Even If i Walk Alone

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

forgiveness

God’s Presence

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We are always in the presence of God. We may not always be aware of it, but He is there. God’s presence is all around us. We wouldn’t last a moment without Him. While I understand the intent behind the statement, it always irks me when people say things like, “God showed up and was with us in that moment.”

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I’m sure you’ve heard similar things, and odds are better than not you’ve probably even said something similar. I know I have. But there is no “God was with us there”. He is always there, and we are always with Him. Nothing can separate us from the love of the Father (Romans 8:38-39). Nothing can snatch us out of His presence (John 10:28).

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The Law

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Modern evangelicals often dismiss the Old Testament law as something no longer necessary. Since the death and resurrection of Christ, we are now under grace and not the law, so they set aside the law in favor of grace. But that doesn’t square with what Jesus taught. He said He did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17).

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Jesus was the first and last man to keep God’s laws perfectly. Thus, He fulfilled the law. The problem is, neither you, me, nor anyone else can keep the law. We need the blood, mercy, and grace of Jesus to save us from our sins against the holy God. And what is sin but a breaking of the laws of God?

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God Hates Sin

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It’s been a long time since I’ve heard a popular pastor preach about the dangers and horrors of sin. I’ve heard a lot about time management, goal setting, self-improvement, favor, blessing, and healing. The past couple of years have seen a shift to a lot of messages around social justice, tolerance, and welcoming people into the church who are living in proud defiance of the Word of God.

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What I don’t hear is preaching on the depravity and destruction of sin. We hear God is love and forgiveness without the context of why we need His love and forgiveness. Let us be clear in our understanding: God hates sin and so must we. If sin doesn’t repulse us and drive us to our knees in repentance, the odds are better than good you don’t know Jesus as Lord and Savior.

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Casual Indifference

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I think we have the habit of not taking sin seriously enough. We all sin every day, but how much does it truly bother us? I was reading in Ezra and observed his reaction to his own sin. It says in Ezra 9:6, he was so embarrassed and ashamed of his sin he couldn’t even lift his eyes to face God. He recognized his sins and the sins of his people were higher than his head and his guilt was as high as the heavens.

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When was the last time you considered your sin like this? We are far too casual in response to our own sin. We know Jesus has paid the price for us, so no matter what we do, we’re covered. Somehow this has led us not into deeper repentance, but into casual indifference.

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The Past Doesn’t Matter

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On your journey to discipleship, it’s important to remember following Jesus is always about the next step. We aren’t concerned with where He’s leading us, we’re simply content to follow. A hallmark of discipleship is never looking back. It doesn’t matter where you’ve been, or what you’ve done. The blood, grace, and love of Jesus makes all which has come before irrelevant. We are who He says we are, and He sees only who we are becoming.

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image © Jacob Lund via Fotolia

As far as God is concerned, the past doesn’t matter. He’s not interested in what you’ve done, only in what you will do for His Kingdom.  He holds no grudges. Jesus never looks at what you’ve messed up in the past as an indicator of what you might accomplish in the future.

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