Even If i Walk Alone

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

World Wide Neighborhood

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At 42 years of age, I have seen many amazing technical innovations in my time. None can compare, in my view, to the piece of technology you are utilizing right now to read this blog: the World Wide Web. Never in history has the world been so small, so connected. There are nearly seven billion people on this planet, yet we can be almost instantly connected with a great many of them at any time of the day or night. The internet provides the medium for novice on-site reporters to broadcast images of what is truly happening around them. We are no longer beholden to the filtered and slanted view of the news we have historically gotten from our own media. This isn’t a political statement, but rather one of nationalism. It is quite obvious and common that every country tells its history from its own self-serving angle. This is why early American history will sound quite different when reading Anglo-American, British or Native American writings. All of this is to say that it is now extremely difficult to hide the truths and atrocities that occur around the world every single day.

The ultimate result of this brave new world that is laid bare before us is that we, as followers of Christ, can no longer feign ignorance to what is happening to our brothers and sisters on our watch. In countries all around the planet, Christians are brutally slaughtered and mercilessly tortured simply for professing to the same faith that we do. In a great number of countries, churches are illegal and not tolerated. Christians gather in homes, in secret shelters and hiding places to worship the Lord together. They risk being beaten, raped and murdered all for the sake of Jesus. Families are torn apart; loved ones who are sent to far off prisons are never heard from again. They are forced into 18 hour days of hard labor and given little food, clothing or shelter. Yet, still they endure; still they gather together to praise and worship Jesus Christ.

Meanwhile, followers of Christ in the Western world leave the church and even walk away from their faith because of disagreements over the color of the new carpeting in the sanctuary or the style of music played in the morning service. We put in our hour every Sunday morning and forget about our commitment to God until the next week. We spend the days in between griping about the fact that there’s nothing to eat while our cupboards are full. We complain that we have nothing to wear while our closets resemble the inventory of a small boutique. We grumble that life is unfair and difficult while depositing a six figure income into the bank.

I am humbled and sickened when I reflect on our greed, self-centeredness and apathy. I am heartbroken when I recall the parable of the Good Samaritan and the command to love my neighbor as myself. We’re not getting it done; we are not obeying the simple command of Jesus. I’m not worthy to call Him Lord. When will we begin to understand and own up to the fact that our petty annoyances are repulsive to God? Much like the Israelites who wandered in the desert, we are a stubborn and whining people, unable or unwilling to see God for who He is. The blood of a billion neighbors cries out to us, and we walk by on the other side. God forgive us; God help us to repent and seek Your face and to live lives worthy of our calling.

This isn’t a feel good post. To be perfectly honest, I never really know where the topic is going to end up when I begin to write. Many will read this and be offended. That’s okay; I’m offended as well. I’m offended that I could be so blind and uncaring. I’m offended that I profess to be a follower of Jesus yet do so little to help my neighbor in need. The world has become smaller; our neighborhood now extends the breadth of the globe. Our brothers and sisters lay bleeding in the ditch. We are the called; we are the chosen. We are the ones who must reach out as the hands of Jesus and care for their needs. The command to love our neighbor as ourselves is simple, but it is not easy. We know what the problems are. We know what our response must be. Are we willing to serve Jesus and carry out the mission He entrusted to us? There are only two choices: follow or walk away. Our choice has eternal and incredible consequences. Which path will you choose?

The Dangers of Autopilot

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Too often when I drive to work, I end up pulling into a parking spot without remembering anything about the drive there. I know I took on-ramps and off-ramps, negotiated intersections and stoplights, yet I have no recollection of any of it. I was thinking of this phenomenon when I was in the shower this morning, because as I reached back to turn off the water, I realized I had no recollection of shampooing, conditioning or washing. Since I was certain that I had not simply stood there for the last 20 minutes getting wet, I wasn’t too concerned about being clean. The simple fact is that we often engage an autopilot of sorts for tasks we repeat regularly. Our muscle memory allows us to perform the necessary steps in the proper order to achieve the desired results. This might be okay for showering and driving (okay, maybe it’s just a tad bit dangerous for driving), but it can be detrimental to our spiritual life.

How many times have you read a passage of Scripture, and upon completion find you have no idea what you just read? This is especially easy to do with Bible stories that many of us have grown up hearing our entire lives. We know how they begin and how they end, so any mystery is pretty much nonexistent. Contrast this with those moments when you read Scripture and a new revelation all but leaps off the page at you. A passage you’ve read dozens, perhaps even hundreds of times, suddenly takes on a whole new meaning and lights you up inside. What is the difference? It’s really all in our approach and our attitude. When we pray and ask God to reveal His word to us, when we pick up the Bible with every intention of learning something new, we more often than not will find it. However, if we are simply reading out of a sense of duty or propriety, our autopilot engages and we read without comprehension. It takes focus to seek out and learn new things. Focus is hard, of course, so we often opt for the much easier autopilot course. Following Jesus is rarely easy and it is always a conscious choice. If we are serious about following Him, learning from Him, then we must be willing to put sincere effort into studying His Word with focus and intensity.

Another area where we get in trouble using autopilot is in our family relationships. Sometimes it is so much easier to live a life that looks like Jesus when we are among strangers or friends than it is when we are in our own homes. It is easy to lose focus when surrounded by those who are closest to us because we know they will love and forgive us no matter what. Suddenly our efforts to control our tongue or to maintain an attitude of service are forgotten and we revert to a life that looks like anything but Christ. Our autopilot kicks in and we mindlessly while away what should be the most important hours of our day. Jesus never let up on His concentration; He never ceased living out His mission. If we would live like Jesus, we must engage in the model He demonstrated for us. At home it will take even more work to remain focused and on mission, but the effort is more than worth it since these are the ones with whom we have chosen to spend our lives. Imagine the peace in your household if you were to model Jesus in all of your interactions. Autopilot has no place in our relationships.

Be careful not to live your life on autopilot. Jesus deserves our devotion and our full attention. I don’t want to be like the disciples who fell asleep while keeping watch with Jesus. I want to live my life fully awake and completely aware of His presence. If Jesus thought my life was worth dying for, then surely His life is worth our attention. We must not give lip service to following Christ. A true follower will stay focused and on mission with a passionate intensity. He is the lover of our souls and the Lord of our lives. Let’s take care to stay off of autopilot and to live intentionally for Him.

Start a New Dream

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All of us have faced great discouragement in our lives. Some may currently be in the depths of despair, losing hope, and seeing few options available to change their situation. Humility was an attribute modeled by Jesus, and it is in the toughest of times that we have the opportunity to grow and express our own humility. As difficult as our circumstances might appear, suffering builds character; if we let them, our trials can be a springboard to great new opportunities and a whole new season in life.

Nothing is forever except the love of God. We allow Satan to so thoroughly defeat us that we begin to believe the lie that where we are is all there is; we buy into the deception that happiness and fulfillment is for other people not for us. I can almost hear the cackle of demonic forces when I look at people who are so down that they no longer have any concept of up. Each one of us was created in the very image of God. This means we were created to be beautiful, loving, successful, confident and extraordinarily capable people. The entrance of sin into our world has damaged our outlook, but it has far from destroyed our destiny.

All of us, regardless of circumstance, handicap or station has the unique ability to start a new dream right here and right now. One of the great facts of life is that as long as we have a breath remaining, we get the privilege of a “do-over”. Regardless of what has happened, what you’ve done or where you’ve been, you can begin again today. By sending Jesus to die on the cross for our mistakes, for our sins, it became an established fact that God is the God of second chances. By the blood of Jesus and by His mercy and grace, we have the option to have our entire past washed away and swept clean; what were once regrets can now become opportunities for growth. Instead of dwelling on past failures, make right what you can and forgive yourself for those things which you can not correct; then move on. You cannot live a life following Jesus while at the same time being a defeated individual. The power of Christ simply won’t allow it. The closer you draw to Him, the more you will be bathed in His power and made whole.

Allowing God to pull you out of your pit of hopelessness is never easy. Entrenched habits and opinions will claw mercilessly at you, attempting to hold you down. It will take an extraordinary amount of work on your part. Change is hard, but the alternative is worse. Change requires discipline, and we humans tend to rail against anything that restricts our selfish desire to do what we want to do. When you begin to develop the mental muscle required for discipline, constantly ask yourself, “Am I the person I want to be? Am I happy with the life I have? Am I the beautiful, creative, confident person I was created to be?” If the answer to any of those questions is ‘no’, then it is time to change. Determine one thing you can do today to move yourself toward being who God created you to be; take one action that will put you one step closer to Jesus. When tempted to stray from your new course, simply ask yourself, “Which decision brings me closer to the person I was created to be; which choice brings me closer to Jesus?” After mastering one discipline, choose one more thing that will improve your life. Much like a snowball rolling downhill, discipline gains momentum and strength the longer it is allowed to develop. Start small, but do start.

John Lawry once wrote a lyric that has stuck with me for the last 20 years and has had a profound impact on my life: “We are what we are, because of what we allow; are we becoming what we want to be?” The choice is ours. The blood of Jesus, His sacrifice for us, provides the opportunity to begin again and to start fresh. That opportunity is available to each one of us and at any time. It will not be easy and it will require plenty of sweat equity on our behalf. Are you willing to work for it? Are you willing to change? Will you be content with who you are or will you choose to become the one God created you to be? If you are discouraged, defeated, or broken in any way, determine that today is the last day you will feel like this. Take a step towards Jesus; reach for His hand. He waits patiently to lead you to a life beyond compare, a life spent following Him. Close your eyes and take a deep breath; now open your eyes and begin to live again.

Holy Dissatisfied

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The call of Jesus is simple. Love God with all that you are and love everyone else in the same manner. Feed the hungry, care for the sick, the widows and the orphans. Live a life of service; reflect God’s love to everyone you meet. This was and is the mission of Jesus Christ.

If you failed to recognize modern Christianity in the paragraph above, you are not alone. Christians have become known as an intolerant bunch of self-righteous homophobiacs who build big comfortable buildings with high walls in an apparent attempt to keep others out. Our building project budgets dwarf our missions giving and our internal activities far outpace our outreach ministries. How did this happen, and more importantly, how do we fix it?

The answer begins with you and me. We must repent; we must change. If Christ has been removed from the church, then it is our responsibility to seek Him outside of those comfortable walls, to find Him in the eyes of the people He came to save. We must go to the alleys, to the suburbs and to the ghettos. We will find Him in the poor, the sick and the abandoned. Jesus is near, but we have become blind.

It is time that we who claim to know Jesus begin to live a life that looks like His. We must walk where He walked and touch those whom He touched. The time has come to shed our Western trappings and live a life marked by simplicity and grace. Our closets are packed with clothing we never wear while half the globe walks around in rags and without shoes. Our cupboards and refrigerators burst with food in quantities unfathomable to the three billion people in the world who somehow exist on only $2 per day. Jesus said to give all that we have, but we quarrel about the proper amount to tithe, and whether that amount is before or after taxes. Although we are the most blessed generation of people in history, are charity pales in comparison to our earnings.

While some will give of their money, they will withhold their time. Other will give their time, but hold on to their vices. Following Jesus is all or nothing. You can’t do it half-way; you’ll simply get left behind. Following Jesus requires an intense faith a passion to do the works we were both created and commanded to do. Now is the time for this generation to rise up and rebel against the religious traditions we have been taught. Almost everything you’ve learned is wrong because it suffers from years of man-made additions to what is at its heart a very simple mission. True followers of Jesus will reject the pharisaical teachings of the past and return to a life spent in relentless pursuit of the Savior.

Let us begin that journey; let us learn to strip away all that is not of Jesus and begin again to walk in His footsteps. Along the way we will learn what it means to truly identify with the poor and the sick. We will discover renewed passion for life and a compassion for others that is unquenchable. When it comes to Jesus, it is essential that we yearn for more and more; we must never be satisfied. Our longing for Him must leave us aching for more and more. He is our Creator, the One who is madly and passionately in love with us. He longs to be known by you. Will you seek Him? Come with me and let’s learn to pursue Him at any cost. Let us learn together what it means to be a true follower of Jesus.

Christianity is Losing Market Share

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A new book just hitting the shelves compares the eight major religions of the world, and attempts to explain why their differences matter. I haven’t yet read the book, so I have no further comment on the book at this time. However, in an interview given by the author, he made the claim that “Christianity is losing market share”. I’m not criticizing his answer or even his choice of words, but it is odd to think of Christianity in the business terms of “market share”. Regardless, the point is clear. Our world is growing rapidly, and the people in it are finding other religions more attractive to them than Christianity. My only question is, “Why”?

There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus Christ is the truth, and the only way to God is through Jesus. Why then, would so many seek to find an alternate path that Christ has already stated simply does not exist? I believe part of the problem is that Jesus never intended to start a religion, much less one that would become one of the “eight great religions” of the world. He came to abolish religion, to put an end to our striving, our rituals and our piety. He came to replace ritual with obedience and judgmentalism with grace. He came to replace condemnation with love.

If Christianity is indeed “losing market share”, perhaps it is because we who call ourselves Christians are perverting the very message Christ came to deliver. We reek of piety and drip with pharisaical tendencies. Instead of extending grace to all as Jesus did, we have become known for choosing a select group of sins at which to wail and gnash our teeth. Adultery and homosexuality are seen as one way tickets out of the “church”, and prominent Christian leaders have proclaimed that the scourge of AIDS is God’s way of dealing with the sexual sins. Where is the love and compassion of Jesus in that message? The message of Jesus has been co-opted into a man-made religion that bears little resemblance to its namesake.

Jesus came to abolish religious rituals and to promote instead a personal relationship between God and man. No longer did one need to do and say all the right things or dress in a certain manner. Jesus accepted everyone, regardless of their background, occupation or lifestyle. There was no interview process for His disciples. Jesus didn’t spend time getting to know these individuals beforehand. He simply told them to follow Him. He told them to follow Him from the very place that they were, not to get cleaned up first, not to go pray about it. All He said was, “Follow Me.”. Over the years we have added onto this command a plethora of dos, don’ts and rituals. We have perverted the simplicity of His message.

Perhaps worst of all we have ceased to love. We are really good at offering entertainment choices and building beautiful facilities in which to gather, but we have become pathetically lackadaisical when it comes to loving others. People all over the world are starving. Over half the world earns less than $2 per day. Clean water is unavailable to huge masses around the globe. Meanwhile we build comfortable café’s and feature large screen projector screens throughout our churches. We are replete with cash but bankrupt in love. We have become diametrically opposed to the message of Jesus. The greatest commandment of all, as stated by Jesus in Mark 12:30-31, is to love God with all of our hearts, and to love everyone else in the same manner. Membership has become more important than service. Love has taken a back seat to religion.

Is Christianity truly losing market share? I don’t know, but there appears to be some proof to that conclusion. To be perfectly blunt, I’m okay with that. What the world needs is fewer Christians and more people willing to be followers of Jesus. In too many circles, Christianity has indeed become just another one of the religions of the world, one that does little to help anyone. The positive changes are coming from those brave and dedicated souls who are simply following Jesus, who have given their lives entirely to Him, and are living out His mission to the world. These are the people with whom I identify. Perhaps it’s okay to let Christianity wither and decline. Instead, let’s be about doing the things that Jesus told us to do and living a life that looks like His. True followers of Jesus are people who show grace and mercy to all, people who don’t judge others for their sin but accept them as they are. True followers of Jesus care for the needs of the sick, the poor and the hungry. Above all, a true follower of Jesus is marked by love, the greatest commandment of all. If we don’t have love, then we have nothing at all. Perhaps that is the very reason for the decline of modern Christianity. Love is the highest call, and Jesus is the only answer. Nothing else matters.