Hello fellow sojourners. Welcome back to the Saturday Newsletter. This is where you can find prayers, promises, and treasures on the narrow way. Written for the one in need of a drink of living water.
Jesus fully equipped us for the narrow path. He gave us a helper, the Holy Spirit, and His Word to give us light to see the path ahead. Although the way is hard that leads to life, we are not alone. Before us lies great hope as we continue to run this race.
By the mercies of God alone, Jesus I give myself to you I can’t do this by my own will and grit But maybe if I keep my eyes on You… we can do this
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And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward. (Matt. 10:42)
In the words from a podcast I listened to this week, “Crucifixion hurts.” If we aren’t feeling the resistance of moving forward in God, are we really on the narrow way? Our lives in God are meant to rub us the wrong way and expose the wickedness in our hearts. Only when we see the truth of what’s within us can we see the cross rightly.
Every time we choose to lay our lives down for Jesus (big and small), we are becoming more like Him. One day we will look back and say, “It was worth it.”
The blood, sweat, and tears of investing into eternity will be worth it when we see Him. One day Jesus will reveal to us the value of all our cold water cups and greetings to those who are not our brothers (Matt. 5:46-47). He will show us what it meant to Him every time we opened our Bibles and chose to forgive those who hurt us.
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corin. 4:17-18)
Every unfulfilled expectation and disappointment will fade away the day we see the Son. We will look back on the other side of this life and call our afflictions now “light” in comparison to the glory around us. If we are going to march onward, we must look beyond what is seen.
Jesus, direct our eyes to the things unseen.
PROVERBS 4:1-7, 20-27
Hear, O sons, a father's instruction,
and be attentive, that you may gain insight,
for I give you good precepts;
do not forsake my teaching.
When I was a son with my father,
tender, the only one in the sight of my mother,
he taught me and said to me,
Let your heart hold fast my words;
keep my commandments, and live.
Get wisdom; get insight;
do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
Do not forsake her, and she will keep you;
love her, and she will guard you.
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,
and whatever you get, get insight.
My son, be attentive to my words;
incline your ear to my sayings.
Let them not escape from your sight;
keep them within your heart.
For they are life to those who find them,
and healing to all their flesh.
Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
Put away from you crooked speech,
and put devious talk far from you.
Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you.
Ponder the path of your feet;
then all your ways will be sure.
Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil.
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Wisdom keeps us on the narrow way. Every season requires a new commitment to guard our hearts from the birds, rocks, and thorns that prohibit our maturity (Matt. 13:1-9).
It is easy to choose the narrow way but hard to remain there. Wisdom enables us to discern and steward our everyday decisions with God’s will. It is how we ponder the path of our feet and not swerve to the right or the left.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It is like iron prison bars that guard our hearts from wickedness. Similar to boundary lines or protective guard rails, a Holy awareness of God keeps us steady when every affection in this world competes for our attention (Prov. 9:10). I also define the fear of the Lord as “caring what God thinks.”
If we are going to walk with wisdom, we must accompany a revelation of the fear of the Lord. It is not wisdom unless we walk with both.
MATTHEW 6:19-23
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
The eye is the lamp of the body. The narrow way begins with the eye. We follow what we look at. We are like moths that are attracted to the light. But if the light we follow is darkness, how great is the darkness.
We must protect the light of our eyes. If we can learn how to consecrate our inner lives, it will naturally lead to consecrating our outer lives.
When we constantly feed ourselves with scrolling and entertainment, it is easy to be led by “false light” which is actually darkness. We can get caught on so many bunny trails of self-improvement and mind-numbing that we were never meant to travel on (I am talking to myself here). The Word of God keeps us from following counterfeit light. His words are like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times (Ps. 12:6). They are trustworthy, safe, and bring clarity to the path ahead.
Pursuing the knowledge of God is like digging a big hole.
It is easy and anyone can do it. You don’t have to be taught how to dig a hole. All you need is to be willing.
The hole we dig is in the Word of God. The shovel is wisdom.
Once we pick up the shovel and start digging—the Holy Spirit does the rest. It is not about our physical strength to dig, but our willingness to pick up the shovel. Treasures aren’t found until we start digging under the surface.
When we spend our lives digging a hole, we yield our ambitious dreams, goals, and plans to cultivate a vision for small everyday obedience and gain knowledge in something we will never fully know and never get good at. It will take all of eternity to scratch the surface of who God is.
There is a monotonous rigor required to dig a hole. It feels the same every day, but the more we show up—we dig deeper each day. This process happens throughout our everyday lives; in the morning when we wake up, during a 9-5, and at night before we fall asleep. It is about dedicating our lives to pursue the Spirit of wisdom and revelation of who Jesus is (Eph. 1:17). This is not a matter of making ministry our full-time occupation but rather letting Jesus occupy all we are and do.
To the world, all it looks like is you digging a hole. You are reminded every day how “useless” and “not practical” the activity is. Some may walk by and scoff at that giant hole and say, “What a waste.” But on the last day as you stand before Jesus, your eyes will meet His, as you hear Him say, “One thing was necessary, the good portion, and it will not be taken away from you.” (Luke 10:42, Matt. 26:8)
PSALM 3
O Lord, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
many are saying of my soul,
“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah
But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
I cried aloud to the Lord,
and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah
I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
Arise, O Lord!
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
Salvation belongs to the Lord;
your blessing be on your people! Selah
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me. Psalm 3 is David’s prayer as he is fleeing from his son Absalom. He is surrounded on every side, weeping as he ascends the Mount of Olives. Absalom spent years building a political campaign for himself. It says that he stole the hearts of the men of Israel (2 Sam. 15:6).
David took all of his servants and they fled out of Jerusalem in fear of Absalom’s growing army. The Levites were bringing the ark of the covenant (the manifest presence of God) to follow him but David told them to carry the ark back to Jerusalem. He left in uncertainty he would return.
But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, barefoot and with his head covered. And all the people who were with him covered their heads, and they went up, weeping as they went. (2 Sam. 15:30)
On that dark night in the wilderness, David cried to the Lord. He didn’t know how the battle would end or what would come on the other side. But in his fear and despair, he cried aloud to God.
“Perhaps, moreover, David would think thus:—"My cruel enemies clamour against me; they lift up their voices, and, behold, I lift up mine, and my cry outsoars them all. They clamour, but the cry of my voice in great distress pierces the very skies, and is louder and stronger than all their tumult; for there is one in the sanctuary who hearkens to me from the seventh heaven, and he hath, heard me out of his holy hill." — Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David
David’s weapon was a God who heard his prayers. Although enemies would surround and accuse him, David took courage in the revelation of God’s sustaining hand.
This is also a picture of Jesus’ dark night before He was crucified. I imagine His prayers and rolling tears shook all of heaven as He offered Himself wholly to God. Although there was no light—the Lord going before Him was Light. It was the Light that carried Him through.
And it is the Light that is before me and you.
Read these chapters of David’s life in 2 Samuel 15-18.
In a world of increasing political conflict and war, I find this article encouraging. I love the emphasis that our confidence is in covenant. This perspective lifts our eyes higher—above war, politics, and onto the throne of God.
Send us any of your “Jesus” recommendations at intheupcoming@gmail.com. We would love to hear them!
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Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Matt. 4:4)