Even If i Walk Alone

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

Galatians

Dead People

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There’s a famous line from the 1999 movie, “The Sixth Sense”, where the little boy says, “I see dead people.” It was supposed to be creepy at the time, but now it is more comical (or perhaps that’s just my own twisted sense of humor!). The fact is, as Christ-followers, we should say “I see dead people” every time we walk into a gathering of believers.

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If our faith in Jesus is genuine it means we have given up everything. Indeed, we have died to ourselves. Jesus said if we would follow Him we must “take up our cross daily” (Luke 9:23). Nobody walks away from their cross alive. We are dead people.

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Breathing Christ

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What if Christ were so central to our lives He became our very breath? Everything would depend on Him just as everything depends on our ability to breathe in and breathe out. Wouldn’t it be amazing if Jesus was so essential to our lives living for Him became as natural and effortless as breathing?

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The Holy Spirit of God infuses our body. He is not an add-on, but rather an integrated part of all we are. He adds no weight and is indeed as light as the air we breathe.  Because of this, communing with Christ can be as natural and easy as breathing in and breathing out.

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God Calls You by Name

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I’ve seen a quote sprinkled around the internet, not sure of its original source, but it says, “The devil knows your name but calls you by your sin. God knows your sin but calls you by your name.” This is an astute and accurate description of the difference between the way we are seen by God and the adversary. God loves everything about you.

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He created you to look like Him and is so intimately familiar with you He knows the number of hairs on your head (Luke 12:6-7). Satan, on the other hand, only knows who you are. In fact, the closer you draw to God, the more aware of you the devil becomes. He knows who you are, but he hates you because of whose you are.

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The Death of Freewill

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Freewill is central to my theology and in my mind is the linchpin to answering difficult questions about sin, disease, and evil in the world. After Jesus, I think freewill is probably the greatest gift God bestowed on His creation. After all, freewill is what enables us to love. It enables us to choose. Most importantly, it enables us to accept Christ as our Lord and Savior.

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But here’s the irony for all disciples of Jesus: to accept Christ means the death of freewill in our lives. When we surrender ourselves to Christ, we surrender everything, including our freewill. Nothing is excluded. The very thing permitting us to accept Christ is what we must give up in exchange for His Lordship in our lives.

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The Unmaking

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Nichole Nordeman had written some amazing lyrics over the years, and one of her latest songs, “The Unmaking”, is no exception. While the entire song makes one do some serious soul searching, one simple line in the song sticks with me more than any other. It says, “Had to lose myself/To find out who You are”. It’s a recurring theme in my life these days.

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To truly know God, we have to empty ourselves of everything that is not God. This is both daunting and uncomfortable. It has caused me to confront things in my life I would rather have left undisturbed. But my ultimate goal remains to know God fully and to be utterly consumed by Him. This requires a bit of unmaking. It means I have to lose myself to find out who He is.
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