Even If i Walk Alone

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

James

Your Life’s Mission

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Why are we here? What is God’s will for me? What should I do with my life? We’ve all asked some form of this question repeatedly throughout our lives. It wasn’t always this way in the church. There was a time when people knew exactly why they were here and what they were supposed to be doing with their time on the planet.

Target

There was no consternation as to which vocation to pursue. The early believers understood the message of Christ clearly, and it’s this very message that the church at large, and the Western church in particular, has so muddled over the past couple hundred years. [Read more…] about Your Life’s Mission

You Are Loved

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Do you understand how much Jesus actually loves you? Almost every follower of Christ would acknowledge that He loves them, but do you fully comprehend the depth of that love? In John 15:9, Jesus says that He loves us just as the Father loves Him. That’s an incredible statement. Consider how much God loves His Son. Can you even fathom the enormity of that love? And yet Jesus says that He loves each of us with that same love, a love that truly goes beyond our ability to understand.

We serve others in order to reflect the love of Christ. We volunteer and sacrifice to love others as Christ loves us. But do we really get what that means? Jesus loves us with the same intensity that He is loved by the Father. Therefore, if we are to truly live a life that looks like His, we must lavish this same love on everyone we meet. No one is too insignificant, and we must never be too busy to stop and seize the divine moment in front of us. God would never pass up an opportunity to show love to His Son, just as Jesus would never overlook the chance to demonstrate His love to us. So too we must always be eager to share the love of Christ with everyone we encounter. This love is all consuming and it must permeate every cell of our bodies.

We’ve probably all gone through periods in our lives when we felt that no one cared and that no one would notice if we simply disappeared. The frenetic pace that our days are subjected to leaves us weary and frazzled by the time we lie down at night. More and more communication is happening via email and Facebook, and personal interaction is quickly becoming an afterthought. All of this leads to a feeling of emptiness, and it becomes easy to feel lost and alone. In times like these we need to quiet our hearts and remember John 15:9. Jesus loves us just as the Father loves Him. There is no greater love. We are not alone and we have a purpose to fulfill.

Jesus told us to look after the orphans and widows (James 1:27), to feed the hungry and care for the sick. He told us to visit those in prison and to take in those with no place to go (Matthew 25:31-46). How can we do those things unless we love people with a passion so consuming that it compels us to do more and more for others? Caring for the needs of another is exhausting if done out of necessity or duty; but it is exhilarating, satisfying and refreshing when done out of love. It’s all about the attitude with which we approach the situation. Are we choosing to love them as Christ loves us, or are we trying to earn our way to Heaven by doing good deeds? God does not only want us to do the things He commands, but to do it with the right attitude in our hearts (Ephesians 6:6-7; Colossians 3:23). When we serve others because the love of Christ in us allows us to do nothing else, then we are moving in harmony with His mission and purpose for our lives.

Take a few minutes today to contemplate the love Christ has for you. Drink in the overflowing richness of that love and allow yourself to bask in the glory of it. Take a mental snapshot of the feeling; this is how you want to love those around you. When you serve them, do it because you are beginning to understand the depth of the love that Jesus has for you. Share that love with another and allow them to feel the warmth of God’s Spirit as it emanates from within you. Never take the love of Christ for granted, but at the same time do not underestimate the enormity of it. Dive in deep; swim in the ocean of His love for you. Walk in light and serve others in the name of the One who loves you beyond your wildest dreams.

Our Daily Bread

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In the Lord’s Prayer we are taught to ask for our daily bread. Most of us have never had to wonder where we would find food for the day. Our cupboards and pantries always seem to yield some sort of nourishment. Those of us who are fortunate enough to live in the West have more than likely never gone without food for an entire day. We are blessed beyond measure, and one need only look at the plight of the truly hungry around the world to be reminded of that fact.

According to WorldHunger.org, over 978 million people in the world are going hungry; that’s approximately one out of every six persons on the planet today. This is simply inexcusable for the world at large, but particularly egregious for those of us who seek to follow Jesus. We are told repeatedly in Scripture to feed the hungry (Isaiah 58:7, 10; Matthew 25:31-46; Romans 12:20; James 2:14-17; Deuteronomy 24:19-22; Luke 14:13). Knowing this, why is it that we are content to hoard the food for ourselves? I cringe when I think how often I’ve said, “There’s nothing to eat in this house!” I don’t think that has ever truly been the case. The real truth is there is perhaps nothing I am craving to eat in the house. We are so spoiled that we lament when we run out of a certain food, yet all the while we have more food in our house right now than nearly a billion people will have in an entire year. Our worst hunger cannot compare to their best days.

grocery store

Many cannot fathom the abundance we take for granted.

We must do something. The problem is large and daunting, but the God we serve is able to deliver the hungry from their distress. He calls us to be His hands and feet in bringing relief to their gnawing stomachs. God will honor and use our prayers, donations and efforts to bring His justice to this world. With the resources we have at our disposal, there is no excuse for a single person to go to bed hungry tonight. Let’s all do a gut check and review our expenses for the last month. How many needless material things did each of us buy? How much money did we spend on food that exceeded our “daily bread”? If we had only given half of that total to feeding the hungry, how much might all our contributions together have totaled? One person can make a difference here; a concentrated effort of all followers of Christ would have an impact that would resonate around the world.

Jesus made it very clear that His followers would show mercy to those around them, and he particularly pointed out feeding the hungry (Matthew 25:31-46). He made this a stipulation of being welcomed into His kingdom. If we do not feed the hungry, then we do not love as Christ loved. Our Western culture has blinded us to the needs of those in other countries; our suburban lifestyle shields us from the hungry in our own cities. It’s not enough to acknowledge and pray for the problem. As followers of Jesus, we must take action. Love is a verb and it is not passive. If we are to love others as Christ did, then we must act. I am not advocating that we should all become destitute and give every last cent to feed the hungry (although I do believe there is virtue in that). I am simply asking that we all, myself included, take a fresh look at how we are spending our money while looking for ways to distribute it to the poor and hungry instead.

Look into the eyes of the hungry. Let their faces burn into your mind. Begin to notice how much food is wasted in our country. We throw away so much food while one in six people lack food for the day. Here’s something I read about that we can all try. Get a large can or perhaps just a separate garbage bag, and put nothing in it except the food you throw away for a week. At the end of the week, weigh it and see how much you have wasted. According to the United Nations, about 25,000 people die each day due to hunger or hunger-related diseases. How many lives might have been saved with the food we waste each week? It is sobering and it is not acceptable. Jesus called us to be His hands and feet in this world that has so much hunger. He called us to feed them. We, in turn, have become blind to the needs of others while continuing to satisfy our own selfish desires.

We all need our daily bread, but none of us needs any more than that. What if we all cut back to eating simply what we needed and gave the money we saved to feed someone who is impoverished? We can change the world, one person at a time. We can all make a difference if we would simply do the things Jesus commanded us to do. Don’t turn away from the hungry. God loves them and we should too. Determine today to make a difference in their lives; in the name of Jesus, be the hands that deliver their daily bread.

Choosing Jesus Over Heaven

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Why do you follow Jesus? Is it because of what you will gain in the process or because of what you can give? Jesus led a life that had one purpose: to sacrifice His life for others. If we would walk in the way that He walked, this is what we must do as well. If we don’t love Him enough to give up everything for the sake of His mission, then we cannot perfectly follow in His footsteps. We must be willing to love Christ regardless of any reward; we simply follow Him out of our love for Him and our gratitude for what He gave up for us.

Many of us came to Christianity because of the offer of eternal life. It’s a great benefit, to be certain, but would we have been so drawn if the promise of our relationship with God did not include the promise of Heaven? Would the sheer knowledge that the Creator of the universe desired to interact with us be enough if there were no other reward? It’s important to remember that Heaven is the eventuality, not the goal. The goal is to love God with all our hearts and to love and serve those around us. (Matthew 22:35-40). The mission of Jesus was to redeem His people, and our mission is to carry that message to the world.

While He was here on earth, Jesus did not live in luxury. He was constantly on the road in an effort to touch as many people as He possibly could before His time was up. Are we doing the same? My adult life has been spent climbing the ladder of business success, providing a nice home for my family and securing my retirement in the future. None of that looks like Jesus. I suspect you are in a similar situation. This is what has to change. We have been sold a bill of goods in the past few hundred years about what it looks like to be a follower of Christ. We have gotten very good at practicing a Western flavor of Christianity that has very little to do with the life Christ told us to live. We gather in large buildings to worship and devote a tiny sliver of that budget to actually carry out the mission of Jesus as it is defined in the Bible.

I have a challenge for you: obtain a copy of your church’s annual budget and compare it to Matthew 25:31-46, James 1:27 and Isaiah 58:6-10. My guess is you will be mortified. We spend money on heating and cooling costs, lawn and building maintenance, office supplies and holiday decorations. Add up the items that specifically relate to the Scriptures above and see what percentage is being spent on the mission of Jesus. Before you feel too judgmental however, let’s also turn the same mirror on ourselves. Let’s take a look at our own household budget. What percentage of our own money are we dedicating to doing the work we have been commanded to do? Regardless of what our lips may say, the evidence seems to point to the fact that we are more interested in the reward of Heaven than in the beauty of a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Our priorities have to change. If being a Christian is not about following Jesus simply because of who He is, then there is little point. If our faith in Him is not proven by the way we live our lives, then there is a strong question of whether or not that faith will actually save us and bring about the eternal life we are so desperate to achieve (James 2:14-17). Until we are ready to follow Jesus simply because we love Him and desire to be in relationship with Him, we will simply be practicing an empty religion that looks nothing like what God designed for us. We don’t marry for the sake of what we might acquire when the marriage is over; we marry for what the relationship will be throughout the journey. It is the same in our relationship with Jesus Christ; it’s not about what happens when we die, it’s about what happens while we live.

I look forward to spending eternity with Jesus in Heaven; I am definitely eager to obtain the peace and rest He promises. But I don’t want to wish away the years of getting to know Him while I am still walking this planet. I don’t want to miss a single opportunity to serve Him and grow in my relationship with Him. I want to take hold of each moment I have been given to get to know Him better and to share His love with the world around me. This is my aspiration; more than anything else I want to be the hands and feet of Jesus. I want to obey His commands out of love, respect and trust in Him. I want Heaven, but I don’t want to miss a thing between the now and the not yet. So why do you follow Jesus? Is it for what you will gain or perhaps to protect what you might lose? Or is it simply for the sake of knowing Him? Do you struggle like me in maintaining perspective and the proper priorities in your life? I’d love to hear your thoughts and encourage you to leave a comment below. Let’s be real with each other and simply tell it like it is. We are all together on this journey. As for me, I definitely want the reward, but not at the expense of the relationship. Even if there were nothing else, I’d still choose Jesus. I have a long way to go, but this is my desire; He alone is my hope.

Facing God

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As followers of Jesus, we do everything with the end in mind. Our words, acts of service and expressions of love are all done so that God might be glorified and that His Kingdom would manifest itself on the earth. There is very little we do for today, rather we are tomorrow workers and future thinkers. We work today so that tomorrow might be better. It’s an invigorating yet exhausting way to live. Many people have worked a lifetime for Christ only to die without ever seeing the fruits of their labor. But the harvest does come in; sometimes days or even years later, but their work is rewarded in a way that brings glory to God. We must never lose sight of tomorrow as we work through today.

As we gaze toward the future, it is inevitable to think about facing God at last. One day we all will die and receive that which we have worked so hard to achieve: perfect communion with Jesus Christ our Lord. When we reach that day, what will God say to us? Will it be that He will say “Come on in, you are blessed; come in and share in the Kingdom” (Matthew 25:34)? If I could only hear those words, I would fall to my knees in thankfulness and awe at His unending mercy.

At the opposite extreme, will He say to us, “Depart from me, because you are wicked and did not do what I told you to do” (Matthew 25:41-46)? I shudder at the thought. Those words have eternal consequences; we can’t get this wrong, as there are no second chances at that point. I believe there will be many Christians who hear Him pronounce this horrific judgment on them; how I pray to not be one of them. He has laid out in plain language what we must do to avoid such a pronouncement: feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, take in those with no place to go, care for the sick and minister to those in prison. It’s not simply a matter that if we do these things then we will be allowed entrance into heaven; rather it is the attitude of our heart as we profess our love for God.

You cannot love Jesus and refuse to do the things He told us to do. There are some whose circumstances do not allow them to physically participate in these activities. But you can still pray. Prayer is the most powerful and effective weapon we have; it is music to the ears of God. I imagine Heaven constantly buzzing with the prayers of believers; this is where the battle is fought and won. If you are able to physically carry out the commands of Christ, then you should do so, and not use prayer as an excuse for inaction. We all have a duty to carry out the instructions of Jesus to the best and full extent of our abilities.

David Platt said in his book, “Radical”, that he is pretty sure that when we face God He will not say, “I wish you would have kept a little more for yourself.” God is not interested in the kind of car we drive or the balance of our retirement accounts. God is not excited about the square footage of our house or how well manicured our lawn is. What God is interested in is that we are demonstrating His love to everyone in need, that we are keeping ourselves pure and undefiled by the world, that we are sharing all the blessings He has given us with others. (James 1:27; Luke 12:48)

Don’t make the mistake of living your life for the dreams of America or anywhere else on this planet. As followers of Jesus, our allegiance is to Him and Him alone. Our nationality rests only in Christ and our goals should be only those that reflect His glory to a dark and dying world. When we face God, we will have to answer for how we lived the life He entrusted to us; we will have to account for how we made use of the gifts we were given. How will God judge you? Do you love Him with all of your heart, your soul, and your mind? If you do, then you will dedicate your life to His service and in pursuit of His mission. A simple prayer followed by living out the American dream is not the life God is looking for us to live. The life He finds Holy and acceptable is this: to care for the orphans and widows, to fight for justice, to care for the poor. (James 1:27; Isaiah 58:6-7) This is the life we are called to lead, and this is the life for which we will be judged. The question we all must ask ourselves is simply this: when we face God, based on what we have done for Him, what will He say to us? May we all pursue His glory and His mission out of a devoted love for Him, and an unwavering faith in Him. If we will only do what He has told us to do, His grace will sufficiently cover us when we at last face our Creator and our God.