Jesus told a parable about a rich man who was dressed in the lavish clothes and ate gourmet food every day (Luke 16.19-31).
At his gate, there lay a beggar, covered with sores, who longed for the crumbs from the rich man’s table. He was so weak that dogs came and licked his sores.
While the rich man ignored the poor man, God didn’t.
Both men died but had different experiences. When the rich man found himself in Hades, he had no food or water and was in torment.
Even though the rich man knew the name of the beggar Lazarus, he had never helped him.
Now, in torment, he asked Father Abraham to send the beggar Lazarus to be his benefactor. What a strange turn of events.
Jesus told the parable of the rich man and Lazarus 800 years after the prophet Amos conducted his ministry.
Both Jesus and Amos were certain of one thing: for the rich and powerful who neglect the care of the poor and vulnerable, it will be darkness and not light. Even the daylight will be dark under God’s hand of judgment.
On that day, says the Lord God,
I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight.
I will turn your feasts into mourning
and all your songs into lamentation. (Amos 8.9-10a)
A guest speaker at Maywood Baptist Church told us her experience of giving three dollars to one of her students for lunch. The student’s reaction was one of immense joy, almost like winning the lottery.
The speaker highlighted that this small act of kindness, costing her only three dollars, had the power to significantly brighten and bless the young girl’s day.
She emphasized that while it’s impossible to assist everyone we encounter, there are certainly some individuals we can help.
The speaker encouraged the audience to be receptive and ready to act when moved by the Spirit to lend assistance.
John captures the essence of the Bible’s message if we want to live in the light and not suffer in darkness.
We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters.
How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? (1 John 3.16-17)
A Famine for God’s Word
The Holodomor, a term derived from the Ukrainian words for hunger and extermination, occurred in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 under the regime of Joseph Stalin. During this period, approximately 3 to 7 million Ukrainians died as a result of a devastating famine.
While food was plentiful, it was stolen from the Ukrainians and brought back to feed the masses in Russia, resulting in mass starvation and genocide.
Amos discussed a different type of famine – a famine of the word of God. Despite the abundant prosperity in Israel at the time of his speech, the nation suffered from a critical lack: the absence of God’s word.
The time is surely coming, says the Lord God,
when I will send a famine on the land,
not a famine of bread or a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the Lord.
They shall wander from sea to sea
and from north to east;
they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord,
but they shall not find it. (Amos 8.11-12)
Why does a famine of the Word of God exist? I think Hosea explains. He stated that God’s people were perishing due to a lack of knowledge about Him.
It wasn’t because God’s Word was inaccessible, but rather because they chose to reject knowing God and His teachings.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge!
Because you have rejected knowledge. (Hosea 4.6)
You’re familiar with the saying: a person with a Bible and the ability to read, but who does not read it, is no better off than someone who neither has a Bible nor can read.
The first step in feeding ourselves with God’s word is to spend time reading what He has to say.
The second aspect of reading the Bible and deriving nourishment from it involves aligning ourselves with its teachings.
Frequently, when I read God’s Word, I am challenged by the changes that I need to make in my life, and I suspect you experience the same.
To truly be fed and strengthened by God’s Word, we must respond to it with positive obedience.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I discuss this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 