Surrender fully to Jesus Christ, so that you may receive your full rewards in the LORD's Kingdom!
Greetings again my brothers and sisters, and thank you for your time.
First, before I begin - I would like to mention that this journal, like many of my other journals, is posted with certain tags added in the hope that I may be able to open the eyes and minds of some unbelievers (the world uses the label of atheist, or agnostic) so that they can realize just what exactly is going on in the world around them - how they (like myself, in the past) are victims of a MASSIVE campaign to keep them in the dark about what is truly taking place here. So, to any individual who does not believe in the LORD or Lord Jesus Christ and yet you find yourself reading this entry - first, may I just apologize if I have upset you? It is not my intention. No, I actually love you very, very much. I am trying to use some of my free time to train and mentor you to be spiritually prepared for the dark(evil) forces that are actively working to keep you in a state of disassociation and rebellion against the actual truth of the state of this world or reality, why we are living in it, and to the reality that you and I will be going to after this reality, depending on the choices we make in this life.
If my entries trouble you, I suppose you could block me if you wish. It is your right. You can also leave harsh comments to my journals, as some have done in the past. I will not find fault with you for doing this, as I understand how hard it can be to not act on our emotions, but I will say that I do not plan on halting the attempts to reach out to those brothers and sisters of mine who I believe are in a very dangerous place, where there is much spiritual darkness that is trying to lead them through their lives like a puppet on strings.
Now, with that being said, ... Did you know that although it is stated (and true) that Christians are saved by grace through their faith (and not by the works that they do), they will still be recognized for, and receive various rewards in Heaven, depending on how hard much they devoted their lives to the LORD?
Yes, it is true. Although our salvation from sin and the transgressions we have committed against a perfect and holy God in this life is only through our faith and belief in our Lord Jesus Christ being sent from outside the creation into the creation and dying on the cross for us as a perfect sacrifice with all sins laid on Him, the LORD also has every right to expect work from His workers. And, just as when you work for a job or company in this life you are reimbursed, usually through financial means - our Lord Christ will recognize and reward us, in a method of His choosing, depending on how much of a good worker we were in this life.
First, the most important verse we should look at:
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
It is so very important to understand that nothing we could ever do in this life could come close to earning or being reimbursed for said works with the payout of eternal salvation and fellowship with the LORD, the Lord Jesus Christ in the heavenly kingdom. It is only because of His infinite love, compassion, and mercy for us and because of what He did as our savior Jesus Christ that we will be able to experience an eternity of ..well, I really can't describe it in a way that does it justice. It will be unlike anything you have EVER experienced here. Can you imagine it? Imagine a reward so vast, so endless, so amazing, so wonderful and fun - that it dwarfs and eclipses any conceivable thought of a reward that you could imagine being given. It's kind of like that! I will try to give you a few ideas of what kind of rewards might be given out, but I could be entirely wrong, so please do not quote me on this. It's just to give you an idea.
Perhaps there is a young man who lives and grows through life. There love, their passion in life is big band music. He just absolutely loves big bands. (Big band music started in around the 1910's, but would go on into the 40's when swing music became very popular.)
A good example of this type of music could be, for example, Glenn Miller's take on the song 'In the Mood', which can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CI-0E_jses
But back to our young man who goes through life being in love with big band music. Imagine two different possible outcomes. Lets say our young man, Paul, is a Christian. He gives to the poor when he is able to do so. He is kind, merciful, and patient while dealing with others. He spends a very good amount of his time being in service to the Lord Jesus Christ until the day he is called home to be with the LORD. What sort of special reward might be gifted this man beyond the already amazing gift of eternal salvation? Well, the Lord Christ could, for example - choose to give this man the ability to enter into a reality where he could go back to the 20-40's and become a member of a big band, with remarkable talent at his fingertips. Perhaps he is just given some kind of ability to be with all the great big band names in Heaven itself, playing in concerts with them (What, you think Heaven won't have amazing music? Come on..).
Now if this individual was a professed Christian, but did very little in the name of Christ. Did not give of his time, or to help the poor, etc..but did very basic 'going through the motions' - he may still be saved. He will experience an eternity in the LORD's kingdom, and yes, it will still be amazing - but he may not be given or 'allowed' that specific type of reward.
For another example, let's say our next individual loves cartoons and movies, and as a Christian spends much of their life devoted to being in service to Jesus Christ and others around them. The Lord Christ, could, for example - give them the ability to either enter into worlds or dimensions of their favorite movie or cartoon show. Perhaps they might be given the ability to play out that world as their favored character..
Or maybe Jasmine, who struggled with a passion for being an artist goes through life at first trying their hand at being an artist due to their love for that area, but instead decides to give that time and dedication over to working for, and serving Jesus Christ instead. They essentially sacrifice something they would have loved to do in this life in order to further the kingdom of Heaven. They may be gifted, for all the pious acts and works they do helping others with a special 'crown' or gift of being given the ability to create absolutely stunning works of art in Heaven, the likes of which would be put up in many beautiful places for other inhabitants of Heaven to enjoy.
This is just my earthly attempt to try and give an idea of how the LORD may choose to reward those of us who willingly sacrifice what we want in this life with trying to do what we believe the Lord Jesus Christ would want us to do. For some, it may mean going into ministry to be a pastor. For another, it could mean adopting a parentless child whose original mother or father did not want them. For others, it may mean leaving everything behind to do missionary work in service to the LORD. For some, it may mean using your business earnings to donate to charities often so you can help out the less fortunate in amazing ways time and time again.
What I can tell you however, is that the more you are willing to humble yourself with humility and let the Lord Christ lead you, the more your life will be blessed, both in this life and in the world to come. For so many of us, we go through life with the belief or desire to make or mold our life the way we choose to. We make decisions that we believe are in our best interest, that will give us the most satisfaction or happiness - but often these choices are based on material rewards. We often don't think to choose the choices where we may suffer or sacrifice more in the now, with the understanding or realization that we will be given and recognized in monumental ways in the life after this one for doing so.
This is why it can be very hard to live your life as a Christian. You will be expected to make sacrifices. Remember, you are living this very temporary and short life (as compared to eternity in Heaven) in order to do His will - not yours. It is not our human nature to have a desire and willingness to submit to someone else - especially if that submission means giving up things that you possess, or giving up comforts, or giving up friendships, friendship with the world, which we are warned will begin to hate and despise us the moment we make it an open fact that we are servants of Jesus Christ. Is it ever any surprise to a Christian to see the attacks, the insults, the labels that they get accused of when they make no attempt to hide who it is they serve? I challenge my curious readers to ask themselves why it is a tried and true observable fact that anyone who stands with Jesus Christ is very often denounced, ridiculed, and attacked. I challenge my readers to read the Holy Bible, and learn about who Jesus Christ is and what He taught others and to ask if such is so, why are those who follow and are servants of His hated so much? The Holy Bible warns us - His servants, to expect this of those who are 'living in the world' (ie, those who are not yet "awakened" to what is really happening here, and how the material world keeps so many in a state of sleep or hypnosis).
Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. (John 15:20)
So if you are someone who seeks and desires the truth - If you are someone who acts not based purely on emotion but a desire to know truth - I would imagine you might read the holy bible, learn about Jesus Christ. Learn about what sin is and why Jesus Christ instructed others to go and sin no more. Sin is like a virus. It blinds the hearts and minds of those who are infected with it. It takes over the person so that those who are trying to rescue them are seen as a threat, as someone who is against them, attacking them, when in reality we are servants of light and truth trying to take their hand and pull them out of the darkness and deadly consequences of living in sin. If sin was a living entity, it would be the most deadliest entity among us, not just devouring the souls of so many brothers and sisters around us but hypnotizing those being devoured through the love of sin into hating and berating those of us trying to cast that terrible, deadly and demonic being out of that person's life.
Let's look at some verses that show us that yes, those of us who are followers and servants of Christ will be rewarded with special rewards or "crowns" by the LORD depending on how much of a hard worker we were for Him in this life.
The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. (1 Corinthians 3:8)
This is a very clear and specific verse. It is explaining that those who are willing to put in the time and work in serving Jesus Christ and the Heavenly Kingdom will be "each rewarded according to their labor". The more time, the harder you work in this life for Him, the more you will be rewarded and/or recognized for what you did in the life to come.
There is also a verse that specifically states that Jesus Christ is coming back to us, and that He will have with Him many rewards to bestow on those of us who are faithfully and dutifully doing good works:
“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone ACCORDING TO HIS WORK.” (Revelation 22:12)
Again, we are being reminded that the LORD is watching us each and every day. How much time are you spending each week being in service to the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you mention your faith in conversation at the checkout stand? Perhaps a comment thanking the Lord Jesus for the wonderful day and kind and helpful company you have helping you? Do you do anything in your social media to try and bring others to Christ? Do you help with donations to charity? Are you a good son or daughter who obeys their parents and tries to be helpful whenever you can - even if it means sacrificing things you wanted to do? Are you kind to animals? Are you kind to yourself? All these things matter, friends.
“… I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you ACCORDING TO YOUR WORKS.” (Revelation 2:23)
Friends, the LORD is spelling it out clearly, multiple times to us - that we will be rewarded according to our works. He doesn't state this once but multiple times, which is putting emphasis on the subject. So we can either spend this life living purely for ourselves or we can try to devote good chunks of time - or all of our time if we can, to serving the Lord Jesus Christ and to serving others. It can be rewarding to be in service to Jesus Christ, seeing your time and financial efforts help those in need. It can also hurt, when you try to commit to saving others with your time and mentoring, only to be attacked or insulted, labeled as a bigot or intolerant because you refuse to accept the actions and behaviors - the lifestyle that some sinners wish to continue engaging in. We are called these names because we call out these bad behaviors to sinners. We are often said to be intolerant and hateful, when in reality the opposite is true. We are willing to endure these remarks because we love our sinning brothers and sisters, and want them to see what they are doing to themselves. There are DARK, evil spirits and powers in this world that want you, a sinner, to continue on sinning. They want you to continue committing sinful acts that will separate you from the LORD and His eternal kingdom. So often these sins are something that could very easily be done away with - such as sexual sin, and we know that any form of sexual behavior that is not between one man and one woman in marriage is seen as sinful by the LORD. These evil spirits and fallen angels want you to continue sinning because they themselves have done some very bad things and are in trouble with the LORD - so they want you to be in trouble with the LORD too! They want to be able to point to you and say 'If you, LORD, have to banish me, an evil spirit/fallen angel to Hell because I disobeyed you - then you must also do the same to these specific humans because they also disobey you by choosing sin instead of obeying you'. Those evil spirits would have a very justifiable point. It would be unfair for the LORD to banish them (the spirits/fallen angels) and allow you, as an unrepentant sinner to be forgiven. We are lucky in that we have something that the evil spirits/fallen angels don't have - the ability to be forgiven! Through Jesus Christs' sacrifice. All it takes is a little bit of humility and faith.
There are many individuals who are so used to having this sin in their lives that they just cannot fathom going without it. But it is possible! As I have stated, I gave up a sinful, sexual relationship of ten years (at least) because it was not defined by the LORD as anything other than sinful. At the time it was not easy to do. It was only after letting go of that sin that I really began to see what it had been doing to me over the course of my life. So when dealing with other sinners, we as Christian servants are often the bearers of bad news that, if the sinning person is willing to take to heart, will mean a very big shake-up in their lives. They may have to exit a relationship, they may have to quit drugs that have had control over their life for decades, or they may have to suddenly come to grips with how hard it is for a rich man to enter into Heaven.
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24)
Some saints choose to leave behind a worldly life in order to live a spiritual life in service to Christ and others.
Another verse also explains how those who leave lucrative jobs, homes and families to do the LORD's calling (such as missionary work) will be recognized and rewarded for it:
So Jesus answered them and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brother or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or land, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a HUNDREDFOLD now in this time … and in the age to come, eternal life.” (Mark 10:29-30)
Finally, a very important last verse I would like everyone to focus on:
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things DONE IN THE BODY, according to what He has done, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)
The Judgment Seat of Christ
This verse has both good and "not great" in it. Although we will be recognized for the good we devoted ourselves to doing in the world - I also believe that it is very possible that the Lord Christ may remind of us of all the bad we had once done in the world as well. Hopefully, all of this 'bad stuff' - the sins we engaged in - will be primarily before we gave our lives over to Jesus Christ. There will very likely be saints who did terrible things prior to becoming a servant of Christ. Thieves, murderers, sexual perverts, blasphemers. I'm of the belief that the worst of sinners can become the most devoted of saints after realizing they have been forgiven by their faith in Jesus Christ. The realization that we have been forgiven despite all the bad things we have done in our lives - and that we can still serve the LORD despite all these mistakes, is something that creates in the saint a sensation of such overwhelming joy and gratitude that it can create in that saint a will and determination that is unbridled. 'If the Lord Christ saw something in me worth saving despite all the terrible things I have done in my life, and He never gave up on me - then surely, I must with all of my being commit myself to Him and to serving Him, and in trying to help others to see this truly amazing moment that can be shared and experienced by other sinners such as myself'. I believe this must be the feeling that the apostle Paul must have felt deep inside and is what drove him to be such a steadfast and hard-working servant for Jesus Christ.
The Judgment Seat of Christ I imagine as something like being in a courtroom with Jesus Christ as your attorney and the LORD as judge. It doesn't look good - but lucky for us we have Jesus Christ as our attorney, and He is The. Best. Attorney. EVER! Look at that! He just got the court to drop ALL charges against you. Charges that you would have had to suffer the consequences for in eternity! Can anything you do in return for that even come close to being worth what He just did for you? No, not even. But here you are, a free man/woman, and now you get to REALLY start living an amazing, magical life in the presence of the LORD and His Son, your savior!
So we will go before Jesus Christ to be recognized for what we did while we were living in these fleshly bodies. I don't know exactly how He plans on having this meeting with us. Will it be 1 on 1? Will it be before an audience of others to instill a bit of embarrassment and more humility? I'm not entirely sure. I do trust my savior Jesus Christ though - that however He plans on doing 'the talk' at the end of my life, that He knows what He is doing, and I will not question it.
It is my sincere hope that I may have swayed those who were in unbelief to start doing the research and to seek the truth for themselves. Read the gospel, study Jesus Christ, and perhaps change your feelings on the matter. If, as an atheist or agnostic you were wondering that the last bible verse was for you - I regret to be the bearer of bad news - but no, the judgment seat of Christ is only for believers of Jesus Christ. What happens to those who chose to stay in disbelief until the very end?
The Great White Throne Of Judgment
Then I saw a large white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then books were opened, and another book was opened-the book of life. So the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each one was judged according to his deeds. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death-the lake of fire. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, that person was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-14)
The Great White Throne of Judgment? Well.. Have you ever had to go to court to defend yourself against a charge? Even if you can't afford an attorney, you will still be appointed a public defender. Better than nothing, right? By living a prideful life in rebellion against the LORD and His instructions, believing that you knew better and were so sure there was no God over you, you basically have entered the courtroom while stating VERY loudly to the LORD, to your "could have been awesome attorney, Jesus Christ", and to all the saints and angels that you don't need an attorney - you can defend yourself against any and all accusations that an omniscient, perfect and HOLY Creator/Judge is about to drop on you like a ton of anvils. Why would anyone want to do this? I'm begging you - don't do this. By this point no amount of apologizing or willingness to believe will matter. You were supposed to put the time and research and belief into practice while you were living your life, but the desire to chase sin and pleasure was more important. DON'T let evil spirits, fallen angels, and other sinners who have been hypnotized into standing up for lifestyles of sin bring you down into destruction with them! None of these (the evil spirits, the fallen angels, other unrepentant sinners) will be able to save you when you go to be judged at the Great White Throne of Judgment. It will be the worst moment of your entire life. It will be the moment you realize you could have been saved and able to experience eternal joy and harmony but out of pride, chose not to.
I pray and beg my atheist and agnost friends to please consider these words. Judgment day could come tomorrow. It could come in a few hours if that's how the LORD wants to do it. This is why it is SO important to read the Holy Bible. Do it as soon as you get some free time! Get started! Do the research. Do like I did - read the Holy Bible. Read the Qu'ran, Read the Bhagavad Gita As It Is(Hinduism) - read these books, look for patterns, pray and ask the LORD to show you the truth. But whatever you do - don't believe the orgs and groups on tv, media, and in the world who shout "There is no God, science is all there is" - they are the blind leading the blind! I am no different from you my brothers and sisters. I'm just a flawed human sinner who hit a very low point in their life and decided to start searching for the truth. I prayed to the LORD to show me the way. I started reading and researching. Do all these things with an open heart and open mind, and with an understanding that you might learn that much if not all of the life you had been living and that others were telling you to live was a lie. As soon as you realize this - you can begin living your real life. The life the LORD always wanted you to live in the first place, but could not show you until you first emptied the cup within yourself and in humility sought the truth, and only the truth, no matter how painful it might be.
First, before I begin - I would like to mention that this journal, like many of my other journals, is posted with certain tags added in the hope that I may be able to open the eyes and minds of some unbelievers (the world uses the label of atheist, or agnostic) so that they can realize just what exactly is going on in the world around them - how they (like myself, in the past) are victims of a MASSIVE campaign to keep them in the dark about what is truly taking place here. So, to any individual who does not believe in the LORD or Lord Jesus Christ and yet you find yourself reading this entry - first, may I just apologize if I have upset you? It is not my intention. No, I actually love you very, very much. I am trying to use some of my free time to train and mentor you to be spiritually prepared for the dark(evil) forces that are actively working to keep you in a state of disassociation and rebellion against the actual truth of the state of this world or reality, why we are living in it, and to the reality that you and I will be going to after this reality, depending on the choices we make in this life.
If my entries trouble you, I suppose you could block me if you wish. It is your right. You can also leave harsh comments to my journals, as some have done in the past. I will not find fault with you for doing this, as I understand how hard it can be to not act on our emotions, but I will say that I do not plan on halting the attempts to reach out to those brothers and sisters of mine who I believe are in a very dangerous place, where there is much spiritual darkness that is trying to lead them through their lives like a puppet on strings.
Now, with that being said, ... Did you know that although it is stated (and true) that Christians are saved by grace through their faith (and not by the works that they do), they will still be recognized for, and receive various rewards in Heaven, depending on how hard much they devoted their lives to the LORD?
Yes, it is true. Although our salvation from sin and the transgressions we have committed against a perfect and holy God in this life is only through our faith and belief in our Lord Jesus Christ being sent from outside the creation into the creation and dying on the cross for us as a perfect sacrifice with all sins laid on Him, the LORD also has every right to expect work from His workers. And, just as when you work for a job or company in this life you are reimbursed, usually through financial means - our Lord Christ will recognize and reward us, in a method of His choosing, depending on how much of a good worker we were in this life.
First, the most important verse we should look at:
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
It is so very important to understand that nothing we could ever do in this life could come close to earning or being reimbursed for said works with the payout of eternal salvation and fellowship with the LORD, the Lord Jesus Christ in the heavenly kingdom. It is only because of His infinite love, compassion, and mercy for us and because of what He did as our savior Jesus Christ that we will be able to experience an eternity of ..well, I really can't describe it in a way that does it justice. It will be unlike anything you have EVER experienced here. Can you imagine it? Imagine a reward so vast, so endless, so amazing, so wonderful and fun - that it dwarfs and eclipses any conceivable thought of a reward that you could imagine being given. It's kind of like that! I will try to give you a few ideas of what kind of rewards might be given out, but I could be entirely wrong, so please do not quote me on this. It's just to give you an idea.
Perhaps there is a young man who lives and grows through life. There love, their passion in life is big band music. He just absolutely loves big bands. (Big band music started in around the 1910's, but would go on into the 40's when swing music became very popular.)
A good example of this type of music could be, for example, Glenn Miller's take on the song 'In the Mood', which can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CI-0E_jses
But back to our young man who goes through life being in love with big band music. Imagine two different possible outcomes. Lets say our young man, Paul, is a Christian. He gives to the poor when he is able to do so. He is kind, merciful, and patient while dealing with others. He spends a very good amount of his time being in service to the Lord Jesus Christ until the day he is called home to be with the LORD. What sort of special reward might be gifted this man beyond the already amazing gift of eternal salvation? Well, the Lord Christ could, for example - choose to give this man the ability to enter into a reality where he could go back to the 20-40's and become a member of a big band, with remarkable talent at his fingertips. Perhaps he is just given some kind of ability to be with all the great big band names in Heaven itself, playing in concerts with them (What, you think Heaven won't have amazing music? Come on..).
Now if this individual was a professed Christian, but did very little in the name of Christ. Did not give of his time, or to help the poor, etc..but did very basic 'going through the motions' - he may still be saved. He will experience an eternity in the LORD's kingdom, and yes, it will still be amazing - but he may not be given or 'allowed' that specific type of reward.
For another example, let's say our next individual loves cartoons and movies, and as a Christian spends much of their life devoted to being in service to Jesus Christ and others around them. The Lord Christ, could, for example - give them the ability to either enter into worlds or dimensions of their favorite movie or cartoon show. Perhaps they might be given the ability to play out that world as their favored character..
Or maybe Jasmine, who struggled with a passion for being an artist goes through life at first trying their hand at being an artist due to their love for that area, but instead decides to give that time and dedication over to working for, and serving Jesus Christ instead. They essentially sacrifice something they would have loved to do in this life in order to further the kingdom of Heaven. They may be gifted, for all the pious acts and works they do helping others with a special 'crown' or gift of being given the ability to create absolutely stunning works of art in Heaven, the likes of which would be put up in many beautiful places for other inhabitants of Heaven to enjoy.
This is just my earthly attempt to try and give an idea of how the LORD may choose to reward those of us who willingly sacrifice what we want in this life with trying to do what we believe the Lord Jesus Christ would want us to do. For some, it may mean going into ministry to be a pastor. For another, it could mean adopting a parentless child whose original mother or father did not want them. For others, it may mean leaving everything behind to do missionary work in service to the LORD. For some, it may mean using your business earnings to donate to charities often so you can help out the less fortunate in amazing ways time and time again.
What I can tell you however, is that the more you are willing to humble yourself with humility and let the Lord Christ lead you, the more your life will be blessed, both in this life and in the world to come. For so many of us, we go through life with the belief or desire to make or mold our life the way we choose to. We make decisions that we believe are in our best interest, that will give us the most satisfaction or happiness - but often these choices are based on material rewards. We often don't think to choose the choices where we may suffer or sacrifice more in the now, with the understanding or realization that we will be given and recognized in monumental ways in the life after this one for doing so.
This is why it can be very hard to live your life as a Christian. You will be expected to make sacrifices. Remember, you are living this very temporary and short life (as compared to eternity in Heaven) in order to do His will - not yours. It is not our human nature to have a desire and willingness to submit to someone else - especially if that submission means giving up things that you possess, or giving up comforts, or giving up friendships, friendship with the world, which we are warned will begin to hate and despise us the moment we make it an open fact that we are servants of Jesus Christ. Is it ever any surprise to a Christian to see the attacks, the insults, the labels that they get accused of when they make no attempt to hide who it is they serve? I challenge my curious readers to ask themselves why it is a tried and true observable fact that anyone who stands with Jesus Christ is very often denounced, ridiculed, and attacked. I challenge my readers to read the Holy Bible, and learn about who Jesus Christ is and what He taught others and to ask if such is so, why are those who follow and are servants of His hated so much? The Holy Bible warns us - His servants, to expect this of those who are 'living in the world' (ie, those who are not yet "awakened" to what is really happening here, and how the material world keeps so many in a state of sleep or hypnosis).
Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. (John 15:20)
So if you are someone who seeks and desires the truth - If you are someone who acts not based purely on emotion but a desire to know truth - I would imagine you might read the holy bible, learn about Jesus Christ. Learn about what sin is and why Jesus Christ instructed others to go and sin no more. Sin is like a virus. It blinds the hearts and minds of those who are infected with it. It takes over the person so that those who are trying to rescue them are seen as a threat, as someone who is against them, attacking them, when in reality we are servants of light and truth trying to take their hand and pull them out of the darkness and deadly consequences of living in sin. If sin was a living entity, it would be the most deadliest entity among us, not just devouring the souls of so many brothers and sisters around us but hypnotizing those being devoured through the love of sin into hating and berating those of us trying to cast that terrible, deadly and demonic being out of that person's life.
Let's look at some verses that show us that yes, those of us who are followers and servants of Christ will be rewarded with special rewards or "crowns" by the LORD depending on how much of a hard worker we were for Him in this life.
The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. (1 Corinthians 3:8)
This is a very clear and specific verse. It is explaining that those who are willing to put in the time and work in serving Jesus Christ and the Heavenly Kingdom will be "each rewarded according to their labor". The more time, the harder you work in this life for Him, the more you will be rewarded and/or recognized for what you did in the life to come.
There is also a verse that specifically states that Jesus Christ is coming back to us, and that He will have with Him many rewards to bestow on those of us who are faithfully and dutifully doing good works:
“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone ACCORDING TO HIS WORK.” (Revelation 22:12)
Again, we are being reminded that the LORD is watching us each and every day. How much time are you spending each week being in service to the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you mention your faith in conversation at the checkout stand? Perhaps a comment thanking the Lord Jesus for the wonderful day and kind and helpful company you have helping you? Do you do anything in your social media to try and bring others to Christ? Do you help with donations to charity? Are you a good son or daughter who obeys their parents and tries to be helpful whenever you can - even if it means sacrificing things you wanted to do? Are you kind to animals? Are you kind to yourself? All these things matter, friends.
“… I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you ACCORDING TO YOUR WORKS.” (Revelation 2:23)
Friends, the LORD is spelling it out clearly, multiple times to us - that we will be rewarded according to our works. He doesn't state this once but multiple times, which is putting emphasis on the subject. So we can either spend this life living purely for ourselves or we can try to devote good chunks of time - or all of our time if we can, to serving the Lord Jesus Christ and to serving others. It can be rewarding to be in service to Jesus Christ, seeing your time and financial efforts help those in need. It can also hurt, when you try to commit to saving others with your time and mentoring, only to be attacked or insulted, labeled as a bigot or intolerant because you refuse to accept the actions and behaviors - the lifestyle that some sinners wish to continue engaging in. We are called these names because we call out these bad behaviors to sinners. We are often said to be intolerant and hateful, when in reality the opposite is true. We are willing to endure these remarks because we love our sinning brothers and sisters, and want them to see what they are doing to themselves. There are DARK, evil spirits and powers in this world that want you, a sinner, to continue on sinning. They want you to continue committing sinful acts that will separate you from the LORD and His eternal kingdom. So often these sins are something that could very easily be done away with - such as sexual sin, and we know that any form of sexual behavior that is not between one man and one woman in marriage is seen as sinful by the LORD. These evil spirits and fallen angels want you to continue sinning because they themselves have done some very bad things and are in trouble with the LORD - so they want you to be in trouble with the LORD too! They want to be able to point to you and say 'If you, LORD, have to banish me, an evil spirit/fallen angel to Hell because I disobeyed you - then you must also do the same to these specific humans because they also disobey you by choosing sin instead of obeying you'. Those evil spirits would have a very justifiable point. It would be unfair for the LORD to banish them (the spirits/fallen angels) and allow you, as an unrepentant sinner to be forgiven. We are lucky in that we have something that the evil spirits/fallen angels don't have - the ability to be forgiven! Through Jesus Christs' sacrifice. All it takes is a little bit of humility and faith.
There are many individuals who are so used to having this sin in their lives that they just cannot fathom going without it. But it is possible! As I have stated, I gave up a sinful, sexual relationship of ten years (at least) because it was not defined by the LORD as anything other than sinful. At the time it was not easy to do. It was only after letting go of that sin that I really began to see what it had been doing to me over the course of my life. So when dealing with other sinners, we as Christian servants are often the bearers of bad news that, if the sinning person is willing to take to heart, will mean a very big shake-up in their lives. They may have to exit a relationship, they may have to quit drugs that have had control over their life for decades, or they may have to suddenly come to grips with how hard it is for a rich man to enter into Heaven.
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24)
Some saints choose to leave behind a worldly life in order to live a spiritual life in service to Christ and others.
Another verse also explains how those who leave lucrative jobs, homes and families to do the LORD's calling (such as missionary work) will be recognized and rewarded for it:
So Jesus answered them and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brother or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or land, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a HUNDREDFOLD now in this time … and in the age to come, eternal life.” (Mark 10:29-30)
Finally, a very important last verse I would like everyone to focus on:
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things DONE IN THE BODY, according to what He has done, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)
The Judgment Seat of Christ
This verse has both good and "not great" in it. Although we will be recognized for the good we devoted ourselves to doing in the world - I also believe that it is very possible that the Lord Christ may remind of us of all the bad we had once done in the world as well. Hopefully, all of this 'bad stuff' - the sins we engaged in - will be primarily before we gave our lives over to Jesus Christ. There will very likely be saints who did terrible things prior to becoming a servant of Christ. Thieves, murderers, sexual perverts, blasphemers. I'm of the belief that the worst of sinners can become the most devoted of saints after realizing they have been forgiven by their faith in Jesus Christ. The realization that we have been forgiven despite all the bad things we have done in our lives - and that we can still serve the LORD despite all these mistakes, is something that creates in the saint a sensation of such overwhelming joy and gratitude that it can create in that saint a will and determination that is unbridled. 'If the Lord Christ saw something in me worth saving despite all the terrible things I have done in my life, and He never gave up on me - then surely, I must with all of my being commit myself to Him and to serving Him, and in trying to help others to see this truly amazing moment that can be shared and experienced by other sinners such as myself'. I believe this must be the feeling that the apostle Paul must have felt deep inside and is what drove him to be such a steadfast and hard-working servant for Jesus Christ.
The Judgment Seat of Christ I imagine as something like being in a courtroom with Jesus Christ as your attorney and the LORD as judge. It doesn't look good - but lucky for us we have Jesus Christ as our attorney, and He is The. Best. Attorney. EVER! Look at that! He just got the court to drop ALL charges against you. Charges that you would have had to suffer the consequences for in eternity! Can anything you do in return for that even come close to being worth what He just did for you? No, not even. But here you are, a free man/woman, and now you get to REALLY start living an amazing, magical life in the presence of the LORD and His Son, your savior!
So we will go before Jesus Christ to be recognized for what we did while we were living in these fleshly bodies. I don't know exactly how He plans on having this meeting with us. Will it be 1 on 1? Will it be before an audience of others to instill a bit of embarrassment and more humility? I'm not entirely sure. I do trust my savior Jesus Christ though - that however He plans on doing 'the talk' at the end of my life, that He knows what He is doing, and I will not question it.
It is my sincere hope that I may have swayed those who were in unbelief to start doing the research and to seek the truth for themselves. Read the gospel, study Jesus Christ, and perhaps change your feelings on the matter. If, as an atheist or agnostic you were wondering that the last bible verse was for you - I regret to be the bearer of bad news - but no, the judgment seat of Christ is only for believers of Jesus Christ. What happens to those who chose to stay in disbelief until the very end?
The Great White Throne Of Judgment
Then I saw a large white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then books were opened, and another book was opened-the book of life. So the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each one was judged according to his deeds. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death-the lake of fire. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, that person was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-14)
The Great White Throne of Judgment? Well.. Have you ever had to go to court to defend yourself against a charge? Even if you can't afford an attorney, you will still be appointed a public defender. Better than nothing, right? By living a prideful life in rebellion against the LORD and His instructions, believing that you knew better and were so sure there was no God over you, you basically have entered the courtroom while stating VERY loudly to the LORD, to your "could have been awesome attorney, Jesus Christ", and to all the saints and angels that you don't need an attorney - you can defend yourself against any and all accusations that an omniscient, perfect and HOLY Creator/Judge is about to drop on you like a ton of anvils. Why would anyone want to do this? I'm begging you - don't do this. By this point no amount of apologizing or willingness to believe will matter. You were supposed to put the time and research and belief into practice while you were living your life, but the desire to chase sin and pleasure was more important. DON'T let evil spirits, fallen angels, and other sinners who have been hypnotized into standing up for lifestyles of sin bring you down into destruction with them! None of these (the evil spirits, the fallen angels, other unrepentant sinners) will be able to save you when you go to be judged at the Great White Throne of Judgment. It will be the worst moment of your entire life. It will be the moment you realize you could have been saved and able to experience eternal joy and harmony but out of pride, chose not to.
I pray and beg my atheist and agnost friends to please consider these words. Judgment day could come tomorrow. It could come in a few hours if that's how the LORD wants to do it. This is why it is SO important to read the Holy Bible. Do it as soon as you get some free time! Get started! Do the research. Do like I did - read the Holy Bible. Read the Qu'ran, Read the Bhagavad Gita As It Is(Hinduism) - read these books, look for patterns, pray and ask the LORD to show you the truth. But whatever you do - don't believe the orgs and groups on tv, media, and in the world who shout "There is no God, science is all there is" - they are the blind leading the blind! I am no different from you my brothers and sisters. I'm just a flawed human sinner who hit a very low point in their life and decided to start searching for the truth. I prayed to the LORD to show me the way. I started reading and researching. Do all these things with an open heart and open mind, and with an understanding that you might learn that much if not all of the life you had been living and that others were telling you to live was a lie. As soon as you realize this - you can begin living your real life. The life the LORD always wanted you to live in the first place, but could not show you until you first emptied the cup within yourself and in humility sought the truth, and only the truth, no matter how painful it might be.