Even If i Walk Alone

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

God's Kingdom

Finding Life

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Where are you finding life today? We seek satisfaction in many things, but none of them will last, and none are worthy of your life. It’s no wonder why those who don’t know Christ would chase after so many things trying to find some meaning or to make sense of this life. But for followers of Jesus, we’ve got to recognize our pursuit of anything other than Jesus is futile.

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God created us to glorify Him. Too often we buy into the lie that the story is about us. We ask questions like, “What does God want me to do with my life?” It’s a terrible question, flawed at its premise. There is no “my” life. It belongs to God. A better question would be, “How can I best glorify God and manifest His Kingdom today?”

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Looking Back

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This is the time of year when many are writing about looking back over the past year, recounting lessons learned, blessings, and obstacles. Looking back is helpful only insomuch as it focuses us on the beauty and blessings of our Savior. There is a danger in looking back that we focus too much on ourselves and not on God. Considering what we have accomplished and overcome can inadvertently lead to self-satisfaction and pride.

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Reflecting on our problems and challenges can lead us down a road of discouragement and despair rather than focusing on the One who provides everything we need. If we visit it lightly, the past can teach us a few lessons and serve as a wonderful reminder of the provision of our God. Better to leave it quickly though and focus instead on the work ahead.

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A Wasted Life

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Millions of people around the world are wasting their lives living for things that don’t matter while professing to be followers of Jesus Christ. It is the rare follower of Jesus I encounter, whose life looks radically different from everyone else. I know my life too often looks more like someone pursuing (and sometimes even living) the American dream than it does that of a radical follower of Jesus. A wasted life.

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Jesus calls us to live differently than our surrounding culture. When He was walking the earth, few things He did aligned with the social norms of His day. His life was radically different from those surrounding Him. Jesus wasn’t what anyone was expecting and everything they weren’t. We can talk about how different we are from others, but we find the proof in how we live.

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Thinking Eternally

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As people, we obsess over numbers. We count dollars to quantify net worth, attendees to measure churches, and followers to determine popularity on social media. But did you ever stop to think that numbers are a product of humanity, not of eternity? Counting is irrelevant to God because numbering anything in eternity would be futile.

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How many years will we spend in Heaven with God? That’s an unanswerable question because years have no meaning when one is thinking eternally. My point is the very measure we use on earth has no meaning when we are thinking eternally. And that is how we should spend our days, focused on what is coming rather than what we have right now.

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Taking the Long View

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Joshua Bogunjoko is the International Director for SIM International, a missionary organization with a worldwide outreach. Given his position, he has a unique and informed perspective on what it means to follow Christ in hard times and circumstances. Mr. Bogunjoko writes, “Gaining God’s perspective amid adversity means taking the long view. Our experience of adversity today may be for the work of God in days, months, and years to come. It may be for someone’s encouragement a generation from now.”

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It often seems the work we do for Jesus doesn’t matter. No matter how much we pray, study, and serve, it’s difficult to see the needle moving. But God is always at work, weaving together every event on the human stage—now, in the past, and in the future—to bring about His sovereign will.

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