Do you know this verse from Matthew 7:13-14?..."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.”
Narrow is the gate that leads to the Lord and eternal life!
Many will look for the Lord but will never truly find Him, because they are looking in all the wrong places. Being a Christian is not all nice and pretty. It's dirty work, it's exhausting sometimes and it's not for the faint of heart. If you want to be a soldier in the Lord's Army, you are gonna get dirty in the trenches. That is just a fact. If you speak the truth about Jesus Christ, people are not always going to like you. Just like Him, you will face rejection and you will suffer. The Bible is clear about that, so get ready to shed some tears.
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2 Timothy 3:12 explains it this way “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." And, John 15:18-20 tell us “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you.”
My devotional yesterday morning was about narrow minded Christians. Some people look at us believers as being righteous and in being very rigid in our interpretation of what God and Jesus and His love are all about. Well, here's my thoughts on the matter.
As a Christian woman and a believer in Jesus Christ, it is my duty to spread the gospel. It's part of my job as a Christian to talk about Jesus and tell others about His love. John 14:6 says this: "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." The book of Matthew talks about the Great Commission that Jesus gave to His disciples and all of his followers to come: Matthew 28:19-20 says "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
There is only one way to get to Heaven and have eternal life with God and that is through salvation from His son, Jesus Christ. You can't get there being nice or doing good or helping people. Your eternal destiny has nothing to do with how many times you teach Sunday school, or much you give to the poor or volunteer at the soup kitchen or homeless shelter.
Those things are all great and they are all the Fruits of the Spirit, but they have nothing do with you making your eternal home with God Almighty. There is only one way to get to Heaven and that is through salvation in Jesus Christ, PERIOD. Ephesians 2:8 says it all: "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: " It has nothing to do with anything you do, it's all because of Him and His enormous Gift!
For by Grace you are saved, it is a Gift from God Almighty!
The Gift of Eternal Life! The Greatest Gift of all time!
There are many churches now a days that preach love, forgiveness and peace. Namaste is what you hear from the pulpit. There is no altar, where you can get on your knees and repent of your sins before God. There is no mention of Jesus and His enormous sacrifice on Calvary for the souls of men. There is no accountability for the way you live. Many churches are just feel good country club places for a Sunday morning. No one wants to talk about us being sinful creatures. Generation X seems to be leaning towards being the "feel good" generation. Everybody wants to make God into what they want Him to be, a God who only loves and makes people feel good.
Well, Our God is a loving Father and a He is a God of forgiveness and Grace, but He is also a God of justice, and He alone will judge the souls of all of us. Hebrews 9:27 says "And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment."
Yes, there will be judgement, but God came to earth to love and commune with his creation. He loved us so much that He came here in human form to be with us - to live like a man and feel every emotion and thought that we have ever had. The Old Testament is full of account after account of God Almighty trying His best to get right with His people. He reached out for centuries trying to get people to live without sin. He kept forgiving, and people just kept messing up because we are sinners. The Lord realized it just wasn't possible for us to not mess up, that is when He decided to go to Plan B.
Plan B was Him becoming incarnate through His Son Jesus Christ, being born of a virgin and dying on a cross to take on the sins of the entire world. If we accept Jesus' enormous gift, confess our sins and turn from our evil ways, we are then reconciled to God and on our way to our Heavenly destination!
Our Heavenly Home awaits for us when we give our lives to Jesus Christ~
Remember, that God is 100% Holy and we are ALL sinners and we cannot be in His presence unless we are forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the bridge between God and man. You can't get to heaven chanting. You can't get there being a nice person, helping everyone or abiding by a thousand different rules that many religions would have you live by. You get there when you give your life over to Jesus Christ.
There is only one way, and one truth, and don't let anyone ever try to tell you otherwise! Believe in the Word of God and His promise in John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."
Many will look for the Lord but will never truly find Him, because they are looking in all the wrong places. Being a Christian is not all nice and pretty. It's dirty work, it's exhausting sometimes and it's not for the faint of heart. If you want to be a soldier in the Lord's Army, you are gonna get dirty in the trenches. That is just a fact. If you speak the truth about Jesus Christ, people are not always going to like you. Just like Him, you will face rejection and you will suffer. The Bible is clear about that, so get ready to shed some tears.
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When you become a Christian, it is NOT always an easy road~
2 Timothy 3:12 explains it this way “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." And, John 15:18-20 tell us “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you.”
My devotional yesterday morning was about narrow minded Christians. Some people look at us believers as being righteous and in being very rigid in our interpretation of what God and Jesus and His love are all about. Well, here's my thoughts on the matter.
As a Christian woman and a believer in Jesus Christ, it is my duty to spread the gospel. It's part of my job as a Christian to talk about Jesus and tell others about His love. John 14:6 says this: "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." The book of Matthew talks about the Great Commission that Jesus gave to His disciples and all of his followers to come: Matthew 28:19-20 says "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
There is only one way to get to Heaven and have eternal life with God and that is through salvation from His son, Jesus Christ. You can't get there being nice or doing good or helping people. Your eternal destiny has nothing to do with how many times you teach Sunday school, or much you give to the poor or volunteer at the soup kitchen or homeless shelter.
Those things are all great and they are all the Fruits of the Spirit, but they have nothing do with you making your eternal home with God Almighty. There is only one way to get to Heaven and that is through salvation in Jesus Christ, PERIOD. Ephesians 2:8 says it all: "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: " It has nothing to do with anything you do, it's all because of Him and His enormous Gift!
There are many churches now a days that preach love, forgiveness and peace. Namaste is what you hear from the pulpit. There is no altar, where you can get on your knees and repent of your sins before God. There is no mention of Jesus and His enormous sacrifice on Calvary for the souls of men. There is no accountability for the way you live. Many churches are just feel good country club places for a Sunday morning. No one wants to talk about us being sinful creatures. Generation X seems to be leaning towards being the "feel good" generation. Everybody wants to make God into what they want Him to be, a God who only loves and makes people feel good.
Well, Our God is a loving Father and a He is a God of forgiveness and Grace, but He is also a God of justice, and He alone will judge the souls of all of us. Hebrews 9:27 says "And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment."
Yes, there will be judgement, but God came to earth to love and commune with his creation. He loved us so much that He came here in human form to be with us - to live like a man and feel every emotion and thought that we have ever had. The Old Testament is full of account after account of God Almighty trying His best to get right with His people. He reached out for centuries trying to get people to live without sin. He kept forgiving, and people just kept messing up because we are sinners. The Lord realized it just wasn't possible for us to not mess up, that is when He decided to go to Plan B.
Plan B was Him becoming incarnate through His Son Jesus Christ, being born of a virgin and dying on a cross to take on the sins of the entire world. If we accept Jesus' enormous gift, confess our sins and turn from our evil ways, we are then reconciled to God and on our way to our Heavenly destination!
There is only one way, and one truth, and don't let anyone ever try to tell you otherwise! Believe in the Word of God and His promise in John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."
He is waiting with open arms to welcome you Home.
My verses for today are above in red.
My prayer for today:
Dear Lord God,
Thank you Lord for my life. Thank you that you loved me enough to come to earth and die for me. Help me to help others learn about your truth and your love. Help me to be a wonderful example of your love for the world to see each day.
In Jesus Name I pray,
Amen
