Enter By the Narrow Gate
Matthew 7:13-14
Jesus said: “Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Jesus also says in
John 10: 9,
I am the gate, Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.
There it is plain as day! Entry into Heaven is through Jesus. Know in your heart, mind and soul that Jesus is who He said he was, the Messiah, the Son of God sent as God’s messenger to teach us, to show us the way.
This world is filled with so many distractions that divert our attention from Him to the temptations of this world. We all know those earthly temptations all too well. Turn on the TV and be bombarded with buy, buy, buy or preen, preen, preen. The internet? Watchout! The dangers are many.
It takes discipline, focus, worship and Christian fellowship to keep our eyes on Jesus and not what the earth has to offer that leads to the wide path of destruction.
Jesus also tells Pilate in John 18: 36 “My kingdom is not of this world, if my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”
Our walk in this world, on that hard road that leads to life should be as Johnny Cash sings about it:
I am weak but thou art strong. Jesus, keep me from all wrong. I’ll be satisfied as long, as I walk, let me walk, close to thee.
Just a closer walk with thee, grant it Jesus is my plea. Daily walking close to thee, let be dear Lord, let it be!”
Let us pray:
God in Heaven, this world is filled with distractions, temptations and snares which can trap us while diverting our attention from you and your commandments. Give us the strength and fortitude to walk the hard road and enter the narrow gate to You and life!” Amen.
This devotion was written and recorded by Sam Barto.
Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.
If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.
First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.
