Even If i Walk Alone

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

1 Timothy

The Persecuted Church

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Every November, congregations around the world take a Sunday to remember the persecuted Church. Perhaps yours did or will. Maybe you could even spearhead such a campaign with your local body of believers. Regardless of whether your church spent time remembering our brothers and sisters in chains, these brave and hurting souls should never be far from our prayers. (Hebrews 13:3; Colossians 4:2-4)

For many of those enduring persecution today, they could once worship without fear of consequence, just like most of us. It’s why we can never take our freedom to worship the one true God for granted. We can lose those freedoms quicker than most of us would ever imagine. As you pray for the persecuted, thank God for the enormous privilege of having the freedom to pray to Him and for them. (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

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How Much Are You Willing to Sacrifice?

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How much are you willing to sacrifice in doing the Lord’s work? Are you more concerned with success and a comfortable life or willing to forsake everything for the sake of Christ? (Luke 14:25-33; Philippians 3:7-8) We often think of “forsaking everything” in terms of physical possessions. That’s true, but everything might also include our health, safety, comfort, dreams, and goals.

“Everything” is all-encompassing; it touches every area of our lives. Are you willing to do that? Is Christ worth surrendering everything you’ve ever wanted and everything you might have dreamed to achieve? Is He worth your comfort, safety, and even your life? (Luke 9:23-24; Revelation 12:11)

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Selfish Ambitions

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The more I study God’s Word, the more difficult it becomes for me to justify selfish ambitions of any kind. I believe God instills specific passions, talents, and desires into every person. The catch is He expects us to use all of those things for His glory and to build His Kingdom. (1 Peter 4:10-11; Romans 12:6-8) There is no part of life that should be for our glory or satisfaction. (1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17)

The reason we have the interests we have is so that we can figure out how best to channel those interests to draw others to Christ and put His excellencies on display. All our lives, we’ve been encouraged to follow our dreams and be true to ourselves. Such advice stands opposed to God and His Word.

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What God Is

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When discussing the plight of a hospitalized friend, the wife of Oswald Chambers wondered aloud, “I wonder what God is going to do.” Oswald’s reply was, “I don’t care what God does. It’s what God is that I care about.1David McCasland, Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God: The Life Story of the Author of My Utmost for His Highest (Discovery House Publishers, 1993), 13.” Oh, that we could adopt such wisdom in our lives! How often do we advise God as to the best course of action in our prayers?

First, it’s foolish to think we have the slightest clue about how best to resolve any situation when we have such limited information of the grand scheme of everything. Second, God is going to do what God is going to do, and we should rejoice in that. (Isaiah 46:9-10; Psalm 115:3) After all, He possesses all wisdom, all knowledge, and all power and executes them all with an insatiable and inscrutable love for His children.

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    David McCasland, Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God: The Life Story of the Author of My Utmost for His Highest (Discovery House Publishers, 1993), 13. ↩︎

Turn Our Eyes

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There are many beautiful things we can look at in this life. There are countless ventures we can endeavor to do. But not everything is profitable for us. (1 Corinthians 6:12; 1 Corinthians 10:23) Nothing on earth is worth longing for, because everything on earth will pass away. (1 John 2:17; 2 Peter 3:10-12) No amount of temporal happiness or pleasure is worth sacrificing the riches of eternity. (Mark 8:36-37; 2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

Like the Psalmist, we need to plead with God to turn our eyes from looking at what is worthless. (Psalm 119:37) Our gaze should ever and only be on things above, and not here on earth. (Colossians 3:1-2) Jesus is the priceless prize worth more than everything in this world combined. (Philippians 3:7-8; Matthew 13:44-46) He alone is worth desiring, and He alone is worth your life. (Psalm 73:25-26; Philippians 1:21)

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