Even If i Walk Alone

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

Love

For the Love of God, Give! Part II

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In the last post we started looking at Matthew 25:31-40 as we endeavored to determine what our lives should look like if we would truly reflect the love and mission of Christ. Today I want to finish that thought, so we can all be clear on what the life of a disciple really looks like. As we saw last time, following Jesus is all about giving of our time and resources to carry on His mission and to follow through on the commands He has given us.

While our closets swell with the amount of clothing in them, millions of people in the world have nothing to wear. They spend their days naked and without shoes, many of whom literally live in garbage dumps. These aren’t word pictures to shock you; they are simply the truth. All of us can donate clothing to area ministries that provide for those in need. Also consider giving a portion of your money to ministries who provide the same service globally. There is no excuse for someone in this world to go without clothing or shoes. How sickening to see images of children in foreign countries basically wearing rags, and then taking a walk through our local shopping mall. We have the resources, we simply lack the will. Instead of buying ourselves some new jeans or shoes, consider donating a pair instead.

In Matthew 25:36, we are commanded to take care of the sick. I confess to not handling sickness well. If someone so much as coughs in my direction I freak out a little. This is not the reaction that Jesus had. He lovingly touched those who were ill. He didn’t turn away, He embraced them. We need to be mindful of when our neighbors are sick and be a welcome help to them. Visit nursing homes and hospitals to share a few moments of your time and a kind word to those who are not only sick, but lonely as well. Give to, or go with, organizations that are providing medical care to people in other countries. Be a part of the solution. Be the Good Samaritan; do not pass them by.

The final command in the passage above tells us to visit those in prison. All over the world, Christians are persecuted, thrown into prison and left to die. They are tortured and deprived of food and sleep. Our fellow Christians are both sick and imprisoned and we should support ministries who care for these people and who seek justice on their behalf. We can either join them physically or support them monetarily. Be the hands and feet of Jesus, and care for their needs. Many of us know someone with a family member in prison. Go with that person to visit the one locked in a cell; give them your support and love. Be a mentor for someone in jail. Don’t judge them, but show compassion instead. In all ways, serve others and by doing so you will reflect the love of Christ.

There are many ways to follow the commands of Christ, both by joining forces with ministries or supporting them financially. We in the West have been blessed with significant resources and I believe it is our duty to fund those ministries who are carrying out the commands of Jesus. We don’t necessarily need another new ministry; we need to support the ones that have already established a foothold in helping those in need. May I suggest The Voice of the Martyrs, Persecution Project, World Vision and Compassion International? As you plan your giving for this year, see how many ways you can fulfill the commands of Matthew 25:31-40. Spend your money wisely in acts of service for Jesus. The Bible tells us that where we spend our money is a reflection of our heart. As we give to the service of Christ, our hearts will be transformed to look like His. As our hearts are transformed, it will overflow into our daily lives. The simplest way to live a life that looks like that of Christ is to do the things He told us to do. Give generously of your time and resources. Everything we have is His, so give it all back in service to Him. Give like there is no tomorrow. For the love of God, give!

Shaken

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In “The Perils of Ayden”, Erwin McManus wrote, “Do not stand in the center if you do not wish to be shaken. There is always danger when the movement comes.” If you’re like me, these words evoke excitement and rush of adrenalin. What follower of Christ doesn’t want to be shaken by the mighty hand of God? To be shaken is to be touched, and to be touched is to be overwhelmed by love. The love of God is beyond all we could ever imagine; it is passionate and it is fierce. Herein lies the danger; once you have been touched by God you will not, you cannot, ever be the same. You can go so far as to walk away from Him entirely, but you will never forget the feeling of that love and inwardly will always long to experience it again.

Being shaken by God brings an entirely new perspective to your life. The things that once held great importance to you no longer matter at all. The things you could once ignore now break your heart. If God shakes you, you will be changed. There is danger in pursuing His love because it will lead you to places you have never known and through experiences you could not imagine. There is danger in not pursuing Him because He has called you to follow Him; to refuse is to stand against the Holy Creator of the universe. Once God has shaken you, there is danger no matter which way you go. If you follow Him, He will be there to guide and comfort you through the storms that assail your life. If one must be in peril, it is far better to be there with Jesus than alone.

God longs to shake you; He desires to envelop you in His arms and fill you with His love and spirit. He needs radical followers who will go into the entire world telling others about Him. He needs fanatical lovers who will touch the sick and feed the hungry. He needs you and me. I want to be shaken by God; I want to be in the center of what He is doing in this world. Standing on the sidelines or cowering in the back is no way to serve the Lord. I want to be in the front row with a bird’s eye view of all that He is accomplishing. Watching a smile cross the face of a bitter man or wrapping your arm around a broken woman; this is the stuff of life. Coming along side of someone in need, just as Jesus did for us, is a high call and it is the command of Christ. You can’t carry on His mission from the seat of a spectator. You have to get in the game, and if you become involved, you will be shaken!

If you have ever been in an earthquake, you have experienced a shaking from outside yourself. You have felt the ground tremble and experienced the disorientation this can cause. When God shakes you, He shakes you from the inside out. You will not be able to pinpoint the source of the shaking; you will just know it is happening. Instead of becoming disoriented, you may become euphoric. The love of God is awesome and it is majestic. To feel the shake and warmth of His touch is momentarily debilitating but permanently motivating. How can one keep silent once they have felt the touch of God; how can they not share His love with anyone who will listen?

Ask the Lord to shake you and you will be changed. Ask Him to plant you in the center of His mission and attack it with a vengeance. Only when we are surrounded by His love and carrying out His commands will we find peace; and in the midst of that peace we will be shaken. How incredible to experience God from the inside out. We have long been taught to ask Him into our heart, but once there we expect Him to be quiet and bring us rest. To the contrary, if we are true followers of Christ, He will begin shaking the house as soon as He arrives and will continue to do so as long as we pursue Him. I want to shake the world with the love of Jesus because He first shook me. Have you been shaken by the love of Jesus? I’d love to hear your story and encourage you to share it with others by commenting below. Jesus did not come to quietly express His love for the world. He came to violently shake the nations with His message of peace and hope. We are to carry on that mission. Filled with His love, let us move out to touch the weak, the lost and the weary. Let’s shake this world together.

Glorifying God

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Our purpose in life is to glorify God. This is not a part-time purpose or one we fulfill once and move on to the next task. Glorifying God is our life-long pursuit and the way in which we will fulfill the mission He has given us. The thought of constantly glorifying God is daunting at best; is it even possible to live one’s life in this manner? I know that it is; I am confident because I have had moments in my life where I have achieved the goal of glorifying Him. It may have only been for a moment, but here’s what I know: if you can do something for a few moments, you can do it for minute; if you can do it for a minute, you can do it for an hour; if you can do it for an hour, then you can do it for a day. If we can glorify God for a day, then surely we can string those days together to make a lifetime. It all starts with making a conscious choice in a single moment of our lives.

Our attitude is the differentiator in how we will live. We can choose to pursue the life of the American dream because we are of the mind that it’s what we “deserve”, or we can instead live a life of intentional service to God. Most Christians get irreparably stuck in the middle somewhere, living an ugly and ultimately ineffective hybrid form of life. True followers of Christ will opt to live their lives wholly devoted to God. We will seize the moments we have been given and use them to further His kingdom. Jesus lived every minute of His life with the end in mind; He knew who He was and was keenly aware of His purpose. This is the life we are called to live, one which glorifies the Father.

Plan your day around divine appointments; schedule time with God just as you would any other appointment on your calendar. Recognize that the time you have set aside for Him cannot be moved and must be honored. One of the great aspects of prayer is that you can do it anytime, wherever you are. You are never somewhere that you cannot pray, and you are never so busy so as not to have an open channel. I spend a good majority of my day in prayer, having an ongoing conversation with my Creator. There are specific times though when I get alone and engage in less casual conversation, times when I can shut out the world and focus solely on Him. I suggest you find some time each day to do this, whether before going to sleep each night, or perhaps getting up five or ten minutes earlier to steal some quiet in the morning. You will find the time alone with God to be some of the most refreshing moments you will ever experience.

Get excited about knowing Him better and plan ways to accomplish this. Right now I’m in the midst of charting out what the next year of my life is going to look like. I have goals in many areas, but none more significant than those regarding my spiritual life. I’m looking forward to praying for the entire world (not as impossible as it seems, see the “Operation World” project) next year. Starting my day off by focusing on the needs of others around the world promises to be enriching, educational and invigorating. Determining new ways to experience the Word of God is another way to improve your walk and draw closer to Him. Next year I’ll be listening straight through a dramatized reading of the Bible with my wife, while reading it through chronologically on my own. You certainly do not need to read the Bible through in a year to get closer to Christ. I do know that it won’t hurt however, and the more you are in the Word, the more you will understand and marvel at His holiness and love.

As you plan to get to know Him better, His life will begin to reflect brighter and brighter through you. As He shines from within, you begin to glorify Him without even trying. People will take on added significance to you and you will begin to treat each of them as people highly valued by God. Traffic jams will become opportunities to demonstrate patience and allow you the opportunity to speak to God in prayer. Your job can now be seen as a mission field and it is up to you to establish the ministry of Jesus in that place. Every day, in every way, we have the ability to affect those around us. When we choose to honor them with love and respect, we glorify God. When we humble ourselves to serve others, we glorify God. When we forgive without receiving anything in return, we glorify God. A life spent devoted to Christ is more that a possibility; it is our duty and our calling. Choose right now to devote the rest of your life to His service. You can live a life that glorifies Him every step of the way; it only takes a moment to choose, and that moment is now.

Urgent and Reckless

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When considering your Christian life, would you classify it as urgent and reckless? Would you say that you are urgently doing all that you can to tell others about Christ? Is your life marked by a spirit of recklessness, one that pursues the kingdom at any cost? If our heart does not literally break with the thought of millions, even billions dying without the love and knowledge of Jesus Christ, we need to seriously evaluate our commitment to Him. If we are not leading a life easily identified by urgency and recklessness, then I have to question if our hearts are truly broken by the things that break the heart of God.

Jesus said to go into all the nations telling the people there about His love and His mercy. This is our call and our mission, the very will of God for our lives. He has not blessed us to be in America so that we might live a life of comfort and ease. He has blessed us to be in America so we will take the vast resources entrusted to us and give them to a world so desperately in need. Parents all around the world are wasting away and their children lay dying at their feet. HIV and AIDS runs rampant because we simply have not yet heeded the call to go and educate the world about the facts of this disease. Communities drink filthy and contaminated water because they lack the resources to drill proper wells to reach the water that would bring life and vitality to their village. Half the world lives on less than $2 a day while we think nothing of spending twice that amount on a daily latte.

We lack urgency and we crave safety rather than recklessness. How can we claim we are doing all we can for the lost and dying when we can’t even get out of bed on a Saturday morning? How dare we say that we have given all we can give to help others in need while we sit in warm houses with full cupboards and a couple of cars parked in the garage. We’re not doing all that we can, and we’re not giving all that we can. We are doing just enough to present a good picture to our friends and neighbors and we are giving just enough to salve our consciouses. This isn’t urgency, this is apathy.

Until we cease pursuing first our own selfish comforts, we will never make a marked difference in this world. Until we let go of the safety of our corner of the world, we will have no idea what it means to live with reckless abandon. We have become accustomed to living in the manner of this world instead of seeking first the Kingdom of God. How can we sleep at night with the knowledge that we have a closet full of shoes while millions of people have nothing on their feet? We live in excess while they dwell in squalor. Jesus told us that we were not of this world, so why do we insist on living as if we are? When will it be time for us to stop living in selfishness and begin to release everything we have in service for God’s kingdom? How much longer will we refuse to live the lives for which we were created?

If the thoughts of the hungry around the world do not bring tears to your eyes and an ache to your heart, beg God to break your heart for the lost and the least of these. If you are not urgently seeking ways to serve the dying and the poor every minute of your life, pray that God would give you a fresh dose of zeal to further His mission. If you are not living recklessly, forsaking everything to pursue justice and serve the needs of the hurting, cry out and ask the Lord to instill His passion within you. With each breath we run closer to the end of our race; we are losing time and it cannot be regained. Who will not hear the name of Jesus because we were content to stay under the covers for ten more minutes? Who will die without Christ because we were too busy watching TV? How many children will go without food or water today because we refused to sacrifice what we have?

Each of us knows the score; each of us is aware that while difficult to hear, these words are true. It’s your turn now; it’s my turn too. Will today be the same as every other day? Will tomorrow be one more entry into a life poorly lived? This is a call to action. Change begins with you and it begins with me, and it must begin now. We have no more time. Will you choose to continue pursuing the American dream, or will you forsake everything to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a world on the brink of disaster? This is our time; this is our call. What will you do?

Love Is… Courteous

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Continuing our mini-series of looking at the various attributes of love (see our previous examinations of kindness, patience, and forgiveness), today I want to talk about courtesy. To be courteous is to show regard or thought for others (source: Wiktionary.org). It means always putting the interests of another before your own. In the Western culture we grow up being taught that we should look out for ourselves first and get all that we can. I’m afraid our society has become anything but courteous. Those of us who choose to live for Christ, however, choose to live in love; and love is always courteous.

The easiest way to show courtesy to another is to first see them as someone of value. Too often we classify people as being above or beneath us when in truth we are all equal before God. As we start to recognize the value in everyone, we begin to treat them as if they were old friends. You wouldn’t see an old friend on the street and simply walk by; you would smile and greet them enthusiastically. This is the attitude we must develop in order to show courtesy to those we encounter. You never know who you will befriend next. Your simple act of courtesy could blossom into a rich, life-long relationship. Do you see the difference it could make in your outlook if every morning you awoke excited to see whom you would meet that day? I imagine this was what it was like to happen upon Jesus. I envision an easy smile and warm eyes, with a demeanor that said “I’ve been waiting to meet you.” This is how we as followers of Christ should present ourselves to the world. Every venture into the public square should be one anticipated with great excitement.

Being courteous can be difficult when we are tired or stressed out which gives us all the more reason to develop the trait when we are wide awake and feeling our best. Love is more than an emotion; it is also an action and a habit. We all need to develop the habits of love which means we all need to become courteous people. Don’t be in a hurry when conversing with someone. Recognize that most people are hurting or struggling with something in their life. Most just need someone who will listen to them. Our reflexive nature tends to be to rush through a conversation in order to be about our business. Realizing that all people need love, we need to remember that our primary mission is to reflect Christ to others. Spend some time getting to know the person and listen to their heart. You may not become fast friends, but you will leave with the satisfaction of knowing you extended courtesy to another human being, one who is highly valued by God and has limitless potential.

Courtesy should not only be extended outside the home, in fact it begins there. If we do not treat those closest to us with love, it is more than likely we will not demonstrate courtesy to those outside our inner circle. Begin practicing courtesy at home and you will see your relationships blossom like never before. Always compliment someone before permitting yourself to say anything critical. When you are bothered by the actions of another, put yourself in their shoes and understand where they are coming from. Chances are if you will take a moment to understand what they are feeling you will realize they are not intending to upset you.

Extending courtesy every day is a habit that will make you a very attractive person and win many friends. Your words and actions should always show that you value the other person and see them as someone of great worth. When you are tempted to make a rude or sarcastic comment, pause and consider the motivation of the other person; try to understand what they are going through and recognize that are struggling and hurting – just like you. Picture Christ in the room with you as you interact with other people; check your responses against what you would imagine His to be. As you learn the art of courtesy you will find yourself becoming a more loving person in noticeable and tangible ways. You will begin to look like Jesus as you approach others with extended arms and an open heart. Love will uncontrollably spill out of you with the unstoppable force of Christ.