Twelve Days before Christmas!

Yes! Only twelve days till Christmas and we find the text for our study today in Luke 13:22-30 and it reads:

“22 And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?”
And He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ 26 then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ 27 But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ 28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. 29 They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. 30 And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”

The Disciple’s Journey

Jesus summarizes the call to discipleship in Mark 8:34, “If anyone wants to be My follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me” (Holman CSB); and He describes the disciple’s journey as a gate that is narrow because Christ is the only door (John 10:7-9) and repentance and faith are the only means of admission.

Accomplishing such a challenging and conspicuous journey requires growing in your understanding of what it means to be a Christian, expanding your personal knowledge of biblical truth, and applying daily what you learn. Through the presence of His indwelling Spirit, God enables you to know, obey, and serve Him.

God expects His children to grow spiritually and His Word encourages personal examination as an element of growth.
• “Let us search out and examine our ways…” Lamentations 3:40
• “Now, the Lord of Hosts says this: ‘Think carefully about your ways.’” Haggai 1:5
• “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.” Psalm 139:23-24
• “But each person should examine his own work, and then he will have a reason for boasting in himself alone, and not in respect to someone else.” Galatians 6:4
• “Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people, but as wise.”
Ephesians 5:15

Today let us reflect on what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. We are told in Ephesians 5:15 to see that we “walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”