Even If i Walk Alone

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

priorities

Read Slowly

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The more I study the Bible, the more I recognize when it comes to God’s Word, we should read slowly. Scripture is replete with admonitions to meditate on the words of God. Meditating and delighting on God’s instruction is a regular theme throughout the book of Psalms (Psalm 1:1-2, Psalm 19:7-14, Psalm 77:12, Psalm 119:15, Psalm 119:23, Psalm 119:27, Psalm 119:48, Psalm 119:78, Psalm 119:97, Psalm 119:99, Psalm 119:148, Psalm 143:5)

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and many other places throughout scripture (Joshua 1:8, Jeremiah 15:16, Nehemiah 8:1-3, Matthew 7:24-25, James 1:22-25, Philippians 4:8, Colossians 3:16). The Bible is not a book meant to be read like other books. We don’t read God’s Word to get through it, but to let it marinade our souls. When we read too quickly, we often miss the details and subtle nuances. There is no part of scripture we can afford to miss or gloss over (2 Timothy 3:16).

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Is Jesus Lord of All?

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Jesus is the One you reach out to when you are in need, and perhaps the One to whom you give thanks when things are going well. But is He also the one you serve in between those times? It seems to me this is a true test of our faith. It’s not whether we are grateful to Him in good times and seek Him in the bad, but the test is if we will serve Him in the boring and mundane middle.

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As I’ve repeated many times in my writing, if Jesus isn’t Lord of all, then He isn’t Lord at all. If changing circumstances change how you think about Christ, then He isn’t Lord of everything. Is Jesus Lord of all in your life?

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What Do You Enjoy?

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Addressing the attendees at a recent seminar, speaker Michael Reeves said, “What we love and enjoy is foundationally important.” He went on to explain what we enjoy is far more significant than our outward behavior because it is our desires that drive our behavior. Since we want our behaviors to reflect the holiness of our Savior, I find it well worth considering and recognizing what it is we enjoy most in life.

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We will consume our time and attention with those people, hobbies, thoughts, and activities in which we take the greatest joy. So, it is what we enjoy most that will most shape and define our lives. This is why it is critical to be intentional in how we choose to spend our time and to guard our attention well. As we begin, ask yourself, what do you enjoy most in this life?
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Time to Pray

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After hitting the snooze button a couple of times, I found myself running late on a day that already held more to do than there were available hours. As I swung my legs over the bed, in my mind, I began rehearsing the day to come. Trying to schedule each piece mentally, I hit a jarring thought. Thinking of everything I had to do, I thought, “…and I need to squeeze in time to pray.” That may be one of the worst thoughts my brain has ever contemplated.

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Squeeze time in to pray? The Holy Spirit immediately convicted me of how wrong my thinking was at that moment. I anchor each of my days by doing nothing before spending time in God’s Word and praying. I know nothing sets me up for failure more than neglecting those priorities. And yet, here I was contemplating squeezing in the time to pray.

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Stay Ready

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If we want to be ready for the Lord’s return, we must be diligent to stay ready every day of our lives. To be caught unaware when Jesus comes back should terrify us all. It’s easy for us to shake our heads at the disciples who fell asleep while keeping watch as the Lord went off by Himself to pray in the garden (Matthew 26:36-46), but are we any better?

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Are we not even more guilty of falling asleep as we await the Lord’s return? If we are not focusing our lives on serving Christ and doing the things He commands us to do, we are not staying ready. We are simply going through the motions and living as if His return is not imminent. Jesus could return before you finish reading this post. He could come before I finish writing it! If He does, will He find us ready?

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