Even If i Walk Alone

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

Luke

No More Excuses

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We are great at making excuses. When God calls us to do something for Him, it seems we have a ready arsenal of reasons He needs to ask someone else. In fact, judging by own life and observations of life in general, there is apparently no right time to do the work of the Kingdom.

No More Excuses

Sometimes we’re too young, while other times we’re too old. We don’t have enough money to help, or we have too many resources to be able to sacrifice them all. Whatever the request, we always seem able to manufacture an excuse as to why now is not a good time. [Read more…] about No More Excuses

What Are You Waiting For?

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Some people wait their entire lives for permission to do the thing they were created to do. They make excuses of being too young and then too old; too inexperienced and then overqualified. It seems like there are always a million reasons not to do the very thing we know we should be doing. Some wait to reach a certain level of financial security, while others convince themselves they don’t deserve to live the life of which they dream.

What Are You Waiting For

Photo courtesy of stock.xchng/Lenscap

As followers of Christ, we have to understand that time is both finite and fleeting. We have been called to carry out the mission of Christ, yet we hesitate, waiting for a sign or the stars to align. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus said, “Go”. What are you waiting for? [Read more…] about What Are You Waiting For?

Born This Way

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One of the greatest realizations you can have is that you were uniquely created with gifts and talents to continue the mission of Christ. Not only did He love you enough to die for you, but He also gifted you specifically to collaborate with Him in bringing the Kingdom of God to fruition.

Born This Way

So many wander through life discouraged because they believe themselves to be insignificant and without purpose; this is tragic and we need to be telling them how special they are in the eyes of God. [Read more…] about Born This Way

Finding True Success

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Each of us wants to be successful; we all want to win. There is an innate drive inside of us that compels us to compete and prove we are the best. Being the best means we are successful. If we drive the right car, live in the right neighborhood or have the right job, we consider it proof that we are winning and have become successful. For all those I know who have found themselves driving that car or living in that neighborhood, the vast majority are not entirely happy. If that’s all there is to their life, then a sense of emptiness remains; they lack a sense of purpose and fulfillment. Rabbi Harold Kushner once said, “The purpose of life is not to win. The purpose of life is to grow and share. When you come to look back on all that you have done in life, you will get more satisfaction from the pleasure you have brought to other people’s lives than you will from the times that you outdid and defeated them.

Life is more than keeping score, and this is especially true for followers of Christ. Our goal should not be to outdo someone else, but rather to out-love and out-serve everyone. Our heart’s desire must be to live a life that looks like that of Jesus. If we concern ourselves only with that, we will find our lives are far richer and more fulfilled than if we had achieved material success beyond measure. We are spiritual beings at our core, and spirit cannot be soothed or satisfied with the physical. Beyond what it does for us emotionally, anything we can touch, taste, smell, or hear will never fully quench the longing we have inside. It is only through spiritual communication with God and sharing His love with others that we will find peace and contentment. Nothing satisfies except Jesus.

It is incredibly easy to get caught up in the ways of our culture, but we are called out of a life of normalcy to live as strangers in this world. We are set apart to be different. If we chase after the things that society dictates we must have, then we are worshipping the material rather than the spiritual, and we are not following Jesus. Christ never cared for temporal possessions. He warned His followers that they would have no place to call home and sent them out into the world virtually empty handed (Luke 9:57-58; Luke 9:1-6). The reality was that while they may not have had anything they could physically hold, they were filled beyond measure because the spirit of God was within them.

True success is measured by how closely we are following Jesus. It is determined by our resemblance to Christ and by doing the things He told us to do. If we are continuing His mission on earth, then we are indeed successful. While it may not look like it to your friends, you know the peace and comfort that is within. You can’t put a price tag on the feeling that comes from being fully surrendered to Jesus. In the midst of the worst of troubles, He provides calm and courage. In the darkest night, He provides rest and comfort. Nothing is impossible through Jesus; nothing can stop us when we are truly following Him. There is no greater power than the power of God, and this power lives within you. You can keep your cars and your fancy neighborhoods. You can keep your physical power and influence. I have found all I need in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the true power, and true success is found only in service to Him.

Our Daily Bread

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In the Lord’s Prayer we are taught to ask for our daily bread. Most of us have never had to wonder where we would find food for the day. Our cupboards and pantries always seem to yield some sort of nourishment. Those of us who are fortunate enough to live in the West have more than likely never gone without food for an entire day. We are blessed beyond measure, and one need only look at the plight of the truly hungry around the world to be reminded of that fact.

According to WorldHunger.org, over 978 million people in the world are going hungry; that’s approximately one out of every six persons on the planet today. This is simply inexcusable for the world at large, but particularly egregious for those of us who seek to follow Jesus. We are told repeatedly in Scripture to feed the hungry (Isaiah 58:7, 10; Matthew 25:31-46; Romans 12:20; James 2:14-17; Deuteronomy 24:19-22; Luke 14:13). Knowing this, why is it that we are content to hoard the food for ourselves? I cringe when I think how often I’ve said, “There’s nothing to eat in this house!” I don’t think that has ever truly been the case. The real truth is there is perhaps nothing I am craving to eat in the house. We are so spoiled that we lament when we run out of a certain food, yet all the while we have more food in our house right now than nearly a billion people will have in an entire year. Our worst hunger cannot compare to their best days.

grocery store

Many cannot fathom the abundance we take for granted.

We must do something. The problem is large and daunting, but the God we serve is able to deliver the hungry from their distress. He calls us to be His hands and feet in bringing relief to their gnawing stomachs. God will honor and use our prayers, donations and efforts to bring His justice to this world. With the resources we have at our disposal, there is no excuse for a single person to go to bed hungry tonight. Let’s all do a gut check and review our expenses for the last month. How many needless material things did each of us buy? How much money did we spend on food that exceeded our “daily bread”? If we had only given half of that total to feeding the hungry, how much might all our contributions together have totaled? One person can make a difference here; a concentrated effort of all followers of Christ would have an impact that would resonate around the world.

Jesus made it very clear that His followers would show mercy to those around them, and he particularly pointed out feeding the hungry (Matthew 25:31-46). He made this a stipulation of being welcomed into His kingdom. If we do not feed the hungry, then we do not love as Christ loved. Our Western culture has blinded us to the needs of those in other countries; our suburban lifestyle shields us from the hungry in our own cities. It’s not enough to acknowledge and pray for the problem. As followers of Jesus, we must take action. Love is a verb and it is not passive. If we are to love others as Christ did, then we must act. I am not advocating that we should all become destitute and give every last cent to feed the hungry (although I do believe there is virtue in that). I am simply asking that we all, myself included, take a fresh look at how we are spending our money while looking for ways to distribute it to the poor and hungry instead.

Look into the eyes of the hungry. Let their faces burn into your mind. Begin to notice how much food is wasted in our country. We throw away so much food while one in six people lack food for the day. Here’s something I read about that we can all try. Get a large can or perhaps just a separate garbage bag, and put nothing in it except the food you throw away for a week. At the end of the week, weigh it and see how much you have wasted. According to the United Nations, about 25,000 people die each day due to hunger or hunger-related diseases. How many lives might have been saved with the food we waste each week? It is sobering and it is not acceptable. Jesus called us to be His hands and feet in this world that has so much hunger. He called us to feed them. We, in turn, have become blind to the needs of others while continuing to satisfy our own selfish desires.

We all need our daily bread, but none of us needs any more than that. What if we all cut back to eating simply what we needed and gave the money we saved to feed someone who is impoverished? We can change the world, one person at a time. We can all make a difference if we would simply do the things Jesus commanded us to do. Don’t turn away from the hungry. God loves them and we should too. Determine today to make a difference in their lives; in the name of Jesus, be the hands that deliver their daily bread.