Even If i Walk Alone

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

priorities

What’s Your Plan?

by

What’s your plan to grow in your knowledge of God and His Word? How’s it going? As I write this, we’re almost a month into a new year, and I’m guessing scores of resolutions have already died a quick and quiet death. How’s that Bible reading plan progressing? Are you on track? How about getting up early so you can spend some quiet time in prayer with the Lord?

what's your plan,Bible study,discipleship,commitment,prayer,priorities

Are you still making it out of bed into the cold, dark morning? History and experience say things probably aren’t going so well. I’m actually ahead on my Bible reading, but falling woefully short in other areas. There are legitimate reasons we fall off target. But, the truth is, we are all trading our heartfelt commitments for things that are far inferior and worthless.

[Read more…] about What’s Your Plan?

Two Ways to Live

by

There are two ways to live. You can follow God’s perfect way as revealed in His Word, or you can subscribe to the wisdom of man. Every single one of us will choose one of these two ways to plot their course through life. Choosing God means abandoning your life to Jesus. It’s a path of surrender and few will go this way. The alternative is to rely on the wisdom of man.

surrender,purpose,priorities,commitment,discipleship,love,two ways to live

This path is wide and you’ll find plenty of company along the way to share your journey. Neither way will be free of struggle. Life in this world comes with a heavy dose of pain, discouragement, and defeat. The choice between the two ways to live, then, comes down to your motivation, not whether one path is easier than the other.

[Read more…] about Two Ways to Live

What Sin Is

by

Each of us wrestles with the problem of sin. To understand how to win this battle, we must first define the terms. What is sin? Sin is any violation of God’s Law (1 John 3:4). We know everyone is guilty of this (Romans 3:23). Holiness is the goal because our lives are supposed to look like Jesus. We can’t look like Jesus when we are continuing to indulge in the same sinful patterns that we always have.

what sin is,commitment,discipleship,priorities,sin

None of us can live a sinless life; only Jesus was able to accomplish that. But each of our lives should move closer to that ideal every day. God’s law is unchanging, and He has plainly stated what violating His law involves (Mark 12:28-31). When we love anything more than God or when we do not love others as much as we love ourselves, we are sinning. There is no vagueness about what sin is.

[Read more…] about What Sin Is

Standing Firm

by

It has been said if you can’t stand firm, then you won’t stand at all. We see this proven out in our spiritual lives. No one can claim they stand for Jesus if they won’t stand for Him under trials and difficulties. Standing firm means to stand without wavering. You can’t be a warrior for Jesus one day and live your life as if He wasn’t Lord the next.

standing firm,commitment,discipleship,surrender,salvation,priorities,Kingdom of God

In Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul tells us to always be prepared for the day of battle by putting on the full armor of God. If we do that, we will hold fast to Christ regardless of what the enemy sends our way (Ephesians 6:13). The easiest way to not lose our footing is to never take our eyes off Jesus, never stop delighting in His Word, and never stop reminding ourselves that our life is not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Galatians 2:19-20).

[Read more…] about Standing Firm

Making the Most of Our Time

by

Paul instructs believers to always be making the most of our time because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15-16). I don’t think any of us doubt that the days we are living in are evil. Never in my lifetime have we seen such hate, violence, and disregard for God as we do right now. So, in these evil days, how do we redeem the time so we spend it focusing on God instead of the evil in the world?

making the most of our time,discipleship,commitment,mission,priorities

Without intention and guidelines, it’s too easy to be drawn into the darkness instead of dwelling in the light. We will never passively make the most of our time. It must be something we consciously choose to do. That means we’re going to stand out, people will probably mock us, and we may even face persecution. But this is the life Jesus calls us to, and it is the life we choose for the sake of Christ.

[Read more…] about Making the Most of Our Time