Even If i Walk Alone

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

Archives for September 2016

Stealing Time

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I learned (again) the hard way Satan is a master at stealing time. It’s amazing and more than a bit discouraging how you can be having a great day serving God only to see it fizzle into hours doing things of no Kingdom value. Without a consistent and diligent focus on how we spend our days, too many of them can be stolen away before we know it.

stealing time,giving away time,building God's Kingdom,Matthew 10:34,not peace but a sword,Matthew 10:21-22,brother will betray brother,John 16:33,in this world you will have trouble,Philippians 2:12-13,working out your salvation

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While pondering that thought, it occurred to me maybe Satan isn’t so much a master at stealing time as we are at giving it away.God has put the gift of time at our disposal. Every breath we breathe is an endowment from Him. What God has given to us cannot be stolen. Satan has no power to do that. But as agents of freewill, it is within our authority to give away what God has granted to us.

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Intimacy with God

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One of the most mindboggling facts of living is we were made to enjoy intimacy with God. That’s amazing. The One who created us and everything else in the universe wants to have an intimate relationship with each of us. He doesn’t just want to know us casually, He wants to know us inside out and to be involved in everything we do.

intimacy with God,God intimacy,Micah 6:8,faithfulness,humble,humility,act justly,love,dicipleship,close to God,rick antonucci,renegade

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The fact we so often reject His offer is hard to believe. Imagine if Jesus came to your door wanting to hang out. Would you turn Him away because you were too busy or had better things to do? We do the same thing to God every day and think nothing of it.

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All In

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In his book, “Renegade”, Vince Antonucci writes, “We want to follow Jesus and we want to live nice, safe, comfortable lives that are ‘normal.’ That’s a problem—because it doesn’t work. You can’t have both. Following Jesus means embracing a selfless, crazy, dangerous, God-obsessed life, and that’s something most people refuse to do.” 

all in, for me or against me,Matthew 12:30,mark batterson,renegade,Vince Antonucci,discipleship,disciple,giving all,heart's desire,God sees the heart, I Samuel 16:7

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It’s disappointing discipleship is becoming somewhat of a buzzword in churches because few I’m aware of qualify discipleship with Antonucci’s definition above. The disciples of Jesus left everything they knew behind to follow Him. They didn’t simply leave homes, jobs, and possessions, they left their passions and the only way of life they ever knew. Discipleship means going all in with Jesus.

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It’s Your Choice

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Each one of us gets to decide whether or not we will follow Jesus. But none of us get to decide how we will follow Him. Our freewill ends when we choose to be a disciple. If that is indeed our choice, from that point forward, the way we live is determined by Jesus and not ourselves. It is the pledge we make to Him. Our freewill isn’t taken from us, it I surrendered by us. It’s your choice to follow Jesus.

It's your choice,let the dead bury the dead,Matthew 8:21-22,rich young ruler,Matthew 19:16-22,parable of the talents,Matthew 25:14-30,freewill,commitment,discipleship,mission,love

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You get to decide. However once that decision is made, you are obligated to live life the way Jesus commanded you live it. Freewill is an amazing gift and should not be lightly given away. You must understand the cost. For those willing to count such a cost, the rewards of living life wholly surrendered to Christ are beyond words and incalculable. It’s your choice.

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Shortness of Breath

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Whether we realize it or not, we are all suffering from a shortness of breath. Each inhale leaves us one less before we breathe our last. While this may sound morbid and depressing to some, it should not be the case for followers of Jesus. For me, the thought invokes both excitement and a sense of urgency. I have no greater desire than to be with Jesus.

shortness of breath,death,number of breaths,love casts out fear,1 John 4:18,absent from the body,present with Christ,2 Corinthians 5:7-8,not of this world,strangers and aliens,John 17:16,Kingdom of God,God's Kingdom,mission,purpose,commitment,maximizing time,don't waste time,disciple

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I don’t fear death and neither should you if you have placed your faith in, and pledged devotion to, Christ. Paul said to be absent from the body was to be in the presence of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:7-8). There is no fear in being surrounded by perfect love (1 John 4:18).

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