Philippians 4:6, Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

 

Here is something a little different to think about when being thankful in all circumstances. I am not sure where I got it; I do not know who to give the credit to.

 

To: You

Day: Today

From: The Boss

Subject: Yourself

References: Life

 

I am God.

Today I will be handling all of your problems.

Please remember that I do not need your help.

If life happens to deliver you a situation that you cannot handle, do not attempt to resolve it.

Kindly put it in the SFGTD (Something For God To Do) box.

 

It will be addressed in My time, not yours.

Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold on to it.

 

If you find yourself stuck in the traffic; don’t despair.

There are people in this world for whom driving is an unheard of privilege.

 

Should you have a bad day at work; think of the man who has been out of work for years.

 

Should you despair over a relationship gone bad; think of the person who has never known what it is like to love and be loved in return.

 

Should you grieve the passing of another weekend; think of the woman in dire straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week to feed her children.

 

Should your car break down, leaving you miles away from assistance, think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take the walk.

 

Should you notice new gray hair in the mirror; think of the chemo patient in chemo who wishes she had hair to examine. Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what life is all about, asking what is my purpose?

Be thankful.

There are those who did not live long enough to get the opportunity.

Should you find yourself the victim of other people’s bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities; remember things could be worse.

You could be them!

 

My intention was to convey God will take care of all your problems as He knows best and when He knows the timing is best. We can trust Him to handle all our problems and circumstances.

 

There will be no blog tomorrow or Friday. Enjoy family time, be thankful for all you have, and give Him praise! Be careful out there when shopping for those specials!

 

Also, Charlotte and I will be heading to Israel on Sunday with a whole lot of other people. We will be gone for 10 days. I am sure the blog will be filled with insights from that trip. That being said, there will be no blog for a while! Be diligent in your faith and keep an ear open for that trumpet to sound calling to meet Jesus in the clouds!

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Psalm 100:4, Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name.

 

We are headed into a wonderful time of the year; a time we need to be thankful for the many blessings we have been given and a time we celebrate the birth of our Savior and Lord. I have thought over the last few days about the song that we have all sung at some time. “Give thanks with a grateful heart”!

 

We can get so busy with meal preparation and preparation for guests that we do not take the time to respond to God for His goodness to us. Our response should include thankfulness and praise for all He has done for us. Actually, that thankfulness ought to be a daily act on our part.

 

You and I can be thankful that He never changes. He is always loving, more than willing to listen to us tell Him about our times of joy and our times of hurt and confusion. He is always patient – He never gives up on us. He is faithful and true to us and pours out His mercy continuously to us. Take the time to remember the many blessings He has given to you and give Him the praise and thanksgiving He deserves for what He has done.

 

Even in those times when giving thanks is difficult, we can do so. 1 Thessalonians 5:18, tells us to give thanks in everything, in all circumstances. When we give thanks with praise we focus on the One who is in control of all things instead of focusing on self-pity and complaining about that which we cannot control. In a devotional by John Hagee Ministries, the writer states that thanksgiving is the key that opens the door that ushers us into the presence of God where miracles happen. If that is true, why would you and I not be thankful in every circumstance knowing that doing so pleases God. Think of the thanksgiving and praise as a gift you bring to Him, worship to the One who created you and desires to guide you as you walk the narrow way into His kingdom.

 

Read verse 5 of this Psalm. “The Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations” God’s faithfulness is constant. True biblical praise and thanksgiving focus on who God is. It comes from the heart; you and I cannot help but thank Him for what He has done for us. He has saved us from slavery to sin, gotten us off the broad way to destruction and placed on the narrow way to eternal life in His kingdom. What has He done specifically for you that you can thank and praise Him for?

 

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

 

It is time to open your Bible again in order to read the full passage of Jesus being tempted.

 

Jesus has just been baptized by John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove comes to rest on Him and God the Father has expressed his pleasure in His Son. All three aspects of the Trinity are involved in the baptism. The Bible then states Jesus was led by the Spirit to the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. The temptation of Jesus by Satan was an attempt to entice Jesus away from the way of perfect obedience to the will of God; He was taken to the wilderness. The wilderness is a place that many of the people God has used were proven. Think back to your Old Testament reading and remember Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, and Elijah had those times in the wilderness to be tempted and grow in their faith and trust; all of them trusted that God was with them and would see them through the situation they found themselves in.

 

Forty days and nights of fasting! Forty years of wandering in the desert by Israel! There must be a correlation. Forty days and nights without food obviously made Jesus hungry and weak – just the sort of weakness the devil looks for when tempting God’s people. Satan tempted Jesus with worldly desires and successes if Jesus would only submit to him. With each temptation, Jesus used the authority of God’s Word rather than submit to the desires of Satan. You and I need to learn some important things about the temptation of Jesus Christ. They are going to be more important in the days ahead as we walk the narrow way to eternity in God’s kingdom.

 

I might be stating the obvious but Satan is our greatest enemy! He hates you and me and wants nothing more than to deceive us, to entice each of us to sin and be open to deception. It is very real! You and I are involved in spiritual warfare every single day. Have you put on your spiritual armor, yet? I would encourage you to go to Ephesians 6 to read what the armor God has given to His people.

 

You and I cannot fight against this adversary alone or in our own strength. Without the Holy Spirit and God’s Word (the sword in the armor) none of us can overcome temptation nor sin. Jesus used the Word of God to fight the temptations of Satan. You and I must do so as well. Read, study, memorize to become as familiar as possible to know what it says so when deception comes you are able to say no to or correct what you are being tempted with. There is no getting around the need to read, study, and meditate on what you have read every day. Personal experience tells you that the Holy Spirit will bring the Scripture to mind that will help you when temptation comes. Don’t forget to pray about the Word you have read!

 

 I believe each of us knows what is needed to live a godly life. You and I need to do what we know is the way God wants us to live. Yes, that involves dying to self every day and following the will of the Father. It is better to prepare each day by being in God’s Word than to fall to the schemes of Satan who will try to twist God’s Word in his temptations. They will come!

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Deuteronomy 30:17-18, But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess.

 

 I am not able to let go of the thoughts that God’s warning to Israel in the Old Testament is a warning for us and this country today. Like Israel, the United States was founded upon principles important to God. I know there are those who passionately disagree with that statement (at least about the United States). I wonder if they might not be walking the broad way to destruction – forgive me if that is judgmental. God gave the Israelites conditions that would bless them and told them that disobedience would bring consequences. The United States of America has seen tremendous blessings because of the people following God. I wonder if by taking God out of the schools, by removing the Ten Commandments from public view (which was basically saying there are no more absolutes), by the worship of idols and other gods, and allowing the people to embrace immorality such as abortion, same sex marriage, and the other sexual immorality seen today, we are removing God from our country.

 

God warned Israel through Moses – several times – about the blessings of walking with Him and the consequences of turning away from Him to follow other gods. Can we agree that they did not seem to understand this. During the exodus from Egypt the people made a golden calf to worship and after taking control of the Promised Land they disobeyed God and did not destroy those living there. Because of their disobedience they began doing what God did not want them to do; they began to worship and serve other gods. That led to their eventual captivity in Babylon.

 

Not unlike the Israelites in the Old Testament, people today are being drawn away from the way of life that God desires and demands us to live in order to continue receiving His blessings. The United States of America has been greatly blessed as the people walked in the promises of God. We have experienced prosperity, great achievements, and successes of all kinds. I might not be expressing it well, but you realize how blessed we are. Yet, like the people of Israel self-centeredness, deception, and the belief that God is no longer needed or relevant is drawing this nation to the worship of other gods.

 

Choice. There is that word again. God promises blessings to those who follow Him. Because of choosing to follow Jesus Christ you and I have receive eternal life with Him in His kingdom. Those who do not choose Him are walking the broad way to destruction and an eternity in hell. Too harsh? No, it is the reality of God’s word! This nation is not on a journey that is pleasing to God. The people are ignoring the warning signs of dishonesty in government at all levels, joining in with those calling evil good and good evil. You and I must remain strong in our faith, be diligent in reading and studying God’s word, be diligent in prayer for those who need to accept the salvation offered through Jesus Christ and pray those who have been deceived have their eyes opened and come out of their deception.

Evil is growing stronger as people worship other gods; we are already seeing the results of that as God’s people are being persecuted and attacked for their righteousness. Jesus did say in Matthew 5:10-12, that the righteous would be persecuted and people would say all sorts of evil things about them. He also said because of our righteousness that the kingdom of heaven would be ours. I wonder if the persecution has begun.

 

Be strong. Be diligent. Be looking for the return of Jesus to take His faithful to be with Him.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Hebrews 9:7, But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance;

 

Is it okay if I do a little teaching about what the Lord Jesus Christ did at the cross for you and me? I would like to discuss the word “atonement” “which has the idea of covering over sin by making an equivalent payment, so that adequate recompense is made for the offense” (LSSB). In the Old Testament atonement was necessary to cover Israel’s sins so they would not be subject to God’s wrath. Because God wanted to preserve His people, to save the Israelites and be sure they were united with Him, He provided a way of salvation by accepting in their place the death of sacrificed animal which bore their guilt and penalty; it had to be without blemish – an innocent life.

 

This happened one time per year on the Day of Atonement. It was to provide a comprehensive sacrifice for all sins that may not have been atoned for in the sacrifices offered throughout the previous year. The people would be cleansed from their sins in the past year and prevent God’s wrath and maintain their fellowship with Him. Leviticus 16 explains what happened regarding the Day of Atonement. It was the most holy day of the year for Jewish people. They fasted and humbled themselves before the Lord. This “emphasized the seriousness of sin and the fact that God’s atoning work was effective only for those who had a repentant heart and persevering faith” (LSSB).

 

Why is this significant to each of us today? The symbolism of the Day of Atonement points to the ministry of Jesus Christ and His atoning death on a cross. The Day of Atonement had to be repeated every year; it was temporary and insufficient. It did point to a time when Jesus Christ would come to take away permanently all the sins of whosoever who would repent and call upon His name to be saved. “The sacrifices on the Day of Atonement provided a covering 0ver of sin, not a taking away of sin” (LSSB). The blood shed by the Lord Jesus on the cross is God’s ultimate atonement for humanity because it takes away your sin and my sin, your guilt and my guilt away permanently. Hebrews 10:4, “For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” Only the blood of Jesus Christ can do that.

 

Jesus Christ is the perfect sacrifice. He paid the full penalty for our sins.  His sacrifice has turned away the wrath of God for all who repent and confess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. That reconciles or reunites us to the Father and allows us to have fellowship with Him. That is what allows us to walk on the narrow way to eternal life in His kingdom. His sacrifice for our sins was complete and permanent, never needing to be done again.

 

May I encourage you this morning by telling you that the saving, reconciling, and purifying power of the blood of Jesus Christ is continually working in Believers as they come to God through Him. Jesus Christ now sits at the right hand of the Father as our High Priest and as our Mediator. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you and I receive the full benefits and blessings He gives as we persevere in faith and obedience on the narrow way. This is “the righteousness of God” we receive as a new creation!

 

Why don’t you join me by taking some time to give Him the praise and thanksgiving He desires and deserves for His gift of salvation to you.

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Romans 8:1, There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

 

You and I are walking on the narrow way but do or say things that do not please God; we sin. Here is the Good News, the Best News ever – Your sins and my sins were judged at the cross of Jesus Christ. The second you and I gave our lives in surrender to Him, judgment took place and we were no longer found guilty. “Your [a Christian’s] sins will not be judged because God already poured out the full fury of His judgment and wrath on Jesus Christ as He hung there on the cross, between heaven and earth on our behalf….” (David Jeremiah). Every one of us knows someone who needs to hear that message. Why don’t you pass this page on to someone else for them to read what Jesus has done for them. Perhaps this is the time for them to receive the Good News of salvation.

 

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he has shown his readers that being a “good person” and “following the law is powerless to deliver us from the sinful nature and its sinful desires” (LSSB). Here he is telling his readers that “living free from condemnation, living in victory over sin and in fellowship with God comes through receiving and following the Holy Spirit” (LSSB). Yes, when we fail to do “right” we know it and tend to feel guilty – until we repent. That can be because Romans 2:15 tells us God has placed within each of us a sense of right and wrong. The narrow way is a difficult way! We cannot do whatever we want to do; our conscience will convict us of the wrong we have done. “The believer’s day of judgment is behind them, at the cross of Calvary. The unbeliever’s day of judgment is ahead of them” (DJSB). I know there are those who laugh at that. But it is a promise I am going to hold on to each day as I walk along the way to eternal life in God’s kingdom!

 

Paul writes a similar thought in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him’. There is no scripture that states Jesus Christ became a “sinner”; no, He remained the spotless Lamb of God. Read again what occurred. Jesus, who knew no sin exchanged His righteousness for your and my sin by becoming sin for us. “He received what each one of really deserved – death on a cross! It is by your faith and my faith that we receive what He deserved; God’s acceptance and eternal life with Him” (DJSB).

 

You and I receive “the righteousness of God” as a new creation. Think about this: when we accept the salvation Jesus Christ offers us, His righteousness and moral condition flows through us because of our faith in Him. Get your Bible out and read Romans 5:14-21. The entire passage is centered around living for Jesus Christ and being controlled by His love. The “the righteousness of God” is demonstrated and experienced by you and me in this world by being diligent about maintaining our relationship with Jesus Christ (Read Galatian 2:20). What a great reminder to us as we walk on the narrow way!

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

From 2 Kings chapters 13 – 24, _____ was __ years old when he became king and he reigned _____ years in (Israel or Judah). His mother’s name was ______ the daughter of ______. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord as his father ______ had done.

 

You can read 2 Kings and fill in the blanks with different names, different ages, and different lengths of years the individual led either the kingdom of Israel or Judah and get the same result; they each did evil in the sight of the Lord. Yes, in between these evil leaders, there were those who did right in the eyes of the Lord. Sadly, they were few in number. The evil these leaders did was bad, very bad. They promoted idol worship, the sacrificing of children to their god (Abortion?), temple prostitution, homosexuality, and immersed the people in other occult practices. These practices were practiced in God’s temple; the final act of perversity was to bring their idols into God’s temple. Much of what was done was to promote prosperity because of their belief that the gods would give them the abundance they desired. They acted in indifference to what the One True God desired from them. They continually ignored the warnings of God’s messengers to stop what they were doing and return to Him.

 

It is easy to ignore the warnings of God today. It is easy to ridicule His messengers who are speaking the words to return to the God of Creation, the maker of all things because for so long the message is God is dead. He is no longer relevant. That message is all around us – in the schools (always begin the indoctrination process with the children), in the news, in the entertainment industry, and in sports where we idolize the star’s words (NOT!!!).

 

In the book of Judges, the words, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” seem to be so strong in our present society. You tell me if you think I am wrong to believe that the True King, Jesus Christ, is king in our nation today! Are we not being told people have a right to do what each person desires to do? Are we not being told God, His Word, His commandments is no longer relevant?

 

I left yesterday’s blog with the thought about what the righteous were doing while living under the evil kings. Thinking about this and knowing God’s Word can give us insight about how you and I should be living our lives in this day where unrighteous living is openly being promoted and righteousness is being ridiculed and attacked. I read about the evil kings in the Old Testament and wonder what God’s faithful people were doing. I am not sure the Bible specifically tells us. But the New Testament gives us plenty of information.

 

You and I must stay faithful to the Savior and Lord who saved us from our slavery to sin. Each of us must recognize that there is difficulty walking on the narrow way, but God is sovereign and has given Jesus Christ all authority in heaven and on earth. God has a plan for you and His love for you is “an everlasting love”. Like judgment came to the people of Israel, judgment is coming for the sinfulness of this nation and the world!

 

Those who were faithful during the days of the evil kings of 2 Kings had to be looking for the coming of the Messiah. The Bible does not tell us that; I am just believing they were. They had no choice but to carry on, doing what the Lord required of them to do. The New Testament is clear that God’s faithful followers must be diligent in seeking Him each day and doing the best to walk on the narrow way as the Lord commands us. We are to love Him, love others and keep His commandments. That is the only way we “may have confidence for the day of judgment” (1 John 4:17). We are to share Jesus without fear; 1 John 4:18 reminds us “There is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear”.  (Those two verses were part of the past weekend sermon at CBC and fit well with this page of the blog.)

 

And, we stay ready by watching for the Lord’s return with our ears we listen for the trumpet to sound announcing the rapture of the true Church! We keep our lamps full of oil, expecting the Bridegroom to come at any moment. We live in a challenging time. Yet, it is an exciting time as you and I watch and live our lives with expectation of Jesus to call us to meet Him in the clouds. Yes, it could happen at any time!

 

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Deuteronomy 4:39, Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.

 

God is sovereign! As you and I walk on the narrow way to eternal life in His kingdom, we must never forget who is on the throne and knows everything that is happening in the world and all around us. The difficulties we encounter and all we enjoy; He knows about and is with us through the tough times and the joyful times. Yes, He allows the difficult times to show us He can be trusted to get us through them; it helps our faith and trust in Him to become stronger.

 

Consider for a moment that every good thing in your life comes from Him. Your family, your possessions, your friendships, your potential are because of God’s love and grace extended to each of us.  James 1:17 tells us, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”  In other words, God does not tempt anyone with evil; He gives good gifts. “Father of lights” speaks of God’s unchanging nature – He is the One who put the stars, sun, and moon in their places. He faithfully supervises and leads you and me and provides everything good we need.

 

I had really wanted to give some thoughts about the past week’s election. However, after receiving some counsel from better half, I decided to write on God’s sovereignty. Understanding God’s sovereignty and His authority as we walk the narrow way is necessary to mature in our Christian walk. There are events that happen that confuse and disappoint us without knowing God is in control. Events must happen that lead to His return. Dr. Ed Newton, pastor at Community Bible Church, has stated, “We do not serve an elephant or a donkey. As Christians we serve a Lamb.” Regardless of your political thoughts, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God sits at the right hand of God the Father and knows everything you and I are dealing with as we walk the narrow way. I am still amazed by Him!

 

What does this mean for you and me today? If we recognize and understand that God is sovereign and all authority has been given Jesus Christ, what is our responsibility? We are to love Him, love people and because we do, all who will see us will know that we are Christ followers. We keep His law and His commandments; we follow Him and no other! We believe and know Jesus is not one of many ways to heaven; He is the only way to heaven. Our responsibility is “to know God and make God known” (Dr. Ed Newton) by our testimony. We know that the Holy Spirit lives within us to guide as we walk on the narrow way in order to cleanse us of unrighteousness so you and I “will keep His commandments and please Him” (1 John 3:22). We do not look to the world or those in the world for affirmation because we have been accepted by the Lord and we listen to Him (1 John 4:6). We live with confidence that all good things come from Him and that He loves us with an unconditional love. We live each day with confidence he knows all about elections and people who are taking their worldliness and ungodliness with them to make decisions (Sorry, just could not let it go) that will affect all of us.

 

Think about this until tomorrow. When Israel and Judah were living under evil kings, what was the remnant or the faithful doing? In the next page of the blog, perhaps some insight to what the faithful need to be doing in today’s world.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Matthew 25:1-2, “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

 

This parable of the ten virgins and is very relevant to each of us today. Get your Bible out and read Matthew 25:1-13. The parable tells every Believer that we must constantly look out for our spiritual condition as we walk on the narrow way to God’s kingdom. Our walk on the narrow way must be one that perseveres in faith because no one knows the time nor the hour when Jesus will come for His faithful followers in what is known as the rapture. The last blog was about being diligent in seeking the Lord; seeking Him is an everyday occurrence. I know how easily it is to get sidetracked by temptation or being caught up in being so busy with stuff that I let my guard down. As soon as that happens it is easy to fail. If forgiveness is not sought immediately, it is easy to be drawn away from seeking the Lord and thinking He is not coming any time soon.

 

That sort of thinking was a problem in this parable. What differentiates the foolish from the wise is the failure of the foolish to recognize that the Lord could return at any time. His return will be at an unexpected time. It will be at a time without any prior specific or unmistakable signs to alert us. God is not trying to trick or deceive any Believer about His coming for them; He wants each of us to be walking the narrow way diligently seeking and watching for His return. 

 

Jesus is indicating in this parable that a large part of the church will not be prepared for His return. There are some scholars who believe the foolish virgins are those who have not truly been saved. Jesus is clear in this parable that He will not wait for all churches to be prepared for His return. He also is clear that people cannot be saved on the basis of any other person’s salvation.

 

One should also notice that all ten virgins were surprised by the return of Jesus. The suggestion is the ten virgins were living before the tribulation begins and are not those living during the tribulation. Those living during the seven years of tribulation will have adequate signs that precede the return of Jesus at the end of the tribulation.

 

The other necessary aspect of this parable is to be filled with the oil. Jesus has been and is stressing the need for you and me to be faithful as we watch for His return. It cannot be stressed enough the necessity of persevering in our faith and being spiritually prepared because of the knowledge His is coming at a time unknown to us. The oil of this parable represents true faith, righteousness, and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. You and I cannot be like the foolish virgins who did not have enough oil in their lamps; read the parable to see that when the bridegroom came, they were not prepared and were left out of the wedding. Get prepared! Stay ready and you will not have to try to get ready! The bridegroom expects those who really want to join in the festivities will come prepared to do so.

 

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Deuteronomy 4:29, But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

 

This verse is extremely important for each person, for you and for me; it will keep us on the narrow way to eternal life in God’s kingdom. Seeking God daily helps us keep focused on staying on the narrow way and helps us to stay diligent and watching for His return to get His faithful followers in what is called the rapture of the true Church. “To find God and know Him in His fullness, a person must seek Him with passion and wholehearted devotion” (LSSB). Knowing Him in this way and experiencing His power, blessings, and righteousness does not come easily and comes only to those who diligently seek Him.  That comes from Hebrews 11:6, But without faith it is impossible to please God, for He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

 

Notice that one must have faith to please God. Faith in Him brings both insight and confidence that we would otherwise not have. The other aspect of faith in this regard is true faith and is not a passive belief that He exists but it is an active faith causing us to seek God and His will. It is amazing that the One who created all things from the beginning and knew each of us from before we were in the womb desires for me and you to seek Him and desires each of us to be near Him. By doing so He draws near to us and gives us the fulness of His Spirit and the gift of eternal life.

 

Let me get you to consider the last time you lost something very important or valuable to you. What did you do? You searched diligently until you found it! Right! I cannot help but believe that the way we search for that item which was lost is how God wants us to seek Him. Think for a moment about this – if we diligently seek God, do you think He will be hard to find? No! His desire is to be found by us. It is so important for us to seek Him everyday because walking the narrow way is filled with the enemy’s desire to destroy us and the desire for the old self to regain is control over you.

 

As the end of the age draws even closer, it seems to me each of us needs to be more diligent about seeking God. He has warned us of the deceptions of many false teachers and their ungodly teaching. By doing our best to seek God and knowing when we do, we will find Him, we keep our lives focused on His Word, His will and staying centered on walking the narrow way. It is my task to keep you and myself aware of doing this each day, to keep you and me encouraged as the events happening all around us are tempting us to give up. Never, never give up on your walk with the Lord on His narrow way.

 

I want to encourage you this day with my continued prayer for each of you reading this blog. It is found in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Diligently seek God! Diligently hunger and thirst for His righteousness! As you do, He will be found by you and will keep you close to Him and His righteousness.  The goal is eternal life with Him in His kingdom!

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Matthew 28:18, And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and earth.”

 

I read this in an article about the authority Jesus Christ was given. “Authority makes doctrine true. No doctrine is the truth unless it has the right authority, and no authority is valid unless it is based squarely on truth. Jesus Christ passes this test.” We need to define and understand the terms “authority” and “doctrine”. The word for authority is the Greek exousiav which is translated as power. Doctrine refers to the teachings found in God’s Word.

 

Authority is found in God; it is in His nature. John 1:1 states, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” There are several things to understand here. The Word was with God from the beginning and is God. That says to me that the Word had the same authority as God. To do what? Read further in John 1 and you will find out that the Word was with God from the beginning and had the ability or authority to create all things, “without Him nothing was made that was made”. We read next that, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” If the “Word was God”, He had the attributes of God and the authority of God; there was no authority higher. Are you asking yourself who the Word was?

 

I hope you have your Bible open to make sure I am writing the correct things. If so, turn to Colossians 1:15-16 which says, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principles or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.” Begin reading Colossians from the beginning and you will see Paul is writing about Jesus Christ. These statements were written so you and I might know that Jesus Christ, the Word, has the power to keep all things that are happening around us right now in His control. Jesus Christ has the right and ability to be Lord of all He has created, to hold all things together (Colossians 1:17). For you and me and all those who truly have made Jesus our Lord, there can be no limitations on His authority to do so.  

 

Jesus did not get this authority because of what He did at the cross for you and me. No, He had it from the beginning. This did not change when He came to earth in the flesh. That was why He was Truth and Grace and the way to eternal life. He remained fully God as He walked the earth in the flesh. God the Father did not take away Jesus’ authority while He was on earth. Because the Father did not take away the Son’s authority, the Son was always obedient to the Father. He fulfilled everything, every “jot and every tittle from the law till all was fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18). Every biblical teaching and prophecy – even the smallest and seemingly insignificant fulfilled – is fulfilled by Him.

 

The authority of Jesus Christ is an important and constant theme in the Bible. You and I need to hang on to His authority as we walk daily on the narrow way to His kingdom. It is the power we have as His followers to be obedient to His commands and as we serve Him. We need to do this with joy and with thanksgiving.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Matthew 28:18, And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and earth.”

 

As a school administrator I was given the authority to make sure course curriculums were being taught, students were behaving, among a host of other things. I had the authority to make sure the school operated in safety and as a school should operate. I looked forward to being there every day working with dedicated teachers and school staff. I am not saying I had all things under my control.

 

In Matthew 28:18 God is saying that all of history, including this time you and I are walking, is completely under His control! There are events unfolding all around us that might make us scratch our head and wonder what is going on. You and I are challenged everyday as we walk this narrow way to God’s eternal kingdom. Is it me or does it seem to you as well that more and more trials and temptations are crossing my path each day. I admit I am struggling more each day.

 

But here is what we must remember: “No matter how things may appear, every detail is part of a beautiful picture” (David Jeremiah). You might wonder how the events unfolding around us or the daily temptations are part of a beautiful picture. The challenges you and I face every day are part of the preparation for you and me to enter the eternal kingdom of God someday. Jesus did tell us the narrow way would be difficult; cleaning us from the person we used to be can have its challenges. They are a necessary part of maturing into the person God demands us to be.

 

How many times does a child fall before learning to walk? Who is there to pick him/her up – the parents. How many times does one fall before learning to ride a bike? How many failures with one’s walk with the Lord occur before the taste of sinful behavior no longer is desired? Just like that parent is there to help the child get up to try to walk again, God is right there to pick us up again when we fail. It just requires us to look to His grace and ask for forgiveness. He has authority over every detail of your life and my life. In telling us that, He is telling us that we must trust Him in everything, the smallest of things so the larger things are established.

 

Small things and larger things – what am I talking about? He knows the details of your life. He is daily cleansing and purifying you through the things you go through to prepare you for His kingdom. He is also using the events in the world to alert His followers to the fact that His return could happen at any time. We must not go about business as usual! Jesus is about to remove His followers so they meet Him in the clouds. We must be diligent about the life we live and be watching and ready for that to happen.

 

In the next page of the blog, I want to give you some thoughts about where Jesus Christ’s authority comes from.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter the narrow gate; for wide is the way and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few on it.” Jesus

 

Before I write about another principle that will help us walk on the narrow way, I must correct something. I often write something that my mind completely understands but my fingers do not get it totally correct in the writing. That problem often comes out in my speech as well. Too often I take for granted that what I say is completely understood by the reader or the hearer.  With that being said, I have written about “getting off and on the narrow way”. That indicates we walk back and forth between the narrow and broad way and is totally incorrect. When we give in to the trials, temptations, difficulties we face on the narrow way it might be better thought of as preventing us from advancing on the narrow way until we ask for forgiveness for giving into the temptations. We certainly do not jump to the broad way every time we sin. Jesus went to the cross for every sin we have or will ever commit. He does not toss us off the narrow way when we sin just to grab us from the broad way when we ask for forgiveness.

 

John wrote in his first letter, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” In John’s lifetime, as in ours today, false teachers said that when a person became a follower of Jesus Christ, that person’s sin nature was wiped away and the person could achieve sinless perfection. Those people were saying what had previously been thought of as evil actions were no longer sinful; people could now do whatever they wanted because “whatever” was no longer sinful. That is heresy, a belief contrary to what the Bible states.

 

You and I as Believers must constantly be aware that the kingdom of self, the sinful nature is always a threat to us and must be continuously put to death through the power of the Holy Spirit. But, everyone sins! To say you have no sin is ignorance or prideful and is evidence one does not belong to Christ. What do we do when we sin? 1 John 1:9 is the answer, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.” The key is to immediately confess our sins and seek forgiveness and purifying from the guilt and destruction of sin’s power -- evil thoughts, an evil tongue, and wrong actions. God does not remove you from the narrow way when we sin but He does expect confession and for each of us to walk in His light.

 

I did not expect this to be as long as it got. I pray I have explained carefully that you and I do not go back and forth between the two ways. Once we enter the narrow way through the narrow gate, Jesus Christ, He keeps us there!