The Strait Gate

Luke 13:22-30; John 10:9 KJV; Do you know Jesus? Have you entered through Jesus into the Kingdom of God. He is the only gate by which you can enter.

Avoid Evil; Do Good

Reading from Matthew 7:12-20 KJV; with comments... Do good to others as you would have them do to you.

The Gates Of Righteousness Are Open

Rejoice And Give Thanks

Psalm 118:19-29 KJV

Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord:

This gate of the Lord, into which the righteous shall enter.

I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.

The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.

This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.

This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.

Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.

God is the Lord, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.

Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee.

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Grace, mercy, peace: the world is not filled with an over abundance of any of these three. But, God is. His Kingdom is filled with His grace, His mercy, and His peace. He is our salvation. He has opened the gates of righteousness for us by sending His only begotten Son to be the sacrifice that atones for ours sins. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross has cleansed us from our sins so that all who believe in him might enter into the Kingdom of God.

Rejoice and give thanks for His mercy endures forever!  

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Victorious Over Death

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 15:55-57 KJV)

I have attended many church conferences, retreats, and convocations over the last decades. Some were helpful. Some were not. At one such retreat that I found to be totally unhelpful; the speaker, a pastor and an author, insisted emphatically that we need to remember that the "dead are dead." She was confident that scripture; that the Word of God, would not bring anyone comfort. I beg to differ with her and was amazed that she would profess to be a Christian and a pastor considering her lack of faith in the resurrection of Jesus our Savior. I am not sure what she was suggesting we should do or say to comfort others in their times of grief.

The Word of God is our only real comfort in times like that.. Scripture would remind us that even though we die we shall live. It is a great mystery. We cannot totally understand it; but, those who believe that Jesus died and was risen from the grave are confident that they and all who believe will follow in his footsteps though the gate of death into eternal life. Death does not have the victory over us. Jesus has victory over death. We have been given victory over death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

He is risen and ascended! He lives! So shall we!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Haman's Ego Was The Death Of Him

Then answered Esther, and said, My petition and my request is; If I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do to morrow as the king hath said.

Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai. Nevertheless Haman refrained himself: and when he came home, he sent and called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife. And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.

Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and to morrow am I invited unto her also with the king. Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.

                                                                                     (Esther 5:7-13 KJV)

Oh my... Haman has some serious ego issues. Invited to eat with the King Xerxes at Queen Esther's table, he is so excited, he's running about bragging how important he is. He does not even suspect that Queen Esther is very dear and related to the man at the gate, Mordecai, whom Haman desires to have destroyed. He does not suspect that he is walking into a trap. 

Deluded! Haman is quite delusional. His ego has gotten the better of him. He has been blinded by his own glory! Haman thinks he can manipulate people for his own purposes (personal and political) and get away with it. He will not. The tables are turning and Esther is playing the game. She will use his ego to save her people. Haman will end up on the gallows that he is preparing for Mordecai.

Ego will blind us to reality. Ego will be our destruction and possibly the destruction of the people around us. 

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

                                                                                              (Phil 2:3-8)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Sin Is Sin

1 John 1:8

One who justifies the wicked and one who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord.

                       (Prov 17:15 NRSV)

What is a sin is a sin. There is no getting around that. It may be fully legal in this world so do something; but, that does not justify a Christian purposefully committing a sin. We can be justified by only one means and that is by faith alone in Christ alone, who gave himself as a sacrifice for our sins.

We are also not justified by condemning the righteous simply because they believe in Jesus and desire to follow in The Way that he would have us go. But, of course, many who believe are accused of being narrow minded and condemned because we do believe that Jesus is the only way and we will strive to follow him. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us that we are to: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matt 7:13-14) 

Jesus also said: “...I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) This the Christian truly believes. This the Christian will proclaim. It is not to say that the Christian will force others to believe this. Everyone in this world has a right to believe as you choose; to do what you desire in accordance with the laws of the land. The government, at least in the United States, grants us these rights. But, the Christian does not belong to this world and answers to a Higher Power. That Higher Power, for us, calls us to follow in a path that is not self-serving; but, is lived in service to God and to others. 

Therefore; to pretend that the wicked, who in service to themselves, trample on the rights of others is not a sin is a sin in itself and must be recognized as such. We do no one any favors by ignoring sin. To condemn those who follow in The Way that Jesus calls them is also sin. 

Whether the secular world chooses to believe it or not; we can call a sin out for what it is and still love the one who sins. We after all are all sinners, justified only by the blood of Christ shed for us on the cross. In fact, if we truly love others, as Christ loves them and us, we will not pretend that all is well; but, point them to "the way, and the truth, and the life," who is Jesus the Christ.

God's Peace - Pr. J

The Narrow Road

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."  (Matt 7:13-14 NIV)

I'm only taking a guess; but, I'm thinking that only a few find that narrow gate because it is not the vast majority that is actually looking for it. People seem to generally like that wide road that allows them a lot of latitude in what they say and do. That narrow road has a tendency to keep us on the straight and narrow. On that narrow road there is only one way to go and it is not our way. It is God's way.

I've often been told that people wished that there was a manual that told us what we should do in certain situations. There is one. It is called the Holy Bible. I've also been told that people need a road map for life. There is one. Follow Jesus. Follow in the way that he would have you go. 

If you're looking for destruction; go ahead and take the broad road. If you're looking for genuine life; then seek out that narrow gate, who is Jesus the Christ, and follow on that straight and narrow path that he has set before you.

May God help you to follow in the way that He would have you go.

God's Peace - Pr. J

End Of The Line

"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matt 7:13-14)

I was not the perfect child growing up nor was I a particularly bad kid good growing up, either. I liked to climb trees; ride bike; go for walks; build forts... My parents had strict boundaries set for us and when we crossed them, my father would let us know. He'd say: "You've reached the end of the line, sister." I knew someone was in big trouble when I heard that!

My husband, for what reason I am still trying to fathom, like to watch the television show "The Walking Dead." In one of the seasons (maybe more seasons than that) they are all of the living are trying to get to a place called Terminus." I could not figure out why anyone would think that a place named Terminus would be a good place to go. It turned out that it was not. Terminus means the end of the line. It means the final point in time or space. So why would anyone go there?

But, then again some people want to do a lot of things that I can't quite fathom why they would do them. They want to get blitzed! Why? Blitzed means to be attacked and defeated. How about getting stoned? Why would anyone want to get stoned? In biblical times getting stoned was not a good thing. It also meant the end of the line. It meant death. Getting wasted also doesn't sound like something to look forward to on a Saturday night. It means physically or psychologically exhausted; debilitated. Again, near the end of the line.

So why would anyone follow a path that leads only to the end of the line; to destruction? The road that leads to life can be tough. There are a lot of challenges; a lot of temptations to overcome. But, I'm thinking a tough road to eternal life is better than an easy one that leads to eternal destruction.

Years ago, I had taken some young men from a correctional facility hiking to see a beautiful waterfalls. About half a mile in, I realized that they were very nervous. I asked them why. It turned out that they feared that we might be lost and would be attacked by some wild animal or maybe come to the end of the line by falling off a cliff. They were from Detroit and although very street wise; they could not see the path that we were following in the wilderness. Someone has to show the way to those who cannot see the path. Someone has to show them the path and the way in which they should go. That is what Christians are called to do. Will we show them the way?

May God help us to choose wisely the path that we will follow and guide others on the way.

God's Peace - Pr. J