SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/11/2014 9:36 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Resurrection
PT-2
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Daniel 12:3
Message of the verses: 3 “Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”
Reward (Daniel 12:3):
This is the last sub-point from the second main point entitled
“Resurrection.”
I want to look at this verse and what we learned from our
SD yesterday and put it into what we see will happen from the New Testament
writings. We spoke about the “rapture”
of the Church in our last SD, and we learned that the rapture will happen for
all of the Church age Saints as explained in 1 Thes. 4:13-18. We also spoke
about the “Resurrection Chapter” that comes from 1 Cor. 15, and that also
speaks of the rapture of the Church at the end of the chapter. My point in this is that Daniel speaks of the
Resurrection in verse two and then in our verse for today he speaks of those
who will receive rewards for leading people to the Lord. He states that those who do this will shine
brightly who lead many to righteousness.
In the NT we read of different kinds of crowns that believers can earn
while on earth doing the work of the Lord, and one of the crowns that can be
earned is a “soul winners crown.” Let us
look at 1 Thes. 2:19-20 “19 For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not
even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? 20 For you are our
glory and joy.” These two verses are
where the “soul winner’s crown” come from.
There are some people who think that winning a crown is not exactly the
motivation they want in serving the Lord, however there are five different
crowns that believers can win and winning these crowns should be motivation
enough in serving the Lord. Paul writes
how a person is saved in Ephesians 2:8-9, but then in verse 10 he tells us what
we should be doing after we are saved, “For we are His workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would
walk in them.” I think that the Lord
Jesus Christ gives a parable that goes along with this verse when He tells of a
man who gives three of his steward’s different amounts of money and then goes
away for a while. After he returns he
wants to see what these stewards’s have done with his money. The first two did well, but the last one did
not do well. As believers we are to do
the work that the Lord has planned for us to do as spoken of in Eph. 2:10 and
then when we get to heaven after the rapture of the Church we will receive our
rewards at what is called “The Judgment Seat of Christ.” I believe that this will take place in heaven
while the tribulation period is going on here on earth. At the end of the tribulation period
believers will return to earth with the Lord as seen in the 19th
chapter of Revelations. As far as the
judgment seat of Christ we can read about it in Romans 14:9-12 and also 2 Cor.
5:6-10.
Dr. Wiersbe writes “There is a special application here
to those who have faithfully witnessed during the Tribulation period, when it
will be a costly thing to identify with Christ and His people (Matt. 24:14s;
Rev. 7:9-17).
“Our Lord emphasized the truth that faithfulness to Him
today will lead to reward and ministry in the future kingdom (Matt. 13:43;
19:27-28; 25:14-30; Luke 19:12-27; Rev. 2:26-27; 5:9-10). During His reign on earth, we will share in
whatever work He has for us to do, according to how we have lived for Him and
served Him here on earth. Believers who
have suffered in their service for Christ will be more than compensated as they
share in His glory (Rom. 8:18; 2 Cor. 4:7-18).”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: This verse in the
book of Daniel and the ones that speak of similar things from the NT, verses we
have either looked at or referenced to are some of the most important verses
for believers in the Bible for they show us the need to go out and to do the
things of the Lord, to be led by the Holy Spirit in order to accomplish the
things that God has planned for us to do in eternity past. I desire to accomplish these things that He
has planned for me to do.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Proverbs 3:5-6.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
Question: “He was a captain of the
Syrian army” (2 Kings 5:1).
Today’s Bible
Question: “Who gave Himself a ransom for
all?”
Answer in our next SD.
1/11/2014 10:52 AM
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