Even If i Walk Alone

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

Matthew

The Light of the World

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Radiant Light

Jesus told His followers that they were to be the light of the world. We often ascribe that title to Jesus Himself, since He is the only one who can lead us out of the darkness of our lives. Perhaps it’s easier to only think about Jesus being the light because that absolves us of some responsibility. We’ll tell others about Christ and point them to His light, but if we are to shine ourselves that means we must make radical changes in the way we live. Jesus didn’t qualify His statement in Matthew 5:14. He didn’t say we could be the light of the world or that we should be the light of the world; He clearly said that we are the light of the world.

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Instructions on Prayer

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Man Praying

In the passage of 1 Timothy 2:1-4, we find instruction regarding the ways in which we should all be praying. Many times we get into the habit of our prayers being self-oriented and we neglect many of the people and circumstances for which we should be praying. A vibrant and consistent prayer life is a key to understanding the character and principles of God, so it’s worth pausing to consider all the ways we have been instructed to pray.

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What Are You Learning in Church?

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A Church Service

There are several reasons that we as followers of Christ attend church. The Bible tells us that we should get together with fellow believers so we can encourage each other (Hebrews 10:24-25). Associating with others who follow Christ also helps keep us accountable in both our actions and words. Worshipping as a group of like minded people brings a dynamic that is different from when we worship alone. All of these reasons are good, scriptural and necessarily refreshing as we seek to walk the path Christ has set before us. However, I don’t think it’s enough to simply fellowship with other believers and enjoy a time of worship. I believe we need to be learning more about God during the time we spend together. Yet today there seems to be an emphasis on shallow teaching and a focus on those gathered rather than those on the outside who desperately need the gospel of Jesus.

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Used to Bad News

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Opinion column in a newspaper

Every day we read the news and it seems our world keeps going from bad to worse. It can be discouraging as we try and live for Christ on a planet that seems determined to eradicate His name from its vocabulary. Intellectually we know that God is in control and in the end He will triumph. Through our logical eye, however, we question how that will ever be possible in a world that seems to have simply gone mad. Good news seems even better than it is because it has become so rare. Newspapers and web sites are full of negative stories be it concerning the economy, war, or violence perpetrated against random individuals. Over time it becomes numbing to the point that we simply get used to bad news.

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Deny Yourself

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In Matthew 16, verse 24, Jesus tells His followers that “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” It is common among Christians to talk about “taking up your cross”.

Cookies and milk - a luxury

We generally pull that out whenever we are going through some sort of trial. Yet we don’t hear a lot in our modern churches about denying ourselves. It seems we’ve relegated that to the people of the past, the super-spiritual or the mystics. After all, denying oneself is a wholly un-American way to think.

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