Even If i Walk Alone

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

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International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted (IDOP)

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International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted (IDOP)

This past Sunday, many churches across the world took part in the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted, or IDOP for short. Some American churches postponed for a week because of the election (I do not understand such reasoning, but the fact remains), and some churches across the globe are marking the day on November 15th.  This means for the first three Sundays of the month in which this post is first published, there will be focused and corporate prayer for our persecuted brothers and sisters. I urge you to join in.

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If you, like me, enjoy the freedom to express your beliefs where you live, it’s difficult to understand what our fellow Christians endure daily. We cannot make too much of this issue. While we worship in freedom, millions of Christians are enduring unimaginable persecution because they are steadfast in affirming Jesus as their Lord.

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Praying for the Persecuted

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I want to encourage all followers of Jesus to remember our brothers and sisters around the world who are facing mistreatment, persecution, violence, and prison. It’s easy to read their stories, throw up a quick prayer, and move on. Their names can be difficult to pronounce, their cultures foreign to us. But each of these individuals is a man or woman, just like you and me.

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They feel fear and pain. Many have families they love and who count on them. They are not so different from us. No, they are just like us. The only difference between us and them is most of us have been blessed to have been born and/or live in countries that afford religious freedom.

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Brothers and Sisters in Christ

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On Christmas day, two pastors in the Central African Republic (CAR) were gunned down as they walked home from holding services. Then, on January 3rd, the terrorist organization Boko Haram, kidnapped Pastor Lawan Andimi, a senior member of the Christian Association of Nigeria. On January 19th, they called his wife and told her they would behead her husband, which they did. So, how was your day? I in no way mean to be flippant but to point out the fact while most Western Christians fret about getting to church while there are still donuts available, our Christian brothers and sisters around the globe are facing real trials and real persecution.

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As another mega-church goes into millions of dollars of debt to build bigger and more comfortable buildings, Christians in nations where Christianity is illegal risk beatings, imprisonment, and death to gather under a tree in the middle of a field just so they can fellowship with one another. Something has gone terribly wrong with the Church in the Western world.

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Everyday Miracles

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We all ask for miracles in our lives but fail to recognize them when they occur. It’s easier to find a logical explanation than believe God showed up in an amazing way. Fascinating. We pray for a miracle, get one, but can’t bring ourselves to believe it’s true. We’ll credit modern medicine, a lucky break, a friend, or the kindness of a stranger; but God? That seems kind of far-fetched.

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My question is if we don’t believe in miracles, why do we ask for them in the first place? We fail to recognize the everyday miracles occurring all around us. Because we aren’t looking for God’s glory and mystery, we don’t see it. So, we have miracles we ask for and God grants, and we have the everyday miracles surrounding us. But we are blind to them all.

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The Privilege of Prayer

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As I was praying today, I became overwhelmed with a sense of awe. Not for the first time, I was struck by Who it was I was talking to and what an intense and incredible privilege it is to speak to my Creator. When we pray, we are talking directly to the God of the Universe. We are conversing with Jesus. Who are we that we should have such a privilege? I know what my life has been. I know what I deserve, what we all deserve.

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I deserve to be cast out of His holy presence forever and to never have the privilege or right to come before Him. I am an unholy man before an all-holy God. But He looks beyond that. He sees me as His child, and because of the blood of Jesus, I am clean and blameless in His eyes. He invites me to sit at His table and speak with Him. Do you understand the enormity of this?

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