Even If i Walk Alone

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

Faith

Spending Money

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As I write this, another “Black Friday” is fast approaching. In America, the day after people overindulge in stuffing their stomachs, they overindulge in spending money for the upcoming Christmas season. It’s curious how followers of Christ get swept up in the same madness that the world does. I am not pontificating from on high because I am as guilty as anyone else here.

My goal is always to complete my Christmas shopping on that day. But, as the date was approaching this year, the Lord smacked me in the face with Isaiah 55:2. The verse says, “Why do you spend money on what is not food, and your wages on what does not satisfy?” Ouch. Once again, the Word of God leads me to rethink how I am living life.

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Bear Fruit

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The one thing all Christians have in common is that they bear fruit. If there is no fruit in the life of someone, it is because they have no connection to the root of our faith, Jesus Christ. We can discern who the true followers of Christ are by examining the fruit of their lives (Matthew 7:15–20). But what is this fruit we should see? The fruit of the Spirit is the manifestation of Christ’s Lordship over our lives (Galatians 5:22–23).

A man being kind to a beggar, bearing the fruit of his repentance and salvation, a faith that will keep him from Hell.

Fruit is the inevitable result of looking and living like Jesus. People will notice we are different. Fruit-bearers do not capitulate to the culture or seek to change God’s Word to fit their preferences or desires. The fruit of salvation will always glorify God, the source of all that is good and holy (John 15:8).

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Unsung Hero

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Joseph, the husband of Jesus’s mother, is a true unsung hero in the Bible. We don’t know much about him, and he’s easy to overlook when considering the heroes of the faith. But I submit Joseph was a model of obedience to God. Four times God gave Joseph faith-stretching, difficult, and even dangerous assignments, and all four times he not only obeyed, but did so without hesitation or question.

An older man, an unsung hero, praying expressing humility, faith, and obedience to God.

How many times does God’s Word compel us to do something challenging, and we come up with a myriad of excuses while doing everything we can to delay action? We can learn a lot from the faith and obedience of Joseph.

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Faithfulness

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One of my favorite parables is that of the vineyard workers (Matthew 20:1-16), as it provides a great lesson on faithfulness. In it, Jesus tells how a landowner goes to the marketplace early in the morning and hires several workers, agreeing to pay them a denarius for the day’s work. The landowner goes back to the marketplace three times throughout the day, and a last time at 5:00pm to hire additional workers.

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His only promise of wages to any of those was he would pay them “whatever is right.” At 6:00 he instructs his agent to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last hired and moving backwards to the first. Those hired last received a denarius, so when those hired first came to collect their wages, they were thinking they would get more. However, they also received a denarius.

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What God Has Called You To

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Do you know what God has called you to do in this life? Many wrestle with attempting to discern God’s will, but it’s not as hidden or mysterious as many presume. One thing we know for certain is nowhere in God’s Word does He call you to be successful. That should take a load of pressure off you. Let the rest of the world pursue fame, wealth, and notoriety, but that is not what God has called you to.

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His calling is to a different mindset that has nothing to do with the things the culture tells you that you need (1 John 2:15–17). In the same way that our struggle is not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12), neither is our race against flesh and blood (1 Corinthians 9:24–25). Our calling is to surrender, not to compete (Matthew 16:24–25).

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