gotandem "Worthy of Reward" for Tuesday, 20 December 2016

gotandem "Worthy of Reward" for Tuesday, 20 December 2016

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Today on the Bible Minute, let's look at why Jesus judges our service.
The holy God can reward only services done in righteousness and in faith. The Bible tells us that in Matthew 6 and Hebrews 11. Now it's true, not all of my service to God is going to be done in righteousness and faith. And God cannot reward all of my service because it wasn't done in righteousness and faith.
That is exactly what the Judgment Seat of Christ is designed to do. It's designed to test our work to see of what kind it is, to test it by fire to see if indeed our lives of service are worthy of bringing to heaven and worthy of reward that will last forever.
At the Judgment Seat, Christ will test the quality of your service.
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"The Advent: Day 24"
Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”[Matthew 28:19-20.]
We've been talking a lot about the beginning of Christ's life here on earth, but how about the end of his life? You see, after he'd been born in a manger, lived a perfect life and died for our sins, he came back. And he stayed around for a little while before he ascended into heaven. And right before he ascended into heaven, he had one more message for us. Go. Do. Go do what I showed you. Minister to those around you. Teach them who I am and how a follower should live. And the message is just applicable to us today. Go and do.
Today's Homework: Evaluate how well you've done fulfilling the great commission over the past 12 months. What have you done well? What do you need to do better next year?
T The Holy Holidays - goTandem
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"Leads to Life"
Fear of the LORD leads to life, bringing security and protection from harm.[Proverbs 19:23]
How does fearing God lead to life?
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"The Advent: Day 23"
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.[John 14:6.]
Today's Homework: Remember Christ today. Remember that his coming to earth in that manger was so that we could again have a right relationship with God. And again, find ways throughout your day to be thankful for this.
T The Holy Holidays - goTandem
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"How to Live in an Evil World"
We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.[Titus 2:12-13]
Are you looking forward to Jesus return?
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"Pouring Your Foundation"
Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.[Proverbs 1:7]
How is fear of God the foundation of knowledge?
Do you gravitate toward or away from discipline?
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"The Advent: Day 22"
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.[Ephesians 2:12-22.]
Today is a day to be thankful. In anticipation of all of the holiday rush, the present buying, the egg nog guzzling, and then carol singing, remember to be thankful for God's grace.
Today's Homework: Be thankful. Take a moment in the middle of all of the craziness and just be thankful.
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"An Apostle's Rights"
We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow.[2 Thessalonians 3:9]
When was the last time you were willing to surrender your rights to further the cause of Christ?
View this message in goTandem-------gotandem "God Never Changes!" for Saturday, 17 December 2016
Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth
and made the heavens with your hands.
They will perish, but you remain forever;
they will wear out like old clothing.
You will change them like a garment
and discard them.
But you are always the same;
you will live forever.
The children of your people
will live in security.
Their children's children
will thrive in your presence.[(Psalm 102:25-28)]
Your eternal word, O LORD,
stands firm in heaven[(Psalm 119:89)]
Think of a person you know who changed over a period of time. You thought you knew them well but, for whatever reason, they became a different person. People are always in the process of change. Some go from better to worse; others from worse to better. You can watch the immaturity of youth morph into the maturity of adulthood. And like it or not, age changes things. Someone has said, "Just about the time your face clears up, your mind gets fuzzy." People change. Friends fail. But the powerful truth of the Bible is this: God never changes! His love for you is perfect it can never become more or less. His acceptance of you is secure-you are his child forever. The truth of his Word will always stand.
What do these passages tell you about the unchanging nature of God's Word?
Why do you think God wants you to know that his Person and Word never change?
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"The Advent: Day 21"
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
God showed how much he loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.[1 John 4:7-16.]
If Christmas is about anything, it's about love. Think about it. God sent His son to the world to suffer and die for us. Not because we loved Him, but because He loved us. It's something that's really hard to get a handle on. Preemptive love. But it's important, because if you don't understand this, you don't understand the heart of God.
Today's Homework: Do you practice preemptive love? Do you try to love people before they've earned your love? Take a couple minutes today and write down a list of people who you have preemptively loved and then write another list of people that you need to love even though they may not deserve it.
T The Holy Holidays - goTandem
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"Church Description"
We proudly tell God's other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering.[2 Thessalonians 1:4]
How would you describe your church?
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"Poor and Rich"
The poor are despised even by their neighbors, while the rich have many "friends."[Proverbs 14:20]
How do you treat those who are less fortunate than you?
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"The Advent: Day 20"
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. [Ephesians 2:8-9.]
God keeps a naughty and a nice list. It's weird to think of God doing that, isn’t it? The difference between God's list and Santa's is that there is no way for you to get off the naughty list by yourself. You can never be good enough to counteract all of your sin. Neither can I. No one can. But this is good news, because the pressure is off. Instead of being “good” because we're afraid we won't get to heaven, our motivation should be one of gratitude. It's by God's grace we're on his "nice list." That should give us all a reason to celebrate.
Today's Homework: Sit down for five minutes and ask yourself "Am I motivated to do good because of gratitude or because of fear?" Really dig and see.
T The Holy Holidays - goTandem
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"Controlling Anger"
And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.[Ephesians 4:26-27]
Why do you think anger gives a foothold to the devil?
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