Few That Find It

 

When we consider the parable of the sower of seeds, we realize that only one-fourth of the seed scattered actually falls on good soil and bears fruit (Matthew 13:18). That means that only a quarter of those who hear the gospel of Jesus Christ are actually converted.

When Jesus lived on this earth, a multitude followed Him; but just a few actually bore fruit from His ministry to them. Jesus, the personification of God Himself, presented a life and testimony of the reality of God's existence; yet it did not impact the lives of most of those around Him.

Noah preached the Good News for 120 years and even built a huge ark for the known world at that time to see; yet, only his immediate family boarded the ark and were saved.

The reason for this is that there are two gated roads in life. One is broad and many find it; yet it leads to eternal destruction. Then, there is the narrow gate and road, which lead to everlasting life; but very few actually enter it (Matthew 7:13-14).

This fact causes me to weep uncontrollable tears for those people who allow pride and rebellion to keep them from entering the straight and narrow road to salvation. I intercede for them day and night to have a change of heart.

The toll has already been paid by the shed blood of Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:18-19). It is a free gift of God (Romans 6:23). Yet the multitude of people born on this earth condemn themselves by refusing to take that fork in the road, which leads to eternal life (John 3:18).

This highway is called the Way of Holiness for those who walk on it; yet the wicked and foolish will not travel down it; they will avoid it at all costs, even the cost of their own salvation (Isaiah 35:8).

God gives everyone a choice to totally surrender their life to Him (John 3:16-17). However, just a remnant of those born into this world will take advantage of the opportunity to live in abundant peace and joy now and throughout eternity (Isaiah 11:16).

Prayer:

Father God, we commit to daily pray for those still alive and those who will be born in the future to have the desire to walk on the straight and narrow road. Strengthen their inner being to respond to Your Spirit and to accept the sacrifice of Your dear Son as their own (Ephesians 1:16). They will gain the pearl of great price, the treasure in the field and Your eternal life (Matthew 13).

So many hear, but shut up the ears of their understanding. They look, but choose not to see. Their hearts are fat with self-indulgence and heavy with the cares of this world. Their ears are dull from the false doctrine of the world (Matthew 5:18-19).

They close their eyes and sleep to avoid responding to Your Truth. They will not turn to You and allow You to heal them (Matthew 13:14-16). I pray for them to allow Your Spirit to open the eyes of their understanding, so they can enjoy the riches of Your pleasures forevermore (Ephesians 1:18; Psalm 16:11; Proverbs 3:16).

Thought for the Day:

Jesus made it very clear that He is the only way, truth and life; and anyone who believes in Him shall never die, but will live eternally with Him in our Father's Kingdom. - John 14:6

God Calls Us All

God calls the foolish, weak, dishonorable and despised person in order to shame the wise, strong and important, so that we will not boast in our abilities and take credit for what God accomplishes in and through us (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).

Satan will attempt to influence us to take the credit, but it belongs to God (Ephesians 2:8-9). When we hear Satan's whisper in our mind, we realize the lie that it is and humbly thank God for using us.

Gideon was an illegitimate son in an insignificant clan of the tribe of Manasseh, and he even called himself the least in the family. Yet, God called Him to deliver Israel from the Midianite bondage.

David was a little shepherd boy when he killed Goliath. Moses was a murderer and could not speak well. Paul was very educated and had many accomplishments to his credit.

Yet, they all realized they were nothing without our Almighty God (Philippians 3:7-8). God even uses children and babies to prove His existence and to silence the God-haters (Psalm 8:2).

God foils the plans of the wise, exposes the supposed miracles of false prophets and plainly reveals the nonsense of pseudo-intellectuals (Isaiah 44:25; Jeremiah 8:9).

God shows us the foolishness of the wisdom of the world, and saves us through what the world considers the foolishness of the Gospel (1 Corinthians 1:20-21, 2:12).

God chooses the poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the riches in His Kingdom, which He promises to those who love Him and keep His commandments (James 2:5; John 14:15).
Prayer:

Father God, You expose the lofty who take credit for what You do for us and You continually do marvelous works on our behalf (Isaiah 26:5-6; 29:14, 19). The poor are always with us, to remind us that we are just a breath away from destitution, unless we trust in You (Matthew 26:11; Zephaniah 3:12).

You give us wisdom when we ask for it and hide Your treasure within us, in order to prove Your authority and Kingship over our life (James 1:5-6; Luke 19:39-40; 2 Corinthians 4:7). Then you give us weapons that are not for carnal warfare, but spiritual; so that we can triumph over all of our enemies (2 Corinthians 10:4, 5, 10).

Thought for the Day:

In the Kingdom of God, there are no big "I's" and little "U's", but we are all equal with the same Holy Spirit residing within us and leading us throughout every moment of our day.

In The Center of God's Will

To be in the center of God's will is the happiest place on earth. This may include a single life, illness, persecution, a missionary position far from home, physical handicaps, an unhappy marriage, the death of a loved one, a challenging child, or any number of other negative circumstances, which occur in life. Yet, God's love is with us and in us through each moment of every day.

God has good plans for us, even through the negative atmosphere or issues we experience in our life (Jeremiah 29:11). He always works out even the most horrendous concerns for our good (Romans 8:28). The good news is that unless we fail to walk in God's will for our life, nothing will occur, which is not already part of His plan for us (1 Thessalonians 5:16-19).

God encourages us to submit to His sanctifying work in our life (1 Thessalonians 4:3). This is how He endows us with what we need to perform His will as part of His family (Hebrews 13:21; Mark 3:34-35). He forms us into the image of Christ and gives us His Word to light up our path throughout our lifetime. He even gives His angels charge over us, so that we do not stumble or fall (Psalm 119:105; Psalm 91:11).

If we struggle to hear God's Holy Spirit, or to find His exact will in any situation, we can pause, give Him our focused attention and listen. If we ask, He promises to generously give us wisdom in every area of our life (James 1:5). By walking in God's Spirit we will silence Satan's lies and the foolish talk of ignorant people who disparage God and His people (Galatians 5:15-25; 1 Peter 2:15).

Prayer:

Father God, we put our entire trust in You with our whole heart. We refuse to listen to the vain imaginations of our mind or to rely on our human understanding in making decisions. We seek Your will for each moment of our day and we will stop, be still and wait on You for your direction for each activity, which You prompt us to do (Psalm 27:14; Psalm 46:10). We know that by seeking Your will instead of our own, we will walk on the right path throughout our life and we will please You with all of our thoughts, words and deeds (Psalm 27:11). 

Thought for the Day:

As the Holy Spirit transforms us by renewing our mind, we will be living proof of the good, acceptable and perfect will of God.

- Romans 12:2

Consulting the Lord

Joshua took over the leadership of Israel from Moses. He followed in Moses’ footsteps and sought God's direction for each decision he made and every action he took. He had no confidence in his own ability and He generally relied on God’s counsel. 

God promised to give Joshua every part of the land where he set his feet. God also declared that no army would stand against him (Joshua 1:3,5). Therefore, with a few successful battles to his credit, Joshua’s fame traveled throughout Canaan (Joshua 6:27).

This caused his heart to swell with pride, and He got overly confident. He started believing the praise awarded to him, rather than giving credit to the Lord. The unconventional warfare God told Joshua to use at Jericho (Joshua 6:20) puffed up his confidence. Therefore, at the next battle, in the tiny town of Ai, Joshua did not bother to consult the Lord.

He relied on his own wisdom instead. He sent up an army of about three thousand men, expecting to hear of their anticipated victory. However, God taught Joshua a lesson through this and allowed the few men of Ai to defeat Joshua’s army (Joshua 7:3-4). 

God humbled Joshua, and he ended up embarrassed and dejected. It happened again when the Gibeonite ambassadors tricked Joshua by their deceptive words (Joshua 9:14-22). Joshua foolishly believed he could handle these decisions without the Lord’s direction. 

We do this too. We forget to pray and to seek God's counsel when salesmen pressure us, friends and family manipulate us and those in authority over us demand things from us. True success in life only comes when we seek advice from the Lord before making a decision, and follow His advice even if it is not popular or seems not to make sense. Hindsight proves that God is right.

Prayer:

Father God, as Your children, we will need to make some important decisions throughout our lifetime. We have the choice of following a humanistic plan of action or of seeking Your divine direction. Remind us to trust in You with all of our heart and not to lean on our own understanding. 

Help us not to be wise in our own eyes, but to consult You (Proverbs 3:5-7). That way we will not be anxious about anything, but we will pray about everything and present our requests to You (Philippians 4:6). When we lack wisdom, we can ask You, because You give it generously to all without finding fault (James 1:5).

Thought for the Day:

Consult the Lord in whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

- Proverbs 16:3

A Way That Seems Right

Most people hesitate to follow God. They shun Godly advice. They are afraid that God’s commandments and His plan for them are too restrictive. They see hypocrisy in people who are Christian in name only, and they judge all Christians by the behavior of these few deceived individuals.

The few who care about Godly things often follow after false teachers and preachers rather than the true prophets of God.

The Word of God is swift and powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). It divides our soul’s desires from our spiritual ones. It warns us of the deceitful comments that Satan whispers in our mind, masquerading as words of light. Too often we ignore God’s “red flags” in our spirit and end up in deception. Many children forsake the teaching of their parents and pursue the course of least resistance, following the crowd and ignoring the straight and narrow path.

Here are a few time-worthy verses that describe this place of deception, which many people wander into as adults. People turn their ears from God’s truth and are turned aside, because they end up believing fables (2 Timothy 4:4). They follow their own thoughts, opinions, ideas and convictions, which are contrary to God’s advice (Isaiah 53:6). They go along in life on a fairly bumpy road, following their heart and listening to the proponents that agree with their philosophy.

Eventually, we all come to a crossroads. We are given a choice to do things God’s way or to continue on the godless path we chose. God used Solomon to write the book of Proverbs in order to share with us the advantage of the great wisdom God gifted him with in his lifetime. In three places in this beneficial book, he wrote these exact words: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 12:15; Proverbs 14:12; Proverbs 16:25). If God took the time to write these same words repeatedly, I think they are worthy of our attention!

It is so easy for people to succumb to the deception of humanism and carnal appetites and to walk in ways that will bring them to ultimate destruction – both in this life and in the next. Solomon admonishes these foolish people who think they are right in their own eyes. Some erupt in anger if corrected or opposed, or cautioned to wake up before it is too late. The wicked friends they choose lead them astray (Proverbs 12:26; Proverbs 16:29). The sad ending to this drama is that the ones who wander away from Godly understanding will wind up in the company of the spiritually dead (Proverbs 21:16) not only in this life, but also in the next.

Then Solomon contrasts these deceived individuals with the wise who heed Godly counsel. They take the narrow road (Matthew 7:13-14), which leads to life. The righteous carefully choose their friends (Proverbs 12:26). They find life, because in the pathway they choose, there is no spiritual or physical death (Proverbs 12:28). These Godly people will avoid the resulting shame, which will follow the fool (Proverbs 12:15-16). Born Again Saints pass from this mortal life into eternal life (Philippians 3:20), because the experience of death is swallowed up by Christ’s life within us (1 Corinthians 15:54).  

Choose wisely what road you will take when you come to the crossroads of life. Follow the Spirit of God in making your decision. Even though the road is narrow and steep in many places, the Holy Spirit within you will guide your steps (John 16:13) and the Word of God will be a light to your path (Psalm 119:105).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, there is no temptation that any of us fall victim to that is not a common problem for everyone (1 Corinthians 10:13). However, You are faithful. You will not allow any of us to be tempted beyond what we are able to withstand. At the same time, with the temptation, You also gives us a way to escape it and to stand strong against it (1 Corinthians 10:13). We just have to avail ourselves to Your Word and grace, and call upon You as our Savior and Lord (2 Peter 3:18).

Thought for the Day:

What benefit did you obtain from doing things you are now ashamed of? Those actions result in eternal death! – Romans 6:21