O = The rich man argued with Abraham in this story (pretty cheeky!) asking the Lazarus might be sent (still looks down on the man) to warn the brothers he yet had on earth so that they might avoid the torment of hell. The rich man was convinced that they would listen to a man resurrected from the dead. Abraham makes it clear that they won’t listen…why? Because they didn’t listen to Moses and the Prophets…which are filled with teaching about loving God with your whole being (because He shows steadfast love to you), and of repenting of our sin and seeking the Lord. But they, if they are like the rich man (and he seems to think they are), choose not to hear, not to see, not to repent.
A = Is there some sign I am holding out for… before I repent and change the way I think about God? What is my “if only” argument? Why would I miss his message? How have I heard Moses and the Prophets? If I don’t listen to God’s Word, if I choose to serve self rather than the Lord, then no miracle will change my trajectory. The need is not for more miracles to prove to me that I need to change, but a new master who will change my heart of stone before it drags me down to hell. This week I need to make sure that Jesus is the “one master” to which I am devoted!
P = O Lord, may I choose to hear your voice today (Heb. 3-4) and may I never harden my heart! O Jesus, great lover of my soul…
- may my
community learn to listen to each other and show care
for each other despite their differences (James 1:19);
- may my nation
see the danger we face and act in repentance (Eze. 33:11);
- may my
congregation have ears to hear and seek the Lord like we
mean it (Psalm 105:3-5; Luke 14:34),; and finally
- may the Church
universal love each other and unite around your kingdom mission (1 Cor.
12:14; 2 Cor. 1:7,22) until you come Lord! Amen.
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