Even If i Walk Alone

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

mission

The Next Day

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You can learn a lot about the sincerity of your faith by how you live the next day following a significant spiritual event. When the emotions drain and the crowds drift away, does your commitment remain? We must never mistake emotion for depth or groupthink for personal determination. What we are desperate for is a lasting change of heart, a transformation that only occurs through the work of the Holy Spirit. (Ezekiel 36:26–27; 2 Corinthians 3:18)

We need more than a one-time event, or even a particular season of life, to sustain us in living our lives for Christ. (Luke 9:23) We need something that lasts beyond today, into tomorrow, and for every day to come. Emotions come and go, but the truth found in the Gospel of Jesus never changes and never fails. (Isaiah 40:8; Hebrews 13:8)

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4,000 Weeks

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I came across a book called “4,000 Weeks” and read a brief sample of the introduction. The premise of the book is that the average human has 4,000 weeks of life from birth to death. While I have not read the book, it was obvious the content would be about maximizing that time and understanding how short a time 4,000 weeks is in the grand scheme of things. It was also clear that the book was coming from an evolutionary starting point, which meant it was flawed from the outset, so it isn’t something I would recommend.

But the idea stuck with me. Given health and family history – and knowing only God knows and controls how long I will live – at 58 years old, I figure I have somewhere between 1,040 and 2,080 weeks left. That’s how much time I have remaining to serve the Lord in this body. (Psalm 139:16; James 4:14–15)

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Why Does It Have to Be So Hard?

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Why does it have to be so hard to follow Jesus? Do you ever ask yourself that? We want to obey and serve Him, but it always seems to be a battle. Why does the road to Heaven have to be so narrow? (Matthew 7:13–14) A better question might be why God provides a road at all! One sin makes us fall short of God’s requirement to live in eternity with Him. (James 2:10; Romans 3:23)

Every day we prove over and over how unworthy we are to be in His presence. (Isaiah 64:6) The gate isn’t just narrow, it’s impossible to pass through. (Matthew 19:26) Instead of focusing on how difficult it is for us to live for Christ, we should focus on the amazing mercy and grace that allows us to live at all. (Ephesians 2:4–5; Titus 3:5)

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Unpopular

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From the earliest days of adolescence, almost everyone aspires to be popular. I never met anyone when I was younger who told me they wanted to be unpopular. As beings created in the image of God, we all desire relationship and communion with others. (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:18) Some personality types desire this more than others, but we all need it. In our formative years, popularity is something we crave. We all want to fit in, to be liked, and to have others respect our opinions.

Such desires don’t vanish when we finish school. It continues to resonate with us as we enter the workforce, move into neighborhoods, and develop social relationships. Even in our church communities, no one wants to be unpopular. When everyone desires something, it should set off warning bells in our minds. (Romans 12:2)

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Urgency and Mission

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A mantra is a repeated word or phrase that exemplifies your beliefs or goals. It’s a device to keep you on track and to remind yourself of what is most important. Do you have a mantra for your life? If not, how about “urgency and mission”? Mission because the Lord has entrusted you to carry on His work, to be His hands and feet in sharing the gospel to the ends of the earth. (Matthew 28:19–20; Acts 1:8) Urgency because we know the time is short. (Romans 13:11–12)

These truths should be at the forefront of the mind of every Christian and the driving force of each of our days. (Colossians 3:2) To our shame, these are not the hallmarks of most of our lives. Since they aren’t, we must ask, are we serious about our commitment to follow Jesus? (Luke 9:62)

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