DEVOTION ~ DON'T LOSE YOUR REWARD!

Theme: Don't Lose Your Reward! 

Text: Matthew 10:40-42

⁴⁰ “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. ⁴¹ He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. ⁴² And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”

Reward is given to enforce, encourage and promote good deeds. For everything done here on earth, there's always a reward that comes with it either privately (enjoyed or experienced by the doer) or publicly (made know to others). It pains to lose a reward than to work for it, so don't ever try to give excuses while doing the right thing. If no one notices it, God has and will surely crown you in glory. The text for consideration is about Jesus addressing His disciples and my dear brother/sister, you qualified as a disciple because you're a Christian. We will look at four kinds of rewards you must never miss or lose while on this earth. The rewards come about according to Jesus by receiving the givers of the reward. To receive in this context is to welcome, obey, take instruction, follow, avail amongst others.

The first form of receiving is to welcome Jesus. You receive Jesus through the knowledge of the gospel preached or taught by a servant of God and surrendering to Jesus as your Lord and personal Saviour. When you avail yourself to listen to the gospel, it means you've received the preacher who has been sent by Jesus to go into the world and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). If you receive Jesus, you've also received the grace to be called a child of God in obedience through faith. The reward of knowing Jesus is the free gift of life through salvation (John 10:7-10; Romans 6:23).

The second reward, is the reward of the prophet. The prophet is he/she that guides you to accomplish the will of God by revealing the truth of life to you not necessarily an ordain prohet. The prophet in your life could be your parents, siblings, pastor, brethren, teacher, coach, or any modeled example in the Lord. If you receive the prophet in the name of the prophet, you will receive a prophets reward. If you obey your parents (matured Christians in the Lord), you will receive the reward of long life (Exodus 20:12; Ephesians 6:1-3). There's the reward of a bright future too if you listen to instructions from your teachers, coaches, pastors, and the elderly in the Lord. They've walk that way before and can tell when it's leading to doom, so adhere to their instructions. Which prophet in your life, are you not giving focus to? Is it because their ideas look outdated or old-fashioned before you? Don't let the devil deceive you to lose the reward that comes with obeying the prophets of your life. It's not late to apologize to them and ask them to help you do the right thing.

The third reward has to do with the righteous man. There's none righteous except God (Matthew 19:16-17). Jesus is the righteous man, and if you receive Him, He will reward you with righteousness. He will take away your sins and renew you in His righteousness so you can have a right standing with God (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). When you appear before that great throne of judgement, the righteousness of Jesus will reflect in you and that's what will permit you to enter into God's Kingdom. Do you desire the righteous man's reward? Just speak with Jesus in prayer now.

The final but not the least reward is offering cold water to the messengers of God. Those who work in the vineyard of God as pastors, deacon/deaconess', evangelists, missionaries, apostles, amongst others are messengers of God. These individuals deserve assistance from you either in kind or cash. Giving them cold water means assisting their livilihood through donations and support of their ministries. If you're doing this, you're doing it to help spread the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and so you'll be rewarded by Him. When last did you fend for your pastor? Place a call through now to check on him/her. Put a smile on his/her face by sending call credits, food, or even money to them. You need not to do something big, the little you have is genuine and that's what God loves so pass it to them.

These words of Jesus on reward happens each day in your life. Don't give any chance to the devil to prevent you from receiving these rewards. May the Holy Spirit encourage you to receive all these rewards here on earth and in eternity in Jesus name. AMEN!

Prayer: My Saviour and Lord, thank You for the promises of Your Word. Help me to receive You wholeheartedly and all that is Yours that You will send my way. May I never miss or lose any reward from you from this day forth. This I ask in Your holy name. AMEN!