Saturday, January 11, 2014

The Resurrection PT-2 from Daniel 12:3.

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 ten 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 good, but the last one did not do good.  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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