Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – February 15, 2017
The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. Revelation 20:12
Those saved by grace and faith in Jesus are eternally secure. But, eternal rewards are based on a disciple’s efforts on earth. Believers who ignore their spiritual opportunities and obligations will miss out on their Heavenly Father’s affirmation and remuneration. Those sober saints who take seriously their Savior’s expectations will enter into the joy of their Master. Christ rewards obedience to Him.
Rewards in heaven are meant to be godly motivation. Yes, our first response is to serve Jesus out of love and our overflowing gratitude for His goodness and grace. And it is wise to fear the Lord and allow our holy awe of the Almighty to be foundational for our life of faith and works. But there is an end in mind: Jesus wants His children to be devoted and compelled by anticipating His generous gifts.
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
It is a process of renewing your mind with an eternal decision-making filter that facilitates biblical thinking and doing. Ask the Lord in prayer how He wants you to invest your life in others. How does God want you to use your experience, your assets, your time, your money, and your influence for His purposes? In other words, how can you make eternal investments on earth that bear fruit for God’s glory—forever?
What you do does not get you to heaven—this comes only by faith in Christ and God’s amazing grace. But what you do after becoming a follower of Jesus does determine the quality of your eternal experience. The persecuted and martyred in this life have a great reward waiting in the next life. Those who initiate resources and influence on behalf of the poor and needy bring great satisfaction to Jesus which He expresses in bountiful blessings. Indeed, He rewards all those who diligently seek Him by faith.
Love God and your reward will be great. Be a faithful witness who plants or waters the gospel of Jesus Christ and you will be rewarded by spending forever with eternally grateful souls. Send your investments ahead to heaven, by aggressively giving it away on earth. Resist; even reject rewards from the culture, so you are positioned to receive Christ’s rewards. Remain faithful to God’s call and look forward to His reward.
“He [Moses] regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward” (Hebrews 11:26).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, by faith I am investing Your blessings on earth, so they receive Your eternal blessing in heaven.Application
How can I live my life in a way that honors the Lord and looks forward to His rewards?Related Reading
Amos 6:1-7; Matthew 16:27; Revelation 2:7-10, 22:12Post/Tweet today
Those saved by grace and faith in Jesus are eternally secure. But, eternal rewards are based on a disciple’s efforts on earth. #wisdomhunters #eternalrewardsWorship Resource
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Just a help in a grammatical error. The “your” should be “you’re” in the last section where it asks to “click here” if YOUR having trouble. . . .
Great article
Dear Anita,
Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us with that correction. We are always thankful when one of our faithful readers “catches” a mistake and lets us know. So thank you for your help with this. It happens every once in awhile.
We are glad that you enjoyed the devotional and hope you will continue to be blessed by them.
Believing and trusting~
Gwynne
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:11
I will be unsubscribing to Wisdom Hunters, thank you for all the prior great reads about Wisdom and how it comes from God’s word. However, today, I believe there has been a great mistake in your role as a Wisdom writer to relay to people all over that our rewards in Heaven do not come from our BELIEF. The Bible says to believe, yes it also says to love one another as Jesus did. But nowhere, NOWHERE, that I have ever read or been told does it say that what you receive in Heaven will be dependent upon what you have done on earth, i.e. your rewards you receive in Heaven are based upon what WORKS you have done on earth. This is just plain wrong, and wrong for you to be preaching. This can overwhelm many, and possible even tempt the wrong people to give away everything they have. I believe God wants what He asks of us, and sometimes it takes years to know what that is. We should never act out of panic because we think our gifts in Heaven won’t be good enough because some Wisdom Hunter said what we get when we die depends on what we did/gave while we were alive. WRONG.
Dear Kim,
First of all, let me take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for writing to us with your heartfelt concerns over this devotional. We are sorry that you are upset and hope we can further explain and give you some clarity about this message. Again, thank you for reaching out to us, not only so we can shine some light on this for you, but also, for any other reader that may have shared your concerns.
While I cannot speak directly for Boyd on his writing, I do believe I know “where he is coming from” with the devotional. Please allow me to share these thoughts with you because we care so very much for you and are thankful that you are a part of our Wisdom Hunter’s family.
Boyd began the devotional with a clear and fundamental statement. “Those saved by grace and faith are eternally secure.” A few paragraphs later, he repeats that truth in this statement: “What you do does not get you to heaven – this comes only by faith in Christ and God’s amazing grace.” Boyd and Rita Bailey, along with the Wisdom Hunter’s staff wholeheartedly believe Ephesians 2:8 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from ourselves, it is a gift from God – not by works, so that no one can boast”.
While it is true that deeds do not earn us our salvation, once we are saved, our hearts have a desire to please God and do the good deeds.
James speaks about this genuine faith in James 2:16-17. “If one of you says to him, ‘Go I wish you well; keep warm and well fed’, but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James is one of my favorite books of the Bible because it there are so many powerful reminders of wise living, serving, faith, etc…
Kim, I think one of your concerns had to do with reaping rewards in heaven related to what we did on earth. (Please let me know if I misread your thoughts here and I apologize, in advance, if I did.)
I go to the Word for some clarity on this:
“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened which was the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.” Revelation 20:21:12
Another verse that speaks to this is the one Boyd quoted in the devotional: Hebrews 11:6, which states, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him”.
Kim, let me know if you would like to continue the discussion. My email is gwynne@wisdomhunters.com. Again, we are thankful for your comments and we hope to hear from you again sometime.
Believing and trusting~
A sister in Christ,
Gwynne
“I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind,
to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.”
Jeremiah 17:10