Daily Devotional | Our Daily Bread | Obedience And Faith Must Characterize The Servants Of Christ
Daily Devotional | Our Daily Bread | Obedience And Faith Must Characterize The Servants Of Christ | 12/8/2024 | Hilari Henriques For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Matthew 16:27 Satan watches his opportunity, when the Christian is unguarded, to seize from him the precious graces, but it is the privilege of the follower of Christ to obtain strength from God to hold every precious gift. He will often have severe conflict with the powers of darkness in order to retain them; or if he has lost a heavenly grace through lack of watchfulness, he will have a struggle to regain it. Fervent and effectual prayer will be regarded in heaven. When the servants of God take the shield of faith for their defense and the sword of the Spirit for war, they will succeed. When truth in its simplicity and strength prevails among believers, and is brought to bear against the spirit of the world, it will be evident that between Christ and Belial there is no concord. The triumph of Christianity is dependent on the influence of its adherents. Manfully the Christian is to fight the good fight of faith. Lawfully he is to strive, never relaxing his efforts, day by day seeking for greater power to help those around him. His words are to be right words, pure and true, fraught with sympathy and love, his actions right actions, a help and a blessing to the weak. Never is he to grow weary in his work. He will meet with trial, but he must always be brave and cheerful, bringing joy and courage into other lives. Obedience and faith must characterize us as the servants of Christ. Our Redeemer unfolded before His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things of the chief priests and elders, and be killed, and be raised from the dead the third day. He was already standing under the shadow of the cross. He fully comprehended the great work He came to do, and He would have His disciples understand the greatness of this work, and the responsibilities which would rest upon them in the performance of their duty in carrying forward His work when He should leave them. He said to them, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever shall save his life shall lose it; ... for what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works.” ST October 21, 1908
