Even If i Walk Alone

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

Matthew

Are You Doing Enough?

by

Am I doing enough? It’s a question I ask myself over and over again – and often! I talk about being completely sold out to Jesus, but do I myself measure up? When I close my eyes each night, can I honestly say that I have lived my life that day in the best way I possibly could to reflect the glory of God to the world around me? If I cannot answer yes, then I am haunted by the realization that my actions – or lack thereof – may have prevented someone from seeing their need for Jesus Christ. Everywhere I go, I am an ambassador for Christ and I am responsible for each soul I encounter. I don’t have the option to look the other way or pretend not to notice. I am a follower of Jesus so I am obligated to serve those in need. The fact of the matter is that we all squander opportunities and waste precious time that we should be using to touch the life of someone else. We cannot live lives of perfection, but we should never stop striving to do so.

Every day of our lives must be spent in service to God. That is what it means to be a follower of Jesus. We are to be devoted to His causes and His mission; nothing else matters. Our dreams and ambitions must be pursued only insofar as they can be used to bring others to Christ. He has given us skills and talents in a combination that is unique to each person. These gifts are to be used for the sole purpose of reflecting His love and directing people to Jesus. We are not to pursue piling up money unless it is for the sole purpose of giving it to others in need. We are not to engage in a life of travel unless it for the sole purpose of spreading the love of Jesus around the world. It is your life and your passion, but they are to be used for His purpose. When you give your life to Jesus, you give up your claim to everything. From that point forward, everything you do, every word you say, is pledged to be for His glory. It goes without saying that we will stumble and miss the mark at times; it also goes without saying that we must quickly get up and set about our pursuit anew. His mission must be our passion. If it is not, we need to do some very serious soul searching to determine if we are truly His follower or not.

Being a Christian, a true disciple, is not a matter of saying a certain prayer and then just coasting for the rest of our days on earth. Where you spend eternity depends on whether you truly love and reflect Jesus to the world. By truly loving and being devoted to Christ, we are covered by His grace. It is our faith in His grace that will cause us to follow wherever He leads and to do the things He told us to do. Scripture tells us that faith without works is dead, and works without faith is futile (James 2:14-26; Hebrews 11:6). Without both faith and works, we will not see the gates of Heaven. Again, this isn’t about a one-time prayer, it is about a life-long commitment. If we have been blessed with money and don’t care for the poor, I believe Scripture is clear that we will not see Heaven (Ezekiel 16:49; Matthew 25:31-46). We don’t have brilliant careers because we are blessed by God; we have brilliant careers so we can bless others. We must never forget our purpose in life. Our purpose is God’s mission.

How about you? Do you, like me, get a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach when reflecting on the way you have lived out your devotion to Christ? Do you feel like I do, that you could be doing more, that you aren’t living a life that fully reflects His glory? We have work to do and time is running out; there is not a moment to lose. Reflect and reevaluate the way you are living your life. Are you doing all you can?

First Steps in Following Jesus

by

I continue to think about and be bothered by our modern evangelical methods. So many of us have grown up steeped in church culture and tradition, and we neglect our responsibility to test the things we are taught. I believe this has placed many Christians in great peril, in that many who believe they are “saved” are indeed not. We have glossed over one of the most frightening statements of Jesus when He said that He will turn away from many who call Him Lord because they truly didn’t know Him (Matthew 7:21-23). We teach that by simply believing in Jesus and saying a magic prayer that this guarantees our place in Heaven. There is no scriptural basis for this, yet the teaching has perpetuated through the Western church for the last couple of hundred years or so. We need to wake up to the realization that it takes more than a onetime prayer to truly know Jesus and to gain entrance into His kingdom.

To be a follower of Jesus first and foremost requires that we believe in Him, that He is who He claimed to be, the Son of the only God, the Creator of the Universe. We must accept the fact that we could never gain access to God save for the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross where His blood covered all of our sins. We can do nothing to earn our place in the Kingdom; it is only through the grace of God providing a way for us to enter in, that we gain the privilege of eternity with Him. His grace is available to everyone free of charge, but as with all gifts, this grace must be accepted. We accept this gift by allowing Him to glorify Himself through our lives. This is the purpose for which we were created. He glorifies Himself through us by the actions we take that reflect His character and fulfill His mission.

As we have discussed many times, we glorify God by doing the things Jesus commanded us to do: feed the hungry, provide water to the thirsty, give shelter to the homeless, clothe the poor, take care of the sick, visit those in prison and without hope (Matthew 25:31-46). We glorify God by providing for the needs of the orphans and the widows, and keeping ourselves from the temptations of the world around us (James 1:27). If we truly believe in the person and mission of Jesus Christ, we will glorify Him by working tirelessly for justice, opposing wickedness, and setting free all who are oppressed and enslaved (Isaiah 58:6). Finally, we glorify God by demonstrating our devotion to His son, regardless of the price. We must serve Jesus even if it costs us our home, our families, our possessions and even our own life. (Luke 9:57-62; Luke 18:18-23; Luke 9:23-27). This is a hard road to travel, but it is the only path that leads to the Kingdom of God.

The first step to true salvation is to believe in Jesus and that His death provides the forgiveness of our sins, without which we could never approach the Holy and perfect God. The next and equally important step is to accept His gift of grace by allowing God to glorify Himself through us. This is an ongoing active acceptance, not a onetime act. There are no free rides into Heaven. Jesus loves us beyond measure, but His perfect purity demands total devotion of our hearts toward Him. We demonstrate that devotion by our obedience to His commands and by continuing His mission on earth. If you have bought into the teaching that your place in Heaven is secured by simply reciting the “sinner’s prayer”, I urge you to prayerfully examine the Scriptures and seek out what it truly means to be a follower of Jesus. The time for this is now, we must not hesitate. Believe in Jesus and allow Him to show His glory through your life. Devote yourself to following His instructions and living out His mission. This is the only way to salvation. Don’t miss it and don’t be deceived. Determine today that you will grow to intimately know Jesus, so that you will never hear Jesus say the most chilling words ever spoken, “Depart from me, I never knew you”.

Picking and Choosing

by

When determining how to live out our faith in Christ, it seems we can get very selective about which parts of the Bible we will choose to apply to our lives. We relish the parts that tell us how much God loves us, so we’ll definitely emphasize His love in our lives. Everyone likes to be loved, so we’ll even share that love with others. The book of Proverbs tells us that if we keep God first in our life then He will guide our steps. I’ll take that one as well, because who wouldn’t want a little direction? I really like the part where Jesus says that all who come to Him will find rest; He followed that up later by telling us He would send His Holy Spirit to be a comforter and a counselor for us. There is no doubt that these are overwhelming benefits, ones that few would ever turn down. As icing on the cake, we also get to spend eternity with Jesus in Heaven. It’s no wonder that Christianity is attractive to so many, and indeed it is a great mystery as to why so many reject it.

Then there are those other, more pesky passages of Scripture that we’d rather just pretend did not exist. We’re happy to accept the good stuff, the things that make our own lives happier and more pleasurable. But what about the Scriptures that tell us to go out into the entire world telling others about Jesus? We recoil and assume these words are for those odd, super-spiritual missionary types who were apparently born with a slide projector in their hands. We defer to mystical words like “calling” to rationalize away why those passages don’t apply to us. Truthfully, most of us do not even dare to go out into our own neighborhoods proclaiming the glory of Christ, much less into the entire world.

There are other passages that tell us we must take up our cross if we would follow Christ. I don’t normally wake up looking for an excuse to carry around an instrument of torture and death. Those words must be for those in other countries who live under oppressive governments. Being born in America or other free parts of the world, we are happy to believe that we don’t have to endure persecution because of our beliefs. Of course we still have to deal with the parts of Scripture that tell us if we follow Christ we must forsake our family, risk being homeless, and sell everything we own and give the proceeds to the poor. Again, those words are for other folks, not for us. We’re good with the peace, joy and love stuff.

We cannot pick and choose which parts of the Bible we will follow if we are serious about being a follower of Christ. Jesus gave up everything for us, and He demands the same in return. Each one of us is called to forsake our families, to sell what we have to care for the poor, to give up our safety and security, and to endure trials and persecution as we go throughout the world telling others about the love and glory of our great King. To accept only certain parts of Jesus’ teaching is to reject them all. No one is exempt from any part of His suffering, just as no one is overlooked by any measure of His blessing. Each one of us is gifted in different ways, and how we live out our calling will look different from person to person. The calling, however, is the same, regardless of its manifestation. We all are called to suffer, to go and to tell. The goal of our lives, the reason we were created, is so that we might demonstrate the glory of God to others. We cannot pick and choose our way through the Bible. We must embrace it all if we are to grasp what it means to be a follower of Jesus. If we give everything to Him, He will not fail to pour out all of His love, mercy and grace on each of us. He longs to give us all that He is, but this requires that we give Him all that we are. We were created for the glory of God, and if we would receive that glory in full, then we must pour out our lives for Him. There is no half way in total devotion. We are all called to one mission. Let’s live it fully.

Our Response to Poverty

by

Poverty can be of a material, physical, mental or spiritual nature. As followers of Jesus, what should be our response to poverty in all of its various forms? It is clear in Scripture that we are to care for those in need. A quick reading of the parable of “The Sheep and the Goats” (Matthew 25:31-46) reveals that we are to feed the hungry, provide water to those who don’t have access to it, give shelter to the homeless, clothe those who are in need, care for the sick and minister to those in prison. It’s a rather comprehensive picture of the poor and outcast in our society. These are the things we must do if we would be a true follower of Christ. This is the mission He left for us to pursue. Not only that, but it is the mission He modeled in His own life. Do you want to live a life that reflects the beauty of Jesus? If so, our mission to those in poverty has been clearly laid out for us.

To carry out our mission will require sacrifice on our behalf for those we find in need. Ministering to those in prison will require giving up some of our time and perhaps will force some of us to drop a sense of fear towards those who are incarcerated. Despite the reasons they are there, those in prison are some of the most vulnerable and desperate people on the planet. They need to hear of the hope offered by Jesus and to feel the nonjudgmental touch of unconditional love.

Caring for the sick requires us to not only sacrifice our time but also to possibly forfeit our own health. Mother Theresa endured many illnesses contracted while carrying for the sick in Calcutta. She was not deterred, and neither can we become so. To touch one who is sick, to visit them in their illness will do wonders for their psyche and resolve. Simply demonstrating the love of Jesus to them will often speed their recovery by that simple act alone. Love is a wonderful healer, and letting a sick person know that someone cares may be just the boost they need.

Giving food and water, clothing or shelter to those who lack these things can be as simple as sharing from your excess. Most of us who live in the West have more than enough food in our cupboards and access to a virtually unlimited supply of clean water. By simply being a people content with “just enough” for ourselves (Proverbs 30:8-9), we would discover a tremendous abundance that we could give to someone who did not have enough. We could also give our money to organizations that are involved in getting food to famine stricken nations or drilling wells in places that have no access to clean water (two excellent ministries I highly recommend that are doing work in this area are Persecution Project and Living Water International). Perhaps you may even consider sacrificing further and actually going to the poor of the world, whether that means a third world country far away, or an inner city just around the corner. Giving your life in service to those in need is giving your life to live out the Gospel. This is a life, if done with the proper attitude and spirit, which certainly looks like Jesus.

We are called to serve those in poverty. Throughout much of the New Testament we find passages that admonish us to care for those who are in need and to share what we have with one another, so that no one lacks anything. Jesus gave all that He had, ultimately His own life, in order to give a better life to all those around Him. He did this out of love and obedience to God. He sacrificed freely and completely. Our response must be the same, so that we too can live lives that are a fragrant sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:2). Poverty surrounds every one of us. To those of us who claim to be followers of Jesus, the challenge is clear. How will we respond?

How (Not) To Grow a Church

by

My Dad was a pastor so I grew up very aware of the inner workings of churches in America. I was privy to the strategies and techniques used to grow a church and the plans to attract more people each Sunday. It is both interesting and sad that church growth has traditionally been about the number of bodies in the pews rather than the actual development of the individual; but I digress. As an avid reader I have consumed many books on the subject of the Western church, megachurches, emerging churches, evangelism, church growth, etc. With that in mind, I believe I have discovered the one sure fire way to impede church growth (as defined by adding members): preach the Gospel. Most Christians I have talked to in my life attend their particular church because they preach the Gospel, or they leave a church because it does not. It makes me wonder exactly what Gospel they are talking about. Let’s take a quick look at a few teachings of Jesus to determine whether or not your church is actually preaching the Gospel.

In Luke 18:18-23, Jesus told the young man that if he wanted to follow Him, he would have to sell all of his possessions and give the money to the poor. When was the last time your preacher told the congregation they needed to start liquidating their material possessions and donate that money to care for the less fortunate in their town and around the world? How well do you think that sermon might go over? This isn’t some vague notion or the opinion of a learned scholar, these words came directly from the mouth of Jesus. How convenient that we have chosen to either ignore or explain away this teaching. This is part of the Gospel of Jesus. The good news is that He has come to bring life and justice, and sometimes justice means selling what we have in order to give to those who are hungry or homeless.

In the book of Matthew (chapter 8, verses 21 and 22), a man says he will follow Jesus, but first needs to go bury his father. Jesus rebuked him and told the man that if he wanted to be His follower, he would need to forget about his family. In fact, Jesus went so far as to say we must hate our mother, father, brothers and sisters if we would follow Him (Luke 14:25-27). I have heard more sermons preached on taking care of one’s own family than I have on hating them. The point is we must be so consumed with Jesus that everything we do in life is with Him in mind. All other obligations and responsibilities must be set aside when it competes with following Jesus. If a scheduling conflict forces you to choose between a kid’s soccer game and feeding the hungry at a soup kitchen, it has to be the soup kitchen every time. This is not going to be a popular message on Sunday morning, and I can only imagine the email the pastor would receive after preaching it. But this too is the Gospel. Our mission is to tell the world about Christ, to make disciples of all people. Everything we do must revolve around this purpose.

Finally, Jesus told another man who wished to follow Him that He had no home (Matthew 8:19-20). The implication is that if we would follow Christ, we too will be homeless; so much for the American dream. In the era of the “prosperity gospel”, this is not a popular topic. Western Christianity has come to be taught as some sort of slick panacea, a comfortable existence lived with a dose of compassion. The modern church has planted itself in the suburbs and consumed itself with programs to entertain and cocoon its members. Many churches have become nothing more than large social clubs where one must maintain a certain look and lifestyle in order to gain admittance; the homeless are often not welcome. Yet, the Gospel of Jesus, the true Gospel, states that if we would follow Him, we will have no place to lay our head at night.

Do you really want to attend a church that preaches the Gospel? The Gospel is amazing news indeed; it is the story of God’s love for His creation. It is the story of His redemption of our fallen and wicked world. It is the story of Jesus giving up His own life so that we might gain eternal life. There is more than this, however. The Gospel is also about our responsibility to spread the message to all nations. We are called to give up everything we own or hold dear for the purpose of furthering the Kingdom of God. We are called to sell our possessions, to renounce our earthly relationships and to live a life of utter dependence on Jesus. Not all will be faced with these trials, but all must be willing. If God chooses to bless us with even more than we give up, then it is for His glory. If He chooses to not return abundance to us in this life, it is also for His glory and we will be lavishly rewarded in the life to come. Are you willing to live your life in total surrender to Jesus? Are you willing to live out the whole Gospel, not just the comfortable parts? Your answers to these questions will determine whether or not you are a true follower of Jesus. Don’t get left behind.