper. Like everything else in His life, Jesus kept it simple. He didn’t complicate things. He confounded the wise so the simple could plainly understand what He was saying.

simple,Mark 3:21,take up your cross,surrender all,give it all to Jesus,Matthew 8:20,foxes have holes,Matthew 10:34-36,not peace but a sword

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The so-called learned and wise people (much like us) missed it because they were convinced it couldn’t be that easy. Certainly issues as large as salvation and eternal life could not be so simple. We continue to make this mistake today and suffer the same consequences of those in Jesus’ day.
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