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"Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it" (Matthew 7:13-14)
These are among some of the most sobering words ever spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ during His ministry on earth, beloved! And their importance to all of us today is the very reason I want to take the time over the next several editions of these weekly devotionals to share with you just how critical they are to us. In Jesus' words we find essentially four key elements present: the gate entered, the road walked, the destination reached, and the travelers present. Let's begin this week just by looking at what Jesus said about the "gate" that is chosen by every man.
Note first here that Jesus declared that one of the two gates which man will choose is "wide." I would like to share with you some reasons for such a wide gate. One reason is certainly because the road to which it leads is meant to accommodate the largest crowd possible. Satan's desire is simply that as many as possible choose this gate and enter the road to which it leads. Yet even as he does everything possible to make that happen, he is fully aware that God by contrast does not want anyone to choose the gate that is "wide":
"The Lord is not slow about His promises, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9)
And another reason why this gate is so "wide" is that it is also meant to attract the largest crowd possible. There must be plenty of room for Satan's enticements and his "toys," each of these strategically placed along the way so as to catch the eye of the self-seeking and the self-serving who travel here.
By contrast, however, Jesus next declared that the other gate available for entering is "small." Why would it be small in contrast to one that is wide? What would be the sense in that? I believe that one reason why this gate is "small" is because Jesus Christ is the only way to God the Father. Jesus made this point clear again and again to His listeners:
"Jesus said to them, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me'" (John 14:6)
Thus, this gate is not small because God is limited in any way, beloved, but because there is only one way to eternal life! This is a message that needs desperately to be told again and again to a lost world.
This gate is "small" for another reason as well. It is so because each person must choose to enter by himself. There simply is no such thing as "mass" evangelism or corporate salvation! Each of us must choose for himself which gate he will enter, and only for himself. We must enter by faith, putting our trust in Jesus Christ. to save us.
Finally, this gate is surely "small" because we can take nothing of this present life into it as we enter. I recall the narrow turnstiles on the Metro system in New York City and how you would have to turn sideways to squeeze through to the platform on the other side. We cannot take with us any of our sinful practices or worldly entertainments or good works in which we may have trusted beforehand. Nor can we take with us even our our personal agenda for how we will live our lives.
Jesus said concerning the gates before every man, beloved, that one is "wide" and the other is "small." Which gate have you entered? Which road are you traveling? Scripture urges us to examine ourselves to be sure that we are in the faith. And if you are saved, what of those whom you know and about whom you care? Are you seeking to influence their choice of a gate in order to insure that they find the way to eternal life?
Ron
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Living within the Presence of God
"Then Elisha prayed and said, 'O Lord, open his eyes that he may see.' And the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha" (2 Kings 6:17)
It is one of the most beautiful and exciting scenes in the life of the mighty prophet Elisha, beloved, and what a "made for television" movie it would make! Elisha, prophet of Israel, with his servant surrounded by the powerful army of Syria and about to be taken captive because the king was afraid of the man of God. Yet in the midst of it all, the prophet remained at peace, non-flustered, and totally trusting God. In fact, he was so trusting in Jehovah that he was able to pray for his servant to be able to "see" with his physical eyesight what he knew in his heart to be there. And it was in response to Elisha's intercession that God opened the eyes of the servant and caused him to stand visibly within His divine presence as the hosts of heaven surrounded them both with horses and chariots of fire even as the menacing Syrian army advanced toward them.
Do we as followers of Jesus Christ today in actuality and with assurance of our own faith live within the presence of God? I am not talking about being able to see angels with our physical eyesight as if that is some kind of "proof" of our trust in God, but do we face life with the same peace and steadfastness with which Elisha faced their circumstance on that day? Not only do I believe that we can and should, but I believe that as Christians we must if we are going to impact our world for the cause of Jesus Christ. Whereas his servant could see only the Syrians, Elisha saw with the eyes of faith the divine presence of God in that place and his heart was at rest. In fact, it was at rest enough for him to tell his servant that they had the Syrians outnumbered - "those who are with us are more than those who are with them" (v.16)!
I believe that the first lesson we can learn from Elisha, beloved, is that we must truly desire the presence of God in our lives. We must long more than anything to stand and move in His presence and be guided by His Spirit each and every day.
And when we have come to desire His presence, we will then be enabled to discern the presence of God. We will know that He is with us every second of every day, leading us through every situation in life that His precious will and purpose may lead our way.
Once we are able to discern Him with us, we will choose to depend upon the presence of God. We will as Elisha did conduct our lives within the power of His presence and exercise true faith in every thought, word, and deed.
And when we have come to daily depend upon that presence, we will finally be able to demonstrate the presence of God to this world in which we live. We will be empowered to impact upon those who are closest to us and who know us best.
How well can you "see" with the eyes of faith today, beloved? Come what may, we've got them outnumbered! Glory to His name!
Ron
It is one of the most beautiful and exciting scenes in the life of the mighty prophet Elisha, beloved, and what a "made for television" movie it would make! Elisha, prophet of Israel, with his servant surrounded by the powerful army of Syria and about to be taken captive because the king was afraid of the man of God. Yet in the midst of it all, the prophet remained at peace, non-flustered, and totally trusting God. In fact, he was so trusting in Jehovah that he was able to pray for his servant to be able to "see" with his physical eyesight what he knew in his heart to be there. And it was in response to Elisha's intercession that God opened the eyes of the servant and caused him to stand visibly within His divine presence as the hosts of heaven surrounded them both with horses and chariots of fire even as the menacing Syrian army advanced toward them.
Do we as followers of Jesus Christ today in actuality and with assurance of our own faith live within the presence of God? I am not talking about being able to see angels with our physical eyesight as if that is some kind of "proof" of our trust in God, but do we face life with the same peace and steadfastness with which Elisha faced their circumstance on that day? Not only do I believe that we can and should, but I believe that as Christians we must if we are going to impact our world for the cause of Jesus Christ. Whereas his servant could see only the Syrians, Elisha saw with the eyes of faith the divine presence of God in that place and his heart was at rest. In fact, it was at rest enough for him to tell his servant that they had the Syrians outnumbered - "those who are with us are more than those who are with them" (v.16)!
I believe that the first lesson we can learn from Elisha, beloved, is that we must truly desire the presence of God in our lives. We must long more than anything to stand and move in His presence and be guided by His Spirit each and every day.
And when we have come to desire His presence, we will then be enabled to discern the presence of God. We will know that He is with us every second of every day, leading us through every situation in life that His precious will and purpose may lead our way.
Once we are able to discern Him with us, we will choose to depend upon the presence of God. We will as Elisha did conduct our lives within the power of His presence and exercise true faith in every thought, word, and deed.
And when we have come to daily depend upon that presence, we will finally be able to demonstrate the presence of God to this world in which we live. We will be empowered to impact upon those who are closest to us and who know us best.
How well can you "see" with the eyes of faith today, beloved? Come what may, we've got them outnumbered! Glory to His name!
Ron
Thursday, January 6, 2011
But God!
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:4-6)
Someone has wisely said that "good things come in small packages," beloved! That is certainly true when it comes to the Word of God. In some of the fewest words we often find the greatest promises. Consider with me, for example, the two words "But God." Do you recall the passage wherein God informed Abraham that he and his wife Sarah would become the parents of a son? In response, Abraham actually laughed at the prospect of a 100 year old man and his 90 year old wife creating a child of their own. Abraham then offered to God what was to him a much more realistic prospect: "Oh, that Ishmael might live before you!" In reply, we find the following glorious promise of the Most High God:
"BUT GOD said, 'No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him'" (Genesis 17:19)
And what about when Joseph in Egypt confronted his brothers who had sold him into slavery? With their lives quite literally in his hands, Joseph made the following astounding revelation to them:
"But Joseph said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for am I in God's place? As for you, you meant evil against me, BUT GOD meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive'" (Genesis 50:19-20)
Further, who does not recall Jesus' story of the rich farmer who wanted to tear down his barns and build bigger ones, to take his ease in luxury for the rest of his life? Jesus' words that follow are sobering for the self-focused heart!
"BUT GOD said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?'" (Luke 12:20)
Obviously the "But God" statements of Scripture have much to reveal to us, beloved! Without a doubt, the most meaningful and powerful of them all, however, has to be that one found in our focal verses here. Paul had just told the Ephesians how we all at one time were under God's judgment as "children of wrath" with no hope of our own that could possibly deter God's wrath against our sinfulness. Then he followed up that graphic statement with the most beautiful promise the ears of man could ever hear!
"BUT GOD, being rich in mercy"
No promise of Scripture is more glorious than to know that God is rich in mercy toward us in the person of Jesus Christ. In that mercy He made us alive together in Christ, He adopted us into His own divine family, He cleansed us and forgave us for every wrongdoing, and He has sealed us forever unto eternal life. And it all began with two words - BUT GOD!
Ron
Someone has wisely said that "good things come in small packages," beloved! That is certainly true when it comes to the Word of God. In some of the fewest words we often find the greatest promises. Consider with me, for example, the two words "But God." Do you recall the passage wherein God informed Abraham that he and his wife Sarah would become the parents of a son? In response, Abraham actually laughed at the prospect of a 100 year old man and his 90 year old wife creating a child of their own. Abraham then offered to God what was to him a much more realistic prospect: "Oh, that Ishmael might live before you!" In reply, we find the following glorious promise of the Most High God:
"BUT GOD said, 'No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him'" (Genesis 17:19)
And what about when Joseph in Egypt confronted his brothers who had sold him into slavery? With their lives quite literally in his hands, Joseph made the following astounding revelation to them:
"But Joseph said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for am I in God's place? As for you, you meant evil against me, BUT GOD meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive'" (Genesis 50:19-20)
Further, who does not recall Jesus' story of the rich farmer who wanted to tear down his barns and build bigger ones, to take his ease in luxury for the rest of his life? Jesus' words that follow are sobering for the self-focused heart!
"BUT GOD said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?'" (Luke 12:20)
Obviously the "But God" statements of Scripture have much to reveal to us, beloved! Without a doubt, the most meaningful and powerful of them all, however, has to be that one found in our focal verses here. Paul had just told the Ephesians how we all at one time were under God's judgment as "children of wrath" with no hope of our own that could possibly deter God's wrath against our sinfulness. Then he followed up that graphic statement with the most beautiful promise the ears of man could ever hear!
"BUT GOD, being rich in mercy"
No promise of Scripture is more glorious than to know that God is rich in mercy toward us in the person of Jesus Christ. In that mercy He made us alive together in Christ, He adopted us into His own divine family, He cleansed us and forgave us for every wrongdoing, and He has sealed us forever unto eternal life. And it all began with two words - BUT GOD!
Ron
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Giving God Bargain-Basement Stuff!
"However, the king said to Araunah, 'No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing.' So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver" (2 Samuel 24:24)
All of us have no doubt either at least seen or even participated in a department store's "bargain-basement" sale, beloved! You know how it works, don't you? Merchandise prices slashed to the bone, piled haphazardly on tables, usually in the aisles of the store. And that is before hungry customers get their hands on them! But then, who doesn't enjoy saving money on a good bargain?
King David had a definite thought about offering "bargain-basement" merchandise unto the Lord. When Araunah the Jebusite offered to give to the king his threshing floor and also wood for the fire and oxen for a burnt offering to stave off a plague from the hand of God, all that David had to do was to accept the gift free of charge from Araunah. But the king had a different idea about such a transaction. He did not believe that any sacrifice should be offered unto Jehovah that did not cost the giver something. And the sacrifice was from David and not Araunah! So he paid a price of 50 shekels of silver to Araunah and only then built the altar and offered the burnt sacrifice unto God.
It is so easy today for us as Christians to fall into the habit of offering to God that which costs us little or nothing, beloved! We have become so accustomed to quick worship that even grace itself has become "cheap" to us, a term coined by German theologian and pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer. How many of you remember what Jesus said to the multitudes who were following Him, most of them for all the wrong reasons?
"Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish'" (Luke 14:27-30)
These are harsh-sounding words from the Master, are they not? Yet how many supposed Christians find themselves in such a predicament today? Having professed their faith in Jesus Christ, they begin to follow Him with a certain amount of fervor, only to become disillusioned at last by the apparent price of true discipleship. They begin to substitute the inferior for the genuine, the "bargain-basement stuff" for high-quality living, to the point where Jesus Himself becomes a commodity sold at the lowest possible "bargain-basement" price!
Jesus' message to all of us today is graphic and clear, beloved - count the cost! Salvation may appear to be free because it is God's own gift to you, but following Jesus Christ as Lord will cost you your life. If you are precious enough to the Father for Him to sacrifice His only begotten Son on the cross for your sins, then Jesus should be precious enough to you for you to offer Him only your best. A New York Baptist minister named Howard Grose wrote and published in 1902 the lyrics for a beloved hymn of the church that speak directly to what God expects from each one of us as His servants:
All of us have no doubt either at least seen or even participated in a department store's "bargain-basement" sale, beloved! You know how it works, don't you? Merchandise prices slashed to the bone, piled haphazardly on tables, usually in the aisles of the store. And that is before hungry customers get their hands on them! But then, who doesn't enjoy saving money on a good bargain?
King David had a definite thought about offering "bargain-basement" merchandise unto the Lord. When Araunah the Jebusite offered to give to the king his threshing floor and also wood for the fire and oxen for a burnt offering to stave off a plague from the hand of God, all that David had to do was to accept the gift free of charge from Araunah. But the king had a different idea about such a transaction. He did not believe that any sacrifice should be offered unto Jehovah that did not cost the giver something. And the sacrifice was from David and not Araunah! So he paid a price of 50 shekels of silver to Araunah and only then built the altar and offered the burnt sacrifice unto God.
It is so easy today for us as Christians to fall into the habit of offering to God that which costs us little or nothing, beloved! We have become so accustomed to quick worship that even grace itself has become "cheap" to us, a term coined by German theologian and pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer. How many of you remember what Jesus said to the multitudes who were following Him, most of them for all the wrong reasons?
"Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish'" (Luke 14:27-30)
These are harsh-sounding words from the Master, are they not? Yet how many supposed Christians find themselves in such a predicament today? Having professed their faith in Jesus Christ, they begin to follow Him with a certain amount of fervor, only to become disillusioned at last by the apparent price of true discipleship. They begin to substitute the inferior for the genuine, the "bargain-basement stuff" for high-quality living, to the point where Jesus Himself becomes a commodity sold at the lowest possible "bargain-basement" price!
Jesus' message to all of us today is graphic and clear, beloved - count the cost! Salvation may appear to be free because it is God's own gift to you, but following Jesus Christ as Lord will cost you your life. If you are precious enough to the Father for Him to sacrifice His only begotten Son on the cross for your sins, then Jesus should be precious enough to you for you to offer Him only your best. A New York Baptist minister named Howard Grose wrote and published in 1902 the lyrics for a beloved hymn of the church that speak directly to what God expects from each one of us as His servants:
Give of your best to the Master;
Naught else is worthy His love.
He gave Himself for your ransom,
Gave up His glory above.
Laid down His life without murmur,
You from sin's ruin to save.
Give Him your heart's adoration;
Give Him the best that you have.
Ron
Thursday, December 23, 2010
A Christmas Invitation for You!
"So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger" (Luke 2:16)
The popular Christmas carol O Come, All Ye Faithful was originally written in Latin as Adeste Fideles by a man known as John of Reading in the 1300's, beloved. It is commonly attributed, however, to an Englishman named John Francis Wade. Wade fled to France in the 1700's after the Second Jacobite uprising was put down. As a Catholic layman he lived the rest of his life with other exiled English Catholics, teaching music and working on church music for private use. In 1841 Rev. Frederick Oakley, a Catholic priest, worked on the current translation that we know as O Come, All Ye Faithful.
As we sing this time-honored and beloved Christmas carol at this season, I cannot help but note within its words a wonderful "invitation" for each one of us! Consider first that it assumes the need to make a decision as found in the word "come." We do not celebrate Christmas without being transformed by it, then, and becoming the better for it!
Note next that the invitation is specifically extended to people of faith. The word "faithful" implies inherently that those who do "come" are responding in true faith. They become the "faith-filled"! And the word also implies just as strongly that their coming is followed by a changed lifestyle. These become the "faithful"!
Also, those responding to this Christmas invitation are by nature those who are "joyful" - the joy that is Jesus filling our hearts and lives. Not only are we joyful but we are also "triumphant" - in Christ having overcome the world. We live in joy and we walk in victory! Such living cannot help but catch the eye of this unsaved world.
We as invitees are further challenged in our responding to approach and "behold" Jesus, God's greatest gift. All of Christmas, then, is to be focused upon God's only begotten Son and His advent. He is to be the central point around which all Christmas celebration revolves!
And as we behold Him, what more natural outcome than that we "adore" Him in heartfelt worship! So Christmas is also about worshiping Jesus Christ the Lord. We come in faith as the faithful, we come with joyful hearts and triumphant spirits, we focus all of our attention upon Him, and we adore Him for being our Savior and Lord.
Anything less in our manner at this season, beloved, is to miss the point of Christmas altogether. We simply must respond to God's gracious invitation to "come" and to "behold" and to "adore" the One without whom there simply would not be a Christmas season. May God bless you and yours with a truly Christ-honoring, joyful Christmas celebration! MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Ron
The popular Christmas carol O Come, All Ye Faithful was originally written in Latin as Adeste Fideles by a man known as John of Reading in the 1300's, beloved. It is commonly attributed, however, to an Englishman named John Francis Wade. Wade fled to France in the 1700's after the Second Jacobite uprising was put down. As a Catholic layman he lived the rest of his life with other exiled English Catholics, teaching music and working on church music for private use. In 1841 Rev. Frederick Oakley, a Catholic priest, worked on the current translation that we know as O Come, All Ye Faithful.
As we sing this time-honored and beloved Christmas carol at this season, I cannot help but note within its words a wonderful "invitation" for each one of us! Consider first that it assumes the need to make a decision as found in the word "come." We do not celebrate Christmas without being transformed by it, then, and becoming the better for it!
Note next that the invitation is specifically extended to people of faith. The word "faithful" implies inherently that those who do "come" are responding in true faith. They become the "faith-filled"! And the word also implies just as strongly that their coming is followed by a changed lifestyle. These become the "faithful"!
Also, those responding to this Christmas invitation are by nature those who are "joyful" - the joy that is Jesus filling our hearts and lives. Not only are we joyful but we are also "triumphant" - in Christ having overcome the world. We live in joy and we walk in victory! Such living cannot help but catch the eye of this unsaved world.
We as invitees are further challenged in our responding to approach and "behold" Jesus, God's greatest gift. All of Christmas, then, is to be focused upon God's only begotten Son and His advent. He is to be the central point around which all Christmas celebration revolves!
And as we behold Him, what more natural outcome than that we "adore" Him in heartfelt worship! So Christmas is also about worshiping Jesus Christ the Lord. We come in faith as the faithful, we come with joyful hearts and triumphant spirits, we focus all of our attention upon Him, and we adore Him for being our Savior and Lord.
Anything less in our manner at this season, beloved, is to miss the point of Christmas altogether. We simply must respond to God's gracious invitation to "come" and to "behold" and to "adore" the One without whom there simply would not be a Christmas season. May God bless you and yours with a truly Christ-honoring, joyful Christmas celebration! MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Ron
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