Scripture: Luke 16.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Luke 16:24-28 (NLT)

24 “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’ 25 “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’

27 “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. 28 For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

Week after week many of us sit in church and listen as our pastor encourages us to make a decision for Christ. To some that means that they need to give up their life of sin and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives. To some, it means that we need to lay aside the idols in our lives (as noted in another passage I read this morning in Joshua 24:23) and turn away from our idols of greed, wrong priorities, jealousies or prejudices that tend to interfere with our worship, our commitment to God and His work, and that tend to adversely affect our witness to those we come in contact with. Friends, this passage tells me that for those of us who procrastinate on such decisions, we could very easily get caught in the unfortunate trap of the rich young ruler referred to in Luke 24. Over recent days I heard of an incident where a man travelling with his work equipment was called out of this world. I’m sure that this was the last thing that this man or his family thought could happen that day when he left home. Another incident of a 15 year old young man who was taken out of this world that left a whole church body questioning what God could possibly have been trying to say to them. My point is, that when things like this happen, there is immediately a great wall (chasm) that separates that person from ever coming back to make different decisions, or do a better job of witnessing, or being kinder to his family and friends, or even accepting the Lord. There comes a time when it is just TOO LATE. I pray that this will be a day of decisions for anyone reading these thoughts. I pray that we will wholeheartedly surrender our lives to Christ so that we can: 1). Be assured of where we will spend eternity; 2). Become so filled with God’s Holy Spirit that we could be His witnesses in every avenue of our lives, and 3). That we could spend whatever time allotted to us here on this earth being totally committed to God, and give up those idols/sins that tend to hold us back or destroy or hinder our witness to family, friends, coworkers or others. All of this can only be done through the power of the only true God, our Lord and Savior! Jesus is the answer, friend!

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father, I know that You alone holds the key to all that frustrate me in my limited sight and strength. You possess the power that I need to overcome the sin and temptations of this world. You alone can gives me strength to live a Godly life and be a witness of You and for You to a lost, sinful, dying world. Please cleanse me of this world and all that negatively influences me. I know that You are the answer, and I ask that You guide and direct my path, my speech and my actions this day so that others may truly see You in all that I do and say. My I reflect on this day without regrets, knowing that I allowed You full control and direction, so that Your work will may be accomplished in and through me. In Jesus precious name I pray, amen!

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
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