The conscience can be a strong guide in life if we allow it. It seems there are lots of people who go to church regularly, know the Word from front to back, and still behave in ways that are not so godly. The function of the conscience is to correct and reprimand, or to make us feel uneasy when we do something unpleasing to God.

Workers laid the foundation for one of Italy's most famous structures in 1173, a tower designed to stand next to a cathedral. During construction, however, they discovered the soil was softer than previously thought, and the tower began to sink.

We've all made tracks through the valley of failure. What matters is how we respond: do we give up and live a defeated life, or do we believe God can restore us?

I think we could all agree that the United States needs a spiritual awakening. We can't bring a revival about, but we can pray for one. And God tells us, "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Jonah was an Israelite who was given a job to do, but he didn't want to do it. He was called to go and preach the gospel in Nineveh, which was one of the most wicked cities on earth. The Ninevites were the enemies of Israel. The prophets had told Israel that one day the Assyrians would overtake them, and Nineveh was the capital of Assyria.

Most people who choose to walk through the wide gate don't stop to consider the pros and cons of taking the path leading to destruction. Instead, they drift onto that roadway without thinking of the consequences. The narrow gate is different—we must deliberately choose to pass through it and take the sparsely populated way to heaven.