Scripture

“You can enter God’s kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”

Observation

Ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, knock and keep on knocking. God is a good Father who knows how to give good gifts to his children.

We should do to others as we would like them to do to us.

God’s kingdom is only entered through a narrow gate, but the road to hell is wide and easy.

Application

Those who say there are many paths to salvation have never taken Jesus’ own teaching very seriously. He says clearly that He is the only way to the Father (John 14:6). Here He says the gate to the Kingdom is narrow and only a few find it.

It is not that God is rejoicing in condemning sinners to hell. No, He gives good gifts, including salvation and eternal life.

It is just that satan offers so many lies and deceptions that seem more enticing than the way of Jesus. We can go the way of the flesh- “YOLO”- “you only live once” so make it a good life enjoyed to the full. We can try to prove that we are good enough for God by a life of good works. We can swallow the lies of Eastern mysticism, Islam and Hinduism.

Or else we can simply receive what Christ has done for us on the cross.

As G.K. Chesterton has said, “There are many angles at which a man may fall, but only one at which he may stand.”

The ways to hell are many and superficially attractive, but there is only one way to heaven.

Prayer

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for dying on the cross and opening up God’s kingdom for me. Amen.

Scripture

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet and turn around and tear you to pieces.”

Observation

We must not judge others or we may find God judging us. We especially must avoid criticising our brothers for minor failings when we ourselves are guilty of greater sins. First get right with God, then you will be able to help your brother.

We must not give to dogs and pigs things that are holy or sacred. They will trample them and devour us.

Application

On the surface, there seems to be a contradiction between the command “Do not judge” and the exhortation to not throw pearls to pigs. How can we judge “pigs” or “dogs”?

We need to understand two things:

1. The judgement referred to here is a condemning kind of judgement in which we write people off as being of no worth.

2. There is a discernment that comes from the Holy Spirit which reveals to us the hearts of people and whether they are controlled by evil spirits.

The two instructions here, together with the instruction about the plank in our eyes, hold together in a tension rather than being contradictory.

We do not condemn unbelievers for being unbelievers, sinners for sinning. We love them and share the gospel with them and pray for their salvation.

At the same time we need a measure of discernment. There is no point talking about intimacy with Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit, and so on if the person is totally opposed to the gospel and only interested in mocking it. Instead we wait and pray, looking for a softening in their heart.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to love those who do not know you yet and to share wisely my knowledge of you. Amen.

Scripture

“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Observation

We must not worry about our life- the things we will eat or drink or wear. Our Father cares for the sparrows, and we are worth so much more than they are.

God clothes the wild flowers in splendour, so He will certainly care much more about the clothes we wear.

The pagans worry about their physical needs, but God knows what we need. Therefore, we should seek God’s kingdom first of all and trust Him for the rest of what we need.

Application

God is the provider of every good thing that we need. This does not absolve us from responsibility to work and be diligent in the way we order our lives. It does remove the need to worry.

The primary focus of all sin is that God cannot be trusted to look after us, and therefore we must rely on our own self-effort to get everything we want.

Jesus says, pursue God’s kingdom as your highest priority and then everything else falls into place. When we are looking to God, seeing our lives as a partnership with our Father, then we don’t have to worry about the things we need.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I want to lay my whole life down before you. Help me to pursue you first and trust you for everything in my life. Amen.