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Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt

We live in a world of praise-seekers! People who want to be known and acknowledged for the good they do. The world is filled with buildings that have been named after a wealthy contributor so their name could be memorialized on a building. People love to be praised for their good works. Carnal people seek praise! But that wasn’t how Jesus modeled life. He did good in numerous ways, not for fame, popularity, or praise, but from a pure heart to bless others and demonstrate the love of God. That is what He taught us—love and serve others from the pure motivation of serving God—not for receiving the praise of mankind.

God’s word teaches us that living a life of loving and serving others from a purely motivated heart will bring us rewards that will last for eternity. What will those rewards be? No one knows, but if God has rewards, they must be beyond anything we could imagine or think—that is what the scriptures say. The Lord wants us to think about that. That day will come, and rewards for loving and serving others will be judged and handed out at a future time in spiritual history called The Judgement Seat of Christ!

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (NLT) says, “Here is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey His commands, for this is the duty of every person. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.”

2 Corinthians 5:10 (NLT2) says, “For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.”

As Christians, our sins are forgiven and washed away by the blood of Jesus. They won’t condemn us because they have been blotted out. But every good work we do in this life will be measured by whether we had the right motivation for it.

We see more about this in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 (NLT) “… Everyone’s work will be put through the fire to see whether or not it keeps its value. If the work survives the fire, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builders themselves will be saved, but like someone escaping through a wall of flames.” These verses refer to our good works that were not motivated by a pure heart. They will be burned up!

When we are united with Jesus, we won’t feel fear or condemnation. We’ll experience unspeakable joy. But our lives (not the sins that were washed away, but the good we’ve done from a pure motivation) will be judged and rewarded, and those rewards will carry into our eternity with the Lord.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NIV) says, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

The Christian life is not a show pretending to be something we are not! We don’t give, serve, or love to receive accolades or praise from mankind! That’s what the hypocrites whom Jesus judged did! He called them out for their fake life. God is looking for sincere love and pure motivation! When no one sees the good you do from a heart of love, God does! He sees it all. Motivation is the key to these rewards—not show. He gives you His grace and the Holy Spirit to help you embrace His word so that transformation can happen within you and you can learn to love and serve others from a pure heart—because it’s pleasing to God, not a show to prove you are a good person. That’s how Jesus lived. That is what carries rewards for us into eternity!

So the point today is this: Know your life is short in the framework of eternity. Love and serve God and others with a pure heart and pure motivation with intentionality and sincerity because it is good and it’s right. God sees. God knows. No one else needs to know. God will help you get over looking for personal glory for your efforts. And this transformation will make you feel good and make your life rich! Enjoy this life of being a blessing and servant to others in Christ. Because you do, when you get to the judgment seat of Christ, your life in Him will count for something beyond what you could see or comprehend, and you will be rewarded for all eternity!

Proverbs 27:2 (NKJV) “Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips.”

In His love,
Pastor Tim Burt

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