The Narrow Path

  Thursday, July 4, 2024 Psalms 11; 12 2 Chronicles 18:28-19:11 Galatians 1:1-10 Judging For The Lord (2 Chronicles 19:6-7) Making the right call is, for the Christian, a balancing act. On the one hand, we have “been called by the grace of Christ”, that is, freely forgiven, restored, resurrected, and rescued. But on the other hand, any message that does not confirm this grace is a curse upon the one who teaches it. The free gift of grace; the curse of eternal condemnation. We can’t just sit back and say to ourselves, I have been saved by the free grace of God, therefore I cannot pass judgement on anyone else: because there might be someone who denies that free grace of God, and therefore worthy of the judgement of criticism. But the free grace we have means we still have to be circumspect. When Jehoshaphat the king enacted his civil reforms and set up an official system of administering state justice, he had some heavy words for his magistrates. In matte

  Wednesday, July 3, 2024 Psalm 9 2 Chronicles 18:9-27 Titus 3 Observance: Thomas, apostle and martyr [if not observed on December 21] The Washing by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5) I have a toddler, a little boy. We have started putting a little step ladder in the kitchen, so that he can come up to the bench and see what we are doing, and “help”. This has caused a new level of stress for us, however. Because, while toddlers and sharp knives do not mix, toddlers love sharp knives. All this talk about the spirits coming out from God’s throne room in today’s first lesson feels a bit like toddlers playing with sharp knives. We humans seem fascinated with the spirit realm, even though we get told time and time again in the Bible not to have anything to do with it. The false prophets are playing fast and loose with their supposed prophecies from God, and even let themselves start fights in the physical realm over it. St Paul concludes his letter to Titus w

  Tuesday, July 2, 2024 Psalms 5; 6 2 Chronicles 17:1-13; 18:1-8 Titus 2 A Prophet of the Lord? (2 Chronicles 18:6) Thank God there are people willing to stand against the mob! King Ahab, of the apostate northern kingdom, had surrounded himself with people who told him what he wanted to hear. If we ever find ourselves in the majority, we should be quick to turn to God to make sure we haven’t strayed from the narrow path into heaven. Sometimes the majority opinion is correct, and God will let us know, if we read his word and listen to his voice in prayer. But a majority opinion can also come about through deceit and ill-will, a result of rebellion against God. So we must always be asking the question, just to make sure. This culture in the northern kingdom was so on-the-nose and obvious that when king Jehoshaphat came to visit he saw through it straight away. He starts on the right foot: he commands that God be asked what they should do. But when he is gi