Even If i Walk Alone

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

humility

Selfish Ambitions

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The more I study God’s Word, the more difficult it becomes for me to justify selfish ambitions of any kind. I believe God instills specific passions, talents, and desires into every person. The catch is He expects us to use all of those things for His glory and to build His Kingdom. (1 Peter 4:10-11; Romans 12:6-8) There is no part of life that should be for our glory or satisfaction. (1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17)

The reason we have the interests we have is so that we can figure out how best to channel those interests to draw others to Christ and put His excellencies on display. All our lives, we’ve been encouraged to follow our dreams and be true to ourselves. Such advice stands opposed to God and His Word.

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Hold Your Tongue

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When someone insults you, what is your initial response? Most of us want to strike back and get even. This, of course, reveals our pride. How dare someone say anything negative about us! We don’t like to be put down, and we hate it even more when someone says something untrue about us. Our impulse is to justify ourselves and set the record straight.

When we act from a place of pride, we are not in the will of God, nor are we showing Christ to a dark and dying world. (James 4:6; Philippians 2:3-5) Jesus did not insult back when His adversaries would insult and defame Him. He held His tongue. Peter instructs us to follow the Lord’s example and to do the same. (1 Peter 2:21-23)

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All Time is God’s Time

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I hate being interrupted. And by hate, I mean HATE. Few things set my teeth more on edge than having what I’m doing preempted by a phone call or an uninvited guest. It’s not just when I’m writing, but true in all aspects of my life. When I am engaging in any activity, I’m all in and don’t want to think about anything else until I’m done.

Having shared my home with 14 Shetland Sheepdogs over my life, my wife swears I am part Sheltie. The breed is task-oriented to maniacal extremes. Perhaps she’s right. More probable is the fact that I’m just selfish. It would serve me much better to remember that all time is God’s time.

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I Urge You

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When seeking how best to live our lives for Christ, there is great value in looking at what the apostles had to say about this. In the New Testament epistles, we find sections where both Peter and Paul made statements to the effect of, “If you want to live holy lives, I urge you to…” It’s there in black and white.

The very Word of God tells us what we should do to live a life pleasing to God and that would have us look like Jesus. It’s sad how easy it is to gloss over these passages when there is so much gold to be mined from them. It’s why we shouldn’t just read the Bible; we must study it, marinate in it, and bathe in it. Studying the Word of God is never a waste of time.

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I Need God Now

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When facing a crisis, have you ever said, or heard someone say, “I need God now?” It’s true we need God in times of chaos and trouble. It is also true that we need Him every other second of life. Without God, even for the smallest moment, the entire universe would collapse upon itself. (Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:3) There is no part of life that can survive except for the sustaining hand of our Creator. (Acts 17:24-25; Job 34:14-15)

We don’t just need Him when times are tough; we need Him at all times. This is a shift we must all make to mature in our faith. There is not what we do and what God does; He does it all. We are powerless to affect anything in this life without the providence of God’s power and His will.

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