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Divine Imperatives November 20 Devotional

by David Joynt on November 20, 2023


MATTHEW 7:14 | 14  For the gate is narrow, and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

 

This warning eliminates the idea that Jesus is an early precursor of the maximal tolerance perspective. Acceptance by Jesus, and gracious embrace, must lead to repentance and change and finally adherence to his commands and obedience to his direction. Acceptance is never unqualified tolerance for all our choices. Our Lord wants to seek and save the lost, not simply find them and reassure them.

 

Jesus describes the life saving and life changing way of life as arduous and epic. It takes our ordinary, broken, selfish selves and moves us toward the divine life of holiness, piety, justice, and love.

 

 

Does this teaching offend you?

 

 

Gracious God,

Remind me how much is at stake in my decisions. Help me see ultimate consequences which lie behind daily choices.

Amen.

 

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

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