To Be Rich and Poor: Part 3

Then he said, “I beg you therefore father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.”
Abraham said to him, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.”
And he said, “No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.”
But he said to him, “if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.” – Luke 16:27-31


Today’s Reading: Luke 16:19-31


Why do we wait for something extreme to happen before we decide to listen?

11-09-11 To Be Rich and Poor: Part 2

“He then cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented…’” – Luke 16:24-25


Today’s Reading: Luke 16:19-31


I last wrote about an encounter I had with a homeless woman. This verse shows an important reason why Lazarus was in hell and perhaps another motivation for why I did not give the woman some money.

Even to the bitter end the rich man was focused on himself.

To be Rich and Poor: Part 1

There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. – Luke 16:19-21


Today’s Reading: Luke 16:19-31


When I went to Ralph’s the other day I saw a woman with a cane positioned right by the door.

“Uh oh, I know what’s about to happen… She’s going to ask me for money” was my immediate thought.

Where Have You Been?

On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."

Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." – John 11:17-23

Today’s Reading: 2 Chronicles 7-9; John 11: 1-29

So the story here is that Mary and Martha’s brother, Lazarus, was really sick. They sent some messengers to Jesus to let him know so that he would come and heal the man but he didn’t go immediately. He let Lazarus die. Jesus comes four days later and raises him from the dead.

This is remarkable because Jesus actually loved them in the sense that we can understand. These weren’t random folks on the street that Jesus loved just because he loved everyone. These were his friends.

I totally get why Mary didn’t jump up with Martha when word came that Jesus was on the way. Their brother had already been dead for four days. FOUR DAYS!! I’m sure that she thought something like this:

“Oh here you come now Mr. Johnny Come Lately. We BEEN and sent you messengers while he was still alive and here you are now four days after he died? Word!? I ain’t jumping up like I’m all excited that you are finally here. You’re gonna have to come to me.”

Yeah… something like that.

I know I’ve had those moments. I’ve prayed for certain circumstances to work in my favor and when I perceived that they did not I was like… seriously… that was the OPPOSITE of what I asked for.

But you know what’s interesting… it was these disappointments that I look back upon now and think to myself “thank you God for giving me what was best for me rather than what I wanted”.

Sometimes we go through certain trials and disappointments that don’t make sense and we may think to ourselves… where was God when I needed Him???

That really sucks.

But are there any moments where you can look back in hindsight and see that the trials you went through were actually a blessing? If we remember to look back at these moments through the 20/20 vision of hindsight we can remember to have faith and trust that all things will work out for the best.

Question of the Day: Have you been disappointed by someone or by circumstance only to realize in the future that this disappointment led to a wonderful blessing in your life? Share!