Daily Devotions

Luke 16:19-26

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.

In hell he lifted up his eyes. This man when he died and entered into eternity received the biggest surprise of his life. There is no indication in the passage that he ever thought about heaven or hell, sin or the grave, that he ever considered the God of the Bible. Like so many people he lived his life as if all that mattered was this world and the things of the world. What a surprise he received when he stepped into eternity.

How many just like him will receive the surprise of their lives when the heart stops? Christian what are you doing to tell people about sin and hell, about death and the grave, about Christ and the cross?

I will be preaching on the surprises of hell on Sunday. Don’t let your friend, family and those around you be surprised, tell them the gospel news.