Even If i Walk Alone

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

Matthew

Give it Up

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Why do many who profess to be Christians hold back from becoming disciples, fully fledged followers of Jesus? I think it is fear, but probably not the kind you’d expect. I don’t think they fear persecution or even death. From my study and observation, I believe Christians stop short of discipleship because they are afraid of giving up personal pleasures. They don’t want to sacrifice their comforts and selfish desires. This isn’t a new phenomenon.

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It can be traced back to the early church. Tertullian (c. 155 – c. 240 AD) is recorded to have said, “There are quite a few persons who hold back from becoming Christians—not because they are afraid of losing their lives— but because they are afraid of losing their pleasures.” How have we made almost no progress in over 2,000 years?
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Disciplined Intention

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I’ve written in the past about both intentional living and there being no days off for a disciple of Jesus. What I have come to realize is those two topics are inextricably linked. The way we take no days off from following Jesus is to make certain we live each moment with intention. Jesus was always “on”; He was always God. By the same token, He was always moving with intention in order to further His mission and to see His Kingdom come to fruition on earth.

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Even when it meant torture and death, Jesus steeled His gaze and intentionally move toward the horror awaiting Him. He didn’t go on vacation or spend a few days pursuing pleasure before getting on with things. He kept being who He was for the purpose of why He came. We are called to live in the same way.
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Prideful

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We are prideful people. Each of us, even if we don’t want to admit it. Every sin proves our pride. Every time we sin, we had the choice not to sin. We knew what was God’s way, what was right, but we decided to do what we wanted to do anyway. In effect we are saying we know what is better for us than God does. And in that moment we have made ourselves to be God.

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We have exalted our will above His. We’ve all done it, and often every day. It’s how I know we are all prideful people because I know we all sin. Before you get too down on yourself, know there is hope for our predicament. There is a cure for pride.

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Shallow Prayers

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Why is it when we have the power of God at our fingertips we confine our prayers to such small boundaries? We pray shallow prayers, content to focus on things immediately in our purview rather than dare to pray extravagant, deep prayers. Sure, there are exceptions, but I have rarely met someone whose prayers are regularly focused on the deep things of God and the ultimate mission of His Son.

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The God of the Universe resides within you, waiting for you to recognize the role He has given you to bring His Kingdom to earth. Jesus promised we would do greater things than He did (John 14:12-13), but we’ll never see that promise come to fruition as long as we are praying such safe and shallow prayers.

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Letting Go

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We love Jesus and want to dedicate our lives to Him, but our stubborn old self keeps getting in the way. How do we conform our will to that of God? Francois Fenelon once wrote, “The way to have a good will that conforms to God is to give up our desires and fears and to leave ourselves completely in His hands. Those who do so… can never be moved, because their only desire is for God.”

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Living God’s will for your life necessitates a complete letting go. Too often we make the mistake of trying to figure out how to use our dreams and passions in conjunction with God’s will. That’s a totally backwards approach.

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