God's Wisdom In A Nutshell

Hello,

Throughout my 17 year journey with the Lord, I have been in and out of the Lord’s will. I have bargained, argued and basically called some of God’s ways of living dumb. Yes, I’m sure God was not pleased with me. During this struggle to live in relationship with the Lord, I have discerned that His ways are best and the blessings for obedience are far better than any secular activity we give up.

Below is a verse about the narrow and wide gates. It is referring to life here on earth. The narrow gate can also represent the way to heaven- the only way we get to heaven is by believing in the death and resurrection of Jesus. But in relating this verse to today, the wide gate represents our current society. If you are living life as everyone else and your life looks no different than every other person- you are walking towards the wide gate. We can believe in God and then live life the way we want. This is exercising free will- but it won’t get us the conditional blessings the Lord offers and it won’t steer us around major problems in the future. Some aspect of our life will be destroyed unless we live for God and act in accordance with His teachings.

The Narrow and Wide Gates

“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.“(Matthew 7:21)

Many believers walk through the wide gate that leads to destruction- think of a believer who is an alcoholic. Their life is being destroyed, yet because they believe in Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection- they will go to heaven.

 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.  What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?(Mattew 16:24-26)

God made us to live full of vitality and purpose until the day we die- like Moses- who climbed a mountain with the Lord and then the Lord said to lie down for now you shall die.

^“Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone.”(Deut 34:7)

Moses was not a perfect man in fact he killed a man…

^“In the course of time Moses grew up. Then he went to see his own people and watched them suffering under forced labor. He saw a Hebrew, one of his own people, being beaten by an Egyptian. He looked all around, and when he didn’t see anyone, he beat the Egyptian to death and hid the body in the sand.“(Ex 2:11-12)

After God got Moses’ attention, Moses cleaned up his act so to speak and began to follow the Lord and do His will. This is all God requires of us. We need to recognize we have lived apart from God, we have sinned and we are ready to not only confess our mistakes but also to make an about face on our life and repent- this means to fully commit to God.

We will never be perfect, but we have the Holy Spirit to keep us strong so that when we are confronted with a difficult situation or choice, we have a helper to assist us in our efforts.

Choosing to be a follower of the Lord is difficult and it can be lonely because few choose this life. But the peace, blessings and many miracles God bestows on those who follow Him, are truly remarkable.  Won’t you join me in this challenge to swim against the current of the secular life and choose daily to have the Holy Spirit help us stay within the will of God?

Lisa