Even If i Walk Alone

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

God's Kingdom

His Own Image

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A.W. Tozer once wrote, “Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist upon trying to modify Him and to bring Him nearer to our own image.” It seems we spend much of our lives doing this. We speak of our love for Jesus with our mouth, but our lives don’t look much like His. It’s as if we need to define who we mean when we say the name of Jesus.

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Do we mean the beautiful, holy, and blameless Son of God, or do we mean the person we’ve created who happens to look suspiciously like ourselves and the model citizen of our society? God’s Word teaches Jesus is the same today as He has always been and will always be (Hebrews 13:8). If we intend to follow Christ, we must follow Him as He is, not who we are making Him to be.

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Counter-Cultural

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In a world that promotes self-aggrandizement and getting ahead, living life as a humble servant is truly counter-cultural. It is to invite ridicule, derision, and condescending pity from the masses. No one chooses to live this way because it is easy or socially acceptable. We choose it because Jesus told us this is the way to live. By His own example, Jesus showed although He was superior to all, He chose to be a servant to all (John 13:3-17). He told His disciples anyone who sought to get ahead would be sent to the back of the line (Matthew 19:23-30).

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In the upside-down Kingdom of God, the way to get ahead is to stop promoting yourself and begin building up others. For followers of Christ, life is not about becoming the best known or loved. It’s about serving others in such a way they might see Jesus in us and come to know Him for themselves.

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The Purpose of Life

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What did you do yesterday to build the Kingdom? What will you do today? Those two questions may be the most important you can ever ask yourself. Indeed, these questions frame the purpose of life. There is nothing else worth living for other than Jesus. We will spend our lives building His Kingdom or building our own.  The Kingdom of God is eternal.

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It will exist long after our own little kingdoms have faded in history, washed away by the tides of time. But Jesus remains. His Kingdom endures forever. Why would we spend our lives pursuing things which will not last when we can spend it for that which lasts forever?

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Golden Handcuffs

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The story of “The Rich Young Ruler” is one of the best-known parables told by Christ (Luke 18:18-23). For years, scholars and laypeople alike have debated its meaning and application. What are the implications for a 21st-century audience? Should we all sell everything we have, give to the poor, and follow Jesus? Perhaps, but at the risk of executing somewhat of a bait and switch, such will not be the topic of this post. Instead, I want to focus on the lesser discussed conversation Jesus had next with his followers.

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In that conversation, Jesus stated it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it was for a rich man to enter Heaven (Luke 18:24-27). In other words, it was virtually impossible. Why did He say this, and what implications does it have for those of us who are incredibly wealthy by historical standards?

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Don’t Give Up

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God has chosen You. He is pursuing You. There is work for which You have been uniquely designed to do. This work will be done if we will only hold fast, keep our eyes on Jesus, and don’t give up. Satan roams around like a roaring lion seeking to destroy you and your dreams (1 Peter 5:8). The devil will do whatever it takes to take you down. Through trials, temptations, anxiety, fear, and discouragement, he will pull out every stop to dissuade you from pursuing Christ and all He has given you to do.

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Don’t give up. Don’t give in to the lies of the adversary. Only you can do the work God has created you to do. While your talents and gifts may seem insignificant to you, they are a vital part of God’s plan for building His Kingdom here on earth. So, stay strong and don’t give up.

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