Even If i Walk Alone

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

John

Why Do You Follow Christ?

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I read an article written by Costi Hinn in a recent “Answers” magazine. In it, he posed three questions, one after the other, that stuck with me. He wrote, “Is the gospel about the gifts or the giver? Is the gospel about earthly riches or eternal life? Is the gospel about monetary gain or the glory of God?” These are poignant questions, particularly in the Western context in which so many of us live.

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We claim to love Jesus, but do we love Him because of who He is or because of what we perceive He can give us? Why do you follow Christ? Jesus is God. He is holy, and the epitome of love. His very nature demands we love and worship Him simply for who He is. And yet, many see Jesus as only a means to get what they want. This is not Biblical Christianity, and it certainly is not the gospel.

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Jesus Every Day

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On an intellectual level, I know focusing on Jesus leads to great joy. I don’t mean transitory happiness. I mean a deep and consuming joy. It is the state in which God means us to live (Galatians 5:22-23; John 15:11; Romans 15:13;). Joy was a frequent topic of Paul in his various epistles to the churches. He knew a life focused on Christ would be a life well-lived, a life worthy of Christ.

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Conversely, a life lived in search of enjoyment, satisfaction, and accomplishment robs us of the very joy God intends for us to have. So, if we know this on an intellectual level, why is it so difficult to practice? “Jesus every day” should be our mantra. Nothing we do matters except what we do for Him.

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Black and White

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God’s Word is not ambiguous. Humans add ambiguity when they don’t like what it says, so they try to twist it to mean what they want it to say. Reading the Bible should make you feel a little uncomfortable. It’s called the conviction of sin. When reading God’s Word, we instinctively know what is wrong in our life. If we keep reading, we will see God has the solution for everything wrong inside us — His Son Jesus.

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But following Jesus isn’t easy in this world. It’s not because He imposes a lot of rules and requirements on us, but because we want to hold on to what the world offers. We want to fit in, to belong. The Word of God is clear on this. You will either serve God or you will serve the things of this world (Matthew 6:24). It’s black and white, with no gray around the edges.

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Test the Spirits

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1 John 4 begins with a somewhat curious phrase. John encourages the hearers of his letter to “test the spirits”. First, this implies there are many spirits. In our churches today, it is common to hear about the Holy Spirit, but there is often little attention paid to the other spirits in our world. We ignore these other spirits at our peril. Behind every false teaching, you will find a demonic source.

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Yes, demons are real. They exist and flood the spiritual realm surrounding us. When we go along with false teaching, we are following demons. How’s that for a sobering thought? If we are not careful in examining the teaching we are listening to, there is a very good chance we aren’t being taught God’s truth at all. Instead of growing in our faith, we are opening our minds to demonic influences.

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The Long View

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The world takes the short view of things, but Christians must take the long view. It’s another way of saying followers of Christ must live with an eternal rather than temporal perspective. While we should cherish every moment entrusted to us by God, we must live in such a way as to always be living for what will matter 10,000 years from now, not what will matter tomorrow.

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Life as a Jesus follower should never be about instant gratification or momentary pleasure. We have an eternal purpose and must live accordingly. Don’t get caught up in the things of this world and seek to improve your place in it. Instead, train your desires toward things that last and will glorify God.

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