Even If i Walk Alone

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

Mark

Goals and Resolutions

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As I write this, it is mid-October. Most would think this a bit early to start thinking about goals for the next year, but I start the process every year around this time. If you’re kind, you may think me an over-achiever, but I’m guessing most will probably see me as somewhat neurotic and obsessive! Regardless, I’ll bet you’re wondering what any of this has to do with following Jesus.

Goals and Resolutions,Mark 8:36,Philippians 3:8,goals,resolutions,goal setting,God's Kingdom,building the Kingdom,humility,mission

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The truth is I had an epiphany as I began to think about my goals for the next year.  Every time I set goals, they are centered on what I want to accomplish. Yes, I do set spiritual goals, but traditionally those have been just one slice of the goals I set. It suddenly occurred to me the only goals that matter are the ones concerning Christ and not me.
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Celebrity Culture

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We live in an era where pastors have become celebrities. Several make more money on the speaking circuit and from writing books than any church could ever have afforded to pay them. I have nothing against these people earning more money, and certainly nothing against more people hearing the truth of Jesus. The problem I do have is our tendency to idolize these men and women.

celebrity culture,humility,pride,idols,idolize,marketplace pressure,Mark 8:29-30,Matthew 8:3-4,a.w. tozer

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We’ve stolen the celebrity culture of Hollywood and applied it to ministry. I am guilty of feeding this machine. I love reading books and attending seminars, always looking for new insights by which I can draw nearer to God. Still, there’s a fine line between earnest student and borderline groupie.
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Wasted

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Most people have one or more irrational fears. These kinds of fear are far worse in our minds than they are in reality. As much as we want to think otherwise, irrational fears exist largely only in our minds. My greatest fear, however, is not of the irrational variety. It is only too real, based on hard cold facts and unyielding truth. My greatest fear is when I die my life will be labeled by God as “wasted”.

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It will have been wasted because I spent most of the time and energy entrusted to me pursuing the pleasures and delights of this world rather than living a life dedicated wholly to Him. There is no recovery from a wasted life. It’s over, done, and labeled for eternity.
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Busy

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Commenting on Leonard Ravenhill’s statement that “The accent in the Church today is not on devotion, but on commotion”, A.W. Tozer said “What a man is must be shown to be more important than what he does… Externalism has taken over. God now speaks by the wind and the earthquake only; the still small voice can be heard no more. The whole religious machine has become a noisemaker.”

busy,Luke 10:1,tozer,Leonard Ravenhill,A.W. Tozer,busyness,local church,Mark 6:7,two by two

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As you survey the well-known churches of our day, this seems very true. As a general rule, there is a lot of activity surrounding them, but the world is not changing as a result. It’s not just the big churches either. For too many local congregations, the emphasis is on what they are doing with little concern being shown for the ultimate results of that busyness.
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The Rich Young Ruler Revisited

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I have always been drawn to the story of the rich young ruler found in three of the four gospels (Matthew 19:16-22, Mark 10:17-22, Luke 18:18-23). I love the black and white of it (or so it would seem). I love the way it lays down the gauntlet and demands everything from us in exchange for Jesus.

rich young ruler,Matthew 5:40,Matthew 8:20,Luke 18:18-23,Matthew 19:16-22,Mark 10:17-22,Acts 2:44-47,Acts 16:14-15,Matthew 27:57,Philippians 3:7-9,commitment

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So much has been written about this story already. Yet still I keep coming back to it. What does it mean to you and me and the lives we lead on a daily basis? How does it apply to those who profess to follow Christ 2,000 years after He walked on this very earth?
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