Excuse Me, Sir

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that  leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Matthew 7:14

If someone came to you asking for directions, could you help them? I mean without the assistance of your apparatus or map. What are the prerequisites that would qualify you?

(Apparatus- the technical equipment or machinery needed for a particular activity or purpose.) Without these we can be helpless.

(Prerequisite- a thing that is required as a prior condition for something else to happen or exist.) With these we are effective.

So, for me to give directions would mean I am familiar with the area and could direct this person to his desired destination.

What if someone who knows the Lord but has gotten off tract comes to you for guidance, then what? Are you ready? Of course we could refer them to an “expert” or tell them they need counseling, but what if they just need directions to get back to the road? I understand that there are certain people with the “gift” of council but what are the prerequisites of giving directions? For me it’s as simple as, if I’ve been there I should know how to get there.

Where do you go when you lost? I don’t mean unsaved but maybe you’ve traveled a road that lead you astray, after all like the song says “Prone to wander…” Have you ever had to ask for directions back to the “narrow path”?

Jesus instructs His disciples to be careful because “broad is the way that leads to destruction”. This path, if not traveled frequently can be hard to recover. I heard of a story of tribal Christians that had a routine of going into the jungle to spend time with the Lord. Each man had his own place and as the story goes, if that man’s path was over grown his buddies would know he hasn’t been down there recently. It may take some help to recover that “narrow path”.

I love the Beatitudes in Matthew 5, and the teaching Jesus gives to His Disciples in the two chapters that follow. Maybe you can direct a man who is “off tract” to a scripture that you are familiar with, that God used to redirect your journey. It’s a great opportunity and will minister to you as well. Maybe we should make sure we have our “prerequisites” in order. And by the way, it’s not wrong to use your “apparatus” if needed. Deuteronomy 31:8 – Rob Russomano serves full-time at America’s Keswick and is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy

Daily Bible Reading: Daniel 3-4

Think About This: As a pilot calls on winds and a storm-tossed mariner looks homeward, so the times call on you to win your way to God. As God’s athlete, be sober; the stake is immortality and eternal life. Ignatius

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: [Now] we have this [hope] as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul [it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whoever steps out upon it—a hope] that reaches farther and enters into [the very certainty of the Presence] within the veil … Hebrews 6:19