Dailies ~ In His Word- Advent
December 16.
There is such
good information in Luke 16, but the most prevalent is that we should use our
worldly blessings to bring goodness to others and not be greedy.
We need to be
wise with what God has given us to use, its not about us but about furthering His
kingdom and blessing others helps to bring others to Christ. Our reward will be
in heaven someday but for now we need to think of all the ways we can use what
we have to bless others.
It is
compassion that we use when we do this, like when you hear on the news that
someone has lost their home in a fire, or worse. Your heart goes out to them.
Just as the shrewd businessman worked his finances to make him look good in his
boss’s eyes, and in the boss was impressed with the way he did this. I would
not have been! I would have thought of how bad it was that he lied and cheated
the man out of the money, but then I thought, who was cheating whom?
So, we are not to love the money, we
are to use it for God’s glory to help others in need, in Jesus’ name.
Heavenly Father, thank you for all
that You have given us! Help us to be wise stewards and to share our blessings
with others, in Jesus’ name amen.
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.[a]’
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.[b]’
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 shrewder 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?
13 “No one can serve two
masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one
and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”
14 The Pharisees, who dearly
loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at him. 15 Then he
said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts.
What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.
16 “Until John the Baptist,
the law of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But now the
Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is eager to get in. 17 But that
doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and earth
to disappear than for the smallest point of God’s law to be overturned.
18 “For example, a man who
divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery. And anyone who
marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”
19 Jesus said, “There was
a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who
lived each day in luxury. 20 At his
gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. 21 As
Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would
come and lick his open sores.
22 “Finally, the poor man died
and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet.[e] The rich man also died and was
buried, 23 and he went to the place of
the dead.[f] There, in torment, he saw Abraham
in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.
24 “The rich man shouted,
‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his
finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’
25 “But Abraham said to him,
‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and
Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. 26 And
besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you
from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’
27 “Then the rich man said,
‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. 28 For I
have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this
place of torment.’
29 “But Abraham said, ‘Moses
and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’
30 “The rich man replied, ‘No,
Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will
repent of their sins and turn to God.’
31 “But Abraham said, ‘If they
won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone
rises from the dead.’”