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NASB | Luke 16:19 ¶ "Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 16:19 ¶ "Now there was a certain rich man who was habitually dressed in expensive purple and fine linen, and celebrated and lived joyously in splendor every day. |
Subject: Will we recognize those in hell? |
Bible Note: Greetings Cyclist! The following verse is also helpful."And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me." Mt 10:38 In Matthew 16:24, the Amplified Version further explains - "Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me' [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also]." In essence, anytime our desires surplant those of the Lord, we deny HIM. Yet, we are told to deny SELF. All of us fall short of the Lord's desire for us to be conformed to Him, and He loves us still! Praise Him!! How far we fall from His example of what true loving is. When we love others, is it empty of self? Not this side of Heaven! Our love is but a shallow attempt at obedience, yet I believe that God rewards us when we seek to love as Jesus does! Suppose you have two children, one lives with you, the other lives across the country. With which child will you have the closer relationship? Which child will know you more intimately? Obviously, time and proximity play major roles here! It is the same with our Lord. He wants to have FIRST PLACE in our life. And as we seek (CHOOSE) to grow in our relationship with Him, His desires will not only become known, but they will begin to belong to us too! Making our earthly families a priority is not a bad thing unless it interferes with our relationship with the Lord. All too often we find ourselves trying to "fit God in" instead of making HIM our FIRST priority. I believe that in our earthly relationships, when we seek to honor our relationship with God FIRST - everything else will fall into its proper place. (We won't even have to "fit it in!") Do a quick check - WHO or WHAT do you think most about during the day? This is the object that not only captures your attention but will command your "love." (mea culpa!)What a contrast from Romans 5:8! Jer 30:21 Who is he who will be devoted to stay close to me? Answer: It is THE LORD who IS DEVOTED TO US!!! As our love for the Lord grows, HE will be reflected more than we. As our hearts begin to beat in tune with His, we can no longer dance in step with the world. Over time I have learned that loving God sometimes means having to forsake those I love. It is hard; it is painful. There are friends and family members who have gone out into eternity and I do not know what the condition of their heart was prior to death. Hope is there. Yet for those who clearly rejected Jesus as their Savior, how dare I continue to love them as I had when they were alive and made their choice! I grieve their recompense with the confidence that God will wipe away these tears of mourning one day! Jesus told His disciples to shake the dust from their feet if they trod where those who rejected them. "Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet." Mt 10:14 'Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.' Luke 10:11 We too must adopt the same attitude toward those who reject such a great salvation! This does not mean that we stop loving them, but we love them as God does - with mercy, until woe is all that remains. I hope that God, through my life lessons, will help you put things in perspective - we will BOTH be blessed then won't we?!! With prayers, Mommapbs |