Even If i Walk Alone

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

Proverbs

Our Thoughts

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Most of us are pretty good at presenting a Christian face to the world. Underneath the façade, though, our thoughts often reveal a different side to our character. Indeed, getting our thought life under control is far more difficult than mastering our outward habits. John Macarthur once wrote, “The sins of our thought life are soul-coloring sins, character-damaging sins.”

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What we think about shapes who we become. We can never be joyful followers of Christ if deceit, lust, and conceit cloud our thoughts. The direction of our lives will be determined by what we think about most. A mind saturated by Jesus will yield a life devoted to Him. As appealing as that sounds, the opposite is also true. When our thoughts are on things other than God, the result will be a life that is frustrated, defeated, and ultimately wasted.

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Deception

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Deception is perhaps the greatest weapon in Satan’s arsenal. It comes in many varieties and strengths. The devil doesn’t need to get you to believe a big lie because a series of small ones will have the same effect. Our recent history shows us the results of generations of deception. Surveys show our trust in the government, media, and even medical doctors has never been lower. The world has deceived us for so long that it becomes nearly impossible to believe anything or anyone anymore!

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When deception is the new standard, where can we go for truth? Thankfully, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8). He does not change, and there is no deception in Him. We became too accustomed to trusting in the rulers and authorities of this world, turned away from Jesus, and are now bearing the consequences of our misplaced trust.

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A Stress-Free Life

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Much of the stress in our lives is brought on by the fact we are focusing on ourselves instead of on God. Trouble will find its way into each of our lives. Difficult, even tragic, circumstances will invade our serenity. Countless outside influences will cause us stress, but I maintain the primary culprit will always be a wrong focus. I know from personal experience that a surrendered heart that is thinking only of Jesus has no room for stress.

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The love, joy, grace, and sufficiency of Christ have an almost intoxicating way of melting away every care and concern. Personal experience also informs me that even a slight glance away from our Lord yields disastrous results. The implication is clear. If you want to live a stress-free life, keep your focus on Jesus.

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Comfort Zone

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When faced with stressful and overwhelming circumstances, we all tend to pull back and retreat into what is most familiar to us. If what is most familiar and comfortable to us is sin, then we will find ourselves indulging in sinful behaviors every time our world feels like it is collapsing around us. Thus, when we most need God (as if we aren’t in constant need!), we are rebelling against Him. It’s not a good plan.

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A far better plan is to instill healthy spiritual disciplines that will cause us to retreat into habits like prayer and Bible reading when our life begins tilting upside down. Solomon wrote, “As shameful conduct is pleasure for a fool, so wisdom is for a man of understanding” (Proverbs 10:23). We need to be so obsessed with God and His Word that He becomes our comfort zone.

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Fear God

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Why do you fear God? Perhaps a better first question to ask is, do you fear God? Scripture commands us many times to live in the fear of God (Deuteronomy 6:13; 1 Samuel 12:24; Proverbs 9:10; 2 Corinthians 5:11; Philippians 2:12-13; 1 Peter 2:17; Revelation 14:7). So, it’s not a question of whether we should, but imperative that we must. With all the sermons teaching God is love these days, it may seem a bit out of step to be talking about fearing God. Humans do not typically fear those we love.

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But God is not just someone else we love. He is the holy, righteous, and glorious Creator of the Universe, the Lord of lords, and the King of kings. God is indeed the highest expression of love. John told us this plainly in his epistle to the Church (1 John 4:8). However, we do not serve a one-dimensional God. Every emotion is magnified and perfected in Him. Thus, jealous, zealous, and righteous anger are also part of who He is. To quote Jonathan Edwards, “… it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”.

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