Even If i Walk Alone

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

Where was God in Newtown?

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sandy hook,freewill,open theism,newtown,tragedy,forgiveness,love,God and evil,why does god allow evil,why do bad things happen to good people,newton ct

Whenever there is a tragedy such as the horrific killings in Newtown, Connecticut, people want to know how a good and loving God could allow such inexplicable violence. How can God truly be worth serving if He allows murder, rape, kidnapping, depravity and abject evil to exist in our world? Is He not powerful enough to put an end to it? Is He even in control at all? These are fair questions that come out of unimaginable grief and trauma. I think it is okay and even healthy to ask these questions. But people want to do more than question God, they demand an answer. It’s here that I think too many Christians are missing the mark.

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Boycotting Christmas

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Christianity,J.C.Penney,Ellen Degeneres,Greg Boyd,AFA,Donald Wildmon,American Family Association,discipleship,Christmas,true meaning of Christmas

Every December there are groups of Christians who protest or boycott companies who do not use the word “Christmas” in their advertising. One group is outraged because J.C. Penney (ironically hailed by the same group for using the word ‘Christmas’ in their ad campaigns) is using Ellen DeGeneres, a homosexual as their spokesperson in their commercials. These are the kind of actions that caused me to abandon Christianity to instead live my life as a follower of Christ. This is why young people are turning away from Christ in record numbers. If this is what it means to be a Christian, who wants to be one? Who would want to identify with an elitist mentality that focuses on the judgment of others?

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Building the Church

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fiscal responsibility,church buildings,building campaign,unity,church budget

I’ve heard many preachers talk about building the church. It sounds like such a noble thing to say, but it depends on the context. I’ve seen far more churches concerned with building the structure that houses the Church, rather than building up the people who actually comprise the church. Most of the time, I hear the need for a larger building justified by saying that it is required to reach more people for Christ. Really? Jesus told us to go out into all the nations to tell others about Him (Matthew 28:19-20). He never said to build a large facility so that the people of the world would come to us.

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When Life Works

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gifts,talents,spiritual gifts,steven furtick,elevation,elevation church,sean stephenson,time to stand,WLW list,when life works

Following in the footsteps of Jesus is not easy. Christ was selfless, passionately driven, fiercely devoted, and unwavering in His mission. This is how He lived every second of His life; He never let up. How can we possibly ever achieve even a modicum of that in our lives? When we ask Jesus to be the Lord of our life and put our total trust in Him, His spirit empowers us to do everything He did, and more (John 14:12). It’s not up to us to figure out the “how”, we simply need to acknowledge our weakness and obey Jesus anyway. As Steven Furtick puts it, “Your greatest limitation is God’s greatest opportunity.”

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Serving Better

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Jesus is Lord,Lord of your life,Jesus first,God first,goals,one year plan,draw closer to Go,filfill your potential,potential,be all you can be,life plan,personal growth,spiritual growth

How could you better serve Christ in the coming year? In what ways could you intentionally change your life that would allow you to walk more closely with Him? It should be our goal to always be striving to look more like Jesus, to walk more closely in His footsteps. This won’t just happen, we must purposefully decide to seek Him more fully and make a plan for how to do that. If we want our relationship with Christ to grow more in the next year, if we want to live our lives fully devoted to Him, it must begin with a conscious decision and disciplined follow-through.  I’ve got three ideas to help you in this endeavor.

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