Even If i Walk Alone

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

Bible study

An Obsession with Jesus

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I want to live having an obsession with Jesus. Every time I have a spare moment, I want to fill it with prayer, studying His Word, memorizing scripture, or telling someone about the love, mercy, and grace of Christ. We all live with an obsession for something, so why not have an obsession with Jesus? Deep down, we all have those activities and desires that are constantly calling to us.

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After a long day at work, what is that thing you want to do when you can unplug from your responsibilities and commitments? That thing is probably your obsession, what you would devote your time to if only you could. For most of us, that thing is not Jesus, and for those of us who declare Him Lord, that fact should shame us.

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Indulging in Entertainment

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In the last post, “The Relevance of the Church”, we discussed how entertainment has crept into our churches and dramatically changed what a service looks like. While most churches start with the goal of submitting to the Lordship of Christ and being a living demonstration of His life, over time, it is common for churches to become the sum of the people attending. They begin to reflect the whims and preferences of those who come through the doors rather than maintaining a rigorous adherence to Biblical teaching and structure.

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This means if we want to have more Christ-like churches, each of us must become more Christ-like in our lives. Don’t wish your church was better. Focus on becoming more Christ-like yourself. Our churches are obsessed with entertaining the masses because of our penchant for indulging in entertainment in our personal lives. If enough of us would take the call of Christ seriously by consuming our thoughts with Him instead of earthly pleasures and desires, our churches would once again be the light and refuge that our world needs.

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A Deeper Dive into Personal Holiness

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Anyone who is paying attention will know our churches are becoming increasingly weak and ineffective. Leadership that is lacking in theological depth and understanding is certainly rampant, but perhaps the bigger problem is the lack of personal holiness among the congregation. Although it is the pastor’s job to exposit and explain the Word each time he steps behind the pulpit, pursuing Christ on a day-to-day basis is the responsibility of every attendee.

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Without such a commitment, the finest preacher or most gifted shepherd will not be able to lead a group of believers into a deeply committed relationship with Christ. Each of us bears the responsibility of seeking to know and obey our savior better. For this reason, I want to do a brief but deeper dive into personal holiness.

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Disciplined

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When it comes to self-discipline, I see myself as more disciplined than many, but less disciplined than I should be. Reflecting on my life, I find I am now more disciplined than at other times in my life and less disciplined than at others. All this to say that self-discipline is a challenge we must constantly address and perhaps never fully master.

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And yet it is key not only to a productive life but to living life in a manner that glorifies and pleases our Lord. To be disciplined in ways that do not promote our spiritual growth may be noble pursuits, but in the end, they won’t count for anything. The only discipline worth pursuing is that which brings us closer to Christ and molds us into His image.

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Time to Pray

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After hitting the snooze button a couple of times, I found myself running late on a day that already held more to do than there were available hours. As I swung my legs over the bed, in my mind, I began rehearsing the day to come. Trying to schedule each piece mentally, I hit a jarring thought. Thinking of everything I had to do, I thought, “…and I need to squeeze in time to pray.” That may be one of the worst thoughts my brain has ever contemplated.

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Squeeze time in to pray? The Holy Spirit immediately convicted me of how wrong my thinking was at that moment. I anchor each of my days by doing nothing before spending time in God’s Word and praying. I know nothing sets me up for failure more than neglecting those priorities. And yet, here I was contemplating squeezing in the time to pray.

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