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Luke 16:20-22

20 "But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 "desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 "So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.


Times nowadays are hard. It seems both the husband and wife need to work just to make it. We see on the news and read in the newspaper how unemployment is rising.
Through these times we sometimes wonder if God has forgotten about us.
We wonder why God does not give us more when we ask Him. After all, we just want to pay our bills and give the best we can to our families.
We hope and pray for more but we just don't seem to get what we ask for.
Has God forgotten about you or stopped loving you?

As you read today's devotional verses, we read of Jesus telling a parable about a man named Lazarus. This is the only time I can remember that Jesus called anyone by name in one of His parables. I believe that this is a true story because we read of Lazarus in the book of John in chapter 11.
But I want you to notice how Jesus described Lazarus:

"A beggar, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table."

Lazarus was a poor man who didn't have a job; he may have even had leprosy or some other illness because it says that he was full of sores. He would have been happy with the crumbs that fell from others tables, or as we would think of nowadays, eating the leftovers out of the garbage can.
But did you notice what Lazarus never said? He never said, "God doesn't love me or care about me."
Lazarus knew the Lord loved him and we read this in the book of John.

  • John 11:5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.


    • Lazarus didn't base God's love for him on what he had or didn't have. Lazarus based God's love upon faith that God loved him no matter what he was going through at the time.
    What about you?
    Are you going through hard times right now?
    Does it seem like God has forgotten about you or will never help you?

    Read the definition of love in the bible.

  • 1 Cor 13:4-7 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.


    • Where does it say that love pays all your bills, or love gives you nice cars or a new home or a good job?

    God loves you whether you have enough to pay all your bills or not.
    God loves you when you lose your job.
    God loves you when you eat rice and beans instead of steak and potatoes.
    God shows His love to you through His Son Jesus, by allowing Him to die for you!
    Through Jesus Christ, God has given you what you truly need, and that's eternal life.

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