II Corinthians 5:14,15

II Corinthians 5:14,15 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Why do you serve God? Do you obey Him because you have to? Or do you serve God because you love Him and want to serve Him? If someone gave you a million dollars, you would be extremely happy. Right?! So what if they asked you to feed their dog for a week while they were away on vacation? You would gladly do it. Right?! Of course! You would be glad to do something little for them because of the great gift that they had given to you. And so it is with us and Jesus. He died for us and gave us His eternal life. And we gladly serve Jesus. We serve Him, not because we must, but we serve Him out of love. He died for us so that we might live. Our service to Jesus is the very least that we can do for Someone who has done so much for us! So, do you obey God because you must or because you want to? That is the question.

II Corinthians 5:10

II Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. There are two different judgements, and we must appear at one or the other, based upon what we have done about Jesus Christ. If we have obeyed God and trusted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will go directly to heaven when we die. Then, after Jesus Christ comes back to resurrect all of the saints, we will give an account of our service to Him. This is called the Bema Judgement. In ancient Greece, when an athlete won his race, he was awarded a laurel wreath at the judges stand for his accomplishment. He proudly wore it the rest of the day. And so God will reward us, His followers, after He gathers us all to His home in heaven. We will not answer for our sins, but for our service as a believer. Our sins have been paid for, and we will never face them again. Praise the Lord! But the unsaved must face a different judgement. The unsaved will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgement, told about in Revelation 20. At the end of time, God will judge all of the unbelievers. God will resurrect the lost and they must stand before the Almighty and explain why they did not accept His gift of salvation. God will expose their evil works and they will be cast into the Lake of Fire, which burns forever and forever. So, which judgement do you face? Have you trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? If you have, you will meet Jesus Christ to receive your awards at the Bema Judgement. If you have not, you will face God at the Great White Throne and be cast into the Lake of Fire. The judgement that you face is based upon what you have done with Jesus Christ. Have you trusted in Him as your Savior? I hope so!

II Corinthians 5:8,9

II Corinthians 5:8,9 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. Paul was excited to meet the Lord. That is because he was ready to meet the Lord. But Paul knew that whether he was to live a little longer or to go home to meet the Lord, it was up to God. Each of us have work to do. And only God knows when our work here on earth is done. And when God is finished with us here on earth, He will call us home. We don’t know when or how we will leave this earth, but God does. He has an appointed time for us. But however long God has for us to live, we should be busy doing His work. And when He is finished with us, He will welcome us home. And what a wonderful day that will be!