Even If i Walk Alone

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

Proverbs

Are We Really Any Better?

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As you read the Bible, it’s easy to shake your head at some of the characters. We think we would never behave that way or make the choices they did. Knowing what we know of Jesus today, I think it’s easy to be confident we would react better if we were in their place. Let me assure you, none of us would. I know this because I know myself and I know what I observe in others every day.

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Perhaps our actions are even worse than those of our ancestors. We have the complete Word and revelation of God in our hands and our native language (2 Timothy 3:16-17). This phenomenon is only a few hundred years old. None of those we read about in the Bible had access to the Word like we do. Despite that, our commitment to Jesus is no better than theirs.

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Secondary Issues?

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If you hang around Christians long enough, you’ll no doubt eventually hear them talking about the difference between primary and secondary issues. Various denominations and individuals will agree on the “primary” issues like the Trinity, incarnation, resurrection, and the authority of Scripture. They may disagree on what are called “secondary” issues such as modes of baptism, eschatology, and the sign gifts (in case you are unfamiliar with any of those terms, I’ve linked to some more details on each).

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More and more, we’re seeing modern “Christians” and pastors trying to place a lot of social topics into the category of secondary issues. Any time you try to justify sin by minimizing it, you are on dangerous ground. Not only will this lead many astray, but those perpetuating such nonsense are begging to have the wrath of God poured out on them.

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Crossing the Line

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When I was younger, I remember a popular question asked in youth groups was, “How far can I go?” How far was too far, and when were we crossing the line into sin? I think we ask the same questions as adults. When does the joke go too far? How far should we push our political agenda before it overtakes our spiritual commitment? When do movie scenes or song lyrics go too far? As married people, when does being friendly cross the line into flirtatious?

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In so many areas of our lives, it seems we are determined to push right up to the edge of sin, but back off before crossing the line. Where is that proverbial and perhaps mythical line? Is there an actual line or is it just in our heads? Finally, shouldn’t Christians be far more concerned with fleeing from temptation than with how close they can get to “the line”?

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Always Listening

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With the number of apps and devices listening to everything you say, there is a growing concern about the death of privacy. It has been well-founded that many of these devices are listening even when you turn them off or restrict their permissions. Combine this with the growing number of cameras in your home and in public, and it’s safe to say privacy in modern cultures is a thing of the past.

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Someone or something is always listening. Someone or something is always watching. This makes most normal people uncomfortable, to say the least. We don’t want our most intimate words and actions to be known. But this is nothing new. From the beginning, God was always listening and watching (Psalm 94:9). You have never said or done anything that escaped His awareness (Psalm 139:1-4).

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Thus Says the Lord

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In many places in scripture we read the phrase, “Thus says the Lord”, or for those of us who grew up with the King James Version of the Bible, “Thus Saith the Lord”. In fact, it occurs over 400 times (Exodus 4:22-23, Jeremiah 2:2, Ezekiel 37:5, to name a few) throughout Scripture. God spoke His Word through the prophets and apostles so we would always know His truth and His commands.

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The question is, what will we do with what the Lord said? It not only defines how we will live today, but determines our eternal destiny. We cannot have everlasting life unless we love God, and if we love Him, we will obey His Word (John 14:15). For disciples of Jesus, “Thus says the Lord” becomes our guardrails and keeps our paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).

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