Even If i Walk Alone

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

Wasted

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Most people have one or more irrational fears. These kinds of fear are far worse in our minds than they are in reality. As much as we want to think otherwise, irrational fears exist largely only in our minds. My greatest fear, however, is not of the irrational variety. It is only too real, based on hard cold facts and unyielding truth. My greatest fear is when I die my life will be labeled by God as “wasted”.

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It will have been wasted because I spent most of the time and energy entrusted to me pursuing the pleasures and delights of this world rather than living a life dedicated wholly to Him. There is no recovery from a wasted life. It’s over, done, and labeled for eternity.
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Building the Kingdom

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I have become convinced we spend our days either building the Kingdom of God or tearing it down. I don’t believe there is anything in between. There is no gray area in Kingdom work. Our lives are being spent either building the Kingdom or destroying it. Maybe that seems a little harsh. It definitely is not a comfortable thought. We’re aware of when we are doing Kingdom work.

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It feels good and we know we’re fulfilling our purpose and doing the work we were created to do. Most of us also recognize the time we spend building the Kingdom makes up a very small portion of our lives. If you’ve never given it much thought, reflect on the past week and try to quantify how much time you spent building the Kingdom of God. Warning: this is a depressing exercise.
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Second Class Citizen

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Why is it we invite Jesus to be Lord of our life, only to relegate Him to a second class citizen? I’m assuming most Christians would deny they treat Christ as anything but the most important part of their lives, but our actions speak otherwise.  The reality of this smacked me in the face recently. I was running a little behind the morning of an important business meeting.

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As I was about to step into the shower, it occurred to me I had neglected to have my regular prayer time that morning. I rationalized I would spend time with God after getting ready and printing out the paperwork I needed for the meeting. After all, my mind would be too distracted to pray at that point anyway. I needed to get the things that “had” to be done first.
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Obsessed With Jesus

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Are you obsessed with Jesus? Francis Chan says that, “Obsessed people are more concerned with obeying God than doing what is expected or fulfilling the status quo. Obsessed people care more about God’s kingdom coming to this earth than their own lives being shielded from pain or distress.” Are those statements a fair summary of your life?

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If you’re like me, there are times when I can identify with that level of obsession, but far more times when I can’t. More than anything else, true followers of Christ are obsessed with Jesus. They can’t get close enough or learn too much about Him. While it can be uncomfortable to ask these questions of ourselves, we must evaluate whether or not we are obsessed with Jesus.
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This Day and That Day

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Every so often I run across a quote that resonates so deeply it feels as if it has rocked my very soul. The one I found most recently was from Martin Luther, who said, “There are two days in my calendar: This day and that Day.” The ‘that day” to which he referred was the day he would meet Jesus.

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Martin Luther thought only of what was going on right now in this present moment, and of things that would occur when he stood face to face with Jesus. What an amazing outlook on life, one that aligns perfectly with the teachings of Christ.

What a contrast to the way most of us go about our lives. We spend much of our time planning and dreaming about the future. Jesus had some strong language for those of us operating in that manner. In Luke 12:16-21, he said we who make plans for the future without first serving God are fools. We can make the most intricate plans for future vacations and our retirement, but our life could be demanded of us at any moment. For what then will all those plans count? Who will profit from all you have saved for the future? When we neglect the importance of this moment, sacrificing it for an unknown future, we are missing out on the real treasures of life. That makes us foolish indeed.

We fret about having food, shelter, and clothing, but Jesus instructed us not to give such things a second thought (Matthew 6:25-34). He pointed out how He takes care of the birds of the air and how He tends to the garden of our world without any help on our behalf. He is aware of every situation and will not abandon us. Yet at the first sign of trouble we turn away from Him and run towards the things of this world. We flee the warm embrace of Jesus and plunge head first into the razor sharp talons of the adversary. We abandon the only true safety for the empty promises of an illusory and temporary comfort.

What if we focused our lives only on this day and that day? How might our lives be different? Forget about the future. You can’t predict it and have no guarantee it will even come. First dedicate your entire existence to Jesus. Concentrate only on what you can do to serve Him on this day, in this hour, at this very moment.

When you think about the future, think only of the moment your hands will grasp the feet of Jesus. Play out the scene in your mind. What might that day look like to you? What will you say? What will you do? How will Jesus react to seeing you? The way ‘that day’ plays out is dependent on how you live ‘this day’. Nothing else matters beyond how you serve Jesus right now.  With every breath we are either building up or tearing down the Kingdom of God. Think only of this day. Dream only of that day. The rest will take care of itself.