Saturday, April 30, 2011

INSPIRATION FOR YOUR SATURDAY MORNING COFFEE!!!

ARE YOU MAD AT GOD?


by


EVINDA LEPINS


A POWERFUL TESTIMONY FROM THIS VERY WEEK!

This past Easter/Resurrection Sunday was really different for George and me and in some ways, very difficult. Since we do not have a home church at this time, we decided to visit our former church in Claremont, the church that he and I met, and then go on and visit my son and daughter-in-law at their church in West Covina.

As soon as we pulled into the parking lot of our old church, we saw people waving, obviously excited to see us. It warmed our hearts and at the same time, it resonated with the importance of family/community and a home church. We spent the first half hour hugging on people we haven’t seen in years and then we went inside. Worship was absolutely anointed – Jake from Jesus Culture led it – and it really prepared the hearts for what he had to say at the end of an altar call.

As an aside, it was the pastor’s son up there doing the altar call and a mini message. I was so encouraged to realize that the church of tomorrow is gonna be okay! :)

So after two people came forward for the altar call, and Josh was winding it up, Jake starts to speak. This is what he had to say: “Okay, so we just did an altar call, and we only have ten more minutes together so I want to get real with you. First of all, your body is an altar, so congratulations.”

Well, I for one had never heard that, but I was listening.
He goes on. “I know there are people out there saying ‘I don’t want to recommit my life, or know this Jesus guy because I’m mad at Him. I’m ticked off and I just don’t understand how this God thing works.”

He became quiet for a few seconds. “But you know what? You’re here, so you must believe something. It’s no accident that you’re here.”

I so swear you could have heard a pin drop but my teardrops were probably louder. I could feel my friend that I had invited tense up and I began praying for her because I knew he was describing exactly what she was feeling.

He continued. “It’s okay if you’re mad. Do you remember the words cried out by David and then later echoed by Jesus on the cross, ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?’ So you see, even Jesus cried out in frustration and hurt, echoing the words of David who had said exactly the same thing years husbefore Him. So instead of calling you up here for an altar call, why don’t you just stand as an altar and say, ‘God, I’m mad at you, but I’m not giving up. I don’t understand what you’re doing in my life, or with my life, but I’m here and I’m not giving up’.”

By this time, the tears are coming faster than I can wipe them because not only did my friend stand up, but my husband stood up, too. Oh, when someone you love becomes vulnerable like that, it just does something, kind of un-clogs your own heart and tears become streams of water. I can’t even begin to describe how deep his hurt cut into my own heart.

See, we’ve been praying and fasting for a couple of situations for quite some time now, and there doesn’t seem to be any changes It’s painful to watch. To top it off, we have never been without a church home, and it has been especially hard on my guy. Don’t get me wrong; his faith is as strong as ever. He just has a lot of questions and his heart is hurting. And on Resurrection Sunday, he learned it was okay to express his frustration and hurt with God. It was so freeing because to acknowledge hurt is the first step to letting it go! :)

There is no such thing as a perfect church – otherwise I couldn’t attend :)– and we must try to remember that Godly people do ungodly things, but church is family and family is one of the most vital necessary components for our emotional and spiritual growth. Spiritual growth is what helps us through those times when we are mad at God and/or we just don’t understand what the heck He’s doing with and in our lives.

So if you’re not rooted in a home church, may I encourage you to do so, and would you pray that we would land in one soon, too?
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Friday, April 29, 2011

YOUR FRIDAY MORNING DEVOTION!

SPIRITUAL NOURISHMENT


BY 


Carla McDougal


 “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as new born babies, desire pure milk of the Word, that you may grow.” 1 Peter 2:1-2 (NKJV)
I love dissecting scripture! Grasping the true meaning of the words from the Greek and Hebrew definitions gives Spiritual Nourishment to the soul. It’s like examining and understanding the Nutrition Fact on the side of food boxes. May today’s journey impact your walk with the Lord as we break apart 1 Peter 2:1-2.
Desire… Greek Definition: to long for, crave, to pursue with love, to long after.
What do you long for in life? Do you crave more money, success, power, recognition, material things, or possibly perfection? Or, do you long after righteousness, mercy and grace through Jesus?
                                                                    
Pure milk… Greek Definitions:
·      Pure:  unmixed, unadulterated, sincere
·      Milk: a metaph. for the less difficult Christian truths
Would you mix a teaspoon of garlic in a bottle of milk for your baby? No way! Without a doubt, the baby’s tummy would keep him crying for hours! Neither is it a good idea to water down the baby’s milk to the point at which the nutrients are depleted. Just as a baby requires pure milk, our walk with Jesus must contain purified, unpolluted, sincere biblical truths. The result: Spiritual Nourishment! This leads us to the next part of the verse…
                                                                          
Of the word… Greek Definition: logikos means spoken word, pertaining to the soul or spirit.

More than likely you have heard the old statement, “You are what you eat.” There is even a book out with this title. It focuses on a nutrition program to improve health and change dietary habits. Hmm, I see a spiritual life lesson forming. Just as healthy physical food energizes the physical body, so feeding on the true and solid spoken word about Jesus Christ feeds the soul. Now we are getting somewhere!
                                                                           
That you may Grow… Greek Definition: to grow, increase speaking of plants, infants, a multitude of people, inward Christian growth.
Now, I am trying to contain myself. I want to jump out of my chair and shout, “God you are so awesome!”  Think about this, in order to grow in our walk with the Lord and experience Spiritual Nourishment we must first crave the sincere, unaltered Christian truths! As we humbly desire and grasp the gift of God’s grace and unconditional love through His son Jesus Christ our soul is nourished. Daily realizing, "Life is not about me, but all about Him"  feeds the mind and heart with the truths of God. Believing, "The only way to the Father is through His son" energizes our purpose into action. Oh, I could go on and on. I love reading and diving into the Word of God!
Challenge for the (next) Week…  Can a baby live off of one bottle of milk a week? No! It’s more like 6-8 bottles a day. Likewise, can a child of God grow and mature spiritually with one feeding on Sunday mornings? No! We would stay weak and frail in our Christian life. This week crave to seek the Lord’s truths through reading His Word, praying throughout your day and looking for God's life lessons along the way. He is waiting to give you Spiritual Nourishment everyday!


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Thursday, April 28, 2011

YOUR THURSDAY MORNING DEVOTION!

THESE ARE THE VERY LAST WORDS COMMUNICATED TO THE WORLD BY THE GREAT AMERICAN PREACHER AND MAN OF GOD, DR. DAVID WILKERSON (WHO DIED IN AN ACCIDENT IN TEXAS HOURS AFTER HE POSTED THIS!!!)
ALWAYS THE ENCOURAGER, HE LEFT AMAZINGLY PROPHETIC WORDS BEHIND......
(Dave wrote and posted this on Wednesday April 27, his day of Graduation to Heaven!)

To believe when all means fail is exceedingly pleasing to God and is most acceptable. Jesus said to Thomas, “You have believed because you have seen, but blessed are those that do believe and have not seen” (John 20:29).

Blessed are those who believe when there is no evidence of an answer to prayer—who trust beyond hope when all means have failed.


Someone has come to the place of hopelessness—the end of hope—the end of all means. A loved one is facing death and doctors give no hope. Death seems inevitable. Hope is gone. The miracle prayed for is not happening.


That is when Satan’s hordes come to attack your mind with fear, anger, overwhelming questions: “Where is your God now? You prayed until you had no tears left. You fasted. You stood on promises. You trusted.”

Blasphemous thoughts will be injected into your mind: “Prayer failed. Faith failed. Don’t quit on God—just do not trust him anymore. It doesn’t pay!”
Even questioning God’s existence will be injected into your mind. These have been the devices of Satan for centuries. Some of the godliest men and women who ever lived were under such demonic attacks.


To those going through the valley and shadow of death, hear this word: Weeping will last through some dark, awful nights—and in that darkness you will soon hear the Father whisper, “I am with you. I cannot tell you why right now, but one day it will all make sense. You will see it was all part of my plan. It was no accident. It was no failure on your part. Hold fast. Let me embrace you in your hour of pain.”
Beloved, God has never failed to act but in goodness and love. When all means fail—his love prevails:
Hold fast to your faith. 
Stand fast in his Word. 
There is no other hope in this world.
 
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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

YOUR WEDNESDAY MORNING DEVOTION! ONE JESUS/ONE CHURCH


GIVE ME JESUS!


In the morning, when I rise

In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise, give me Jesus
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus
When I am alone
When I am alone
When I am alone, give me Jesus
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus
When I come to die
When I come to die
When I come to die, give me Jesus
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
You can have all this world,
You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus



(Public Domain-Negro Spiritual)


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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

YOUR TUESDAY MORNING DEVOTION!

DO YOU LOVE ME?!

by


John 21:15-17 (NKJV) "So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”  He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” 
He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” 
He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” 
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” 
He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” 
17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” 
And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” 
Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep."


  • Love: Agapao: wider, embracing especially the judgment and the deliberate assent of the will as a matter of principle, duty and propriety
  • Feed: Greek=Bosko: pasture, keep
  • Lambs: “lambkins”
  • Love: Agapao
  • Take care: poimaino: tend as a shepherd
  • Sheep: probaino: to walk forward, i.e. advance (literally, or in years): be of a great age, go farther (on), be well stricken.
  • Love: phileo: love as a friend; have affection for, denoting personal attachment, as a matter of sentiment or feeling

Many people love Me with their emotions, with phileo love. They worship Me with raised hands and their hearts feel genuine love for Me. Phileo love is acceptable love, it isn’t wrong love. It ascends to Me with sweet fragrance. Peter loved me with phileo love at this point.

But how many can say that they agapao Me? To love me even when I am not obviously there, when all sentiment and emotion are gone and life is terribly, terribly hard? When the child dies, when the husband gets dementia, when the Church turns against them, when the economy fails, when the food runs out and no answer from Heaven seems imminent? This kind of love requires full mental, deliberate assent of the will. To believe and love when there is no reason left to?

Agapao love will take you to the cross and you will go willingly, you will consent to go because you have learned as those sheep (walking forward, advancing in movement and in age) to trust the Shepherd. As lambkins, you are young in the faith, you do love Me. As probaino, you have walked long with Me, you have learned to trust me on the precipice of every steep cliff, every bitter storm and you still love Me. Agapao love is trust. Agapao love is abiding love.

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Monday, April 25, 2011

YOUR MONDAY MORNING DEVOTION!

FOREVER AND AMEN
by

"The grass withers, and its flower falls away, But the Word of the Lord endures forever.” 1 Peter 1:24-25   
Read 1 Peter 1:22-25 with Isaiah 40:6-8 
These words seem to roll off the tongue with such ease. But, do we really grasp its meaning? Do you know how many times God planted this phrase in His Word? It appears 279 times in the King James Version! Wow, God is making a major point with this group of words. Together let’s discover some heavenly treasures about Forever and Ever, Amen in 1 Peter 1:24-25! Peter is quoting Isaiah 40:6-8.
Real life analogies help us understand God’s spiritual life lessons. So, since this is springtime let’s use roadside wildflowers as our visual as we excavate this scripture. You know the beautiful bouquets that appear over night?
All flesh = Man = Grass = the grass on the side of the road = Withers = Dries up
All the glory of man = The Grass’ Flower like the Indian Paint Brush, Bluebonnet, or Black-Eyed Susan = Falls away = Fades = Temporary
Endures forever = the Word of the Lord = God’s promises in the Bible = Eternal, Everlasting, Never changing! 
Oh my goodness, don’t miss this…
When we glorify ourselves God’s “moisture” spiritual depletes from my soul. The fruit of my labor begins to droop, shrivel, and die like a fading flower due to the lack of “living water” that only the Lord provides. But, we can’t stop here. Isaiah 40:7drives home a deeper picture for us… 
The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the Lord blows upon it. Isaiah 40:7 
What happens to dried wildflowers in the heat of the summer? How do the wildflowers respond as the relentless winds blow, the sun's rays streamline the fields, and the rains subside? They experience a slow death. Does this mean they don’t have the potential to reappear? No, they are dormant and ready to spring into action when the weather conditions are just right.  
Real Life Application… As God’s children, we are to always give God the Glory for everything He does through us… feeding the homeless, working at church, teaching a women's group, leading a committee, encouraging words spoken, financially helping others, etc. The second we take glory for anything God does through us it’s like the flower of the grass fading away. The breath of the Lord is like the wind blowing the petals off the plant in the heat of the summer. He chooses to use us as His hands and feet. Our physical bodies wither and our acts of kindness fade away, but the Lord isForever and Ever. Amen!
RLM News... Coming Soon...
Just in time for Fall Bible Studies... Reflecting Him DVD Teaching Series! A ten-week series to accompany the Reflecting Him Bible study
Plus, a Reflecting Him Children's Curriculum for teaching at home or for women's Bible study groups! This will consist of different age group appropriate learning tools: Preschool, Elementary and Teenage levels. Great for Homeschooling! 
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Sunday, April 24, 2011

YOUR RESURRECTION SUNDAY MORNING DEVOTION!

TODAY – IN PARADISE!
by

Bernie Lutchman

Paradise means many things to many people!! To some – it’s a vacation in Hawaii, to others, it’s a retirement of golf and blue hairs drinking bloody Mary’s down at the Villages in Florida! To yet others, it’s a happy home with perfect children and the house paid off and to reckless...it’s a casino 
down by the Mississippi river where they can find fortune!

The word “paradise” is actually from of all things – a combination of two Persian words! “Pairi” means “around” and “Daza” means “a wall”. Back in the day, it was common for the rich and beautiful Persian nobility to have exquisite, colorful gardens with a beautiful wall around it…or a Pairidaza. These folks were excellent landscapers and as you can see from Persian rugs, craft and artistic genius are personality traits!
When God created the heavens and the Earth, it was in the same general region. The location of the Garden of Eden is no mystery. Genesis 2 tells the actual location. Years ago, the Discovery Channel using both Satellite and X-ray imagery, actually proved that the four rivers listed in this Biblical account actually existed where the Bible says it did!!  

Here is where the Garden of Eden, the original Paradise, was located “Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four [river] heads. The first is named Pishon; it is the one flowing around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. The gold of that land is of high quality; bdellium (pearl?) and onyx stone are there.
The second river is named Gihon; it is the one flowing around the whole land of Cush. The third river is named Hiddekel [the Tigris]; it is the one flowing east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates Genesis 2:10-14 (AMP).


PARADISE FOUND


Instead of a wall, this original paradise had four rivers, two of which still exist to this day – Tigris and Euphrates- flowing out of it. But what else does the Bible say about “PARADISE” and why did Jesus say to the dying thief (Luke 23:43) on the Cross “Today you will be with Me in Paradise”!!


“Paradise” used here is the same as the original Persian word.  It is not used in the Old Testament but used three times in the New Testament! Apart from the verse above, 2 Corinthians 12:4 “I was caught up to Paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell” and Revelation 2:7 "Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the Paradise of God.


Each time it is used, it is meant to represent or is synonymous with – HEAVEN! From all these amazing verses, we see Heaven/Paradise as the following:
-          The Home of Christ
-          The Home of God the Father
-          The Hearing Room of Heaven
-          The Heart of the Gospel
-          The Hiding Place of the Believer
-          The Habitat of the Tree of Life!

All of the above are true and one particular thing to note here in Revelation 2:7 is its relation with Genesis 3:3 where Jesus told Adam and Eve NOT to eat fruit from this same Tree of Life! Yet, this same Jesus is promising to give “fruit from the Tree of Life in the Paradise of God”!! How about that! This revelation from Revelation is revealing to the last Truth of the Full Counsel and last Power of the Mighty Cherubim (i.e. Angels of the Highest Order) whose flaming swords protected this SAME TREE OF LIFE - East of Eden!


I used this rather lengthy introduction as a backdrop to introduce what happened during the time of Christ’s death and burial at Golgotha and the Resurrection on Sunday morning – or the 3rd Jewish day. One thing will be perfectly evident once we get to Heaven – we have no clue of the 99% of Supernatural Activity which has occurred from Eternity past to Eternity future! Christ Himself said But Jesus replied, "My Father is always working, and so am I."


When they put the Lord Jesus in what Isaiah prophesied as “He was put in a rich man’s grave (Isaiah 53:9d); He was not lying around waiting for Sunday! Here is what happened:

1 Peter 3:18-20 (Amplified Bible)

For Christ [the Messiah Himself] died for sins once for all, the Righteous for the unrighteous (the Just for the unjust, the Innocent for the guilty), that He might bring us to God. In His human body He was put to death, but He was made alive in the spirit, in which He went and preached to the spirits in prison, [The souls of those] who long before in the days of Noah had been disobedient, when God's patience waited during the building of the ark in which a few [people], actually eight in number, were saved through water.

PARADISE LOST

Contrary to some teachings, Jesus did not go down to “limbo” to release church “fathers” from purgatory! There is no such thing. BUT there is a wall between Paradise and Hades or Hell! When a person died before the death of Christ on the Cross, he or she went immediately to either of these two places because of what he or she believed!  Luke 16:19-31 tells the graphic and real story of the Rich man and Lazarus the Beggar! The Rich man was only wealthy while on earth while Lazarus had nothing. In eternity – roles were reversed! Now if Lazarus had cursed his poverty on God, he too would have been in hell with the Rich Man! But apparently he had faith and like all Old Testament saints, who did not bow the knee to the baal (the pagan gods), he rested in Paradise, in the Bosom of Abraham!

*Luke 16:19-31 make the following perfectly clear:
- We all face different physical environmental circumstances, even if we’re in this together.
- The choices you make in our brief time on earth, determine our PERMANENT eternal home!
- Paradise or Heaven is real but just like any beautiful garden; it has a WALL around it!
- Hell is not a metaphor, but a real place for those who refuse to obey or believe!
- There is no bridge or “going back and forth” and a permanent chasm exists there!
- When it comes right down to it, when it’s all said and done, it all comes down to which Cross we’re on …are we on the Cross with the thief who cursed and rebelled all his way into hell (where he is right now) or are we the thief who repented on the Cross, was saved and was the first man human to be taken into the Kingdom by the Lord Jesus Christ!

DECLARING VICTORY!

Back to 1 Peter 3:18, we see a phenomenal thing happen. After evil men and sin from the beginning of time had caused God to send His Own Son down to die a horrible, abandoned death, this same Son went down into the bowels of death and told them what had happened!

Peter, Jesus’ main disciple saidIn His human body He was put to death, but He was made alive in the spirit, in which He went and preached to the spirits in prison”.

Which spirits? Here is the answer:
-          The demons and fallen angels who joined Lucifer in rebelling against God right before Jesus created the earth and where kicked out of heaven.  These demons were chained and thrown into the pit until a still future judgment! However, being in chains for thousands of years, they had no clue about God’s plan for Redemption!

-          Not just these fallen conspirators with Lucifer was there but every horrible pagan, perverse and persistent in sin person from the day Cain killed Abel until the Great Flood in Genesis chapters 6 through 9 was in hell there.

-          Then God said this in Genesis 6:5-8The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have madethem.  But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

These are the spirits talked about to whom Jesus had to go and declare victory of sin, self and Satan!
The mention of Noah here is significant because before the Great Flood, not only was mankind involved in mortal sins of the flesh and idol worship, but several of the fallen angels “looked down and saw how beautiful women were”. In order to follow through  on the desires of the flesh, these one of a kind created Angels (called Sons of God) , were having sexual relations with the daughters of men and women and creating an ENTIRE new race of humanity – Giants and the Nephilim was born!

So in the final analysis, it brings us back to this unique Saturday after Good Friday when Christ was doing the Father’s business, He also revealed something about Paradise.  While His job was to tell the demons and guilty about what to expect on Judgment Day as well as the Cross conquering death and hell, True Believers were in Paradise “in Abraham’s bosom”.

Some scholars hold that Abraham’s bosom was a general place where the Old Testament faithful were kept until Christ paid the final Atonement which finally satisfied God. They suggest, and it makes sense, that it was only after the Cross those long dead faithful were truly forgiven!

We are more fortunate than those saints! While they had the distinct honor of seeing Jesus Face to face telling them, on the way back from giving the disobedient demons the business, “come on fellas, let’s go! Out of here – Paradise, Here we come!! I paid the entire freight”!! With HIS BLOOD!! BY HIS WOUND WE ARE HEALED AND RESTORED INTO PARADISE!

This is how the great Apostle Paul described this totally incredible significant event:
Ephesians 4:8-10 AMP says “Therefore it is said, When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive [He led a train of vanquished foes] and He bestowed gifts on men. [But He ascended?] Now what can this, He ascended, mean but that He had previously descended from [the heights of] heaven into [the depths], the lower parts of the earth? He Who descended is the [very] same as He Who also has ascended high above all the heavens, that He [His presence] might fill all things (the whole universe, from the lowest to the highest)”.

WHAT DOES PARADISE LOOK LIKE

Therefore, just briefly, what does this look like high above the heavens? Does his walled off beautiful garden, which is predefined, really exist? Judge for yourself from Revelation 22: 1-2 AMP THEN HE showed me the river whose waters give life, sparkling like crystal, flowing out from the throne of God and of the Lamb. Through the middle of the broadway of the city; also, on either side of the river was the tree of life with its twelve varieties of fruit, yielding each month its fresh crop; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing and the restoration of the nations”!

Here it is again!! The TREE OF LIFE!!

This time, God did not put any restrictions on EATING FROM HIS TREE OF LIFE, which first resided in the Garden of Eden!
This time, we have fruit bearing abundantly…and for those who think Heaven is boring…a new and fresh crop monthly!
This time, instead of cursing the ground and pain in childbirth for Eve and her descendants, the Tree of Life gives healing restoration to all who will come!
This time, these same nations who will be restored because of the death, burial and RESURRECTION will be coming to the Feast with Adam, Abraham, Enoch, Elijah, Daniel, Moses, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Paul, Cornelius, Peter, Polycarp,  Joan of Arc, Obadiah Holmes, Patrick Henry, John Knox, Hudson Taylor, Elizabeth Elliott, Jim Elliott, Corrie Ten Boom, Dietrich Bonheoffer, Franklin Graham, AW Tozer, J. Vernon McGee, Adrian Rogers, Ray Comfort, you and I and more…millions more as far as the eye can see!

All because, the Angel moved the stone and the Lord Jesus came out of the Grave!
All because, He ascended into the Heavens where He rules today!
All because, the Ancient of Days holds the Keys for the Promise of Tomorrow!
All because, Paradise is now open 24/7 for business…and cost is free because He already paid!
All because, He is waiting for you and me and there are no more walls in the Paradise, where He restored the Garden of Eden to its original intent!


*LUKE 16:19-31
19 Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury. 20 At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. 21 As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.
 22 “Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham.[e] The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and his soul went to the place of the dead.[f]There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.
 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.’
 29 “But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’
 30 “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.’
 31 “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead.’”

CREDITS:
Images courtesy Google Images
New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Amplified Bible (AMP)Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation

  






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