Even If i Walk Alone

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

Matthew

Unified

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Throughout history, we’ve seen times of trouble unify people around a common cause or enemy. In a divided world of hatred, offense, and self-interest, we could use some unity today. Perhaps something as insidious as a global pandemic will have the silver lining of unifying humanity, banding us together to fight the virus inflicting many and disrupting life as we knew it.

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Only time will tell. What I do know, as followers of Christ, His call is always for us to be unified, not only when trouble abounds. Our unity is so important that Jesus made it the subject of His last prayer for us before He allowed Himself to be crucified (John 17:20-23).

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Marching Orders

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We live in fascinating times. Watching the panic, surfing the ever-changing waves of information, and dealing with the very real fall-out from the situation at hand can rattle even the most stable. Nothing would be easier than to allow ourselves to get off our mission for God. There’s a rule in the military: until they receive a new order, the last order given stands. And so our marching orders have not changed.

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Jesus told us to go into all the world telling others about Him (Matthew 28:19-20). He said to love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40). And He said to love and serve Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30-31). These are our marching orders, and the insanity of the times we live in do not overrule them.

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Of Roses and Thorns

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In life, we can complain about the thorns among the roses, or we can marvel at the beauty of the roses among the thorns. It seems easier to complain about all that is wrong rather than discover the good amidst all the evil. The world God created is full of exquisite loveliness. On the flip side, the enemy has come and sown “tares among the wheat” (Matthew 13:24-30), ashes among the beauty.  It is up to each of us where we will focus our lives, either on the thorns or on the roses.

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I hope as a follower of Christ, the choice is easy. Nothing or no one is more beautiful than our Savior. When we see the world through His eyes, we will see the beauty of His creation through a lens of love. But followers of Jesus are not perfect. We lose our focus and see things the way the rest of the world sees them. We give in to the temptation to become so wary of the thorns we never see the roses.

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Times Like These

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In times like these, it’s easy to lose our way. The needle on our internal compass seems a bit jumpy. The culture of a 24/7 news cycle can overwhelm with information and confuse us about what to believe. Stress and anxiety threaten to overcome our best intentions and defenses. Times like these bring out the best, and too often, the worst in humanity.

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For followers of Jesus, we can have peace. Our Lord is the Prince of Peace, and His grace and mercy are not in short supply. And yet, we seem to forget these truths when we need them most. Instead of relying on the peace and power of our Creator, we give in to the siren song of the crowd. There is no comfort there. We find comfort only in the arms of Jesus.

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Spring Cleaning

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I love when the air begins to warm, and the colors of spring push out the grays and whites of winter. I am not a lover of snow or cold, so my soul gets a little lighter each time spring rolls around. It’s a time to open windows and take long walks outside again. With the arrival of Spring, many of our thoughts turn to the proverbial “spring cleaning”.

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We dust and sweep the corners of our living areas and declutter the storage spaces. Spring is a time of fresh beginnings, and we want everything to be sparkling and new again. If we undertake such chores for our home on an annual basis, why do we not do the same for our eternal souls?

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