Even If i Walk Alone

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

commitment

Find Joy

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I’m convinced joy is the key to surviving this life. A world intent on breaking us down has no answer for joy. As the great leader Nehemiah wrote several thousand years ago, “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). Paul recognized the importance of being joyful when he admonished believers to always rejoice in the Lord (Philippians 4:4). It’s still true today.

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No matter what comes your way, when you focus on the love of Christ, you find the strength to carry on. In fact, when you are filled with joy, the trouble doesn’t seem so bad in the first place. Joy not only provides strength when you feel weak but also perspective when you’re feeling overwhelmed. The best part is joy is both free and a limitless supply is available to us.

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Devoted to Christ

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There is a word in the Bible that causes much controversy these days because of its modern English connotation. The word is “slave” and depending on what translation you read may also be translated as servant or bondservant. Given the tensions of our day, the term servant is more palatable than the word slave, but we must recognize when the Bible uses the word, it often does not mean the same thing as it does to us today. For example, in Philippians 1:1, Paul refers to himself and Timothy as slaves of Christ.

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This is not to be construed as anything negative, but as something to which we should all aspire. The Greek word for slaves here is δοῦλος (douloi), which means “pertaining to a state of being completely controlled by someone or something”1Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 471). New York: United Bible Societies.).. Given that definition, I definitely want to be a slave to Jesus. I want my life to be devoted to Christ.

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    Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 471). New York: United Bible Societies.).

Train in Godliness

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In 1 Timothy 4:7-8, Paul exhorts Timothy to train in godliness. That’s a good plan for our lives. Not only is it scriptural, but it is also a necessity in the life of a disciple of Jesus. What better way to spend our days than training in godliness? Each of us devotes our lives to something. We all know what that is for us. It’s where we spend our time, energy, and money.

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And if we aren’t spending those resources on learning more about God and doing the things He commands us to do, what’s the point? What is the measure of our life? But if we spend our resources to train in godliness, we will live a life worth living. We will hear God say to us, “Well done, my good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23).

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No Exceptions

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One thing I love about the Bible is also the same thing that makes me uncomfortable. It’s the fact there are no exceptions to the commandments of God. We don’t get to rationalize about our sin to help us feel better about ourselves. Jesus said He is the way, the truth, and the life, and the only way to have eternal life (John 14:6).

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He didn’t say He was a way; He said He was the way. No exceptions. Jesus didn’t leave any loopholes when He said if we love Him, we will obey Him. He didn’t say we will often obey. He simply said we would obey Him. The implication is we will spend our lives living in obedience to Christ. No exceptions.

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Seek God

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One day, this life is going to end. When it does, everything we’ve accomplished will cease to matter. Just like that. Society teaches us to spend our lives pursuing our goals, becoming successful, and accumulating as much stuff as possible. And none of it will matter a bit. Only what we do for Jesus will remain.

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So why do we spend so much time, money, and effort learning how to manage our time, build our companies, and elevate our profile? None of this has any place in the life of a believer. It’s all idolatry and much of it is sinful. We’d never call it that, but the fact remains. We can ignore and run from the facts now, but when we die, the truth will be laid bare in a way none of us wants to face.

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