Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in Yahweh with all your heart; do not rely on your own insight. 6 Let his presence pervade all your ways and he will protect your foot from the snare.
Thank You Lord. I must learn to be more childlike in trusting You. If I allow myself to live by these verses, I will be happy and peaceful every hour of every day. Nothing will trouble me for I will know that You are watching over me. You have spoken to me through these verses at other times in my life when I needed assurance that You are always in charge of every situation so I need not fear.
Amos 6:4-7
4 You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and sprawl on your couches; you eat lamb from the flock and veal from calves fattened in the stall.
5 You strum on your harps, and like David, try out new musical instruments.
6 You drink wine by the bowlful and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you do not grieve over the ruins of Joseph.
7 Therefore you will be the first to go into exile; and the feast of sprawlers will be over.
Psalm 146:7-10
7 he gives justice to the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free.
8 The Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord straightens the bent.
9 The Lord protects the stranger,
sustains the widow and the orphan.
8c The Lord loves the virtuous,
but he brings to ruin the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion,
from generation to generation. Alleluia!
These above reading and the psalm are a contrast of how the people of the world live in comparison with those who belong to God.
1 Timothy 6:11-16 11
But you, man of God, shun all this. Strive to be holy and godly. Live in faith and love, with endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith and win everlasting life to which you were called when you made the good profession of faith in the presence of so many witnesses.13 Now, in the presence of God who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus who gave the good testimony before Pontius Pilate, 14 I command you to keep the commandment. Keep yourself pure and blameless until the glorious coming of Christ Jesus, our Lord, 15 which God will bring about at the proper time, he, the magnificent sovereign, King of kings and Lord of lords. 16 To him, alone immortal, who lives in unapproachable light and whom no one has ever seen or can see, to him be honor and power for ever and ever. Amen!
My Beloved, this ought to be the battle cry of every Christian who is baptised into Your Body. We must put our every effort into being a holy and godly people. We must live with certainty, knowing Whom we believe in and why. We must love one another, beginning with those in our home and moving out in ever widening circles, to every life we touch in the course of each day of our life on earth. We must endure all things with patience and gentleness. We must be unconcerned and untroubled that the ungodly who opress the weak and the poor live seemingly charmed lives. We must overcome the temptations of the flesh, we must overcome pride. We must be witnesess in imitation of You who gave witness before Pilate. What a glorious future awaits those who strive to be like You always.
Luke 16:19-3119
Once there was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and feasted every day. 20 At his gate lay Lazarus, a poor man covered with sores, 21 who longed to eat just the scraps falling from the rich man’s table. Even dogs used to come and lick his sores. 22 It happened that the poor man died and angels carried him to take his place with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 From hell where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham afar off, and with him Lazarus at rest.
24 He called out: ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus with the tip of his finger dipped in water to cool my tongue, for I suffer so much in this fire.’
25 Abraham replied: ‘My son, remember that in your lifetime you were well-off while the lot of Lazarus was misfortune. Now he is in comfort and you are in agony. 26 But that is not all. Between your place and ours a great chasm has been fixed, so that no one can cross over from here to you or from your side to us.’
27 The rich man implored once more: ‘Then I beg you, Father Abraham, to send Lazarus to my father’s house 28 where my five brothers live. Let him warn them so that they may not end up in this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham replied: ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’ 30 But the rich man said: ‘No, Father Abraham. But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 Abraham said: ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the grave.’”
What strikes me most in this Gospel my Lord, is the gall of the rich man. He was blind to Lazarus who lay just outside his gate. He saw him day in and day out and turned a blind eye to his misery and suffering. Now he is begging that Lazarus pour wateron his tongue and take a message to his brothers. It is the way of the rich and the mighty of the world to either use the poor, abuse them or ignore them.
Now is the time of salvation. This is our moment. Grasp it and we are saved. We ignore the call at our peril.
Your Word is so rich and beautiful. It is a tapestry with a theme - it has a design that brings the whole pattern to life.
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