Even If i Walk Alone

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

commitment

Serve the Lord

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The single focus of our lives must be to serve the Lord. We know this is God’s will for everyone because the greatest commandment given by God is to love the Lord with all your heart, strength, mind, and soul (Mark 12:28-31; Deuteronomy 6:5). Everything we do for Him is an act of worship to Him. This is easy to understand but very hard for us to do on a consistent basis, every hour of every day of our lives.

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We get tired, frustrated, discouraged, and if we’re honest with ourselves, we get selfish. Our selfish desires are the greatest impediment to living a life that is wholly devoted to Christ. Paul encourages us in this way: “Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord” (Romans 12:11). This should be the mantra that drives us all.

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What You Deserve

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Are you getting what you deserve from life? It’s easy to see life as being unfair and from a human perspective, that’s true. When I was young, my mother even told me that life is not fair, so never expect it to be so. If life isn’t fair, then how can you get what you deserve? That question drives many to operate outside the law, or at least in questionable or unethical ways.

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With advertising serving an unrelenting barrage of messages encouraging us to purchase their product because we deserve it, it only feeds our obsession. But what is the reality of what any of us deserve? As with all things, we must start with the Word of God when looking for answers to any of life’s questions. When we start there, we find the only thing any of us deserves is Hell (Romans 6:23; Matthew 25:46).

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Whatever the Cost

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How many times have you read that to follow Jesus, you must pick up your cross daily (Luke 9:23)? How many times have I written those words? Every Christian acknowledges their faith requires them to pick up that cross, but have you ever taken the time to understand the full ramifications of that commitment? We say we’ll follow Jesus whatever the cost, but did you ever stop to calculate that cost?

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If you’re like me, you often think of Christians who face persecution for their faith. We swear we will never deny our Lord, no matter how much pressure or abuse we must suffer. That’s an important place to come to in your growth as a Christian, but how about when the cost is not so high or obvious? Will you still follow Him no matter what (Matthew 10:38-39)?

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A Living Sacrifice

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Are you living your life as a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1)? It is what God commands us to do, but how many of us understand what this means, much less are doing it? Jesus gave His life for us, a perfect sinless sacrifice for every sin we have ever or will ever commit. His death was the sacrifice needed to assuage God’s wrath over our sins (Isaiah 53:5-6; 1 John 2:2; Romans 5:8-9).

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His sacrifice became the model for how each of us is to conduct their lives (1 Peter 2:21; Ephesians 5:1-2). We aren’t perfect and never will be. At the same time, we are called to be holy, just as He is holy (Leviticus 11:45; 1 Peter 1:15-16). There aren’t some commands of God that we can take seriously and others we can disregard. If we love Him, we will keep all His commands (John 14:15; 1 John 2:3-6).

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Your Approval

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As followers of Christ, we spend our lives pursuing obedience to His commands (John 14:15). Our love for Him compels us to live lives of obedience not because we must, but because it is the deep desire of our hearts. It’s easy to focus on the things you are doing do but ignore the things receiving your approval. We avoid the obvious sins but fail to recognize that approving of the sinful behavior of others is just as much a sin as if we were committing those acts ourselves (Romans 1:32).

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We are not to have any association with the darkness in our world (Ephesians 5:11; 2 Corinthians 6:14-17). It’s not enough to be separate in our behavior but also in our associations and to be mindful of that which receives our support and blessing.

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