Even If i Walk Alone

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

obedience

Happiness is Obedience

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People spend an inordinate amount of time seeking happiness. It occurs to me they are searching without a plan or any understanding of what happiness actually is. I think most people figure they will know happiness when they find it, but that’s a bit like searching for a needle in a haystack. If you want to be happy, wouldn’t it be better to define what that means before embarking on the journey?

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The Bible gives us a good definition of happiness in John 13:17, where Jesus says, “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” Looking back further in the passage, we see the “things” Jesus is referring to are the teachings and commandments He has given them. When we obey God, the joy that brings will bless us. To be blessed is to be happy. Therefore, happiness is obedience to Christ.

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Prove Your Love

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You prove your love for God by your obedience to God. This isn’t about working to earn God’s approval, but rather demonstrating your commitment to Christ. If you love Him, you will obey His commands (John 14:15). We don’t do the works we do in obedience to God to earn His favor. Instead, we obey out of an appreciation of His favor for us.

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It’s not about a works-based salvation, but a recognition that true salvation will encompass works done out of our love for Jesus. No one who refuses to love God will obey His commands. The works you do in obedience to your Lord are the evidence of a genuine salvation. You prove your love by surrendering your life and living for Him.

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Eternal or Temporal

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Every day it becomes more urgent to devote our lives to God and to prove our love for Him by the way we live. We don’t work to prove our love to God, but we live in obedience to His commands as proof of our love for God (John 14:15). If we love Him, our lives will reflect that fact and will not look like the lives of those who oppose God.

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Everything we experience in life will have either an eternal or temporal value. Jesus teaches we should focus on the eternal things that do not rust, rot, or decay (Matthew 6:19-21). Meanwhile, we live our lives seeking and consuming the temporal things that never last and leave us feeling emptier than we felt before indulging in them.

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God’s Presence

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We are always in the presence of God. We may not always be aware of it, but He is there. God’s presence is all around us. We wouldn’t last a moment without Him. While I understand the intent behind the statement, it always irks me when people say things like, “God showed up and was with us in that moment.”

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I’m sure you’ve heard similar things, and odds are better than not you’ve probably even said something similar. I know I have. But there is no “God was with us there”. He is always there, and we are always with Him. Nothing can separate us from the love of the Father (Romans 8:38-39). Nothing can snatch us out of His presence (John 10:28).

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Is It What You Expected?

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How long have you been a Christian? No matter your answer, I have a question for you: “Is it what you expected?” When you came to acknowledge Christ as your Lord and Savior, what did you imagine would be the result? Increasingly, I see Christians encouraging someone down on their luck by pulling random verses out of context and assuring those people that God has big plans for them if they will only trust in Jesus.

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In one sense, those well-wishers are correct. God has big plans for everyone who calls on His name. He plans to give them eternal life and bring them into His presence forever. There couldn’t be a bigger plan. But I know this isn’t what these people have in mind. Too many so-called Christians today have believed the lie that believing in Jesus is the way to success, health, and wealth in this life now.

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