Jump Start # 2766

Luke 16:22 “Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.”

This week I am sharing some thoughts concerning the recent passing of my dad. This verse really came to my mind the last time I was with him. Dad was passing away. He was comatose. His breathing was shallow and infrequent. The door of death was opening.

As I sat there watching him in the wee hours of the morning, I wondered if angels were in the room. I wondered how long it took for angels to come. I wondered when they gathered my dad’s soul, how long it would take to get to the other side. I wondered if he would know or even see that journey. I wondered if there would be just one angel or several. So many thoughts that are not answered for us. Don’t read the junk written by moderns about dying and coming back. Those books are bogus, phony, and laced with Biblical inconsistencies and error. They are not worth the paper they are printed on. They will fill your mind with ideas that are not true to Scriptures.

I don’t know if the angels were in the room when I was there. Angels are spirits and you cannot see a spirit. But I thought, just imagine, those angels being in the presence of God Himself and now they might be right here. What all might those angels have done in the past? Could they have been the ones to help Jesus? Were they the ones that opened the prison door for Peter? Do I believe that angels carry the soul of the righteous to the other side? Absolutely!

But as impressive as that might be, there stands yet a greater thought. The Bible teaches that we stand in the presence of God. We do this as we gather to worship Him. We do this as we walk with Him. It is so easy for us to have a “here and there” attitude. We are here and God is there. We are here in all of this muck and mire and He’s there in Heaven. But that’s not a true picture.

The Psalmist declared, “Where can I go from Your presence?” If to Heaven, you are there. If in death, You are there. If in the depths of the sea, even there, You’re there. There is no escaping His presence. There is no place He is kept out. The government can forbid prayers in school, but they can’t keep God’s presence out. The courts can declare that religion doesn’t belong in the state house, but you can’t keep God’s presence out. When one sits alone in a surgery waiting room, God is there. When one walks away from the cemetery, God is there. When one cries at night, God is there.

From these some reminders:

First, we are never really alone. We may be by ourselves, but we are not alone. God is there. God is with us. You may be the only righteous person in your family. Likely, you may be the only righteous person where you work. However, you are not alone. God is with you.

Second, this is much more than just His presence. Presence does much good. You see that with little children. Take a walk with them. One will always want to be the leader. They want to be out front. But as they walk along, you’ll notice them turning around, making sure the big ones are still near by. Presence. Little ones putting their hand into your hand. The storms don’t seem so bad and the night so long when you have someone you trust, love and can assure you.

Having God with us provides the best help possible. God can do all things. When doors are shut, God can open them. When there doesn’t seem to be any options, God has some. This is why we pray. We pray, not because verbalizing your problems is healthy and talking them out will help you come up with answers. That’s not it at all. We pray because God hears. We pray because God can do things. We pray because of God. God with us means we have help and hope.

Third, God’s presence also means that He understands and loves us. God doesn’t have to be with us. God could be anywhere. He could be on the back side of the moon and keep His presence hidden from us. He could play the game, “Come and find Me,” and we would never be able to do that. Because He is near, shows that is where He wants to be. He wants to be with you. He loves you. Yes, even though there has been days in which we have let God down. Yes, even though there have been times when we have not thought much about Him. He’s always thinking of us. What greater expression of love than being with someone. It’s not the gifts. It’s not the places you go to. It’s just being with the one you love.

Fourth, God is with us because He wants us to be with Him. Not just on Sunday in a church building. He wants us to be with Him eternally in Heaven. This is why we were created. This is our purpose. This is what God wants. He’s with us so we could be with Him.

In the presence of angels is one thing. In the presence of God is something far greater. I don’t know if I was around angels the other night. I do know that God has been with me. It’s not a feeling. It’s not just one of those things you know. The promises of God in the Scriptures assure us of that.

With God, now and forever.

Roger

Jump Start # 2481

Luke 16:22 “Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.”

The rich man and Lazarus is a window into what happens after we die. The rich man knew. He remembered. He felt. He understood. It seems all that he was remained except for this physical body. He died, but there was no “The End,” to his story. His death wasn’t the final page. He lived on, but things were so different for him. He couldn’t even command a simply drop of water to be brought to him. He wanted word sent to his five brothers who were still alive. That was denied. He couldn’t cross over to where Lazarus was. He lived on, but it certainly wasn’t like what he was used to while on earth.

And his money, his purple clothing, his gated house, his fine linen, the fancy foods, none of those things were with him on the other side. And, none of those things kept death from coming. His money might have paid for doctors and medicine, but it couldn’t buy health. His money could have purchased fine foods and clothing but it couldn’t stop the divine appointment God had for him.

On the other side, his concerns were water for himself and warnings for his brother. He doesn’t ask about his purple clothes. He doesn’t seem to be concerned about who is now living in his house. He doesn’t say anything about the fine foods he has been eating. What the rich man recognized, though too late, is what really matters in life. And, the things that matter the most cannot be purchased.

Here are a few examples:

1. Time is a gift of God. We take it for granted. We waste time. We use time. But we can’t purchase time. When people were busy making purchases on Cyber Monday, no one was able to buy an extra day. We buy electronics and gadgets that are supposed to save us time, but we find ways to burn through those “saved” moments. I expect the rich man would have walked away from his fine house had he been able to have one more day to live. Had the Lord said, “You were to die today, but I’m granting you one more day,” you’d think he would do things differently. You’d think he would forget about the purple, the food, the stuff and fall to his knees begging mercy from the Lord.

2. Family is a precious gift from the Lord. Sometimes our families are filled with drama, stress and pain. Sometimes our friends take advantage of us and use us. But what came to the rich man’s mind after he crossed over to the other side? His five brothers. He did not want them to come to where he was. He wanted them to be saved. We get together with family and friends and we tease one another, laugh together, have fun together, but maybe what we ought to do is have some serious conversations about the Lord and what happens after death. We are not told whether these five brothers were in business with the rich man. We don’t know how close their relationship was. But, other than water for himself, what he begged for was word to be sent to his family. His money couldn’t buy salvation for his brothers. His money couldn’t keep death way from them. His position, his power, his influence—none of that impresses God. He knew that they were just like he was. He knew that unless something changed, they would be with him in torment. They were on the same path that he followed.

3. Faith in God is a personal choice. The rich man could have donated a mountain of money to the Temple, but that would not have changed this story. He could have bought personal copies of God’s word, like the Ethiopian eunuch had, but that would not have changed this story. Faith in God is personal. Faith must be driven from our heart. Faith comes from believing, trusting and obeying the Lord. Faith changes us. Faith doesn’t lie dormant or idle. Faith is action. Noah believed God and built the ark. Abraham believed God and left Ur. They did those things because God said so. Long ago, some folks purchased their own pews in church buildings. They had little metal signs indicating that. They would be the only ones to sit in “their pew.” But even that doesn’t change this story. The rich man was too busy for God. The rich man ignored a generous and kind God and that shaped his character. He ignored the opportunity to help poor Lazarus. Lazarus wasn’t in Africa. He wasn’t lying in the streets in some rough area of town. He was at the rich man’s gates. Every day as the rich man left for work, to make more money, he had to pass right by Lazarus. His eyes never saw him, because his heart was closed and selfish. He could have brought Lazarus into his home. He could have provided food, and even sent for a doctor. He may have been able to extend some time for Lazarus and in doing this, he may have softened his heart, and thought about how blessed God had made him. He may have opened his eyes to the Lord and started listening to the words of God. He may have changed his eternal destiny, had he only allowed faith to take root in his heart. But as it is, he was too busy. Too busy for church. No time to read the Bible. Got a long list of things to do. That’s us. That’s our times. And, some day, death will come and then we will see what really matters and what we so often have chased in life are the things that are of no consequence.

Contextually, Luke strings together a series of stories about riches. First, there is the prodigal. Took his inheritance and lived like a fool. Then there is the dishonest servant who was embezzling from his master and go caught. And, right before the story of the rich man and Lazarus, Luke adds, “Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things, and they were scoffing at Him.”

Given money. Stolen money. Earned money. Doesn’t matter, because if money is your god, your ambition, your heart, it will take you away from God. Five minutes after he died, the rich man got it. He got it too late. He realized what a blessing time was. He saw how important family was. And, he realized that faith was more important than money. Poor, pitiful, lonely, sick Lazarus was better off than the rich man. Lazarus was the one who was truly rich and the rich man was truly destitute. He never saw that until it was too late.

Now, all of this comes to us. Are you more like the rich man or like Lazarus? Where is your heart? What moves your needle? What impresses you? Paul said, “We make it our ambition to please the Lord.” Best give that some thought.

(We have a Jump Start book devoted to the story of the rich man and Lazarus. If you would like a free copy please email me, with your address, to: Rogshouse@aol.com)

Roger

Jump Start # 2387

Luke 16:22 “Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.”

I’ve had this verse on my mind lately. A couple of days ago I wrote about a dear brother in Christ named Terry. Terry passed away the morning that Jump Start came out. He died early in the morning. Just about the same time Terry passed through the doorway of death, a preacher in Texas was also passing away. He had been severely injured in a car accident and didn’t survive. I got to thinking about this the other night while lying in bed. From a hospital in Louisville and a hospital in Texas, two righteous souls, at about the same time, were carried by angels to their rest in paradise.

Now, all of that started a series of thoughts, questions and curiosities to my mind.

• Is it just one angel that carries the souls of the righteous? It takes more than a couple of hours for me to fly from Louisville to Texas. But angels, they could travel that distance in no time. Or, does each righteous soul have it’s own transporting angel?
• Do the angels wait until we cross through the doorway of death, or are they with us as we die?
• How do the wicked get where they are going?
• How long does it take to get from here to Paradise?
• Does a person see earth getting smaller and smaller in the distance?
• What does it feel like to be carried by angels?
• Do we realize that we are being carried by angels? Or, is it like a child that falls asleep and his father carries him and puts him in bed. When he wakes up, he’s in bed. He didn’t realize his father had carried him. Will it be like that?

Now, most of you are probably thinking, ‘You should just go to sleep and stop all of this wondering,’ but those thoughts are there. And, what’s even more troubling is that the Scriptures do not answer these questions. And, if the Scriptures do not answer these, we know all the stories people have claimed about seeing lights and floating are not true. Don’t trust the unproven words of man.

Why did Jesus tell us these things? Now our minds are running and we can’t stop. What’s it like to be carried by angels? Here are some things I believe Jesus was wanting us to see in this passage:

First, you’ll notice Lazarus isn’t called by his name. He is called the poor man. He was poor in finances. He was poor in health. He was poor in resources. So desperate, he was laid at a rich man’s gate. That’s not the place you take extremely ill people. You take them to the hospital. You call the doctor. You call family and friends. Leaving someone out in the elements with the hopes that some rich guy will have pity is truly desperate. It seems that Lazarus had no one. It seems that he died there at the rich man’s gates. It seems he died alone. No one surrounding him. No one praying. No one holding his hand. And, likely, his body was dumped in a pauper’s grave. Unmarked. Forgotten.

But he wasn’t forgotten. Heaven sent angels. God remembered. God knew. This poor man had no comfort in life, but in his death and when he crossed into the next room, he found the best care, love, and acceptance. God didn’t send a preacher. God didn’t send a priest, prophet or even an apostle. God sent angels. Poor Lazarus wasn’t remembered by God because he was simply poor. What catches the attention of God’s eyes is our faith. Implied and taught all over the Scriptures is the value of believing. Angels came because Lazarus believed.

Second, Jesus tells this story because the bulk of his audiences were like Lazarus. They were poor people. They were common people. They were simple laborers. Living in a big house, behind a gate, wearing purple and eating a feast every day, is something that Jesus’ audiences would never experience. And, the imbalance of the world would side with the rich man. He’s a success, the world would scream. He’s on top of the world. His funeral would have been elaborate. His grave stone, tall and impressive. Yet, on the other side, it was certainly a different picture. No angels are said to have come for the rich man. No tenderness is shown. No comfort is extended. No precious love. No God with him. This is a reminder to what really matters. Oh, we’d love to live behind that gate, eat that food, and wear those clothes. We’d have a grand time. But where does it take us? And, what does it do for us? We live here seventy, eighty, or possibly ninety years. On the other side, in the other room, we will be there forever. Poor Lazarus was now being comforted. The rich man was in torment and he had no help and no hope. Don’t lose sight of what is important. Don’t let the glitter and glamour of this world make you take your eyes off of Jesus. Lazarus who died alone by a rich man’s gates, was treasured, comforted and helped by God.

Third, this story reminds us that when we walk with God, we are never alone, not even in our death. The angels came. Now, in our way of thinking, we’d expect God to bring health back to Lazarus. Make him stand up again. Make him well. Rags to riches story—that’s what we want. But that’s worldly thinking. This world isn’t it. We are not physical beings who happen to have a soul. We are spiritual beings who happen to have a body. Jesus promised the apostles that He would be with them until the end of the age. The Psalmist said that even though we walk through the valley of death, God is with us. He comforts us. He is there. The journey for those early followers of Jesus would be hard. Many would have to make tough choices regarding their faith. Many would die because of their faith. God would be with them. They would be triumphant in Christ. Angels came. All was ok. There is nothing to fear. The future is bright and good.

Fourth, the expression Abraham’s bosom, signifies an embrace, a hug. You hug those you love. You hug those you haven’t seen in a long while. I’m a hugger. I’d rather hug than shake hands. And, here, poor, sick, dying Lazarus, who had no one, is embraced by the great father of faith, Abraham. Lazarus was loved. Lazarus was welcomed. Lazarus was accepted. He was where he belonged. He would never be sick again. He would never be  alone again. He would never be hopeless again. He would never have to struggle with temptation, fear, worry, or the troubles of life. Safe. Home. Where he belongs. You know the feeling when you have been on the road for a while. Hotels are nice, but it’s not your bed. And, when you finally sink into your own bed, what a feeling that is. Indeed, there is no place like home. Spiritually, for the believer, that place is in the presence of God

When Herod ordered those young babies killed in the first century, angels came. They must have been busy that night. Angels came when Stephen was killed. Angels must have come when Antipas was killed. And, if you are a believer and a follower of Christ, angels are coming someday for you. They will carry you home. It may be a busy night for angels, but they will get the job done. They always do!

(We have three Jump Start books relating to the things in this piece. We have a Jump Start book on angels, another on the rich man and Lazarus and one on the subject of death. These are all free. If you would like a copy email me: Rogshouse@aol.com)

Roger

Jump Start # 2247

Luke 16:22 “Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom, and the rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and sees Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom.”

Our verse today comes from the powerful story of the rich man and Lazarus. Folks have debated for years whether his is a parable or a real story. My answer is “yes.” Contextually, flowing through Luke, it fits to be a parable. Is it real? Yes. Parables are true in principle. The trouble people have is with the name Lazarus. No other parable, we are told, has real names. But is that a rule or just a common characteristic. This section begins, “Now there was a certain rich man…” which is similar to how the chapter begins, “There was a certain rich man who had a steward.” This is similar to how the prodigal son parable begins in the previous chapter, “A certain man had two sons…”.

Real or parable, this passage gives us one of the only windows into the next room. Once one passes through the door of death, we wonder. What is it like in that next place? What are they doing? And, this passage answers so many of those questions. They have identity. They have memory. They have feelings. They have understanding. They have communication. They were alive, even though their bodies were dead. The rich man knew he had five brothers that were still alive. He knew why he was in torment. He knew that his brothers would follow because of the way they were living. He knew what Moses and the Prophets represented.

All of this tells us that death doesn’t end our lives. We merely move on to the next room. It’s not just the righteous that live, but the wicked rich man was alive as well. Both were in hades. This wasn’t Heaven and this wasn’t hell. However, some things had changed. They were separated and they couldn’t change their positions. There was no crossing over and no going back. The rich man, probably for the first time in his life, was begging. He had no one to help him. He couldn’t command servants, like he did in life. All his money and all his possessions were of no use to him now. He was wanting just a common drop of water, and that would not be given to him. No mercy. No love. No compassion. No one to care for him. In many ways, he was receiving exactly what he had done to Lazarus in life.

I want to focus particularly upon the expression, “in Hades he lifts up his eyes.” The rich man saw things for the first time. He saw what really mattered for the first time. And, borrowing that expression, consider Four Things You Will Know After You Die. You will know these immediately when you die. These are things that you can know now, but most don’t. But after death, everyone will know these.

First, you will know that Jesus is right. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is God’s only begotten Son. People today question Jesus. They challenge Jesus. They want to debate the Jesus idea. But five minutes after we die, we will all know that Jesus is right. He was always right. He died for our sins. He is our Savior, our hope and our redeemer. If we do not believe in Him, we will die in our sins. He said that, and He was right.

Second, you will know that the Bible spoke the truth. Righteousness matters. What God said is it. Our tolerant culture wants everyone to be accepted. No one is excluded. Everyone and everything is right. It doesn’t matter who or what you marry, what you smoke, what you do, it’s all just fine. No judgment, no guilt, no shame. That’s our culture. It’s not God’s. Five minutes after you die, you will know that the Bible spoke the truth. Goodness isn’t good enough, not for Heaven. You can ignore the Bible, but it won’t go away. You can denounce it as a collection of ancient myths, but you’ll find out one of these days that it spoke the truth.

Third, you will know five minutes after you die, that eternity is so different than here. On earth, we have choices. On earth, I can do what I want. On earth, I can improve. On earth, I have options. But the pitiful rich man didn’t have that any more. Life on the other side was so different. He wasn’t a big shot on the other side. His status didn’t matter. He didn’t have options. He couldn’t improve himself. All the tears he could cry, would not change anything. This was worse than a nightmare. Nightmares are not real, this was. Nightmares end, this didn’t. The false and fanciful idea that so many have of the afterlife is one continual fantasy island where we each get to do what we long to do. Shop. Golf. Play. Relax on the beach. Chocolate. Fun. A never ending vacation. All the food you can eat and you’ll never get fat. All the pets you want and you won’t have to feed them nor take care of them. Happy, happy, happy—and selfish, selfish, selfish. These thoughts are not Bible based nor Bible driven. The reason the rich man was in torments was because he lived a selfish life that ignored God. That put him in agony and torment, not Heaven. And, as bad as it was, it still wasn’t hell. And, as comforted as Lazarus was, that still wasn’t Heaven. Hades is the unseen world. It’s not the final destiny. Revelation tells us that death and hades will be thrown into the Lake of fire.

Finally, five minutes after death, every person will know that their choices determined where they ended up. This wasn’t predetermined by God. This wasn’t random selection. God doesn’t actually send anyone any where. Our choices make that decision. We live for Christ, or we ignore Christ. We follow the Bible or we keep our Bibles closed. We become like Christ, or we do what we feel like. We forgive, or we hold hatred in our hearts. We offer grace or we throw the book at a person. We are patient or we judge harshly. We walk through life with compassion or we carry an attitude about us.

Five minutes after we die. That’s all it’s going to take. You’ll find out, but you may find out too late, like the rich man did. You can know these spiritual and eternal truths today. You can make the right choices today. You can live without fear and worry. You can walk with Christ and have the hope and the assurance that God’s angels will carry you to paradise.

Five minutes. It won’t take that long for you to know.

Roger

Jump Start # 2134

Luke 16:22 “Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.”

I love this story of the rich man and Lazarus. We have a Jump Start book on this topic. It’s been a while since I wrote about this, so I thought I’d take a look at Four Realities of Death. Hopefully, that will be tomorrow’s topic. Today, I want to take a look at some things on this side of death. Lessons we see from this great text.

It is interesting to see the series of contrasts that Jesus makes before and after this account.

• Lk 15:11 a certain man had two sons. And, boy, were they different and yet in many ways they were the same.
• Lk 16 we see two men who died. So different in life and so different in death
• Lk 17:35 has two women working at the mill
• Lk 18:10 has two men going up to pray in the temple.

It is also interesting to see the similarities to how this story begins and how the chapter begins. In Luke 16:1, we read, “there was a certain rich man…” Now, down in Luke 16:19, “There was a certain rich man…” This is not the same person in both stories.

Now, let’s look at a few lessons about these two men before they died. After they die, their roles reverse. In life, the rich man is doing well and poor Lazarus has no one. He is dumped at the rich man’s gate with the hopes that the rich man will have some pity on him and take care of him. But after they died, the rich man is in agony and Lazarus is comforted. Their financial status had nothing to do with their eternal conditions. If it did, then every poor person is going to Heaven and every rich person is lost. There were many rich people that pleased God, such as the blameless Job, the faithful Abraham, or even little Zacchaeus who found salvation in the Lord. Poverty is not the way to Heaven. What moves God is our faith. Belief and obedience in Christ is what matters. Trust and obey is what we sing. What hurt the rich man was not the amount of his riches, but the smallness of his heart. Lazarus was not on the other side of the world. He was at the rich man’s gate. Every day, when the rich man passed through those gates, he would have seen Lazarus. Somehow, in the next world, he knew Lazarus’ name. He called to him by name.

First, Success in the world does not mean success with God. You may turn someone’s head because of the car you drive or the clothes you wear. That doesn’t impress God. I remember walking into Kansas City Royals stadium, with my friend Freddie Patek, a former player. As we walked up, people opened the doors, not for me, but for Freddie. I was just tagging along behind. They greeted him. Some came over and shook his hands. As we made our way to our seats, a few stood up and waved to him. No one waved to me. The doors of Heaven aren’t going to be opened to you because you were a hotshot here. You may move people, companies and money, but unless you move your heart towards God, none of that matters. Poor Lazarus didn’t even have a bed to sleep in, yet the doors of God’s heart had mercy and grace for him because he believed.

Second, some conditions of misery are not relieved. Obviously, Lazarus was watched over by God. At his death, angels carried his soul to Paradise. However, on this side of death, God did not take away Lazarus’ illness. He died. Not every sickness will be healed. Not every injustice will be made right. Not every toxic relationship will end happily. Not every prayer of the righteous will be answered as they want. This is a hard one for us. We want everything to work out fine. We want the rich man to rush out of his house, scoop up Lazarus in his arms, carry him inside and order the best medical attention that is available. We want Lazarus to get well and he and the rich man to become dear friends. We want this story to end happily. It doesn’t on this side of things. Lazarus dies. Tragically, he may have been saved. Poor as he was, he was likely buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave. Likely, few if any shed a tear at his death. Likely, there was no tombstone to mark his grave. There is a strong possibility that no one ever visited his grave. No flowers were left there. It looks as if Lazarus hardly left any footprints on this side of life. This can seem so sad to us. It can seem so unfair to us. The Lazarus story has been and is being lived over and over throughout this world. Poor believers in Africa, India, and generations ago, in this country, died in obscurity. Outside of their immediate families, most were not noticed nor missed. When the history books were written, they were not named. But Heaven did not forget them. God recognized that great faith and their work in the kingdom. What they did and how they lived, may seem foolish compared to the world, but it’s everything to God. These simple poor believers never traveled far. They didn’t own much. Back in Bible times, many were servants and slaves to people like this rich man. Some were taken advantage of. They had little rights. They lived and died in tough conditions. But God was aware. Angels were sent.

This is an important lesson for us. Because you are a believer, don’t just assume your illness will go away. Don’t just assume, someone is going to open the gates and take care of you. It didn’t happen to Lazarus.

Third, this story reminds us that not only is death not the end, for either the righteous or the wicked, but also, death is not the worst thing that can happen to a person. Death is simply a doorway or a passage that takes us into the next world. That door swings one way. Once you pass through, you are not coming back. How fascinating, in this story to see that the rich man could see, talk, feel, remember and know things. Basically, all that he was, remained the same. His body was buried in a grave, but he was very much alive. And, for the first time in a long time, his money didn’t mean a thing. He couldn’t order people around. He couldn’t buy what he wanted. He couldn’t even beg for what he wanted. His freedom changed. He was told “no.” No, Lazarus is not going to get you water. No, Lazarus is not going to warn your brothers. No. You don’t get your way in the next world. On this side of that door called death, we have choices, options and opportunities. On the other side of that door, that all changes. The rich man was in agony and he couldn’t do anything about it. He was hopeless and helpless, just like Lazarus was when he was laying at his gate.

I think in many ways you and I are in the shoes of both men. There are times we are like Lazarus, hopeless and helpless. No one is coming to help us. No one is there. All we have are our prayers. Will we turn our backs on God or still trust in Him. But, then there are times that we are the rich man. Opportunities are right before us, even at our gates. They are hard to miss, but like the rich man, we can ignore them. Too busy now to help others. Too much into our world to think about anyone else. Too selfish and too stingy to do what we could. The thoughts that usually come to our minds are the rough looking guy holding up a card board sign while we sit at a stop light. Shame and guilt fills our heart. Is he legit or is he a fraud? But move your thoughts past that. Right at your gates, maybe that teenager in your congregation who just needs someone to be a friend to him. Or, it may be that person who just needs someone to answer a few questions that they have. Could it be that it’s not just money, but our time, our hearts that we are holding closed to others? Could it be that someone just needs us, but we pass right by them and allow them to die spiritually because of discouragement?

Powerful lessons that can change us, if we will open our eyes and open our hearts.

Roger