Late in the life of the great statesman Daniel Webster, a young member of congress asked him, "Senator Webster, what is the greatest thought that ever crossed your mind."
Quick as a flash Webster replied, "My accountability to God."
Perhaps the most sobering thought is that each of us is accountable to God. There will come a day when Jesus, and Jesus alone, will judge each of us.
What Does God Say?
"The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son" (John 5:22, ESV).
"He [God] has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man [Jesus] whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead" (Acts 17:31, NASB).
"And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead" (Acts 10:42, NASB).
1. From these three Scriptures, make a list of the facts about this judgment.
2. What is the proof that Jesus is going to be the Judge of all people?
3. What do we know about the date for this judgment?
My Thoughts
Every last one of us will stand before Jesus--the believer at the Judgment Seat of Christ, the unbeliever at the Great White Throne Judgment. But the result of those judgments will already be determined by the choices we made in life.
"And he [God] has given him [Jesus] authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man. Don't be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God's Son, and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment" (John 5:27-29, NLT)
The consequences of our choices are already fixed by God. Jesus says in John 3:36 "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." But while we are alive, we have the privilege and the responsibility to make that choice.
My Part
"It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27, KJV).
The good news is you have a choice, and God intends for you to choose Jesus.
"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:17, NKJV).
Choose Jesus today. If you want more information on how to do that, visit the "Meet Jesus" page.
DEVOTIONALS
Good Start Gone Bad by Tony Beckett and Woodrow Kroll
Genesis 1-3, Matthew 1
Key Verse: Genesis 3:15
At God's initiative the world came into existence. Things got off to a great start! Moses records throughout chapter 1 that God's assessment of creation was that "it was good." That phrase is repeatedly used to describe His work.
It was "not good," however, that man would be alone. But chapter 2 does not indicate that God realized that He had made a mistake. His work of creating "a suitable helper" for Adam was not a correcting but a continuing of His creative work. God's work of creation was good-perfect, in fact.
Chapter 3 tells how things went from good to bad. Satan entered the picture with the intent of ruining it. This time he was like a serpent intending to deceive. At other times he is like an angel of light who looks so right but is so wrong.
The wrong in this world is the effect of sin. The right in this world is the work of God. Genesis 3:15 is a prophecy of what Jesus would one day accomplish. By His death, burial and resurrection, He would break the power of sin. In Jesus there is salvation for all who believe.
As you begin this journey of reading the Bible, thank God for His Son, Jesus, who breaks the power of sin, and for His Word, the Bible. Also make it a prayer of commitment that you will finish what you begin today, that you will read the entire Bible this year.
Address Unknown by Dr. Woodrow Kroll
Job 1:1
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.
Address Unknown
Someone once suggested that when many Christians flee from evil, they leave a forwarding address. They may not want to be immersed in sin, but they do want to stay in touch.
Job, on the other hand, was blameless and upright. How could he maintain such a spotless reputation? Because he did more than fear God; he also shunned evil. The word translated "shunned" can mean "to rebel" or "to revolt." You could say that Job found sin revolting. It was certainly not because he couldn?t afford all the pleasures that lead to sin; Job was one of the wealthiest men of his time (Job 1:3). Nor did he live in some backwater village. The land of Uz was highly populated and had several kings or "sheiks" (Jer. 25:20). But Job had an attitude toward sin that left it no chance to get a toehold in his life. This man didn?t simply avoid sin; he ran from it. And he gave no opportunity for it to contact him later.
It?s not enough for Christians to avoid the sins they find attractive but stay in the vicinity where they can be found. Under those circumstances, you can be sure that you and your sin ultimately will get back together again. The only wise solution for those who want to live blameless and upright lives is to separate themselves far enough from enticing sin that no contact can take place.
If you?ve put a sin behind you, put everything associated with that sin behind you as well. If it?s pornography, don?t simply store your magazines out in the garage. Destroy them. If it?s alcohol, don?t leave a bottle in the house. Pour it down the drain. If it?s gossip, cut your "grapevine." Don?t attend those functions that degenerate into gossip sessions. You can do more than just refuse to participate; you can put some space between you and your temptation.
Flee sin and burn the bridges behind you.
Preface To God's Hymnal by Dr. Warren Wiersbe
Read Psalm 1:1-6
Have you ever read the preface to the hymnal used in your church? Few people ever do. The preface to God's hymnal (the Book of Psalms) is Psalm 1. It begins with a word we often use--blessed. Nowhere does Scripture tell us that God blesses programs or promotions. But it does teach that He blesses individuals. He blessed Abraham so he might be a blessing to others. And He blesses us so we might bless others.
What you delight in is what will direct your life, so be careful what you enjoy. The blessed person delights in the Law of the Lord (v. 2). He delights so much in the Word of God that he meditates on it during the day. Meditation is to the soul what digestion is to the body. It means assimilating the Word of God.
The blessed person is like a tree (v. 3). A tree has roots. The most important part of your life is your "root system." Don't be like the ungodly, who are like chaff (v. 4). Chaff doesn't have roots. It is blown away by every wind that comes along. Your root system is important because it determines your nourishment. It also determines your stability and your strength when the storm comes and the wind starts to blow.
People can't see your root system, but God can. Praying and meditating on the Word of God will cause your roots to go down deep into His love.
God delights in blessing His children. But we must prepare ourselves for His blessings by first appropriating the resources He has given us. Delight in the Word of God and feed on it. But do more than occasionally read the Word; meditate on it constantly. Make it your source of spiritual nourishment, and God will bless you with strength and stability.
God Lives! by Theodore Epp
1 Kings 17:1 James 5:16-18
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. He had a remarkable ministry, but he was still human. He had special gifts from God and was set apart to perform a special ministry.
The difference between him and us is due to the special work God had for him and the fact that he was fully submitted to God.
When he relied on his own resources, he became as weak as a child. At one period in his life he was discouraged almost to the point of death. Renewed by God, he was as bold as a lion.
He dared to stand before King Ahab and pronounce the judgment of God on him and his kingdom. The prophet showed no hesitancy and expected God to do what He said He would. The basic principle behind this is given in the New Testament.
The first thing that Elijah did when he stood before Ahab was to remind the king that the God of Israel is a living God.
Jezebel had brought Baal worship into Israel and had 850 priests leading in the worship of idols. So the first thing Elijah said was "As the Lord God of Israel liveth" (1 Kings 17:1).
Elijah was unafraid when he stood before Ahab because he had knelt in humility before Almighty God.
The Lord gives grace to the humble, but He resists the proud. For this reason we are to submit ourselves to God, but we are to resist the Evil One, and he will flee from us.
When we are right with God in our hearts, then we will ask for the things that please Him, and He will answer us.
"I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world" (John 6:51).
Thinking of Others by Dr. Woodrow Kroll
And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD.
SELFISHNESS is innate to man's being. Human philosophy says, "Look out for number one for if you don't, no one else will." The question of the first murderer, "Am I my brother's keeper?" is still being asked in society today. This is indeed unfortunate. When we live self-centered lives we are denied the joy of delighting in others.
Abraham was a man little given to such selfishness. When he and nephew Lot came to a parting of the ways, Abraham gave his kin first pick of the land. Looking eastward on the fertile plain of the Jordan, Lot fell prey to temptation and chose the valley thick with vegetation. Abraham then withdrew to the oaks of Mamre, near Hebron, in the center of the south hill country. Willing to obey the stern inward call of duty, Abraham quietly received the less desirable terrain.
The picturesque valley of the lower Jordan was dotted with five "cities of the plain." They were Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, and Bela, which was later renamed Zoar. Sodom, the chief city of this pentapolis, was so wicked that a particularly abnormal sin still bears its name. Here the worldly Lot chose to settle and even become prominent. The men of this city were especially wicked and sinned exceedingly before the Lord. How it must have grieved the genuinely pious Abraham to see his nephew choose these surroundings.
In the course of time three angelic guests stopped at the door of Abraham's tent in Mamre. Abraham greeted them hospitably and made ready a feast. As the men prepared to leave, Abraham accompanied them a short distance toward Sodom. Two of the strangers went on ahead while the third, who was actually the Lord, lingered awhile with Abraham. It was then that Abraham received the crushing news. The Lord had come with His two angels to destroy the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The sins of these two cities were so heinous and abundant that God could no longer tolerate their existence. They must be destroyed.
Immediately Abraham thought of Lot. He began to intercede with the Lord in Lot's behalf. After a typically oriental bargaining session, Abraham pled with the Lord not to destroy Sodom if ten righteous people could be found in it. The Lord agreed. However, there could not be found ten righteous citizens in this horribly wicked city and its destruction was certain. The angels prompted Lot to take his wife and two daughters and escape to the mountains. Lot fled, not to the mountains, but to the city of Zoar and as soon as he arrived the Lord rained fire and brimstone down upon Sodom and Gomorrah.
This fierce fire and brimstone that fell from Heaven not only destroyed the cities and their inhabitants but even the soil around them. The entire valley was burned out and utterly destroyed. It is likely that either the Dead Sea originated with this catastrophic event or that the existing sea was greatly enlarged to the south by engulfing this destroyed valley.
And what of Abraham? Is he resting comfortably in his tent while all this is going on? Not at all. Genesis 19:27 records, "And Abraham got up early in the morning" and viewed the smoke rising from the plain. He was genuinely interested in the welfare of Lot and his family and eagerly awaited news of them. The foolish nephew was spared from this devastation because God remembered the concern of Abraham.
Lot had slapped Abraham in the face by choosing the best land for himself. He had broken the heart of God's friend by settling in a center of wickedness. Abraham had every right to care nothing about Lot's welfare, yet he did care. He arose early, unselfishly, for he had learned not to seek his own but the good of others (1 Corinthians 10:24; Philippians 2:4). If you want to be happy today, why not spend the day helping others? Be interested in them; pray for them; bring good cheer to them. It will do a lot for you, too.
MORNING HYMN
Others, Lord, yes, others,
Let this my motto be.
Help me to live for others,
That I might live like Thee.
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