Monday 28 February 2022

Are You Like The Rich Man in the Parable that Jesus Taught Us?

Hello Readers & Followers,

It's a new week! I hope you had a lovely weekend. I'd like to share a parable that Jesus taught us in the Book of Luke 16:19- 31

Jesus said: There once was a very rich man who had the finest things imaginable, living every day enjoying his life of opulent luxury. Outside the gate of his mansion was a poor beggar named Lazarus. He lay there every day, covered with boils, and all the neighbourhood dogs would come and lick his open sores. The only food he had to eat was the garbage that the rich man threw away.

One day Lazarus died, and the angels of God came and escorted his spirit into paradise (some translations say Abraham’s bosom). The day came that the rich man also died. In hell, he looked up from his torment and saw Abraham in the distance, and Lazarus was standing beside him in the glory. 

The rich man shouted, 'Father Abraham! Father Abraham" Have mercy on me. Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and come to cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames of fire! ( Hmm. Even in death, the rich man wanted Lazarus to be in a place of servitude of him. It appeared that he felt he was more important).

But Abraham responded, 'My friend, don't you remember? While you were alive you had all you desired. You surrounded yourself in luxury, while Lazarus had nothing. Now Lazarus swells in the comforts of paradise and you are in agony. Besides, between us, there is a great space set so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.

The rich man continued, 'Then let me ask you, Father Abraham, please send Lazarus to my relatives. Tell him to witness to my five brothers and warn them not to end up where I am in this place of torment.

Abraham replied, 'They've already had plenty of warning. They have the teachings of Moses and the revelation of the prophets; let them hear them.'

What if they're not listening? the rich man added. 'If someone from the dead were to go and warn them, they would surely repent.'

Abraham said to him, 'If they wouldn't listen to Moses and the prophets, neither would they be convinced if someone were raised from the dead!'

There are many lessons that we can pick out from this parable. I'd like to share 6 lessons from the parable with you.


Lessons


1) Everyone must die once and there are no second chances once an individual has died. No wonder the Bible says in the Book of Hebrews 9:27 that "And, just as it is appointed for people to die only once and after this comes the judgment." 

2) Don't assume because an individual is poor, they are not a Christian neither should you assume that they are not living a godly life.

3) Lack of physical possessions does not suggest that a person is not a believer/ a follower of Jesus Christ.

4) If you are rich and wealthy, do not ignore your relationship with God. 

5) What is your attitude towards the poor among you? I'd like you to pause and reflect on how you treat the poor among you. Can you see a bit of the rich man's character in your life?


In fact, the rich man was nameless while the poor man's name was mentioned in the Parable that Jesus told us. This must signify something.

6) We cannot escape judgment once we have died. It is too late to repent of one's sin after death. Jesus has also used this parable to remind us that we should be quick to repent of our sins as this life on earth is short and we cannot come back on earth to repent

As a Christian, the Holy Spirit is in you and dwells with you. His role is to help you develop the passion to do what pleases God. The Holy Spirit coexists with God the Father and Jesus Christ (1 John 5:7).  Allow the Holy Spirit to direct every aspect of your life. As you yield to the dynamic life and power of the Holy Spirit, you will abandon the cravings of your self-life.

I love hearing from you in the comment section. Please take a minute to say ‘hello’ by leaving a comment and please let me know which of the points above resonate with you the most. 

Also, please feel free to share any other lessons that you have gained from reading the parable.  

May the Holy Spirit give you more insights into this parable in Jesus' name.

Have a lovely week!

Yours in Christ,

Mysses Lafunky

If you haven't accepted Jesus Christ into your life, this is an opportunity for you to accept Him. Please say this prayer:

"Dear God, I do not want to lose my soul in Hell when I reach the end of my life on earth. Please forgive me for all my wrongdoing, unbelief in you and self-righteousness. I repent of my sins and ask for your help to live a life that pleases you. These I ask in Jesus' name. Amen."

If you said the above prayer and would like to know more about Jesus Christ and being a Christian, please contact me: mysseslafunky@gmail.com.

I have a free e-book for you. The book (15 Women of the Bible: How they lived a Purpose Driven Life). This e-book was written by my Bible Study Group. To download on Google Drive for free, click here.

Friday 11 February 2022

5 Things To Consider When You Are Waiting on God

Hello Readers & Followers,

Thank God It's Friday! 

In the last 2 weeks, I have been writing on waiting on God. Please, click the following links to read the last 2 articles:

Waiting for the Fulfilment of God's Promises


God's Promises for You Shall Come to Pass



A waiting period could mean different things to different people. Some people are waiting on God for a new job, for a promotion, for instructions on the next step to take, some are waiting on God for healing, some are waiting on God to answer a particular prayer that they have been praying over and over again. Some people are waiting to marry, and some are waiting to have their own children. A waiting period could be one month, 2 months, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years, and many more.

How do you wait on God to meet a need that you have been praying about? How do you wait on God when deep down in your heart you would like the promise to come through right now?

The truth is every Christian has experienced a time in their life when they had to wait on God for a prayer to be answered or for God's promises to come to pass in their lives. This is a reminder for you to know that every Christian will experience a waiting period. Waiting on God is one of the things that test our faith in God as not many of us like waiting as our natural human response is to do things at our preferred time and to be in control of things.

What are you waiting on God for? How are you waiting on God? Are you waiting with the hope that God will answer you soon? Are you waiting in fear? Are you waiting with bitterness in your heart? Are you discouraged? Are you doubting? 

I'd like to remind you that God wants the best for you and it is His desire to meet all your needs from His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19).  

There are many examples of people in the Bible that had to wait many years before they saw the fulfilment of God's promises in their lives. Look at what the Bible says about Abraham in the Book of Romans 4:19-21 (NLT version):

"And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.

Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this, he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises."

5 Things To Consider When You Are Waiting On God

1) Your waiting time is not wasted time. Your waiting time serves a purpose in God's agenda for your life. In the process of waiting on God, you will learn to trust in God's Word. You will learn to acknowledge that God knows best and He is in control.

2) Your waiting time is an opportunity for your endurance to grow, and your endurance, in turn, will develop your character, and a character of this sort produces a steady hope in God (Romans 5:3-4 & James 1:2-3).

3) Your waiting time is an opportunity for you to spend time with God so that you can build up your faith. You can spend time with God through singing, talking with Him, meditating on the Word of God, prayer journalling, Bible Study journalling, playing musical instruments, praying in tongues, declaring the promises of God on a daily basis, and many more. The more you spend time with God, the more your faith will grow as you get to know Him better and understand His ways (Romans 10:17).

4) Remember, you are not alone, God is with you and He will never leave you. God will never fail you and He will never abandon you (Hebrews 13:5). Keep holding on to God's Word. 

5) When your current situation does not match God's promises for your life, you can trust God is working all things together for your good (Romans 8:28). He is faithful to come through. God is never late, He is always on time!

As I was concluding this write-up, my 4-year-old daughter asked me to teach her what it means to wait on God. I explained what it means to wait for her turn at the supermarket, amongst many other things. After my explanation, I asked her to describe her feeling whenever she is waiting for us to pick her up from school. My daughter explained that she is always excited as she knows that we will definitely pick her up from school. My daughter's description showed the state of her heart towards waiting to be picked up from school. I'd like to ask you, what is the state of your heart as you are waiting on God? 

I love hearing from you in the comment section. Please take a minute to say ‘hello’ by leaving a comment and please let me know which of the points above resonate with you the most. 

Prayer Guide

  • Ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen you as you wait on God.
  • Ask the Holy Spirit to help you build the right attitude as you wait on God.
  • Ask the Holy Spirit to help you live a life that is free of bitterness, worry, doubt, anger and envy as you wait on God.

To expand your learning further, I would like you to engage in the following:

1) Click here to listen to a sermon on overcoming anxiety when waiting on the Lord. 

2) Click here to read different scriptures on waiting on the Lord.


Have a lovely weekend!


Yours in Christ,

Mysses Lafunky

I have a free e-book for you. The book (15 Women of the Bible: How they lived a Purpose Driven Life). This e-book was written by my Bible Study Group. To download on Google Drive for free, click here.

Friday 4 February 2022

God's Promises for You Shall Come to Pass

Hello Readers & Followers,

Thank God It's Friday! 

Are you waiting for a particular promise from God or several promises from God to come to pass in your life?