“Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and spacious and broad is the way that leads away to destruction, and many are those who are entering through it”. Not the easiest thing to follow the straight and narrow path of God. Being too far away from the straight and narrow path, you could end up somewhere you don’t want to be after your body dies. Walking the straight and narrow path means you have invoked your will in making yourself follow God. No one enjoys the work of keeping our emotions out of the way to live the lifestyle of Jesus. But in the end you’ve proved to God and the devil you’re with God. Being with the Lord is being in His family and a guaranteed spot in heaven. You have to show your love for God down here on earth now, with all the distractions and the very present evil in this world designed to keep your thoughts and actions away from God. So you must invoke your will to choose God. Once you’ve made the choice for God, go after it like a bulldog on a bone, never giving up! Don’t take the wide gate into destruction, the straight and narrow gate is possible for all.

“Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me”. Jesus is speaking here. It is important to live our lives based on the word of God. The closer we get to lining up with His word in our thought life, which will control our actions, the closer we get to His favor and grace. We can bear much fruit on His behalf as we stay connected to the vine, which is Jesus. He is the vine, we are the branches and we are to produce fruit. Fruit is witnessing to others about the gospel. It’s leading someone to Christ, or praying for others to get healed and they do. We are little christ’s in the earth about our Father’s business. Jesus is the head of the body of Christ, we christians are His body in the earth. We get instructions from the head, we his body still being on earth, must carry out. Our head is now in heaven, so we must be sensitive to His Spirit to receive our marching orders of bearing fruit.

As we help carry the burdens of others we are fulfilling the law of Christ, which is basically, love your neighbor as yourself. Your neighbor is anyone you come into contact with. The big picture is each one, is to help one. This attitude is like the familiar phrase, “it takes a village”. Many times we come into situations that present a choice, how you respond to that choice shouldn’t be dependent upon the level of offense in the situation against you. As we become stronger in our faith, (which works by love), we learn how to live above the offenses that come against us. Jesus prayed to God while He was on the earth, Father I pray you help them live above the evil in the world. In your mind, your thinking is telling you, that’s not possible, but as your love for God grows, so will your resilience against those special people sent to help develop your love walk. Allowing the process will bring you to a place in God that seems unreal to most people, but the process never fails to mature us, long as we man up, and stay the course. You can’t carry someone else’s burdens while yours is too heavy. There’s always a reward for those who walk in the love of God on a regular basis. God is love, allow more of God in your life, and everything gets better. Don’t try it, live it!

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place what is mankind that you are mindful of him, human beings that you care for them”? God cares for us because we are the creation that was created so He could have someone on His level to commune with, to fellowship with. Since Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden of Eden, the rulership of the earth was handed over to the devil. And the effect of man’s sin has left him in a fallen almost unrecognizable state from God’s original creation. Fellowship with God, needless to say has taken a serious turn south. We don’t want to have fellowship with God because our nature has changed to be more like the devil. The remedy for this fallen state of man, to bring man back on line to God’s way of life is Jesus Christ. But God knew we couldn’t change ourselves back so He sent Jesus to destroy the works of Satan done to us, to restore our place of fellowship with God. But now our flesh is so strong in the fallen state, if we don’t exercise our will to want God, it won’t happen. This is why God is mindful of and cares so much for us.

Once we understand God’s purpose for us, and we follow the purpose, we will stand and prevail in our planning. “It is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. God will always see His agenda come to pass. As we get on board with His agenda for our lives, there will be nothing on earth that can stop it. His word will not return to Him void of results. He is the constant force that never sleeps or slumbers. He’s always ahead of the game in this life journey of ours. His purpose is the plan of reconciliation being carried out. He needs ambassadors of the gospel to do the work. Everyone of us has a God given plan to be discovered. Once you know your calling, purpose and God given destiny, and begin to walk in it, your pathway will be blessed right into victorious living, and most importantly, you’ll be fulfilling the Lord’s purpose. It is the Lord’s purpose that prevails, time to get on board. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

“The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior who saves……”. The Lord is always present, in our midst at all times. He is omni present, meaning He’s everywhere and in everyplace at the same time. It is not to be understood with the human mind, but to be believed by faith. Sometimes we go with the unseen because we have that gut knowing, without ocular proof. God can and will save us from whatever we need saving from. He saves us from going to hell by receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savoir, He saves us from harmful, detrimental situations that could alter our destiny and purpose in life. If He’s your God, you have rights in the kingdom of God. The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it belongs to Him. We are joint heirs with Jesus and it’s our inheritance. Like any other inheritance, you must go after that which is yours, because your enemy will try blocking you from it. God says, my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge, yet alone getting what’s yours. Jesus tells us, …..Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me…..”. He made it happen because He learned obedience through the things He suffered walking the earth, Father God saving Him from premature death or hurt and harm, so He could complete His assignment on earth. He is mighty to save.

“Jesus said to her, I am [Myself] the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on) Me, although he may die, yet he shall live;..……”. He is the resurrection of dead finances, that dead relationship you still want, He can resurrect any part of our lives that is vital to our calling and purpose. Ultimately He has resurrected our dead human spirit into the righteousness of God (when you receive Him as Lord and Savoir of your life). When Jesus was raised from the dead for our justification, we were raised with Him in all dead areas of life that this sin driven world killed from the beginning. But it doesn’t come free, as far as keeping our emotions in our flesh, under control. It’s a day to day fight of faith to walk in the spirit of our resurrection from the dead. We must show God, His angels, and the devil we mean business. We mean business by following the teachings and precepts of the bible, it’s the only way to maintain a resurrected lifestyle of victory. Jesus rose from the dead and by doing so, destroyed everything that could stop us from having the life we all desire, let that sink in.

“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord”. Many of us want to go ahead of God when the season hasn’t arrived yet. ” The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in his way”. We are laborers together with God, we should be acknowledging Him in all our ways and He will direct our path. Those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. Through faith and patience we obtain the promises of God. In this fast paced world we are under a driven sense of urgency, not necessarily a good thing. We get caught up in our everyday lives and are not always conscious of the bigger pictures in life that matter. Waiting for the Lord or on the Lord is an action. Invoking our will to see it through is vital. God can empower us to do anything if we just slow down and let Him. The human body in its fallen state, saved or not saved, has a mind of its own, and will rule you if you let it. When the knowledge of God in you takes over your spirit and soulish area, you’ll be able to truly wait on the Lord with courage.

“Is anyone among you afflicted (ill treated, suffering evil)? He should pray. Is anyone glad at heart? He should sing praise (to God)”. In whatever state of being you find yourself in, there’s always an answer to why you’re there. Sometimes it’s self inflicted and sometimes it’s just life showing up when things go south. We can write our own ticket concerning most of our circumstances and life experiences, by keeping God in the mix. When we are in a time of jubilee, everything’s going really well on every side of life, that’s when we can sing praises to God, we are loving life. Then the other side of life comes in like a bat outta hell to mess you up. And this is when we force ourselves to sing praises to God. After a time of praising and worshipping God, His presence comes in and takes over, that’s when we feel the Lord’s comfort and peace caressing us. Yes, sing praises to God when all is well, but more so when you’re going through your wilderness experience of trouble. No matter what state of mind or being you are in there’s a way out. Storms and fiery trials always eventually pass, it’s how you handle yourself while you’re in the smoke that counts. Let the true piety of your experience be known.

“You have forgiven and taken away the iniquity of your people, You have covered all their sins….”. All of our wrong doings (sins) have been forgiven and taken away. Once you’ve repented for messing up, and you ask God’s forgiveness, and you meant it, you are forgiven. We must know this truth for ourselves so once we’ve asked God for forgiveness the devil can’t harass us into condemnation over our mistake. We walk by faith not by sight in our dealings with the Lord. It’s a lifestyle of faith that positions us into a posture of always receiving from God. We have all fallen short of the righteousness of God, without God. Our self righteousness doesn’t get us to heaven but the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus will. You’re in Christ once you’ve become a born again Christian, at that point you have been sanctified and put in right standing with God. You are a king in your own right once you’ve become a part of God’s family. We are kings of whom Jesus is King of, we are lords of whom Jesus is Lord of and over. There’s now no condemnation for those in Christ walking according to the Spirit and not the flesh (if your emotions rule you, condemnation will be close by). If you don’t have a peaceful feeling when you think about what might be wrong in your life, there could be room for repentance, if you desire God’s unlimited blessings.