Even If i Walk Alone

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

Archives for March 2020

Of Roses and Thorns

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In life, we can complain about the thorns among the roses, or we can marvel at the beauty of the roses among the thorns. It seems easier to complain about all that is wrong rather than discover the good amidst all the evil. The world God created is full of exquisite loveliness. On the flip side, the enemy has come and sown “tares among the wheat” (Matthew 13:24-30), ashes among the beauty.  It is up to each of us where we will focus our lives, either on the thorns or on the roses.

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I hope as a follower of Christ, the choice is easy. Nothing or no one is more beautiful than our Savior. When we see the world through His eyes, we will see the beauty of His creation through a lens of love. But followers of Jesus are not perfect. We lose our focus and see things the way the rest of the world sees them. We give in to the temptation to become so wary of the thorns we never see the roses.

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God’s Peace

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God’s peace is sometimes difficult to find amid the daily media barrage. But it is always there, waiting for you to relax into it. Jesus said, “My peace I give to you” (John 14:27). His peace transcends any fear, anxiety, or difficulty we will ever face. We need not fear any storm. Christ has proven He can calm the waves with a simple word (Mark 4:35-41).

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Nothing can overwhelm us so long as He is with us. There is nothing to fear. Satan would have you believe otherwise. He will do everything he can to unsettle you, to make you fearful, and to make you doubt. You can always be certain the devil will use every tool at his disposal to distract you from keeping your eyes on Jesus.

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Times Like These

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In times like these, it’s easy to lose our way. The needle on our internal compass seems a bit jumpy. The culture of a 24/7 news cycle can overwhelm with information and confuse us about what to believe. Stress and anxiety threaten to overcome our best intentions and defenses. Times like these bring out the best, and too often, the worst in humanity.

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For followers of Jesus, we can have peace. Our Lord is the Prince of Peace, and His grace and mercy are not in short supply. And yet, we seem to forget these truths when we need them most. Instead of relying on the peace and power of our Creator, we give in to the siren song of the crowd. There is no comfort there. We find comfort only in the arms of Jesus.

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Spring Cleaning

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I love when the air begins to warm, and the colors of spring push out the grays and whites of winter. I am not a lover of snow or cold, so my soul gets a little lighter each time spring rolls around. It’s a time to open windows and take long walks outside again. With the arrival of Spring, many of our thoughts turn to the proverbial “spring cleaning”.

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We dust and sweep the corners of our living areas and declutter the storage spaces. Spring is a time of fresh beginnings, and we want everything to be sparkling and new again. If we undertake such chores for our home on an annual basis, why do we not do the same for our eternal souls?

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It is Well

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Growing up as a preacher’s kid, I think I learned every hymn forward, backward, and upside down (except for the third verses, of course, which are inexplicably always skipped!). As I grew older, my taste in music transformed and I left the old hymns in the past. Now and again, someone releases a modern remake of an old hymn, and it provides a sweet sense of nostalgia. Updated music has helped me rediscover a few old songs. There is one, however, that over the past couple of years has resonated with me in its original form.

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I love the haunting and solemn melody of “It Is Well with My Soul”. I have an entire playlist of different instrumental versions of the hymn that I often play during my morning prayer time. It stops me in my tracks every time to ponder how, with Jesus, it is well with my soul regardless of what’s swirling around me.

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