Even If i Walk Alone

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

Philippians

Jesus Is Sufficient

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Jesus is sufficient for all things. He is sufficient for your needs, and He is sufficient to take care of everything in the universe. His capabilities are measureless and unfathomable. Yet this same God desires to know us intimately. If this doesn’t overwhelm you, nothing ever will. Jesus is our Creator and our biggest cheerleader. He’s our staunchest defender against the enemy.

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He also is holy and demands we be holy as well. The Lord is slow to anger, but when His righteous anger is aroused, we must tremble in His presence. He loves us as much as He hates sin. The blood and mercy of Jesus are sufficient to cover our sins, while the ferocity of His judgment can destroy all who would dare rebel against Him.

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Citizens of Heaven

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As believers in Christ, we are citizens of Heaven (Philippians 3:19-20). This world is no longer our home. As Larry Norman reminded us fifty years ago, we’re only visiting this planet. It sounds bizarre when you say it out loud, but the truth is often that way. Our time here is temporary. Eternity with Christ awaits us. While I don’t believe we should squander our time on earth, just biding our time until we see Jesus,

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I also believe it’s important to keep the proper perspective while we are here. Think of it as an extended business trip with an occasional vacation. We know we’re going to be leaving, so there’s no point in getting attached to anything. We have a job to do and very little time to do it.

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Glory in Shame

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Reading through the third chapter of Philippians, I came across a phrase that stopped me in my tracks. Paul writes, “their glory is in their shame” (Philippians 3:18-20). I thought about how much this is true of society today, and how much this has been true in my life. We tend to take pride in things God hates. What you achieve or gain on earth does not impress the Lord. You’ll earn no extra points in Heaven because of your mental, physical, or emotional conquests. The only thing impressive to our King is how much we love and obey Him.

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If we’re going to glory in anything, it should be in our devotion to Christ. Yet, when talking with friends and family, how much of our conversation centers on what we are learning from the Lord? How much time do you spend detailing your obedience and surrender to God and your willingness to die for Him? We glory in what is shameful and ignore what is glorious.

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Devoted to Christ

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There is a word in the Bible that causes much controversy these days because of its modern English connotation. The word is “slave” and depending on what translation you read may also be translated as servant or bondservant. Given the tensions of our day, the term servant is more palatable than the word slave, but we must recognize when the Bible uses the word, it often does not mean the same thing as it does to us today. For example, in Philippians 1:1, Paul refers to himself and Timothy as slaves of Christ.

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This is not to be construed as anything negative, but as something to which we should all aspire. The Greek word for slaves here is δοῦλος (douloi), which means “pertaining to a state of being completely controlled by someone or something”1Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 471). New York: United Bible Societies.).. Given that definition, I definitely want to be a slave to Jesus. I want my life to be devoted to Christ.

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    Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 471). New York: United Bible Societies.).

No Exceptions

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One thing I love about the Bible is also the same thing that makes me uncomfortable. It’s the fact there are no exceptions to the commandments of God. We don’t get to rationalize about our sin to help us feel better about ourselves. Jesus said He is the way, the truth, and the life, and the only way to have eternal life (John 14:6).

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He didn’t say He was a way; He said He was the way. No exceptions. Jesus didn’t leave any loopholes when He said if we love Him, we will obey Him. He didn’t say we will often obey. He simply said we would obey Him. The implication is we will spend our lives living in obedience to Christ. No exceptions.

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