It’s accepting the gift of your life from God. It’s knowing He made you for a purpose and accepting that purpose. It’s choosing God’s Will, not my will, with all my heart soul mind and strength that receives the Kingdom. It’s letting Him fill me with grace through faith to do the works He prepared for me before He even created me. Proximity, profession, and works of my choosing don’t cut it. Life has severe consequences but I do get the choice. 

​READ

23  And some one said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, 24 “Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25  When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us.’ He will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26  Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!’ 28  There you will weep and gnash your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out. 29 And men will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God.  (Luke 13:23–29, RSV2CE)

REFLECT

Will only a few be saved?

Many seek to enter but cannot because they are unable. They are seeking-isn’t that we think all we need? God will do the rest? Why can they not enter if they are seeking? What makes them unable? (Faith alone?) Are they refusing His will of obedience?

They stand and are knocking at the door trying to get in. Now they are not only seeking but actively trying to come. Doing works but not God’s works prepared for them- were they doing Christian things but not listening and obeying God himself? (Works) They want to follow and do their own will not asking what His will is?

The Lord says I do not know where you come from. They reply we were with you as you taught and ate with you. God does not know them, he says they work iniquity. So the people were seeking. And they were going around with Him but working iniquity-not listening and obeying in a relationship. Proximity does not mean union. (Fans not true followers) No heart change, dictating to God what they will and won’t do trying to add him on to their own agenda. 

The Lord refuses their entry into the kingdom where the righteous get the kingdom. They are banished to hell. (Final judgment for eternity) There are severe consequences for getting life wrong!

It’s not profession nor proximity to Jesus, nor even works of righteousness that gets you into the kingdom. 

It is a relationship of letting God change your heart soul mind and strength to be in union with Him, love His ways, and obey for love doing what He had planned for you not necessarily what you want to do. It is doing the Will of God for your life, not doing your will for your life. Not trying to add Jesus to my own plan. It’s me giving up my life and my plan and following and obeying His plan. 

RESOLUTION 

I must let God have my entire being and life. I must let God tell me what His plan for me is. I must love His will and do it even if I don’t like or understand it. I must live in union with Him so I have the strength for all things. 

REST

God you made me with purpose. You love me and have a plan for me. Thank you for offering me yourself. Help me love and want your will. Help me obey your will. Help me rest in your care knowing I am on my way to you as I serve your purpose for my life. Help me surrender to your love. Amen. 

​Jesus said: “Render to God the things that are God’s” (Mt 22:21). What does man have that is not from God, that he has not received from him? Natural and supernatural life, understanding, and will, every gift of nature and of grace, every resource and capability, the universe that surrounds him and all that is required for his existence, the wonders and riches of creation: all comes from him who is Creator, Lord, and Father. “I am the Lord your God” (Dt 5:6).

​READ

23  And some one said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, 24 “Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25  When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us.’ He will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26  Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!’ 28  There you will weep and gnash your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out. 29 And men will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. (Luke 13:23–29, RSV2CE)

REFLECT

Heaven has a narrow door. It is the road of walking in obedience to the commands of God. God is willing to give us grace to walk the road but we must love the commands that give life and strive to walk it in cooperation with that grace. 

Many people think they are on the road because they know God loves them. But they are not walking in His commandments. They think they will get a pass. History of Israel is replete with them not getting a pass and going into exile. 

Everyone coming to the closed door even say, Lord we walked with you and ate with you. But those people did not do His will or commands with the grace he was offering. They were doing their iniquity hoping for a pass because God loves them and knows their weakness. 

God does know our weakness which is why He offers grace to live the commands. Again, we must choose to love and cooperate with that grace. If we don’t, we will be put out of the kingdom. God has given us what we need, we must want it. 

RESOLUTION 

I must fall in love with the commandments that lead to life knowing it is the way to heaven. I must understand God has given me all I need to obey, I must want to. I must understand God does love me but that does not give me a pass with sin. The only way to heaven is the road of the commandments. If I choose to walk another road I am not in the one road that leads home. It is I who choose. God has made it plain. God wants me to succeed. God loves me. God will not force me. 

REST

Father, you have given me the map. Help me want to walk the narrow road that leads me home to you. Help me hate anything that tries to lead me away from the road. I am weak but you give grace, help me cooperate with it. Thank you for your love. Thank you for wanting me forever with you. I love you! Amen. 

​John Henry Newman 

God knows me and calls me by my name…God has created me to do him some definite service; He has committed some work to me, which he has not committed to another. I have my mission-I never may know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. Somehow I am necessary for his purposes... I have a part in this great work; I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do his work; I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it, if I do but keep his Commandments and serve him in my calling.  Therefore I will trust him. Whatever, wherever I am, I could never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve him. My sickness, or perplexity, or sorrow may be necessary causes of some great end, which is quite beyond us. He does nothing in vain; He may prolong my life, He may shorten it; He knows what he is about. He may take away my friends, He may throw me among strangers, He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide the future from me- still he knows what he is about…Let me be thy blind instrument. I asked not to see-I asked not to know-I ask simply to be used.

​I lie to myself if I think I can walk the opposite direction of God and be saved. 

Salvation is the ONE narrow road to heaven following the commands of God enabled by grace. 

Hell is ANY direction that is not on the narrow grace filled enabled road to life. Even if it is a hair off by a millimeter it no longer is the path. 

If I am rebelling against ANY command, I am no longer following God. I am following my own thought. 

Self deception is a worse foe than the devil and demons because I believe I am still on the path when I have strayed. 

All my excuses are excuses. God gives grace. I must accept, repent, believe, and obey. God, have mercy on my self deception and heal my own self inflicted blindness. 

Yes you love me. Yes you want me in heaven. Yes you want me to follow you. You however do not force or coerce. I have been given choice to love the way to heaven or to choose my own way which leads to hell. This gift of responsibility is the greatest gift you have given humanity and it will not be revoked. I must decide for myself to follow you or not. 

​We look at life from a human view instead of the Almighty’s view. This distorts our understanding. 

We excuse our sin saying it’s not that bad… does this really deserve hell? I am trying to do most of things right…

Instead we should agree with God that He says what sin is since He made us a certain way and determines if that fits the mold. 

You would not put lemonade in your gas tank to make it run instead of gasoline. 

When we sin we are breaking ourselves. 

We cannot get right with God until we see we are breaking ourselves and need help to make it right. 

If we choose to continue to put lemonade in our gas tank he will let us but he will not be walking with and encouraging you to continue to do that. He is walking toward the gas station, you are walking the opposite way to the lemon tree. 

Even half obedience is not going to work. You either walk to the gas station and get gas with God or you are going the wrong way. 

We must believe God. We just obey God to walk with Him. Only He leads to true life. Choose life!

​READ

10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11 And there was a woman who had had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. 12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” 13 And he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight, and she praised God. 14  But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.” 15  Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to water it? 16  And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?” 17 As he said this, all his adversaries were put to shame; and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.  (Luke 13:10–17, RSV2CE)

REFLECT

A woman had a spirit of infirmity. (Demonic) Jesus casts out the demon lays his hands on her and heals the woman. 

[what causes a spirit of infirmity? What behavior lets a demon control your body?] Even though we let the demon in by our actions, He still does not rebuke the woman, but only rebukes the demon. The woman was coming to worship even though she is severely afflicted. She was still seeking God in the midst of turmoil. 

The Rulers of the  synagogue are legalistic and accuse Jesus of breaking sabbath. Yet Jesus points out they would do something even less for an animal so they too break their own rules and are just angry and judgmental. 

Sometimes I am so caught up in exactly how I think someone else should be doing something I do not see that I am doing the same thing. We actually have a tendency to see and dislike in others exactly what we don’t like about ourselves. The rulers supposedly (in their view) break the sabbath over trivial things and lash out over healing a human being?!?! This stinks of hypocrisy and hate. 

RESOLUTION 

I must never give up seeking God. Even if I am tormented by demons, keep coming to Jesus, he can heal and he will not rebuke me, he rebukes the evil. Of course I must go and sin no more. I do not get healed to go back in the mud!

God is almighty and can use at his disposal all means to heal people. He is trying to save all humanity. I must not judge others that are coming to Christ even if it is different from what I think is the right way (Catholic). His ways are not my ways. Yes they are missing out on the Eucharist and my heart breaks for that. But God is not bound by his sacraments. There is a normal way of salvation you have established in your church, but You are so much love and bigger than even that! Let all humanity come to Christ!! Glory to God for His amazing Grace. Help me let go of my prejudices. 

REST

Jesus thank you for loving us all. Thank you for wanting to save us all. Help me be a Christian that gives you glory and puts no stumbling block in front of my brother or sister! You are not bound by anything, you are Almighty!! Heal us all FATHER!! Amen.