Even If i Walk Alone

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

James

It’s All about Love

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Love,love does,God is love,love one another,love your neighbor,what is love,love wins

Everything we do for Christ, every one of His commands, comes back to a single word: love. Whether it’s seeking to bring justice to the oppressed or set victims of human trafficking free (Isaiah 58:6), we do this out of love. When we feed the hungry or provide clean water to villages that previously had no access to it (Matthew 25:35), we demonstrate God’s love. Using our time and resources to care for the single mothers or homeless people (James 1:27) demonstrates our love for them. Love is the key to every ill of our society. It is the salve for every wound and conflict. Love is the only answer, and it looks exactly like Jesus.

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Living like Jesus

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Jesus is Lord,Lord of your life,Jesus first,Francis Chan,compassion,active faith,faith without works,homeless

I recently read of an individual who decided to move outside his comfort zone to live a life that looks like Jesus. Josh is 20 years old and had befriended an elderly homeless woman. One night she got beat up pretty badly, and Josh offered to take her to a friend’s house where she could stay for awhile. The woman wasn’t comfortable leaving her usual surroundings. So what did Josh do? He didn’t walk away thinking he had done what he could. He didn’t berate her for not accepting help. No, he decided to start sleeping on the street next to her to provide protection. What a beautiful picture of Jesus! Josh went to where the hurting person was rather than wait for them to come to him.

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Take Action

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proactive,putting God first,Jesus first,2013,goals,goal setting,discipleship

Today is the last day of 2012. The beginning of a new year is always an exciting time for me, as it presents a clean slate and a fresh set of opportunities. I’m a goals fanatic and have found it useful to have a theme to guide my planning for each year. Last year’s theme was, “Consume Less, Contribute More.” This year I have selected, “Take Action”. As a follower of Christ, nothing could be more important. As James said, we must be doers of the word, not merely hearers (James 1:22-25). If we are going to grow in our faith, we must act on the things Jesus told us to do.

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Passion

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margaret becker,passion,devotion,holiness,Jesus is Lord

I enjoy listening to music as I drift to sleep each night. Recently I was listening to an older song by Margaret Becker entitled, “This is My Passion”. While I’ve listened to this song hundreds of times over the years, I was particularly struck on that night by the refrain of the chorus where she sings: “This is my passion, holiness, holiness”. The poignancy of the lyric is driven home by Margaret’s earnest vocal. What if we could say with conviction that the passion of our life was holiness? Yet, isn’t this what Jesus calls each of us to in our own lives?

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A Small Group Primer

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intentional community,shane claiborne,the simple way,discipleship,small groups,life groups

Perhaps no single idea has been so universally embraced by the church over the past 30 years as that of the small group. It is the strategic backbone of larger and smaller congregations alike. Too often these groups become nothing more than just another clique or a social club. Friendships develop, and there is a passing attempt at working through a Bible study booklet, but rarely do you find these groups engaged in the mission of Christ. There are exceptions; perhaps you belong to one of these. I do know of groups building intentional communities with tremendous outreach; they exemplify the early church. However,  if you belong to one of the more common implementations of a small group – one not engaging your culture – then it’s time to ask some hard questions.

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