Even If i Walk Alone

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

I John

What Does God Require?

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What does God require from you? Isn’t this the most important question you can ask after who you say Jesus is (Matthew 16:15-17)? What the Lord requires of you is simple and God clearly articulates in Scripture what His requirements are. Deuteronomy 10:12 says, “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you except to fear the Lord your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, and to worship the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul?”

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What He required of Israel is what He continues to require from His people today. We know if we love Him, we will keep His commands (John 14:15), so we must always be reminding ourselves of what those commands are. If the commands of God are not always at the forefront of our minds, we will quickly drift into living for the things we desire instead of what God requires.

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Happiness is Obedience

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People spend an inordinate amount of time seeking happiness. It occurs to me they are searching without a plan or any understanding of what happiness actually is. I think most people figure they will know happiness when they find it, but that’s a bit like searching for a needle in a haystack. If you want to be happy, wouldn’t it be better to define what that means before embarking on the journey?

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The Bible gives us a good definition of happiness in John 13:17, where Jesus says, “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” Looking back further in the passage, we see the “things” Jesus is referring to are the teachings and commandments He has given them. When we obey God, the joy that brings will bless us. To be blessed is to be happy. Therefore, happiness is obedience to Christ.

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Remain in Him

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In his first epistle, John encourages believers to “…remain in Him, so that when He appears we may have boldness and not be ashamed before Him at His coming” (1 John 2:28). To remain in Him not only secures our eternity, it also leads to living this life to the fullest extent possible (John 10:10). Many proclaim they believe in Jesus, but far fewer say they know Him.

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But how many will remain in Him until He returns? Abiding in Christ doesn’t feel natural to our fallen nature, no matter how much our soul longs to be with Him. Those who love Christ want to be full of Him and nothing else. They want to forsake the world and follow Jesus. Making such proclamations is easy. Living every day of our lives like we mean it is another story entirely.

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Prove Your Love

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You prove your love for God by your obedience to God. This isn’t about working to earn God’s approval, but rather demonstrating your commitment to Christ. If you love Him, you will obey His commands (John 14:15). We don’t do the works we do in obedience to God to earn His favor. Instead, we obey out of an appreciation of His favor for us.

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It’s not about a works-based salvation, but a recognition that true salvation will encompass works done out of our love for Jesus. No one who refuses to love God will obey His commands. The works you do in obedience to your Lord are the evidence of a genuine salvation. You prove your love by surrendering your life and living for Him.

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Two Ways to Live

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There are two ways to live. You can follow God’s perfect way as revealed in His Word, or you can subscribe to the wisdom of man. Every single one of us will choose one of these two ways to plot their course through life. Choosing God means abandoning your life to Jesus. It’s a path of surrender and few will go this way. The alternative is to rely on the wisdom of man.

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This path is wide and you’ll find plenty of company along the way to share your journey. Neither way will be free of struggle. Life in this world comes with a heavy dose of pain, discouragement, and defeat. The choice between the two ways to live, then, comes down to your motivation, not whether one path is easier than the other.

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