Matthew 7:13-14 7/1/2025

"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.”

What does Jesus mean by referring to a wide or narrow gate?   

We find some insight in James 2:19 when it says, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”  James is saying that recognizing the existence of God isn’t faith, it’s just acknowledgement, and later in the chapter he states that acknowledging scripture without doing what it says, is the wide gate of deceiving yourself.    

In our passage this morning Jesus references the wide, well-traveled road that leads to destruction.  Its lack of doctrine allows us to lead ourselves and does not offend our flesh. It doesn’t call for remorse or repentance … doesn’t even call for change.  Instead, it permits us to claim Christianity without transformation.  We rename and normalize depravity and modify scripture to fit “our truth”.  We accept His Mercy without acknowledging His Lordship. That has never been God’s offer and unfortunately, many take this path.  

What about you?  Have you died to yourself and committed to following Jesus?  Christianity is not an additive to your life , it’s a replacement… it defines you.  It ends your old existence and begins a new one … The gospel is clear on that point.  If your Pastor never offends your sinful flesh, and doesn’t prompt you to change…  then he’s not preaching, he’s just entertaining.  If there is no evidence of the Holy Spirit redeeming your life, you may still be on the wide road to destruction… and you don’t have to be.  

Accept God’s offer today and be reborn… The narrow road is narrow, but it is well marked by fruitful changes in your life.  It transforms you into a new creation who lives a different way. Acknowledging the narrow way, and walking it, are two different things… Place your faith in Christ today. Give Him Lordship of your life and set out on the beautiful narrow path that sets you free.  

"The false prophet is a man who has no 'strait gate' or 'narrow way' in his gospel. He has nothing which is offensive to the natural man; he pleases all." -  Martyn Lloyd-Jones

John 19:30 6/24/2025

“…It is finished…” 

This isn’t the first time we’ve talked about this pronouncement that Jesus made on the Cross  … It’s worth revisiting though because without this verse, humanity has no security.  Without this declaration, we would be in jeopardy every day, fighting a force we are incapable of defeating.  We would be slaves to sin, and our eternal destiny would be uncertain. 

BUT GOD instigated a rescue mission, and Jesus finished it on the Cross.  Its completion means that the ransom due for my sin has been paid … Jesus’ death is applied to me, and I am reborn into a new life.  All the shame, all the disappointments, all the failures have been washed away by the Cross.

When I woke up this morning:

I didn’t need to perform any rituals to be a child of God ... It Is Finished.  

No work was required of me to secure my salvation …  It Is Finished. 

My faith alone assures my eternity in Heaven … It Is Finished.

When the enemy begins to list my failures, when he reminds me of my unworthiness, when he questions how God could ever love someone like me … I point at the Cross and say IT’S FINISHED.  

The same is true of you …if you have accepted Jesus’ sacrifice as your own. If you follow Him as your Lord, and cling to Him as your Savior … then it’s  FINISHED.  Take a deep breath… You are free… Rest in the liberation Jesus Purchased for you.  No need to do good things, in order to be saved; your good works are simply a product of your already purchased salvation.  Jesus said it is finished. There is nothing else required for your redemption. God loves you, and Jesus proved it.  Your adoption is airtight and permanent.  

So, go out today and focus on Loving God and loving others -  because your destiny has been determined … Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate you  from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus your Lord.… IT IS FINISHED. 

“The central basis of Christian assurance is not how much our hearts are set on God, but how unshakably his heart is set on us.” - Tim Keller

1 CORINTHIANS 3:18 6/17/2025

“Take care that no one deceives himself. “ 

We really missed the boat on this one… Not only do we not take care to avoid deception… we pursue it because it normalizes our sin. We put on blinders, deceiving ourselves and allowing others to do the same. Once deceived, we go to great lengths to keep the misinformation alive… Nothing is more important than our ability to maintain our comfort, and self-importance.  

If truth breaks through and exposes our sin, we call it hate… This, of course, changes nothing so we become the victim, refusing to own any consequences.  No matter how ludicrous the proposition, we collect “experts” who will strengthen the sham, and confidently deny, undeniable facts.

If you will honestly consider the arguments currently raging in our culture, you will understand why God  says,  “you should become “fools” so that you may become wise.”  What this world calls “wisdom” has gone completely off the rails… Indefensible ideas are embraced and anyone who questions them is attacked as unloving. We defend what scripture calls depravity… Instead of confessing and repenting, we offer justifications and normalize… We deceive ourselves and call it enlightenment. The truth is it is foolishness in the dark, yet we will accept any argument that defends our moral deviation.  

To make ourselves comfortable in our sin, we ignore science, logic,  reason, and we certainly ignore scripture.  But we’re only deceiving ourselves… No amount of protesting will change the truth to fit your life… the only effective option is to alter your life to fit the truth. But that takes humility. That takes an acknowledgment that there is a God… and it’s not you.

If your reading this and  thinking someone else needs to hear it because of their sin … then you too have deceived yourself and missed the point.  This morning is between you and God.  Living righteously is often difficult, but it’s seldom complicated.  It’s simply choosing who you follow.  

YOU must search scripture, and follow God … This morning you can acknowledge as sin what you and your circle have professed as normal… You can break the chains and  walk differently starting today…  or you can deceive yourself and reap the consequences of ignoring God’s Word … It’s your call.

"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool" - William Shakespeare

1 CORINTHIANS 3:5 6/10/2025

 “What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.”

Paul is explaining to the Corinthians that the power of the church is not dependent on performers. The function of church is to worship God, and He provides the Spirit that makes that possible. The Corinthians had turned church into a talent show and had split into factions, promoting their favorite speaker. 

There is no room for that in God’s house.  The church is not a corporate entity, or fraternity… The rules that apply to secular organizations have little to do with the House of God.  The function and governance of God’s church are laid out in scripture and its purpose is not to entertain you, but to glorify The Lord. 

God ordained His church to spread the gospel, and to be a triage unit for those who have been wounded.  Choosing a church should be more like signing up for combat, than finding a comfortable place to be entertained. Your preferred styles of communication are immaterial; the truth in the message is all that matters.

I once heard a preacher respond to parishioners who were angry with the style of “worship”… He simply said, “that’s OK, we aren’t worshiping you”… and that is an important point for us all to remember. 

God is a jealous God … and zeal for His Father’s house caused Jesus to drive some folks out of the building…  So, our attitude matters to God, and it cannot be polluted with selfish pursuits. 

What attitude will you have this Sunday?  Will you go to church to check a box, and while there, complain about the coffee, grade the sermon, and scrutinize the praise team?  

Or will you focus on loving God and  His children, and pray for the humility, that will make you a man after God’s own heart?  Who will you worship this Sunday… The Lord, or yourself?

Because they were focused on themselves instead of God, Paul tells the Corinthians that they have missed the point. They’ve forgotten that church has a singular goal… to magnify Christ as Lord and Savior. That is what God’s Church exist to do.

Energy spent doing anything else is wasted energy. 

“I don’t think the job of the church is to make people happy… it’s to make them holy.”  - Chuck Colson

Numbers 11:1 6/3/2025

“Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the ears of the Lord”

This chapter reveals God’s opinion of ungratefulness….  After 400 years of slavery, God is miraculously leading the Israelites out of Egypt, parting the Red Sea, and destroying Pharaoh’s army in the process.  God was feeding them daily, leading them by a cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night… All this protection and provision and yet they were grumbling about the menu. Even Moses was feeling sorry for himself,  everybody was bellyaching, and God clearly reveals that He is not impressed by, nor tolerant of their attitudes.

I too, am unimpressed with these entitled drama queens and their “poor pitiful me” approach to every problem… Their ungratefulness after daily miracles seems ridiculous. That is, until I get downwind of myself and take a good look in the mirror. When that occurs, I recognize the constant blessings in my life and realize that I, like the Israelites,  spend limited time expressing gratitude in my prayers.

What about you? What percentage of your prayers are thankful and filled with praise,  and what percentage are asking for more and better? Do you spend as much time thanking God for what you have, as you do pleading with Him for what you want?

This chapter instructs us to appreciate God's provisions rather than complain about them. And if you read the second part of verse one, you will see that that is much more than just a suggestion. 

“…The Lord heard them, and His anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some at the outskirts of the camp.”

Maybe we should all have Numbers 11:1 as a memory verse. That might help us remember that God doesn’t change, and since He didn’t like their grumbling then – He probably doesn’t  like our grumbling now.

We are quick to receive blessings yet still whine and focus on problems, but God does not tolerate complainers…  ANYTIME we feel self-pity we need to step back and compare what we have, to what we deserve.  Humbly asking your Father for grace and mercy is one thing… complaining and feeling like we deserve better …is quite another.

“Complaining, ungratefulness, and self-pity cannot serve as a foundation for a good future, no matter how much effort you put into it.” -  Anonymous

Acts 11:18 5/27/2025

“When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has also granted to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”

This is seldom the reaction to change in religious denominations today.  These Jewish Christians faced a massive challenge to their church tradition.  But instead of quarrelling, they listened… and upon hearing Peter quote Jesus, and testify to what God had done,  they had no further objections and praised God.  

This wasn’t just changing the brand of coffee served, or the color of the carpet in the church… This was a major doctrinal clarification regarding who could be a child of God, elevating Gentile Christians to equality with Jewish Christians.  In other words, lessoning the exclusivity of the Jewish believers.  Even so, the membership listened … and embraced the truth. And then just continued doing what Christians were created to do – Praising God. 

In too many churches today, if a group of members is losing status they divide into teams and start assassinating the character of the opposition.  Or, in other cases, just take their families and go find a church that won’t challenge the status quo…. But this group, when reminded of Jesus’ words, humbly “quieted down and glorified God”.  

What would happen today if we were  humble enough to change our long-held opinion and follow accurately applied scripture.  What if our knee jerk reaction to being corrected wasn’t to immediately grab our keyboards and start spewing anger… How would the reputation of the church change, if we stopped letting pride mix with self-centered passion and instead of trying to win the argument, started trying to understand God’s perspective.  

When it was explained to the early church, that scripture clearly pointed to Christ, and that He died on the Cross for all mankind… they embraced it… They didn’t ignore God’s word to maintain their position. They held tightly to scripture, changing their opinions to fit God, instead of changing God to fit their opinions. 

We cannot water down our passion, but the target of that passion must be God’s will, not our rituals.  Make sure you pursue The Lord, not your own desires. Be unmovable on scriptural truth but hold loosely to tradition.  Too often, we do the opposite.... especially when the change elevates someone other than ourselves.

“They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.”
– Jesus  (Matthew 15:9).

 

Proverbs 14:30 5/202/2025

“A tranquil heart is life to the body, But jealousy is rottenness to the bones.”

It has been said that jealousy kills love under the pretense of keeping it alive. Both in friendships and romantic relationships, jealousy is deadly, yet we don’t seem to try to avoid it. The Bible says that Love is patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, nor proud. So, jealousy is not a component of  biblical love.

Since that is the case,  why do we tolerate it? Why do we dismissively say, “oh, he (or she) is just a little jealous”… as though it is a  minor condition with no consequences?  It is not minor it is dangerous and is capable of injuring both parties.  Envy is not a byproduct of loving others, it comes from an inordinate amount of self-love and it can destroy its target as well as the vessel that carries it. 

If you love someone you should be their biggest fan… But if you feel resentment at their success or popularity it is not because you love them, it is because you love you… and have allowed your affection to become controlling and self-centered. This verse says jealousy is a lethal condition that causes my bones to rot… That is a graphic description which in the original Hebrew, means “it ain’t good for me”.

Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate and make sure you have not allowed this “Trojan Horse” with all its poison, into your heart. If you have, get rid of it.  

God is love. The only way you can love others is to fill your heart with Jesus and let His love splash out on those around you … If your value is found in The Lord, if Christ meets all your needs… then you can love others without resentment.  Nothing should bless you more than the success of those you love. Since you are deeply cherished by the Creator of all things – how can you possibly be jealous of anyone or anything?  

If you grasp this concept, you will bring life and light into any room you enter… Miss it, and you will suck the energy out of any space you occupy. Jealousy and Love can’t live together – they share no trait, and there is not room for both in your heart.

“The jealous are troublesome to others, but a torment to themselves.”
- William Penn

Proverbs 28:6 5/13/2025

“Better the poor whose walk is blameless than the rich whose ways are perverse.” 

Most of us would say we believe this proverb, but how many of us live like we do? 

We all agree this is a wonderful truth for Sunday morning…  but what about the business meeting you have this afternoon?  Do you really think integrity is better than profit?  How “transparent” will you be regarding situations that can cost you money? 

What about the discussion you will have with your significant other this evening? Are you truthful with those you love when it’s inconvenient?  Or have you convinced yourself that sometimes it’s better for them, if they don’t know the truth?

How valuable is your integrity to you?  Today you may be tempted to be dishonest by not saying a word… and some of you will be tempted to outright lie … what will you do? How much would it cost for you to sell your honor?  If you have a price in mind, then you don’t have honor to sell. 

Integrity is static and nonnegotiable. You either value it enough to cling to it or you don’t.  You can’t be “sort of” honest and there is no such thing as “half-truths”. Truth and deceit are mutually exclusive. Which one you choose will be determined by whom you serve.  Self-centeredness produces deceitfulness… God-centeredness produces integrity. 

If you tell me you’re going to “TRY” to be truthful today, I will tell you not to bother… you won’t be.  That’s like telling me you are going to “TRY” to run a marathon… you will never finish if you have given yourself the option to quit.  Integrity works the same way.  You must either fully commit to it– or abandon the concept.

Our culture has polluted honesty to the point that it is unrecognizable.  We offer “versions” of truth, twisting them to fit our situation.   We call them white lies, exaggerations, embellishments, and other nice words but this verse calls that perverse. 

You decide… but being “more” honest is not an option… you are either honest or you’re not… You and God will know the hard truth. Make sure your actions allow you to look in the mirror and know you did the right thing, and that regardless of the outcome, you acted with honor. 

"Integrity is always making the decision you can best shave with…"
- Anonymous

John 3:16 5/6/2025

 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

The danger of living in the bible belt is that we hear verses like this so often we become callused to them.  Familiarity breeds resistance to the remarkable concept of an Omnipotent Deity loving us and adopting us as children. We are told that we have been redeemed from deserved destruction and given eternal life, yet we are uninspired. 

Unfortunately, the church has contributed to this phenomenon. We have created a watered-down version of the  gospel preaching about God’s sacrifice- but never discussing our sin, or His holiness-  which made the sacrifice necessary. We have created a “self-help” version of Christianity, even though the basis of Christianity is that we are unable to help ourselves. 

We have heard John 3:16 since we were children, but when was the last time it knocked you to your knees and produced remorse and repentance?  How long has it been since the price paid for your sin took your breath away?

I wish we could read that verse for the first time again.  But instead, we have been "vaccinated" against the powerful truth it contains by a small, ineffective dose of religion. This numbs us to God’s  life changing power, and we lose the jolt and astonishment we should experience when we hear the gospel. 

The most staggering news you will ever hear is that God has offered you freedom from sin and death. His love paid the price of your transgressions, and He has made a way for you to have eternal life with Him.

If you can read John 3:16 and not be shocked, then you don’t understand it.  If it doesn’t stun you that Jesus chose to die for you, while you were still sinning against Him, you’re missing the point… Be Still and consider the substance of this verse… Read it as though you have never seen it before.  

God loves You. Let that sink in… let the price He paid for your salvation shake you to your core. Live today in freedom as a new creation, perfected in His love, and amazed by the transformation His mercy has provided.

"Here's the paradox. We can fully embrace God's love only when we recognize how completely unworthy of it we are.” ― Ann Tatlock

Acts 5:21 4/29/2025

“At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people.”

The High Priest had arrested the apostles and ordered them to stop preaching about Jesus.  That night, an Angel busted them out of jail and told them to go back to the temple and keep preaching.

So, the apostles found themselves facing a dilemma that you and I face daily… the world pressuring us to do one thing… and God commanding us to do another. Just like you and me, they needed to decide what to do – knowing there would be a price to pay for their decision. 

Obedience is better than sacrifice, and delayed obedience is disobedience. I am well aware of this, yet in this situation, I may have been tempted to delay… perhaps waiting to see what the reaction was to the jail break.  Maybe rationalized that technically the angel didn’t say go right now, so I’ll prepare, and go later.  I might have tried to find a verse that justified this so I could disobey self-righteously.

This “hesitating” is my specialty.  I speak forcefully on bold obedience, and will certainly encourage you to act quickly and decisively when God commands you to move… But I tend to want to discuss it and negotiate when it is my turn to act.  I can attempt to justify this, but it is simply hypocritical rebellion. 

That’s not what the disciples did, they obeyed at daybreak. I need to have that same form of obedience. Their bold actions flustered the Sanhedrin and put the disciples in a position of power they would not have been in had they delayed. 

What’s your default response when God tells you to do something controversial? Do you obey when instructions are clear, or do you “pray about it”… and try to negotiate a less costly course of action?  Our most common struggle is not trying to know the will of God… it is deciding whether or not we are going to follow it.  As soon as we learn that immediate obedience to God is the best path, our ministry will take on new power. Decide today whom you will follow… the world, or God… then obey and don’t look back.

“Prayer is good: but when used as a substitute for obedience, it is naught but a blatant hypocrisy, a despicable Pharisaism.” - Charles Studd