Even If i Walk Alone

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

Psalms

We Belong to the Lord

by

Our only hope in this world is knowing we belong to God. If we were on our own, the weight and struggles of this life would crush us. The pressure would annihilate us. But thanks be to God, we are not alone. We are not our own. The life we live, we live because of Jesus and for Jesus.

hope,commitment,fear,love,salvation,security,new city catechism

Paul reminds us in Romans 14:7-8 that whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Our purpose for living is to do the work of our Lord. And when we die, we die for Him, having run the race and doing all He has given us to do (2 Timothy 4:7-8). This is our hope: we belong to the Lord.

[Read more…] about We Belong to the Lord

Living a Godly Life

by

What does it look like to live a life pleasing to God in everything we do? Living a godly life should be the aspiration of every follower of Christ. We all know that, but often struggle to discover how this plays out in practical terms. Inconsistency marks our lives, and we can well identify with the lament of the Apostle Paul: “I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate…” (Romans 7:15).

living a godly life,integrity,discipleship,godly living,live like Jesus

King David wrestled with this as well and laid out some signposts for us to live a godly life. To wholly devote our lives to Christ, there are practical things we can do every day to live the life He created us to live.

[Read more…] about Living a Godly Life

Spiritual Maturity

by

What does it take to rob you of your joy? Are you joyful when things are going well but less so when troubles come? You can know joy every day of your life, no matter what you are going through. It is possible to live in joy in every circumstance. John MacArthur once wrote, “One of the surest measures of our spiritual maturity is what it takes to rob us of our spirit-bestowed joy”. A spiritually immature person will find their joy in a constant ebb and flow, coming over them in waves, but drifting away just as easily.

spiritual maturity,priorities,commitment,discipleship,fear,discouragement

So, if we want a joy that does not leave us, we need to become more spiritually mature. This works because the more we spend time with God, the more joyful we become. And the more we learn about His unchanging character and love, the more we come to believe in His unfailing promises, the more confident we will become in our joy. We will develop such joy that nothing can shake it.

[Read more…] about Spiritual Maturity

Time is Fleeting

by

In recent days, I’ve again been struck by how fleeting time is and how incumbent upon us it is to make the most of it. I’ve written previously on this topic (see “Time Keeps on Slipping”, “Time is Running Out”, and “Time is Short”) but am compelled to do so again because when I look at my life and the lives of other believers around me, I am convinced we still don’t get it. We are here for only a little while. In consideration of eternity, our lives don’t even register as a blip on the radar.

time is fleeting, commitment,discipleship,focus,time,days are evil,life is but a mist,life is but vapor

James tells us our life is like smoke, appearing for a moment and then quickly vanishing (James 4:14) Most of us, especially when we are younger, think little of death and feel somewhat invincible. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our outlook on time matters when we are endeavoring to live as disciples of Jesus.

[Read more…] about Time is Fleeting

God Hates Sin

by

It’s been a long time since I’ve heard a popular pastor preach about the dangers and horrors of sin. I’ve heard a lot about time management, goal setting, self-improvement, favor, blessing, and healing. The past couple of years have seen a shift to a lot of messages around social justice, tolerance, and welcoming people into the church who are living in proud defiance of the Word of God.

God hates sin,repentance,love,forgiveness,sin,confession

What I don’t hear is preaching on the depravity and destruction of sin. We hear God is love and forgiveness without the context of why we need His love and forgiveness. Let us be clear in our understanding: God hates sin and so must we. If sin doesn’t repulse us and drive us to our knees in repentance, the odds are better than good you don’t know Jesus as Lord and Savior.

[Read more…] about God Hates Sin