Even If i Walk Alone

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

Daily Life

Out of Context

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context,hiding in plain site,seeing Jesus in everyone,Jesus in blue jeans,Jesus in plain clothes

Did you ever fail to recognize someone because you saw them outside of their normal context? My wife recently saw our eye doctor shopping in plain clothes with her son by her side. Even though we have been going to the same optometrist for eight years, it took my wife several seconds to recognize the doctor. I’ve done the same thing with neighbors when I see them at a mall instead of around the housing area. The reason this happens is because we associate the face to a place. When we see someone outside of the usual and expected location, we have difficulty recognizing them. Sadly this same principle applies to seeing Jesus in the everyday moments of our lives.

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Deliverance

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faith,perseverance,patience of Job,facing trials,tribulation

Have you ever had periods in your life where you felt like you could relate to Job? There are seasons in all of our journeys where, to the best of our knowledge we are following well, yet everything seems to be crumbling around us. Maybe a job loss or financial difficulty will arrive. Perhaps we will lose someone close to us or have an internal battle threaten to rage out of control. We are doing the things God told us to do but still our lives seem to be spiraling downward and picking up speed. These are the times of character refinement, and it is these moments that determine our true loyalty. Will we give up because it is too hard? Or will we say with Job, “The Lord gives and He takes away… I will never curse my friend” (Job 1:21-22; Job 2:9-10)?

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Zeal

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clearing the temple,the Lords prayer,heaven on earth,zeal,zealous,zealousness,passion,God's will for your life,God's will for my life

Zeal is an interesting word. Scriptures tell us that zeal for God’s house consumed Jesus (Psalm 69:8-9; John 2:17). We see it played out when Jesus tossed the merchants and money changers out of the temple (John 2:13-17). In doing so, I believe Jesus set an example as to how we should react to things that stand in contrast to God’s design. While tolerance is preached today, Jesus demonstrated none of it towards those who were blatantly ignoring and abusing God’s commands. When was the last time you were so consumed by zeal for God that you took action regardless of what people thought and without thinking of any possible ramifications?

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World Changer

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It’s easy to fall into a couple of traps as we endeavor to follow Jesus. One is we can get caught up in the celebrity status of certain religious leaders and determine that once we reach their standing we will do great things for God. On the other end of the spectrum is the belief that we aren’t talented enough o ever be able to make a difference in the world, so we end up leading a quiet life keeping to ourselves. Both suppose that there are different classifications of Christians, some bound for fame and glory, others doomed to obscurity and insignificance. God created each of us for a unique purpose in order that we would accomplish the work He designed us to do (Ephesians 2:10).

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Time Wasters

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Jesus is Lord,Lord of your life,Jesus first,God first,wasting time,time budget,spiritual disciples,accountability,commitment

The older I get, the more urgently I tend to look at life. I don’t know if it’s a matter of staring down mortality or simply a maturing, but I am struck by how much more intentional I am compelled to live each day as I go through life. When I was younger, I would fill my spare time reading science fiction or watching television. Neither of these activities are a part of my life any longer. Engaging in anything that does not in some way further the mission of Christ seems entirely futile to me. The common caveat to interject here would be for me to say that this is what works for me and isn’t something that someone has to adopt for themselves to live a more Christ-like life. That may be true, but I think it’s too easy to dismiss out of hand the possibility that we all should be taking more responsibility for how we are spending the time God has entrusted to us.

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