Even If i Walk Alone

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

selfishness

Wish I Knew Then

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I wish I knew thirty years ago what I know now. If I knew Christ in my mid-twenties, as I do in my mid-fifties, my life would have counted for so much more. It’s easy to wish an older person would have shown me what it meant to live a life wholly devoted to Christ when I was a young man. But I also am not so naïve to think who I was as a twenty-something would have paid any attention to the wisdom of someone who had been through the wars and had the scars to prove it.

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After all, the curse of our twenties is that we know it all while understanding nothing. It is only when we recognize how little we know that the Lord can come in and take control.

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We Don’t Care

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We don’t care that people are going to Hell. I know this because we’re doing little to keep them going there. We don’t care the cashier at the grocery store is going to Hell, because we didn’t tell her about Jesus. Sure, we smiled, were pleasant, and hopefully even offered an encouraging word, but that will not keep her from Hell.

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We don’t care that the plumber is going to Hell. I know this because we didn’t tell him about Jesus. The reality is billions of people on this planet today are heading for Hell, and we don’t care. If we cared, we would do something about it. If we cared, we would live out the Great Commission. But we don’t care.

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Others First

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Jesus demonstrated an “others first” model throughout His life. He exemplified this mindset in His death. Even today, Jesus continues His other’s first mentality by constantly advocating on our behalf with the Father. Living a life that puts others first is central to the message and character of Christ. The New Testament, and indeed the entire Bible, is saturated with stories of self-sacrifice and putting the needs of others before their own. This is how we are to live.

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But living for others is in stark contrast to modern Western thinking. For us, it’s about getting ahead, acquiring all we can, and considering ourselves a little better than those around us. In His letter to the Philippians, Paul admonishes them to do everything in humility and to always consider others more important than themselves (Philippians 2:3). It’s a far cry from how we live our lives today.

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Next Year

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As this year draws to a close, it seems everywhere I look people are writing about what a long and terrible year it has been, and how much they are looking forward to things changing next year. I’m beyond weary of reading these kinds of articles and hearing preachers deliver similar messages, so I hope to bring a different and Christ-centered perspective here. Because I can tell you that while this past year has brought many trials and challenges, I am confident next year will bring the same.

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They may not be the same problems, but our troubles won’t magically disappear when the calendar rolls over. We know this because Jesus promised us we will have trouble in this world (John 16:33). Until Christ returns, we can expect to be fighting an uphill battle. But before you tune out thinking this will be a depressing message, I have great news about the future for each of us who will rededicate themselves to the service of our Lord Jesus.

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God is Not Absent

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I love this line from author Alicia Britt Chole: “God was not absent. The challenge was self was so very present.” I cannot count the times I’ve heard people say (and okay, I’m in this group as well), “I feel like God is so far away”. God is never far away. He is always here. Wherever ‘here’ is, God is there. You cannot outrun God, so don’t bother trying to run away. Despite all our ingenuity and technological innovations, we cannot hide from God. God is never far.

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We couldn’t push Him away if we tried. His Spirit guarantees His presence with us always. The problem is not His presence, the issue is we have allowed our selfishness and pride to subtly erode our awareness of Him. To put it bluntly, we can’t get out of our own way to see God is not absent.

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