Even If i Walk Alone

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

Matthew

Sacrifice

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I recently heard Pastor David Platt pose the question, “Will we sacrifice our lives so others will come to know Christ?” This is a cutting and important question. Are we willing to give up some or all of our freedom, financial security, social standing, and comfort for the sake of seeing others come to know Jesus? It’s easy to say we want the world to be saved, but when it comes down to how much it will cost us personally, we tend to balk.

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I know this is true about you because it is true of me and the evidence would say it is true of the Church at large. We who claim to be disciples of Jesus are often coming up short when it comes to fulfilling the great commission and making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20).

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Not Gonna Bow

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Years ago, Russ Taff wrote a song called, “Not Gonna Bow”, based on the well-known Bible story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  The theme of the song was how we as Christ-followers should refuse to bow to any idols, regardless of the consequences. There is nothing more important than to keep Jesus first in your life. It is the essence of surrendering our hearts to Christ. If He isn’t first, then we aren’t surrendered.

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Every day we are tempted to bow down to someone or something other than Jesus. When we put anything other than Christ first in our hearts, it is an idol and needs to be thrown out of our lives. Idolatry is subtle and creeps in constantly if we are not diligent to guard against it.

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Laser-Focused

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Our lives and attention are fractured by the myriad distractions in our world. Every new technology seems designed to further demand our attention through relentless buzzes, beeps, and flashes. Society moves at an ever-quickening pace inflicting an ever-growing list of demands upon our lives. Between our jobs, families, friends, and careers, it can be hard to maintain focus on anything at all.

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We become overwhelmed and exhausted and end up medicating with drinks, pills, substances, and mind-numbing entertainment. We seek peace in whatever it takes to distract us from all the distractions! There is a better way. There is an answer to the relentless assault on our senses. We need to re-train our minds to be laser-focused. We need to stop the insanity and pursue the only One worth pursuing.

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Sin is Still Sin

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As I look at the world around me today, my heart breaks. The disregard for human life is sickening. People are tortured and maimed because of their spiritual beliefs. They are beaten and killed because of their skin color, their clothing, or their ethnicity. Jealousy abounds. Bullying is prevalent. All forms of sin are celebrated by a vocal minority and a celebrity culture. And the church? We stand by remarkably quiet.

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We don’t want to offend or appear intolerant. But sin is still sin. It is yet repulsive in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. We must not allow ourselves to be numbed to the point of disregard. We cannot allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the evil surrounding us every day.

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Don’t Give Up

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God has chosen You. He is pursuing You. There is work for which You have been uniquely designed to do. This work will be done if we will only hold fast, keep our eyes on Jesus, and don’t give up. Satan roams around like a roaring lion seeking to destroy you and your dreams (1 Peter 5:8). The devil will do whatever it takes to take you down. Through trials, temptations, anxiety, fear, and discouragement, he will pull out every stop to dissuade you from pursuing Christ and all He has given you to do.

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Don’t give up. Don’t give in to the lies of the adversary. Only you can do the work God has created you to do. While your talents and gifts may seem insignificant to you, they are a vital part of God’s plan for building His Kingdom here on earth. So, stay strong and don’t give up.

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