FRIDAY, JULY 5, 2013
| And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!” | |
God keeps meticulous records. There is a reward waiting for every believer. Even those small things are duly noted. Jesus said, “And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded” (Matthew 10:42). The reward for followers of Jesus is that we will have our works follow us.
What kind of works will follow you? What will be said at your memorial service? What things will be noted? Have you noticed that at a funeral, it is never mentioned how much money he or she had in the bank? Rather, the focus is always personal. There are stories about family and friends and about the merciful, sacrificial, loving, kind things he or she did. That is the kind of things people want to hear at a memorial service. Our works follow us.
If you don’t have any works following you, then that raises the question of whether you are a true believer. Although works don’t save us, they are good evidence that we are saved. The Bible says, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” (Ephesians 2:8–9). At the same time, a faith that does not produce works is a faith that is not working.
If you died today, would you die in the Lord, or would you be separated from Him? Are you like the people of Babel in Genesis 11, building your little tower to heaven, hoping that it will get you there?
We want real, saving faith so that our works will follow us in that final day.
Listen Now
Hosea 2-5; Hebrews 2
Used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie, PO Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514.
