Even If i Walk Alone

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

purpose

Continuing the Mission of Christ

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The mission of Christ did not end when Christ was crucified. It did not end when He rose from the grave. The mission did not end when He ascended into Heaven. In fact, these events were merely the culmination of the kick off! The mission of Jesus will be completed when His kingdom is on earth as it is in Heaven. And so it continues.

The modern evangelical church has lulled us into the belief that Christianity can be boiled down to attending a service on Sundays, putting the appropriate amount of money into the plate and telling someone about Jesus every now and then. The “super Christians” even live by an unusually high moral code and spend a seemingly inordinate amount of time in prayer. The more I study and learn, the more I ask myself, “What Bible are they reading anyway?” Jesus did not come to establish a glorified social club, a place we could go to make us feel better about ourselves or simply to be entertained. This was not, and is not, the mission of Jesus Christ. Do any of us really believe that Jesus endured what He did in order that we might pursue lives of comfort and affluence?

Look around you; is the world beginning to look like the Kingdom of God here on earth? Does it look more like the Kingdom today than it did 10 years ago? The answer to both questions is an obvious and resounding, “No!” So if the mission of Christ is for His kingdom to be at home on earth, why is it that we are continually moving ever further from that goal? The uncomfortable answer is that we have become satisfied with the comforts and conveniences of a world ruled by Satan. We are residing in the camp of the enemy, and we like it. What other conclusion may one draw?

As long as there are starving children, as long as there are those without a home, as long as selfishness and greed run rampant through our streets, the mission of Christ is not yet complete. We have chosen to be followers of Jesus. This is a volunteer role, one we have accepted by choice and are free to reject at any time. I pray that you hold fast to your decision and will choose to not just follow Him at a distance, but to run alongside of Jesus as you carry out His mission. If we would remain His followers, then His path is our path. His mission is our mission.

Wake from the slumber into which we’ve been lulled. Cast off the chains that keep us beholden to the comforts of society. Pray ferocious prayers that the will of God will indeed be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Take action whenever and however you can to see that the hungry are fed, the needy are clothed and the homeless are sheltered. Give all that you have so that others may in turn experience the freedom, the joy and the ecstasy of the love of Jesus. This is the mission to which we have all been called. This is the purpose and the meaning of life. On this day, at this moment, how will you respond?

Which Parts of the Bible Do You Ignore?

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In my reading this week I was challenged by a question that, on its face, seemed ludicrous. Yet I could neither ignore it nor get it out of my head. The question was, “Which parts of the Bible are you choosing to ignore?” It was preposterous in both its implication that I would even think of picking and choosing parts of the Bible to ignore, and also by the insinuation that I indeed was ignoring parts of the Bible. I have been diligently striving to follow in the way of Jesus Christ, to do the things that He would do. That involves not allowing any compromise along the way. So how could I possibly be ignoring parts of the Bible, much less by conscious choice? This story, however, does not have a happy ending. Prayer and introspection revealed that indeed I have been ignoring parts of the Bible. In fact, I have been ignoring multiple parts of Scripture. This realization has been both sobering and challenging. Allow me to share a couple of areas I have been choosing to ignore.

The second greatest commandment, according to Jesus, is to love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:28-31). I do my best to show kindness to my neighbors. I always smile and wave whenever I see them outside. In the winter I even clear their driveways and sidewalks with my snow blower. Therefore, I must be demonstrating love to my neighbor. So apparently I can check this box with an affirmative. Or can I? I am ashamed to admit, I’ve never invited one of my current neighbors over for dinner; I’ve never stopped over just to see if I can help in any way. I’m a great neighbor as long as we happen to be outside at the same time. Otherwise it takes a little work, and apparently that’s been a bit too much for me. For those who are way ahead of me at this point and are still content that they can easily check off the “love my neighbor as myself” box, let me ask you a question. Have you, like a great number of Americans, purchased one of the new, large, flat screen televisions in the past couple of years? If you answered yes to that question, did you purchase one for your neighbor as well? If not, why not? Do you not love your neighbor at least as much as you love yourself? In the interest of full disclosure, I picked the flat screen television example because I don’t have one. I figured that was fair since I took my lumps in the first half of this paragraph. How about groceries? When you purchase food each week, do you purchase a bag for your neighbor as well? I hope you see my point.

Most of us do just enough to make us believe we are doing what Jesus commanded us to do. But when we look a little deeper, if we’re honest with ourselves, we will be forced to admit that we are indeed ignoring parts of the Bible. We ignore that which makes us uncomfortable or requires too great a sacrifice. We give money to those in need, but will we sell all we have and then turn around and give all the proceeds to the poor (Luke 18:18-22)? We’ll volunteer at the soup kitchen, but will we take a stranger in to live with us (Matthew 25:35)? We are ignoring the parts of the Bible that most reflect the mission of Jesus. How dare we call ourselves disciples? We are at best a weak and hypocritical people. The Church is supposed to be the unified body, the very hands and feet, of Jesus. We are to be ushering in His Kingdom by doing the things He commanded us to do while we are still on this earth. We are only half committed; we speak the language but we fail in the execution of the plan.

We must all repent of the parts of the Bible we have ignored out of our selfish sense of comfort. If we would indeed be a follower of Christ, we must look again at what He expects of us. We must look again at the way He lived and the things He did. We must repent of the words He spoke that we have ignored. It is time to rise up as the body of Christ and leave behind the half-hearted effort most of us have given to this point; it is time to work in unison to accomplish the mission of Jesus. As you prayerfully consider the way in which you will live for Him, give fresh consideration to the parts of the Bible you have been choosing to ignore.

Your True Identity

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Are you living with a case of mistaken identity? Many, if not most, of us go through life with a misconception of who they really are. Satan loves nothing better than to plant seeds of doubt and disillusion within our minds. He works to create images of ourselves in our mind that are inconsistent with whom we are in Christ. He seeks to convince us that we are not strong enough, not attractive enough or not talented enough to accomplish the things in life we are created to do. We become accustomed to seeing ourselves as the person Satan paints us to be, to the point that we forget who we are in Christ.

In Christ, we have the strength to overcome any obstacle that is placed in our path. Christ tells us that through Him we have overcome everything in this world. We simply must have the faith to believe it. But Satan plants images in our mind that cause us to see ourselves as too weak to handle certain situations; he deceives us to be afraid. Fear has no place in the Kingdom of God. There is no force that does not tremble at the name of Jesus. If we are devoted to following and serving Him, that same Spirit of courage and confidence resides within each of us. We have nothing to fear when we walk with Christ. We have been conditioned to fear for so long, that we are now paralyzed and unable to move at all. As the hands and feet of Jesus, to not be able to move is the worst situation in which we can find ourselves. Take courage, realize that Christ is with you and His power is available to you. We need simply to ask and to believe.

One of the great tragedies of modern society is the way that advertising projects those who are purported to be the ideal men and women. Many teens, as well as those younger and older, see themselves as falling short of that ideal and become both obsessed and depressed concerning their appearance. We live in an age where nearly any body feature can be altered if one is not satisfied with the way God created them. God loves us exactly as we are; nothing we change about our appearance will make Him love us any more than He already does. Who are we trying to impress anyway? For whom are we living? Besides, who are we to presume that we can improve on what God designed? Outside of a legitimate birth defect or an accident, both results of our fallen world, it seems a bit arrogant and dangerous to proclaim that we can create something more beautiful than God. This is simply one of Satan’s oldest ploys. If he can get you focused on your appearance, he knows he can neutralize any effectiveness you might have for Christ. That’s his whole goal; if he can get your focus off of God, he considers it a victory. Don’t let him convince you of this lie. See yourself as Jesus sees you: a beautiful and absolutely stunning representation of His creation.

God has given each of us talents with which to serve Him. Satan does what he can to discourage us in hopes of getting us to avoid using our gifts. If he can convince us we are not good enough or talented enough to make use of our gifts, he knows far fewer people will be reached with the good news of Jesus Christ. Don’t believe the lies that he feeds you. God gave the gifts you have within you for the purpose of telling others about Him. It’s through the use of our gifts that we are able to serve others. Regardless of what your gifts may be, use them to their fullest. If God gave you the gift, and He did, then He also made you more than able to adequately make use of that gift. The next time you doubt your ability to use your talent, remember that those thoughts come from Satan. You scare him to death, so he will do whatever he can to render your gifts useless. Recognize the doubt for what it is: a clever ruse of the devil. Don’t bite; rather, be encouraged that he is terrified of what you will accomplish with your God-given talents.

Don’t believe the lies Satan has placed in your mind. Study the Bible to remind yourself who you are in Christ. We are fearless conquerors designed to bring justice to the poor, the widows and the orphans. We are a beautiful creation, our lives a fragrant sacrifice to God. We have been given talents that will invade the very depths of Hell and win back those who have turned away from Jesus. Don’t buy the deception that Satan tries to sell you. Be strong, take courage, and reject the lies; you are beautiful and talented beyond words.

Don’t Be Normal

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So much of what Christ did ran against tradition and cultural acceptance. He touched diseased people, He ate dinner with prostitutes and thieves, and He refused to conform to societal norms. Somehow we seem to have lost this part of His message. Instead we have become a people obsessed with living in a manner consistent with everyone else. We drive the same cars, wear the same clothes and talk in the same manner as those who do not know Christ. Most of us live in comfortable houses in safe neighborhoods, surrounded by people who are just like us. Arguments are made about living among those who need Jesus and in identifying with them. We use this for justification of living a life that looks no different from our neighbors. Where is the desire to follow Jesus? Where is the passion to walk along the trail that He blazed before us? We are not different; we are not living any differently than the rest of the world, and we are certainly not living the countercultural lifestyle of Jesus Christ.

Where did we lose our way and veer from the path that leads to life? When did we decide that it was simply okay to be “normal”? Jesus wasn’t normal! He lived His entire life in service to others. He endured torture and agony, the likes of which most of us will never have to endure. We are a people consumed with temporal pleasures in lieu of eternal joy. Where is the logic in this? Do we realize what we risk by refusing to live the way Jesus lived? We call ourselves followers of Jesus then continue to live our self-centered and consumptive lifestyles.

Look outside your door; take a look at the evening news. Children are starving all around us. Desperate mothers sell their own dignity because it is the only way they can afford to buy food for their children. Mentally challenged individuals struggle to find a place to sleep and a way to survive in a world that grows increasingly intolerant and brutal. Normal people shake their heads at the tragedy of it all. Jesus did not react as normal people do. He reached out, He lifted people up, and He restored hope. He roamed homeless for over three years so He would be unencumbered by the things of this world in order that He would be free to serve anyone and in any place that He saw fit. Jesus wasn’t normal. He was abnormal in every way and we are called to live a life of this same abnormality.

How are you doing? Are you living a normal life? Are you keeping up with the Jones’ while turning away from the homeless? Do you see the sick and dying all around you? Do you tend to the needs of your neighbor and serve others at every opportunity? Are you leading a normal life or a life that is defiantly weird, a life of total abnormality in terms of love and service? I’ve seen and lived what normal is; I don’t want to be there. I want to live a life of fire and passion for the One who created me, loved me and saved me. I want to demonstrate His love to everyone I meet. I want to serve anyone who is in need. I don’t want to look away or be so consumed with myself that I cannot see beyond it. I don’t want to walk on any path except that which Christ walks before me. I simply cannot, I unequivocally refuse, to live my life for any purpose but to follow Him. I don’t want to be normal.

Live Each Day with Passion

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What drives you? What gives you the fuel to get up each morning? Hopefully as followers of Christ, a desire to serve Him and to learn more about Him is enough to get us sufficiently jazzed each day. But too many people, even those of us pursuing Christ, are content to live their lives on cruise control. Life is not an adventure, but rather more of a treadmill. I do not believe this is what God had in mind. Our God is passionate and creative; He is daring and adventurous. Study the Bible and watch how He interjects Himself into the lives of His creation. God has many attributes, but boredom surely is not one of them!

I came across an old blog post by Kevin Kelly last week (see “My Life Countdown”) that really made me think. In the post, Kevin talks about how he consulted a couple of web sites that estimate how long you will live, based on statistical trends. He then used a program to calculate how long he (in theory) had left to live. Taking it a step further, he now has a clock on his computer counting down his remaining time on earth. Now, at first blush this might strike one as a bit macabre or morbid. Upon thinking it through further, I found it to be inspiring. What if we were to constantly live with a keen sense of how much time we had remaining? I think it would cause us to more seriously evaluate each decision we make.

We often do not seize opportunities before us because we’re either too afraid or we assume there will be time later to engage in the activity. We do not live with a conscious awareness of how fleeting our time on earth really is. If you knew you had 72 hours to live, would you not make different choices today than you would otherwise? If you knew you had only a year to live, would you not be more willing to try new things and experience more adventure before you died? For the vast majority of us, the answer is an unequivocal “Yes!” So why wait? Why not live each day with such urgency and passion as to truly know what it means to be alive? What are we afraid of? Again, God is passionate and creative; He has instilled these same traits within each of us. Why not put such creativity and passion to use and begin today to live each day as if you are running out of time?

It is important to remember why you have been given the gifts that you have. Our purpose on earth is to serve others, tell them about Jesus, and do all that we can to bring a measure of God’s kingdom down here to earth. It is for these things that we are to use our passion and creativity. As we seize new opportunities and put away fear, we must always keep the end goal in mind. Be kind and compassionate at all times, and be forgiving of each other. This will develop a winsome personality in each of us and we’ll be people that others want to associate with and even emulate; then we can point them to Christ. As you live your life with urgency, concentrate on performing acts of service. Jesus is our example as always. He lived a life of passion and creativity, He lived it with urgency, and He lived it in service to others. As we attack each day with purpose and without fear, we will exhibit a new vitality. This is how we were meant to live, and God will be glorified by our fulfilling the purpose for which He created us.

Perhaps you should get your own countdown clock; perhaps you are ready to live life at fast forward to the glory of God. Or maybe the countdown clock is a bit much for you; maybe you are simply ready to begin living life with more passion and less fear. I don’t know where you are today, but I do know this: time is ticking down for each of us. With every breath, precious seconds are removed from our stint on earth. What will you do with the time you have left? Seize the urgency of the finiteness of time. Put away your fear and launch yourself into the great adventure that God has laid before you. Live a life bursting with passionate creativity. Do all these things to the glory of God and in service to others. The clock is ticking…