Have you ever wondered about that little word used in the Bible in Matthew 7:13-14? It would appear that few ever do and yet we use this little word all the time, without any worry as to how significant it truly is. The word is: FEW!

Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and FEW there be that find it.”

If you talk to anyone, ask them about heaven and if they are going there, they will give you every single thought they know to assure you, or better yet…themselves, they are going to heaven. Yet the significance of that three letter word still rings so very loud! As a born-again Christian you must wonder how they know they will see the Rapture, much less heaven. You must agree there are many that will reference the Scriptures in their defense, but then we must also understand the next bit of Scripture as well.

Matthew 7:21-23: “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

Oops! Don’t you just hate it when you hear that? The truth be known, according to the Word of the Lord. The problem is with that small part about, “but he that doeth the will of my Father.” That is the part that shows where the rubber meets the road. So many walk into a church and they immediately hear the angels singing in their ears, they get all emotional and their eyes fill with tears. The question is, is that enough, to show they are actually saved to Jesus Christ? Not on your life!

In saying these things some will get angry at me, as if I am declaring they are not saved at all. That is NOT what I have done here. The Lord God used the little word “FEW” and all I have done is to repeat it. The Lord God said, “But he that doeth the will of my Father” and again, all I have done is to repeat that phrase.

The conviction that you feel in your heart is the Holy Spirit talking to you, as HE did when HE spoke to me. That conviction means there is something amiss in our relationship with Jesus Christ and HE is telling us about it. Having said that, know that the Holy Spirit is asking you to look within yourself and see if HE is actually the one you are following or not.

I am one of the messengers and that is all. I bring these questions to light in an effort to show you Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Christ that convicts your heart and speaks to your heart and asks you to truly examine yourself…in HIS regard. Have you truly humbled yourself before Him, have you truly and honestly asked for Him to enter your life and cover your sin with His precious blood from the Cross of Calvary?

Have you actually turned your life completely over to Him, or are you secretly holding back a little piece of yourself? Is there some small part of this life, you just cannot part with?

It matters little to anyone, what that small part may be, but when it comes to your relationship with Jesus Christ, could it separate you from Him for eternity? Will this be that one thing that makes you ask Him, did I or didn’t I do thus or this or that…in your name? And what will HE say to you?

Somehow, far too many think coming to Jesus Christ is an easy thing. Others think all they must do is to be a “good person.” Others will tell you that God is a God of love! That is indeed true, but HE is so much more than just love. Know that HE is a God of supreme righteousness, a God that is exactly just in everything! Know that HE will NOT tolerate any SIN…no matter how big or small it may seem to you. Remember this:

Romans 5:23: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Again, I did not say this…God did! The point here is this: You can believe this or not, it’s all up to you! Yet, let it be known, if you so choose to disregard this passage of Scripture, it is going to haunt you for eternity. You will remember this passage of Scripture and deal with your choice for the rest of eternity.

We already know there will be two ways off this planet Earth, on the road of hell and the road to heaven. It is up to you to choose which one you want to walk. You will have to the second of your last breath to make that choice, once you have made it, it will be what you have chosen. The point is, it has ALWAYS been your choice and no other.

I have been to, many funerals, even those of my family members and I have cried because I will miss them so very much. Then I have been to funerals where there is such great wailing and crying, as if that great a suffering would allow them into heaven, when the truth is…it is between that person and the Lord alone.

You can NOT pray them into heaven, you can NOT wish them into heaven. Only, they, during their lives must have chosen to follow Jesus Christ! That my friends is the ONLY way into heaven. The Bible is very specific and exact on this matter and if you need that assurance, read the Bible!

Matthew 11:28-30: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

If you look around yourself and you are not happy with the way this world is, then Jesus Christ has a different way for you to walk…with HIM! If somehow you think this world is corrupt and jaded, if you feel it is not worth living, then you need to talk with Jesus Christ! I am not telling you to be “religious.” I am trying to get you to truly talk with HIM, from the bottom of your Heart.

You must be willing to ask for His forgiveness of your sin and to cover it all with His precious blood from the Cross; to come into your heart and your life and take over completely…without reservation of anything. It must be heartfelt and sincere or it means nothing. If you do not care to be honest and forthright, then do not expect God to be either, concerning you.

It is my custom to continue to use John 3:16, as my verse to everyone, that Jesus Christ, who IS God, loves and cares for all of us. Somehow, most will feel the love, but never understand that love. They spend way too much time in emotional states, rather than looking at Jesus Christ and seeing Him for what and who He truly is.

It must then be noted here, that we, as in you and I are the fallen species, filled with Sin and HE, Jesus Christ, IS the Redeemer through His blood on the Cross. That my friends is the ONLY way to Jesus Christ and heaven. Anything else will fail.

Have you ever noticed, it’s the little things that are being used in significance by the Word of God? The little word “FEW” and then in John 3:16, the word “SHOULD?” You must be careful to KNOW how these things work and why they are used.

“Few” instead of “many.”

“Should” instead of “will” makes me think.

These words make me wonder and consider their uses, as they should also make you wonder. Doing so makes all the difference in the world!

Do you remember the days when a policeman would ask you, “What’s the rush?” after he stopped you for speeding? Do you remember when becoming a police officer was a good thing, something to look forward to, or for that matter, a fireman? How about those of my age group: Remember, “leaving your house,” meant closing the screen door? Or remember playing, “Hide and Go Seek” in your front yard or the street…after it was dark?

We could go on and on about those days, when we stood up and covered our hearts and recited the Pledge of Allegiance and heard a short prayer before class started. When we stood up during the national anthem, before a cartoon and the newsreel, at the movies. When we, as kids, used to call adults “Mr. or Mrs. Such-n-such” and never by their first names!

And most easy of all to witness, was when people were courteous to other drivers on the road. And then when we do speak of these things, what do we always say, “Boy, I sure do miss those days, it was more simple and cordial back then!” Yuppers…things have definitely changed and I do NOT mean for the better either!

I remember sitting in front of the TV and getting all wide-eyed when The Twilight Zone came on and even on Friday or Saturday night, there was “Fright Night!” I cannot tell you how many times, though few they were, when my mom and dad allowed my sister and me to watch it (from behind the couch that is).

We would run from the theaters after watching Monsters from Planet X or Bela Lugosi in Dracula, but we never feared the dark or other people. We never had to worry about someone running through the school with a hand gun and an assault rifle, much less anyone entering our homes when we were out shopping…That would never happen! And so we sometimes like to sit back and remember those innocent times.

Today, some 50-60 years later, things are more than just different, they are depressing, agonizing and hurtful days. People are suffering now, more than they ever did back then, but…who is noticing any of this? Have YOU taken the time to see the changes that have taken place, since those days? And if you have, what are you doing about it?

Do you know why we paid 18 cents a gallon of gas back then and we are paying almost $4.00 a gallon now? Let’s see here, well there’s the state tax on gas and then the federal tax on it, the cost to get the gas to the station and then the attendant’s pay and the divided cost in property taxes of the station and we could go on and on. Do you understand what GREED really is? If not, it’s all rolled up in that $4.00/gallon of gas you just purchased. And the “powers that be” call this progress!

Again, back in the day, women and men never shed their clothes unless they were at home or the doctor’s office and even at that, it was discretely done; it was NOT for the general public. There are singers and actresses that take their clothes off for anyone and everyone and that means they are progressive and sophisticated? NOT in my book…they are simply naked and that’s it! They are showing everyone things that should be kept between themselves and the Lord…and that’s it! And after seeing these things, you wonder why there is rape, date rape, murder and depression and suicide? It is evident, far too many have not read the Holy Word of God.

Matthew 5:27-28: “Ye have heard that it was said by them of ‘old time’, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”

Oops! Don’t ya just hate those moments? “Intent of the heart”…wow, who would have ever thought, right? Do you ever get the feeling that such things could possible jeopardize your faith? Or for the unsaved, it could jeopardize your salvation unto the Lord?

So how’s that supply and demand concept working for ya? The girl is really gorgeous, so the guys all “demand” it and then later on the girl “supplies” it for them…and so now you’re wondering, “Who does this hurt, right? How about everyone!

The odd thing is, this will permeate into just about everything else in your life. You don’t need to do anything about it, just let it run its course. Then we get to read about all the abuse, the neglect, the pain and suffering from women, because they are now stigmatized, they have become a “thing” instead of a person. And no one cares about a “thing”—right? After your done, just throw it  (him, her) away. Are you starting to see what I see?

The problem is, in these last days, it is not going to get better. No one is willing to back up and do it the right way. And then the man wants a “relationship” with a nice girl, but she doesn’t want one. How many times must a person be “thrown to the curb” before that person no longer believes anyone about anything, especially anything concerning love?

Oddly enough, this same type of thinking goes beyond between a man/woman relationships. The guys are thinking only of themselves, right? And then the next thing you know, selfish greed ends up being used in the conference rooms of big business, it becomes cut throat  tactics.

“I gotta get mine first! Hooray for me and to hell with you! It’s all about ME!” And that proverbial hole of degradation just keeps getting deeper and deeper. It’s at the point now, it would be better to call it a black hole, where it simply sucks everything in and destroys it, no matter what it is

It’s at the point now, there is NO backing up. No one knows what is right and what is wrong, so they continue to do the exact same thing, over and over again, expecting a different outcome…we call that the definition of insanity. The Bible is simple, it’s called just plain old sin. The Bible is explicit on that too, “For the wages of sin is death!”

Psalm 5:4-6: “For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.”

2 Timothy 3:1-7: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

Do you ever feel like nothing will ever get better, that all we will do is destroy ourselves? I can’t say that I completely believe that. By that I mean, we will continue to delve in things we ought not to, think things that should never cross our minds. In the end, it will be our own self-reliant ignorance that will defeat us. It will come from our desire to govern ourselves, to not rely on anyone else or help anyone else, lest we lose something. “Mine, mine, mine!” The child yells, but…where did he learn that from?

When we finally come to our senses, we will drop to our knees before Jesus Christ and we will beg Him for the forgiveness of our sins, to cover our sins with His precious blood and then we will nail our “old selves” to His Cross and leave it there. If we do NOT do this, our sins will be accounted to us and we will spend eternity in the lake of fire…that IS death! The Word of God is CORRECT and TRUTHFUL

Here’s the real problem. We are already in the “last days” and the Rapture is very, very, close! So close you could actually reach out and touch the hem of our Lord and Savior’s robe. Thing is, don’t let Him pass you by! Jesus Christ is our ONLY Hope. HE is the beginning and the end, the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega…HE is God!

If you love life, does that mean you want to live or to die? If you want to live and live longer than 70 years or so, Jesus Christ is your only way to make that happen. In your mind, compare 70 years here to that of eternity and I would be willing to bet, you can visualize the difference. Having said that, why would you want to give up eternity for a measly 70 years or so? Do you see my point here?

When you were young, you were willing to accept that old jalopy, rust and all, but years later you wanted the Cadillac Escalade. In other words and like many, many other things, you wanted the bigger and the better right? So why would you settle for a measly 70 years or so here, instead of eternity?

According to auto sales, if you have a small income and huge debt, you are “upside down” in your debt. If you can’t figure this simple solution out for yourself, 70 years instead of eternity, you are “upside down” in your thinking! As my daddy used to say, “I ought smack you upside the head for being so dumb!” Trust me, there were a few times he did indeed smack me upside the head, therefore I was thinking…Dumb.

Thankfully and by the grace of the Lord, I finally grew up and started thinking, really thinking. Now I do not make those same mistakes and yet, there were still times when I had to learn things the hard way and that hurt more than a smack upside the head. We know that the Lord Jesus Christ has always been about second chances and making up for past mistakes and sin.

Jesus has never gone away or given up on us, but there is coming a day, when He will leave you to your own devices. Looking back across all the years humans have been on this earth, we can see that our “track record” was one of continual failure. Having stated that, why do we keep trying to do it for ourselves? Have we not failed enough already?

As we move about in our lives today, we already know something is about to happen and we know it will be earth shaking. Everything is falling apart all around us and we also know what that smell of carnage is like. The real question is, are you sure THIS is what you want?