Death doesn’t care about age or wisdom or wealth.”
                    –Donald L. Robertson  (Five Women and the Star)

       “The blessing of the Lord brings [true] riches, And He adds no sorrow to it [for it comes as a blessing from God].”
                    –Proverbs 10:22(Amplified)
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The parable in Luke 12:13-21 is one that we should look at very closely.  It does deal with wealth, but more importantly it deals with man’s vales, his priorities of life.

          16 — Then He spoke a parable to them, saying:  “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.
          17 — And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’
          18 — So he said, ‘I will do this:  I will pull down my barns and build greater and there I will store all my crops and my goods.
          19 — And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”‘
          20 — But God said to him, ‘Fool!  This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
          21 — So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”  (NKJV)

     The first priority we see in this man’s life is that of selfishness.  “I will” is proclaimed six times.  Recall the words of Lucifer in Isaiah, where he proclaims that “I will.”  Here we see the preoccupation of self, the importance of self in his own eyes.  His goal and purpose of living is that of self-indulgence.  Not only greed, but he is also proud and he does not consider what he might have for the next life.
     Then we see the idea of materialism.  More, bigger, better, the next updated model, that’s what this man wanted.  He would be the type to stand in line for the next gadget to come out so he could buy it, but would eagerly be waiting for next year’s model.  We must understand that there is a difference between greed and planning for the future.  Gary Inrig says, “The quality of the future he anticipates is directly related to the size of the barns he builds.”  
     We also see a life characterized by hedonism.  He completely misses the point of Solomon’s message, “And also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor–it is the gift of God.” (Ecclesiastes 3:13, NKJV)  Our blessings are a gift from God; he missed that concept altogether.  Paul instructs us, “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.” (1 Timothy, 6:17, NKJV)  “It is right to enjoy what we have; it is wrong to believe that self-indulgent pleasure is the goal of life.” (Inrig)
     I want to finish today with a story shared by William Barclay, then come back to this parable in another devotion.
          This is the story of a conversation between a young and ambitious lad and an older man who knew life.  Said the young man, “I will learn my trade.”
          “And then?” said the older man.
          “I will set up in business.”
          “And then?”
          “I will make my fortune.”
          “And then?”
          “I suppose that I shall grow old and retire and live on my money.”
          “And then?”
          “Well, I suppose that some day I will die.”
          “And then?” came the last stabbing question.
“The man who never remembers that there is another world is destined some day for the grimmest of grim shocks.” (Barclay)

What makes a man is inside him.”
                    –Louis L’Amour  (Taggart)

       “And then, when you pray, don’t be like the play-actors….  After all, God, who is your Father, knows your needs before you ask him.”
                    –Matthew 6:5, 8  (Phillips)
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Who am I?  That’s a great and interesting question.  When you look in the mirror who/what do you see?  I have often used Johara’s Window in my teaching.  There is a window divided into four panes:  what I know about myself that no one else knows; what others know about me that I don’t know; the facade, what I let others know, and then there’s that one mysterious pane, what no one, not even myself knows about me.  We can add to that the subconscious.  There you are, a wonder of creation, or of your own imagination and fantasies, or just an ol’ fence post.  The thing is, that God knows you–all of you, inside and out.  Let’s take a look at Psalm 139 this morning.

          1 — O LORD, You have searched me and know me.
          2 — You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.
          3 — You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
          4 — For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.
          5 — You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me.
          6 — Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.  (NKJV)

     This may be a terrifying thought to some knowing that God sees all and knows all about you.  Nothing, absolutely nothing, escapes His notice.  He knows when you breathe in and when you exhale.  However to the Christian, to whom this really speaks it is great comfort.  We are told that no matter where we might find ourselves, that He knows where we are and is there with us.  Amazing–God holds the universe together and yet knows when the sparrow falls and the number of hairs on each of our heads.  William J. Petersen says, “He is present everywhere, personally involved at even the most minute level.  Having created every life, God presided over every aspect of each of these lives.  Every thought, attitude, word, and deed is an open book before Him.”  
     Oh, if we could just get this in our heads!  God is there!  He is very personal, more personal that we let Him.  Relationship—hmmm, I wonder, yet we should willing to accept it for He already knows all about us.  When David penned these words we need to know that  he “sees them not as mere theological abstractions but as dynamic realities that deeply impacted his life.” (Lawson)
     The NLT puts the first verse this way, “…you have examined my heart…”  Talk about open heart surgery.  God knows our very inner person, the depths of our soul that we don’t even examine.  This means literally, “to explore, spy out, to dig deeply into…”  God knows the very depth of our being and He knows it thoroughly.  Nothing can be hidden from His examination.  Verses 2 and 3 tell us that God knows our habits, our routines, our activities, our thoughts as well as the words we speak.  He knows when we go to sleep, our dreams and nightmares.
     Verse 5, the NLT, “You both precede and follow me…”  Incredible!  God is before us and He is following us!  We can’t escape Him, and He does not want us to.  He has us “hedged in,” besieged and He works in us, through us, and in spite of us to bring us closer to Him and develop us by the work of the Holy Spirit more into His image.  Oh, and thank goodness He has His hand on us.  It is not a prissy, cold-fish of a hand, but a firm, solid clamp.  The hand of a good friend clasping your shoulder, to turn you in the right direction or stop you from taking a false step.
     In ancient and medieval times there was the belief in an “evil eye.”  It spoke of a malevolent or sensuous glare from someone who could cause misfortune to come upon an individual.  It was believed that those who possessed the “evil eye” were able to cast spells on others.  Friend, aren’t you glad that we have the eye of the Lord upon us?  He guides us, warns us, comforts us, tells us which direction, which trail to take.  Oh, what a wonderful God we serve–“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know!” (NLT)  Yet, He wants us to know Him.

               “I need thy presence every passing hour;
               What but thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
               Who, like myself, my guide and stay can be?
               Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.”
                     –Henry F. Lyte