Even If i Walk Alone

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

the church

Be Prepared

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In 2 Timothy 4:2, Paul exhorted Timothy to always be prepared to preach the Word of God. Peter tells us we should always be prepared to give a defense of the reason we have hope in Jesus (1 Peter 3:14-15). And Jesus instructed His disciples to be prepared for the attacks of the world as they went out preaching the gospel (Matthew 10:16). As you survey the world today, if your eyes are open, you will see it is decaying at incredible speed.

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I’ve been asked if I believe we are living in the end times. I cannot presume to know such things. Jesus told us no man knows when He will return. What I will say is I struggle to imagine the lawlessness and depravity getting much worse. I think Christians face hard times ahead, and we must prepare now.

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Serving God

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Dietrich Bonhoeffer said Christianity without discipleship was not Christianity at all. Discipleship is not something to be admired in the super-spiritual, it is a requirement for every follower of Jesus. If Jesus is your Lord, you will be His disciple. You don’t find so-called “casual Christians” in places like Afghanistan, Iran, China, and so many other countries around the world.

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They understand following Jesus is a call to discipleship. It is a call to die to yourself and live for Christ. If you are serious about serving God, you will spend your days learning to become His disciple. The spoils of this world will hold no appeal for you. There will be Jesus and nothing else.

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This Generation

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I worry about this generation of believers in the West. We’ve been brought up with a gospel married with an Americanized version of Christianity that has little resemblance to what Christ taught during His time on earth. Jesus taught we would face persecution and have to endure all kinds of trouble (John 16:33; Mark 13:11-13). Many contemporary churches teach deliverance from trouble through Jesus. A number of popular ministries go even further teaching if you have enough faith, you will be healthy and wealthy.

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The Bible teaches those who are in Christ will be a peculiar people, aliens and strangers in their own lands (1 Peter 2:9; 1 Peter 2:11). Our churches have taught us how to set goals, dream big dreams, and succeed, just like people in the world. We’ve traded the cross of Jesus for a life of comfort and security. What will we do when the world is no longer safe or comfortable for those professing faith in Jesus Christ?

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We Are Sick

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Richard Foster once wrote, “Conforming to a sick society is to be sick”. Looking around the Church today, I have to say we are sick. Every day I read of another pastor or church caving to societal pressure. We are conforming to the world instead of conforming to the likeness of God’s Son. We are conforming to the very world the Apostle Paul told us to come out of (Romans 12:2).

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Instead of renewing our minds with the truth of God’s Holy Word, we are saturating our hearts in man-made philosophies and opinions so we do not offend or risk persecution. Too many church leaders today are more concerned with the number of people attending their services than they are with the number of people being saved from an eternity apart from God. I can’t think of anything sicker than that.

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The Church of Jesus

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While waiting for a church service to begin, I overheard a conversation happening in the rows behind me. There was a group of students from a nearby Christian college that was visiting the service I was attending. The person sitting next to them struck up a conversation inquiring about the group. One individual said they were all studying to be pastors, and as part of their coursework, they were visiting nearby churches every week to meet the congregants and take notes on what they liked and didn’t like.

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As the conversation continued, the pastor-in-training asked someone else nearby what had drawn them to the church when they began attending there. This engaged others around as well, and the responses were all similar: the messages, the preacher, and the atmosphere were the prevailing themes. What made me very sad was the one word I did not hear mentioned: Jesus.

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