Even If i Walk Alone

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

I John

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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Darkness

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Something’s wrong in the world today. You can feel the darkness encroaching on every side. Many feel powerless to stop it. Worse still, too many don’t even know what to call the darkness. As followers of Christ, we recognize the problem as sin, but we are facing a generation who have grown up not understanding what the word even means.

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For those who are a little older and grew up in a time when there was still a biblical foundation in our culture, it seems unfathomable that anyone would not understand what sin is. And yet, this is the world in which we find ourselves. The foundation of God’s Word and God’s laws have been stripped away, leaving us both ignorant and vulnerable to the darkness pervading our world.

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Anxiety

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It seems anxiety is inescapable in our modern culture. Even the most stoic cannot avoid the onslaught of fear, despair, and uncertainty being directed at us from every direction. I struggle to comprehend how anyone can survive these times without having faith in Christ. I would expect those who reject Christ to struggle to deal with their anxiety. They have no anchor. They have no hope.

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But for those of us who have accepted and choose to follow Jesus as Lord, He has not left us defenseless against this vicious attack on our mental stability. We not only have the power within us to defeat anxiety, but we also have the great hope of eternal peace and deliverance. God’s Word provides us with all we need to know, and His Holy Spirit gives us the power to put that knowledge into action.

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To Live is Christ

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In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul wrote that for him, “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). A life devoted to Christ means death is irrelevant and even better than life. If we spend our lives in devotion to Christ, we fulfill our purpose by glorifying our Lord and Creator. And if we die, we get to meet Him face to face, spending eternity in His glorious presence.

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This is a no-lose proposition. We serve and glorify Him in life, and we serve and glorify Him in death. There is no better deal anyone could ever offer you. Nothing else you could spend your life on offers the same consistency and reward.

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