Even If i Walk Alone

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

God's will

Make No Plans

by

Studying the second half of the book of Romans this month, one verse keeps poking me when I read it. Romans 13:14 says, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires.” It’s convicting because how often do we make plans to satisfy those very desires of the flesh the Lord admonishes us not to?

make no plans,discipleship,fear,God's will,priorities,purpose

We are always making plans to do something, go somewhere, or become someone. How many of those plans center on bringing or giving glory to God? If you’re like me, not many. We design almost all our plans to fulfill the desires of our flesh rather than to further the Kingdom of God. There are exceptions, of course, but that they are the exceptions should tell us we have a problem.

[Read more…] about Make No Plans

A Living Sacrifice

by

Are you living your life as a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1)? It is what God commands us to do, but how many of us understand what this means, much less are doing it? Jesus gave His life for us, a perfect sinless sacrifice for every sin we have ever or will ever commit. His death was the sacrifice needed to assuage God’s wrath over our sins (Isaiah 53:5-6; 1 John 2:2; Romans 5:8-9).

a Living sacrifice,commitment,discipleship,God's will,mission,repentance,sacrifice,surrender

His sacrifice became the model for how each of us is to conduct their lives (1 Peter 2:21; Ephesians 5:1-2). We aren’t perfect and never will be. At the same time, we are called to be holy, just as He is holy (Leviticus 11:45; 1 Peter 1:15-16). There aren’t some commands of God that we can take seriously and others we can disregard. If we love Him, we will keep all His commands (John 14:15; 1 John 2:3-6).

[Read more…] about A Living Sacrifice

Our Fruit

by

Throughout scripture, we see a great importance placed on our fruit. Our fruit is what we produce and cultivate by our actions, decisions, and attitudes. It is the ultimate result of how we live. Good fruit is that which pleases and brings glory to God, while bad fruit results from selfish and prideful living. We often say our excess is the fruit of our labors because hard work often results in providing for the needs of our families and ourselves.

our fruit,commitment,discipleship,God's glory,God's will,priorities,purpose

A farmer who does not sow his fields will not reap a harvest. An office worker who goofs off all day will not get the promotion they crave. We reap what we sow in the physical world, and this is even more true in the spiritual realm (Galatians 6:7-8).

[Read more…] about Our Fruit

Violating God’s Will

by

A couple of different thoughts have been fighting for attention in my mind for the past several days. One was sparked by reading Job 28:28, where God said, “The fear of the Lord is this: wisdom. And to turn from evil is understanding.” We’ve talked about what it means to fear the Lord before (see “The Fear of The Lord”), but this verse is so clear.

violating God's will,fear,wisdom,discipleship,purpose,God's will

We could take it to mean that it is wise to fear God, which is true, and we can also understand it to be a succinct definition of what fear of God looks like: to be wise. Wisdom will keep us from violating God’s will. Which brings me to the other topic that’s been on my mind: finding God’s will for your life. I’ve also written on that topic before, and if you want a deeper dive, see, “Explaining God’s Will for Your Life.” I submit you will never understand God’s will until you develop a proper fear of His holiness.

[Read more…] about Violating God’s Will

Are We Willing?

by

We’ve heard countless stories of people praying for someone with cancer, which results in the doctors no longer being able to detect any cancer in the patient. Yet most of us also know firsthand what it’s like to pray that God would heal someone, only to see healing never come. Why does God choose to heal some but not others?

are we willing,commitment,God's Kingdom,sacrifice,mission,persecution,suffering,Kingdom of God

In some countries, Christians face harassment, beatings, and imprisonment for following Christ, yet in others, they are free to worship the Lord however and whenever they choose. How is any of this fair? Perhaps we asking the wrong questions. Instead of asking, “Why”, I think the better question is, “Are we willing?” Are we willing to suffer both physical and emotional extremes for the sake of knowing Christ (Philippians 3:10-11)?

[Read more…] about Are We Willing?