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For our wedding anniversary one year, a couple in our church wanted to celebrate by taking us to dinner. Because we lived on opposite ends of town, we decided we would just meet at the restaurant so we asked for the name and directions. They gave us the cross streets and told us the restaurant had no sign. We had to look for the plaza where it was located, park and then walk to it. “Once you get there,” our friends said in a low tone of voice, “ask for Joe.”  We thought maybe Joe was their favorite waiter, so we nodded and didn’t ask any further questions.

That evening, we got all dressed up and headed to the restaurant. The closer we got, however, we noticed we were in a very dark and dilapidated part of town. There were no cars around us, no people walking the streets, and under the cover of night, it was almost impossible to find the sign for the plaza. We finally did but wondered what kind of place our friends had chosen. As we walked toward the plaza, I held on tight to my husband’s strong arm and he tried not to show how nervous he really was to be in such a strange place.

We looked for the restaurant but could not find it, so we went into the only place in the plaza that looked open—a liquor store. “Great,” I whispered. “They invited us to a liquor store!” We asked the attendant if he knew where this mysterious restaurant was and without a word, he pointed us to an old wooden door in the back of the store. My heart was pounding as we approached the rickety old door surrounded by empty beer bottles and discarded boxes. “What if we had been set up for a crime?” I know… I’m dramatic!

Brian went to turn the knob but it was locked. So he knocked. Once, twice, three times… until a rugged-looking man opened a small window on the door. In a threatening voice, he said, “What’s the code?” “What code?” we asked. Looking at us dismissively, he slowly closed the little window. We were puzzled and dumb-founded as we stood there staring at the floor. A few seconds later we remembered what our friends had told us, “When you get there, ask for Joe.” So we got the courage to knock again. The little window opened, and the same man barked, “What’s the code?” Sheepishly, Brian asked, “Is Joe here?”

At once, his demeanor changed and he swung the old door open to let us in. As soon as we took the first step, we entered a completely different world! Waiters dressed up in tuxedoes, chandeliers illuminating elegantly decorated walls, beautiful classical music being played by a live quartet, and our smiling friends waiting for us at a candle-lit table. Needless to say, it was a wonderful evening of laughter, great food and unforgettable memories. After we said our last goodbyes, I thought to myself, “What if we had given up on finding this place?” We would have never experienced the sights, the sounds, the great service, and of course, that amazing prime rib we ate down to the last bite! Joe’s Place was so worth our trouble!

Today’s verse tells us: “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it (Matthew 7:13-14, NLT).

It isn’t that the narrow gate to the kingdom is reserved for a privileged few. It’s that most people settle for the easy road to the easy gate. But easy does not get us anywhere worthwhile does it? A Big Mac at McDonalds up the road would have been easy and safe that night—but not worthwhile.

Today, you might feel very lonely on that dark narrow road God has placed you in while you look at the masses filing happily into the broad and attractive gate. Whatever you do, don’t go that way!

After all the trials you have been through you may ask, “What is the kingdom, after all? Is it worth my time, my sweat, and my tears? Right now it sure feels like a fairy tale. I need solutions now!” Romans 14:17 tells us, “For God’s Kingdom is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of the righteousness, peace, and joy which the Holy Spirit gives” (GNT). If you look for the easy way out, you’ll get temporary relief, but your problems will still be there tomorrow, won’t they?

The kingdom of God is not somewhere hidden in eternity. It’s here. It’s now. It’s just not the easiest place to find. But when you find it in your circumstances, in your pain, in your fear, it is so worth your trouble! The way there may require drastic changes in your lifestyle. It may demand walking all alone. But at the end of the day, if you choose the narrow path you get what very few get—right living, peace and joy.

So whatever difficult decision God is asking you to make today, go ahead, bite the bullet. However lonely that path is, walk on. I bet you can see that old wooden door at the end of the road, can’t you? Once you get there, just ask, ‘Is Joe here?’ The door will open and you’ll be so happy you stayed the course!

We hear it on the nightly news. We read about it on our CNN app on the go. We turn on the radio and we get the spiel again. Our city is in trouble. Crime is rampant. Men kill their brothers. Moms leave their kids. Husbands abuse their wives. Drug dealers get richer and richer while our young people get trapped in drugs and its commerce.

Things are so bad we just want to stay home! We go to work, do some errands, get our entertainment in and yes, we go to church on Sunday. When prayer is offered up for the city during service, sound bytes of negative media replay furiously in our minds. We pray, but we don’t want to… after all, “they’re ‘bad people’. They are getting what they deserve. Instead of being here at church, they’re out there selling drugs, getting drunk and killing each other. It’s Sodom and Gomorrah out there!”

But just when we don’t care anymore, Sodom and Gomorrah come knocking at our door. And when that happens, Sodom becomes so personal! That is just what happened to rich old Abraham in Genesis 14. He was minding his own business and looking after his vast wealth when the news came in.

‘The four kings captured all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, all their food and equipment, and went on their way. They captured Lot, Abram’s nephew who was living in Sodom at the time, taking everything he owned with them. A fugitive came and reported to Abram the Hebrew.’ (Genesis 14:11-13, MSG)

The invaders had taken all of Sodom’s goods, food and most importantly something that really mattered to Abraham—his only nephew.

Without hesitating, Abraham took the 318 fighting men he had trained for war and went out to save Lot. The story has a great ending. Abraham recovers all the stolen goods and brings Lot home. But that’s not all. He also rescues the ‘women and the other people’ (Genesis 14:16) taken captive by the four kings. What a newsflash! Those ‘other people were somebody’s nephews, nieces, brothers, sisters, and wives! If he hadn’t come, they would have all died.

At home, they were just statistics on the news. In the tar pits and the valley, alongside his nephew, they were terrified souls about to die at the hands of a foreign enemy. Abraham needed to see that for himself. We need to see that for ourselves. And sometimes we don’t see it unless Sodom comes knocking on our door. How sad.

Instead of waiting for a knock that hits up close and personal, why not see our city for what it really is—a large group of people (that include our family members) in need of help and love? Sure, bad things are happening out there while we lounge comfortably and catch up on our Bible reading. Let’s not wait until Sodom comes knocking. Let’s get out there and fight for our own as well as for everyone’s son and daughter. We’re all in this together! Get a heart for Sodom.

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5).

For all the accusations that could be leveled against the devil in the case of the fall of man, lying is not one of them—at least not outright lying. Everything he told Eve about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was actually true! You don’t believe me? Let’s go to Scripture then.

Adam and Eve did not INSTANTLY die, even though God told them they would if they even touched the tree. He could have killed them, but in His mercy He did not. The devil knew He was a merciful God.

Genesis 3:7 tells us, ‘Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked. Once again, the devil had told the truth. What about them becoming like God? In Genesis 3:22, God himself says, ‘The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.’ The fruit had bestowed on them an aspect of the divine nature just like the devil had predicted. Since he told the truth, why was it wrong to follow his advice? I’m so glad you asked!

Even though everything he said was true, he did not tell the whole truth. You see, even when the devil tells the truth, he’s lying. He can’t help himself! He’s the Father of lies (John 8:44). The whole truth is found in God’s instructions to Adam and Eve prior to that fateful conversation with the devil: ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die’ (Genesis 2:16-17, NIV).

With half of the truth, the devil made them forget about the other half, which said that they were free to eat of ANY tree, including the tree of life. Its fruit would cause them to live forever with God in their state of innocence. The two trees stood side by side in the middle of the garden (Genesis 2:9). They were both in Eve’s line of sight, yet listening to the devil’s version of the truth caused her to suffer from selective blindness. The devil’s strategy: Focus on the wrong tree so you forget about the right tree! All she could see was the enticing gleam of knowledge. Sadly, she forgot about the sure promise of life.

Eerily, our conversations with the devil are very similar to that first one in the garden, aren’t they? I remember how he almost convinced me to toy with sexual sin before I ever met and married Brian. He said it was fun. He said it was natural. But that wasn’t the whole truth. The whole truth was that it would be fun and natural for a bit until heartbreak hit and I was left all alone once again. The whole truth was that God had a better man in store for me and that within the confines of marriage we could have as much fun as we wanted while resting in our commitment to one another.

So what is the whole truth regarding your situation? Remember what God said before you choose the wrong half of the truth. With every temptation of the devil, there is a promise of life within your reach. Choose life.

‘Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house’ (Proverbs 5:8, NIV)

Did King Solomon really write this proverb? That is good question, considering his infamous ‘Guinness World Record’ of 700 wives and 300 concubines. I’d say he went near the door of adultery thousands of times every year.

One thing is for sure. Solomon knew what he was talking about when he warned us about adultery and immorality. He had first-hand experience with the heart-wrenching pain that comes with sexual sin. It cost him his relationship with God, his peace, his strength, and his kingdom.

David Guzik sheds light on the effect that immorality had on Solomon: ‘Because of lust, Solomon found himself in a place where he never thought he would find himself. He found himself burning incense at the altars of depraved pagan gods. He found himself at the altar of child sacrifice unto the god Molech. This is the power of lust – it can capture us in a spell, in a fog of spiritual confusion until we do things we never thought we would do.’

So how do we avoid Solomon’s sin and ultimate fate? By following the advice he never took for himself! The key phrase in Proverbs 5:8 is ‘keep to a path far from her.’ That word path denotes a direction, a journey, a course of life. Think of God’s path as the highway and immorality as the nearest exit off the highway. The Bible tells us to get a direction, a goal for our lives and follow it until the end. We will never run into adultery on the highway to God, but we can always choose to take the exit that will lead us there:

One phone call
A friendly lunch
A leisurely click of the mouse
An entertaining fantasy

Once you get near the door of immorality, it will cease you by the collar and will not let you go. You’ll end up doing things you never thought you were capable of doing. That is why King Solomon says, ‘Do not go near the door of her house.’ That’s where it starts. That’s where it ends. It’s simple. Stay on a path far from immorality and it will stay far away from you.

‘Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word…’ (Matthew 2:13, NIV).

Not much is known about Jesus’ adoptive father, Joseph, but what has been recorded is nothing less than fascinating. We know from Mark 6:3 that people knew him as a carpenter. ‘Nothing amazing about that,’ you might think. Carpenters in New Testament times were blue-collar construction workers who earned average wages and lived a simple life. People did not think much of Joseph. In fact, people did not respect Jesus because he was the son of a poor carpenter—that much is obvious from Matthew 13:54-58.

People’s opinion of Joseph would not define him in the long run however. In fact, when introducing Joseph, the Bible glosses over his trade and describes him as a just man (Matthew 1:19, NKJV). And that is where the supernatural record of Joseph’s life begins. Because he was a just man assigned a heavy responsibility, God begins to personally guide him in the new task of parenthood.

In Matthew 1:20-24 an angel tells him in a dream to take Mary as his wife and assume responsibility for Jesus. Then in Matthew 2:13 another angel warns him to flee to Egypt and keep Jesus safe from the murderous plans of King Herod. Yet again in Matthew 2:19-23, Joseph is supernaturally instructed to move his family to Nazareth, where Jesus would spend the early years of his life. Time after time, Joseph relies on supernatural guidance to be a good father.

Today you may be working 9 to 5 as a construction worker, a secretary or a car salesman. All those hours at work seem worth it when you get to tuck your children safely into bed at night. You pray in the darkness that God would protect them from evil and yet you wonder if He’s listening.

People may see the hands made rough by your labor and despise you but God sees your heart and will reward you with the greatest gift of all—His friendship. Down here you may be known as one more blue-collar worker, but up there you are known as the friend of God! Don’t worry about your children, your provision or your future. Being the friend of God means that He shares his secrets with you and guides you along the right path for your family. So tonight, as you pray for your children one more time, rest assured in the fact that you are not alone in this thing called parenting. God is listening. He will speak. You just rest.

‘For the Lord detests the perverse 
but takes the upright into his confidence’ (Proverbs 3:32 , NIV).