When Jesus spoke the words of Luke 16.19-31, he shared the lives of two people. One was a rich man, and the other was a beggar. Each of them had a different life while on Earth and each found themselves in a different life after death.
The rich man, while had nice clothes and “feasted sumptuously” every day (Luke 16.19), had a troubling life after this Earth. After death, he found himself in torment. (Luke 16.23) In the great distance, he saw Lazarus, the beggar who laid at this gate, sitting with Abraham. (Luke 19.23)
While in pain, agony, and unbearable torment, the rich man petitioned Abraham to give him a drop of water. (Luke 16.25-26) Life’s memories filled his mind because he asks Abraham to send someone back to speak to his family. (Luke 16.27-30) Even the rich man begged for someone to evangelize (teach) his family while in torment. He did not want them to have the same fate.
William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, believed in the power of understanding Hell and torment. Mr. Booth is noted as saying, “Most Christians would like to send their recruits to Bible college for five years. I would like to send them to Hell for five minutes. That would do more than anything else to prepare them for a lifetime of compassionate ministry.” While we cannot do that, it is a reminder of the destination of our souls after this physical life is over.
Sometimes, it is necessary to realize what we are saved from to help us understand what we are saved for.
Maybe it is an inherited trait or maybe it is as a result of my environment, but I enjoy starting over. I enjoy opening a new book, a new journal, and even watching a new television show. Each new thing is a new beginning. I love new beginnings.
This is the beginning of a new year. Most enjoy the moment of staring over and set different goals each year. Others will just continue on the same path they have for a while, traveling down the same road. While there is nothing wrong with either one, the question comes down to, “Are you getting better?”
Each day, we have the opportunity to get better. Some take advantage of this opportunity every day and other let the opportunity slide by without notice. I encourage you to be a person to take advantage of the moment.
What about the advantage you have in Christ? I typically call it an opportunity, but for a moment think of it as an advantage. Here are a few of the advantages you have as a Christian:
The forgiveness of sins (Matthew 6.12-14; Luke 5.21-24; Acts 2.38; Acts 8.22)
The ability to live forever (John 3.15; John 6.47; Romans 2.7; Titus 1.2)
Thank you for making 2022 a momentous year. I have said this many times, but this year has been one of the best I have ever had. Throughout the year, there have been boundless opportunities. Each opportunity was an open door to abundance. I am thankful for each open door, but I am also thankful for you.
Wise men have said you are the sum of your five closest friends. Technology has brought us closer than in years past. Over 2022, we have established relationships, restored relationships, and strengthened others.
To those I have been friends with for a while now, I thank you for your support, encouragement, and love over the time we have known each other. To my new friends, I thank you for making this journey together. It is my prayer we will all, new friends, and old friends, learn to walk in simplicity, but in hope of a brighter future.
I am not a prophet, but the future is bright. I genuinely believe this is the greatest time to be alive and we have much to look forward to in the years to come. To this end, I welcome your moments of encouragement and strength as we walk together.
Over the past year, being one of the best, I have discovered the road is easier when you take a moment to breathe and renew your hope. Our hope is great, and the best days are ahead of us if we move with vigor, courage, and steadfastness.
2023 can be one of the best years in which we have ever lived… but we must want it and act on it.
The coming year will be like all the others: blessings mixed with opportunity. We must know where to look. It is upon us to open our eyes to see through the storm and find the light. While the chaos of the world will continue, we can find the anchor of the soul.
What will we need in 2023?
You! In this world, we need you, but we also need an improved version of you. While the “10-year-ago” version of you was good, we need the 2023 Growing Stronger You. The world needs the version of you that is growing stronger.
The world needs great people. I believe that 98.7% are good people. There are 1.3% of people who make things difficult, and we need to move past them to the 98.7%. We must find those looking to grow better and become united. We must find this unity in a hope greater than us.
Those growing stronger in 2023 will need open eyes. Your open eyes will allow you to look beyond the circumstances of the moment and to the greater life ahead. The future is bright. We must not allow the present, nor the past cannot distract our eyes.
With open eyes comes a strong mind. What goes into our minds settles in our hearts and comes out in our actions. Our actions follow the strong beliefs of our mind and the emotions of the heart. Our minds contain our core beliefs. As we walk this 2023 journey, we need people of strong mind and strong beliefs.
As I said previously, I am not a prophet, but I am an observer. In the next year, people will search. They will search for mental health, physical health, emotional health, and spiritual health. The past several years have been weary for many. Their minds need enrichment beyond what the past offered. Instead, they will search with forward focused eyes.
People have a longing. Their longing is for better times and brighter days. When we strengthen our minds, renew our hope, and cast our eyes on the future, we will become a shining light in the world. The brightness of hope will overshadow the challenges of the present.
The hope we have is not “seen hope.” It is a hope that is not seen. If we see the hope for which we aspire, then it is not hope. Hope in the present is only a wish. The hope the world needs is beyond this present age. It is the faith we have in the future, knowing that things will be better.
This coming year, I challenge you.
I challenge you to make things better than last year.
I challenge you to reach your potential and not settle for average.
You are a limited edition who can reach unlimited heights.
Thanks for listening.
Let us close this year in the next few days and use the momentum of 2022 to crush 2023.
Thank you for being my family, my friends, my acquaintances, and my readers.
In 1957, a phrase appeared on all United States monies which have never been there before. A year previously, on July 30, 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower approved the law which Congress passed earlier that day. In that law, “In God We Trust” was to appear on all United States monies. Because of production times, it would be the next year before the words “In God We Trust” would appear on money for the first time.
The term, “In God We Trust” had appeared before in our nation’s history, but never as an official part of Law. The fourth verse of the Star-Spangled Banner contains the words,
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
As the phrase, “In God We Trust” continues to be printed on all United States monies, in 2005 there was a slight mistake. While printing the quarters, a machine malfunction imprinted the quarters with the words, “In God We Rust.” The faint imprint of the “T” can barely be seen.
There is a significant difference between rust and trust. Rust occurs because of several factors, but we are familiar with rust because of an object not being used or not being cared for properly. As Christians, are we using what we have been given? Are we using our talents? Are we using the blessings given to us by the Creator?
Let us trust in God, not rust in a pew. Let us trust in God, knowing that He has given us today, He has given us life, He has given us our abilities, and He has given us hope.
