Even If i Walk Alone

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

rest

Is It What You Expected?

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How long have you been a Christian? No matter your answer, I have a question for you: “Is it what you expected?” When you came to acknowledge Christ as your Lord and Savior, what did you imagine would be the result? Increasingly, I see Christians encouraging someone down on their luck by pulling random verses out of context and assuring those people that God has big plans for them if they will only trust in Jesus.

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In one sense, those well-wishers are correct. God has big plans for everyone who calls on His name. He plans to give them eternal life and bring them into His presence forever. There couldn’t be a bigger plan. But I know this isn’t what these people have in mind. Too many so-called Christians today have believed the lie that believing in Jesus is the way to success, health, and wealth in this life now.

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Never Alone

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Much of persecution aims to make us feel isolated and alone. God designed us to live in community with Him and one another, so being ostracized can cause great stress for most people. That is why going with the crowd rarely leads to any persecution. So long as you are in the flow, the world will readily accept you and you’ll be relatively safe.

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As soon as you swim against the tide, however, you can easily feel like you are the only person fighting the battle. Isolation is mentally wearing on us, and those who would persecute you will do everything to exploit this. The good news is that in Christ, we are never alone. That’s not some spiritual triteness, it is a Biblical certainty in which we can find comfort, rest, peace, and hope.

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Eternal Sabbath

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At the end of His work, God rested (Genesis 2:2-3). From the beginning of time, God instituted the Sabbath. God not only commands this rhythm of rest (Exodus 20:8-11), but it foreshadows the rest He will give to those who love and honor Him once their work for Him on earth is done (Hebrews 4:1-13). The eternal Sabbath is the goal of all who proclaim Christ as Lord.

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I cannot stress the importance of the Sabbath enough. God first ordained it by modeling the behavior for us, then enshrined it as the fourth commandment so it would be a practice for all generations to come. We ignore the practice of the Sabbath at the risk of disobeying God and to our peril.

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Finding Rest

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Perhaps the scarcest commodity in the world today is rest. Do you agree? If you asked the typical person how they were doing twenty years ago, they would unthinkingly reply, “Fine.” Ask anyone today, and the most common response is, “Busy.”. Research shows people are working fewer hours and taking more time off than ever, so how can everyone be so busy? I suggest it’s a matter of priorities. There are more options and demands for our time than at any other point in history.

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Not wanting to miss out on anything, we cram more into our schedules. Unable to cope with the insanity in the number of choices available, we become paralyzed with indecision, leading to us falling behind in everything. Jesus promised His followers rest, so there has to be a better way, right? I believe there is. I believe finding rest is not only possible but essential to our discipleship.

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Discouraged?

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Are you feeling tired or discouraged? Life has gotten more challenging for Christians in the West in recent years. While our brothers and sisters across the globe have long been dealing with pressures worse than we currently face, for most of us, persecution is new. Pastors in Canada are jailed simply for holding a church service. Churches in America are occasionally overrun with protesters.

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The pressure to conform to society’s ideas of wrong and right or face ostracization is rampant. This is not the world in which most of us grew up. Having spent most of our lives at ease, the time has come when our faith is being put to the test. For some, hope seems lost. But take heart; this is not the end. Your reward is coming.

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