Even If i Walk Alone

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

Archives for June 2023

God Knows

by

The fact God knows what we’re going through is comforting. It’s amazing to realize He knows each of us by name. But too often, we leave our thoughts of what God thinks about us there and go no deeper. In Psalm 139, David makes it crystal clear that God is intimately aware and present in every moment and aspect of our lives. His presence is an overwhelming fact, not just a trite bumper sticker.

God knows,humility,surrender,commitment,discipleship,holiness,love,fear

There is nothing we think, say, do, or desire that catches Him off-guard or unaware. He knew it before we ever spoke, thought, did, or desired it. While this is an enormous comfort, it should also fill us with a fear of how unholy and unworthy we are to be in His presence, much less receive His help and salvation.

[Read more…] about God Knows

Time to Pray

by

After hitting the snooze button a couple of times, I found myself running late on a day that already held more to do than there were available hours. As I swung my legs over the bed, in my mind, I began rehearsing the day to come. Trying to schedule each piece mentally, I hit a jarring thought. Thinking of everything I had to do, I thought, “…and I need to squeeze in time to pray.” That may be one of the worst thoughts my brain has ever contemplated.

commitment,discipleship,salvation,narrow gate,Bible study,prayer,priorities,time to pray,

Squeeze time in to pray? The Holy Spirit immediately convicted me of how wrong my thinking was at that moment. I anchor each of my days by doing nothing before spending time in God’s Word and praying. I know nothing sets me up for failure more than neglecting those priorities. And yet, here I was contemplating squeezing in the time to pray.

[Read more…] about Time to Pray

Stay Ready

by

If we want to be ready for the Lord’s return, we must be diligent to stay ready every day of our lives. To be caught unaware when Jesus comes back should terrify us all. It’s easy for us to shake our heads at the disciples who fell asleep while keeping watch as the Lord went off by Himself to pray in the garden (Matthew 26:36-46), but are we any better?

stay ready,commitment,discipleship,focus,God's Kingdom,God's will,mission,priorities,Kingdom of God

Are we not even more guilty of falling asleep as we await the Lord’s return? If we are not focusing our lives on serving Christ and doing the things He commands us to do, we are not staying ready. We are simply going through the motions and living as if His return is not imminent. Jesus could return before you finish reading this post. He could come before I finish writing it! If He does, will He find us ready?

[Read more…] about Stay Ready

Unstained by the World

by

Much has been written around James 1:27, but the focus always seems to be on the first half of the verse, with little attention paid to the second half. It seems every Christian can get behind “looking after orphans and widows”, but things get a little dicey when it comes to keeping oneself “unstained by the world”. In theory, we’re good with it, but when we break it down into practicalities, things get a little uncomfortable.

commitment,discipleship,compromise,surrender,priorities,unstained by the world

It’s amazing how quickly we can go from being willing to surrender everything to Jesus to being hesitant to let go of our favorite form of entertainment or vice. The truth is, we’re all allowing the world to stain us more and more each day.
[Read more…] about Unstained by the World

Have We Abandoned God?

by

The book of Jeremiah is sobering. It’s not one that we hear a lot of sermons from, and I haven’t met too many people who claim it to be their favorite book in the Bible. Since we know all of God’s Word is “profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16-17), it is to our detriment to neglect any part of God’s Word.

abandoned God,surrender,repent,pride,church,sin, consequences

For those who think the Bible has nothing to say to our modern culture, try taking a spin through the first couple of chapters of this book. First, a small disclaimer. God directed the words of this prophet to the nation of Israel. He did not write them to the United States or any other modern country. However, God’s principles and consequences are timeless and applicable to all people at all times. We would do well to heed the warnings of God in the book of Jeremiah.

[Read more…] about Have We Abandoned God?