Even If i Walk Alone

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

Philippians

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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Reading the Bible

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Perhaps nothing is more vital to your Christian walk than reading the Bible. The entire book is about Jesus, so if you want to know more about Him, read His Word! I do not discount the importance of prayer, sacrifice, and obedience, but we learn about all these by reading the Bible. Many Christians never read their Bibles. I have to wonder why they came to Christ in the first place.

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When you fall in love with someone, you want to know everything about them. It’s no different with Christ. If you love Him, you will want to consume your life with His. Don’t let the size of the book intimidate you. I promise the more you read it, the more you will fall in love with Christ.

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Humility

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Most of us recognize how humble Jesus was when He walked on earth. Here was a man who never sinned, yet He didn’t avoid those who did. He was the very Son of God and He subjected Himself to the limitations of this world. Jesus had every right to boast about who He was. But He never did. It was in His authority to command everyone to serve Him, but He didn’t.

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Instead, Jesus served those who should have been serving Him. It didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was they experienced the love of God and came to know Him. Now I remind you as His disciples, we are to walk just as Jesus walked (1 John 2:6).

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