Even If i Walk Alone

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

Matthew

Take Up Your Cross

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Jesus said whoever would follow Him had to deny themselves and take up their cross daily (Matthew 16:24). How many of us are doing this on a day to day basis? How many are willing to deny ourselves the comfort, security, and entertainment the world is telling us we deserve? Isn’t it true we want a version of Christianity that doesn’t involve the cross? We like the idea of being a Christian but dislike the sacrifice it requires.

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The notion of a loving God makes us feel comfortable, but His wrath makes us go another way. There is no victory without struggle, but we want our cake and to eat it too. We want all this world has to offer and a little Jesus on the side. This is not the life Jesus called us to live as His followers.

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Radical Obedience

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I’ve been mulling over the phrase “radical obedience” in my mind of late. Radical means far-reaching or thorough. That describes the type of obedience I long to have with Jesus. In fact, I would say it is the type of obedience demanded by Christ and required of all those who claim Him to be their Lord. Radical obedience is thorough. It is far-reaching. What it is not occasional or situational. Too many follow Jesus when it is convenient or expedient. When push comes to shove, their obedience wanes.

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This type of obedience, which is no obedience at all, runs rampant through our churches and results in an abundance of nominal Christians. Practicing radical obedience should be the rule, not the exception. It is sad the opposite is reality today.

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Are Your Doing What’s Important Now?

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It’s a sad truth of life we spend our time doing things that seem important now, only to discover over time we have missed out on the things that actually are. Often parents discover in the process of working long hours to provide the best things for their families, they miss out on seeing their kids grow up. People pursue careers that bring them wealth and prestige only to recognize they have no friends at retirement.

Are you doing what's important now,priorities,important now,Matthew 7:21-23,depart from me,John 14:15,obey my commands,Luke 12:16-21,building bigger barns,James 1:27,true religion,Matthew 25:31-46,sheep and goats

And Christ-followers? We spend our days pursuing the American dream, or perhaps incessantly volunteering with our church, only to discover we’ve left Jesus out of the equation. It is a tragedy being played out across our nation and throughout the world. We are spending our finite time in pursuit of things that will pass away instead of focusing on our eternal Savior.

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Counter-Cultural

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In a world that promotes self-aggrandizement and getting ahead, living life as a humble servant is truly counter-cultural. It is to invite ridicule, derision, and condescending pity from the masses. No one chooses to live this way because it is easy or socially acceptable. We choose it because Jesus told us this is the way to live. By His own example, Jesus showed although He was superior to all, He chose to be a servant to all (John 13:3-17). He told His disciples anyone who sought to get ahead would be sent to the back of the line (Matthew 19:23-30).

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In the upside-down Kingdom of God, the way to get ahead is to stop promoting yourself and begin building up others. For followers of Christ, life is not about becoming the best known or loved. It’s about serving others in such a way they might see Jesus in us and come to know Him for themselves.

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Follow Him

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Did you ever wonder what it must have felt like for the original disciples when they first heard Jesus invite them to follow Him? We read the story too quickly. Indeed, in its condensed form, it is easy to miss the gravity of the moment. Jesus beckoned them to follow Him, and they dropped their nets and ran after Him. How cool it must have been to be one of the original disciples. If only we had the opportunity, we think, we would have maximized it for all it was worth.

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While the compact telling in the Bible is powerful and shows the great commitment and faith of these men, it doesn’t paint the whole picture of what happened at that moment. These men didn’t just make a decision about what they would do with the rest of their lives, but they were also choosing to walk away from everything they had known.

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