Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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The hindrances to the kingdom of God
Luke. 16:19-31
“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’’
We can study about the Kingdom of God from the Old Testament and the New Testa-ment (Daniel.2:44, 7:13, 18; Mat.21: 25). Entrance to the Kingdom of God is not attained by choice. Also, we do not achieve it because of our merits. God chose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom (James2:5). In the New Testament John the Bap-tist and Jesus Christ use another phrase Kingdom of Heaven (Mat. 3:2 ; 4:17) The Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven is the rule of an eternal Sovereign God on all creations and things (Ps.103:9,Dani.4:3). It is eternal as God is eternal. God is Sovereign, Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent. All creations will be destroyed but the Kingdom of God will remain.The Kingdom of God includes angels and the saved human beings.
Today’s Gospel portion describes that there are many hindrances/ obstacles to en-tering the Kingdom of God. The rich man’s luxury and extravagance was a hindrance to him in attaining the Kingdom of God. He gave priority to his financial abundance than God and fel-low beings. God wants us to seek His Kingdom first in our life. His wrong attitude towards wealth which comes from the lack of knowledge of God’s word was another hindrance to en-tering the Kingdom of God. In Joshua 1:8 God promised us that when we meditate on His word day and night and obey His commands we will be prosperous and successful.
Lack of faith in God’s promises was also a hindrance to the rich man. God wants us to believe that He will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ, no matter what the circumstances around us. In the story the man was very wealthy and lived a comfortable life. But Lazarus on the other hand was very poor and lay at the rich man’s gate. The two had nothing in common. One was comfortable and the other was miserable. Death was the only common factor. With death the poor man’s misery due to hunger ended, his sores healed and his tears dried. But for the other, his misery was just beginning: he longed for a cold drink of water for relief. So let’s overcome the hindrances by our right attitude and faith in God.
Prayer: “Lord, let me seek Thy Kingdom of God first, believe in Thy Word, obey Thy Spirit and be a blessing to all the people of the earth.
Thought for the Day: The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to change hearts to get rid of the hindrances to the Kingdom of God.
Rev. John N. Abraham, Lubbock MTC.

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