†
Jesus himself told the story of the rich man Lazarus:
Luke 16:19
[ The Rich Man and Lazarus ] “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.
Luke 16:18-20 (in Context) Luke 16 (Whole Chapter)
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” End of Text
Conclusion: God made a way for us to be ‘Redeemed’ and Jesus is the way, and His Resurrection proved that we do live forever, but there are two destinations after our physical earthly death, One is the way of everlasting suffering, and the other is His Everlasting Joy in a Place of Splendor by knowing Him (Jesus our Redeemer).
So which do we choose? It is obvious, the Everlasting Life of Joy in Jesus. He said…
Hebrews 3:15
As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”
Hebrews 3:14-16 (in Context) Hebrews 3 (Whole Chapter)
6 But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.
7 So, as the Holy Spirit says:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the wilderness,
Remember… Jesus our Sovereign God in One of His Holy Trinity has the power to save, as he said to the thief on the cross next to him that said; “Lord remember me when you come into Your Kingdom” …
Luke 23:43
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 23:42-44 (in Context) Luke 23 (Whole Chapter)
Do not wait till the last moment to come to him, it is like driving off the lot in your brand new car without insurance, this is something you can do if you paid for it in full but if you financed or leased this vehicle, you had to provide proof of insurance before driving off the lot, if we placed so much value on an automobile, what do we think of our soul that will live forever?
So come to Him Now?
New International Version (NIV)
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
On the subject of stewardship and managing what we have. Today we want to take a look at our possessions, our resources. We look at the world’s economic conditions and wonder why The USA, France, The UK, Spain, Italy and a few other developed nations and wonder why are these so called world-class economies are awash in debt? Is it because we spend more than what we take in? Yes, then why are we spending more than what we take in? is it because China has beaten us at our own game?
Before answering any of the above, let us first read about David when they were about to build the temple….
1 Chronicle 29 New International Version-NIV
10 David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,
“Praise be to you, LORD,
the God of our father Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
11 Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, LORD, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.
12 Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
13 Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name.
14 “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.15 We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. 16 LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. 17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.
End of Bible Text
Continuing of the subject of Stewardship; Stewardship is defined in the dictionary as… the action of conducting, supervising, or managing of something;especially: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care <stewardship of natural resources>
Back to the question at the beginning, yes we are spending more than what we take in, but we need to find new ways of getting more in, for the USA and the rest of the world, we need to stop and know that HE IS GOD... we need to be good stewards, and the key factors are, responsibility, management with care of what we are entrusted with....just like Jesus said in the following teaching:
22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
†
Continuing the discussion on Stewardship; the text from Matthew 25: 22-23 are direct statements made by Jesus himself. Oftentimes, our Lord spoke using graphic illustrations, and Jesus was laying out a metaphor that He used bags of gold, but in the real world today we could say that the bag of gold is in fact the talent that He entrusted us with.
New International Version (NIV)
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
As a custodian of what we receive as the Favor of our Lord, we need to continue to ‘Seek’ Him, and by Seeking Him we will ‘Love’ Him and His Love will overflow to others through us.
As Stewards we are just caretakers (Custodians) until we journey on to Glory in His presence, and this point all earthly possessions that we held are left behind.
In the above Scripture, our Lord is not telling us to go and trade Gold, He is saying that we must proclaim the Gospel and bring others to Him, just as He said, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
Conclusion… Lay up treasures in heaven, treasure are defined by extending the Love of Christ to others and to use that ‘Bag of Gold’ which is His Gospel of Good News of His Resurrection from death to life-everlasting, this Good News that He died for our sins so that we can be saved, and only by His Blood of Atonement, a divine action to Redeem us as His Grace extended to us while we are here right now, this grace expires when we dies or when Jesus returns, at any of these events, should one or the other occur before you have accepted Jesus as your Redeemer you will face the wrath of God… While our Lord is a loving God full of compassion, yet the scriptures said; ‘Our God is a God of consuming fire’ To accept Jesus pray in faith and acknowledge that He died and paid the penalty of our Sin. Why did He do this? because we were born in Sin, from the sin handed down from Adam. You see we will die, but our soul will live on forever, and Our Lord’s Grace extended here can Redeem us by coming to Him and asking Him to forgive you of your sins, and for Him to be your Redeemer and to be your Sovereign Eternal God, Jesus is One in the Trinity of the Father our Creator and as God in One, Jesus sits of the throne of Righteousness and until that day when we are taken into His Kingdom, He Intercedes for us to His Father, and as we come to Him in prayers, He will guide you and forgive you and as you seek him; His Holy Spirit will fill you and your spiritual walk with Him will grow.
Now as a new person in faith remember to use the “Bag of Gold’ that you will gain to bring others to Jesus, this is the explanation of his story, when He will say… ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
WHO IS JESUS? (All Scripture texts from the NIV Bible)
Hebrews 1: 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. Isaiah 61: 1, 3 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me.... (This refers to Jesus being endowed by The Father to come and be our Redeemer Hebrews 8 and Psalm 45: 6&7 are identical and it affirms The Anointing of Jesus as The Christ; which is Prophecy fulfilled)
Hebrews 6: 1 Verse 3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory,
Hebrews 1: verse 3. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in Heaven.
Hebrews 6: 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. Hebrews 6: 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie.
16 Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
Take part in our Prayer requests, go to our MISSION page
Ten things we need to remind ourselves of;
Regarding:
Why worry about things that are broken? If they are Man-Made these are easily fixed or replaced, in this category nothing is life threatening, it’s only a thing that we can buy, or somehow replace.
Regarding:
Why worry about these circumstances? These are also man-made what we face can be changed so dramatically by trusting HIM, but as said, while the Farmers trust in the goodness of the Lord for a good crop, each farmer must till the soil, prepare for planting, remove the seed and plant them, then look to our Lord for His Grace. Therefore, we have to; Ask Seek, and Knock, and when we come to the source that our Lord has provided, we will be highly rewarded with HIS abundance. Jesus said…
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Regarding:
Health-Illness
Need for Access to Healthcare
Healing
Bring your request to our Lord, He is the greatest Physician,
and He can do what He knows best for each of us. He prepares us for the days ahead, of enduring this life full of challenges and He is always ready to receive you home and give you a place of Splendor; as this is HIS promise to those that seek Him and know HIM…Healing: While we come to our Lord for His healing power, let us give Him the glory and thank Him for His restoration, as He said in Psalms 103:
Today make Jesus Christ the Center of your life
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
If You know HIM you will Love and Serve HIM… by:
Romans 12:1 (NIV)
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
John 14:21 (NIV)
Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
Then live by HIS precept, as told to us in:
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
So today we can know the affirmation of:
And our Heavenly Rewards are far greater that the temporary things that will need replacing as soon as man’s short-term warranty expire so that they can sell you a service contract.
With our Lord there is a Service Contract but there is no Premium, why? Because; HE already paid it in FULL at the Cross by HIS Blood; His blood is the “Atonement” for our sins, it is the Divine Gift of Grace that He granted to each of us.
Grace is like your house payment that is past due, but there is a late fee and if you do not make the payment, it is then declared a delinquent loan, and by ignoring the bank the loan is then foreclosed… with God our life is declared PAID-In-FULL so that we can look to the future by HIS preparation for Life-everlasting….
1. See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
2. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
3. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
For He said: All things work together for good to those that love the Lord…
Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:27-29 (in Context) Romans 8 (Whole Chapter)
Remember the battle is the Lord's, and HE sits on the Throne of Righteous and intercedes for us... What a Privilege HE gave us!
4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
The forgoing is a message of Hope
and also HIS warning in verse 8.
Go to our Green Pastures page and read how to receive HIS Precious Gift…and be among those referred to in Verse 7 above; “Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children”… On this principle, let us choose to be among the Victors…
These are what our Lord Jesus came to provide:
And He said we will be in a place of Splendor with unimaginable JOY in HIS presence. A place where there will be no Sin, as it is Sanctified by our Lord Jesus that sits at the Right-hand of The Father and Creator.
4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Our daily interaction with others will be sometimes challenging in dealing with
Our Families, Our Neighbors, Our Business Associates and life in general, but we must remember the following:…
Our Brothers and Sisters in Christ Our Lord gave us a privilege of living a harmonious life, full of Joy… Joy is mentioned in the Bible 155 times, so our Lord must have a lot of JOY in store for us, here and tomorrow.
Forgiveness is one of the key stepping stones to achieving JOY, it’s not just healthy for one’s mental state, carrying a ‘grudge’ is only hurting you and no one else. Therefore, clear your mind by forgiving those that caused you any pain… it is good for your health, but it restores lasting relationships; and allows you to live in Peace… not in pieces, by His Peace that transcends all things…It is found in the Precious Gift from our Lord, as He said, my Peace I give unto you…
John 14:27 American Standard Version
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.
Romans 8:28 American Standard Version
And we know that to them that love
God all things work together for good,
even to them that are called according to his purpose.
Living by…. ‘Economy of Scale’ or by ‘Economy of Grace’
In business the guideline of Economy of Scale is a widely used benchmark… in the economy of man we need this guide as resources are not limit less, in God’s economy, He applies the Economy of Grace as His Resources are limit less and in abundance…
Today as we address the commercialization of our Lord’s Birthday… Let the world know that Christmas is a season and it is a real purposeful day….
“BE STILL AND KNOW that I AM GOD;
I will be exalted among the nations;
I WILL BE EXALTED in the earth.”
Psalm 46:10 New International Version (NIV)
Stop and know that I am God… What a profound statement to honor our Eternal God who made it all.