Even If i Walk Alone

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

Psalms

Are You Afraid?

by

Are you afraid of what’s going on in the world? The amount of what looks like unrestrained evil does give one pause. Most people are afraid of something: death, financial ruin, assault, business crisis, family conflict, marriage woes, and the list could go on and on. As a whole, our culture is full of anxiety, depression, stress, and mental delusion.

Some days it’s difficult not to be afraid of where this is all leading. Of course, we have confidence that God is in control no matter how out of control the world seems to be (Psalm 103:19; Daniel 4:35). But sometimes that confidence gets a little shaky and seems a bit removed from our day-to-day needs and experiences. There is a solution to this overwhelming fear.

[Read more…] about Are You Afraid?

Perfect Holiness

by

A hard truth is that you can devote your entire life to pursuing Christ and still never master living in complete holiness. We can draw closer to Christ, but will never be with Him until we die. Thus, we will never realize our ultimate goal in this life, no matter how hard we try or how much we persist.

Everything else in life is possible except for living in perfect holiness. And yet, this is what we are called to in this life (1 Peter 1:15–16; Matthew 5:48). The goal is to try every day to be a little more like Jesus than the day before. It is the only goal worth having and pursuing. Do you believe that? If so, does your life reflect that belief?

[Read more…] about Perfect Holiness

Persevere to the End

by

Life is the ultimate dichotomy. It is both short and long, and we feel the tension between the two every day. Our time on this earth is not even a blip on the timeline of eternity. We are but a vapor that is here one moment, and gone the next (James 4:14; Psalm 103:15–16). But the time spent living in that “blip” can seem grueling and never-ending. This is true for our walk with Christ as well. Not that Jesus Himself is taxing in any way; His burden is light and we find our rest in Him (Matthew 11:28–30).

But the world makes living for Jesus one challenge after another. We must choose Christ over our sinful nature every second of every minute of every hour of every day. Sometimes it can feel like a grind. It is why so many fall away (Matthew 13:20–21), and why we are called to persevere to the end (Matthew 24:13).

[Read more…] about Persevere to the End

The Whole Counsel of God

by

The modern Church has a tendency to pick the parts of the Gospel it finds most palatable to talk about. To the contrary, the Apostle Paul preached the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:26–27). The whole counsel means the entire purpose, will, and plan of God. When we leave out part of the Gospel, we keep people from seeing and understanding it in its entirety.

We should never try to hide any part of God’s glory. That our culture finds some of the Gospel abhorrent or difficult to swallow does not overrule our responsibility to proclaim the whole truth of God’s Word. It is not up to humans to decide which parts of God’s Word are true. Only God is truth, so only He gets to say what is true (John 17:17; Isaiah 45:19).

[Read more…] about The Whole Counsel of God

Strangers and Aliens

by

Those who exercise the boldness and courage to proclaim the truth of the Gospel will face many trials in this life (John 16:33). For those who follow Jesus, that is reason enough to reject anyone preaching a message promising health, wealth, and peace. Jesus dispels that belief when He declares He did not come to bring peace, but a sword (Matthew 10:34).

We are strangers and aliens on earth, foreigners in every context and location in which we find ourselves (1 Peter 2:11; Hebrews 11:13). This world is not where we belong, and those who do belong here will do everything they can to harm and get rid of us. Life on the narrow path is going to be difficult (Matthew 7:13–14) and we should believe no one who says otherwise (2 Timothy 3:12).

[Read more…] about Strangers and Aliens