Even If i Walk Alone

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

Bear Fruit

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The one thing all Christians have in common is that they bear fruit. If there is no fruit in the life of someone, it is because they have no connection to the root of our faith, Jesus Christ. We can discern who the true followers of Christ are by examining the fruit of their lives (Matthew 7:15–20). But what is this fruit we should see? The fruit of the Spirit is the manifestation of Christ’s Lordship over our lives (Galatians 5:22–23).

A man being kind to a beggar, bearing the fruit of his repentance and salvation, a faith that will keep him from Hell.

Fruit is the inevitable result of looking and living like Jesus. People will notice we are different. Fruit-bearers do not capitulate to the culture or seek to change God’s Word to fit their preferences or desires. The fruit of salvation will always glorify God, the source of all that is good and holy (John 15:8).

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Nothing and Nobody

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You must determine to become nothing and nobody if you ever want to be the person God intends you to be. A slave of Christ can hold no possessions in this world (Luke 14:33). You might live in a house, drive a car, and even make use of a few niceties, but none of them are yours because they must all be meaningless to you. Nothing in this world compares to the greatest treasure of them all — the treasure of knowing and serving Jesus (Philippians 3:8).

A man showing humility praying with his hands open toward Chris, expressing his commitment to surrender to God's will in light of eternity.

We must give up everything to follow Him, and we do it with joy because there is nothing worth anything to us except for Jesus (Matthew 13:44-46). It is our duty to follow wherever He leads, and do whatever He commands (John 12:26). We are nothing because He is everything (Colossians 3:11).

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It All Starts with Prayer

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When you examine the beginning of Jesus’s ministry, you find a very important principle. Before He set out to preach, He went off by Himself and prayed (Mark 1:35). It all starts with prayer. Whatever it is you desire to do, don’t do it unless you have first spent time on your knees with your Creator. If it was necessary for Jesus, how much more necessary is it for us?

Woman in bed praying as she knows it all starts with prayer and by God's love,mercy, and grace she can rightly set her priorities for the day as she practices discipleship.

Jesus, being God Himself, knew He needed to spend time with the Father before embarking on His mission. Do you think you are better equipped to deal with what is before you than the Son of God was? Our feet should not hit the floor, a word should not leave our lips, and our hands should find nothing to do until we have first bathed our souls in prayer.

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Be Truthful

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Lying, like all sin, is an unfortunate cancer of the human condition (Romans 3:23). It is a close cousin to pride, as they are the two sins no one can claim they never commit. While we may say with a good conscience that we are not guilty of murder or adultery, we must also remember Jesus’s teaching: anyone who is ever angry with their brother or lusts after a woman is guilty of those same sins (Matthew 5:21-22; Matthew 5:27-28).

Woman with her hand over heart signifying what it means to be truthful because of her discipline to do God's will and tell the truth.

But pride and lying? There’s no hedging on either of those. We know we’re guilty and therefore have fallen short of what God demands from us (Proverbs 21:4; Proverbs 12:22). As followers of Christ, we should be truthful in all our words (Ephesians 4:25). But why is it so difficult?

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Unsung Hero

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Joseph, the husband of Jesus’s mother, is a true unsung hero in the Bible. We don’t know much about him, and he’s easy to overlook when considering the heroes of the faith. But I submit Joseph was a model of obedience to God. Four times God gave Joseph faith-stretching, difficult, and even dangerous assignments, and all four times he not only obeyed, but did so without hesitation or question.

An older man, an unsung hero, praying expressing humility, faith, and obedience to God.

How many times does God’s Word compel us to do something challenging, and we come up with a myriad of excuses while doing everything we can to delay action? We can learn a lot from the faith and obedience of Joseph.

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