Tag Archives: way

There’s only one door (John 6-7), March 27, 2017

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Today’s Podcast


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  1. Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
  2. Why do we argue about the simplest things? If we believe God’s word, then how can we miss the fact that Jesus is the only way to heaven?
  3. Scripture
    1. John 14:6-7
    2. Jesus:  I am the path, the truth, and the energy of life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.  If you know Me, you know the Father. Rest assured now; you know Him and have seen Him.
  4. Devotional
    1. So I think I’ll take a vacation this summer. I’ve always enjoyed Disneyland in California
      1. Disneyworld is fun, too, but hot and a lot more walking than in Disneyland
      2. Travel plans
        1. Train from San Antonio to New York City
        2. Hop on a ship and sail to Iceland
        3. Catch a plane and fly to London, England
      3. Then enjoy Disneyland
      4. That should work, right?
      5. Doesn’t matter how you get there as long as I’m sincere about going, right?
    2. Maybe a little far fetched so let’s try again
      1. I really will go to California this time, but I decide that I’m going to go by way of a commercial plane, but I don’t have the money to buy a ticket.
      2. Sneak onto the tarmac
      3. Climb into the wheel housing
      4. Fly non-stop in the wheel housing to California on a 757
      5. Only 3 hour flight from here
      6. At 35,000 feet: frozen, no oxygen, dead
    3. If I want to see the original Disneyland, I can only go to one place and I must go through the entrance to that magic kingdom in Anaheim, California to see it.
      1. No other way to see it
      2. No matter how sincere
      3. No matter how else I might try
      4. I need a ticket and entrance through that front gate or I’ll be thrown out of the park as an intruder
    4. If the Bible is true, then Jesus’ words are true also
      1. Every time someone tries to disprove something, they find themselves stuck with circular arguments or proofs of scripture on their hands
      2. If what God’s word says is true
      3. Then Jesus is the only way to the Father
      4. He is the entrance and the only entrance
      5. Any other way is unacceptable, all other means make you an intruder and like the parable of the master of the wedding feast, those not in the proper garments are thrown into the street
    5. We can argue the point all we want
      1. We can argue the sun is not really the source of heat for the earth
      2. We can argue the earth is really flat instead of round
      3. We can argue God is not the creator of life
      4. We can argue Jesus is not the only way to heaven
      5. Just because we argue those things, does not mean we are right
    6. God’s word is true, I want to be on the right side of the argument when He returns
    7. Easy as believing in Him
  5. If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Only One is good (Matthew 19:17) May 2, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Exodus 17-20

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 19:17
Jesus: Strange that you should ask Me what is good. There is only One who is good. If you want to participate in His divine life, obey the Commandments.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

We talk a lot today about tolerance. We tolerate different religions, we tolerate all forms of education, we tolerate every political view, we tolerate gender identities. We seem to tolerate just about anything that comes along. I think there’s something wrong with that when I read Jesus’ words in Matthew 19. Yes, we need to tolerate people and have compassion on them. But no where do I see Jesus tolerating behavior that runs contradictory to God’s commandments.

This young man found himself in a world similar to ours. At this point in Rome’s history, their citizens’ primary goal seemed focused on personal pleasure. They engaged in the most base practices to satisfy those desires. Crowds visited the Collosium to watch men slaughter each other. Crucifixions gathered crowds just to view the spectacle of horror and agony endured by other men. Sensuality and sexual exploitation even became part of the temple worship of their gods to legitimize the evil acts they sought to satisfy their sensual desires.

Nothing seemed beyond limits of what the Romans and by association, what the surrounding nations would do to appease their growing demand for something that would satisfy the fleshly desires that continued to demand greater and greater action for an equally sensual response. So the young man comes to Jesus and asks, “What good deed can I do to assure myself of eternal life?”

I’m especially fascinated by Jesus’ answer now. Our vocabulary turns everything around. Gay meant happy when I was growing up, not sexually attracted to the same gender. Bad meant the opposite of good, yet today people refer to something as bad meaning it’s high quality music. We have screwed up our language and our meanings so much that no one understands what anyone else is talking about. It’s no wonder we can’t communicate any more. We abuse the English language to an extent we don’t know what good and bad mean any more.

Jesus clears it up. There is only One who is good. Do what He says to do. He’s the judge. Obey His commandments. I don’t see much tolerance in Jesus’ words there. I don’t see Him saying, “Well, you can follow anyone that sounds like he’s succeeding in the world.” It doesn’t sound like Jesus advocates, “Just do what feels good.”

I don’t think Jesus meant to say, “Any religion works as long as you’re sincere in your belief.” Jesus’ words come out pretty straight forward and remarkably clear. God is good. Do what He says if you want assurance of eternal life. That’s the only way to get it. There’s not other path, nothing you can pay, no spells you can cast, nothing else you can do. Just obey what He tells you to do. Sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it?

We make it difficult because we don’t like His commands. We don’t want to follow His rules. He says take control of your body. Stop satisfying those fleshly desires in evil ways. Instead listen to what He says and He will satisfy the desires of your soul, but in ways that meet His requirements and in ways that keep you pure and holy. God will get you through this life without yielding to the temptations that Satan sets in front of you. He will let you tap into the same resurrection power that raised His Son, Jesus, from the dead.

We make it difficult because we want to find some easier way to get to heaven. We think there’s some other judge out there that will give us a different set of rules that let us off the hook and let us do what we want instead of what God wants. There is not.

We make it difficult because we want our way. We think we are smarter than God and want the baubles the world flashes in front of us assuming them permanent decorations, when none of those things last. Most of them don’t even last through our lifetime, much less through eternity. We just don’t want to accept that God’s way is the only way to gain eternal life.

But until we realize the truth of Jesus’ words, “There is only One who is good. Listen to His words, obey His commands. Eternal life is the reward for those who do.” Until we recognize that truth, we will continue to traipse down dead-end paths wasting time and effort for nothing. There is no other way to God than through Jesus, the Son of the living God. As He told us so many centuries ago, He is the truth, the life, and the way. No one comes to the Father except through Him.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.