Sharing Life and Christ

Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Matthew 7:13, 14 I listened to a sermon today by John MacArthur on these two verses and I felt compelled to write about it. MacArthur discussed the fact that there are really only two religions in the world: true religion and false religion. False religion can be called by any number of names, but when it all is said and done all false religion leads to the same place. False religion all heads down the road to destruction. What becomes difficult is that Satan doesn’t clarify this. In fact, he will tell any number of lies to convince the world that they are on the right path. Sadly, as we see later on in Chapter 7 of Matthew, some who believe that they are on the right path will hear “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” Christians ...

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the Word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. Hebrews 11:1-3 I’ve really been thinking about faith the past couple of days. What is it? How do I get it? Where does it come from? Who has it? Who or what do I have faith in? Since I have faith that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and was raised from the dead I’ve considered other questions too. Where did this faith come from? How did I get it? What does it mean for my life? Is it real? By no means am I questioning my faith, but I do find it odd that I’ve become removed from its origins. Shouldn’t I be able to describe the moment I had faith? How about why I have decided to believe the Bible? Aren’t these questions I should be able to answer? As I’ve thought about faith the last couple of days, I ...

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. James 1:6-8 When I get to Heaven, I’ll have to shake James’ hand and thank him for making me feel like a dirt bag when I read this. Ok, so that is a bit harsh, but I bet most of you can relate to the conviction experienced when truly examining these words. Have you ever been the one who doubts? That double-minded man? God hit me hard with this about an hour ago. I just woke up. I was still half asleep. And I had been wondering for awhile now why I was unfocused and hazy when it came to fellowship with God. I’m still seeing God work in my life and all around me. I’m still experiencing conviction and learning new things in His Word. But I’ve been failing to remain focused on Christ and have not been including Him in my ...

May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:11-14 In the opening verses of Colossians, Paul is telling the church of Colossae that he has not ceased to pray for them and give thanks to God for their faith since he first heard from Epaphras that they had received the Gospel. In the verses above, Paul is specifically praying for the Colossians to be given the power of God. I find Paul’s following elaboration extremely fascinating. The first thing Paul explains is that the power is for all endurance and patience with joy. Whether we are enduring something or waiting for something, we should do it with joyful hearts. In Philippians, Paul charges us t...