Even If i Walk Alone

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

Love

Integrity

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Are you a person of integrity? As I have stated previously on this blog, I believe integrity is an all or nothing character trait. You do not have amounts of integrity; it is either something you do or do not have. To be a person of integrity is to be above reproach at all times. So how could anyone possibly live a life of integrity when we constantly mess up and fail?

I believe living a life of integrity means you are constantly building your integrity. Whether or not you have integrity is really more of a heart attitude. What, in the very depths of your soul, at your core, do you desire? Do you want to be someone who never cheats, never lies, never cuts corners, and always puts the interests of others before themselves? If you do, I believe you have integrity. However, that integrity needs to be manifested in your behavior. Every day we are building or tearing down our perceived integrity. To put this in another way, whether or not we have integrity is a heart issue; whether or not we demonstrate that integrity is a matter of choices.

In the business world, you build integrity every time you are honest with a client. You build integrity when you put the needs of your customers and your employees before the needs of yourself. Every time you refuse to cut corners, you build your integrity. In business, the most successful individuals are historically those with a perceived high degree of integrity.

Integrity is demonstrated in our relationships as well. Here again, putting the needs of your husband or wife before your own shows that you have integrity in your relationship. Modeling respect for your spouse (or boyfriend or girlfriend) also shows integrity. For example, noticing an attractive member of the opposite sex does not show a lack of integrity. However, letting your gaze linger and your mind ponder possibilities with that individual shows a complete lack of integrity. You promised an unwavering life-long commitment to your partner, and a person of integrity honors their commitments. Jesus says that if we think something sinful, it is the same as having done it. Having integrity in our thought life is one of the most important traits a Christian can have. It is also one of the most difficult.

I suppose you may be wondering why we’re having this discussion of integrity. Simply put, if we cannot be people of integrity in our dealings with everyday life, we stand no chance of living a life of integrity when it comes to serving Jesus. We committed our lives to Him, but how many of us are living out that commitment? Do you keep your eyes fixed on the Holy Son of God, or do they wander to the pleasures of this life, consumed by the lure of instant gratification?
Are we demonstrating integrity in our financial habits? Are you spending more on your entertainment than you are in caring for the poor and needy? Do we demonstrate integrity in our thought life? To quote the late Keith Green, “What’s playing in the theater of your mind?” This is the acid test for integrity: are you living a life devoted to Christ and others, or are you pursuing your own pleasure and happiness?

Tom Ziglar points out a couple of great results of integrity: we never feel guilty about our actions, and we never have anything to hide. If we are living our lives for Christ, then we never need to fear. We can be totally honest with everyone we meet for we have nothing to hide. We can sleep at night without guilt, without regret, for we know we are doing the things Christ would do. We are free, freer than we could ever hope to be otherwise. A lack of integrity brings guilt and fear and wears us down from the endless pursuit of trying to maintain a façade.

Search your heart. Are you a person of integrity? Do you want to serve Christ more than anything in this world? Are you prepared to do whatever it takes to follow Him? If not, pray and ask that God would give you integrity and the strength to demonstrate that integrity through your actions. As a person of integrity, we will love others at all times, assist them in their struggles and serve God every waking moment. Be a person of integrity. Serve Christ with all your heart. When you fall, get up quickly and continue your journey with Him. Let’s build the Kingdom without guilt and with nothing to hide. Determine that today is the day you become a person of integrity. Put the world on notice; from this day forward you will serve and follow Christ with integrity in all aspects of your life.

Goals for the New Year

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I can think of few greater disappointments than to live the next year exactly as we have lived this one. To think of living next year as a year of maintaining the status quo, or worse yet to live it in a way that would see us move backwards in our spiritual lives, is a tragedy of profound proportions. Following Christ is not a call to a level of comfort or to a relaxed plateau. We are called to excellence in all areas of our lives and that will simply not be possible unless we are truly living a life in endless pursuit of Jesus.

If last year was a breakthrough year for you spiritually, that’s tremendous, and you should use it as a spring board to do bigger and better things for God this year. If last year was a veritable disaster, be encouraged, because a new year brings new opportunities. The past is over and done. Start with a clean slate, determined to make this year the best of your life as you seek to live a life of justice, faithfulness and humility before our Savior. If you fall somewhere in the middle of these two extremes, don’t let that happen again in the upcoming year. Cast off your mediocrity and determine that you will excel in everything you do this year. Commit your heart anew to living as Jesus lived, walking in His footsteps and demonstrating love to everyone you encounter.

Over the next couple of posts we will dig into some specifics of how to ensure that this year will be a year defined by great accomplishments in your spiritual life. It is our duty and responsibility as followers of Jesus that we do the good works that He intends for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). These good works are to act justly, without prejudice, to every soul we happen to meet throughout the year. These works are to not only act justly to everyone but to also respond to their needs in love. Sometimes this may cost you a few dollars, but more often it will simply cost you a few minutes. Doing these things allows us to walk faithfully before our Lord. Finally, remember to demonstrate great humility in everything you do and say. Christ is greater than all, and He loves all people equally. We have nothing to boast about, we are nothing without Christ.

Prepare now to have an amazing 2010. Begin praying, asking that God would show you the areas of your life that need improvement. Resolve that you will do whatever it takes to excel in the good works He has planned for you to do. Whatever your circumstances, you can choose to follow God in faithfulness, to live in humility and justice, and ultimately to love everyone with whom you come into contact. The upcoming year can be your best yet if you simply yield all that you have and all that you are to the Creator of the universe, the Lover of your soul.

Know Your Enemy

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One of the biggest keys to living a life devoted to Christ is to have a clear picture of who our enemy is. You can’t live a victorious life if you don’t know who it is you need to defeat. While it is easy to think of the phrase “life is a battle” as being simply a romantic analogy, it is actually a fundamental truth of Christianity. We are engaged in battle twenty-four hours a day as we seek to live passionately for our Savior.

First, let’s make it clear who your enemy is not. Anything made up of flesh and blood is not your enemy. People are never the enemy. How could we possibly perceive any human being to be our enemy when Christ told us to love every one? Therefore, I submit that it is not possible to love your enemy because if you consider another human to be your enemy, then you do not love that person. I think what Jesus meant when He said to “love your enemy” in Luke chapter 6, was to have no enemies. It is consistent with scripture when we see that Christ did not treat those who would kill Him as His enemies. He knew who was behind their actions as evidenced by His requesting the Father to forgive the people killing Him because “they did not know what they were doing” (Luke 23:33-34). We first need to make the shift in our hearts of transforming our enemies into friends so that we can love them; we need to always see others as Jesus saw them. Satan loves to distract us and to shift our focus onto other humans. We blame other people for our mistakes or our circumstances. We cannot do this and love those same people, which is why we cannot consider anyone to be our enemies while at the same time say that we are followers of Christ. Jesus did not treat humans as enemies; He treated them as friends.

No, our battle is not against flesh and blood, but rather against spiritual forces. Yes, demons really do exist, and yes they can and do impact your life. Perhaps this is where the old “the devil made me do it” excuse came from. The devil cannot make you do anything; he or his demons can put the temptations in place to make you consider doing something, but only we – as creatures gifted with freewill – actually can choose to act on that choice. As a holiday season is upon us, perhaps it needs to be said that Santa Claus is not the enemy of Christmas, but rather it is the spirit of greed and selfishness. The Easter Bunny is not the enemy of Easter, but rather the spirit of denying the resurrection of Christ. Other nationalities are not our enemy throughout the year, but rather the spirit of pride, hate and covetousness. Demonic forces are persistently trying to shift our focus away from the good things of Christ and onto the ruinous things of self. Christ died to not only bring forgiveness for our sins but in doing so He defeated Satan and his demonic forces. He gives us the power to do the same. The good news is that the end of the story is already written and Christ, along with those who profess Him as Lord, will be victorious in the spiritual realm. While we are still on earth, however, the battle rages on.

Don’t mistake who it is that we are fighting. Don’t allow Satan to shift your focus onto the wonders of creation as being your enemy. Our fight is always against the spiritual realm, against Satan. We wage war against those forces by making Jesus the Lord of our life, doing those things he modeled for us and in so doing demonstrate His love to all of His creation. Be careful not to get caught up in actions or arguments that only advance a flesh and blood agenda. Engage only in those things that advance the Kingdom agenda. Love God and all of His creation and demonstrate that love in tangible ways every day that you have breath.

Doing Christmas Jesus Style

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I’m ashamed to admit that I have spent far too many hours in my life debating the usual “Christian” Christmas arguments: Jesus vs. Santa, Santa Clause or Satan Claus, and of course Christmas vs. x-mas. I was brought up to believe these were battles that we Christians had to fight; if we didn’t fight, the non-Christians would succeed in removing Christ from Christmas. I have to wonder what part of Christ’s nature we were demonstrating as we were zealously cramming our opinions down someone else’s throat. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that many of you have had these same arguments, or perhaps you still engage in them. There is, after all, something about seeing a “Merry X-Mas” sign that makes ones blood boil. How we respond is vital to our ultimate goal of following the way of Jesus. When we engage others in these types of conversations, are we demonstrating love toward them? Are we making it clear that God highly values them, that Christ died for them? Or are we simply concerned with winning the argument? What are our motives in iscussions such as these? Is it righteous anger or self-righteous one-upmanship?

I submit that regardless of our motives, we are missing the point entirely by engaging in these arguments. Let’s put aside the fact that research seems to indicate that Jesus was born in the middle of summer, making it kind of a moot point to become indignant that people aren’t celebrating Jesus’ birth on December 25th. Instead, regardless of why someone might be celebrating Christmas, how about if we simply embraced the season to shower gifts of love on everyone we meet? Yes, we should be doing this year round, but let’s face it, if you’re like me you often struggle mightily with this. We can brightly reflect the glory of God simply by living like our King. While others grumble and make snide remarks while waiting in a long line, let’s be the ones who smile, strike up positive conversations and perform little acts of kindness while you wait with everyone. Don’t be superficial, show genuine interest in the story of those around you. When driving in traffic (particularly the smash up derby lanes around the local mall), have patience and let others cut in front of you and even {gasp} let the other car have that parking space. You aren’t letting people walk all over you. Rather, you are allowing the love of Christ to flow through you. Take the time to smile and engage each cashier you deal with. Believe me; they are probably having a worse day than you are! It’s so easy to get caught up in the hustle and insanity of the season. Remember that this is not the time to join forces with the enemy, but rather to dutifully demonstrate the difference Christ can make in the life of another.

This year, let’s do Christmas differently. Let’s not get caught up in the petty and ultimately meaningless arguments that always come about this time of year. Let’s demonstrate the love of God to everyone we meet. Let’s care for the needs of those less fortunate than us. Let’s not focus on what others may define Christmas to be, and instead demonstrate what the gift of Jesus means to your life and what He can mean to theirs. Do Christmas different this year; do it Jesus style.

Attitude is Everything

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Personal development pioneer Paul J. Meyer passed away recently. He lived an amazing life and powerfully impacted many with his contagious enthusiasm and zest for life. Paul’s mantra was “Attitude is everything”, and I was reminded this week how true this is for we who seek to model our life after Jesus Christ.

It’s so easy to become distracted by the problems and concerns of our daily lives. We feel battered and stressed out from the difficult times that come into our lives. When we allow ourselves to get caught up in our problems, we take our eyes off of Jesus and put them on our self. When our eyes are on ourselves, we no longer are able to love those around us. One of the primary goals of Satan is to see that we become self –absorbed. Once he achieves that result, we are rendered essentially useless.

That’s why attitude is everything. We have eternal hope in Jesus Christ; we have more reason to celebrate than anyone. We must always remain focused on the glory of Christ and the mission He has enlisted us to carry out. Jesus is the creator of all things, and He created all things in extraordinary fashion. We are therefore, by default, extraordinary. Living a self-centered ordinary life is to reject all that we are and all we have been created to be. Extraordinary people do not live a life of mediocrity; they do not live a life devoted to their own needs. Extraordinary people live lives larger than themselves, lives dedicated to a higher purpose.

One more time, attitude is everything. As followers of Christ, we have the highest hope and we must never allow that hope to be diminished. We know how this story ends. We also know that there are many in this world without that same hope. It is our mission as Kingdom people to demonstrate the love of Christ by sharing that hope with them. When we get down, we are being ordinary. God did not create ordinary. God created extraordinary and we grieve Him whenever we neglect that which He created us to be.

The next time life begins to get the best of you, change your attitude. The next time you become discouraged or feel alone, reflect on who God created you to be. Reach inside and find that person because it exists in every one of us. We are extraordinary when we choose an attitude of love and devotion to Jesus Christ. Be extraordinary. Attitude is everything.