Narrow

Jesus traveled through cities and villages, teaching and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone said to him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” Jesus said to them, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow gate. Many, I tell you, will try to enter and won’t be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and shuts the door, then you will stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you are from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ He will respond, ‘I don’t know you or where you are from. Go away from me, all you evildoers!’ There will be weeping and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in God’s kingdom, but you yourselves will be thrown out. People will come from east and west, north and south, and sit down to eat in God’s kingdom. Look! Those who are last will be first and those who are first will be last.” At that time, some Pharisees approached Jesus and said, “Go! Get away from here, because Herod wants to kill you.” (Luke 13:22-31, CEB)

Narrow Gate… It would make sense from this that it is not an easy gate to go through. So we need to make every effort to keep our lives inline with what God has called us to do. Not that we can earn our way through the gate, but many will come and the Lord will say, go away, I don’t know you.

Love in everything you do, because that is what Jesus taught us and showed us. Love is the answer.

Loving People. Loving God.

Spiritual

Brothers and sisters, I want you to be sure of the fact that our ancestors were all under the cloud and they all went through the sea. All were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. All ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. However, God was unhappy with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness. These things were examples for us, so we won’t crave evil things like they did. Don’t worship false gods like some of them did, as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink and they got up to play. Let’s not practice sexual immorality, like some of them did, and twenty-three thousand died in one day. Let’s not test Christ, like some of them did, and were killed by the snakes. Let’s not grumble, like some of them did, and were killed by the destroyer. These things happened to them as an example and were written as a warning for us to whom the end of time has come. So those who think they are standing need to watch out or else they may fall. No temptation has seized you that isn’t common for people. But God is faithful. He won’t allow you to be tempted beyond your abilities. Instead, with the temptation, God will also supply a way out so that you will be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:1-13, CEB)

All of those who left Egypt ate and drank the same spiritual food and drink and yet some of them fell short.

We need to remain focused on God and living the life God has called us to. We need to focus on the things that bring us life and help us maintain our connection with God.

God will give us a way out when we are tempted, so we can grow and deepen our faith and understanding of who we are in Christ.

Hold on to God, and live in the abundance of God’s grace.

Loving People. Loving God.

Faith

So what are we going to say? Are we going to find that Abraham is our ancestor on the basis of genealogy? Because if Abraham was made righteous because of his actions, he would have had a reason to brag, but not in front of God. What does the scripture say? Abraham had faith in God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Workers’ salaries aren’t credited to them on the basis of an employer’s grace but rather on the basis of what they deserve. But faith is credited as righteousness to those who don’t work, because they have faith in God who makes the ungodly righteous. In the same way, David also pronounces a blessing on the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from actions: Happy are those whose actions outside the Law are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Happy are those whose sin isn’t counted against them by the Lord. Is this state of happiness only for the circumcised or is it also for those who aren’t circumcised? We say, “Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” So how was it credited? When he was circumcised, or when he wasn’t circumcised? In fact, it was credited while he still wasn’t circumcised, not after he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that comes from the faith he had while he still wasn’t circumcised. It happened this way so that Abraham could be the ancestor of all those people who aren’t circumcised, who have faith in God, and so are counted as righteous. He could also be the ancestor of those circumcised people, who aren’t only circumcised but who also walk in the path of faith, like our ancestor Abraham did while he wasn’t circumcised. (Romans 4:1-12, CEB)

Faith is not something we can claim as work. It is a trust in the promises we have heard, knowing that I can not prove it, but just believe it.

I am not given what I get from God because I earned it and I did all the right things, and said all the right things, but because I believed in the promises God has given me and trusted that I would never be alone. For that I am righteous. Not for my deeds, but for my trust in God.

And really one could argue that it isn’t my trust, as Martin Luther said in his explanation of the third article of the Apostles Creed, I can not by my own understanding come to believe in God except that the Holy Spirit guide me and en enlighten me to God’s presence. It is God who moves us to faith.

Faith is a gift, not an earning. Faith is trust. Knowing you will never be alone.

Loving People. Loving God.

Killed

At that time, some Pharisees approached Jesus and said, “Go! Get away from here, because Herod wants to kill you.” Jesus said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Look, I’m throwing out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete my work. However, it’s necessary for me to travel today, tomorrow, and the next day because it’s impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who were sent to you! How often I have wanted to gather your people just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you didn’t want that. Look, your house is abandoned. I tell you, you won’t see me until the time comes when you say, Blessings on the one who comes in the Lord’s name.” (Luke 13:31-35, CEB)

Jesus wanted to protect the people like a mother hen protects her young, and they wanted him dead.

They said Herod was wanting to kill him, but they were really not going to stop him, because Jesus was getting in the way of their power.

Jesus just wants us to love like God and show the world mercy and grace.

Power is not ours to have.

We need to show love to the sojourner, mercy to the widow, and work for justice for all.

Love like Jesus.

Loving People. Loving God.

Stoned

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You who kill the prophets and stone those who were sent to you. How often I wanted to gather your people together, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you didn’t want that. Look, your house is left to you deserted. I tell you, you won’t see me until you say, Blessings on the one who comes in the Lord’s name.” (Matthew 23:37-39, CEB)

Those who were sent by God to give a message were.killed and stoned by those in power. They didn’t like the messages because it meant they would lose some power.

Know when you speak for God, people will not like it. You will be speaking against their privilege and power and they don’t want to lose that.

When you are threatened or stoned you are in good company.

Don’t let the threats or animosity stop you from loving and speaking truth.

Loving People. Loving God.

Imitators

Brothers and sisters, become imitators of me and watch those who live this way—you can use us as models. As I have told you many times and now say with deep sadness, many people live as enemies of the cross. Their lives end with destruction. Their god is their stomach, and they take pride in their disgrace because their thoughts focus on earthly things. Our citizenship is in heaven. We look forward to a savior that comes from there—the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:17-20, CEB)

Be imitators of Paul. Give up your life for pursuit of the Gospel.

Do not go after the power or the things that satisfy you here and now, but store treasures in heaven, and give glory to God. Showing love to all.

When you focus on you and making sure your needs are met, that is power or privilege. Look to lift up others and show love in everything you do.

Loving People. Loving God.

Hold

Watch out for the “dogs.” Watch out for people who do evil things. Watch out for those who insist on circumcision, which is really mutilation. We are the circumcision. We are the ones who serve by God’s Spirit and who boast in Christ Jesus. We don’t put our confidence in rituals performed on the body, though I have good reason to have this kind of confidence. If anyone else has reason to put their confidence in physical advantages, I have even more: I was circumcised on the eighth day. I am from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin. I am a Hebrew of the Hebrews. With respect to observing the Law, I’m a Pharisee. With respect to devotion to the faith, I harassed the church. With respect to righteousness under the Law, I’m blameless. These things were my assets, but I wrote them off as a loss for the sake of Christ. But even beyond that, I consider everything a loss in comparison with the superior value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have lost everything for him, but what I lost I think of as sewer trash, so that I might gain Christ and be found in him. In Christ I have a righteousness that is not my own and that does not come from the Law but rather from the faithfulness of Christ. It is the righteousness of God that is based on faith. The righteousness that I have comes from knowing Christ, the power of his resurrection, and the participation in his sufferings. It includes being conformed to his death so that I may perhaps reach the goal of the resurrection of the dead. It’s not that I have already reached this goal or have already been perfected, but I pursue it, so that I may grab hold of it because Christ grabbed hold of me for just this purpose. (Philippians 3:2-12, CEB)

I hold to the goal of resurrection because I am being daily conformed to His life. Nothing in my life is worth the glory I get from being known by Jesus and following in His way.

Everything Paul could count as a reason to boast is sewer trash, dung, the word Paul used in the Greek here is the slang word for shit in his day. Not found in any other literature of the time, Paul uses a shock value word to get attention. Everything you think is boast worthy is nothing compared to what we have in the conforming of our lives to Jesus.

Hold on to that.

Loving People. Loving God.

Delighted

“Take care that your hearts aren’t dulled by drinking parties, drunkenness, and the anxieties of day-to-day life. Don’t let that day fall upon you unexpectedly, like a trap. It will come upon everyone who lives on the face of the whole earth. Stay alert at all times, praying that you are strong enough to escape everything that is about to happen and to stand before the Human One.” Every day Jesus was teaching in the temple, but he spent each night on the Mount of Olives. All the people rose early in the morning to hear him in the temple area. The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called Passover, was approaching. The chief priests and the legal experts were looking for a way to kill Jesus, because they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve. He went out and discussed with the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard how he could hand Jesus over to them. They were delighted and arranged payment for him. He agreed and began looking for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them—a time when the crowds would be absent. (Luke 21:34—22:6, CEB)

The powers that be in the church during Jesus’ day were delighted that someone was willing to do their dirty work. They had a scapegoat.

They arranged payment and set plans in motion to keep their power nice and tidy where it was.

They let the anxieties of life and their position take over. They did not follow God.

Do we let life get in the way of our following God?

Loving People. Loving God.

Cravings

God didn’t spare the angels when they sinned but cast them into the lowest level of the underworld and committed them to chains of darkness, keeping them there until the judgment. And he didn’t spare the ancient world when he brought a flood on the world of ungodly people, even though he protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, along with seven others. God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to total destruction, reducing them to ashes as a warning to ungodly people. And he rescued righteous Lot, who was made miserable by the unrestrained immorality of unruly people. (While that righteous man lived among them he felt deep distress every day on account of the immoral actions he saw and heard.) These things show that the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from their trials, and how to keep the unrighteous for punishment on the Judgment Day. This is especially true for those who follow after the corrupt cravings of the sinful nature and defy the Lord’s authority. These reckless, brash people aren’t afraid to insult the glorious ones, yet angels, who are stronger and more powerful, don’t use insults when pronouncing the Lord’s judgment on them. These false teachers are like irrational animals, mere creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed. They slander what they don’t understand and, like animals, they will be destroyed. In this way, they will receive payment for their wrongdoing. They even enjoy unruly parties in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, taking delight in their seductive pleasures while feasting with you. They are always looking for someone with whom to commit adultery. They are always on the lookout for opportunities to sin. They ensnare people whose faith is weak. They have hearts trained in greed. They are under God’s curse. Leaving the straight path, they have gone off course, following the way of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the payment of doing wrong. But Balaam was rebuked for his wrongdoing. A donkey, which has no voice, spoke with a human voice and put a stop to the prophet’s madness. These false teachers are springs without water, mists driven by the wind. The underworld has been reserved for them. With empty, self-important speech, they use sinful cravings and unrestrained immorality to ensnare people who have only just escaped life with those who have wandered from the truth. These false teachers promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of immorality; whatever overpowers you, enslaves you. If people escape the moral filth of this world through the knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, then get tangled up in it again and are overcome by it, they are worse off than they were before. It would be better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, having come to know it, to turn back from the holy commandment entrusted to them. (2 Peter 2:4-21, CEB)

Are all cravings to be satisfied?

And many of the examples above that are used here by the author for sexual desires are about welcome and power. And who has the power?

When we give into our cravings, it is the craving that has the power. When those who exploited people in Sodom and Gomorrah because of power. It was not about the sexual act but about who had and was going to keep the power.

We can not let the cravings have the power.

God will give us the strength to overcome come cravings, and our willingness to follow God will sho love to the world.

Love.

Do not give into power.

Loving People. Loving God.

Dealing

My little children, I’m writing these things to you so that you don’t sin. But if you do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is God’s way of dealing with our sins, not only ours but the sins of the whole world. This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments. The one who claims, “I know him,” while not keeping his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in this person. But the love of God is truly perfected in whoever keeps his word. This is how we know we are in him. The one who claims to remain in him ought to live in the same way as he lived. (1 John 2:1-6, CEB)

God has a way of dealing with our sin.

But those who say they know Him but do not keep his commandments is a liar. And what are his commandments? Easy, there are two. Love God, Love neighbor. And who is our neighbor? Anyone who is not me or God.

So anyone who claims to love God and removes assistance for food, is not loving and does not love God. Anyone who does not allow refugees to be a part of the community is not loving the sojourner and not loving God.

When we do not love others, we are not loving and following God and we are sinning.

Let God deal with sin. And love everyone. You don’t have to understand everything or everyone. You need to love.

Love out Loud.

Loving People. Loving God