Daily Devotionals

It's Not Supposed to Be This Way Week 4: Thursday

For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds. Matthew 16:27

We often say around Sagebrush that awards get presented at the finish line. It is true. Awards are presented when races come to an end, or projects are completed. Being awarded when we try our very best is always an incredible accomplishment. But awards are not just given after sports competitions. When Jesus returns, Scripture teaches that we will be awarded according to how we have lived our lives.

 Jesus shows us what will happen when He returns in Matthew 16. One day, Jesus was teaching His disciples when the conversation shifted to His death. He shared with His disciples that He would suffer and die at the hands of the elders, priests, and religious leaders (verse 21). He also shared that three days later, He would rise from the dead (verse 22). Peter rebuked Jesus for saying what He said. Jesus saw this as an opportunity to share that not only would He suffer, but His disciples would suffer, too. He wrote. "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me" (verse 24). He continued, "If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it" (verse 25). Jesus was explaining in these verses that the life that followers of Christ are called to live, or the race we are called to run, is not easy. It will cost us. The reward, however, will far outweigh any price we pay. He then explained, "For the Son of Man will come with His angels in the glory of His Father and will judge all people according to their deeds" (verse 27). In the end, when Jesus returns, He will judge every person according to how they lived. The English Standard Version translation says that Jesus will "repay each person according to what he has done." The New International Version translation says that Jesus will "reward each person according to what they have done." The picture we have here is that we will be evaluated according to how we have lived our lives and rewarded accordingly.

Friends, I do not know about you, but I want to come to the end of my life proud of how I ran the race. I want to know that I gave my very best to honor Him. What will we do with the rewards we receive? Like the elders did in Revelation 4:10-11, we will give them back to God. What a glorious day that will be!

Moving toward action

Paul wrote about his desire to run the race that Christ has called us to in 2 Timothy 4:7. Memorize this verse today. Then, as you commit it to memory, ask God for perseverance to run this race of life that He has called you to with endurance until you reach the finish line.

Going Deeper

Matthew 16:1-28 (NLT)

"One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

2 He replied, "You know the saying, 'Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; 3 red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.' You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don't know how to interpret the signs of the times! 4 Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah." Then Jesus left them and went away.

5 Later, after they crossed to the other side of the lake, the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 "Watch out!" Jesus warned them. "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

7 At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn't brought any bread. 8 Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, "You have so little faith! Why are you arguing with each other about having no bread? 9 Don't you understand even yet? Don't you remember the 5,000 I fed with five loaves, and the baskets of leftovers you picked up? 10 Or the 4,000 I fed with seven loaves, and the large baskets of leftovers you picked up? 11 Why can't you understand that I'm not talking about bread? So again I say, 'Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.'"

12 Then at last they understood that he wasn't speaking about the yeast in bread, but about the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"

14 "Well," they replied, "some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets."

15 Then he asked them, "But who do you say I am?"

16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

17 Jesus replied, "You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means 'rock'), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven."

20 Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

21 From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.

22 But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. "Heaven forbid, Lord," he said. "This will never happen to you!"

23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, "Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God's."

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 25 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds. 28 And I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom."