Even If i Walk Alone

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

mission

Wasted

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Most people have one or more irrational fears. These kinds of fear are far worse in our minds than they are in reality. As much as we want to think otherwise, irrational fears exist largely only in our minds. My greatest fear, however, is not of the irrational variety. It is only too real, based on hard cold facts and unyielding truth. My greatest fear is when I die my life will be labeled by God as “wasted”.

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It will have been wasted because I spent most of the time and energy entrusted to me pursuing the pleasures and delights of this world rather than living a life dedicated wholly to Him. There is no recovery from a wasted life. It’s over, done, and labeled for eternity.
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This Day and That Day

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Every so often I run across a quote that resonates so deeply it feels as if it has rocked my very soul. The one I found most recently was from Martin Luther, who said, “There are two days in my calendar: This day and that Day.” The ‘that day” to which he referred was the day he would meet Jesus.

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Martin Luther thought only of what was going on right now in this present moment, and of things that would occur when he stood face to face with Jesus. What an amazing outlook on life, one that aligns perfectly with the teachings of Christ.

What a contrast to the way most of us go about our lives. We spend much of our time planning and dreaming about the future. Jesus had some strong language for those of us operating in that manner. In Luke 12:16-21, he said we who make plans for the future without first serving God are fools. We can make the most intricate plans for future vacations and our retirement, but our life could be demanded of us at any moment. For what then will all those plans count? Who will profit from all you have saved for the future? When we neglect the importance of this moment, sacrificing it for an unknown future, we are missing out on the real treasures of life. That makes us foolish indeed.

We fret about having food, shelter, and clothing, but Jesus instructed us not to give such things a second thought (Matthew 6:25-34). He pointed out how He takes care of the birds of the air and how He tends to the garden of our world without any help on our behalf. He is aware of every situation and will not abandon us. Yet at the first sign of trouble we turn away from Him and run towards the things of this world. We flee the warm embrace of Jesus and plunge head first into the razor sharp talons of the adversary. We abandon the only true safety for the empty promises of an illusory and temporary comfort.

What if we focused our lives only on this day and that day? How might our lives be different? Forget about the future. You can’t predict it and have no guarantee it will even come. First dedicate your entire existence to Jesus. Concentrate only on what you can do to serve Him on this day, in this hour, at this very moment.

When you think about the future, think only of the moment your hands will grasp the feet of Jesus. Play out the scene in your mind. What might that day look like to you? What will you say? What will you do? How will Jesus react to seeing you? The way ‘that day’ plays out is dependent on how you live ‘this day’. Nothing else matters beyond how you serve Jesus right now.  With every breath we are either building up or tearing down the Kingdom of God. Think only of this day. Dream only of that day. The rest will take care of itself.

Busy

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Commenting on Leonard Ravenhill’s statement that “The accent in the Church today is not on devotion, but on commotion”, A.W. Tozer said “What a man is must be shown to be more important than what he does… Externalism has taken over. God now speaks by the wind and the earthquake only; the still small voice can be heard no more. The whole religious machine has become a noisemaker.”

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image © bahrialtay

As you survey the well-known churches of our day, this seems very true. As a general rule, there is a lot of activity surrounding them, but the world is not changing as a result. It’s not just the big churches either. For too many local congregations, the emphasis is on what they are doing with little concern being shown for the ultimate results of that busyness.
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Lord Come Quickly

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A common prayer of believers over the years has been, “Lord, come quickly!” We long for Jesus to return and put an end to the misery and evil surrounding us. While we know life will be infinitely better and simpler when Jesus returns, we must also recognize we have a mission to accomplish until that day arrives.

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image © Alexander Trinitatov

If we are going to pray, “Lord, come quickly”, then we must be willing to go quickly ourselves. Jesus has sent us into the world as His ambassadors. He won’t come back until we have gone out and spread the good news of His love and the truth about His character.
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The Distractions of Satan

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“Since the devil can’t destroy you, the best he can do is distract you”, said Pastor Steven Furtick in a recent message. This has two powerful implications. First, Satan cannot destroy you. He doesn’t have that kind of power. No matter how vicious his attacks might be, ultimately he is powerless to defeat you. The second important concept to take away from Furtick’s statement is you can be assured Satan will pull out all the stops in order to distract you from living your life as a disciple of Jesus.

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image © rocketclips

No matter how clever or wise you consider yourself, Satan is much more cunning than you are.  Without being ever vigilant, we will fall for his tricks and deceptions.
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