Even If i Walk Alone

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

I John

Stand for Jesus

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I like to think if someone held a gun to my head demanding I reject Christ, I would, without hesitation, begin sharing the Gospel with them. I also like to think if they were holding a gun to my wife’s head demanding I deny Christ, I again would begin sharing the gospel with them. She knows my convictions and I am confident she would approve. I want to believe my faith is strong enough to stand for Jesus, no matter how extreme, painful, or stressful the situation is.

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If you are a devoted follower of Christ, my guess is you feel the same way. But how can we possibly expect to stand for Jesus in the most extreme circumstances when we deny Him with the thoughts we think, words we say, and actions we take every day when we are under no pressure at all to deny Him?

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Fear the Right Things

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Jesus taught we should not fear those who can kill our bodies but not harm our souls. Rather, the only one we should fear is the One who can destroy both our body and soul in Hell (Matthew 10:28). Fear is inevitable for all of us, but we must fear the right things. If we fear the wrong things, we will live our lives without joy and even in a state of paralysis.

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Those who know Christ need not fear anything in this world. Everything here is temporary, so anything we would fear will be temporary as well. Recognizing all pain, discomfort, sickness, or need is temporary should alleviate much of the anxiety we tend to feel.

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Indulging in Entertainment

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In the last post, “The Relevance of the Church”, we discussed how entertainment has crept into our churches and dramatically changed what a service looks like. While most churches start with the goal of submitting to the Lordship of Christ and being a living demonstration of His life, over time, it is common for churches to become the sum of the people attending. They begin to reflect the whims and preferences of those who come through the doors rather than maintaining a rigorous adherence to Biblical teaching and structure.

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This means if we want to have more Christ-like churches, each of us must become more Christ-like in our lives. Don’t wish your church was better. Focus on becoming more Christ-like yourself. Our churches are obsessed with entertaining the masses because of our penchant for indulging in entertainment in our personal lives. If enough of us would take the call of Christ seriously by consuming our thoughts with Him instead of earthly pleasures and desires, our churches would once again be the light and refuge that our world needs.

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Surrender to Jesus

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We are sadly mistaken if we believe we can live however we want in this life and still spend eternity with Christ. Saying a scripted prayer or responding to an invitation given at the end of a church service may signify your first steps to living a life solely devoted to Christ, but they are not your ticket to eternity in Heaven.

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Only those who truly repent of their sins–and that means you turn away from them in sorrowful contrition and acknowledge you have trespassed against the standards of the Holy King–and surrender to Jesus as the Lord of your life, only those will find their life in Him. No one who claims to love Jesus but lives in allegiance to this world will be saved (1 John 2:15).

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A Deeper Dive into Personal Holiness

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Anyone who is paying attention will know our churches are becoming increasingly weak and ineffective. Leadership that is lacking in theological depth and understanding is certainly rampant, but perhaps the bigger problem is the lack of personal holiness among the congregation. Although it is the pastor’s job to exposit and explain the Word each time he steps behind the pulpit, pursuing Christ on a day-to-day basis is the responsibility of every attendee.

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Without such a commitment, the finest preacher or most gifted shepherd will not be able to lead a group of believers into a deeply committed relationship with Christ. Each of us bears the responsibility of seeking to know and obey our savior better. For this reason, I want to do a brief but deeper dive into personal holiness.

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