On hoarding possessions

A man in the crowd said to Jesus, 'Master, tell my brother to give me a share of our inheritance.' 'My friend,' Jesus replied 'who appointed me your judge, or the arbitrator of your claims?' Then Jesus said to them, 'Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for a man's life is not made secure by what he owns, even he has more than he needs.'

Then Jesus told them a parable: 'There was once a rich man who, having had a good harvest from his land, thought to himself, "What am I to do? I have not enough room to store my crops." Then he said, "This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grains and my goods in them, and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time." But God said to him, "Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?" So it is when a man stores up treasure for himself in place of making himself rich in the sight of God.' - Luke 12:13-21 -

Trust in Providence

Then Jesus said to his disciples, That is why I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you are to eat, nor about your body and how you are to clothe it. For life [ Lit. 'the soul' in the scriptural/biblical sense, as in v. 19.] means more than food, and the body more than clothing. Think of the ravens. They do not sow or reap; they have no storehouses and no barns; yet God feeds them. And how much more are you worth than the birds! Can any of you, for all his worrying, add a single cubit to his span of life? If the smallest things, therefore, are out of your control, why worry about the rest?

Think of the flowers; they never have to spin or weave;[ Var. 'work or spin', cf. Matthew 6:28.] yet, I assure you, not even Solomon in all his regalia was robed like one of these. Now if that is how God clothes the grass in the field which is there today and thrown into furnace tomorrow, how much more will he look after you, you men of little faith!

But you, you must not set your hearts on things to eat and things to drink; nor must you worry. It is the pagans of this world who set their hearts on all these things. Your Father well knows you need them. No; set your hearts on his kingdom, and these other things will be given you as well.

'There is no need to be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom.' - Luke 12:22-32 -

On almsgiving [ That riches are a danger and should be given away in alms is characteristic teaching of Luke: cf. 3:11, 6:30, 7:5, 11:41, 12:33-34, 14:14, 16:9, 18:22, 19:8; Acts 9:36, 10:2,4,31.]

'Sell your possessions and give alms. Get yourselves purses that do not wear out, treasure that will not fail you, in heaven no thief can reach it and no moth destroy it. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. - Luke 12:33-34 -

On being ready for the Master's return

'See that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit. Be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks. Happy those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. I tell you solemnly, he will put on an apron, sit them down at table and wait on them. It may be in the second watch he comes, or in the third, but happy those servants if he finds them ready. You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what hour the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the wall of his house. You, too must stand ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.'

Peter said, 'Lord, do you mean this parable for us, or for everyone?' The Lord replied, What sort of steward,[ A steward with authority over other servants; Jesus, therefore, is speaking of the apostles (the 'us' of Peter's question.)] then, is faithful and wise enough for the master to place him over his household to give them their allowance of food at the proper time?

Happy the servant if his master's arrival finds him at this employment. I tell you truly, he will place him over everything he owns. But as for the servant who says to himself, "My master is taking his time coming", and sets about beating the men servants and maids, and eating and drinking and getting drunk, his master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful.

The servant who knows what his master wants, but has not even started to carry out those wishes, will receive many strokes of the lash. The one who did not know, but deserves to be beaten for what he has done, will receive fewer strokes. When a man has had a great deal given him, a great deal will be demanded of him; when a man has had a great deal given him on trust, even more will be expected of him. - Luke 12:35-48 -

Jesus and his Passion

I have come to bring fire [ This fire symbolises neither the spiritual struggle that the coming of Jesus provokes nor, strictly speaking, the Holy Spirit. It is the fire that is to purify and inflame men hearts, the fire lit on the cross. John 12:32 has the same thought in different words.] to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already! There is a baptism I must still receive, and how great is my distress till it is over! - Luke 12:49-50 -

Jesus the cause of dissension

'Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on a household of five will be divided: three against two and two against three; the father divided against the son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.' - Luke 12:51-53 -

On reading the signs of the times [ The messianic era has begun: it is high time for this to be realised because judgement is coming soon, vv. 57-59.]

Jesus said again to the crowds, When you see a cloud looming up in the west you say at once that rain is coming, and so it does. And when the winds is from the south you say it will be hot, and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the face of the earth and the sky. How is it you do not know how to interpret these times?

'Why not judge for yourselves what is right? For example: when you go to court with your opponent, try to settle with him on the way, or he may drag you before the judge and the judge hand you over to the bailiff and the bailiff have you thrown into prison. I tell you, you will not get out till you have paid the very last penny.' - Luke 12:54-59 -

Examples inviting repentance

The Lord Jesus Christ, promised to us that our mission on this earth is really and utmost important for our own salvation.

"I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, wife, brothers, parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not be given repayment many times over in this present time, in the world to come, Eternal Life." - Luke 18:28-30 -

'Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?'

"Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He is like a man who when he built his house dug, and dug deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built.

But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man who built his house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 -

HOW? AND IN WHAT WAY, WHEN IT COME TO UNDERSTANDING MATTERS: WHAT I WAS ALWAYS BEING TOLD IS: THERE ARE WAYS AND PREFERENCES TO COMPREHEND ALL MATTERS, WHETHER IT IS OF SPIRITUALITY AND OF UNSPIRITUALITY.

FIRSTLY, IN A LITERALLY MANNER: THAT IS, USED FOR EMPHASIS OR TO EXPRESS STRONG FEELING WHILE NOT BEING LITERALLY TRUE.

SECONDLY, IN A HUMANLY MANNER: THAT IS, FROM A HUMAN POINT OF VIEW, IN A HUMANLY MANNER, BY HUMAN MEANS; WITHIN ABILITY; WITH HUMAN FEELING OR KINDNESS.

THIRDLY, IN A SPIRITUALLY MANNER: THAT IS, IN A WAY THAT RELATES TO OR AFFECTS THE HUMAN SPIRIT OR, SOUL AS OPPOSED TO MATERIAL OR PHYSICAL THINGS.

FINALLY, IN AN UNSPIRITUAL MANNER: THAT IS, NOT SPIRITUAL. BUT SECULAR AND WORLDLY.
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Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless. 
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Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -