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Sin Is Wrong, Hell Is Real, No Second Chances

This week’s gospel, November 1-7

The Rich Man and Lazarus

Luke 16:19-31 Click Here to Read the gospel.

Hell is real

We don’t know a lot about what happens to us after we die. What is Heaven really like?  How will we experience it without our bodies? Of course, in the end of the book of Revelation we learn that there are streets of Gold and there is no more death, pain, or sorrow. However, the scriptures in Revelation, written in apocalyptic style (meaning there are images that hide the meaning of things from those who are not familiar with the context of the times), are not there for us to take literally. But, we can know that since streets of Gold and a life without pain and death are the greatest things our limited minds can even imagine, God wants us to know that Heaven will be even greater than anything we can imagine.

By that same understanding, Jesus wants us to understand from his story of the Rich man who goes to Hades, that Hell is real, and once there, there is no way out. Jesus makes it clear that one more sign, or another person raised from the dead won’t convince a hard-hearted, unbeliever.  The testimony of Moses and the Old Testament, coupled with the witness of John the Baptist and the miracles of Jesus is enough for anyone to believe…if they only will.

Our free will is the one thing God will not go against to make us believe in Christ. He may make winds cease, mountains move, and raise people from the dead, but if we are not open to believing of our own free choice, we are left to the consequences of our choices. Jesus wants us to understand from the story of Lazarus the Beggar and Rich Man, that Hell is very real. There are eternal consequences to our sins, if we do not repent. God is always the God of second chances as long as we are still on this side of death. But, make no mistake about it, death comes to all, and as the Book of Hebrews tells us, it is appointed for us all to die and then comes judgment (Heb. 9:27).

Do you need a second chance today? Is there sin in your life from which you have not repented? 1 John 3:9 tells us those who are born of God do not make a practice of sinning. We cannot say we believe in Jesus and keep treating others like dogs (as did the Rich man Lazarus). I have good news for you, God wants to give you a second chance today, and He will every day if that is what it takes to win you back. Our Father is always ready to forgive those who repent. But, we should not take His grace for granted. We must learn to avoid sin, and live for righteousness. After all, the name Christian means to live “like Christ”.  We must repent while there is still time before we die, because just like the Rich man, after death there is no second chance.

This week:

This week try keeping a journal of any sins you become aware of at the end of each day. Before you go to bed, ask the Father to reveal to you anything you did that was not His best for you. Then, think about the things He shows you. Did you do them by choice, even though you knew you should not? Were they things that seemed part of your character you wish you could change? In a closing prayer for the day, repent of whatever the Father shows you. Ask for His grace to strengthen you in the coming days, and to help you change. If you will do this, I promise you will feel God’s love reassuring you that you are His child. He loves you and has a better plan for your life.

Feel free to comment or ask a question along the way this week. After all, we are in this life together, to pray for and help each other. Let’s contemplate this gospel passage together all week. Ask any questions that may arise. I will be back here on Friday with more thoughts from this week’s gospel. Until then…

Grace & Peace for your journey,

Pastor Brad

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

Matthew 5:6

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For What Do You Hunger And Thirst?

mashed potatoes

First things first, let me apologize if this delectable picture of creamy goodness makes you hungry for some real comfort food. And, if it is tempting you to get up from the computer and fall into the sin of gluttony by going to get some right now – don’t go! I’m sorry. I wanted to shock you into thinking about the things for which you hunger and thirst.

Myself, just seeing this picture of mashed potatoes (aka Ambrosia, food of the gods), causes me to tremble. I think I may have even gained a pound just looking at it. But it also serves to remind me Jesus said we cannot live by bread alone, but on every word the proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). Bread, of course is a metaphor for whatever we crave in this world that we think fulfills us.

There is only one thing that I really want to hunger and thirst for, and that is Jesus. The problem is…sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I let the things of this world (which are so good), like gourmet food, nice clothes, and fancy cars get in my way of hungering and thirsting for the only thing that can truly satisfy – Jesus Christ, alive in me.

I’m willing to bet (I really don’t gamble) you have a similar problem; we all do. It is human nature to want more stuff, really nice stuff. And, until we accept that more and more stuff isn’t good for us, like too much mashed potatoes and gravy (or whatever things you crave), we will not learn to fill our appetite with what truly satisfies, Jesus.

Few of us will go a day without food, but many of us go “days” without feeding on, talking to, or being with Jesus. As St. James said, “…this ought not be”. Why do we fail to fill our lives with the one thing that can transform our lives into the joyful and peaceful existence we all crave? Because we don’t make a plan to fill our lives with Jesus.

If you go to church on Sunday or Saturday, and don’t spend any other time with Jesus and His word, I say if because the stats tell us about 1 million people stop going to church every week in America (let that soak in for minute), then you are not eating enough of the bread of life. We would not even think about eating food only once a week, so why do we do it with Jesus?

The truth is, we need a plan to fill our lives with Jesus Christ. We need to be intentional about thinking, praying, reading, and worshiping Jesus Christ in our daily lives. If we do not set up a plan to do these things, we are planning to fail. Thankfully, Jesus understands our failures. He loves us even though we often do not return His love. Instead of treating us like we treat Him, Jesus is always calling us into closer communion with Him.

This is my inaugural post for this blog. I hope you will choose to be hungry with me for more of Jesus. For the last year, I have written a daily devotional called Life IN Christ. I wrote it based on the gospel of the day from the Revised Common Lectionary. I just wrote about whatever God revealed to me about that day’s scripture. Some of those posts can be found at www.followingjesusdaily.com, if you care to go back and read them. I wrote it as a way of drawing me into daily worship of Jesus, and invited others to follow along.

On this blog I plan to post each Monday and Friday, thoughts that will help us through the week to concentrate more on the gospel and filling our lives with Jesus. Each Monday I will reflect on the gospel reading for the Sundays, and consider how to keep the word alive in us and feed on it through the week. Then, on Friday I will recap the week and see how we are doing together on the journey.

Don’t worry, it won’t be a repeat of the sermon you hear in church Sunday, unless perhaps you are an Orthodox Christian. Most of us will not have heard on that day, the particular gospel I will be using. To give us Western Christians a little different rhythm to life I will be using the Lectionary of the Eastern Orthodox Churches. This lectionary has been in continual use since the 4th Century in the Eastern churches; they have been on my heart a lot lately due to the persecution they face in the Middle East.

I hope you will subscribe to this blog and join in the journey by commenting or asking questions. We learn best when we learn together. Remember, discipleship is not a solo experience. Join me as we hunger and thirst for more of what truly matters…Jesus Christ.

Grace & Peace for your journey,

Pastor Brad