Even If i Walk Alone

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

Faith

Betting the Farm on Jesus

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As I began gathering my thoughts and praying about my goals for next year, I suddenly became aware of a very obvious but often underlying point. Everything I am considering, the core around which I am planning every action, is Jesus Christ. I have reached a point in my life where this is becoming as natural as breathing to me. No longer am I making plans based on what my whims and desires might be or setting my aspirations on making a significant amount of money. No, everything revolves around Jesus. My dreams are to do things that will draw others to him. My joy comes from the thought of freeing the oppressed and seeing the name of Jesus taught to all nations and people groups. I don’t say this to point out how much I’ve grown (indeed I would argue that having been a Christian for thirty-seven years now, my progress has been ridiculously slow), but rather to say that if Jesus is not who He said He was, I am basing my life on foundation of deceit and empty words. In other words, I’m betting the farm on Jesus.

I’ve been asked how I could possibly believe the things I do. The whole story seems rather fantastic and rather imaginary, does it not? I have also been told that it takes a lot of faith to believe the way I do. As Steve Taylor once penned in a lyric, “Don’t you know by now why the chosen are few? It’s harder to believe than not to.” It’s far easier to dismiss the Biblical message and the Gospel as a fanciful story written by suspicious men of days long past. It’s easier to live a life that is accountable to no one other than yourself. Who wouldn’t enjoy the thought that we should indulge in all of the best this world has to offer? Christianity is viewed as an archaic set of rules meant to limit our freedom and subject us to judgment. Couple this with a beginning that ultimately cannot be proven, and we see why so many laugh in the face of the Gospel.

I believe that reality is the exact opposite. While the story is truly fantastic, it is no less plausible and actually far more logical than any alternative the world has offered. When accurately studied, the whole of evolution is untenable and hopelessly ridiculous. I find that it takes far more faith to believe in the magic circumstances of primordial ooze and it’s equally fortuitous progression into human kind than it does to believe in creation by a loving God who possesses intelligence far superior to our own. I find the sacrifice of Christ on man’s behalf hard to fathom from the standpoint of what we deserve, but also see it in perfect harmony with the character of God revealed in Scripture. The last thing I find in a life of following Jesus is a lack of freedom. I have never felt so free or at peace as when I am seeking Him. I never found freedom in anything the world offered, only temporary satisfaction that was quickly exchanged for long term bondage. That is not freedom! The so-called rules of Christianity are actually things we choose to do out of love for our Lord. We don’t give up or miss out on anything. Instead we bask in the glory of the love of Jesus. I have seen Him answer prayer; I have lived a life that defies explanation outside of Divine intervention. I am not sorry for, nor doubtful of, what I believe.

So I’m all in. I am betting the farm on the truth of the claims of Jesus Christ. My life will mean nothing outside of Him. Every step I take, I take with the intent to follow Him. My goals and aspirations revolve around continuing His mission. My passion is to become the person He created me to be so that I might express His love to others and work for His justice in a broken and hurting world. This allows me to face the future with an invigorated attitude and confident direction.

In what are you placing your faith? Do you have a firm foundation on which to build your life? Are you convinced that Jesus is who He said He was? True hope, true freedom, are found only in Christ. Decide today to follow Him and give Him all of your life. Your dreams and desires are safe with God. Like me, you can feel confident on betting the farm on Jesus Christ.

Risk vs. Reward

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No matter how you stack it up, life is a never ending adventure. Each day we have the opportunity to rewrite the script, to change our course and to seek new challenges. In the free nations of our world, we have the privilege of achieving high levels of success and acquiring great wealth. We can do all of these things without giving much thought to the spiritual side of life; so we risk squandering the most incredible opportunity of all, the chance to know God personally, to enjoy an intimate relationship with the one who created us. Many are afraid that if they give their lives to Christ that they will have to give up too much of what they have worked to obtain. They are afraid they will be required to sacrifice their lifestyle, their friends and their activities. The price simply seems too high.

What if we risked it all? What if we determined to live our lives full throttle for Jesus Christ? If we threw ourselves into the teeth of life with reckless abandon and didn’t care what we might lose, how then might we impact the world? Two thousand years ago, one man and twelve of his followers literally altered the course of human history forever. One man’s influence has permeated through every generation that has come after Him. A small handful of ordinary souls who devoted their lives to following Him spread His message throughout the world and thereby continued the mission to which they had been called. They risked everything; they suffered persecution, torture and even death. All this they deemed worth the cost because they knew if they endured for God’s sake, He would reward them with eternal rest and peace in His kingdom. They were willing to lose everything they had achieved and acquired for the sake of continuing the mission of Jesus Christ. They risked it all and lost everything of temporal value, yet they gained everything that could be gained; they got Jesus.

If the price still seems too high for you, that’s okay; you don’t have to pay it. You don’t have to risk everything and follow Jesus. You can continue life as you know it, acquiring more and achieving greater and greater success. You can pile up cash, purchase expensive toys and take exotic vacations. You can absolutely live your life totally devoid of anything to do with Jesus and thereby not risk losing everything you now possess. That’s great news, right? Here’s the problem. By refusing to risk it all, you are guaranteed to lose everything. This truth is spelled out very plainly in Scripture (Matthew 16:24, 25). If you are not willing to risk it all, you are assured of losing everything. You can gain all that this world has to offer and in the end it will be taken from you, you’ll be stripped naked, and you will be left alone. You will suffer an eternity that is absent of God, absent of love, and absent of redemption. You will lose it all because you were unwilling to risk everything for the person and cause of Jesus Christ. This is reality, and it is your future if you continue down the path the world chooses. What will you decide?

The risk of following Jesus is nothing compared to the certainty of not following. We can risk it all and thereby gain everything. Or, we can play it safe and lose it all. These are the two choices that we have in life, there is nothing else. You can’t risk a little and hope to gain a little in return, perhaps just enough to guarantee your comfort. It simply doesn’t work this way. Jesus said that if you are not for Him then you are against Him (Matthew 12:30). What is the greater risk, to give your life to Christ or to stand in opposition to Him? I assure you if you oppose the God of the universe, you will lose every time. It’s a no win situation, so why would you even want to go there? You can’t keep putting off your choice, because today may be the last day that you have the opportunity to choose. None of us has any guarantee of tomorrow (James 4:14). You must make the choice today, and it affects more than the rest of your life; it affects your eternity. Again I ask, what will you decide? Will you play it safe and hope for the best, and by doing so lose everything you have and all hope for salvation? Or will you risk it all, throwing yourself with abandon into the mission of Christ, no matter the cost, and gain life? The price is great and the risk is heavy, but the reward is beyond measure.

Will You Give Up Your Life?

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A few days ago Al Qaeda terrorists stormed a church in Iraq and held hostage those who were gathered there. An attempt to free them by the police turned deadly and as I write this the number of those killed is fifty-two. Many more were injured and may not survive. I lead with this to remind us all that while this blog deals with the spiritual side of things, there is a very real physical element to our decision to follow Jesus. While spiritual warfare rages around us unseen, the implications of that very battle are manifested in human lives at every moment. It is said here often: following Jesus is difficult and not for the faint of heart; what perhaps isn’t said enough is that following Jesus can be deadly.

We should expect nothing less, for when we decide to follow in the footsteps of Christ we know where they eventually lead. Jesus steadfastly and purposefully walked to His own death on a cross. I hope you have not been deceived into believing that following Jesus would lead to a life of prosperity, health and the comforts of all this world has to offer. Sorry, but that’s not in the program. Jesus said that we must give up everything for His sake and that we must be willing to lay down our lives for Him, just as he did for us. He told us we would have no place to call home here on earth, and that we would face trial and persecution. None of this should come as a surprise or a shock. Yet every day Christians live in oblivious bliss, confident in their confession of faith, while blindly ignoring what it means to follow Jesus.

It is sobering to hear of the slaughter and torture of our Christian brothers and sisters. We become pensive and introspective. But for those of us who are able to do something about the injustice, we must do more that reflect; we must act. If you live in the West, you are blessed beyond all measure. We are richer than any people that have come before us. We have the ways and we have the means to come to the aid of our brothers and sisters in need. We have the technology and the know-how to proclaim the gospel to lands that forbid us to do so. We have been given so much and therefore much is required of us. We have grown comfortable and lazy in our homes and cities. We have lost the stomach to fight for the orphans, the windows and for justice. Now is the time to must rise up and fight for the name of Jesus. We must take a stand and proclaim His love and His message to all peoples, regardless of the cost to our own lives. If we are not willing to forsake everything, to lose our very lives, then how dare we call ourselves followers of Christ?

These are not easy words, but they also are not new. Look again at what Jesus told us to do. We are to go into all the world to teach others about Him. Yet two thousand years after He gave this command, a third of the world still has never heard His name or experienced His love. What excuse do we have for this? We are not doing enough. Christians around the world are giving their lives for the sake of continuing His mission, and we in the West are content to build buildings and insulate ourselves from all that is happening around us. God forgive us.

What are we to do? Pray diligently and confess our apathy. Weep before God, acknowledge our weakness and beg for the courage to run the race He has set before us. We travel a road that leads to physical death but spiritual life. We must not waver; the mission is too important. Too many have not heard, and it is up to us to tell them; if not us, then who? If not now, then when? We who bear the blood of Jesus must not shy away from shedding our own blood for the sake of His kingdom. The responsibility is ours, and it is great. Together we must carry our cross into the world to continue the mission of Christ. We must not grow weary, because we cannot fail.

Making the Big Decisions

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The biggest decision you will ever make in your life is whether or not to become a follower of Jesus. Beyond this, everything else trivially pales. Still, we will face many difficult choices throughout our lives. How can we be certain we are making the correct decision? Asking whether or not we are making the right choice is the wrong question; we should be most concerned with whether or not we are making a wise choice. The Bible tells us to ask for wisdom, and this is what is genuinely needed most when determining what we should do. We should seek the counsel of others, trusted individuals who have walked the path before us and have experience in the matters we are dealing with. Don’t ask broke people for financial advice or a single person for marital advice. You need to inquire of people who have been where we are and successfully navigated the storms in order to benefit from their experiences. Pray diligently for wisdom and peace concerning your decision. You may not ever hear a definite, unmistakable answer in your heart; but then again you just might! The Holy Spirit works within each believer to prompt us in the way we should go. We simply need to learn to be still and receptive to His leading. Ask others to pray on your behalf as well. Joining together in prayer around a common issue is powerful and one of the great and thrilling mysteries of God.

God created us as agents of free will. He has bestowed on us the honor and privilege of making our own choices. While there are certainly times in life where it would be great to just throw up our hands and have God make the decision for us, we recognize that life would be far less exciting if everything were dictated by someone else. Even though we are free to choose which direction we will go, we must realize that the path that leads to Christ is always the one we should take. Every decision has some spiritual element to it. We need to ask ourselves which choice will lead us closer to God, reflect His glory, or serve someone else in love. Learning to consider our choices in life through this spiritual lens will assist in making decisions far easier. If the choice in question involves money, which outcome will result in you being a better steward of God’s resources? If the decision is about a commitment of time, which choice will allow you to best utilize the number of hours to be spent doing kingdom work? When deciding between two potential job offers, determine which position will allow you to make a bigger impact in the lives of others for Christ. Again, every decision has a spiritual element. It is very important that we take the time to discover the implications of each choice in regards to our commitment to follow Jesus. The wise decision will always be the one that best positions us to serve others with the love of Christ. It may require temporary sacrifice, but it will reap eternal rewards.

We tend to get caught up in how our decisions affect us here and now in this present world. Instead, we should learn to make choices based on their effect in God’s eternal kingdom. This will remove much of the stress and trepidation we feel when faced with monumental decisions. It should never be about how choices will affect our own lives, but rather how they will affect the lives of those we are called to serve. Pray for wisdom and seek the counsel of others. Look at each choice through a spiritual lens; what makes the most sense for promoting the kingdom of God and His glory? Once we take the focus off of ourselves, the big decisions in life seem far smaller and we are able to move forward, confident that we are following in the footsteps of Jesus.

The Power of God

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What if we were to suddenly cease trying to do everything in our own strength? It is common in the Western world to strive to become all we can be, to set goals and have wild aspirations. We are taught from an early age that we deserve to have the best that life has to offer, and these things can be ours if we will only work harder than everyone else. We are bombarded by advertising that encourages us to reach for the gold and shoot for the stars, and so we set out to get our fair share of all that is good in the world. Even those of us who profess to be Christians can get caught up in this whirlwind of seeking self-satisfaction. We may couch it in spiritual terminology and demonstrate it by our countless works of charity, but still we are doing these things with little use of God’s power. Humans are a remarkable creation; we have been given the mental prowess and physical capabilities to achieve great things. How often do we stop to contemplate how small our power is when compared to the Holy God of the universe? What might we accomplish for Him if we would but abandon everything and trust solely in His power?

Too often we muddy our life message by determining to follow Jesus and then attempting to do so by our own plans and means. Sure, we’ll pray for wisdom here and a blessing there, but too often these are cursory prayers that lack focus and true devotion. The way we operate should be the exact opposite. While it is somewhat antithetical to our culture, it is critical that we spend great amounts of time alone with God, crying out to Him in desperation. We must let Him know that we realize we are nothing without Him. In our own strength we can accomplish very little. We may be a great planner and an overachiever, but there is nothing we can do on our own that comes remotely close to the smallest thing we can do through His power. A life lived in reckless abandonment to Jesus Christ is a life that will shake the world with the love of Jesus.

What exactly does it mean to live a life with reckless abandon for Jesus? It means coming to the point where we recognize that our best efforts lack vitality and pale in comparison to His majestic power. It means ceasing every attempt to accomplish something on our own. Instead of working diligently and praying for His blessing, we must pray diligently and be blessed by His working. Don’t confuse what I’m saying as being an excuse to be lazy and to do no work. Following Jesus is indeed difficult work, but it’s the kind of work that leaves one feeling well satisfied at the end of the day. We simply need to become a people who pray first and act second. We often get this reversed. Instead of trying to figure out how to overcome insurmountable odds, we need to simply move forward in prayer, trusting that God in His power will remove the obstacles from our path. As long as we are following in the footsteps of Jesus, living as He lived and serving others for the sake of the Kingdom, our path will be straight before us. Nothing can stand in the wake of God.

His power is available for our consumption right now. He is waiting to live through you. A true follower of Christ not only has Jesus walking with them, but they have the Spirit of God working through them. We have spent too much of our lives relegating Jesus to the passenger seat, or worse yet, the back seat. It is high time we handed Him both the wheel and the keys. Nothing we will ever do on our own can match what He will do through us. Begin today to seek time alone with Him every day, the longer the better. Cry out in desperation to Him, confess your knowledge of how weak and powerless you are. Ask Him to pour His Spirit into your life until you overflow with His glory and love. Walk in His power and leave all the details to Him. A life fully surrendered to Jesus is a life that will change this world.