Hello friend!
It has been a little while since my last post. Kids doing great. We’re in the midst of track & soccer, just finished the play (Alice in Wonderland), painted a few rooms, got some new furniture, tore my ACL – I’m having a knee replacement in a few weeks (April 7), raising money for Honduras Mission trip, Taylor’s birthday this week…. so in a nutshell, life has been FULL!!!
I just finished day 74 of reading through the Bible in 90 days. It has been quite amazing and surprisingly doable. Today I read Luke 9-16, and wow! The last chapter, Luke 16:19-31! To give you a paraphrase without copying down the whole section of scripture, we have the Rich Man and we have Lazarus. This is a different Lazarus than the Bible story that we are used to that came to life from the dead (Mary & Martha’s brother). The story starts out with the Rich Man in fine clothing, the best food, more than enough and Lazarus is laying at his gate full of sores, dogs passing by and licking his sores, and he just is awaiting possible crumbs or small pieces of food to fall from the Rich Man’s table. Both die, the Rich Man & Lazarus. The Rich Man is in hell and Lazarus is in heaven… stay with me, don’t get bored here because you know this story, I have something for you to see.
The Rich Man lifts up his eyes, and apparently seeing “Father Abraham” and there is Lazarus with him. The Rich Man shouts, “Please allow Lazarus to come dip his finger in some water and cool my tongue, I am tormented by these flames and this fire!!” Abraham reminds the Rich Man, that on earth he had good things, Lazarus had a horrible life, now it is reversed. Abraham goes on to say, there is a GREAT GULF, A CANYON between the two, even if Lazarus was kind enough, he could not pass over the gulf to give the Rich Man water.
Here’s the part that gets me, the Rich Man says (in essence), “Could you at least send someone to my Father’s house? I have 5 brothers. Could someone at least WARN them that Hell is indeed REAL! I DO NOT want them to come here! If someone from the dead went to them, they would repent, I just know it!” This Rich Man is really pleading for his brothers. If he can’t get out of eternal torture, could someone at least help his family, tell his family?
Take a minute here to envision yourself, there in the place of the Rich Man. I think of what I would have been thinking and shouting while my flesh burned, but not burning away, while smelling the burnt flesh and completely regretting my life lived. “Could someone go and TELL my sisters, ANGIE & KIMMI? Could someone tell my brother Jamie?! Tell my parents I’m here, this place is real! Please tell my friends, Amber, Ann, Denny, Jenny, Travis, Ami. Could someone PLEASE GO TELL THEM that this place is real!! That this place is not worth it?! That a simple PRAYER, confession of sins, belief in Jesus is ALL they need to do to go to heaven. Could someone PLEASE GO TELL THEM???”
Substitute the names of your friends, your family members? Who are those people that you KNOW have not made the decision to follow Jesus? Or those friends who are questionable, they don’t appear to be walking a life with Jesus.
Abraham goes on to tell the Rich Man, “If they did not hear or believe with Christians around them, having heard the truth, Bibles available for free anywhere, they will not believe by someone coming back from the dead. They have all they need to believe.”
We have all we need to believe.
My life is somewhat in a bubble, maybe yours is similar. Christian School, Church, Christian friends and association… the gospel is heard, told, studied in classes. The ANSWER is right in front of us, but DO WE BELIEVE? Your friend on the track team, does SHE believe? That cool kid on the football team, does HE believe? Your friends parents, do THEY believe?
As Abraham said, there is a GULF, a GREAT DIVIDE between heaven and hell. Once we are in one of those places, we cannot pass to the other, we cannot be prayed into the other, we are for eternity where our DECISIONS have made us to be.
It is simple. One verse in the Bible that could change ANYONE’s eternity says this:
“If you, confess with your mouth & believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, YOU WILL BE SAVED.” Romans 10:9
If YOU need to be 100% sure you are going to heaven, that you are NOT like the Rich Man, in flames craving just a drop of water, it takes less than 30 seconds to pray this prayer and YOU ARE SAVED. If you want to be sure you are going to heaven and you have a little bit of doubt, I challenge you to pray this prayer:
Father, I confess I’m a sinner, I’ve messed up. Would you please forgive me of my sins. I believe Jesus died for me on the cross so that I could have eternal life. Help me to begin my TODAY to follow Jesus. I pray all this in Jesus Name, Amen.
If you prayed that from your heart, HAPPY SPIRITUAL BIRTHDAY!!! Write it down! Keep the date! Enjoy a cupcake every year on your Spiritual Birthday. YOU ARE SAVED!!! Now, go share with your friends!!!