Even If i Walk Alone

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

2 Timothy

A Life Worthy of the Gospel

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Throughout the New Testament, we are exhorted to live a life worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. To be certain, this is the goal of every believer. When we meet our Master, we want to hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23). Like Paul, we want to say, “We have fought the good fight and finished the race” (2 Timothy 4:7).

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But for many of us, it’s an elusive goal. We know we want it but aren’t too sure how to get there. What does it mean to live a life worthy of the gospel? Fortunately, God’s Word is very clear on what this looks like. It gives us a blueprint for how to conduct ourselves in the here and now, so we need not be ashamed when we meet Christ.

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Test the Spirits

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1 John 4 begins with a somewhat curious phrase. John encourages the hearers of his letter to “test the spirits”. First, this implies there are many spirits. In our churches today, it is common to hear about the Holy Spirit, but there is often little attention paid to the other spirits in our world. We ignore these other spirits at our peril. Behind every false teaching, you will find a demonic source.

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Yes, demons are real. They exist and flood the spiritual realm surrounding us. When we go along with false teaching, we are following demons. How’s that for a sobering thought? If we are not careful in examining the teaching we are listening to, there is a very good chance we aren’t being taught God’s truth at all. Instead of growing in our faith, we are opening our minds to demonic influences.

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A Meditation on Psalm 121

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What do you do when worry overtakes you? Where do you turn? The author of Psalm 121 knew the answer. He lifted His eyes towards Heaven and knew His help came from the Lord (Psalm 121:1-2). We must never forget this truth when the troubles of life threaten to overwhelm us. The very One who made all of Heaven and the earth is an ever-present help in our times of need and distress (Psalm 46:1-3).

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God never leaves or abandons us (Deuteronomy 31:6). If God is for us, no person or circumstance can stand against us (Romans 8:31-32). Jesus defeated death itself on our behalf (2 Timothy 1:10; John 11:25; Hebrews 2:14-15; Revelation 1:17-18). There is no longer a reason to fear anything. It’s difficult to feel overwhelmed when you are fearless!

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Pledging Allegiance

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There was a time when I was a news and politics junkie. I spent hours devouring articles and newscasts, not to mention the countless time I spent engaged in passionate debate with those who had opinions different from my own. As I’ve drawn closer to Christ and have come to better understand His mission and the role I have in it, I have left those old pursuits in the past.

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A pivotal verse for me was 2 Timothy 2:3-4 which states Christians should not entangle themselves in the affairs of this world. The only nation we belong to is the nation of God. We are His people regardless of what piece of land we might find ourselves temporarily occupying.
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Safe Prayers

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Reading through Jefferson Bethke’s book, “Jesus>Religion”, I was struck by his comment that too many Christians say “safe” prayers. Let me give you a couple of examples of what I mean by “safe” prayers. When we pray for missionaries or those facing persecution, we tend to pray for their safety. Pastors pray for the safety of those with them before doing an outreach event in some more dangerous parts of town. The problem is I never see Jesus, His disciples, or anyone in the early church praying for safety. Where did we get this model? I propose we start praying different prayers, prayers that are more aligned to what Jesus taught, and prayers that are far more relevant and powerful.

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