Intersections

	Travel down unfamiliar roads, we are often confronted by decisions as we encounter intersections or forks in the road.  Do we turn to the left, or do we turn to the right?  If we follow one way, we will become lost.  But the other way will lead us to our destination.
	Near the end of their wondering in the desert, the Israelites face a spiritual intersection.  Half of the tribes are instructed to gather on Mt. Ebal to repeat the curses which the people will encounter if they follow in a certain direction.  The others ascend to Mt. Gerizim to state the blessings they will receive if they proceed in the other direction.
	"For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you," God informs the people in Deuteronomy 30:11-19, "nor is it out of reach.  It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?'  Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?'  But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it.  See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it.  But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them,  I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You shall not prolong {your} days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."
	Not long after this, Joshua replaces Moses as the leader of the Israelites.  Near the end of his life, Joshua once again points out to the people that they stand at a spiritual intersection.
	"Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth," we read in Joshua 24:14-15, "and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.  And if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
	After many kings have lead Israel down a pathway toward idolatry, God sends His prophets to warn the people about making the correct choice when they stand at a spiritual crossroad.
	"Come now, and let us reason together," God says through the prophet in Isaiah 1:18-20, "though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.  If you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword."
	But the people still seem to have difficulty in selecting the right path at the crossroad.
	"You shall also say to this people," God instructs another prophet in Jeremiah 21:8 "'Thus says the Lord,"Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death."'"
	The people stand at a spiritual crossroad.  God places before them two simple, clearly marked pathways.  One is the way of life.  The other is the way of death.  Yet the people insist on turning in the wrong direction.

	Generation after generation, men and women find themselves at a spiritual crossroad.  Each much choose to turn either to the right or to the left.
	"Enter by the narrow gate," Jesus advises in Matthew 7:13-14, "for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it.  For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it."
	Notice that there are two characteristics about each road.  One attribute is apparent at the beginning of the road.  The other may not be so obvious until the destination is reached.  One road is very wide.  It is heavily traveled.  This is the road that leads to destruction.  The other path is very narrow.  It is lightly traveled.  This one leads to eternal life.
	In the next verse, Jesus points out a third characteristic of the two roads.
	"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves," the Lord cautions.
	There are false prophets all along the way enticing us to follow the wrong road.  These appear to be followers of God, but they trick us into ignoring the Lord's directions.  After all, we usually get lost when we fail to follow the instructions of the one who gave us the map in the first place.
	Isn't it amazing, then, that people throughout history have chosen to follow the path with the largest number of travelers?  They have not paid any attention to the Lord's directions.
	"And someone said to Him," we find in Luke 13:23-24, "'Lord, are there {just} a few who are being saved?' And He said to them, 'Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.'"
	God knows that most will insist on taking the wrong road.  So he sends John to prepare the pathway.
	"As it is written in Isaiah the prophet," Mark 1:2-3 records, "'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way; the voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight."'"
	Although John sacrifices his life in preparing the right road, enemies quickly step in to lead the travelers astray.
	"You who are full of all deceit and fraud," Paul reprimands one such obstacle in Acts 13:18, "you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?"
	The way is sometimes make crooked.
	"But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient," Acts 19:9 records, "speaking evil of the Way before the multitude, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus."
	Some speak evil of the way.
	"This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord," Acts 18:25-26 notes, "and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately."
	Some may be sincere and fervent, but their knowledge of the way is incomplete.
	"Their feet are swift to shed blood," Paul observes in Romans 3:15-17.  "destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace have they not known."
	Others simply do not know the way.
	"Having eyes full of adultery and that never cease from sin," 2 Peter 2:14-15 points out, "enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children; forsaking the right way they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the {son} of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness."
	Unfortunately, even those who start on the right path often forsake it.
	"And many will follow their sensuality," 2 Peter 2:2-3 laments, "and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in {their} greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep."
	As a result of all this, the way is maligned.
	The way is make crooked.  People speak evil of it.  Some proceed along the way with incomplete information.  Some do not know the way.  Others get lost along the way.  All of this is true in spite of the fact that these same verses refer to the correct path as the way of the Lord, the way of God, the path of peace, the way of the truth, the right way.  And what is this right way?
	"And you know the way where I am going," Jesus tells His apostles in John 14:4-6.  "Thomas said to Him, 'Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?'  Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.'"
	Jesus is the way.  Jesus is the only way.  Jesus is the only way to God.
	"Since therefore, brethren," Hebrews 10:19-20 observes, "we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh."
	Are you standing at a crossroad?  Do you know which road to take?  Is someone trying to direct you down the well-traveled road?   The decision is much too important to take chances.  One path leads to life, but the other leads to destruction.  Choose to follow the narrow path, the way of the Lord, the way of God, the path of peace, the right way, the way of truth so that you may be set free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 Used by permission."