There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead (Luke 16:19-31).
Today's Morsel:Every so often, I like to give folks a wakeup call. Have you considered eternity lately? Webster defines eternity as time without beginning or end. A very long or a seemingly very long period of time. There will be no end to eternity. What plans are you making for that time? There is a leadership quote I use in my book, "A Reflection of the Man in the Mirror,”which says “ If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” If you don't make plans on how you will get to heaven, you really don't plan on going to heaven. Let me ask you, how’s your dash? You know, that line on your tombstone between your date of birth and the date of your death. Because the day you were born doesn't matter nor does the day you die, what matters is what you did in-between those two dates. If we are not careful, we can take our eyes off Jesus, and put them on things that really don’t matter. Just what are you doing to get yourself ready for eternity? Whether we like it or not, if the Lord tarries, one day we are all going to die. And the question is, where will you spend eternity? Peter said, "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless"(2 Peter 3:8-14). If I were you, I would keep this at the forefront of my mind because it's going to happen when we are least expecting it to happen. Have you considered eternity lately? What are you doing to prepare for it?
Sing: I'm getting ready to leave this world, I'm getting ready for those gates of pearls, keeping my record right, watching both day and night, well, I'm getting ready to leave this world.
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