June 4, 2018

It Matters. These were the words that the Lord spoke softly to me as I was praying in my hotel room the night before I was to minister at a youth conference. Though the Lord spoke these softly, they shot through my sprit like an arrow.In that moment I realized that what I do now with this life impacts the way I will spend eternity. One day, I will stand before the King of Kings and the Judge of Judges and my life will be examined and I will receive an eternal reward according to what I have done with my time on earth.That, my friend, is a sobering reality that a lot of believers are either completely ignorant about or they simply brush it off and act like it won’t happen. But scripture is abundantly clear about this truth.

Jesus says in Matthew 16:27, “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His father with His angels, and will repay every man according to his deeds.” Paul also writes in 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”

These are just two of several Biblical references that point to the fact that how we live our lives matter. The writer of Hebrews writes and says that the doctrine of eternal judgment is elementary teaching (Hebrews 6:2) and time fails me to describe what John the Beloved saw in his revelation about us appearing before the White Throne to be judged as believers. (Revelation 20:11-15)

What then is the proper response to the undeniable truth that we must all give an account for how we lived our lives?

We must choose to live lives that matter in view of eternity and whatever areas of our lives do not truly matter must be cut away. This is a perfect time to take a step back and evaluate our lives and see what makes sense in view of eternity and areas of our lives are we wasting on frivolous things that will one day pass away. There are a couple of areas that require immediate attention and that an eternal mindset needs to be applied to.

Finances: What we do with our money here on earth is a big deal to God. Did you know that fifteen percent of everything Christ said relates to this topic? That is more than his teachings on heaven and hell combined!!

Let’s look at what Jesus said about money:

“One’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 14:33

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and thieves do not break in and steal.”  Let’s make it our goal to give like never before to missions and to the advancement of the Kingdom.

I truly believe that this year is the year of impact and increase.

Our devotional lives

When we view our devotional lives in light of eternity, it really brings things into perspective. Especially when we realize that the purpose of life is to know Christ!

Listen to what Paul the Apostle views life in view of eternity: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Paul lived his life with great impact because I believe that he had an incredible eternal perspective because early in his Christian life he was caught up to heaven and visited heaven (2 Corinthians 12) This encounter caused him to understand the purpose of life and that is to live a life completely consumed by Christ! Our purpose, first and foremost is to have a vibrant relationship with Jesus! Before we will be judged for our ministry on the earth, we will be judged according to our relationship with Him.

In Matthew 7:22-23 Jesus says, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never KNEW YOU; Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.”

This shows me that we can have effective ministries on the earth and yet waste our life! Why? Because the true purpose of life is to know Christ and when we have a vibrant relationship with Christ established, ministry will naturally flow from that!

Let’s make it our aim to make eternal adjustments and live with an eternal perspective and when we do, we will live lives of true fulfillment making true impacts for the Kingdom of Heaven.

The post June 4, 2018 appeared first on Perry Stone.