Even If i Walk Alone

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

Discipleship

Let It Go

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Chinese philosopher Lin Yutang said, “Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone.  The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.”  Which begs the question, of what do we need to let go to better serve Christ?  What are those things that need to be put aside?

In our modern culture we tend to fill our lives with so much.  We have family commitments, work commitments and personal commitments.  It can be hard to find a moment of peace.  Television, radio, cell phones, the internet (you are reading this online after all!!); so much calls out and begs for our focus and attention.  Entire industries have arisen with the single goal of capturing our attention.  Of course everything looks appealing and it seems like such a good idea at the time.  Suddenly we have overfilled our capacity and overbooked our schedules.  More often than not it is Christ that is the first thing to get squeezed out.  We need to let something go.

Being full of Christ means there is no room for any of this other stuff we may have in our life.  It seems we’ve gotten it backwards.  Our lives are so full that we’ve run out of room for Christ.  I think Satan smiles when He sees this.  He barely had to lift a finger to get our eyes off of Jesus.  He simply had to tempt us with the modern day fruit from the tree of what society has defined as “life”.  We have not only taken a bite, but we have made a feast from this tree.  We grab all we can and eat until we are full.  But where is our first love?  Where is the One who saved us from a life of pointlessness and despair?  He has become the forgotten Man.

We need to go on a diet.  Like all diets, the best ones are those that make slow but steady progress.  Sure, simply casting off all the trappings of modern society all at once may work for awhile, and it may even work permanently for a few.  But by and large, experience and research has shown that lasting results comes from slow but steady changes.  We need to make the shift to being full of Christ and empty of everything else.  We need to be so full of love that it overflows and permeates everything we do.  There is no room for anything other than this in a life fully devoted to Christ.  There is no half way to living a full life; being full is all or nothing.

So what are you full of today?  Is it Christ and His love or is it the pleasures and accomplishments of our culture and society?  What do you need to let go today?  Write a list of everything in your life that is not contributing to the goal of being completely filled by the love of Christ.  Take the time to get it all down on paper.  Now look at your list and pick one item that you will begin eradicating from your life this week; write down a plan for how you will let it go, then execute that plan.  Once this particular item is out of your life, move to the next one on the list and do the same with it.

We all want to live a full life.  The only question is with what will we fill it?  Will it be with self-importance, achievement, popularity, the glitz of Madison Avenue?  Or will it be with the love, humility and gentleness of the love of Jesus Christ?  What will ultimately matter when all is said and done?  What is keeping us from being truly full of Christ today?  It’s time to let it go.

Check Your Balance

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Let’s change.  Let’s do it now.  When we wake up tomorrow, let’s determine to stop wasting our time and effort and start living the life we desire to live.  Let’s stop seeking to serve ourselves and instead serve the one who gave His life for ours.  Let’s determine to fight every temptation and to embrace every opportunity to love and live in the manner Christ demonstrated for us.

To lead the life we desire requires balance.  Satan loves to use our weaknesses to knock us off course.  We need to identify those weaknesses and develop a plan to strengthen those areas of our life.  Some have problems staying focused when they’re tired, others when they’re hungry and others when they lack energy due to their physical conditioning.  If any of these apply to you, or whatever your weak spot might be, it is a simple choice to correct the problem.  Determine to go to bed at a time that will give you 7 or 8 hours of sleep each night.  Eat regular small, healthy meals.  Start walking 30 minutes per day.  As we start to feel in control of our lives, we will see more success in our spiritual life.

All of God’s creation demonstrates balance, and we are certainly no exception.  Once we have achieved balance we can fully and confidently focus on living a life modeled after Christ.  So where do you struggle?  Right now, write down your main area of weakness; if you have multiple areas of weakness, let’s tackle them one at a time.  Now that you’ve identified your weakness, the next step is to write out an action plan to overcome with that weakness.  Be specific; set milestones and goals to measure your progress.  Finally, execute the plan.  Each day you should review your plan and stick with it.  Remember, the whole goal of doing this is to lead a more effective life for Christ.  The wonderful side effect is that as we achieve better and better balance, we will find ourselves living measurably happier lives, lives pleasing to God!

How about you?  Are you willing to do what it takes to get your life in balance and start on the path of more closely following Christ?    We honor Him by restoring balance to our lives.  As our balance improves we will find a richer life waiting for us.  We will find more time to study His word, more time to love others and more time to bask in His peace.  It’s all about focus, and focus is the result of balance.  If you find yourself not living a life focused on Christ, check your balance.  Make corrections where necessary, and do it today.

No Days Off

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I’ve been kicking around an idea for the past several weeks, and think I am finally comfortable enough with it that I need to integrate the principle of it into my life. The concept is simple, yet I believe it can have an incredible impact on the effectiveness of our walk. The concept is simply this: we as Christians are not allowed to take any days off. In fact, it goes deeper than that; we’re not even allowed to take a lunch break. Just as I have long espoused that every second of every minute of every hour of every day we make a choice to follow Christ or turn away from Him, I now am convicted that we must be “on” every second of every minute of every hour of every day.

For too long we have bought into the illusion that we deserve to have everything that Western culture has to offer, and oh by the way, we’ll also follow Christ. This isn’t the call I see in Scripture. Jesus demands that we give up everything and follow Him. We speak our belief to others whenever we are seen by them throughout the day. We speak our belief to God when no one else is around. This covers our actions, thoughts and words at all times, not just some of the time. God never ceases to observe us, and as long as there are other people on this planet, neither will they.

We don’t have the luxury of time. When we meet someone, we must demonstrate the love of Christ and the integrity of our faith to them; we may never get another opportunity. When we are alone, we must always use that time to recharge our spirit by communing with God, practicing spiritual disciplines and resting quietly in Christ – not in front of the latest television phenomenon. There are many things in this world that are inherently neutral – sports, hobbies and entertainment to name a few; but time is not neutral, it will either be used for God or it will be used against God. If we use the time God has given us to indulge in things that do not further His kingdom then we are not living true to our commitment to forsake everything for Him.

Nurture relationships, show love to others. Share a kind word and a few dollars with those in need. Perhaps now more than any time in American history we must realize how quickly our window of opportunity is closing. Our nation is changing and we do not know how long we will enjoy the absolute religious freedom we currently do. We must redeem the time – every second of it. We must work harder to live and love as we told Jesus we would. There are no breaks, there is no time off, but there is a great reward for all who persevere.

Have you seen Him?

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When was the last time you saw Jesus? Better still, when was the last time you actually looked for Him? I’ll bet many of us saw him last Sunday… some may have even caught a glimpse of Him on Wednesday night. Perhaps we volunteered in some church ministry one night this week, and maybe, just maybe, we saw Him then. It almost seems that Western Christianity has determined we can only see Jesus when we are at our local church building. Is this really God’s dwelling place?

When I read the Bible, I don’t see Jesus being found in the local temple very often. More often than not He is wandering the countryside and local villages. He’s hanging out with prostitutes, thieves and liars. He’s touching those we wouldn’t dare to touch: the smelly, the diseased and the dying. I don’t see Jesus on the “right” side of the tracks very often. He’s hanging out with the homeless because, lest we forget, Jesus was homeless as well.

Why do we only look for Jesus in the setting of the church? Even worse, when did the Church become a building of brick and steel? As followers of Christ, we are the Church, not some extravagant, over-priced hunk of stained glass, carpet and wood. We need to be the Church throughout every moment we are alive. We need to look for Jesus everywhere we go, in everyone we come in contact with, and in everything we do.

Look for Jesus at your job, in your neighborhood, in your own house. How might you serve the next person you see? What needs of theirs could you meet? A simple smile, a gentle touch, a kind word can all do wonders for someone who is feeling lonely and lost. We need to go the places Jesus went, hang out with the people He did, and touch others with His love. If we can’t find Jesus anywhere around us, then it’s time we expand our lives and venture further out into the world until we do find Him.

Where will you find Jesus today; where will you look for Him? When you find Him, will you wrap your arms around Him in love? Will you serve Him at any cost simply out of gratitude? Will you do it if He is dressed as a homeless man? Will you do it if He smells or is rude? Will you do it if His skin is a different shade than yours? Our answer must be an unequivocal “Absolutely!”, and it must be backed up with action. Do you long to see Him every day or is Jesus just a guy who’s nice to see on Sunday? If we love Him, we have no choice other than to serve Him in remarkable ways – every day! Look for Jesus. Be the Church.

Be Remarkable

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We need to be remarkable for Jesus. Jesus showed excellence in everything He did; we are called to do the same. What does excellence look like in your life? What would it take to be remarkable in everything you do?

Too often we are content to stroll happily through our days without urgency or passion. As long as the car doesn’t break down, the boss doesn’t yell at us and the dog doesn’t gnaw on yet another piece of furniture, it’s a good day. We grow content, even complacent with our station in life. We take for granted the car, the house, the food, even the family that God has blessed us with and entrusted into our care. Life becomes something that more or less just happens and we float along with the current of the day.

That’s not excellence. There is nothing remarkable about merely drifting in the current. People are dying without Christ every second. People are drowning in depression every day. Hopelessness envelops those around us. We are called to passion and excellence. If we can’t be passionate about living life for Christ, whom we claim is Lord of our life, then about what can we possibly be passionate?

Every task upon which we set our hands to work should be excellent, should produce a “Wow!” upon completion. Jesus never did anything half way. If we are truly his followers we will set about to live our life with unbridled zeal. We will passionately do everything He instructed us to do, and we will do so with excellence. We will produce remarkable results for Him. Our lives will be so remarkable that those around us will be drawn to what we have. We will tell them of our remarkable Lord, and the Holy Spirit will gush from us until everyone we encounter is flooded by the love of Christ. This is what it looks like to live a remarkable life for Christ.

All of creation is remarkable. The birds singing in the morning are remarkable. The sound of water flowing freely over rocks, when everything else is still, is remarkable. You are God’s creation; you are made to be remarkable. Live your passion and do so with excellence. Live remarkably for Christ.