St. Luke 16:1-18
And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail. Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.
A couple of things came to mind.
The first is how I used to read this and I was so confused. It sounded as if the writer was saying it was okay to defraud others. Then I heard a commentary and that is not what this is saying at all - so study children, always study. If something goes off in your head saying that this just isn't right, well, that's your ticket to do more research, and pray. God said he would send us wisdom if we asked him.
Secondly, "The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it." That comment tucked away in this story. Recently I've been noticing periods of time. God created everything we know, including us. He walked with us in the garden. Then we messed up. He sent His Son to redeem us. Jesus walked the earth and once he beat death and rose again, as He was ascending into the heavens, He sent the Holy Spirit to write God's law on our heart and to stay with us as a guide. We are in this epic of time. We have the Holy Spirit. The next epic of time is when Jesus returns to the earth in judgement. Then we'll have the new earth and the new heaven. It's all so exciting.
I just can't get over how much I've missed in the Bible and how God's Word is continually being revealed.
I do want to write a little about what is going on in our lives right now.
Michael works in Independence while his family is in Warsaw. So he stays with me during the week. He told me that over the weekend he was cleaning up a wood pile and they came across a pack rat. I loved the look on his face as he explained what they found in the nest. The shiny pieces of silver from cigarette packs, among other things, and how the rat had a tiny tuft of fur on the end of his tail. I was grossed out and he asked why. I said because it is a rat. He said it isn't like normal rats and he explained more about how they are solitary, etc. I just talking with him. I love his smile and his bright eyes.
Lindsay is busy with a sick baby boy. Ky has croup and is being treated for a small patch of rough skin. Well, he woke up from his nap with two big bumps on the side of his head. I was worried about a reaction to the topical steroid. He and I have such sensitive skin - everything sets off hives or redness. Of course I'm sure it is just a reaction to bug bites. Speaking of sensitive to bug bites, Michael used to have huge bumps anytime something bit him.
Otherwise our family is doing fine. We are a blessed group. Now, if my children would just admit that they love Jesus and gain the courage to worship him and raise their children knowing and loving God . . . well, then I could die happily knowing we would all meet again.
Of course, they shouldn't do any of this for me but for their own souls. And why, why, wouldn't they want to know this joy? I don't see what the road block is. There is nothing hard about being a Christian, well, except the sadness when people turn away from Christ. That makes my heart bleed and become so heavy with sadness.
Still praying and talking with Gina. Please pray for Gina if you are reading this. She wants to come to Christ but she doesn't quite understand why. She questions eternity. She doesn't understand the concept, and to be honest, since I've not questioned eternity I honestly am drawing a blank when it comes to a good answer for her. Any advice?
I'm attaching a picture from Mendy's birthday party. Have I mentioned how much I love that woman? She isn't in this picture but I love this picture of her Momma.
After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 1 Kings 19:11-12 NIV
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