Here's
The Lesson:
Use
Your Worldly Resources
To
Benefit Others And Make Friends.
Scripture
Luke
16
1 Jesus told this story to his
disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager
handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was
wasting his employer’s money.
2 So
the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about
you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’
3 “The
manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I
don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to
beg.
4 Ah, I
know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give
me a home when I am fired.’
5 “So he
invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and
discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe
him?’
6 The man
replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the manager
told him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons.’
7 “‘And
how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man. ‘I owe
him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the manager
said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels.’
8 “The
rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And
it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing
with the world around them than are the children of the light.
9 Here’s
the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make
friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you
to an eternal home.
10 “If
you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large
ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be
honest with greater responsibilities.
11 And if
you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with
the true riches of heaven?
12 And if
you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be
trusted with things of your own?
Observation
Luke
16 talks a lot about our finances and how we should use them! Luke
16:19-31 is the story of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus.
Why
not take a minute and read the whole chapter, it will only take a
couple of minutes. In the story of the shrewd manager Jesus gives us
some very good principles to remember:
- If we are not faithful in little things then we will not be faithful in large ones.
- If we are dishonest in little things then we won't be honest if given larger responsibilities.
- If we aren't faithful with our worldly wealth then we are not going to be trusted with the riches of heaven.
By
the way, even though I didn't print the story of the rich man and
Lazarus, I want to mention that it gives us a good glimpse of what
Hell is going to be like.
- In Hell, those unfortunate enough to go there will be able to remember their life on earth.
- Those in Hell will want someone to warn their loved ones, but it will be too late.
- Those in Hell will live eternally with awful regret.
- They will be in a burning fire and tormented with no relief … Forever and ever!
- It is a very real place for those who do not trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation.
- Those in Hell might even be able to see over into Heaven, but there will be a great chasm separating Heaven and Hell. This might be part of the torture?
You
can read the story and I am sure that you can find other things that
I missed.
Application
I
will be careful how I use the finances and the resources that God has
given me.
How
about you?
Prayer
Heavenly
Father, thank You for being so good to us. Thank You for taking such
good care of us. We are blessed. Because the Lord is my Shepherd I
have everything I need. Give me wisdom in how to use what You have
provided us. Help me to be blessing to others. Don't let me be
stingy.
Help
any person reading this blog believe that there is both a Heaven and
a Hell. Help them to realize that both places are just as real as
each other. We learn from You that what we learn about Heaven is from
the same Book (the Bible) that tells us about Hell. Open up his or
her spiritual eyes, their spiritual heart, so they don't miss Heaven
and end up in Hell.
Daily
Bible Reading: Genesis 39,40,41; Luke 16
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