Even If i Walk Alone

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

Fear

We Belong to the Lord

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Our only hope in this world is knowing we belong to God. If we were on our own, the weight and struggles of this life would crush us. The pressure would annihilate us. But thanks be to God, we are not alone. We are not our own. The life we live, we live because of Jesus and for Jesus.

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Paul reminds us in Romans 14:7-8 that whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Our purpose for living is to do the work of our Lord. And when we die, we die for Him, having run the race and doing all He has given us to do (2 Timothy 4:7-8). This is our hope: we belong to the Lord.

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Hold Fast

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A question I often hear pastors and writers ask is, “If you knew Jesus was coming tomorrow, how would you live today?” The best answer I ever saw or heard in response to this question was from John Wesley. He said he would live it as he has every other day, practicing the disciplines of his spiritual life. What an amazing testimony! We should all aspire to give such an answer. Tragically, few of us can answer in this way.

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As the days grow darker and the return of our Savior draws nearer, it becomes urgent we prepare now to meet our Lord. While so many of us play around and dabble with Christianity, I can assure you Jesus will not be playing when He returns. If we don’t hold fast to our faith today, what makes us think we will be ready to meet Him tomorrow?

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Fear God

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Why do you fear God? Perhaps a better first question to ask is, do you fear God? Scripture commands us many times to live in the fear of God (Deuteronomy 6:13; 1 Samuel 12:24; Proverbs 9:10; 2 Corinthians 5:11; Philippians 2:12-13; 1 Peter 2:17; Revelation 14:7). So, it’s not a question of whether we should, but imperative that we must. With all the sermons teaching God is love these days, it may seem a bit out of step to be talking about fearing God. Humans do not typically fear those we love.

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But God is not just someone else we love. He is the holy, righteous, and glorious Creator of the Universe, the Lord of lords, and the King of kings. God is indeed the highest expression of love. John told us this plainly in his epistle to the Church (1 John 4:8). However, we do not serve a one-dimensional God. Every emotion is magnified and perfected in Him. Thus, jealous, zealous, and righteous anger are also part of who He is. To quote Jonathan Edwards, “… it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”.

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Spiritual Maturity

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What does it take to rob you of your joy? Are you joyful when things are going well but less so when troubles come? You can know joy every day of your life, no matter what you are going through. It is possible to live in joy in every circumstance. John MacArthur once wrote, “One of the surest measures of our spiritual maturity is what it takes to rob us of our spirit-bestowed joy”. A spiritually immature person will find their joy in a constant ebb and flow, coming over them in waves, but drifting away just as easily.

spiritual maturity,priorities,commitment,discipleship,fear,discouragement

So, if we want a joy that does not leave us, we need to become more spiritually mature. This works because the more we spend time with God, the more joyful we become. And the more we learn about His unchanging character and love, the more we come to believe in His unfailing promises, the more confident we will become in our joy. We will develop such joy that nothing can shake it.

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Worship

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When did worship become synonymous with music? God created each of us to worship Him with our lives. It is the purpose of our being. When we gather at a church, it is true we go there to worship God corporately. But that worship is the entire service, not just the portion with musicians leading everyone in song. The very act of coming together in unity is worshipping God because we are obeying what He tells us to do.

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When we listen to a sermon, we are worshipping God by meditating on His Word. Welcoming visitors to our gathering is worship because it brings glory to God. We worship God by contributing a portion of what He has entrusted to us into the offering. Every part of the service should be a form of worship to our great King.

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