We are all aware that we are living at the end times and we all know that Judgment Day is approaching, when we will give an account to the Lord for all our deeds in this life on earth. Therefore, we must examine ourselves today:
– Do we do the deeds that God has appointed for us? “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).
– Are we a testimony for the Lord’s glory to the people around us – believers and non-believers? “For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing… For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ” (2 Cor. 2: 15, 17).
– Do people see Messiah in us, through our deeds and our lives? “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2).
– Do we let the love of God within us flow to others? “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1 John 3:16-17). Are we aware, to supply the basic needs of our brothers who are in need? The love we give to others should be “in deed and in truth” and not just “in word and in tongue” (1 John 3:18). If we do not let God’s love flow through us to others, we ourselves may not be sure of His love for us… If so, we need to ask ourselves, maybe we have not yet been healed of the rejection from our past? Our confidence in the love of God in us, heals the rejection that almost all of us have experienced in our lives. Only by this confidence, can we let His love flow from us to others. “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit (from His love)” (1 John 4:11-13).
True, it is not easy for us to love the brothers who hurt us. Yeshua gave us the good example, even before the great deed, when He went to the cross. And the good example is: when He washed the feet of Judas Iscariot, though He knew that this disciple will bitrate Him. He washed his feet, to show us that His love is unconditional love … This is the love of God, that we must learn from Him and also apply it in our lives, by His grace. After all, Yeshua even commanded us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44).
The act of washing the feet is not just a physical act. It is a true example of humiliation, surrender and humility before our brethren and before God and it should be expressed spiritually in our lives. This is love with sacrifice, this is true love !!
“You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (John 13:13-17).
God constantly examine our deeds, are these deeds as to His will? “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building… But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is” (1 Cor. 3:9-13).
God sees all men and understands all their deeds, as it is written in Psalm 33:13-15: “The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. From the place of His dwelling He looks On all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works“.
We all born with the flesh of sin, which sometimes drags us into fleshly deeds that can cause us to sin. When we hide deeds in the dark, the enemy has power over us as an accuser and a prosecutor. “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:6). But when we confess and bring deeds to light, the enemy has no power over us and the Lord stands by our side and justifies us. “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7 ). The Holy Spirit is the one who inspires us to repentance and that is a great blessing! He who ignores the rebuke of the Holy Spirit, his conscience may darken and he may deteriorate and deviate from the right path. It is true that we have been saved by His precious grace, but we have responsibility for our deeds and these should be according to His will. “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Php. 2:13-15).
The word of God to John in the book of Revelation speaks of the coming Day of Judgment: “And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.” “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city” (Rev. 22:10-14). We understand that those who do His commandments are the ones who also confess their sins and repent. This is part of their own way of life. We know that God appreciates and respects that.
We are all in a process of examining our faith, so we must let the Lord work in our lives and help us prepare for the day of His return: “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Php. 1:6).
And in conclusion – “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all” (Ecc. 12:13). Today more than ever we must pay attention to our deeds, examine what motive they are made of and whether they bring glory to God, as it is written: “… that in all things God may be glorified…”
“But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins. ”Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:7-11).
The glory and the honor be to God and His Messiah!