Living in light of eternity

DAILY BIBLE READING:

Ezra 4:24–6:22 
1 Corinthians 3:5-23 
Psalm 29:1-11 
Proverbs 20:26-27

TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

1 Corinthians 3:12-13 (CSB) "If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one's work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test the quality of each one's work."

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

Our Verses for Today tells us that there is a Day of Judgment coming so live your life in light of that day.

There are two Judgments after death, one for Jesus-followers and the other for those who failed to trust in Jesus for eternal life. Jesus-followers will be at the Judgment Seat of Christ (Romans 14:10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:9-10) and the lost will be at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15).

Everyone who finds themselves at the Great White Throne Judgment are lost. No one at that judgment will end up in Heaven. That judgment is for the purpose of determining the extent to which the unbeliever will be punished and it is based upon how they lived their life. (Notice in Revelation 20:12-13 that it says they will be judged "according to what they had done.").

Everyone who finds themselves at the Judgment Seat of Christ are saved - they have trusted in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life. No one at this judgment will end up in Hell. That judgment is for the purpose of determining the extent to which the Jesus-follower will be rewarded and it is based upon how they lived their life. 

Notice in our Verse for Today that there are various types of material that illustrate how the saved live their life. Some of the material is valuable and represents those deeds we did that glorified our Lord. Yet, some of our actions are like "wood, hay, and straw" and will not survive the judgment because they were done with wrong motives. There are no rewards for these sort of works.

Friend, if you are saved you aren't simply going to Heaven. There is coming a time when you will be judged as you stand before the Throne of God and He assesses your life. It will be a judgment of grace but it will also be a true assessment of how we lived our lives. I suspect that it is at this judgment that we will be able to see how much of our life we wasted - and God will have to wipe tears from our eyes (Revelation 21:4).

So, live today for Jesus. Do the things He has told you to do. Believe the things He has told you to believe. And make sure that you are doing what you do with the right motives (see Matthew 6:1-18). Finally, realize that our God is a God of grace so go boldly into His Throne Room (Hebrews 4:16) through prayer seeking whatever you need to live this day for Him.