Even If i Walk Alone

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

Kingdom of God

Selfish Prayers

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Let me say at the outset that I believe God wants us to bring our burdens to Him. He was explicit in telling us to do so (Psalm 55:22; Matthew 11:28-30; 1 Peter 5:6-7). While this is true, I believe it’s important we don’t tip the scales too far in that direction as we spend time with our Lord in prayer. In studying the Lord’s prayer, the model He gave to us for praying, it’s important to note the words “I” and “my” never appear (Matthew 6:9-13).

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There is nothing in His prayer about our individual gain or advancement. Too often, these things are the focus of our prayers, but it’s not the way Jesus instructed us to pray. So, what is the proper focus when talking to God, and how do we avoid praying selfish prayers?

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Right Now Counts Forever

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As you go throughout your day, how often do you pause and recognize that right now counts forever? Every idle word, careless act, and mindless thought is part of your eternal record. Because God created us to give Him glory, every moment of our lives comes with a responsibility. Our lives are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), no matter how much we think otherwise.

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The only reason any of us is drawing breath today is so we might bring glory to Jesus Christ. Your comfort, success, and happiness are all secondary considerations. We’ve spent our entire lives getting this not just backward, but very wrong. The purpose of our lives is not to get as much as we can out of this life, but to give as much of ourselves as we can to the mission and work of Christ.

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Cultural Christianity

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I am seeing a lot of talk these days around what is called “cultural Christianity”. The term has been around for a long time, although sometimes taking on different names such as “nominal Christianity”, or even “carnal Christianity”, but it always manifests in the same way. A so-called “cultural Christian” is one who either grew up in a Christian home, or was at least exposed to the teachings of the Bible, and still leans toward those life principles they remember from their youth.

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Many who identify as cultural Christians walked away from all things Christianity but are returning to its tenets later in life. There are two important things we must know about cultural Christianity: first, there is no Biblical basis for it, and second, it is rare for those professing such a belief to place their faith in Jesus Christ.

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Earthly Things

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I’ve written on this topic many times, but I am increasingly convicted of it in my life and burdened by it in the lives of others. To quote Charles Spurgeon, “Do not seek lasting comfort in earthly things.” We all do this every day. We spend our entire lives in pursuit of things of this word. But Jesus admonishes us to set our mind on things above (Colossians 3:1-4). Everything down here will rot, fade, get stolen or lost, or be destroyed (Matthew 6:19-21).

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Nothing lasts. Only what we do for Christ will survive. Only His Kingdom will endure. Yet every day we are living for the temporary garbage instead of the everlasting treasures found in Christ alone. How are we still so dull, deluded, and unwilling to sacrifice what is temporary for the eternal blessings of God?

Most of us still have not mastered the whole “dying to self” thing. When we surrender our life to Jesus, the quest for earthly things comes to an immediate halt. From that moment forward, our lives are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). We belong to Jesus, and as such, our every desire is to serve, please, and glorify Him. Our dreams must die, crucified with everything else on the cross of Christ (Matthew 16:24-26). The new dream is to live a life of total obedience to Jesus (John 14:15). He is our merciful Lord, and it is our honor and privilege to serve Him alone (Romans 6:16).

The corner office, nicest car, success, fame, or even the largest church must no longer be on our radar. Those are bad goals because they all focus on earthly things. We promised to surrender those to Jesus. Once and for all, nail every carnal desire to the cross. Let His blood wash over every prideful thought and craving until your only desire is to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:19-23). The entire point of our life is to know and be known by God (John 17:3). Nothing else matters because nothing else lasts.

Why is it so difficult to let go of the temporary pleasures and rewards of this life when we know what God has for us is infinitely better? Are we so immature and impatient that we cannot delay our desires for what is but a speck on the timeline of eternity to gain all the privileges and blessings that come with being co-heirs with Jesus (Romans 8:16-17)? Why is it so hard to live in light of eternity (Ephesians 5:15-17; 1 Peter 4:7-11)? Granted, we are physical beings, but we are so much more than that. The Spirit of the living God lives inside of us. Don’t ignore the yearning of that spirit to commune with God (Romans 8:26-27).

Accumulating earthly things comes at a price. Every moment spent in their pursuit, and even worshipping them, is a moment not spent giving glory to God. Having an abundance of earthly things isn’t a sin. The Lord may bless you with much on this earth to facilitate His plans. But we should never seek after them. We should never find our identity or worth in them (Matthew 6:19-21). Instead, we should seek first God’s Kingdom, God’s will, and God’s glory (Matthew 6:31-33). If we do, we will spend eternity with Him and have more than we could ever ask or imagine because we will have Jesus Himself (John 14:2-3; Ephesians 3:20-21). There is nothing better than that.

Courage

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While I’m uncertain whether the tradition continues today, for years, the cadets at West Point would recite this in their Sunday chapel: “Make us choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong. Never be content with half truth when whole truth can be won. Endow us with courage that is born of loyalty to all that is noble and worthy, that scorns to compromise with vice and injustice and knows no fear when right and truth are in jeopardy.”

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What if we had such zeal for the Kingdom of God? Isn’t it our duty to uphold the same things for the sake of the cross? If brave men and women can have that kind of commitment for a temporal country here on earth, shouldn’t our commitment to the eternal Kingdom be far greater?

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