Daily Devotion (Monday, March 23rd - Friday, March 27th)

Monday

"O LORD, by your hand save me from such men, from men of this world whose reward is in this life" (Ps 17:14).

There are two types of people in the world. There are those whose activities are designed to generate a reward in this lifetime. And there are those who live to generate a reward when they meet our Lord in Heaven.

Not every Christian models the latter. How does one judge whether they are living for the future reward versus the earthly reward? There are several key indicators.

Future reward people tend to be givers. They make their time and resources available to be channeled for Kingdom purposes. They realize their sowing will ultimately be rewarded at the Judgment Seat of Christ where what they have done on earth will be judged and rewarded by God (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Future reward people live a life based upon obedience-based decisions. They don't make decisions based on their perceived outcome. They realize a decision based on obedience alone may not result in an immediate outcome. Jesus was obedient to the cross, but the immediate outcome was His own death on the cross.

Future reward situations show up in daily life in a number of ways. Perhaps a person has wronged you and God calls you to forgive and even bless that person without expectation of their response. Perhaps God calls you to sow money into a ministry or another person's life without expectation of return from them. Perhaps you are called to serve another person without expectation of any earthly reward. The situations we might encounter are unlimited.

Are you living a life based on a future reward, or short term reward? Today, evaluate how you make decisions and how you allocate resources. This will reveal whether you are a future reward Christian.


Tuesday

"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
(1 Corinthians 10:31)

What does it mean to test God? It is the mentality that asks the question, "As a Christian, how much can I get away with and still be saved? How far can I go and still be a child of God?" In other words, "How far to the edge can I get without falling off?" It is a dangerous question to ask.

The church at Corinth had developed a similar problem. It was located in the midst of a metropolitan city, with visitors coming from all around the world. The city of Corinth was entrenched in sin. The problem with the believers there was that they thought they could commit certain sins and it would be acceptable to God.

Paul had to set the record straight. He wrote to the Corinthian believers, "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify" (1 Corinthians 10:23).

Let's not push the limits and see how much we can get away with as believers. Let's go the other direction. We should be asking, "How much more can I know this One who died for me and forgave me and has done so much on my behalf? How can I become more like Him? How can I make an impact in my world for Him?"

Let's not take for granted all that God has done for us in our lives. May we never see how far we can go and be guilty of testing the Lord. Rather, let's stay as close to Him as we possibly can.

Wednesday

"And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, 'The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.' " (1 Corinthians 10:7)

At first glance, the sins that brought the children of Israel down in the wilderness don't seem to have any rhyme or reason. But a closer examination reveals that the root problem was a lack of relationship with the true and living God.

When Moses was temporarily taken out of the scene when he went to meet with God on Mt. Sinai, the people wanted something to take his place. It was only a matter of time until they were bowing before a golden calf.

When you get down to it, Moses was their first idol, and the golden calf was their second. Moses was like God to them, so when Moses was gone, they created a god of their own making.

We do the same when we start remaking God in our own image. When we give God a 21st-century makeover, when we make God politically correct, when we start changing His Word to fit the perverted morals of our time, this becomes idolatry. We are remaking God because we are not comfortable with what He says. We don't like His standards. Thus, if we can remake God in our image, we can live the way that we want to and do as we please.

We want a celestial salad bar where we can casually stroll up, choose the attributes of God that most appeal to us, and leave the rest behind. It's religion á la carte.

When we mold God and His Word into our image, it is as much an act of idolatry as it was when the children of Israel worshiped the golden calf.


Thursday

"Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from what we believe; they will follow lying spirits and teachings that come from demons." (1 Timothy 4:1)

It is clear that we are living in the last days. All around us, the signs that Jesus and the prophets told us to look for are taking place before our very eyes. The devil and his demons are doing their dirty work, and this should not surprise us. The Bible warns that in the last days, things will go from bad to worse.

One of the signs will be an abandonment of the faith, or an apostasy. Some will fall away and will follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

Could you ever become one of these spiritual casualties? Could you ever fall away from the Lord? Without question, the potential and even the propensity for sin lies within us. We all have the potential to fall.

That is why we must give careful attention to potential pitfalls for believers that are given to us in Scripture. There are things we must be aware of as we live in the last days. As the apostle Paul wrote, "The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So don't live in darkness. Get rid of your evil deeds. Shed them like dirty clothes. Clothe yourselves with the armor of right living, as those who live in the light" (Romans 13:12).

Your relationship with Jesus Christ needs constant maintenance and cultivation. The day that you stop growing spiritually is the day you start to become weak and vulnerable to the devil's attacks. The best way to not go backward is to keep moving forward.


Friday

"Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!"
--Luke 15:6

In the Gospel of Mark, we read of the devil trying to stop Jesus and the disciples from reaching a poor tortured soul, a demon-possessed man who was living among tombstones (see Mark 4:35--5:20).

Jesus said to the disciples, "Let us cross over to the other side." So they boarded their little boat and began to make their way across the Sea of Galilee.

Suddenly, a storm arose and the waves beat the boat so much that even these seasoned sailors thought they were going to drown.

But Jesus would not be stopped. He explained why in the Gospel of Luke, saying:

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' " (Luke 15:4--6)

The devil is always on duty. He doesn't rest day or night. He is ever watchful. He wants to destroy you and make your life miserable.

This tormented man was the lost sheep Jesus was after. He was not going to let high water stop Him from His intended goal.

Satan tried to stop Jesus, but he failed. He always will.