Even If i Walk Alone

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

sin

Personal Holiness

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God calls each of us to live a life of personal holiness. This goes much deeper than having a daily prayer time or attending a service on the weekend. Personal holiness is more than what we do. It’s also about what we don’t do. It’s what we choose to think about, and what we refuse to dwell on. Personal holiness will affect the words we say and those we don’t speak.

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It’s all-consuming. When we allow the holiness of God to permeate our entire being, everything changes. Everything looks different. We cannot afford to let even the smallest hint of sin take up residence in our hearts because it will eventually infect our entire body.

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The Problem of Evil

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My heart broke this past week when the lead singer of a popular Christian band renounced his faith in Jesus in a very public way. What broke my heart was not the damage this might do to the faith of those over whom he has influence, although that is troublesome. It didn’t break my heart the way the media latched onto the story and the damage something like this inflicts on the Church, although this too is cause for prayer.

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The Church will survive. The gates of Hell will not prevail against us, no matter how unexpected the attack (Matthew 16:18). What broke my heart were the reasons this individual gave for no longer believing.  There are straightforward answers to his questions, and yet somehow, no one in this man’s life could counsel him with the truth.

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Casual Indifference

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I think we have the habit of not taking sin seriously enough. We all sin every day, but how much does it truly bother us? I was reading in Ezra and observed his reaction to his own sin. It says in Ezra 9:6, he was so embarrassed and ashamed of his sin he couldn’t even lift his eyes to face God. He recognized his sins and the sins of his people were higher than his head and his guilt was as high as the heavens.

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When was the last time you considered your sin like this? We are far too casual in response to our own sin. We know Jesus has paid the price for us, so no matter what we do, we’re covered. Somehow this has led us not into deeper repentance, but into casual indifference.

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When Tragedy Strikes

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When tragedy strikes our lives, it can be difficult to see past the pain. We know God is still there and our hearts are still towards Him.  Still, our day to day activities can become daunting and our vision blurs.  All we can see is the pain immediately before us. In these times the best we can do is to stay focused on Jesus. He is the One who calms the storms (Matthew 8:23-27). Only He is going to be able to pull you through safely to the other side.

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The world will offer its temptations, its own versions of comfort and false solutions, but we know better. Jesus has brought us this far, and He will see us through.  God is God when the times are good, and He is still God when the going gets rough. His love for you does not change.

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Sin is Still Sin

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As I look at the world around me today, my heart breaks. The disregard for human life is sickening. People are tortured and maimed because of their spiritual beliefs. They are beaten and killed because of their skin color, their clothing, or their ethnicity. Jealousy abounds. Bullying is prevalent. All forms of sin are celebrated by a vocal minority and a celebrity culture. And the church? We stand by remarkably quiet.

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We don’t want to offend or appear intolerant. But sin is still sin. It is yet repulsive in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. We must not allow ourselves to be numbed to the point of disregard. We cannot allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the evil surrounding us every day.

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