Even If i Walk Alone

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

John

Today Matters

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Recently, I came across a quote from David Jeremiah: “Those who think the most about Heaven do the greatest work on earth.” It made me stop and wonder how much of my time I’m spending thinking about Heaven and how much I’m spending thinking about my life here and now. I doubt I’m alone in admitting most of my thoughts are on the present, not on my eternity. Everything we do here is laying the groundwork for life when Christ returns.

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If we do nothing for Him, we should not expect much from Him. And if we do nothing for Him, we may find ourselves on the outside looking in when He establishes His Kingdom here on earth (Matthew 7:21-23). Today matters more than we can imagine, and the only way worth spending it is with a focus on the life to come, not on the one we are living.

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The Plan of Salvation

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If you grew up in the church or have ever taken a traditional discipleship course, you’re probably familiar with the so-called, “plan of salvation.” It’s interesting to note while the Bible shows us how to find salvation in Jesus, it has nothing to do with the 20th century man-made “plan of salvation”. There is a way to eternal life with Jesus, but it involves a lifelong commitment, not a two-minute prayer. The plan of salvation can be useful in helping someone understand their need for Jesus, but it does nothing to prepare them for the sacrifice and difficulties they will encounter because of their decision to follow Christ.

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We are doing a grave disservice to untold numbers of people who, upon being presented with the plan of salvation and praying the sinner’s prayer, think that’s all there is to it and it saves them for eternity. We’re creating people who think they know Jesus, but that same Jesus may cast them from His presence if that prayer is all they ever do for Him (Matthew 7:22-23).

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Hard Truths

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Many people leave the Church and their faith behind because they no longer agree with the Church’s stance on hot button topics of the age or even long-held teachings that seem antiquated to their itching ears. People leave the truth because they expected it to be easy. They wanted to belong to something. This is not a new phenomenon. Jesus gave a teaching one day that caused his followers to abandon him in droves (John 6:53-68).

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When He taught about giving away all you had to follow Him, His disciples remarked how difficult the teaching was and wondered who could receive it (Matthew 19:23-26). The teachings of Jesus are difficult. They are hard truths because many are called but few are chosen. Few will endure the cost of discipleship.

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Following Jesus

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We find one of the hardest teachings of Jesus in Luke, chapter fourteen, verses 26- 33. I’ve rarely heard messages preached from this passage, at least not without several caveats and attempts to water down what Jesus was saying. I think we are on dangerous ground any time we try to soften or redefine the words of Jesus. Jesus was the most intentional person who ever lived. He meant what He said every time. One way we know this is because when Jesus gave a hard teaching such as the one in John 6:53-58, we learn a few verses later that many turned away from following Him.

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Jesus didn’t soften His message or try to say what He had said another way to win them back. No, He meant what He said, and He allowed the people to accept the teaching and follow Him or to walk away. He wanted everyone to trust in Him, but not at the cost of compromising His Word.

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Follow Jesus

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The call of a disciple of Jesus is simple. It boils down to the two words Jesus spoke when calling His original disciples: “Follow me.” To follow Jesus is to look like He looks, to do the things He would do, and to see others the way He sees them. There isn’t a massive playbook we need to learn. His yoke is easy, and His burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).

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The learning curve is small, we just follow Him. That’s it! And yet so many miss the simplicity of it all. Throughout the centuries, spiritual leaders and churches have been adding on to the simplest of all requirements. There is no “follow Jesus and…”, there is only walking in the footsteps of our Lord and Savior.

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