Even If i Walk Alone

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

Prepare for Persecution

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What is certain, but not being preached from many pulpits today, is that persecution is coming. Why pastors are not preparing their flocks for the coming trouble is beyond me. I listen to sermons from various churches constantly as I seek to learn and understand more about God and His Word. What I’m not hearing from most pulpits (thankfully, there are a few exceptions) is an urgency to repent and prepare for what is coming.

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There is no talk of how to prepare for persecution, and resources on the topic seem scarce. But Jesus told us the world will persecute us because of His name (John 15:20-21; Matthew 24:9). Because most of us live in places where persecution has not been a reality in our lives, we’ve become lazy, blind to the signs of this age (Matthew 24:3-31), and so comfortable in this world that we are ill-prepared for the coming persecution.

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In Six Days

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I’m probably going to lose some of you today, but that’s okay. I must speak the truth, and the truth is offensive to those who are not fully committed to it. Too many Christians compromise their belief in the Word of God in favor of the wisdom of men. Simply writing that statement should reveal the foolishness and futility of such a belief. Any time we opt for man’s wisdom over God’s Word, we set ourselves at odds with God and proclaim we know more than He does.

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My topic today is with the creation account as recorded in the Bible. The Word of God says the Lord created the heavens and the earth, the land and the seas, the animals, and all of humanity in six days. The best Hebrew scholars throughout history affirm there is no other way to understand those six days other than six literal twenty-four-hour days. That is what God says He did, and that is what He did.

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Grow Closer to God

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Often, Christians younger in the faith than I am, have asked me how they can grow closer to God. I’ve discipled several believers over the course of my life, and I can tell you I’ve never found a concrete answer as to the right way for someone to grow closer to Christ. Yes, you need to read your Bible. Yes, you need to pray. You can’t have a relationship with someone you don’t know.

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The Bible alone is the greatest tool for spiritual growth. Unfortunately, few of us will ever have the luxury of doing nothing other than studying our Bible all day. I’m not even sure that would be healthy, but I’d be up for trying it! The reality is responsibilities and commitments jockey for position in our lives and impede our growth.

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Getting Lazy

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Yet we all know we can get lazy in our eating, exercise, and work habits. More devastating than any of those areas, though, is when we find ourselves getting lazy spiritually. It does us no good to be disciplined in physical matters if we’re not going to apply the same or greater discipline to eternal things.

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I’m not only referring to the well-known spiritual disciplines of prayer and Bible study, but also the less obvious areas, like our relationships with family and friends, personal integrity, and service to others. It doesn’t take much to knock us off our game in these areas, which hinders our witness to the world, and disrupts our relationship with the Lord.

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Draw Closer to Jesus

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It’s been fifty years since I accepted the gift of salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. You would think I’d have the Christian walk figured out by now. Sadly, you would be wrong. I’m still learning, failing, and growing. Our finite minds will never comprehend all there is to know about God, and our fallen humanity can never walk in perfection with Him.

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But we must never cease striving to live our lives in obedience and surrender to Him. His Word compels us to do so, and our love for Him keeps us ever-yearning to serve Him better and please Him more. Until that glorious day when He calls us home to be with Him, the best we can do is to draw closer to Jesus every day we live.

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