The good news of Christ
Our minds are small, but you, O Lord, know no limits. Expand our horizons.
Our hearts are divided, Father, but you are one. Give us integrity.
Our souls are lost, O God, but you are Finder and Savior. Redeem us from the grave.
Our bodies feel the burden of sin, O Holy Spirit, but you are incorruptible. Give us eternal life.
Heavenly Father,
Help me to see how close I can get to Jesus’ example,
Not how close I can get to the edge of sin.
Let the Lord Jesus be my measure of goodness,
Not the failures of those I see around me.
Keep me from feeling superior in the presence of sinners,
But humble and repentant in the presence of Christ.
I pray your Spirit will keep me from falling,
Just as he strengthened the Savior all the way to the Cross.
Nowhere in the text of Luke 16 is “The Rich and Lazarus” called a parable, but even if the characters are fictitious, Jesus doesn’t ever make fantasy out of doctrine.
I. Luke 16:19-31. We cannot change anything after death. The beggar Lazarus, who had a terrible earthly life, received comfort after death while the rich man, who never thought about anyone but himself in life, was in torment. And that was it. There was no changing their situation, no prayers or purgatory-like system to move a loved one from one side of the chasm to the other. Death is final.
II. 2 Corinthians 7:10-11. The time to repent is now. Allow godly sorrow to produce in you the fruit of true repentance while you still have breath. One who procrastinates in obeying the gospel and living a life of repentance and obedience may find that time runs out on him suddenly. We are not guaranteed even one more minute. The rich man certainly would have liked a second chance.
III. 2 Timothy 3:16-17. We have everything we need to repent. The rich man’s brothers had Moses and the Prophets, God’s Word at that time, the same Bible that the resurrected Jesus preached the gospel from on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:25-27). We have the completed Word of God that thoroughly equips the man of God for every good work.
Like the rich man’s brothers, the world today isn’t convinced of the narrow path to eternal life even though Jesus has risen from the dead. They continue searching for spiritual truth when all they need is widely available to them within the pages of Scripture. What will convince you to live repentance now while you still have breath?
O Lord, we are all Job, aren’t we?
The secret things belong to you.
Many things we could not understand, even if you told us.
You want us to learn to trust you.
Our strength is in our faith.
And our faith is so small!
Forgive us and help us in our lack.
We shall not curse or revile.
We believe, O Father, in your goodness.
Show us the future blessing.