Even If i Walk Alone

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

mission

Looking Back

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This is the time of year when many are writing about looking back over the past year, recounting lessons learned, blessings, and obstacles. Looking back is helpful only insomuch as it focuses us on the beauty and blessings of our Savior. There is a danger in looking back that we focus too much on ourselves and not on God. Considering what we have accomplished and overcome can inadvertently lead to self-satisfaction and pride.

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Reflecting on our problems and challenges can lead us down a road of discouragement and despair rather than focusing on the One who provides everything we need. If we visit it lightly, the past can teach us a few lessons and serve as a wonderful reminder of the provision of our God. Better to leave it quickly though and focus instead on the work ahead.

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Moral Decline

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I was hesitant to write this article. Some will undoubtedly misconstrue what I have to say and label me as a conspiracy theorist or prophet of doom. I assure you I am neither. I am speaking primarily in the context of America, the country in which I live, and specifically to the Church in America. As I survey the moral decline of the past few decades, I am stunned to observe how far we have fallen.

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The vitriol, immorality, and evil that pervade society is alarming. While it seems like this has occurred in a short time, looking back over the years reveals a steady deterioration that has culminated into the state in which we find ourselves today.

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Our Opinions

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We humans love our opinions. We have opinions about everything! If you don’t believe me, just ask someone for their opinion on anything, and I guarantee you will get an answer. Our opinions create our identity, or so we believe. It’s who we are. They run the gamut from food, style, décor, geography, language, and politics. And that’s just scratching the surface! Our opinions color each of our days. They control what we eat, who we’ll talk to, and what we’ll say.

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To the casual observer, we are the sum of our opinions. You might say they are what make you unique. So, when Jesus invades our lives, it can be a most uncomfortable revelation to discover we must surrender our opinions to Him. Not just some of them. Not just those we hold to with a little less ferocity. All of them. If we want to follow Jesus, we must die to our opinions and allow Him to replace them with His own.

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Taking the Long View

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Joshua Bogunjoko is the International Director for SIM International, a missionary organization with a worldwide outreach. Given his position, he has a unique and informed perspective on what it means to follow Christ in hard times and circumstances. Mr. Bogunjoko writes, “Gaining God’s perspective amid adversity means taking the long view. Our experience of adversity today may be for the work of God in days, months, and years to come. It may be for someone’s encouragement a generation from now.”

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It often seems the work we do for Jesus doesn’t matter. No matter how much we pray, study, and serve, it’s difficult to see the needle moving. But God is always at work, weaving together every event on the human stage—now, in the past, and in the future—to bring about His sovereign will.

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Close to God

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Your discipleship is up to you. Your level of commitment is your choice. It’s one of the beautiful aspects of free will: God chooses us, but we are free to decide if we will choose Him. If we are not as close to God as we say we’d like to be, it is because we are choosing not to be. God desires that we would know Him and experience all He is.

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He has already made the first move. Now it’s our turn. If we want to pursue God, we can. He is waiting for us to find Him. There is no further action required of Him. Jesus left nothing undone on the cross, and we have an all-access pass to the Father through the blood of His Son.

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