Even If i Walk Alone

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

Fear

The End of Nominal Christianity

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As we watch the moral decline of Western society and the growing indifference or outright hostility toward followers of Jesus, one bright spot in all of this is the end of nominal Christianity. For years, many in the West have been Christ-followers in name only. These are people who like the idea of Jesus, but not the surrender of their lives to Him.

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They go to church every weekend and proudly profess their faith in Jesus, particularly when it is socially expedient. There is a certain panache to being able to claim the moral high ground by proclamation of one’s faith. But surrender their lifestyle to live according to the commands of Jesus and the Bible? Well, that always seems to fall into some sort of “gray area” for these so-called and nominal Christians.

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Courage and Surrender

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Beatrice Stockli was a Swiss missionary to Mali. She first visited the country in1998 as part of a mission’s team and ended up staying and ministering to the people there for many years.  In April 2012, she was kidnapped by Islamist insurgents. After ten days of captivity, she was released and returned home to Switzerland for a brief time. And then, against counsel and the wishes of her family, Beatrice returned to Mali to continue to be the hands and feet of Jesus to people who did not know Him.

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In June 2016, she was again kidnapped by a radical Muslim group called Jama’at Nasr al-Islam. At some point in her captivity, Beatrice was killed by her captors. She died living out the mission of Christ. Hers was a life of courage and surrender. As we complain about the state of our lives, I wonder who among us possesses the courage and devotion to live a life as committed to Christ as Beatrice and so many other Christian martyrs have?

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Feed Your Mind

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My pastor passed on some wisdom he had received from one of his college professors: “If you get it out of your heart, it won’t come out of your mouth.” His takeaway from that is to put into your heart what you want to come out of your mouth. Feed your mind with what you want to reflect. If you feed it words and images of divisiveness, hate, mistrust, and fear, what kind of person do you think you’ll become?

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What sort of words do you think will come spilling from your lips? Paul implored us to speak only words that build others up (Ephesians 4:29-32). If you constantly feed your mind with messages that tear you (and others!) down, you can never do as Paul says.

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A Scared World

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When the modern world seems overwhelming, it’s always good to look back on the giants from our past for a little wisdom and perspective. A. W. Tozer once said, “A scared world needs a fearless church.” I’m sure there have been periods in the last couple thousand years where this was truer than today, but it is timely and necessary wisdom we should heed. At least in my lifetime, I’ve never seen the world be more scared.

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Suicide rates are climbing rapidly. Turning on the news will only leave you frightened and depressed (I recommend you turn it off!). Fear is everywhere: fear of a global pandemic, fear of rioting, fear of job loss, fear of economic ruin, fear of government… the list goes on and on. We are living in a scared world in desperate need of hope.

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Uncertain

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Everyone seems to use the term “uncertain times” these days. It’s not as if any time has ever been certain. There are always new challenges to face and tough decisions to make. When life seems uncertain, we can take great comfort in knowing our God is never uncertain and always in control. Those aren’t just nice platitudes, but definite truths based on who He is. God is the same today as He has always been and will always be (Hebrews 13:8).

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There’s a steadiness to Jesus that brings peace to our hectic and crazy world. While we encounter situations every day where we have no idea what to do, Jesus always knows the perfect response. He has a plan for every contingency of every contingency. We serve a steady God, One who is never overwhelmed.

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