Riverside, California, United States - Harvest Ministry with Greg Laurie Daily Devotion for Tuesday, 3 June 2014 "Ready for Your Reward?"When you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.(Matthew 6:3–4)
Maybe you were a great achiever academically. As a young boy or girl, you were winning the spelling bees. You always got As on your report cards. Maybe you were given some special honor, such as a scholarship to attend a great college, because of your incredible abilities. Or perhaps you were a big sports star. You always excelled in sports, and you have plenty of trophies and ribbons to prove it.
Me? I always had those honorable mention ribbons. Do you know what those are? They are the ribbons they give you when you really do poorly, but they don't want you to feel too bad for yourself. You know, after first, second, third, fourth, and fifth have crossed the finish line, and an hour later, someone comes across, they say, "Give him an honorable mention ribbon." They were usually purple, although I don't know why that was. I had a room filled with purple ribbons.
But in heaven, there will be many rewards for those who have been faithful to God over the years. Even the smallest and most insignificant gesture on behalf of God's kingdom will not be overlooked by our Heavenly Father. Jesus spoke of our service to God, pointing out that even though it may not be seen by people, it is indeed seen by Him: "Your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly."
One day in our future, when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, the Lord will reward us openly.[Today's devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013]
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If you feel like no one notices your service to God, here's some encouragement for you today.
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Today's Bible Reading:
Proverbs 25:1 These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.
2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing,
but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
3 As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,
so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.
4 Take away the dross from the silver,
and material comes out for the refiner;
5 Take away the wicked from the king’s presence,
and his throne will be established in righteousness.
6 Don’t exalt yourself in the presence of the king,
or claim a place among great men;
7 for it is better that it be said to you, “Come up here,”
than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince,
whom your eyes have seen.
8 Don’t be hasty in bringing charges to court.
What will you do in the end when your neighbor shames you?
9 Debate your case with your neighbor,
and don’t betray the confidence of another;
10 lest one who hears it put you to shame,
and your bad reputation never depart.
11 A word fitly spoken
is like apples of gold in settings of silver.
12 As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold,
so is a wise reprover to an obedient ear.
13 As the cold of snow in the time of harvest,
so is a faithful messenger to those who send him;
for he refreshes the soul of his masters.
14 As clouds and wind without rain,
so is he who boasts of gifts deceptively.
15 By patience a ruler is persuaded.
A soft tongue breaks the bone.
16 Have you found honey?
Eat as much as is sufficient for you,
lest you eat too much, and vomit it.
17 Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house,
lest he be weary of you, and hate you.
18 A man who gives false testimony against his neighbor
is like a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow.
19 Confidence in someone unfaithful in time of trouble
is like a bad tooth, or a lame foot.
20 As one who takes away a garment in cold weather,
or vinegar on soda,
so is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.
21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat.
If he is thirsty, give him water to drink:
22 for you will heap coals of fire on his head,
and Yahweh will reward you.
23 The north wind produces rain:
so a backbiting tongue brings an angry face.
24 It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop,
than to share a house with a contentious woman.
25 Like cold water to a thirsty soul,
so is good news from a far country.
26 Like a muddied spring, and a polluted well,
so is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.
27 It is not good to eat much honey;
nor is it honorable to seek one’s own honor.
28 Like a city that is broken down and without walls
is a man whose spirit is without restraint.
26:1 Like snow in summer, and as rain in harvest,
so honor is not fitting for a fool.
2 Like a fluttering sparrow,
like a darting swallow,
so the undeserved curse doesn’t come to rest.
3 A whip is for the horse,
a bridle for the donkey,
and a rod for the back of fools!
4 Don’t answer a fool according to his folly,
lest you also be like him.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly,
lest he be wise in his own eyes.
6 One who sends a message by the hand of a fool
is cutting off feet and drinking violence.
7 Like the legs of the lame that hang loose:
so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
8 As one who binds a stone in a sling,
so is he who gives honor to a fool.
9 Like a thorn bush that goes into the hand of a drunkard,
so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
10 As an archer who wounds all,
so is he who hires a fool
or he who hires those who pass by.
11 As a dog that returns to his vomit,
so is a fool who repeats his folly.
12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road!
A fierce lion roams the streets!”
14 As the door turns on its hinges,
so does the sluggard on his bed.
15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish.
He is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
than seven men who answer with discretion.
17 Like one who grabs a dog’s ears
is one who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own.
18 Like a madman who shoots torches, arrows, and death,
19 is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “Am I not joking?”
20 For lack of wood a fire goes out.
Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.
21 As coals are to hot embers,
and wood to fire,
so is a contentious man to kindling strife.
22 The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels,
they go down into the innermost parts.
23 Like silver dross on an earthen vessel
are the lips of a fervent one with an evil heart.
24 A malicious man disguises himself with his lips,
but he harbors evil in his heart.
25 When his speech is charming, don’t believe him;
for there are seven abominations in his heart.
26 His malice may be concealed by deception,
but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
27 Whoever digs a pit shall fall into it.
Whoever rolls a stone, it will come back on him.
28 A lying tongue hates those it hurts;
and a flattering mouth works ruin.
27:1 Don’t boast about tomorrow;
for you don’t know what a day may bring.
2 Let another man praise you,
and not your own mouth;
a stranger, and not your own lips.
3 A stone is heavy,
and sand is a burden;
but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
4 Wrath is cruel,
and anger is overwhelming;
but who is able to stand before jealousy?
5 Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
although the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
7 A full soul loathes a honeycomb;
but to a hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet.
8 As a bird that wanders from her nest,
so is a man who wanders from his home.
9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart;
so does earnest counsel from a man’s friend.
10 Don’t forsake your friend and your father’s friend.
Don’t go to your brother’s house in the day of your disaster:
better is a neighbor who is near than a distant brother.
11 Be wise, my son,
and bring joy to my heart,
then I can answer my tormentor.
12 A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge;
but the simple pass on, and suffer for it.
13 Take his garment when he puts up collateral for a stranger.
Hold it for a wayward woman!
14 He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning,
it will be taken as a curse by him.
15 A continual dropping on a rainy day
and a contentious wife are alike:
16 restraining her is like restraining the wind,
or like grasping oil in his right hand.
17 Iron sharpens iron;
so a man sharpens his friend’s countenance.
18 Whoever tends the fig tree shall eat its fruit.
He who looks after his master shall be honored.
19 Like water reflects a face,
so a man’s heart reflects the man.
20 Sheol[a] and Abaddon are never satisfied;
and a man’s eyes are never satisfied.
21 The crucible is for silver,
and the furnace for gold;
but man is refined by his praise.
22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain,
yet his foolishness will not be removed from him.
23 Know well the state of your flocks,
and pay attention to your herds:
24 for riches are not forever,
nor does even the crown endure to all generations.
25 The hay is removed, and the new growth appears,
the grasses of the hills are gathered in.
26 The lambs are for your clothing,
and the goats are the price of a field.
27 There will be plenty of goats’ milk for your food,
for your family’s food,
and for the nourishment of your servant girls.
Footnotes:
a. Proverbs 27:20 Sheol is the place of the dead.
Romans 14:1 Now accept one who is weak in faith, but not for disputes over opinions. 2 One man has faith to eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Don’t let him who eats despise him who doesn’t eat. Don’t let him who doesn’t eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you who judge another’s servant? To his own lord he stands or falls. Yes, he will be made to stand, for God has power to make him stand.
5 One man esteems one day as more important. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks. He who doesn’t eat, to the Lord he doesn’t eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord. Or if we die, we die to the Lord. If therefore we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died, rose, and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written,
“‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘to me every knee will bow.
Every tongue will confess to God.’”[a]
12 So then each one of us will give account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let’s not judge one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in his brother’s way, or an occasion for falling. 14 I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself; except that to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 Yet if because of food your brother is grieved, you walk no longer in love. Don’t destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. 16 Then don’t let your good be slandered, 17 for God’s Kingdom is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then, let us follow after things which make for peace, and things by which we may build one another up. 20 Don’t overthrow God’s work for food’s sake. All things indeed are clean, however it is evil for that man who creates a stumbling block by eating. 21 It is good to not eat meat, drink wine, nor do anything by which your brother stumbles, is offended, or is made weak.
22 Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who doesn’t judge himself in that which he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because it isn’t of faith; and whatever is not of faith is sin.
24 Now to him who is able to establish you according to my Good News and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret through long ages, 25 but now is revealed, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known for obedience of faith to all the nations; 26 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.[b]
Footnotes:
a. Romans 14:11 Isaiah 45:23
b. Romans 14:26 TR places verses 24-26 after Romans 16:24 as verses 25-27.
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Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie
P.O. Box 4000
Riverside, CA 92514-4000 United States
Phone: 1(800)821-3300
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