Even If i Walk Alone

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

Deuteronomy

All the Way

by

Early in the book of Judges, we see Israel falling into a pattern of sin that continues to plague each of us today. In Judges 1:28, we read that, in opposition to God’s command (Deuteronomy 7:1-2; Deuteronomy 20:15–16), Israel neglected to drive out the peoples of the promised land completely. They stopped short of what God commanded them to do. The Lord told Israel to eradicate the idolatrous people from the land. If they didn’t, the people might tempt them to follow other gods.

all the way,commitment,discipleship,devotion,all in,full out,stop short

Israel drove out most of the people, but they stopped short of going all the way. They became complacent and figured what they had done was good enough. But stopping short of complete obedience to God is never good enough. It shows a lack of faith, a lack of commitment, laziness, or perhaps all the above. What it does not reflect is a sold-out devotion to Jesus.

[Read more…] about All the Way

Jesus is Better

by

Jesus is better than anything for which you’d live. No amount of success, money, or fame compares to the richness of knowing Christ. Fame is fleeting, success dies with you, and money always winds up in the hands of someone else. Jesus is everlasting, life with Him is just getting started when we die, and He will never leave us (Deuteronomy 31:6). By every measure, Jesus is better. We spend our lives searching for some place to call home and for some experience to bring us happiness at last.

Jesus is better,passion,love,commitment,faith

A house, no matter how splendid, will not necessarily make you feel at home, and happiness is not the same thing as joy. For those who serve Jesus, to be away from here is to be at home with Christ (2 Corinthians 5:6-8). In His arms, we will find true joy, something exponentially better than momentary happiness. And we will find worth and purpose that transcends our circumstances and what anyone else might think or say about us.

[Read more…] about Jesus is Better

Surrender to God

by

God is not calling us to impurity (I Thessalonians 4:7). Nor is He calling us to be fearful (II Timothy 1:7). Why then do we spend so much of our time pursuing sinful things and living in fear? Is it we do not understand our calling or do we just not care? I’m not convinced there is a third option, and neither of the choices is good! This thought alone should drive us to our knees.

surrender to God,discipleship,commitment,love,God's Kingdom,Kingdom of God

If we are not living for Jesus, for what then are we living? Perhaps a better way to ask this is if Christ isn’t worthy of our lives, who or what is? Why are we not living our lives running away from sin and full of courage? Both are possible if we would only surrender to God.

[Read more…] about Surrender to God

Opposition

by

Opposition means nothing to a person determined to follow God. If you set your mind on loving, living, and looking like Jesus, you will desire to do His will. Nothing else will matter, only Jesus. When you surrender to Christ, your desires will change. Your life will no longer be about yourself. It will be about God and others. But a life like this is only if you want it, and make no mistake, it will cost you.

opposition,commitment,God's will,mission

The devil sees your surrender to Christ as an open invitation to attack. You will find opposition at every turn. it’s probably time to check the level of your commitment to Christ if you aren’t facing opposition in your life. Jesus promised us we would have trouble in this world (John 16:33). If you aren’t experiencing it now, know that it is coming.

[Read more…] about Opposition

Fight Back

by

As countries around the world face great upheaval, we must remember the weapons of our warfare look nothing like those of the world (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). Where I live, righteous indignation often results in violence begetting violence. Christians are angry and want to fight back against the forces coming against them. It’s understandable and natural. But it is natural only in the context of the old self we put away when we gave our lives to Jesus (Ephesians 4:22-23).

fight back,humility,love,mission,prayer,spiritual weapons

Our new nature looks like Jesus (Ephesians 4:24), so we now must fight back in the way He modeled for us. We fight back by immersing ourselves in the Word of God, praying for our enemies, and loving everyone as ourselves. It all seems counter-intuitive, but this is what Jesus taught us to do.

[Read more…] about Fight Back