Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be that go in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)
Not every one that sayeth unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matthew 7:21-23)
Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. (Matthew 7:24-27)
The winds are blowing in our world in which iniquity abounds, even amongst many who are doing "works." The Lord Himself has declared that this is a fact. "MANY will say to me..."
The rain is about to descend. "And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the day of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." Luke 17:26-30
What follows once the rain has begun, will wash away anything that you are holding onto that is not of faith.
And if there is NOTHING that you are clinging to that IS of faith, you will be lost.
This is a time for all of us to see clearly what it is we are about: individually, and as the church.
This is not a time to keep building, and buying, and selling, and marrying....and eating and drinking.
This is a time for mourning, and fasting. And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then shall they fast. (Matthew 9:15)
This is time for deep intense prayer, deep intense soul-searching that only the Lord can do through our time spent with Him: "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man, according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." (Jeremiah 17:10)
Are we listening to what He is telling us He has found in us? Is the church as a whole listening, or are they busy "laughing" their holy laugh?
Are we waiting for "tomorrow" to do the things He is commanding us to do? Do we think He is sitting by indifferent to all that is going on not only in the world, but in our own hearts? His eye is on all of us, all of His sheep, whether lost or found. And He IS searching our souls, even now. And He is speaking to us, through the words of Jesus and through the words of His prophets.
And it shall come to pass at that time that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men who are settled on their lees; that say in their heart: the LORD will not do good, neither will He do evil. (Zephaniah 1:12)
At this time of chaos, and trouble, and abounding evil, a candle has been lit, named ISON. [ http://www.space.com/23006-comet-ison-comet-of-the-centry-chances.html ]
I am not the one to say whether this is THE fire or THE lamp of Revelation 8.[ http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Rev&c=8&t=KJV ].
Only the Father knows that.
But He gave us warnings and signs to look for, so that we would be prepared. Are we watching for those signs? Or are we so distracted by the cares of this life, or too busy being entertained by all that television and theatres and computers and facebook and the latest smart phones have to offer, to look up into the heavens, and compare those signs with the Word of God?
Here's another sign: October 21 this year corresponds to the day on the Hebrew calendar that the rains began falling on the earth at the time of Noah's flood...in other words, the day that God allowed judgment to fall on the evil inhabitants of the earth...out of what has been calculated to be at least a minimum of 235 million people on the earth at that time...only 8 were found righteous and saved.
Who do we think we are, to give so little heed to ALL of God's word, and to not be searching out these things diligently, to be as prepared as He wants us to be?
The question is, Are you prepared? "MANY" think that they are, Jesus said, but are deceiving themselves. But then there are MANY who have a different JESUS than the one in the Bible.
The Catholics have a Jesus who is Co-Redeemer with Mary, his mother. In fact, you can only get to Jesus through his mother Mary. The Mormons have a Jesus that is the literal spirit-brother of Lucifer; their Jesus was created right alongside Lucifer. The Jehovah Witnesses have a Jesus who was a powerful godlike one, but clearly not the Almighty God. The Muslims believe that Jesus, who they call 'Isa, was not killed or crucified, and that those who said he was crucified lied.
There are Buddhists who think Christianity is a form of schizophrenia. While Ron Hubbard's Scientology claims that neither Buddha nor Jesus rate very high on their scale of spiritual advancement.
Who is your Jesus? For there is only ONE who can save you. Better make sure He is the REAL Jesus! And who better to ask than God Himself, whose Word declares clearly and specifically for us who Jesus is.
The real Jesus is the One who was born of a true virgin whose name was Mary, but who needed her Son as her Savior equally as much as each and every one of us do. She could no more save herself, or us, than we can!
The real Jesus is the SON OF GOD and He is the Creator of all that IS because the real Jesus is the WORD OF GOD present at creation; He is not Himself a created being: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (John 1:1-5)
The real Jesus did die on a cross, a spotless sacrificial Lamb, the only begotten Son of God, provided by God Himself, to atone for OUR sins "for God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish but have life everlasting." (John 3:16)
Strait is the gate...and narrow is the way...there is only one way to the Father...and that is through the real Jesus Christ, the One that was raised up from the dead by the power of God Himself, the firstfruits of many who would have life everlasting because their hope is in Him alone for salvation.
For those of you who say you know the real Jesus, the question is: How well do you know Him? Do you know Him enough to TRUST Him with your life?
My pastor preached a sermon recently that gave the example of a man who crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope. The tightrope walker turned to the crowds and asked if they had faith that he could cross the falls on this tiny rope. One man spoke up and said "Yes, I have faith that you can do it!" And the tightrope walker turned to him, and said, "Good! Then climb up on my back and let's go!"
Believing is not the same as TRUSTING. Without faith (unrelenting trust) it is impossible to please God.
Then there is the fact that how well we know Jesus is proven by our obedience to His commands.The following article helped me to examine the fruit of my actions...especially in this day and age where we have so compromised the Christian walk that it is often not even discernible from the world around us.
http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Meditations/Narrow_Gate/narrow_gate.html
How are you doing at loving those who hate you? I don't mean just saying to yourself, "Oh, I have forgiven, I can say I love them." I mean how are you doing performing actions that prove your words?
Jesus said the righteous are not those who call Him Lord with their lips only, but "he who doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."
How are you doing at loving those who are lost...whom you neither love nor hate...but are indifferent to because you are busy acquiring things of the world?
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be that go in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)
The time to act is now....not tomorrow...for tomorrow might not be here when you expect it to be.
Not every one that sayeth unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matthew 7:21-23)
Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. (Matthew 7:24-27)
The winds are blowing in our world in which iniquity abounds, even amongst many who are doing "works." The Lord Himself has declared that this is a fact. "MANY will say to me..."
The rain is about to descend. "And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the day of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." Luke 17:26-30
What follows once the rain has begun, will wash away anything that you are holding onto that is not of faith.
And if there is NOTHING that you are clinging to that IS of faith, you will be lost.
This is a time for all of us to see clearly what it is we are about: individually, and as the church.
This is not a time to keep building, and buying, and selling, and marrying....and eating and drinking.
This is a time for mourning, and fasting. And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then shall they fast. (Matthew 9:15)
This is time for deep intense prayer, deep intense soul-searching that only the Lord can do through our time spent with Him: "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man, according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." (Jeremiah 17:10)
Are we listening to what He is telling us He has found in us? Is the church as a whole listening, or are they busy "laughing" their holy laugh?
Are we waiting for "tomorrow" to do the things He is commanding us to do? Do we think He is sitting by indifferent to all that is going on not only in the world, but in our own hearts? His eye is on all of us, all of His sheep, whether lost or found. And He IS searching our souls, even now. And He is speaking to us, through the words of Jesus and through the words of His prophets.
And it shall come to pass at that time that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men who are settled on their lees; that say in their heart: the LORD will not do good, neither will He do evil. (Zephaniah 1:12)
At this time of chaos, and trouble, and abounding evil, a candle has been lit, named ISON. [ http://www.space.com/23006-comet-ison-comet-of-the-centry-chances.html ]
I am not the one to say whether this is THE fire or THE lamp of Revelation 8.[ http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Rev&c=8&t=KJV ].
Only the Father knows that.
But He gave us warnings and signs to look for, so that we would be prepared. Are we watching for those signs? Or are we so distracted by the cares of this life, or too busy being entertained by all that television and theatres and computers and facebook and the latest smart phones have to offer, to look up into the heavens, and compare those signs with the Word of God?
Here's another sign: October 21 this year corresponds to the day on the Hebrew calendar that the rains began falling on the earth at the time of Noah's flood...in other words, the day that God allowed judgment to fall on the evil inhabitants of the earth...out of what has been calculated to be at least a minimum of 235 million people on the earth at that time...only 8 were found righteous and saved.
Who do we think we are, to give so little heed to ALL of God's word, and to not be searching out these things diligently, to be as prepared as He wants us to be?
The question is, Are you prepared? "MANY" think that they are, Jesus said, but are deceiving themselves. But then there are MANY who have a different JESUS than the one in the Bible.
The Catholics have a Jesus who is Co-Redeemer with Mary, his mother. In fact, you can only get to Jesus through his mother Mary. The Mormons have a Jesus that is the literal spirit-brother of Lucifer; their Jesus was created right alongside Lucifer. The Jehovah Witnesses have a Jesus who was a powerful godlike one, but clearly not the Almighty God. The Muslims believe that Jesus, who they call 'Isa, was not killed or crucified, and that those who said he was crucified lied.
There are Buddhists who think Christianity is a form of schizophrenia. While Ron Hubbard's Scientology claims that neither Buddha nor Jesus rate very high on their scale of spiritual advancement.
Who is your Jesus? For there is only ONE who can save you. Better make sure He is the REAL Jesus! And who better to ask than God Himself, whose Word declares clearly and specifically for us who Jesus is.
The real Jesus is the One who was born of a true virgin whose name was Mary, but who needed her Son as her Savior equally as much as each and every one of us do. She could no more save herself, or us, than we can!
The real Jesus is the SON OF GOD and He is the Creator of all that IS because the real Jesus is the WORD OF GOD present at creation; He is not Himself a created being: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (John 1:1-5)
The real Jesus did die on a cross, a spotless sacrificial Lamb, the only begotten Son of God, provided by God Himself, to atone for OUR sins "for God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish but have life everlasting." (John 3:16)
Strait is the gate...and narrow is the way...there is only one way to the Father...and that is through the real Jesus Christ, the One that was raised up from the dead by the power of God Himself, the firstfruits of many who would have life everlasting because their hope is in Him alone for salvation.
For those of you who say you know the real Jesus, the question is: How well do you know Him? Do you know Him enough to TRUST Him with your life?
My pastor preached a sermon recently that gave the example of a man who crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope. The tightrope walker turned to the crowds and asked if they had faith that he could cross the falls on this tiny rope. One man spoke up and said "Yes, I have faith that you can do it!" And the tightrope walker turned to him, and said, "Good! Then climb up on my back and let's go!"
Believing is not the same as TRUSTING. Without faith (unrelenting trust) it is impossible to please God.
Then there is the fact that how well we know Jesus is proven by our obedience to His commands.The following article helped me to examine the fruit of my actions...especially in this day and age where we have so compromised the Christian walk that it is often not even discernible from the world around us.
http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Meditations/Narrow_Gate/narrow_gate.html
How are you doing at loving those who hate you? I don't mean just saying to yourself, "Oh, I have forgiven, I can say I love them." I mean how are you doing performing actions that prove your words?
Jesus said the righteous are not those who call Him Lord with their lips only, but "he who doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."
How are you doing at loving those who are lost...whom you neither love nor hate...but are indifferent to because you are busy acquiring things of the world?
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be that go in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)
The time to act is now....not tomorrow...for tomorrow might not be here when you expect it to be.
2 comments:
Thank you for adding the link to Hebrew4Christians. I will have to continue exploring that site.
The Narrow Path verse is one that I have pondered many times due to the absolute results one faces depending on the path one is on.
Am I really walking on the Narrow Path which leads to the strait gate and ultimately God? How do I know I am the correct path? As the verse in Matthew notes, “Not everyone that sayeth unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven….And then will I profess unto them I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” From this it appears Jesus is using plain, simple words and tells us that some will believe they are on the correct path, but in reality they are not. So, how do we know we are walking on the Narrow Path, leading towards the strait gate?
Since I assume that your next posting will address the above questions, and I do not want to still too much of your thunder, I will keep this brief. After reading your blog post, I began a little research and found this article by Dr. Charles F. Stanley (by the way, I like this man’s ministry). http://www.intouch.org/magazine/content/topic/walking_the_narrow_path
In it, he uses the Psalms to give us insight into knowing if we are on the Narrow Path. He uses Psalms 1:1-4 and dissects these verses and shows us step by step on how to “walk the narrow path of godly success - -by following certain biblical principles from day to day.”
This is something I struggle with. Oh, my intentions are always honorable….I intend today to study God’s word and meditate on His verses and then life comes along and throws distractions into the mix and my priorities become skewed. God goes on the back burner, and I say to myself, “I’ll take care of that tomorrow.” Unfortunately, tomorrow never comes and I wake up and realize that days have gone by and I have yet to follow my “good” intentions. What’s the saying, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions?”
I have gone through several Hurricanes and felt the wrath of strong winds. When Hurricane Ike came through Texas several years ago, I stood outside my back door in order to witness God’s power. It was both a terrifying and awesome sight! To see the trees, 80-90 feet tall, bow and bend like they were saplings. Seeing the winds and rain come in waves was a most powerful experience. It enforced my belief of a higher power - - God! It also reminded me that God is powerful and in control of all His creation, including me.
I have also experienced rain, falling for hours and accumulate to the point of flooding. And the destructive forces of water are displayed for all to see when one visits the Grand Canyon. Can any of us forget the destruction of the Tsunamis that hit Indonesia, 2004 & 2010? Per the internet, the 2004 tsunami was the deadliest, killing 350,000 people. The loss of human life, animal life was heartbreaking to witness. I do not want to be like the foolish man.
I want to know when the Lord searches my heart; that he will see a good and faithful servant - - one walking on the Narrow Path, towards the straight gate. GW
There is not a "quick" answer to the "How?" of walking the narrow road...yet it is a "simple" one that I will respond to in the next posting...which I am working on even now. The key questions (which each individual has to ask of himself) is: Do I love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength? And do I love my neighbor as much as I love myself? There is a new book out called "All In" in which the author says reviewing our credit card and bank statements will show us where our priorities are, and will say a lot about how much of our heart God actually has. But more in next bog. Thanks as always for adding to the blog, GW!
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