Matthew 7:13-14
New International Version (NIV)
13 “Enter through the narrow
gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and
many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a
few find it. (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%207:13%20-%2014&version=NIV)
Have you ever wondered why Christians don’t seem to have any
rights? There are other religions and
other causes that seem to have more rights than the Christian. I think this verse explains the reason why. Many people choose the road to destruction,
many people walk down that wide road but very few actually follow the narrow
road that leads to life. Jesus tells us
that only a few will find it.
Because so few find it, we have been promised in the word of
God that we will be persecuted for His name sake. II
Timothy 3:12 “12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a
godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while
evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=II%20Timothy%203:12%20-%2013&version=NIV) First of all, we will be persecuted, some more than others. It may be that our rights are overlooked, or we don’t get a promotion at
work, we are harassed, or as severe as being imprisoned and tormented, we will
be persecuted. How have you been
persecuted?
Note also, that Timothy mentions imposters. Not everyone who proclaims to be a Christian
really is. In the church today we have
people who pose as Christians, even have people come in to the church to deceive
the church and some even work the church for their money. Christ warns us of this in Matthew 24:4 – 5 4 Jesus
answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name,
claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2024:%204%20-%205&version=NIV)
. If you read on in Matthew 7: 7: 21 – 23 you will see that not everyone who claims to
be a follower is and that they will be met at the day of judgment by our Lord
saying they never new Him. 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my
Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day,
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons
and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I
never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
My dad cautioned
me when I went off to college not to just fall for anything that implied it was
a Christian organization. He always
taught me to search the word and find answers to questions I might have
concerning what someone was telling me.
Many are out there who can speak well and who can convince others that
they know best but how many are doing it for the glory of God rather than their
own glory. Be cautious. I know my intent of writing this blog is to
give God the glory, to grow in Him but you do not know my heart, do you? Don’t take the words that I write as the
gospel truth but search the scriptures. If you read nothing from my blog except the
scriptures and you pray and ask God to reveal to you what He was saying, I
would be grateful. I believe that God is allowing me to write
these words down and is giving them to me as I write but you need to search the
scriptures for yourself, you need to pray and ask Him to reveal to you what He
has for you, you need to make sure that I am telling the truth, go ahead, I
hope you will take these words that I write and test them.
Back to the narrow gate, in Revelation 3 Jesus reveals to John about those in the church at
Sardis. Maybe you can identify with
it. Maybe you are in a church that is
much like this church, I know you live in a world that is like this
church. Read what He has to say, Revelation 3: 2 – 6 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I
have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have
received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will
come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis
who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white,
for they are worthy. 5 The one who is victorious will, like
them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from
the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his
angels. 6Whoever has ears, let them hear
what the Spirit says to the churches. (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%203:%202%20-%206&version=NIV)
What about you? Are
your clothes soiled? Are you
sleeping? Jesus calls us to repent. I want to be one that has unsoiled
clothes. Those unsoiled clothes have
been washed by the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ who took the penalty
of my sin upon Himself when He took them to the cross. I have repented and I believe I will be
standing with the great multitude that is mentioned in Revelation 7:9 – 10
9 After this I looked, and there
before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation,
tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.
They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And
they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
You see, the
gate is narrow and the road is narrow but that doesn’t mean that everyone is
not welcomed. You must first wake up, then listen, then receive
what you have heard and repent. I know that if you are reading this you have
heard, I pray that you will listen, I pray that you will receive it and I
humbly pray that you will repent, if you have not already done so. I want to see all of you that have read this
blog someday in Heaven. Those of you
from Russia, Germany, Malaysia, Columbia, South Korea, Latvia, Seychelles, and
the United States, I want to see you in that crowd of all nations coming
together before the Throne of Grace, praising God because of the salvation that
He has brought to us. Praying that you
will Seek Him and Know Him with all your heart.
Seeking Him
with all my heart,
Sheila
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