April 26 - Seniors - A Life That God Rewards

A Life God Rewards

Matthew 25:23

April 26, 2009

Today's Scripture passage shows us one of the greatest rewards we could possibly receive from the Lord: His commendation of "well done, good and faithful servant." Just imagine hearing those words spoken to you by your Savior. What could be better than this?

Because such a tremendous eternal reward is at stake, we need to examine ourselves to determine if we are living a life that God will praise. Consider these areas:

·Your mind: When you wake up, is your mind bent toward the Lord or toward all you must do over the next 12 hours? Your mindset will shape the rest of your day.

·Your desires: Do you want to listen to God, walk in His ways, and let Him accomplish His will for your life? As you begin to delight in the Lord, He will change your desires to match His.

·Your deeds: Is obeying God the most important thing in your life? His desire is that you be a faithful steward who does what He commands.

·Your purity: Do you tolerate sin in your life? A godly person readily confesses wrongdoing and keeps short accounts before the Lord.

·Your time: Are you spending your time on worthless things, or are you investing it in the kingdom of God?

The Lord is calling us to be faithful stewards of everything that He has given us. Each day counts because our rewards for this life will be eternal. How foolish to live for the world when we could live for Christ and hear Him say, 'Well done!"

I’d like to close with some good news for you by sharing with you The ROMANS ROAD, a

pathway you can walk. It is a group of Bible verses from the book of Romans in the New Testament. If you walk down this road you will end up understanding how to be saved, to have assurance of your eternal home, how to have eternal life in Christ JesusRomans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."We all have sin in our hearts. We all were born with sin. We were born under the power of sin's control.- Admit that you are a sinner. Romans 6:23a "...The wages of sin is death..." Sin has an ending. It results in death. We all face physical death, which is a result of sin. But a worse death is spiritual death that alienates us from God, and will last for all eternity. The Bible teaches that there is a place called the Lake of Fire where lost people will be in torment forever. It is the place where people who are spiritually dead will remain.- Understand that you deserve death for your sin. Romans 6:23b "...But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Salvation is a free gift from God to you! You can't earn this gift, but you must reach out and receive it.- Ask God to forgive you and save you. Romans 5:8, "God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us!"When Jesus died on the cross He paid sin's penalty. He paid the price for all sin, and when He took all the sins of the world on Himself on the cross, He bought us out of slavery to sin and death! The only condition is that we believe in Him and what He has done for us, understanding that we are now joined with Him, and that He is our life. He did all this because He loved us and gave Himself for us!- Give your life to God... His love poured out in Jesus on the cross is your only hope to have forgiveness and change. His love bought you out of being a slave to sin. His love is what saves you -- not religion, or church membership. God loves you! Romans 10:13 "Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved!" - Call out to God in the name of Jesus! Romans 10:9,10 "...If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."- If you know that God is knocking on your heart's door, ask Him to come into your heart. Jesus said,Revelation 3:20a "Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him..." - Is Jesus knocking on your heart's door? Believe in Him. Repent of your sins. Surrender control of your life to Him by faith, and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Open the Bible to the Gospel of John and read what God says about Jesus, about you, and about being born again. God will help you. He loves you. If you’ve done this, you’ve been born again. You are a new creation in Christ Jesus Your body has become God's temple.Your heart is where He lives. Forgiveness is yours in Jesus.And you belong to Him. You were sin's slave.But now... You are a child of GOD! John 1:12"As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name!"