Even If i Walk Alone

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

the church

Brothers and Sisters in Christ

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On Christmas day, two pastors in the Central African Republic (CAR) were gunned down as they walked home from holding services. Then, on January 3rd, the terrorist organization Boko Haram, kidnapped Pastor Lawan Andimi, a senior member of the Christian Association of Nigeria. On January 19th, they called his wife and told her they would behead her husband, which they did. So, how was your day? I in no way mean to be flippant but to point out the fact while most Western Christians fret about getting to church while there are still donuts available, our Christian brothers and sisters around the globe are facing real trials and real persecution.

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As another mega-church goes into millions of dollars of debt to build bigger and more comfortable buildings, Christians in nations where Christianity is illegal risk beatings, imprisonment, and death to gather under a tree in the middle of a field just so they can fellowship with one another. Something has gone terribly wrong with the Church in the Western world.

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Jesus is Not an Institution

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A pastor shared a cartoon drawing of Mary and baby Jesus. In the cartoon, Mary is comforting Jesus and asks if he had a nightmare. Jesus replies, “Yes, I dreamed I became an institution!” I don’t know what your reaction is to this, whether it’s laughter, disgust, or ambivalence. For me, it cut me to the core. What would Jesus think if He came back today to assess the state of the Church?

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What are we doing with and to the plan He has for our redemption? He spent His life showing how we should love and care for others. That is the essence of why the Church exists. God intends for us to represent Him here on earth. Instead, we’ve become just another business organization complete with heavy debts and ever-increasing administrative budgets.

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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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A New Rebellion

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Why are we as the body of Christ not more upset at the sin and evil in our lives and in the world? If I were on the outside looking in, I’d swear we were almost comfortable with the way things are. Somehow, we’ve gone from being a people called to be different to becoming people who have fully assimilated and embraced the culture around us.

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When I read about the early Church in Acts or the modern Church in places where following Jesus brings intense persecution, I see nothing resembling the American and Western church. Could it be we’ve allowed ourselves to become so comfortable we’ve lost the will to rock the boat and declare sin for what it is?

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Church on Auto-Pilot

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Recently I was reading a challenge I thought was so good I had to pass it along. The challenge was to think of all the ways you attend church on auto-pilot. Most tend to park in the same spot, sit in the same seat, and talk to the same people. We don’t even think about it. So, what could you do differently next week to step out of your comfort zone and do something you have to think about rather than coast on auto-pilot?

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image © Stuart Monk via Fotolia

What if you reached out to someone you’ve never met and struck up a conversation? What if you gave up your favorite parking spot so someone else could have the shade? Most of all, what if we made the point of our worship all about Jesus?

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