Even If i Walk Alone

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

Ephesians

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

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While rehearsing the classic hymn, “Great is Thy Faithfulness”, I found myself asking, “To what is God being faithful?” As I thought through all the ways God shows Himself faithful in my life, it occurred to me that above all, God is faithful to Himself. He is faithful to His character, which does not change (Numbers 23:19). The fact He never wavers to any degree is proof of His faithfulness.

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That He is faithful to Himself assures us He will always be faithful in kindness, goodness, mercy, grace, love, and even in His wrath (James 1:17). God’s faithfulness is great because it is reliable, trustworthy, righteous, and altogether holy. When we sing, “Great is thy faithfulness,” we are praising God for His unchanging character, unwavering love, and unstoppable power.

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Earthly Things

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I’ve written on this topic many times, but I am increasingly convicted of it in my life and burdened by it in the lives of others. To quote Charles Spurgeon, “Do not seek lasting comfort in earthly things.” We all do this every day. We spend our entire lives in pursuit of things of this word. But Jesus admonishes us to set our mind on things above (Colossians 3:1-4). Everything down here will rot, fade, get stolen or lost, or be destroyed (Matthew 6:19-21).

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Nothing lasts. Only what we do for Christ will survive. Only His Kingdom will endure. Yet every day we are living for the temporary garbage instead of the everlasting treasures found in Christ alone. How are we still so dull, deluded, and unwilling to sacrifice what is temporary for the eternal blessings of God?

Most of us still have not mastered the whole “dying to self” thing. When we surrender our life to Jesus, the quest for earthly things comes to an immediate halt. From that moment forward, our lives are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). We belong to Jesus, and as such, our every desire is to serve, please, and glorify Him. Our dreams must die, crucified with everything else on the cross of Christ (Matthew 16:24-26). The new dream is to live a life of total obedience to Jesus (John 14:15). He is our merciful Lord, and it is our honor and privilege to serve Him alone (Romans 6:16).

The corner office, nicest car, success, fame, or even the largest church must no longer be on our radar. Those are bad goals because they all focus on earthly things. We promised to surrender those to Jesus. Once and for all, nail every carnal desire to the cross. Let His blood wash over every prideful thought and craving until your only desire is to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:19-23). The entire point of our life is to know and be known by God (John 17:3). Nothing else matters because nothing else lasts.

Why is it so difficult to let go of the temporary pleasures and rewards of this life when we know what God has for us is infinitely better? Are we so immature and impatient that we cannot delay our desires for what is but a speck on the timeline of eternity to gain all the privileges and blessings that come with being co-heirs with Jesus (Romans 8:16-17)? Why is it so hard to live in light of eternity (Ephesians 5:15-17; 1 Peter 4:7-11)? Granted, we are physical beings, but we are so much more than that. The Spirit of the living God lives inside of us. Don’t ignore the yearning of that spirit to commune with God (Romans 8:26-27).

Accumulating earthly things comes at a price. Every moment spent in their pursuit, and even worshipping them, is a moment not spent giving glory to God. Having an abundance of earthly things isn’t a sin. The Lord may bless you with much on this earth to facilitate His plans. But we should never seek after them. We should never find our identity or worth in them (Matthew 6:19-21). Instead, we should seek first God’s Kingdom, God’s will, and God’s glory (Matthew 6:31-33). If we do, we will spend eternity with Him and have more than we could ever ask or imagine because we will have Jesus Himself (John 14:2-3; Ephesians 3:20-21). There is nothing better than that.

Revival Starts Within

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Why do we get so angry when those without Christ commit sinful acts and implement sinful policies? They are unrepentant sinners. What else would we expect them to do? A better question is why aren’t we who know Christ more angry with our lack of devotion and actions for His Kingdom? It’s very easy to see the specks in the eyes of others but difficult to notice the logs in our own eyes (Matthew 7:3-5).

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Our world is spiraling into evil and darkness, causing no small amount of hand-wringing from those of us who long to see all people repent and acknowledge Jesus as the Lord He is. While it is right to call out sin intending to point people to Christ, we must never forget that any revival must first begin in the hearts of God’s people.

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Crossing the Line

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When I was younger, I remember a popular question asked in youth groups was, “How far can I go?” How far was too far, and when were we crossing the line into sin? I think we ask the same questions as adults. When does the joke go too far? How far should we push our political agenda before it overtakes our spiritual commitment? When do movie scenes or song lyrics go too far? As married people, when does being friendly cross the line into flirtatious?

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In so many areas of our lives, it seems we are determined to push right up to the edge of sin, but back off before crossing the line. Where is that proverbial and perhaps mythical line? Is there an actual line or is it just in our heads? Finally, shouldn’t Christians be far more concerned with fleeing from temptation than with how close they can get to “the line”?

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Thus Says the Lord

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In many places in scripture we read the phrase, “Thus says the Lord”, or for those of us who grew up with the King James Version of the Bible, “Thus Saith the Lord”. In fact, it occurs over 400 times (Exodus 4:22-23, Jeremiah 2:2, Ezekiel 37:5, to name a few) throughout Scripture. God spoke His Word through the prophets and apostles so we would always know His truth and His commands.

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The question is, what will we do with what the Lord said? It not only defines how we will live today, but determines our eternal destiny. We cannot have everlasting life unless we love God, and if we love Him, we will obey His Word (John 14:15). For disciples of Jesus, “Thus says the Lord” becomes our guardrails and keeps our paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).

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