King James Daily Bible Study Devotional
Message Title: They Shall Have Their Reward
Date: Sunday October 02, 2011
Chapters: Matthew 4-6, Proverbs 2, Psalm 107:24-43
Click Here to Read Them or Go to: http://imfollowingjesus.com/bible-october-2

Hello My Friend/Guest,

“Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye...Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord...And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.” - Colossians 3:11-13,16,23-25.

True believers of Christ are united with Him in a union which can never be broken and by virtue of that union they are justified, sanctified and often yet to be glorified. Perhaps they will not be glorified until the day that they see Jesus, but the great thing about being united with Christ, since He is the only way to God, is that they will receive a far greater reward than anything they will receive here on earth for serving Him faithfully. True believers of Christ are no longer seen by God as Jews or Gentiles, but as one body in Christ, as Christians, distinguished from all the rest of mankind as the elect of God.

The biggest challenge in the Christian life is Satan, there is not one person on earth that he has not tempted and while he knows that Jesus is God in the flesh that did not stop him from trying to get Jesus to commit sin either. You see, when God came here in the flesh, as the Son, He gave all authority over to God, the Father, meaning Jesus did everything as you and I did here on earth and while Jesus did not come into this world with the sin nature that the rest of us did, He remained sinless. How did He remain sinless? God. He never did anything without God, He studied His Word, He prayed, He followed His commandments, and every time He was tempted He resisted that temptation by remembering what the Word of God told Him. “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred...Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.” - Matthew 4:1,2,10,11.

We cannot stop Satan from tempting us, but we can escape the temptation, God never allows Satan to tempt us above what we are able to handle. We can be sinless too. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” - I Corinthians 10:13. Remember, Jesus gave all authority to God, the Father, the first 30 years of His life in the flesh, He was as an ordinary man, He had no ability to heal people or resurrect them from the dead. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” -Philippians 2:5-8.

While Jesus saves anyone who asks Him to save them, not everyone will go beyond just knowing His name. Jesus knows this and encourages all, who receive Him personally that there are great rewards awaiting them in the Kingdom of God for receiving Him. He did not promise easy street, but He did promise a blessed life through every trial, every circumstance, and every affliction they face.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth...Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you..Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” - Matthew 5:3-5,10-12,14-16.

Even those who do not know Jesus or do not want to follow Him see the light of Him in those who know Him personally. Some will embrace it right away and follow Jesus as well. Some will observe a bit until they know for sure it is Jesus that shines through us then will follow Him too. Some will run or make fun of and mock us and never follow Him. Either way we are His light, the more we do what He did the more we shine, the more we shine the more blessed we become. “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....Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” - James 1:12,17.

There are a lot of religious people out there claiming that they know Jesus personally, they call themselves righteous by giving lots of money to charities, praying big prayers, and doing all these things for God. In reality they are glorifying themselves using God's name. Jesus has something to say about those who are quick to show the world how godly they are, but it's all hypocrisy.

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward...And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward...Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward...Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:..But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” - Matthew 6:1,2,5,16,19,33.

A true Christian does not pride themselves on what they have done themselves, but what God has done through them. Those who have God's favor above all are the ones behind the scenes, the ones who serve Him with all their heart, allowing Christ to live in and through them. One day I walked into the room of our church where Sunday school teachers meet with our preacher for a weekly meeting, every other chair was facing backwards, it was for an illustration. As other teachers came in we all laughed, and I made the comment, “No one can say that we have a boring church.” We are going to laugh, we are going to cry, we are even going to get angry, yes, we can get angry, but the key to a wonderful, full, Christian life is allowing Christ to live in and through us. “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” - II Corinthians 12:10.

We can enjoy life through every circumstance and we do not have to commit sin to do it, when I am truly serving God I have no time to commit sin. It is only when I take my eyes off God that I get myself in trouble as I suspect happens to the rest of us. Praise God that He is merciful and forgiving to all of us. While we may not seem many rewards until we get to the Kingdom of God one thing is for sure Christ is always there for those who believe in and accept Him in their lives, who are all sinners saved by grace through Jesus Christ. “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” - I Timothy 1:15-17.

Today's Prayer:
Dear God,
Lord, help me to walk faithfully with You day by day. As I earnestly seek You I will receive the reward You promise to those who do so. Daily temptations, recurring doubts, and fleeting distractions seek my heart’s affection, but I will remain faithfully committed to You, my Lord and Savior. Though I’ve not seen You physically Your Spirit indwells me and I am filled with Your glorious and inexpressible joy. No matter what circumstances I face , I believe in You with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. I know that I can do and endure all things through You. Lead me and guide me in Your will and Your way. I love You, Lord and pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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