Even If i Walk Alone

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

passion

Faith vs. Fear

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Denis Waitley said, “Success is a process that continues, not a status that you reach. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.”  I find this very applicable to the Christian life as well.  Living out our faith is a continual learning process.  We will never achieve a life lived perfectly.  While some might see that as a discouraging statement, I would say that if you do you are missing the point.  The whole point of the journey is not to arrive, but rather to walk, to strive, to live more like Jesus.

To be certain, we will fail, and we will fail often; but failure is a good thing!  Nothing has ever been accomplished without a good deal of failure preceding the accomplishment.  No one gets it right the first time, and every failure is simply an opportunity to learn something and be better for it.  Life is one long cycle of fall down, get up.  It’s our desire to get up over and over again that builds our character and strengthens our faith.  If we never fell, we would never need Christ.

Often we hold back from doing Kingdom work because we are afraid of failure.  The Bible says that if God is for us, who can be against us?  No matter what trial we face, God is bigger, stronger and more powerful.  What is there to fear?  Fear is evidence that Satan is alive and well, because it is he who whispers fear into our hearts.  We need to always press forward.  Life will come at us full force, but it is up to us to determine whether we simply will wait for it to hit us, or if we will rush headlong into whatever may come.

Life lived intentionally, a life where we race into the fray regardless of the outcome, is a life of adventure and excitement.  Living the Christian life in a purely reactive manner is not only ineffective but it is dull and ultimately life-less!  We need to engage our world, the people around us and those far away.  We need to demonstrate the love of Christ to everyone at all times.  When doing so results in our getting knocked down, we must have only one reaction:  get up and lean into life again; unbeaten, undeterred and unafraid.  Lean into life with the power of Christ and dare it to knock you down.  Faith and courage are built through enduring the storms.

No Days Off

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I’ve been kicking around an idea for the past several weeks, and think I am finally comfortable enough with it that I need to integrate the principle of it into my life. The concept is simple, yet I believe it can have an incredible impact on the effectiveness of our walk. The concept is simply this: we as Christians are not allowed to take any days off. In fact, it goes deeper than that; we’re not even allowed to take a lunch break. Just as I have long espoused that every second of every minute of every hour of every day we make a choice to follow Christ or turn away from Him, I now am convicted that we must be “on” every second of every minute of every hour of every day.

For too long we have bought into the illusion that we deserve to have everything that Western culture has to offer, and oh by the way, we’ll also follow Christ. This isn’t the call I see in Scripture. Jesus demands that we give up everything and follow Him. We speak our belief to others whenever we are seen by them throughout the day. We speak our belief to God when no one else is around. This covers our actions, thoughts and words at all times, not just some of the time. God never ceases to observe us, and as long as there are other people on this planet, neither will they.

We don’t have the luxury of time. When we meet someone, we must demonstrate the love of Christ and the integrity of our faith to them; we may never get another opportunity. When we are alone, we must always use that time to recharge our spirit by communing with God, practicing spiritual disciplines and resting quietly in Christ – not in front of the latest television phenomenon. There are many things in this world that are inherently neutral – sports, hobbies and entertainment to name a few; but time is not neutral, it will either be used for God or it will be used against God. If we use the time God has given us to indulge in things that do not further His kingdom then we are not living true to our commitment to forsake everything for Him.

Nurture relationships, show love to others. Share a kind word and a few dollars with those in need. Perhaps now more than any time in American history we must realize how quickly our window of opportunity is closing. Our nation is changing and we do not know how long we will enjoy the absolute religious freedom we currently do. We must redeem the time – every second of it. We must work harder to live and love as we told Jesus we would. There are no breaks, there is no time off, but there is a great reward for all who persevere.

What If?

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What if this week were different? What if we approached tomorrow in a brand new way? What if we got so excited about doing life the way we are called to do it that we made a radical change in the way we lived? What if everything we did was done in honor of God? What if, before we go to bed tonight, we dedicated the rest of this week to Jesus? What if we didn’t stop at just words, what if we really meant it?

What if we rejected our pride and started actively seeking ways to serve others? What if we determined to love – truly love – everyone with whom we come into contact? What if we, once and for all, surrendered those things we have kept back from God? What if we stopped worrying if we had the latest electronic gadgets or the biggest TV? What if we stopped caring what kind of car we drive?

What if we skipped our own lunch and used the money to buy lunch for someone else instead? What if we took some time to speak to the homeless? What if we spared an hour to listen to someone who was hurting? What if we treated our families with the same courtesy and respect that we treat those outside of our inner circle?

What if we started living like Jesus was truly alive within us? What if we decided – right now – to set the world ablaze with the love of Christ? What if we just let go and let Him flow through us? What if we stopped being afraid and started trusting Him like we say we do? What if we started living as if nothing mattered more than pleasing Jesus?

What if this all weren’t just wishful thinking? What if we stopped asking all these questions and started to be the answers instead? What if?

Be Remarkable

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We need to be remarkable for Jesus. Jesus showed excellence in everything He did; we are called to do the same. What does excellence look like in your life? What would it take to be remarkable in everything you do?

Too often we are content to stroll happily through our days without urgency or passion. As long as the car doesn’t break down, the boss doesn’t yell at us and the dog doesn’t gnaw on yet another piece of furniture, it’s a good day. We grow content, even complacent with our station in life. We take for granted the car, the house, the food, even the family that God has blessed us with and entrusted into our care. Life becomes something that more or less just happens and we float along with the current of the day.

That’s not excellence. There is nothing remarkable about merely drifting in the current. People are dying without Christ every second. People are drowning in depression every day. Hopelessness envelops those around us. We are called to passion and excellence. If we can’t be passionate about living life for Christ, whom we claim is Lord of our life, then about what can we possibly be passionate?

Every task upon which we set our hands to work should be excellent, should produce a “Wow!” upon completion. Jesus never did anything half way. If we are truly his followers we will set about to live our life with unbridled zeal. We will passionately do everything He instructed us to do, and we will do so with excellence. We will produce remarkable results for Him. Our lives will be so remarkable that those around us will be drawn to what we have. We will tell them of our remarkable Lord, and the Holy Spirit will gush from us until everyone we encounter is flooded by the love of Christ. This is what it looks like to live a remarkable life for Christ.

All of creation is remarkable. The birds singing in the morning are remarkable. The sound of water flowing freely over rocks, when everything else is still, is remarkable. You are God’s creation; you are made to be remarkable. Live your passion and do so with excellence. Live remarkably for Christ.

Career Crisis for Christ?

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I’ve been pretty frustrated with my J.O.B. (it seems like such a dirty word that I feel the need for additional emphasis) for quite some time now. I have a great job that pays well, and hey, let’s face it, in this economy it’s wonderful to still be employed. But there is something vaguely immoral about giving the most productive ten hours of my day to a corporation that does absolutely nothing to further the message of Jesus Christ to our world. As Christians, we have one mission in life: to be the love of Christ to all those around us that they might come to know Him.

I have long heard the pat answers of “just serving God wherever you are” and “perhaps God put you in that J.O.B. for a specific purpose, to witness to those around you”. Well, okay, but isn’t that the exact purpose that God has given to the life of every Christian? No matter where we are we are to be demonstrating and reflecting the love of God to all those around us. It is a lifelong, continuous mission, one that is independent of where we live or where we work. It seems to me more likely that these pat answers come from our Western Christianity growing far too comfortable with the Western ideology for far too long. We now see a J.O.B. as our Christian responsibility, as a sign of how God is blessing us. This is an utterly foreign concept of what I read in the Bible. The followers of Christ worked as they needed to support themselves as they went about telling others about Christ and demonstrating His love. There was no concept of a comfortable career, a nice nest egg for retirement, no concentration on how nicely they could furnish their homes or if they were driving the latest eco-conscious chariot!

I do not mean to imply that Christians should shirk all responsibility and that all jobs are evil. I do intend to point out that most of us, self included, spend the vast majority of our time doing things that have little or no Kingdom value. Each of us was created with a unique combination of gifts and passions, but how many of us are fully utilizing those same gifts? How many of us are fully engaged in our passions? We have become a fat and lazy people, consumed with what society tells us we need to do and have. I for one am rethinking the whole deal; what impact might I have on the world for Christ if I was fully engaged in something I was passionate about, fully utilizing the gifts God has imparted to me and giving the most productive hours of each day to such an endeavor? How might my life be different? How might yours? More importantly, think of the Kingdom impact we would have on our neighborhoods and our world.

Father, I know the path you have placed before me. I thank you for the passions and gifts you have placed within me. May I set aside the things of this world and focus solely on Your kingdom and on loving those around me. Strengthen me for the road ahead. Thank You for Your love and for this life You have given me; may I use it all for Thee.