Even If i Walk Alone

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

Acts

Your Mindset

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I like black and white. Black and white is simple; it has no need for nuance. There is truth and there are lies. There is wrong and there is right. Paul pulls out another black-and-white issue in the eighth chapter of his letter to the Church in Rome (Romans 8:1-11). In these verses, Paul talks about how we all have one of two mindsets. We either have the mindset of life or the mindset of death.

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That’s about as black and white as it gets. On the surface, the choice seems obvious: do you want life or death? While the choice on paper is easy, aligning our lives with that choice is much more challenging. Every decision you make feeds into your mindset, so we must be careful with every decision, big or small.

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The Day After

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As Christians, we make much of Christmas Day, and for good reason. Only once in history did God come to earth as a human baby, born of a virgin, and destined to die on our behalf (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22-23; Luke 2:10-11). Never had God set aside His glory to take on human flesh (John 1:14; Philippians 2:5-8). Never had a virgin conceived (Luke 1:34-35).

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Best of all, never did we have such grace poured out on men that though we will all die, through Christ we may yet live (Romans 6:23; John 11:25-26). When we celebrate Christmas, we celebrate all this, and so much more. One day each year, we put aside our selfishness and marvel at the miracle of Jesus’s birth and all its future implications. But what about the day after Christmas?

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We Love Sin

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Did you ever wonder why the world hates Christianity, and by extension, Christ so much? The world doesn’t care if you’re a Muslim, Buddhist, or Hindu, but a Christian? That’s unacceptable. Years ago, Matthew Henry wrote, “Christ is hated because sin is loved.” Deep down, we all know that’s true. We love sin (John 3:19). Even those of us who follow Christ and reject sin know that our affection for it never goes away (Romans 7:15-20).

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Our natural desire from birth is to sin, to follow the patterns of this world, and to resist anything that would restrict our freedom to pursue sin (Ephesians 2:1-3). I’m uncomfortable with even the thought that I might love sin, and it’s difficult to write it in such a public place. But if we didn’t love sin, we would not struggle to follow the commands of God (Romans 7:21-24).

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The Price of Salvation

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Prices for everything keep going up at a pace that is more than nauseating. In my whole life, I don’t think I ever remember anyone saying, “I can’t believe the price of everything keeps dropping!” Inflation is high and the cost of living is even higher. But one price that has never changed is the price of salvation. It was always free, is free today, and will always be free (Ephesians 2:8-9).

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It’s the greatest bargain in the world and almost no one is talking about it. When you find a good deal on anything, the first thing you want to do is share it. Why isn’t it the same with the incredible gift of salvation through Christ?

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The Hardest Part

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From the research I’ve done on persecution, the hardest part is not the persecution itself, but the preparation before it begins. Standing firm in the face of pain or injustice is a small thing if one dedicates their life to living in full obedience and surrender to Christ (Philippians 1:27-28). The hard work comes before. The real difficulty is the lifetime of saying no to the pleasures and temptations of this world.

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There are countless stories of people persevering through hard times. But how many examples can you recount of people putting aside their dreams, passions, and desires so they can devote themselves to Christ? How many people are dying to themselves every day and picking up their cross (Luke 9:23)?

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