The Judgment Seat of Christ or The Great White Throne Judgment (Part 1 of 2)

Hello Friends!

Welcome to a new 2-part Daily Devotionals series titled “The Judgment Seat of Christ or The Great White Throne Judgment”

In the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon summarizes what life should be all about:

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all – Ecclesiastes 12:13

Thus, the conclusion of the “whole matter” of life is to "fear God" and to "keep His commandments" in honoring Him with our Christian walk – life style.

Although King Solomon wrote this entire book to ultimately remind us of what he sums up in three little words – “all of life is vanity!” He also faithfully warns us of this sobering truth:

For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil – Ecclesiastes 12:14

Yes, even the “secret things” we do will be brought “into judgment.” All our of deeds – “good” or “bad” – will be brought into God’s Holy and Righteous judgment. This truth will be very real to each of us at the judgment of God we will all face… One day…

Please join us over the next couple of weeks as we learn more about this very important topic. Today we will consider the judgment of God upon the believer…

The Judgment Seat of Christ or The Great White Throne Judgment

The Word of God is very clear. Every person's works – whether that person be “saved” or “lost” – will be brought into the righteous judgment of God…

The Judgment Seat of Christ

For the saved person their personal works will be judged at the "Judgment Seat of Christ" as described by the Apostle Paul to the Romans:

But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ – Romans 14:10

And again to the Corinthians:

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad – 2 Corinthians 5:10

Paul also describes for us the procedure at the “judgment seat of Christ” in that it is for Jesus Christ to judge the believer’s “labor”:

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor – 1 Corinthians 3:6-8

Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.  If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire – 1 Corinthians 3:12-15

The Apostle John also promises that we will receive "rewards" and "crowns" that we then cast at His feet in thanksgiving for the things that our Lord has done for us:

the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne… – Revelation 4:10

These "rewards" and "crowns" are the “good works” we've “done in the body” by His power and for His glory – “gold, silver, precious stones.” However, we will suffer “loss” for those “works” we do in our own power and for our own glory – “wood, hay, straw.” Jesus Christ will be the “righteous judge” over all of our “works” – whether they are "good" or "bad.”

In closing:

Let me remind you, the Word of God is very clear – we're not saved by works, but by “grace through faith”:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast – Ephesians 2:8-9

Although we are not saved by our “works,” we were created ”for” the “good works” that the Lord has ordained – “prepared beforehand” that we should “walk in them”:

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them – Ephesians 2:10

It is the "works" that we have done for the Lord in which He will judge the Christian at the “Judgment Seat of Christ”…

Praise the Lord!

Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s edition as we investigate The Great White Throne of God to better understand the Lord’s perspective concerning His future judgments on all of humanity… Believers and Unbelievers.

May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

Blessings!

Shane <><

Dealing with Exhaustion

17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. Exodus 18

I've said many times previously that we need to listen to God.  He speaks to us and leads us, and we need to be receptive, even though it may be outside of our comfort zone.  However, there are times where our interpretation may be a little bit off.  How do you know the difference?  It's tricky, but that's where your brothers and sisters in Christ can come to help.

Jethro was Moses' father-in-law.  He saw the burden that Moses had taken by being the sole judge for the Israelites.  That's a lot of people to handle.  I advise a group of 30 women and yes, there is drama there.  I can only imagine taking the number of people up to the thousands and being the sole person to handle disputes.  It'd be exhausting!  So Jethro gave him another way to handle the situation.  Appoint judges to handle the smaller disputes, and anything they can't figure out, pass along to Moses.

Does this stay in line with God's direction? Absolutely.  Does it make things more manageable for Moses so he can really devote his time and efforts towards those difficult to handle disputes?  Yes, it does.  Is Moses still doing God's will?  Yes!

Sometimes we need someone else to come in and talk to us to let us see that there is still another way to follow God's will.  I've been in the situation before where I knew God was pushing me in a certain direction, but I fought it.  It was too hard!  No matter what I did to try to follow his will, I was met with road block after road block.  It was exhausting, and I was exhausted with getting no where.  In a moment of panic (yes, that's how you know I'm exhausted) I called my mom and my aunt who both calmly talked to me about the situation and about how God was using me in this event.  They had a different perspective on the situation, so they could see a way that God was putting me in this position that hadn't occurred to me yet.  Ah-ha!

At times, we hit that same level of exhaustion.  We're focused on what God has asked of us that we don't stop to see that there are sometimes multiple ways to accomplish what he has asked of us.  Now, notice that I'm not saying you should find anyone to help give guidance, but to find someone close to you who is also a Christian.  They'll be able to keep leading you in a Christ-focused direction with your actions.  Use those other followers to help you along the way.

God is always with us (Part III)

Continuing with my niece’s skating lessons…

Our third day out, Maria practiced skating to and from me and then began to turn around on her own. Once she started skating on her own, I didn’t always prevent her from falling, but I was always there to help her up. If she never tried skating on her own, she wouldn’t ever learn.

God is always there for us. He never leaves us. He knows we will fall, but that’s how we learn. He is always there to pick us up when we do fall, if we turn to Him for help.

When Maria was focused on what she was doing and put into practice what I was telling her, she didn’t fall and even improved. When she let herself be distracted by her brother or when she stopped heeding instructions, then she became unstable, tripped, or fell.

The same is true in our spiritual life. If we let ourselves be distracted by the world or stop heeding God’s instructions, then we will become unstable, trip and fall.

Psalm 37:23-28a
  The Lord makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
²⁴ though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

²⁵ I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
²⁶ They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be a blessing.

²⁷ Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.
²⁸ For the Lord loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.

Right now, are you and I distracted by the world and those around us, or focused on God? Would God call you and me His faithful ones and those who delight in Him? If we’ve fallen, He wants to help us. It’s easier to rely on Him and turn to Him for help, if we remain close to Him. He is always available!

Alice

Godly Contentment

But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.  1 Timothy 6:6-8
  

My wife celebrated a significant birthday yesterday.  She will be planning her trip to Florida courtesy of me, and she had all the grandchildren surrounding her for her special day.  Listening to her, there was this smile in her voice and joy on her face. She said to me, “I am so happy! There is nothing else that I want!” Now I’m sure that will last until the next Michael Kors purse goes on special, but honestly, I knew she meant every word of it.  She had reached contentment.  Nothing else was needed because God had given her all that she wanted.  Now some might wonder if her expectations are too low.  However even though I love giving her gifts and taking her out, they are an abundance of stuff to her.  Shouldn't we all strive to be where she is?

  

With contentment, we recognize the many blessings God has given us. I remember when I first got a promotion and writing a goal for myself to have a Mercedes-Benz in five years. But after five years, I bought an SUV instead.  Why? Because it was more important to spend future time driving with family than to have a name brand for a car.  My goal is not to point out that this choice was better than someone else’s (could have spent less, and again, we all fall short of God’s glory).  It is to share my realization that once I reached Godly contentment with my life, it became easier to make choices that had a bigger purpose than what I might have planned for.  That is not always easy!  Each of us will have moments where we need to make a big decision to choose something we worked for or have an opportunity to do, but we must always challenge ourselves to ensure that we have Godly contentment.  Then decide accordingly.

  

It is truly amazing to serve a God who gives abundantly.  2 Peter 1:3 says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”  If we understand this lesson, there is little else that we would need, right?  Where can you exercise contentment today and beyond?  My prayer is that we are thankful for all we have, and continually practice the act of Godly contentment.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Active faith

1 John 5:1-5 “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” (NASB)

Hello,

When looking over these verses and hearing my Pastor preach through them, something struck me about faith. I have always related faith to action – but some focus on verse 5 has helped further my understanding of the correlation of faith and action. You see, there is a difference between being active in your faith, and being active with your faith.

If you are active in your faith this tends to be more introspective/personal in nature. We do things inwardly and the focus is very defensive..

But, if you extend this and become active with your faith then it begins to go on the attack. This is when we begin to use our faith to really impact others. We get vocal and practical with our outreach to others. We seek out areas in our own lives that need fixing and attack them.

Nothing wrong with being active in your faith – that is a needed thing….but, are we also being active with our faith?

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill