Devotion
The Rich Man And Lazarus
Frances Taylor
The rich man has enough money to feed his dogs, but doesn't even give crumbs for Lazarus. He has probably walked by Lazarus many times without even seeing him. Both Lazarus and the rich man die. Lazarus is safe in the "bosom of Abraham" and the rich man is not so lucky. The rich man can see Lazarus while he is suffering in the unending fire. He wants Abraham to send someone from the dead to warn his brothers about what the result of greed can be, but Abraham's answer I find interesting. Abraham says, "If they don't listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead." After Jesus rose from the dead and those who were witnesses to his resurrection reported it widely, but there were those who wouldn't accept it. There are those who won't accept it today. Over the years, there have been many people who have had experiences of both heaven and hell. People who have had these near death experiences have come away either almost sad that they did not die, they were so drawn to the light and love they felt, or they are prompted to change their lives because of the horror they felt, and the fear that they would spend eternity there. They were very happy to get a second chance. We like to believe that God will bring us to heaven no matter what; after all, he loves all of us. But, it's not all up to God. God has given us love and support all our lives, but it is up to us to accept the gift. How do we do this? Follow Jesus' law of love is the way. Being aware of the needs of others and doing what we can to change things. The rich man might not have been aware of Lazarus, but what of us? Are we aware of those around us? Do we close our eyes to the needs of the poor? This parable lets us know that we will be judged by our actions, or non-actions, and we should take the hint.
Prayer
Lord, you tell us in so many ways how we need to live and what we need to do to serve you. Open our eyes and ears so that we can serve you by serving others. Amen.
Devotion
Abraham is Father of All
Frances Taylor
There are questions in every age about the importance of the Old Testament for Christians. Abraham is considered to be the Father of Faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims. We forget that it was Abraham who believed in the doctrine of only one God. It is through him and his descendants that this tradition comes down to us. Another fact that we can overlook is that Jesus was Jewish. He was born a Jew, lived as a Jew, died, rose and ascended into heaven as a Jew. Because we believe that he was the Messiah, the Christ, and we follow him, we are called Christian. Without the Old Testament, we wouldn't understand the promise of salvation; we wouldn't understand why it was important for Jesus to be of the family of King David. We would not understand his teaching either, because Jesus quoted from Scripture – the Old Testament – frequently. He told us that he came to fulfill the Scriptures, not to abolish them. In the same way, we can ...
