The Narrow Gate

“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”
Matthew 7:13-14 NLT

Thank the good Lord that he is speaking of a spiritual gate. I don’t think I would be going through any narrow anything right now, I have yet to accomplish that through Christ. Nevertheless this passage leads us to a very serious matter, our perception of the narrow gate. Today our perception is blinded by the immorality of our nation and the tolerance of things that are in opposition of Christ. In the book of Luke someone had asked Christ how many would be saved, and he replied, “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail.” OK if that doesn’t hit you lets go back to Genesis in the days of Noah. In those days the entire world was evil. God was so angry that he made plan to destroy all that he created, all except Noah, his wife, his children, their wives, and of course two of every kind of animal. Granted the world was not as populated as it is today, but the whole world was evil with the exception of Noah and his family. God had made a covenant with his people that he would never flood the Earth again, but naturally evil has found its way back into mainstream daily life. The reason God had spared Noah was because he had walked through the narrow gate. He lived a life worthy of Gods Blessings. The world’s ways are not Gods ways, so the world tends to turn its back on those who choose to turn to Christ. The road to hell is paved with half truths. The most dangerous untruths are truths moderately distorted (Georg Christoph Lichtenberg). Many times we tend to justify our faults, sins, or even our way of thinking. The Lord will hold us accountable for every thought, word, and deed we have done; unless we have confessed and repented. Galatians 5:19-25 tells us, “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.” Then he goes on to say “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Are we walking the path to the narrow gate by being obedient to God and living under his yoke, or are we on the path to death by being of the world and our own selfish desires?

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn.

“Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4

How often do we mourn? How often do we mourn over the wrong things? When Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount He said that those who mourn would be blessed He did not say, “Those who complain and throw pity parties will be blessed.” Too often we center our reality on ourselves and our own comfort. When we mourn God is looking inside to our true heart of the matter. He can see if we are mourning over the fact that we have been caught, displeased, or upset from our own selfish desire rather than mourning over the broken relationship we have caused by sinning against the one who has sacrificed His life for ours. The Mourning we will be blessed for is the sorrow over our sins which produces true repentance. Paul spoke about it in 2 Corinthians 7:10 “Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted. But sorrow of the world produces death.” True sorrow results in forgiveness. How many times do we ask for forgiveness without mourning over our fault? Woe to us who slip into our selfish sorrows and ask for forgiveness in vain!

He hardened his heart.

But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said. Exodus 8:15

There are several examples in the Old Testament where God had hardened the hearts of men to accomplish his will and demonstrate his power. I’m sure we all know some in our lives who’s hearts are hardened. Have you ever stopped to consider that their hardness might be for God’s will to be fulfilled in you? So many times I have looked at the other person and seen obvious reasons why their hearts have been hardened. I was confused as to why they would stay that way, in hindsight I guess I was judging them. Until now, I never looked at them with hope and faith that someday God’s will would be fulfilled in them. While dealing with someone with a hard heart, we tend to get inpatient, unloving, and uncaring, which results in our own hearts hardening. If God has the power to Harden hearts, does He not have the power to unharden them?

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

The Great Depression

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Luke 12:25

My great aunt used to tell us stories of when she grew up and went through the great depression. She said, “We never even knew we were in a depression, we were so poor we thought it was just normal.” Today, with the economy the way it is and the lifestyles we have all become accustomed to, we can say that some are experiencing their own ‘depression.’ Many are losing jobs, losing homes, gas prices are rising, and we are getting worried. But there is hope! All the Lord wants us to do is to depend on Him. “…O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:30-33. The Lord knows what we need and he presents us with the means to provide for ourselves and our families. It’s easy to become overwhelmed in the face of what seems a hopeless situation, but if we first put our faith in Him and be sure to give Him the glory He deserves, He will certainly provide us with what is necessary to live! Soon we will be able to say “I never even knew we were going through a depression” and not because you are poor, but because you are rich in spirit!

Abba Father

Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." Galatians 4:6

Recently my son was feeling ill and we prayed all night for healing. He seemed to have a fever and he felt nauseous. I laid my hands on his head and over his stomach and asked the ultimate physician for the restoration of his health. The next morning he woke up feeling restored! I told him to remember to thank Jesus and he said, “You know what I’m saying in my head? Thank you daddy!” When Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane before he was arrested he prayed, "Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." (Mark 14:36) His relationship with the Father was so intimate that he referred to him as Abba which is Father. Sometimes we think of the word father as formal and often when using this term the emotion we have for God is reserved. In our language Daddy usually brings a feeling of security and is an intimate expression. For those who have a disconnection with their earthly father it may be hard to know God as Daddy. He is more than what we define as a Father, He is the architect of our lives and not just a contributor to our existence, but our Creator. In Matthew 18:2-4 Jesus had called out to a child amongst the crowd and said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Like my son; a child has an expectant faith, one that produces results, a child is able to love unconditionally and without judgment, a child can believe in God without doubt, and a child can know God as Daddy!

Laying A Foundation

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. Matthew 7:25

What foundation have we laid our life upon? When the world shakes do we stand firm or do we crumble to the ground? If we are firm, is our foundation cracked? Will it sustain us until the end? Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:12-13 “If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work.” Many have been taught to lay their foundation by worldly wisdom, which Paul also states in 1 Corinthians 3:19 “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight.” We know that God and Christ are one with the Holy Spirit and He is our rock, He alone is our foundation. When it is our time to be tested through the fire, will Jesus be the only one standing in our place? He is the only way to receive eternal life, as Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.” John 14:6. Those who have laid Christ as their foundation must take care to keep it from decay! Stay in the spirit, for Paul warns us, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:14

Measuring Truth

He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. John 7:18

How do you know what you believe in is true? Is it because what you believe has been taught to you from childhood, a trusting friend has told you, does it just seem right in your own eyes? Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” One of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is to Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood. How will we ever get to the truth without seeking it out? One major problem we have today is focusing everything around ourselves and not realizing the importance of Jesus’ words in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” In today’s world most listen to doctrine that sounds good, not sound doctrine. In 2 Timothy 2:15 it says, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” We must be diligent in our quest for truth. The bible is not just a book of do’s and don’ts, rather an inspired, tangible, life-giving, gift that God left for us. Some argue the credibility of the bible because of missing books, but if you read the bible you know that there is sufficient enough information for salvation and understanding the truth. The bible is not our only source of truth; if we seek out a relationship with Jesus he will show us truth and make it real in our lives. If we seek Him, we will find Him!

The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him!” 1 John 2:4