Joni And Friends 24 January 2024 Devotional Message
Joni and Friends 24 January 2024 Devotional Wednesday Message. As you study today’s devotional, remember this; “Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 (NLT)
TOPIC: Loved Ones in Glory
“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side…’I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’” – Luke 16:22-23, 27-28
Jesus relays here not a parable but an amazing real-life occurrence. The rich man was very conscious of his hellish surroundings, as well as the condition of his brothers who were still on earth, and he wanted desperately to warn his family. The rich man saw and recognized his family, remembered them, was concerned for them, and pleaded on their behalf. Here’s the lesson: if lost souls can feel and care, how much more can those who have died in the faith!
Our Christian loved ones who have graduated into glory presently reside with the great I AM, the Lord of love. How deeply they must feel, pray, and see. How fervent and ongoing must be their love; after all, “love never fails” (1 Cor. 13:8). Love does not die; it cannot die, because it cannot fail. Love is a part of a departed saint’s being, not his body but his person. Our loved ones may very well love us presently with a purer, holier, and more intense love than they ever did on earth.
Can our departed loved ones observe our mistakes and blunders? Even if they can, they have the benefit of an end-time view. They see the bigger, better picture. When we die, we are not in some soulsleep of a stupor, not in purgatory, and we’re certainly not unconscious; we are “away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8). The departed are full of the joy of having come home!
How wonderful, Lord, to think that I am one with my brothers and sisters in Christ who are now with you.
READ MORE TOPICS: OPEN HEAVENS, OUR DAILY BREAD, IN TOUCH, SEEDS OF DESTINY, STREAMS OF JOY, JOEL OSTEEN, MOUNTAIN TOP LIFE, DCLM DAILY MANNA, UCB WORD FOR TODAY