Posts Tagged ‘Narrow’

How can we know that we are sealed by the Holy Spirit?

Monday, March 18th, 2013

The Narrow Gate, March 18

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Ephesians 1:11-14, www.solascriptura.com

Jesus, again we hear the word “predestined” to describe what is the reality of a born-again believer, One that You knew in the beginning would turn to You, trusting You, depending upon You in even the smallest things.

You teach us here that the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts is Your seal upon our souls, our guarantee of an inheritance so indescribably perfect that we can not even visualize it.

How are we to know that the seal of the Holy Spirit is upon us? Your word answers that question in so many ways but it seems to always come back to this verse: “You shall know them by their fruits.” If we say we love You, let our thoughts, choices and actions confirm that truth. Help us, this day, to seek You, to learn from You and to experience Your presence and friendship, all day. We are Your “purchased possession”. Is there anyone else we would like to commit our future to besides You?

We pray these things in Jesus’ name, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064

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Posted in Christianity, Courage, Law of God, Perseverance, faith | 14 Comments »

Did God know you would “choose” Him?

Sunday, March 3rd, 2013

The Narrow Gate, May 3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:3-6, www.solascriptura.com

Father, You tell us that You chose us and that You choose to bless us with every spiritual blessing. You have adopted us. We are heirs to Your Kingdom.

Here, Paul teaches us that we were predestined to be adopted as Your sons, by Jesus Christ, and that His will to do so gave Him pleasure. His grace to us brings glory to His name and He has made us acceptable in His sight.

First, Father, we know that You and Jesus are as one and that our election, our predestination was known by You. You would not be omniscient if You did not know that we would respond to Your love for us, personally. You knew we would accept Your invitation, Your grace and Your mercy.

Second, when Jesus came here, His life, His death and His resurrection became a pivotal event in history. Where men had been unable to fulfill the Law of the Old Covenant, You taught us, Jesus, that the New Covenant had replaced the Old. We now stand in the presence of the Father, not based only upon our obedience, but based upon our faith in You and our acceptance of You as savior. Yes, Father the old hymn, Trust and Obey, does sum it up. We can now stand in the presence of the Father, cleansed of our sin, as sons; sons that He knew would choose to have faith in You Jesus. Perfect! Amen.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064

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Posted in Christianity, God's Children, Hope, Perseverance, Providence of God, salvation | 5 Comments »

What is a “lukewarm” Christian?

Saturday, February 16th, 2013

The Narrow Gate, February 16

 “… to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:
”I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.
”So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

Revelation 3:14-22, www.solascriptura.com

Jesus, this set of verses may represent the greatest challenge we will ever experience. Your disgust with our being “lukewarm” is graphically clear. We get the point; but, Jesus, help us understand what it is to be “hot”.

We can see that You would even prefer us cold, to being lukewarm. Why is being lukewarm such an awful condition? Jesus, we speculate, but when we are cold, we are not being hypocritical. We simply are voluntarily moving away from You, not claiming any kind of personal relationship with You. Therefore, our actions are truly representative of our situation.

If we are lukewarm, we could be sending mixed signals. We could be viewed as being hypocritical or at least as inconsistent. Yet, being “hot”, all the time implies a level of commitment with which we may be uncomfortable.

Jesus, we have been taught that a new heart means a new start, where we can say “I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me.” If we live every day, looking to You for guidance, comfort, wisdom and renewal, would we not be considered “hot”? We pray that is so. None of us wants to be lukewarm. Lead us today, Jesus, in paths of righteousness, all day, and every day, we pray. Amen.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064

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Posted in Law of God, Religion, salvation | 102 Comments »

The kind of fruit we bear, marks us for eternity

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013

The Narrow Gate, January 22

 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate 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 who find it.
”Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
”You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
”Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
”A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
”Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
”Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

Matthew 7:13-20, www.solascriptura.com

Jesus, Matthew repeats the same admonition that Luke stated. The gate to heaven is indeed narrow. In this instance, where You remind us that few will enter the Kingdom of heaven, You tell us that the kind of fruit our lives bear is critical.
 
We know we are not to judge each other. Jesus, You have told us that judgment is Your province and we know that You tell us not to try and help with that task. Your word tells us that event will happen in the twinkling of an eye. Judgment day will come upon us when we least expect it. We will either run to You or turn away in fear.

But here You say we will know a person by their fruits. The identity of those who love You and who do not love You, with all their hearts, mind and soul is made evident; we disclose it all day long.

You tell us elsewhere that a brackish well does not yield fresh water and that an olive tree does not bear figs. Help us, today, to yield the kind of fruit that identifies us as Your disciples. That is what we want to be, Jesus; a follower of You who seeks to be to others as You have been to us. Strengthen us, we pray, in Your Holy name, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064

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Posted in Christianity, End Times, Law of God, Perseverance, salvation | 105 Comments »

Just how hard is it to be certain of eternal life?

Sunday, January 20th, 2013

The Narrow Gate, January 20

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.
…may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 
 
Jude 1:24-25, 1 Peter 5:10-11, www.solascriptura.com

Jesus, the gate is narrow, but it is You that pushes it open, it is You that keeps us from stumbling, it is You who joyfully present us faultless to our Father God. It is You Jesus who has taught us, repeatedly, that we can only be “faultless” when Your righteousness envelops us.

Peter reminds us that we will suffer for a time, prior to entering into Your permanent peace, perfected and strengthened in You. Jesus, we are bombarded by sin from every side and we have learned, or are learning, to turn away from it but at the same time it keeps coming.

We come to You as babes, in terms of our Spiritual condition but help us today, grow quickly in our knowledge and dedication to You. You lift us up, You teach us, You sustain us. Thank You for that reality. In Your Holy name, we pray, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064

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Posted in Christianity, Courage, God's Gift, Hope, Inspirtation, Perseverance, faith, joy | 20 Comments »

How risky is it to deny God?

Sunday, December 2nd, 2012

The Narrow Gate, December 2

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.
God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
Every one of them has turned aside; they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one.

Psalm 53:1-3,  www.solascriptura.com

Father, King David felt completely abandoned when he sought to serve You. He felt there was none who does good, not one.
 
Today, Father, we look around and see those who profess their love for you and are grateful we are not alone. We do not, for the most part, feel the persecution and loneliness that David felt but Christians and Jews are experiencing intense spiritual warfare all over the world.
 
In these difficult times, help us realize that our commitment to You needs to be bold and consistent. Keep us from wavering as the world’s values, in terms of Your expectations, are in a steep decline. Given the profusion of sin, the gate to heaven may indeed be narrow. Help us not be inconsistent in our love for You and our witness to the world. You have stated that it is Your will that all men be saved. That is our hope as well.

Bless us we pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O.Box 302, Franklin TN 37064

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Darkness preferred over Light? You must be kidding.

Monday, November 12th, 2012

The Narrow Gate, November 12

 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
”For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
”He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
”And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
”For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
”But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

John 3:16-21, www.solascriptura.com

Jesus, here we listen to words directly from You. What a privilege it is to be taught by You, our Messiah. Believing in You is the cornerstone of our faith. Thank You for such simplicity. In believing, we are born again, new creatures in You, prepared to live a life of service and to be in eternity with all those that love You.

You are the light, Jesus. As we come to You we are directed and taught, as friends. In seeking You and Your Holy word, fervently, we are voluntarily coming to the light that our lives might be clearly seen as a loving witness of Your presence in us.

We can see from Your word that everyone who practices evil will not reside in Your light now or in eternity. We pray for those whose souls, by their own choice, reside in darkness. Draw them to the light, redeem their souls, we pray, in Jesus’ name, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O.Box 302, Franklin TN 37064

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Posted in Christianity, Hope, faith | 82 Comments »

Which sins anger God the most?

Friday, July 6th, 2012

The Narrow Gate, July 6

…(they) worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.
Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,
backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful;
who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

Romans 1:26-32, www.solascriptura.com

Father, Paul is not mincing words when he tells us what upsets You, what causes You to give up on those who choose to live their life pursuing things that You say are not fitting, not right.

What we notice Father, is that You place pride and disobedience in the same list as sexual immorality and murder and say the same penalty awaits all sinners. Father, we know that sin is sin and that all sin separates us from You. You have told us that You will not permit sin to come into Your presence.

How are we able to come into Your presence? It certainly is not as one who has never sinned. Regardless of the sins that we have committed, you tell us that our faith and belief in the redeeming act of Jesus, can, at our election, wipe away every sin, as far as the east is from the west, never to be remembered against us again.

That is truly a miracle and none of us is worthy of such grace and mercy. Help us stop sinning and to claim a victory over sin by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit in us, we pray. Amen.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064

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Posted in Christianity, Conscience, End Times, Perseverance, Religion, Satan, Temple of God, salvation | 7 Comments »