Choosing The Narrow Gate

My Utmost For His Highest

 

Enter by the narrow gate….Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life…. —Matthew 7:13-14

 

“God saves people by His sovereign grace through the atonement of Jesus, and “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). But we have to “work out” that salvation in our everyday, practical living (Philippians 2:12). If we will only start on the basis of His redemption to do what He commands, then we will find that we can do it. If we fail, it is because we have not yet put into practice what God has placed within us. But a crisis will reveal whether or not we have been putting it into practice. If we will obey the Spirit of God and practice in our physical life what God has placed within us by His Spirit, then when a crisis does come we will find that our own nature, as well as the grace of God, will stand by us.” CHAMBERS

 

I was walking along a trail in Haiti when I saw this gate.  Seeing it, I was reminded of the verse about the narrow gate.  Why is the gate narrow? Because most people will not choose it.  That choice requires faith and sacrifice.  Not the sacrifice of things, although that will happen, but the sacrifice of the will.  In Psalm 51, David said that God prefers obedience over sacrifice. But in actuality obedience is a sacrifice as well. (Psalm 51:16-17) “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”   David knew about sacrifice.  During a military operation, David was thirsty and told his men he wanted a drink from a well near the gate at Bethlehem that was in the enemies’ hands.  (2 Samuel 23:14-17) Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite; Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite; and  Shammah son of Agee the Hararite; three of the mighty men of David, risked their lives to get the water for him. And once he had it, he poured it out on the ground.  That water had such great value, like the perfume poured out on Jesus feet, it was offered to the Lord.  Getting back to the gate, most people will go the way of their father, Adam.  They will choose the god of this world over the God of heaven.  They will choose to drink the water and ask for more.  Honoring themselves and not God.

 

I taught a Sunday School class last Sunday and used the word “binary” to describe the reality of salvation.  Of course, binary means it is either zero or one, on or off, yes or no.  There are only two possibilities (that’s the “bi” part).  You are either saved or you are not.  You are either going to heaven or you are going to hell for eternity.  You are either going through the narrow gate or the wide gate.  There is no in-between.  At its foundation, our country did not embrace Christian values, the people did.  Our country has not turned its back on God, the people have.  The country does not need a Christian president, the people need Jesus.  But narrow is the gate.  The people in this country are going to pass through one of the gates.  Our job is to be lights in a dark land.  Shining our light on the narrow way.  Living in obedience to the Word to the glory of God.  Lifting Jesus up.  CHARLEY

God's Vision For You. Are You Chasing The Dream Or Running From It?

My Utmost For His Highest

 

The parched ground shall become a pool… —Isaiah 35:7

 

“We always have a vision of something before it actually becomes real to us. When we realize that the vision is real, but is not yet real in us, Satan comes to us with his temptations, and we are inclined to say that there is no point in even trying to continue. […] God gives us a vision, and then He takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of that vision. It is in the valley that so many of us give up and faint. […] God has to take us into the valley and put us through fires and floods to batter us into shape, until we get to the point where He can trust us with the reality of the vision. […] The vision that God gives is not some unattainable castle in the sky, but a vision of what God wants you to be down here. Allow the Potter to put you on His wheel and whirl you around as He desires. Then as surely as God is God, and you are you, you will turn out as an exact likeness of the vision.”  CHAMBERS

 

Perhaps something like a vision is too lofty for you.  Since you have been born again, was there ever a time when you imagined yourself to be a certain way?  To have accomplished a certain thing?  What was it.  Can you recall?  Do you consider that to be out of reach?  Too much time has passed .. or you have too many wrong choices in your past?  Understanding the nature of God is actually beyond our puny minds, but we do get glimpses now and again.  His ability to do anything is unlimited.  Nothing I do or don’t do will keep Him from accomplishing His purposes.  We think, because I have done this or not done that, God’s plans have been thwarted.  Really?  “When D.L. Moody was just starting in the ministry he heard a preacher say, "The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully surrendered to Him." Moody that night said, "By God’s grace I’ll be that man!" It is said that Moody shook two continents for God and over a million souls came to Christ under his preaching and ministry. Moody had little formal education, and he was not a polished speaker. But God greatly used his life.” Dr. Paul Chappell

 

D.L. Moody, by all accounts should not have been a preacher, should not have been an evangelist.  He had not been to seminary.  He was overweight.  He was not eloquent.  When I say, those things don’t matter to God, but to men, I risk the ire of many who do believe they matter.  Bible colleges and seminaries are places of preparation, but they are not the only means of enabling someone called by God.  I don’t need to be able to read Greek and Hebrew to share the Gospel.  I need the Spirit.  I would suggest to you that effectiveness as a Christian in whatever God’s purpose for you might be starts with faithfulness, is built upon devotion and ends with obedience.  The problem is not in knowing what God would have you do.  The problem is in your willingness to climb out of the boat and doing it.  God uses a yielded life.  (Romans 12:1-2) Your participation in God’s plan is not necessary, but God is asking you to join Him in His work.  The choice is yours.  CHARLEY

Living Like You Are One Breath Closer To Heaven

My Utmost For His Highest

 

Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. —Psalm 37:5

 

“In spiritual issues it is customary for us to put God first, but we tend to think that it is inappropriate and unnecessary to put Him first in the practical, everyday issues of our lives. If we have the idea that we have to put on our “spiritual face” before we can come near to God, then we will never come near to Him. We must come as we are.”  CHAMBERS

 

Perhaps one of the greatest challenges for Christians is to understand their spiritual nature.  Before Jesus we were dead toward God.  After Jesus, we are spiritually alive.  Before Jesus everything was natural.  After Jesus, everything is spiritual. What I mean by “everything is spiritual” is that you have been reborn.  You live in a new reality.  The question is do you live your life with that understanding? Or, do you live your life as if you have two natures?  The natural for everyday living and the spiritual for those times when you need to relate to God.  Do you balk at that idea? There is a phrase, “We are in the world but not of the world”,  which many think is a verse reference.  It is actually a summary of several verses.  (John 17:14–19) “I [Jesus] have given them your [God the Father] word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.”  Another verse is Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  That is our challenge, every day.  Living with the constant understanding that we are not the same as those who are not born again.  You are redeemed.  Every breath you take, Christian, is one breath closer to heaven. But, if you are not seeking to know God more.  If you are not trusting in God every day in every way, but in your own wisdom; your life may, in fact, be indistinguishable from those who with every breath are one breath closer to hell.

 

It would be wonderful if we did not have to be reminded of our spiritual nature.  But the majority of us must be reminded.  The influence of our flesh is strong.  It is so easy to drift back into the patterns that we were first born into to and have been so dependent upon.  It is only through the disciplines of the faith can we hope to respond to the day to day events of this life in a different way.  The new life is not something just for the super spiritual.  We have all received the same amount of the Holy Spirit at the point we were born again.  What makes the difference is the level to which you are submitted to the leading of the Spirit.  Your level of trust in God verse yourself.  Jesus said “If anyone comes after Me, he must deny himself (his old nature), pick up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24)  Our new life is fully centered on Jesus. Our motivation should be our understanding of and appreciation for what Jesus has done for us.  “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, but not I, Christ lives in me.  And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”  (Galatians 2:20) CHARLEY

Finding Peace In The Midst Of Trials

My Utmost For His Highest

 

Do not fret— it only causes harm. —Psalm 37:8

 

“Resting in the Lord is not dependent on your external circumstances at all, but on your relationship with God Himself. Worrying always results in sin. […] Fretting rises from our determination to have our own way. Our Lord never worried and was never anxious, because His purpose was never to accomplish His own plans but to fulfill God’s plans. […]  Have you been propping up that foolish soul of yours with the idea that your circumstances are too much for God to handle? Set all your opinions and speculations aside and “abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). […] All our fretting and worrying is caused by planning without God.” CHAMBERS

 

Our new life and our capacity to live it is nothing that we have or could have conjured.  It is totally dependent upon the Spirit of God, the exercising of faith and obedience.  Worry comes on stage when we change our focus from the spiritual to the natural.  It is important that you don’t confuse things that have happened to you, in life, from consequences resulting from your own personal sin.  God promises forgiveness of sin, but not absolution from sin’s consequences.  Often impending consequences are the source of most of our worry.  But whether the source of the worry is our doing or not, it is possible to find peace in the midst of it. 

 

Where does that peace come from.  (John 14:27)  “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”  It comes from our relationship with Jesus by the Spirit.  The peace the world gives is dependent upon the absence conflict.  The peace, the supernatural peace, that Jesus gives is peace in spite of the conflict.  Many times people, even Christians, want relief only so they can move on to the next sinful act.  What they desire is freedom to sin without consequence.  God is not in that and will never be.  Their lives are  in constant turmoil and full of worry and heartache.  But even though they may be living out the consequences of their sin, like you, they can still have the peace that comes from a repentant heart.  You must stop depending upon yourself and better circumstances and trust in the Lord.  CHARLEY

 

“It Is Well With My Soul”

 

“When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,  When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,  It is well, it is well, with my soul.

 

 Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,  Let this blessed assurance control,

 That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,  And hath shed His own blood for my soul.”

Sin Is Like A Donut, It Might Taste Good At The Moment, But You Won't Like The Consequence

My Utmost For His Highest

 

You will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. —Matthew 5:26

 

“There is no heaven that has a little corner of hell in it. God is determined to make you pure, holy, and right, and He will not allow you to escape from the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit for even one moment. He urged you to come to judgment immediately when He convicted you, but you did not obey. Then the inevitable process began to work, bringing its inevitable penalty. Now you have been “thrown into prison, [and]…you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny” (5:25-26). Yet you ask, “Is this a God of mercy and love?” When seen from God’s perspective, it is a glorious ministry of love. God is going to bring you out pure, spotless, and undefiled, but He wants you to recognize the nature you were exhibiting— the nature of demanding your right to yourself. The moment you are willing for God to change your nature, His recreating forces will begin to work. And the moment you realize that God’s purpose is to get you into the right relationship with Himself and then with others, He will reach to the very limits of the universe to help you take the right road.” CHAMBERS

 

Have you become content with the presence of sin in your life?  It is like being overweight.  You don’t like it, you know what you must do to correct it, and then you eat another donut or munch on some chips.  What is it that is going on? Well, it is something spiritual.  (Ephesians 6:12) “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  The problem is that you view resisting sin the same way you do as not eating that donut.  When fact, there is something much more sinister, much more powerful, going on.  A struggle between the flesh and the Spirit.  And if you Spirit is not strong, well, as my doctor said .. “your weight is going in the wrong direction”.  The solution for sin is spiritual, just like salvation.  Temptation is not sin .. it’s like looking at that donut through a window. But, once you go into the store, and pay your money, and take a bite … not good!  (1 Corinthians 10:13) “God has made a way to escape the temptation”  and so avoid the sin.  It’s a spiritual solution, (Psalm 119:11) but it also might be a good idea to stop walking by the donut shop. And if you do sin in the future or have sin in your heart now, there is a spiritual solution for that too. (1 John 1:9) CHARLEY

You Won't Worry About What's Right If You Are Walking In The Light

My Utmost For His Highest

 

Agree with your adversary quickly… —Matthew 5:25

 

“In this verse, Jesus Christ laid down a very important principle by saying, “Do what you know you must do— now. Do it quickly. If you don’t, an inevitable process will begin to work ‘till you have paid the last penny’ (Matthew 5:26) in pain, agony, and distress.” God’s laws are unchangeable and there is no escape from them. The teachings of Jesus always penetrate right to the heart of our being. […] In moral and spiritual matters, you must act immediately. […] The fact that we insist on proving that we are right is almost always a clear indication that we have some point of disobedience. […] “Agree with your adversary quickly….” Have you suddenly reached a certain place in your relationship with someone, only to find that you have anger in your heart? Confess it quickly— make it right before God. Be reconciled to that person— do it now!”  CHAMBERS

 

Who is your adversary? I know that you can think of one or two people that rub you the wrong way.  Why do they rub you at all?  What does it have to do with, money, relationships, competing agendas?  Whatever the source of the contention is, lay it down.  Give it up. “fouw-ged-abowd-et” Peter asked the Lord, “how many times do I have to forgive, seven times?” Jesus replied, “No, seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:21-22)  In other words, as often as he asks for forgiveness.  And if he does not ask, forgive him for your sake.  That does not mean that you enable his offense in the future, but don’t allow anger and resentment to flower into bitterness and anger.  Trust me, you will be the one with the ulcer or the one losing sleep, not the one who has given offense. You need to distance yourself either physically or emotionally, certainly spiritually from the unrepentant person.  (Matthew 18:15-17) says that if someone will not repent we are to treat them as if they are not saved.  And if the person you are struggling with is not saved, don’t expect them to behave like they are. 

 

(2 Corinthians 6:14) “Do not be yoked together (tied to, partnered with) with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”  If you find yourself involved with someone who is not a Believer, run.  When it comes to matters of the heart, we often dismiss the Word in favor of emotion.  It never ends well.  There is so much that could be said about this, but this is a devotion, not a book.  Let me leave you with this.  (Joshua 1:8-9) “Keep this Book of the Law (the Bible) always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. (it’s not referring to money and fame)  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” If you are walking in the light, you don’t have to worry about what’s right.  (Philippians 4:8) Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”  CHARLEY

When Doing Something That Is Right Is Wrong

My Utmost For His Highest

 

If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. —Matthew 5:30

 

“Jesus did not say that everyone must cut off his right hand, but that “if your right hand causes you to sin” in your walk with Him, then it is better to “cut it off.” There are many things that are perfectly legitimate, but if you are going to concentrate on God you cannot do them. Your right hand is one of the best things you have, but Jesus says that if it hinders you in following His precepts, then “cut it off.” […] There are a hundred and one things that you dare not do— things that would be sin for you, and would be recognized as sin by those who really know you. But the unspiritual people around you will say, “What’s so wrong with doing that? How absurd you are!””  CHAMBERS

 

There are two principles at work here.  The first principle is that that you must be willing to abandon those things that lead to you to sin, to live in disobedience.  To not live in the way that you formerly did before your rebirth.  Those things must be cut off from your life.  An alcoholic does not leave a bottle of whiskey sitting on the counter.  They do not hang out with their drinking buddies. (1 Corinthians 8:17-24)  “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

 

The second principle is that you are to refrain from those things that are not sinful that lead others to sin.  That cause them to stumble. If someone believes that something is wrong, that is not actually wrong, and then in believing that they are sinning, does it anyway, what happens in the heart is sin.  They intentionally do something that they believe is disobedient toward God.  It is not so much what they did, but why they did it.  So you must cut off those things in your life that might cause others to stumble.  (Romans 14:13-17) “… make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”

 

(1 Corinthians 8:9-13)  “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.”  And if you are thinking, I don’t see why I should give something up just because someone else thinks it’s wrong, read Matthew 22:37-39 and John 15:13 again.   You will find your answer there.  CHARLEY