Even If i Walk Alone

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

I John

Prioritize Jesus

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It seems no matter how hard we try, we never have enough time to do everything we want and need to do. In all of history, we’ve never had more options about how to spend our time than we do today. With all the options comes a sort of paralysis. It’s too much. I recently heard a psychologist state anxiety results from too many options and too many images.

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We get anxious because the things of this world overstimulate us with possibilities. Satan is clever, and we can’t ignore the brilliance of his strategy. By overwhelming our senses, we experience stress, which hinders our decision-making processes. We must have a strategy to combat the overwhelming options in our world. We must learn to prioritize Jesus in advance so we can defend against the onslaught of possibilities.

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The Law

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Modern evangelicals often dismiss the Old Testament law as something no longer necessary. Since the death and resurrection of Christ, we are now under grace and not the law, so they set aside the law in favor of grace. But that doesn’t square with what Jesus taught. He said He did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17).

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Jesus was the first and last man to keep God’s laws perfectly. Thus, He fulfilled the law. The problem is, neither you, me, nor anyone else can keep the law. We need the blood, mercy, and grace of Jesus to save us from our sins against the holy God. And what is sin but a breaking of the laws of God?

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The Anatomy of Compromise

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How has the Western church fallen so far away from biblical truth? Few seemed to pay attention to the voices of those warning the church was sliding into compromise with the world over the last fifty years or more. I was having a discussion with a recent Bible college graduate and I asked him if his particular college, which has long had a reputation as a solid institute, was still standing firm on the Word or if they were suffering from the cancer of wokeness inflicting most of our colleges and seminaries these days.

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His response was the professors were solid, but the student body was drifting rapidly into liberalism. My friend then commented that he felt the problem was there was truth on both sides and people were prone to swing too far in one direction or the other. I submit it is this kind of thinking that got us into the mess in which we now find ourselves.

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Complete Joy

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When we come to Christ, a joy we have never known fills us. We want nothing but more of Him. Over time, that joy may wane. Following Jesus is not an emotional journey, it is a journey of truth. The emotions we experience from knowing Christ are exhilarating, but in the end, it is not the emotion we seek. We seek only Jesus. Still, the emotional highs propel us in His Name to do work for His Kingdom.

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So, how do we continue to find joy when the struggles and trials of day-to-day living weigh us down? How do we find complete joy in a world intent on crushing us? The Bible shows us the way, and it is not about manufacturing emotion or attending events designed to elicit an emotional response from us. No, the way to reignite our joy is by sharing it with someone else (1 John 1:4).

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Fear God

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Why do you fear God? Perhaps a better first question to ask is, do you fear God? Scripture commands us many times to live in the fear of God (Deuteronomy 6:13; 1 Samuel 12:24; Proverbs 9:10; 2 Corinthians 5:11; Philippians 2:12-13; 1 Peter 2:17; Revelation 14:7). So, it’s not a question of whether we should, but imperative that we must. With all the sermons teaching God is love these days, it may seem a bit out of step to be talking about fearing God. Humans do not typically fear those we love.

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But God is not just someone else we love. He is the holy, righteous, and glorious Creator of the Universe, the Lord of lords, and the King of kings. God is indeed the highest expression of love. John told us this plainly in his epistle to the Church (1 John 4:8). However, we do not serve a one-dimensional God. Every emotion is magnified and perfected in Him. Thus, jealous, zealous, and righteous anger are also part of who He is. To quote Jonathan Edwards, “… it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”.

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