Even If i Walk Alone

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

Mark

Love Your Neighbor

by

Most of us are familiar with the greatest commandment: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:28-30). And while I think we are aware of the second greatest commandment, “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31), it seems we give that one more lip service. I’m not sure that’s ever more obvious than during a Presidential election season.

Mark 12:31,love your neighbor,discipleship,commitment,priorities,responsibility,service,serving others,surrender,Mark 12:28-30,greatest commandment,Philippians 4:8,think on these things,Ephesians 4:29,build others up,ambassador of Christ,love

I see a lot of evidence that many forget their allegiance is to Jesus and not to a political party. It manifests in the words we say to each other. To love your neighbor as yourself means to love them even if they support opposing political ideals or candidates than you do. Loving those who agree with us is easy. Discipleship is hard.

[Read more…] about Love Your Neighbor

Living in Obedience

by

Because of my Scottish heritage, I think I’m biased towards Scottish thinkers and writers. One of my favorites is Andrew Murray, a minister in the 1800s. Murray was a devoted disciple who left many soul-searching and convicting books as his legacy. As I was reading some of his writing this week, I saw this: “The Father in heaven asks, requires, and expects all of His children to give Him whole-hearted and entire obedience all day long, every single day.”

living in obedience,commitment,discipleship,obedience,purpose,love,Mark 12:29-30,greatest commandment,Matthew 7:13-14,narrow way,John 14:15,if you love me,John 14:21-24,obey my commands

It seems like a daunting task, but then I suppose if it was easy, we would find many more joining us. If it was easy, the path would be wide instead of narrow (Matthew 7:13-14). No, following Jesus is not the easy path in life, but it is the only one worth following. And if we will brave this path, we must understand it requires our obedience to Jesus every step along the way.

[Read more…] about Living in Obedience

Discipleship

by

Dietrich Bonhoeffer pulled no punches. In his classic, “The Cost of Discipleship”, he wrote, “Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.” I write extensively on discipleship for the same reason. If you aren’t pursuing a life of discipleship with Jesus, I believe the Bible is clear: Jesus does not know you (Matthew 7:21-23; John 14:15). That’s a strong statement, I know. But we’ve been dancing around this subject for too long.

discipleship,commitment,love,mission,Christianity,Christian,salvation,eternity,eternal life,Dietrich Bonhoeffer,cost of discipleship,Mark 12:28-30,greatest commandment,John 14:15,obey my commands,Matthew 7:21-23,many will come saying Lord,Bill Hull,live the life

We don’t want to seem judgmental or offensive, so we add caveats and couch our words to make them seem less harsh. The result is that millions of people who believe they are Christians are not. It is perhaps the most sinister and ingenious deception Satan has ever unleashed. He continues to deploy this strategy today. It has so infected our churches that most don’t even realize the deception under which they are living.

[Read more…] about Discipleship

Live Like Jesus

by

“This generation of believers is responsible for this generation of souls”. Keith Green said that about 40 years ago, and it still resonates with me today. If we don’t model Jesus for others, how will they ever know who He is? As David Platt recently said, “People can’t be what they don’t see.” The apostle Paul said, “How will people come to know Jesus if we don’t tell them about Him?” (Romans 10:14). It is the responsibility of every believer to tell others about Christ.

live like Jesus,Keith Green,David Platt,discipleship,mission,commitment,Matthew 28:19-20,great commission,Romans 10:14,how will they hear,Luke 18:18-27,rich young ruler,(Matthew 11:29-30,yoke is easy,(Philippians 4:13,all things are possible,Luke 1:37,with God nothing is impossible,Mark 9:23,everything is possible if you believe,John 14:27,my peace I give to you

We also must make disciples out of those who respond to God’s call (Matthew 28:19-20). We are the boots on the ground for the Kingdom of God. We have a mission. Now is not the time to get lazy. The battle is raging hotter than ever before and we have a role to play in it. Our job is to live like Jesus so others can see what it looks like to follow Him.

[Read more…] about Live Like Jesus

Today Matters

by

Recently, I came across a quote from David Jeremiah: “Those who think the most about Heaven do the greatest work on earth.” It made me stop and wonder how much of my time I’m spending thinking about Heaven and how much I’m spending thinking about my life here and now. I doubt I’m alone in admitting most of my thoughts are on the present, not on my eternity. Everything we do here is laying the groundwork for life when Christ returns.

today matters,commitment,God's will,discipleship,God's Kingdom,Matthew 7:21-23,many will come saying Lord Lord,John 14:15,If you love me you will obey me,Mark 12:28-31,greatest commandment,John Maxwell,Kingdom of God

If we do nothing for Him, we should not expect much from Him. And if we do nothing for Him, we may find ourselves on the outside looking in when He establishes His Kingdom here on earth (Matthew 7:21-23). Today matters more than we can imagine, and the only way worth spending it is with a focus on the life to come, not on the one we are living.

[Read more…] about Today Matters