Even If i Walk Alone

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

focus

Timeless

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There is so much noise in our world today. It seems everyone has an opinion on everything, and if you happen to disagree with their opinion then you are one of the intolerant or unenlightened ones. Historically, opinions have never been in short supply. This much isn’t new. What is new are the multiple platforms people have available to voice their opinions.

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Traditional and social media never sleep and are never quiet. Much – if not most – of what is being talked about has little value. It certainly has no eternal value. It is just noise, and distracting noise at that. There remain real issues in this world, real problems in need of a solution. Perhaps it is easier to focus on made up crisis than to confront what is really going on.

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The Privilege of Prayer

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As I was praying today, I became overwhelmed with a sense of awe. Not for the first time, I was struck by Who it was I was talking to and what an intense and incredible privilege it is to speak to my Creator. When we pray, we are talking directly to the God of the Universe. We are conversing with Jesus. Who are we that we should have such a privilege? I know what my life has been. I know what I deserve, what we all deserve.

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I deserve to be cast out of His holy presence forever and to never have the privilege or right to come before Him. I am an unholy man before an all-holy God. But He looks beyond that. He sees me as His child, and because of the blood of Jesus, I am clean and blameless in His eyes. He invites me to sit at His table and speak with Him. Do you understand the enormity of this?

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What Has Your Attention?

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It is not uncommon for church services in Haiti to last 4-6 hours. Contrast this with the typical Western church service which is typically tightly scripted to last for an hour or an hour and 15 minutes. Anything beyond this time and people begin to bristle. We have other things to do after all. When Pastor Kyle Idleman visited Haiti, he inquired of a local pastor as to how he was able to keep the attention of his congregation for so long.

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The pastor replied simply the people in Haiti had nothing else to do. While he said this with laughter, I believe he hit on an incredibly simple, but important, truth. Believers in Haiti spend extended time worshipping God because they have nothing else in their lives competing for the attention they give to God.

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Time with Jesus

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In the familiar story of Mary and Martha, Martha is busy preparing a meal for Jesus and His disciples, while her sister Mary sits at the feet of Jesus and offers no help to her sister (Luke 10:38-42). Martha is upset by this and complains to Jesus. The reply of Christ speaks volumes about how we should live our lives. He tells Martha Mary has chosen what is more important (Luke 10:41-42).

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The story ends without telling us how Martha responded, but I am more interested in the choice of Mary. What was it about Jesus she found so fascinating, so compelling, she defied cultural customs and ignored family responsibilities to spend time at the feet of Jesus?

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Deep and Wide

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Evan Esar once said, “You can’t do anything about the length of your life. But you can do something about its width and depth.” I like that. None of us know how many days we have remaining. It’s not our call. But what we do with each of those days is within our hands. Every day we choose to pass the time or impact it. In and of itself, there is nothing remarkable about a long life. At best, it’s interesting. But a life lived well is something truly remarkable.

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I want to live a life rich in width and depth. The length doesn’t matter so much to me.  Like Paul, I can say if I live, I’ll live for Christ, but if I die, I’ll be with Him (Philippians 1:21). I have a lot to look forward to. Delaying that sweet reward isn’t exactly in my best interest.

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