Even If i Walk Alone

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

Love

We Must Obey

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As we continue to examine if we truly love God (see “Do We Love Him” and “We Must Keep His Commands”), let’s first lay a little theological groundwork. We know all scripture is God-breathed and inspired by His Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21). This means every word, and therefore every instruction, in the Bible, is a command of Christ. He is the Word of God in the flesh (John 1:1-3).

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Every time the scripture instructs us, we must obey. That is what it means to love Christ (John 14:15; 1 John 5:2-4). The book of James teaches us those who would live lives acceptable to God will keep themselves unstained by the world (James 1:27). Therefore, if we love Jesus, we will keep ourselves away from the temptations and habits of our culture. Let’s look at some practical implications this has for the way we live.

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We Must Keep His Commands

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Last time (see “Do We Love Him?”), we began to contemplate whether the love we have for Christ is genuine. Because of the importance of this topic, we’re going to continue thinking about it today. Jesus said many would come to Him thinking they know Him, but in fact do not (Matthew 7:22-23). So many are deceived by the “easy believism” and faith without consequences teachings of our day that Hell awaits a multitude of people who think they are in Christ but will find out He never knew them.

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It’s why this subject is of vital importance, one we do well to consider with great soberness. Nothing is more important than your relationship with Jesus. We do not know Him if we do not love Him, and we know to love Him means we must keep His commands (John 14:15).

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Do We Love Him?

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I am continually being brought back to the book of 1 John, primarily the second chapter. There is so much there that I’m beginning to think a single lifetime is not long enough to mine all the treasure it contains. One of the great things about this letter is the clarity of the message the Holy Spirit inspired John to write. There are numerous black-and-white statements. There is no nuance, no vagueness, and no wiggle room.

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This book leaves no room for you to hedge your bets. If you believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God that it is, then 1 John is the unequivocal handbook of how we are to live this Christian life. We say we love Jesus, but does our love pass the test? When push comes to shove, do we love Him? Let’s see what John wrote about this.

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Be Thankful

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While we should be thankful every day for the incredible blessings God has given to us, Americans set aside one day a year to express our gratitude as a nation. I recognize not everyone feels thankful today. Illness, job loss, personal tragedy, and general dissatisfaction with life can darken our minds and keep us from recognizing how much we have to be thankful for.

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Wherever you are, simply looking around you reveals much for which you can be thankful. I don’t know your circumstances, but I’ve never met anyone who couldn’t point to someone worse off than they were. So, that’s a start. If it could be worse, then there is something for which you can praise God.

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Careless Words

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Memories of words spoken to us and by us mark each of our lives. The words of someone else have hurt each of us, and we have all wounded someone with our words. Words have caused more violence than any weapon mankind has ever created. Careless words destroy another’s dreams, tear down confidence, and instill wrong beliefs. Oh, what damage we do when we pay no attention to what comes out of our mouths.

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We could avoid so much pain if we would only be intentional about the words we speak. Perhaps nothing will define us more than our words. If we want to live like Jesus, we must exercise discipline with what we allow to spill from our lips.

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