Even If i Walk Alone

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

John

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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Unified

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Throughout history, we’ve seen times of trouble unify people around a common cause or enemy. In a divided world of hatred, offense, and self-interest, we could use some unity today. Perhaps something as insidious as a global pandemic will have the silver lining of unifying humanity, banding us together to fight the virus inflicting many and disrupting life as we knew it.

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Only time will tell. What I do know, as followers of Christ, His call is always for us to be unified, not only when trouble abounds. Our unity is so important that Jesus made it the subject of His last prayer for us before He allowed Himself to be crucified (John 17:20-23).

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God’s Peace

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God’s peace is sometimes difficult to find amid the daily media barrage. But it is always there, waiting for you to relax into it. Jesus said, “My peace I give to you” (John 14:27). His peace transcends any fear, anxiety, or difficulty we will ever face. We need not fear any storm. Christ has proven He can calm the waves with a simple word (Mark 4:35-41).

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Nothing can overwhelm us so long as He is with us. There is nothing to fear. Satan would have you believe otherwise. He will do everything he can to unsettle you, to make you fearful, and to make you doubt. You can always be certain the devil will use every tool at his disposal to distract you from keeping your eyes on Jesus.

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