King James Daily Bible Study Devotional
Message Title: Stand Before God
Date: Tuesday October 11, 2011
Chapters: Matthew 25-26
Click Here to Read Them or Go to: http://imfollowingjesus.com/bible-october-11

Hello My Friend/Guest,

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time...Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls...Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;..Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” - I Peter 1:3-5,9,13,16-19.

The word pure means to be free from moral defilement; without blemish (marks), and without spot (sinless), it is being chaste or genuine and uncorrupted. To stand before God we need to be pure, without marks and without sin, since we all disqualify as being pure it was important for a sacrifice to be made that would make us pure. To make us pure one would have to be pure, that being in the form of Jesus Christ, who was unmarked and sin free. Those who believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and receive Him are purified and cleansed by His precious blood, being made without blemish and without spot, redeemed and able to stand before God. Praise God! Therefore, be sober, be holy in spirit, mind, and body, and be ready to stand before God.

The time was soon coming, Jesus knew that it was time for the prophecies concerning His betrayal, capture, and crucifixion to come to pass. That did not stop Him from trying to reach as many people with the Gospel before He was captured. To explain further, He gave a parable about ten virgins awaiting their groom, “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps...And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him...And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.” - Matthew 25:1-4,6,8-10.

This is not an actual marriage between a man and woman, it is a spiritual marriage, Jesus is the bridegroom, the wise virgins are the ones who received Christ as their Savior and were prepared for His coming. The foolish virgins are the ones who believed in Christ, but had not received Him as their Savior so, when He arrived they were too late because they were not prepared. When we are saved, we are cleansed and made pure as a virgin. To receive Christ as your Savior is like a marriage, a union between you and Christ, you become one, never to be separated again. I have heard many people say that they do not want to get saved because they do not want to give up the life they have. Too many people die and end up in hell because they chose to wait, salvation does not come from obedience, salvation comes from believing and receiving Christ. “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin...Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:” - Romans 3:20,24.

Jesus wanted to enjoy one last supper with His disciples before He would be captured and crucified. They sang songs and ate and as they were eating He presented them with something they probably would not understand until He was risen. “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.” - Matthew 26:26-29.

The feast of unleavened bread which they used in celebration of the Passover as made into thin cakes that were easily broken and distributed. This “breaking” of the bread represents the sufferings that Jesus was about to receive, His body being “broken” into pieces, although His body was not literally broken, it is a symbol of His body being wounded for sin. The cup, represents “the blood” that Jesus was about to shed for the remission of sin. This “blood shed”, being in the form of the sacrificial lamb that would be offered to God for remission or forgiveness of sin, is a symbol of His sacrificial death that would redeem a soul for eternity. Jesus commanded all His disciples to drink, meaning if they do not drink His blood (spiritually receive Him) they would not be pardoned of their sins. The disciples were to do this, known as the Holy communion, often in remembrance of the sufferings and death that Jesus endured for the remission of their sin. God is about to form with people a new covenant, sealed, never to be altered, with the shed blood of His Son. That is, this is the only way by which God will pardon anyone of their sins. “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” - Hebrews 9:14,15.

Without the blood of Christ there is no remission, we must receive Christ as our Savior to be redeemed of our sins and to receive the promise of eternal life. No amount of righteousness can save you, only Jesus can. However, what we do for Him after we are saved, purified, cleansed by His blood, determines the life we will live here in earth. “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?..Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone...Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?..For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” - James 2:14,17,19,20.

This does not mean that you have to work to keep your salvation, it means you must make an effort, you must ask Him to save you. Therefore, if you truly want to see what a life with Jesus can bring you must make an effort to let Him in besides asking Him to save you. I have had people that have gotten saved who continue to live in sin go through one trial after another, wondering why I am being blessed and they are not. The truth is they are being blessed, they are saved, and no matter what path we choose we are going to endure some suffering, but isn't it great knowing that you have Jesus on your side, if He endured death, certainly we can endure the suffering that we encounter. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” - James 1:12-14.

Today's Prayer:
Dear God,
I have chosen today to stand by You, when things are going great, I will stand by You, when I am being persecuted, I will stand by You, when I feel all alone and it seems like life is falling apart, I will stand by You. Nothing gives me more comfort, hope, and peace than when I remind myself that You are with me, even when I fall, I know You will pick me back up because You never leave nor forsake me. And although I know my works do not save me, I know that my faith and acceptance of Your Son in my life does. Let me never lose the joy of my salvation and let me never forget that You love me and that Christ lives in me. In Jesus' name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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