Even If i Walk Alone

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

Leviticus

Dead to Sin

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Can a Christian sin? If you are a believer in Christ, you know the answer to this is a resounding and unfortunate “yes.” Yet Paul asks a convicting question in Romans 6:2: “How can we who died to sin still live in it?” Is Paul saying once God saves us, we will no longer sin? After all, if we are dead to sin, how can we then live in it?

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Paul can’t be saying Christians never sin because one chapter later, he is lamenting, “For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate” (Romans 7:15). If sin could still hamper a man like Paul, how much more will we still fall prey to sin?

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Holy Living

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Holy living isn’t just a nice idea. It is something God commands us to do. Most of us assume holy living isn’t truly possible. Sure, Jesus did it, but He is the Son of God. We’re fallen and fallible human beings. How can we live up to such a standard? Peter gives us a roadmap for holy living in 1 Peter 1:13-16.

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It all starts in our minds. If we get our thinking right, we’ll find it far easier to live holy lives. You can’t be holy when your mind is obsessed with the things of this world. There is nothing holy on earth, so if we are always thinking of unholy things, how will we ever lead holy lives?

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Our Excess

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I was recently intrigued by a thought passing through my brain: “The excess I have belongs to those in need.” It’s not the most comfortable thought to consider. I like a little excess. I appreciate the peace and comfort it affords. Yet how can I hold onto more than I need when there are those in the world suffering in abject poverty? One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Proverbs 30:8 which says, “Give me just enough for today.”

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The author states if he has too much, he will take it all for granted and forget God’s provision in his life. If he has too little, he may be tempted to steal to acquire what he needs. The sweet spot is having just enough for today. Any excess should be shared with others.

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Giving Away Our Excess

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I once read our excess money is given to us to share with others. This is something I’ve tried to incorporate into my own life because I feel there is good Biblical precedence for it. Early Christ followers shared all they had with each other (Acts 4:32-35). This seems to go even beyond simply giving away our excess. In the Old Testament, God gave laws commanding people to not harvest the edges of their fields so the poor could come and get some food for their families (Leviticus 23:22).

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Jesus told us not to hoard our wealth (Luke 12:16-21). The next question I generally get when discussing this is, “How do I determine how much is excess?” To me, this question is always the result of a scarcity mindset.

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Focus on God

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focus,distraction,serving others,Matthew 26:31-46,James 1:27,Matthew 6:25-33,Mark 12:28-31image © fauk74 – Fotolia.com

We are so easily distracted by the cares and pleasures of this world. Knowing he is defeated, Satan has brilliantly crafted a strategy that is making certain that he doesn’t go down alone. His entire purpose is to thwart the plans of God, delay his own inevitable demise, and keep you and me as far away from God as possible. He accomplishes this through altering our focus. As followers of Jesus, our focus should always be on two things: God Himself and serving others in His name. Everything else in life will make sense if we are keeping our focus solely on these two areas.

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