Posts

Showing posts from April 4, 2010

The Narrow Door: Best Efforts and God's Timing

Image
Jesus stressed it fairly enough--- "Do your best to enter the narrow door." Or "make every effort."  He didn't say try to enter or consider praying for it. He said unequivocally to " do your best to enter ." No less than best efforts. So, what effort have you spent on this so far? Photo above by  Scott Evans  on  Unsplash . Yet, you often see how it's the last thing most church folks would do. They'd do everything except enter the narrow door. In fact, a lot see it as a total waste--throwing off everything you'd worked for. Trashing your hard-earned trophies, achievements and everything you treasure in this world. Life that makes you enter the narrow door. Click this link. Here's the bible passage. “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door

Pursuing GOD: Accurate Hearts, Quick Response

Image
There was no king like King Josiah--either before him or after him. One of Israel's greatest revivals happened in his reign. Photo above by Jonatan Pie on Unsplash . From the time of Judges, the Passover rites had been terribly neglected. Even great men like Gideon, David, and Samuel the prophet failed to restore the Passover. Idolatry aggravated and accumulated in various forms and fashions until God sent Josiah. It was time for judgment. See that? Josiah was God's blessing to His people, and it was also the time for judging them. Judgment is a blessing. God's judgment is God's blessing The book of the Law was discovered in King Josiah's time (after being lost for generations). When it was read before him by Shaphan the royal secretary, Josiah's heart broke. At once, he took the Law seriously, losing no time. He commanded his royal officials: "Find out what we must do in response" (2 Kings 22). Josiah knew that revelation serves as a warning

God Blesses Abundantly in Judgment

Image
Image from The Longest Straw. Many would raise the eyebrows at this--do you know how you're so blessed when God judges you? And the blessing is this---he judges you to spare you from bigger trouble. That's a powerful blessing. The judgment doesn't seem a blessing now (especially if you don't understand God) because, first, he scolds you. Second, he corrects you. Third, he tells you the gloomy picture if you go on with your error. And fourth, learning often comes with pain and suffering.  Judgment aims to spiritually transform us to be like Jesus in a very radical way. It's all in this e-book, "God's Flesh." See a review by clicking here. To the carnal person, this is NOT good. This is pure punishment. And carnality also makes you hate the guy used by God to pronounce the judgment. This is why a lot of folks hate preachers who hit hard against sin and so with the friend or church member who seems so particular about how we live and behave and questi

A Better Sacrifice

Image
sensusfide "By faith Abel presented God a better sacrifice," (Heb.11). A better sacrifice. If you knew a better way of worshipping God, would you do it? Churches spend, time, money and effort tiring themselves out to give God a better worship. Some do it long, some non-stop. They look attractively spiritual, but why? Why do we still do them? Why do we still think it's by our hard efforts? Because we fail to see what's a better sacrifice in God's eyes. More about a better (and radical) sacrifice pleasing to God.  Read the book review of "God's Flesh" the e-book by clicking here. You can worship much better without "worshiping." I mean, the way we worship today. Seriously, you should always settle for nothing less than the best worship. The highest worship. And the best worship is far from being through our own efforts. It's far from anything we do today--or anything invented or made possible by man. Man, even in born-again cond