May 2000 | Posted in • Archives | (0) Comments |

April 2000 | Posted in • Archives | (0) Comments |

I recently returned from a missions trip to India. During the trip, two things became apparent to me. First of all, it’s HARVEST TIME. The world is so hungry for the gospel that we preach! Many were born again during meetings we held in the small villages of rural India. The people there are so needy, and so open to the truth.

The day after we held a meeting for young people in Ongole, India, I was visited in my hotel room by a young man who had been born again at that meeting. He had been raised in an upper class home (a high caste) and was a computer programmer from Chennai, a large, neighboring city. His father was a Hindu priest. He told me that he had heard the gospel several times, and had just given his life to Jesus Christ. To him, that meant being willing to suffer persecution from his family and peers, rejecting many of his old culturally intertwined beliefs, and going “cross grain” with most of his previous values. A real sacrifice. But he was desperate for change. And he was desperate for the peace and the presence of the LIVING GOD in his life.

The second thing that became apparent to me was the COMPLACENCY of the church as a whole here in the United States. During the five hour train ride back to Chennai from Ongole, I sensed the Holy Spirit urging me to get rid of any spiritual complacency in my life, and to challenge the church that I pastor to do the same.

I want you to see from scripture that there are seasons in God’s dealings with humanity. In Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, we read,“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven…....a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted.“ I believe that we’re in the greatest harvest season of the church age right now, and that our highest occupation at this time is to be harvesters for the King!. Proverbs 10:5 reveals that “He who gathers in summer is a wise son; He who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame.“ Joel 3:13 reads, “Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.“

Notice what Jesus said about the harvest: “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered like sheep having no shepherd. Then he said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.‘ “ (Matthew 9:36-38) Speaking of the wheat and the tares, Jesus said, “Let both grow together UNTIL THE HARVEST, and at the TIME OF THE HARVEST I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather together the tares and bind them together in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.‘ “

Of course, we are all aware that the great commission to take the gospel to the whole world is not just to ministers, but TO ALL BELIEVERS. (See Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-18.) And the time for that commission to be fulfilled is RIGHT NOW!

One hindrance to the Lord reaping the harvest through us is COMPLACENCY. It’s also an insidious enemy of our personal spiritual vitality and health. Let’s take a look at complacency, and bring some clarity to what it is and how it affects our lives.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, complacency can be defines as “quiet satisfaction, contentment; the quality or state of being satisfied: a calm sense of well being and security; satisfaction or self-satisfaction accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies.“ The word complacent is similarly defines as “marked by unruffled or blasé satisfaction about the security of one’s position or by careless acceptance of events around one; disinclined to act, to change, or to guard.“

Complacency will avert God’s best in our lives and it will keep us from pursuing the harvest. Following are twelve symptoms of complacency. I encourage and challenge you to compare them with your lifestyle.

1) A lack of spiritual hunger and desire. Lack of physical hunger is an early symptom of illness. A healthy person has a strong appetite! Similarly, spiritual health is indicated by a strong appetite for God’s word. Lack of desire for the word could be an indication of unconfessed sin in our lives. Notice 1 Peter 2:1-2: “Therefore laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, (2) as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.“ If we don’t hunger daily for more of God, we need a spiritual checkup!

2) A lack of concern for the unsaved. This is a sign that in some way the Holy Spirit has been quenched in our lives. His major ambitions as our partner in the journey of life include not only making us Christlike in the way we live, but also using us as ambassadors to win others to Jesus! If we lack compassion and concern for the lost, we need to fan the faint embers of spiritual fervor into a blaze by repenting and returning to our first love. The great commission is His objective. If we’re in tune with Him, we will reflect His love for the unsaved.

3) A lack of fervent love for others, a tendency to be easily offended. 1 Peter 4:8 says that we are to have fervent or literally “white-heated,“ love for each other. Jesus said that others will know that we are Christians, not by the volume of scripture verses we can quote, nor by the way we dress, neither by the amount of time we spend in “church activities,“ but by the love we display towards others. (See John 13:34-35.) Even the unsaved can love those who treat them kindly. But the test of our Christian witness is the ability to love the unlovely, the unlovable, and the obstinate! (See Matthew 5:43-48.)

4) Prayerlessness. Complacent believers have lost sight of two things: The dangers lurking around them, and their responsibility before God to pray for others. He so wants us to lift up our family members, friends, fellow workers, acquaintances, spiritual leaders, and the authorities in every level of life. How the Lord of the harvest longs to send laborers into the laden fields of the world! However, Christians mired in complacency have forgotten that He can only work in answer to believing prayer. They have become blinded to the truth that when believers fail to pray, they are basically tying God’s hands and hindering the work of His kingdom. This is perhaps one of our most common sins! Repent today of the sin of prayerlessness and hit your knees.

5) Slack attendance and involvement in a local church. A sure sign of the state of our spiritual health is our attitude toward the local church. All those used by God in legitimate spiritual ministry must prove themselves faithful in small things, and in proper submission to God-ordained authority in the body of Christ. The local church is God’s incubator, a training base for the soldiers in His army. A person who is not faithful in the local church cannot be trusted with greater responsibility in the kingdom of God. (See Luke 16:10.)

6) Legitimate activities consume time needed for spiritual nourishment. Without daily spiritual nourishment, we dry up and become spiritual weaklings. If we are to busy to spend time with the Lord in the word and in prayer everyday, then we have allowed ourselves to become complacent, and may be involved in IDOLATRY - the esteeming of anything as more important than God in our lives. (See Matthew 6:33.)

7) Stinginess. God’s nature is to give constantly. The closer you grow in fellowship with the Lord, the more of a giver you will be. Stingy believers have become self-absorbed, and can’t see past their own noses! Everything we have, our time, our talents, our finances, our every resource, all belong to God. They are given to us not to be selfishly squandered, but to be used in generous service to others. (See Philippians 2:4.)

8) No change in personal growth in the last six months. Anything healthy is growing and changing. We are in the process of being changed from glory to glory by the Holy Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18.) If you have habits of long standing that remain unchanged after you’ve been saved for a number of years, I question whether or not the Holy Spirit is being allowed to do His transforming work. A sure sign of complacency.

9) A general feeling of self-satisfaction. The closer we grow to the Lord, and the more spiritually sensitive we become, the more aware we will be of our own human inadequacies, and of our utter dependence upon the Lord. As Smith Wigglesworth said, “I’m only satisfied with the dissatisfaction that has been satisfied over and over again.“ We should cry out like David, “Search me, Oh God and know my heart; try me and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way of everlasting.“ (Psalm 139:23-34)

10) Lack of close fellowship with other believers. Ablaze with the love of God, the early church heard the Word together, prayed together, worshipped together, and ate together. (See Acts 2:41-47.) They enjoyed each other! We’re encouraged to gather together more frequently as we see Jesus’ return approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25.) Where the Holy Spirit has His way, there will always be closeness and unity.

11) Failure to witness regularly. Yes, we are to be witnesses with our lifestyles (Acts 1:8), but we should be witnesses with our words as well. We don’t have to be theologians to be effective witnesses for Jesus. We’re not called to prove that the Bible is the word of God, nor are we supposed to answer everyone’s controversial questions. Rather, we are simply to tell others about the Lord Jesus, who He is, and what He has done for us. What has He done for us? Anything? Then if we really love others, we have an obligation to tell them! The beloved Apostle John said, “that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.“ (1 John 1:3) Toss away religious tones and lofty King James phrases, and in your own way share with others what Jesus has done for you. And do it often. Again, Smith Wigglesworth had the goal of witnessing to at least one person a day. I think that’s a great example to follow. Live for the harvest!

12) A trite attitude toward sin. Isiah was engulfed in the presence of God when he had the vision of Him seated on His throne, “high and lifted up.“ His first response was “....Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.“ The Holy presence of God will always bring a strong conviction of sin. The closer we walk with God, the more aware we will be of our fallen humanity, and of our need for the cleansing blood of Jesus. “You who love the Lord, hate evil!“ (Psalm 97:10). A seared conscience and a nonchalant attitude toward sin revel a distant relationship with a Holy God.

If you recognize any of the above mentioned behaviors and attitudes in your life, I challenge you to repent today! The Laodicean church thought they were doing so well, until Jesus lovingly confronted them. They wanted to be “balanced” in their faith, perhaps hoping they would be accepted by everyone. But Jesus said to them, “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth.“ (Revelation 3:15-16) They thought they had everything and were doing just fine, until Jesus said to them, “.....you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.“ (Revelation 3:17)

Like the proverbial “frog in the kettle,“ they didn’t realize their condition. Perhaps we’ve also become complacent without realizing it. Just as He said to the Laodiceans in Revelation 3:19-20,Jesus is saying to us, “as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.“ He’s faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us when we confess our sins!

The world is desperate for a God that is real! And for people that walk with Him in an unashamed, bold, and perhaps radical way. Can they count on you? Shun complacency and embrace the harvest today!

February 2000 | Posted in • Archives | (0) Comments |

“Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, til He comes and rains righteousness on you” Hosea 10:12

We are all hungry for a fresh move of the Spirit of God in our personal lives. I believe that God plans for all of us to live in a canstant state of renweal and revival. One of the keys to having a daily fresh experience with the Lord is found here in this verse in “breaking up your fallow ground.“

A healthy Christian is a hungry Christian! One of the first signs of physical sickness is loss of hunger. Even an animal, your pet cat or dog, will stop eating when they feel sick. And when we lose our spiritual hunger for the Word, prayer, church attendance, evangelism, etc., it is a sign that we have in some way stopped pursuing God. We may have opened ourselves up to spiritual staleness by allowing unconfessed sin to remain in our lives.

We read in 1 Peter 2:1-2, “Therefore laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, evil speaking, (2) as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.“ Notice that when we lay aside the sins mentioned in verse one, we then become alive with the spiritual hunger and desire mentioned in verse two.

When we become content with where we are in God, and cease to pursue a deeper relationship with Him, we then have need of breaking up our fallow ground. As Hosea 10:12 states, when we break up our fallow ground we will find a fresh work of God in our lives, “till He comes and rains righteousness” on us as a result.

Fallow ground is untilled and uncultivated ground. It has been protected from the shock of the plow and the agitation of the farm equipment. Fallow ground lies undisturbed year after year. It remains the same, safe and unchanged. It never sees the fruit of the harvest season. And there is never a harvest without the plow first of all breaking up the hard, crusty soil.

On the other hand, cultivated, plowed ground has allowed its peace and contentment with the ordinary to be disturbed by the plow. Plowed ground experiences the travail of change. It has been upset, bruised, and broken. But it finds the rewards of the plow in the new life that it produces, and in the fruitful harvest.

There are two kinds of lives that we can live as Christians, the Fallow or the plowed. The fallow Christian has become centent with himself and lives on his past experiences in God. As A. W. Tozer says,“to be has taken the place of to become.“ This Christian has ceased to bear fruit and to grow into the likeness of Christ.

The plowed life has allowed repentence and confession to break up the fallow ground of complacency. Contrition and humility have broken the soil of the heart for the seed of the Word to be planted. The plowed life becomes a fruitful life.

In the New Testament, one of the ways that our fallow ground is broken up is by the application of the fire of God to our lives.

John the Baptist mentioned fire as being included in Jesus’ baptism of believers in the Holy Spirit in Matthew 3:11,“....He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.“

Fire is mentioned frequently in the Word of God. In the day of Pentecost, the one hundred twenty in the upper room had “divided tongues, as of fire” appear over their heads. God revealed Himself to Moses on top of Mount Saini in a great storm, anf the writer of Hebrews says that experience, “Our God is a consuming fire.“ (Hebrews 12:29) “Fire” will reveal our works when we stand before Jesus to receive our rewards at the judgment seat of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:13). When John saw Jesus in Revelation 1:14,“....His head and hair were white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire.“ When God appeared to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 1:26-28, He had the appearance of fire from His waist up and from His waist down.

Fire is the element of God’s character that purges our lives, that breaks up our fallow ground. To accept Jesus’ Lordship, you must also accept the fire of His presence that will cleanse your life from the imputities that hinder your usefulness.

We are all “changed from glory to glory” by the Spirit of God (II Corinthians 3:18). When we are born again, our spirits become new (II Corinthians 5:17). The nature of sin is removed, and the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in our human spirit. Our souls (mind, emotions, and will) and bodies are left with a residue of sin that has tarnished their purity. And the Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to reveal these impurities, bringing them to the surface, so that we by a choice of will can allow the Word to change them.

The word heart is used several different ways in scripture. I believe that the word heart is used to refer to the human spirit, such as in I Peter 3:4, where the human spirit is spoken of as “the hidden man of the heart.“ In Ezekiel 36:26 we read, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.“ Aain, in this verse, the heart is used in reference to the human spirit.

I believe that the term heart could also refer to the inward man, which includes both the spirit and the soul. “....Even though the outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.“ (II Corinthians 4:16).

The soul contains our minds, our emotions, and our wills. Our human spirit is our eternal nature, the part of us that reaches out to fellowship with God. Again, I believe that Jesus uses the term heart as a reference to both the spirit and soul when He says in Matthew 12 34-35,“....for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. (35)A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.“

God deals with our inward man, or our hearts. His fire , or His purifying ability, reaches down into our hearts to cleanse us from wrong motives, wrong attitudes, and wrong thoughts that will hinder us from receiving His best in our lives. When His fire is applied to our lives, it searches us thoroughly. This searching is not to condemn us, but to place us in a position to receive his best.

Notice the scriptural references to this searching of the heart. In Revelation 2:23, Jesus says,“....I am He who searches the minds and hearts.“ In Jeremiah 17:10, God says, “I the Lord search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.“ In Jeremiah 23:24, we read,“ Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him? Says the Lord; Do I not fill heaven and earth? Says the Lord.“

Again we read in I Chronicles 28:9, “....for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intents of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.“ And in I Samuel 16:7, “....for the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.“ Psalm 7:9 reads,“O let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the just. For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.“ And also in Psalm 51:6,“Behold, I desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden parts you will make me to know wisdom.“

In the New Testament, speaking to the believer, we read,“ Now He who searches the hearts….“ (Romans 8:27). And in Hebrews 4:13,“ And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.“

God has the attitude of a father towards us. Not a harsh, demanding, dictatorial judge, but an attitude of love, care, compassion, concern and help. “The Lord is gracious, full of compassion, slow to anger, and great in mersy. The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all his works.“ (Psalm 145:8-9).

His desire for us today is that we allow the Holy Spirit’s purging fire to sift the thoughts and motives of our hearts. We need to allow Him the privilege of setting in order our thoughts, our motives, our attitudes and our actions. He wants to break up our fallow ground, the spiritually unproductive areas of our lives. We may have been born again for years, and yet still have areas of our lives that have remained unchanged, unchallenged, and fallow . The loving fire of His presence will act as a plow, breaking up the hardened areas of our lives, causing His Word to transform us, bringing change, victory, and strength to the stubborn, willful, and prideful areas within us.

Don’t run from the fire! It will challenge us, but it will not burn us! It’s a fire that will refine us. We all need to find a place to get alone with God, and begin to pour out our hearts to Him. We should expose to Him by confession every thought, every motive, and every attitude that we know to be sinful. He stands with us, not as a judge, but as a helper. Jesus took our sins as well as our sinful nature on the cross, and He is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us (I John 1:9).

As we trust Him in this way, He will give us grace that will help us to overcome these sinful predispositions. Every time we recognize a wrong though, motive, or attitude, we should bring it to His attention. We will then find His strength and ability producing change in those areas that we have submitted to Him.

We all have “baggage from Egypt” to deal with, thoughts, and motives from our “before Christ” days that still try to control us.

When I received the baptism in the Holy Spirit over twenty-three years ago, I often found myself alone on my face before God, pouring out my heart to Him, and confessing sinful patterns that tried to rule my mind, my emotions, and my will. I found that as I humbled myself before Him, His ability was there to help me. He would show me scriptures such as Isiah 57:15 which reads,“ For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revice the heart of the contrite ones.“

I found that His help and strength would come into my life throughout the day, and that the Holy Spirit would remind me of scripture that applied to the problem areas of my life. He began to break up the fallow ground in my life, and He’s still in the process of completing His work in me to this day.

I encourage you to begin today to allow the fire of His presence and of His Word to plow through the fallow areas of your life. The results will be a fruitful harvest of godly living for you that that will be a witness to others of His presence in you. And you will notice a “peace that surpasses all understanding” that will enable you to enter into the “rest” that He has promised all believers.

January 2000 | Posted in • Archives | (0) Comments |

As we enter the new millennium, we are aware that we are living in a rapidly changing world. The signs that Jesus gave us in Matthew 24 that would usher in His second coming are all around us. Wars, rumors of wars, national and ethnic conflict, famines, and earthquakes have all increased in intensity over the last several years See Matthew (24:4-8).

We have the promise from God’s Word that, as the world gets darker, we the church will get brighter! As we read in Isiah 60:1-3: “Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. (2)For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. (3)The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.“

God’s plan for us during this time is not to cower down in fear, but to rise up in His boldness and to “occupy” until He comes again. Jesus has given us a commission to preach the gospel to the whole world. THat commission is not just for those in ministry, but is for every child of God! DArkness may cover the earth, but that darkness will cause us to shine yet brighter with His presence and power.

In the light of the thought that our time is short, we should live our lives in the context of our destination. One day, we as believers will stand individually before Jesus and be rewarded for our actions, choices, and motives since the day we were born again.

We read in 2 Corinthians 5:10: “For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.“

The Amplified New Testament of 2 Corinthians 5:10 reads: “For we must all appear and be revealed as we are before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may receive his pay acccording to what he has done in the body, whether good or evil, considering what his purpose and motive have been, and what he has achieved, been busy with, and given himself and his attention to accomplishing.“

We are not saved by our works or conduct. But God uses our works as a witness to others of His goodness to the world. Our works, or our outward behavior, should draw people to want to know the God that we fellowship with! Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven.“

Our works are the “hope” mentioned in 1 Peter 3:15, tht others see in us, and urges them to inquire about our lives. We are to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12b). Our faith produces outward conduct or “works” that confirm that our fellowship with Jesus is genuine. Hence, James wrote to believers: “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22), and, “for as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26).

The kind of live we live after salvation determines our rewards in eternity. Again, we as believers will stand before Jesus individually and be rewarded for our works of obedience to God after we are born again. Our salvation is not in question here at all. To stand before the judgement (Greek—bema, or rewards) seat of Christ means that you are already a believer. Your eternal position is settled.

Unbelievers will not stand before the judgement seat of Christ, but rather will stand before God at the great white throne of God and be judged for their rejection of Jesus as Savior (See Revelation 20:11-15). No Christians will be there.

Paul mentions the judgement (rewards) seat of Christ in Romans 14:10-12: “But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ. (11) For it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God’. (12) So then each of us shall give account of himself to God”.

Paul mentions what kind of rewards we will receive at the judgement seat of Christ. We read in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15: “For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. (12) Now if anyone builds on this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, (13) each one’s work will become clear, for the day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. (14) If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.“

Every day we live on earth after we are born again we are producing gold, silver, and precious stones (enduring eternal rewards), or wood, hay, and straw (to be consumed by fire).

The things we do based on our love for Jesus and our love for people are producing for us right now rewards of gold, silver, and precious stones. The things we do so that others can see us and the things that we do to please ourselves that disregard God and others are presently producing for us rewards of wood, hay, and straw. Frankly, we all probably have a pile of wood, hay, and straw, and perhaps some of us have some gold, silver, and precious stones.

The book of Revelation shows Jesus appearing with eyes like flames of fire (Revelation 1:14). Fire is a purifying agent. On that great day when we stand before Jesus, His eyes will look right through our works! Only gold, silver, and precious stones will be left. The wood, hay and straw will burn!

Why do you do the things you do? Why do you dress the way that you do? Does your lifestyle bring attention to yourself or is it bringing glory to Jesus? Are you giving so that others will see how much you give? Are you ministering to so that others will think you’re really anointed and have special abilities? Are you singing to “showcase” your voice? Do you play that instrument to display your talent and hear the applause or to bring glory to Jesus and worship Him? Do you do certain things or act in certain ways so that others will think you are more spiritually mature than others? Do you perform service for your church so that others will see how involved you are and so that they will think you are “spiritual”? All of these attitudes and actions produce wood, hay, and straw that will burn one day.

In his book, The Judgement Seat Of Christ, author Rick Howard shares a vision that he had of the Judgement seat of Christ. He saw believers in Heaven stand before Jesus and saw Jesus go to each one with what looked like an Olympic runner’s torch. Each person had a pile of wood, hay, and straw all around his feet. As Jesus went to each person, He lightly touched the pile at their feet with His torch and it erupted into flames. To his surprise, he heard two sounds come from the saints as Jesus touched the pile of stubble at their feet with the torch. One sound was of ecstatic joy, and the other sound was of intense sobs! When the smoke cleared, various sized piles of gold, silver, and precious stones were laying at some of the believers feet. Some had nothing left.

What will be laying at your feet on that day? In Revelation chapter four, we see a picture of the saints casting their golden crowns before the Lord Jesus. No doubt that the crowns came from the rewards granted them at the judgement seat of Christ. These believers were so thrilled to see their Savior personally and were so thankful for all that He had done for them that they wanted to give Him something. They gave Him some of the rewards that they had earned!

When I was a young boy, in our southern Baptist church, we often sang the song,“Must I Go, and Empty Handed?“, a song about believers entering enternity with no gifts to present to their Lord.

What about your life? What is stored up in your account in Heaven? What do you have to offer Jesus when you meet Him face to face? Begin today to make adjustments in what you do and in the motives behind what you do. Begin to live your life in the light of God’s Word, as if He were present with you in all you do. Challenge the areas of your life where selfishness and self promotion rule.

Each day brings us closer to the time that we will stand before Jesus.