I would not be put to Shame

 

I would not be put to Shame

 

Psalms 119:1-6

Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD. 2 Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. 3 They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways. 4 You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. 5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! 6 Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. 

 

One day each one of us will stand before the Lord to give an account for our lives; even if we are washed in the blood and have professed Christ.  The question will be have we lived Christ or will we stand in shame before Him, finally realizing that we spent our time, money, resources and talents, not for the kingdom of God, but for the temporary betterment of ourselves.  Will we find that we have laid up treasure in heaven where moth and rust does not corrupt and no man can break in to steal it or has it all been about the earthly gain and the temporal treasures? 

1 John 2:28 exhorts and instructs this way, “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.”  If we closed our eyes right now and looked back over our lives, where we’ve been, where we are and where we are going, is it all reflecting our pursuit of God and walking in His ways?  Do obedience, faithfulness and a life that is in constant communion with Him typify our lives?  Will you delight at His presence or will you feel naked and ashamed of what you’ve done with your life?  We all need to search our hearts, for the Word says we don’t have to be put to shame if we live with respect to the Word of God and in obedience to it.  Most all of us have the tendency to be distracted by the world and to be caught up in its pleasures.  It is much easier if we can just be like everybody else and go with the flow.  

The Lord is challenging our hearts and lives to be something more.  Think about the pride a child brings a parent when they grow up to honor their parents in obedience and with what they do with their lives.    2 Timothy 2:15 exhorts us, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”  We want to live lives that honor Him and are for the praise of His name.  Revelation 3:18 speaks to the church this way, “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.”  We don’t want to be known as just good people; we want to be known as the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.  1 Corinthians 3:12-17 tells us, “If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 14If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. 16Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 17If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.”

It is one thing to have the resources of this world and use them in a godly manner, but it is another when they possess you and the love and lust for them is what drives you.  

“God, help us to have the right perspective, the proper desires and a heart that is set on obedience to your Word and following after Your precepts in all that we do.  We don’t want be ashamed when that day comes when we stand in Your presence and give an account of our lives.“

Blessings,

kent

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When the Books are Opened

Revelations 20:11-15
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire

When the Books are Opened

Every day a record is kept of our lives. We can never deny what we do, or say, or think doesn’t make a difference, because we are held accountable for our lives and what we have done with them. I am sure there will be a lot of folks that will be trying to fix the blame for their faults or failures on someone else. When it boils down to it, you and I have a free will we alone are accountable for our own lives and what we have done with them. While each one is judged according to his works, there is another book that we don’t want to fail to be found in. That is the book of life. This book is not a book of works, but of those that were found washed in the blood of Christ and in relationship with the Son of God. It won’t be about those who did the most works or the ones that were the most religious; it will be about those who lived in the faith of the Son of God. For any that are not found in this book it carries the most sobering of consequences, “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” We can try to explain that away any way we want too, but the bottom line is, that it is what it is. Our responsibility and our purpose in Christ is to make sure our name is there through salvation that we have through acceptance by faith of the shed blood of Christ. Beyond that, it is also our responsibility to be His instruments in bringing as many other names into this book as we are able to through the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately many of us really have the mentality that it is just about me, the wife, the two kids, us four and no more. We fail to have a vision and the heart of God for others. The bottom line is that we are God’s players in the earth. If we don’t fulfill our commission and calling a lot more people will face that lake of fire. Their blood will be upon our heads. That is not to condemn us, it is to wake you and me up to the sobering fact that our life has to be about others and how we can affect their destiny for eternity. These may not be issues that we care to think or talk about, but someday we’ll be standing before God giving account as to why we never spoke or gave the gospel to those that we worked with or interacted with in our lives. Will we be so different than the servant who when that master went away he gave him a talent to invest and to bring increase, but this servant went and buried his in the ground. He hid it, he didn’t share it or invest it and when he had to give account for his actions he was cast out and his talent was given to another more faithful.
Life is about many things, but most of all it is not about what we can get, but what we can give. The most precious gift you can give any person is to share your witness and testimony with another and have them come to Christ as a result. That is the greatest miracle and it is in you and Is power to give it. Sharing Christ isn’t always easy for us, but it should become a way of life as we share Him through our actions, our words and our lives. Our whole life should be a testimony to Him.
Let us take time to think about when these books are opened and what they will have to say about us. Each day we are writing upon the pages of those judgement books. Allow Christ to be seen on every page of your life and may our legacy be that we brought many with us into the kingdom through our lives and our witness for Christ.

Blessings,
kent