“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside, you appear to people as righteous, but on the inside, you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness, greed, and self-indulgence. Blind guides! You strain your water, so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel! “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? You must first clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.” My brothers and sisters in Christ, we must be careful of who shepherds our flock, for “If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

Why would some of us be called by God, but not chosen? You may have pondered this verse from Matthew chapter twenty-two, and it may be confusing to you. You may wonder why God would call you, yet not choose you for his Kingdom. But know that God is constantly sending out the invitation to us, to draw near to him, to serve him; to believe in him, to trust in him; but many of us refuse or reject his calling. Those who have accepted the invitation are chosen for good works, that will bring honor and glory to God and inherit eternal life. Many are called, but few are chosen for the Kingdom of God!

My brothers and sisters in Christ, God knows where we are and who we are. I am sure Zacchaeus was astonished when he heard Jesus calling out to him, and even more confused when He said He was going to be a guest in his house; for he knew that he was a sinner and he acknowledged that to Jesus, who said to him, ‘Today, salvation has come to your house, for the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.’ At the appointed time, Jesus will seek out and save all those who are lost, no matter who you are and where you are. To God be the glory!

“A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord; He taketh my burden away. He holdeth me up, and I shall not be moved; He giveth me strength for my day. With numberless blessings each moment He crowns, and filled with his fullness divine, I sing in my rapture, “Oh, glory to God,” for such a Redeemer as mine! When clothed in His brightness, transported I rise, to meet Him in clouds of the sky, His perfect salvation, His wonderful love, I’ll shout with the millions on high. For He hideth my life in the depths of His love, and covers me there with His hand, and covers me there with His hand.” Thank you, Lord!

And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and when My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by.” What more comfort do we need, than to know, that no matter what we are facing that God is with us, and that when danger comes that he will hide us in the cleft of the rock, until the storm passes by? Thank you, Lord, for hiding me in the cleft the rock until the storm passed by.

Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Psalm 97:10

“The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their stronghold in time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in Him. The Lord redeems His servants, and none who take refuge in Him will be condemned.”

“He who keeps a commandment preserves his soul, but he who is careless in his ways will die. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Look straight ahead therefore and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Make a level path for your feet, and all your ways will be sure.”

As we go through life, there will be things that astound us, things that our human eye sees but our minds cannot comprehend. But know that we see the impossible, but God does the impossible. We have all done wrong, but by God’s grace and his grace alone we are saved. We have faced uphill battles, we have been through storms, we have been tested and tried; and when all we could see was the impossible, God did the impossible. We should never be astounded by what our eyes can see but focus instead on what God can do. Let God be praised!

My brothers and sisters in Christ, Scripture reminds us that, “Small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it. Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act.”