Even If i Walk Alone

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

priorities

Prosperity and God

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I was sickened by the results of a recent poll taken by Lifeway research concerning prosperity and God. Lifeway polled Americans with evangelical beliefs who attended Protestant churches at least once each month. The results were startling: 75% believe God wants them to prosper financially; 41 % said their churches teach the more money they give, the more they will be blessed; and 26% agreed they had to do something for God in order to receive material blessings from Him.

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It made me wonder what Bible these people and churches are using? It sadly confirmed the common suspicion that people aren’t even reading their Bible’s. None of the above can be found in Scripture. Yet this is what many churches are teaching today, and worse, it’s what people are believing.

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I Don’t Matter

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It amazes me to realize I have unsurpassable worth in the eyes of God. I get that. But when it comes to His kingdom, I don’t matter. This thing is all about God, and when the focus is anywhere else, the whole thing goes a bit sideways. I don’t matter, only Jesus. This doesn’t make me irrelevant. It simply brings perspective. God could do this whole thing without you or me, but He has chosen to include us in His plans.

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He doesn’t need us to be His hands and feet, He desires us to be His hands and feet. This is a tremendous honor and responsibility. It changes the way we see the world and the reason we get up each day.

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Spirit of God

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Does it strike you as odd to read of the power of the Holy Spirit throughout the New Testament? Do you ever wish you had a healthy dose of the same spirit today? The same Spirit that permeates the pages of the New Testament, and indeed all of history, is alive and active in our world today. The reason we miss Him is we aren’t looking for Him.

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We’re so wrapped up in our own world and busyness we wouldn’t recognize the Spirit of God if He visibly showed Himself in front of our faces. Somewhere throughout the centuries, we’ve lost our sensitivity to the Spirit. Or is it perhaps we have lost the desire to truly see Him?

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Stay Focused

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The latest book by Francis Chan, “Letters to the Church” is a fantastic and convicting work that compares the modern Western church to the early Church detailed in the New Testament. This will always be a touchy topic because one feels the need to walk the tightrope between offending and convicting. I think Francis does a masterful job of doing this, but much to my delight chooses to err on the side of not worrying what anyone other than God might think.

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Early on, Pastor Chan writes, “The older I get, the more aware I am the end is near. There is no time to care about what I want in the church. There’s no time to worry about what others are looking for in a church. I will be facing Him soon, so I have to stay focused on His desires.” This is a word by which we all should be living.

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God is Not an Afterthought

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The way many of us live relegates God to an afterthought. After we’ve done everything we want to do, spend money on things we want to buy, and talk to the people with whom we want to speak, then we are ready to communicate with God. We owe God the firstfruits of all our offerings (Nehemiah 10:35-37). This implies we also owe Him a tithe on our time. He should get the best of our time, not the leftovers.

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To me, this means beginning each day with God. To not begin the day with God is a recipe for disaster. I see how He rejected Cain’s offering but accepted Abel’s (Genesis 4:3-5). I don’t want to insult God with the time I give to Him. It needs to be my very best, and it needs to be the first I have to offer.

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