Even If i Walk Alone

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

Proper Focus

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As He was saying these things, a woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “The womb that bore You and the one who nursed You are blessed!” He said, “Even more, those who hear the word of God and keep it are blessed!” – Luke 11:27-28 (HCSB)

Why did Jesus reply as He did to the woman in the crowd? Was it a rebuke? Was it a correction? It seems as if Jesus is attempting to refocus the attention of the woman. She is focused on His mother and the honor Jesus brings to her. Jesus wants the woman to focus elsewhere. He wants her to hear what He is saying and, after hearing, go out and put those words into action.

It’s easy to get caught up in the words of a good sermon or in the excitement of a Christian concert. We need to make certain there is more than simply emotion in play, however. We need to take the lessons we learn and apply those to our lives. When you are involved in a great church, particularly in the mega-churches today, it’s easy to look forward to the next service simply because of the atmosphere, the people you will see or the production of the service itself. The above passage can serve as an admonition against this type of attitude.

We must never lift up anything or anyone. Only Jesus should be lifted up into a place of worship. Don’t look forward to the next sermon; look forward to applying what you will learn to your daily life. Don’t look forward to the next performance from your worship band; look forward to the conversation you will have with God as the band leads you into the Lord’s presence. Take what the Lord reveals to you and simply obey. It’s never about the vehicle; it’s about obedience to the message. If we are walking in pure devotion, our very lives will cry out in praise to the Father without any additional help from us. We need to simply focus on His Glory and then obey.

Father, give me the discipline to obey You in every moment of my life. Forgive me when my focus gets distorted and I turn away from You. Help me see everything through Your eyes.

Jesus and Racism, Part 2

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“He sent messengers ahead of Him, and on the way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make preparations for Him. But they did not welcome Him, because He determined to journey to Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, ‘Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?’ But He turned and rebuked them…” – Luke 9:52-55a

Why was this situation different from the countless other times that people had rejected Christ? Hadn’t he been mocked by the religious “elite” of Israel, laughed at by those in His hometown? Why on this day did the disciples react with such great emotion? What was stirring their disregard for those around them? Hadn’t Jesus been teaching them to love all people and that everyone was in need of His truth? What provoked such hatred from the disciples?

Maybe you think hatred is a strong word, surely the disciples didn’t hate those who were rejecting Jesus; surely they were simply demonstrating unbridled zeal. Or was something else in play? Interestingly, it was John, arguably Jesus’ closest friend that is credited with the vile, murderous words of contempt. “Do You want us to call down fire from Heaven to consume them?” I imagine it may have caused a great deal of sorrow for Jesus to see such a shallow emotion as that of racism being displayed by those He was working so diligently to teach. Even worse, they tried to conceal their sin by making it appear to be a statement of righteousness. They didn’t just want these people to die, they wanted Heaven itself to open up and destroy them.

Racism is seen in many forms every day. It is the exact opposite of what Christ came to declare: all people are valuable, created equally by the creator, loved equally by that same creator. We are called to imitate that love. Although it can be uncomfortable to think about, how similar are the disciples’ sentiments to that of Hitler? Both wanted to destroy others simply based on their race. Racism has been with us for thousands of years; it strikes everyone from the madmen (Hitler) to the seemingly devoted followers of Christ (the disciples). We are fed the concepts of racism through what we listen to, what we watch, what we read and what we have been taught as we were growing up. We must never forget that racism is purely of the devil. Jesus had no room for it, nor any patience for those who did.

Jesus rebukes our racism; let us rid all traces of it from ourselves.

Jesus and Racism, Part 1

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“When the days were coming to a close for Him to be taken up, He determined to journey to Jerusalem. He sent messengers ahead of Him, and on the way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make preparations for Him. But they did not welcome Him, because He determined to journey to Jerusalem. “ – Luke 9:51-53 (HCSB)

Jesus takes the most direct path to reach His destination. He must realize that this path will take Him through places where He will be scorned and rejected; places that “religious leaders” would never dare to enter; places of trials. It’s interesting to think about Jesus’ upbringing in light of this passage. All of His life He would have been taught to shun and despise this other race, the Samaritans. In His perfect love He demonstrates that He has no room in His heart for racism. He intentionally goes to stay in a village of those he was taught to despise. Would we, a modern so-called civilized people, do the same?

This racism is seen on the part of the Samaritans as well; to this day, racism is rarely one-sided. They reject Christ out of hand because of their hatred for His race. Yet we know from other passages that some Samaritans did come to follow Him. Some looked past the race issue to hear what Jesus had to say.

As Christians, we are called to follow Christ’s example. We too must take the most direct path in our walk with Christ, even when we know this means placing ourselves in difficult situations. We must put aside our prejudice and preconceived notions; many of the things we’ve been taught all our lives must be discarded and replaced with the love of Christ.

Father, purge any trace of racism from me. May I always recognize that all people are those You have created; all equal, all loved. Help me love others as You have loved me.

True Religion

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For the LORD your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and taking no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreign resident, giving him food and clothing. You also must love the foreigner, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. – Deuteronomy 10:17-19 (HCSB)

God is more powerful than all, yet He loves everyone and shows great compassion to each one. He is perfectly just and looks at no one as more important than another.

James referenced this verse when He defined true religion in James 1:27. The restatement of this Old Testament principle in the New Testament assures of its importance. We are to care for the orphans and the widows. In this time of war, how many widows are being created daily? How many orphans? To take the point a bit farther, how many single parents do we find in today’s society? I think caring for them certainly qualifies for inclusion in the definition of true religion. When does one cease to be an orphan anyway? What about the homeless man whose family has long since passed away? Is he not also an orphan?

Notice what the latter half of the scripture says; Christ tells us to love foreigners – those from a different country, people group or culture. It’s easy to take care of “our own”. Are we willing to care for those a little different than we are? Speaking again of the war, think how many more widows and orphans are added to the roles each day in Iraq. What about Darfur? Orphans and widows die by the dozens every day. Are we serious enough about following the commands of Christ to reach out there as well?

God does not differentiate by any criteria – not by class, gender or ethnicity. We are commanded to do the same. We must love all people equally without partiality. Christ did it, and He commands us to follow His example. We must take the kingdom wherever there is need.

Lord, forgive my shallowness when I look only to those near me. Broaden my vision that I may see hurting people outside of my comfort zone. Grant me the courage and grace to reach out to them. Fill me with an unquenchable passion for their souls.