BROADCASTS.com

b'(Is.66:18-21;\\xa0\\xa0 Ps.117:1-2,Mk.16:15;\\xa0\\xa0 Heb.12:5-7,11-13;\\xa0\\xa0 Lk.13:22-30) \\u201cPeople will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.\\u201d \\u201cI come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory,\\u201d even those of \\u201cdistant coastlands that have never heard of my fame, or seen my glory,\\u201d says the Lord.\\xa0 The Word goes forth.\\xa0 The Word goes forth to the ends of the earth and it will open the eyes and ears of all peoples.\\xa0 But who shall be ready for its coming? Indeed, Isaiah\\u2019s prophecy and the verses of our psalm are in harmony with the Lord\\u2019s own words: all the nations shall come, all shall \\u201cpraise the Lord,\\u201d and all shall find a place in His kingdom.\\xa0 The light that goes forth, the glory of the Lord, knows no boundaries, is not limited by constructs of time and place \\u2013 there are no walls in its way.\\xa0 All nations.\\xa0 All tongues.\\xa0 All peoples at all times and in all places are called forth by the all-encompassing love of our God and our Savior.\\xa0 You are welcome at His table, my brother, my sister, whomever you are, wherever you are.\\xa0 It is the Lord\\u2019s will that all come to Him who is the Father of all nations and of all creation.\\xa0 But do you know the way? The way of the Lord is not easy; it is narrow and rough \\u2013 it is one wrought with chastisement, with discipline.\\xa0 \\u201cFor what \\u2018son\\u2019 is there whom his father does not discipline?\\u201d\\xa0 And how can you expect to come into His paradise if the soil of this world still clings to your soul?\\xa0 The cross is the way to the kingdom; only the scourging discipline of the Lord will enable us to sit with Him. And this discipline, this cross, is of love.\\xa0 Do you see this?\\xa0 Do you see how much the Father loves you in His reproof of your sin?\\xa0 \\u201cAt the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.\\u201d\\xa0 If you have not learned this basic lesson of the working of the Lord\\u2019s love, you \\u201cwill not be strong enough\\u201d to enter His gate.\\xa0 You must \\u201cnot be disjointed but healed\\u201d as the Lord takes from you all that is unfit for His presence.\\xa0 Your suffering the loss of this life is all that will bring you to heaven. We note that even the above words of the Lord are as chastisement to the Israelite people who walk with Him, for He is telling them they are not alone in the call to God; other nations shall indeed enter before they.\\xa0 And as this pride in their heritage must be wrested from them before they are prepared for the kingdom, so all that limits the love of the Lord from working in our lives must be taken from us before we may enter in.\\xa0 Fear not the pain this brings.\\xa0 The \\u201cwailing and grinding of teeth\\u201d outside His gates is more painful by far \\u2013 and for this suffering there is no healing anymore. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "There Are No Words" (middle part) from Breath, the Apple Rises, fifth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, teach us always to do what is right that we might be as your sons and enter into your House. YHWH, all peoples are called to your glory, to your kingdom, for all are sons and daughters to you.\\xa0 But truly you must be our Father, we must come from you, we must reflect your image, the image your only Son reflects to us in His way of the Cross, if we are to enter your presence.\\xa0 Relying on accidents of time or place we shall never be saved.\\xa0 Only by accepting the discipline you offer will be made ready for Heaven. Strengthen us, O LORD, by the chastisement you bring to our souls, by the Word of truth come from Jesus\\u2019 mouth.\\xa0 He knows you and is the way to you \\u2013 let us be obedient to His call and the call of His apostles to enter through the narrow gate, to leave all of this world behind that we might come rejoicing to your holy mountain with all our brothers and sisters, with all your blessed children.\\xa0 May all men hear your Son\\u2019s voice this day, that none shall be barred from your kingdom.'