Good morning Lord Jesus, with all that I am and all thart I have I desire to honor you today..
“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. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” (Luke 16:19-31)
Jesus, you have a way of not letting us be at peace and emphasizing a message. As I read this convicting parable above I am drawn into my reflection again from yesterday on the value of “the lost;” those that do not know Jesus and will enter into a Christless eternity.
In the parable above the Rich man passionately pleads to Abraham,
“The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment… And he (Rich man) said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’…. if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.”
The rich man is in hell yet he is actively and compassionately trying to save those who do not know Christ from going to hell. Never mind Jesus, Why can’t our churches today at least have the compassion of hell for those that are lost?
"In July of 1854 a man by the name of Charlie Peace was to be hung in London. He was a well-known criminal, whose choices had finally caught up with him. On the day of his hanging, a ceremony was held by the local church. As Charlie marched through the streets of people toward the gallows, the priest was reading from a prayer book saying, "Those who die without Christ experience hell, which is the pain of forever dying without the release which death itself can bring." At that Charlie looked back at the priest with a piercing look and shouted, "Do you believe that? Do you believe that?" The priest was shocked by Charlie's verbal assault and cautiously answered, "Well...I...suppose I do." Then suddenly Charlie said something amazing, "Well, I don't, but if I did, I'd get down on my hands and knees and crawl all over Great Britain, even if it were paved with pieces of broken glass, if I could just rescue one person from what you just told me."
Charlie confronted the preacher, and said to him; you talk about it in sermons, you sing about it in hymns and say yes and amen about it in church services, and you read stories about it in the Bible, but what are you actually doing about it? If you really believed that those who die without Christ will experience eternal hell, why aren’t you desperately and compassionately, daily sharing the Gospel of Jesus with people to rescue them from what you believe is true?
My family, the words of Charlie Peace that confronted the priest now confront and are spoken to you this morning. I pray these words directed now by Jesus towards you, you will not rationalize away or push aside but take time to needed to reflect on them. I pray you will repent, which means to turn and go the other way, and walk out your door and share Jesus with at least one person today, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me.
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.
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