Set FREE! Free as a bird—to soar over the
land—over sin and destruction. Soar over death—no fear. No condemnation—no disapproval.
We will all have to go through judgment at some point in time, but we who are
in Christ Jesus will not be condemned to death—to hell with its fiery lake. Where
do you want to spend eternity? Do you know the story of the lame man named
Lazarus who frequently begged at the gates of an unnamed rich man?
Jesus said, "There was a certain rich
man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day
in luxury. At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores.
As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man's table, the dogs
would come and lick his open sores. Finally, the poor man died and was carried
by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and
his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in
the far distance with Lazarus at his side. 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.' 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. 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.' Then the
rich man said, 'Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father's home.
For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don't end up in
this place of torment.' But Abraham said, 'Moses and the prophets have warned
them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.' The rich man replied, 'No,
Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will
repent of their sins and turn to God.' But Abraham said, 'If they won't listen
to Moses and the prophets, they won't listen even if someone rises from the
dead.' Luke 16:19-31 NLT
So—what do you think? That rich man wanted
to order Lazarus to cool him off—but that wouldn’t happen—and Abraham wouldn’t
send Lazarus back to warn the rich guy’s brothers. This is a warning to us all.
Be ready. We don’t know when we’ll die—but we can decide where we want to spend
eternity. Where will you be? Wishing for a cool drink…or basking in comfort and
security.
Prayer
~ Holy Spirit—thank you for this reminder that we have a choice where we will
spend eternity. May we choose wisely and follow Christ’s ways that we would
spend eternity with Him.
© 2015 by Mickey
M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All
scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise
noted.
Biblical
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