Click image for History.com's Memorial Day By Tim Taylor, May 24, 2020 - Tomorrow, in America, we celebrate Memorial Day. It is a day we remember those who gave their lives for our freedom. To learn more visit History.com's Memorial Day. Its origin dates all the way back to the Civil War. According to PBS over 303,000 were buried in national cemeteries. One the major reasons for this war was to "set the captives free."
As I contemplated this morning the Lord spoke to me about our, the Christian's, Memorial Day. Did you know that heaven watches for your Memorial Day? I'll explain but first let's celebrate this Memorial Day by remembering.
1 Peter 2:17 says, "Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king." It is right that we remember the sacrifices of those who defend our freedom. I saw a meme a few years ago that said this. "Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you. Jesus Christ and the American fighting soldier. One died for your soul and the other died for your freedom."
So, to all of our veterans who've lost members of their unit who were like family, and to the families of all those who've lost loved ones we thank you for your sacrifice. Many of us in this nation are still truly very grateful. It is my sincerest prayer and hope that the generation that follows will correct the mis-steps of our nation in recent decades and once again return this nation to God so that it fulfills its role and uses its freedom and liberty to serve as a beacon of hope and that the Church in this nation would use their liberty to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Heaven Watches for Your Memorial Day
As I contemplated this morning the Lord spoke to me about our, the Christian's, Memorial Day. Did you know that heaven watches for your Memorial Day? I'll explain but first let's celebrate this Memorial Day by remembering.
1 Peter 2:17 says, "Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king." It is right that we remember the sacrifices of those who defend our freedom. I saw a meme a few years ago that said this. "Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you. Jesus Christ and the American fighting soldier. One died for your soul and the other died for your freedom."
So, to all of our veterans who've lost members of their unit who were like family, and to the families of all those who've lost loved ones we thank you for your sacrifice. Many of us in this nation are still truly very grateful. It is my sincerest prayer and hope that the generation that follows will correct the mis-steps of our nation in recent decades and once again return this nation to God so that it fulfills its role and uses its freedom and liberty to serve as a beacon of hope and that the Church in this nation would use their liberty to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Heaven Watches for Your Memorial Day
That's right. Heaven is watching for YOUR Memorial Day. What's Memorial Day all a about? Sacrifice! Heaven is watching to see if you will follow Christ's command where He says to take up your cross and follow Him (Matthew 10:38, 16:24, Mark 8:34, 10:21, and Luke 9:23). He wants us to die to ourselves and live for Him. Luke 9:23 says it this way.
"Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels."
Heaven in watching. Hebrews 12:1-2 says:
"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
The question is, what will heaven record? Will they remember you as one who followed Jesus or will it record that you were an enemy of the cross as it says in Philippians 3:18-20.
"For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,"
We Will All Give an Account
What will heaven remember? Romans 14:10-12 says:
But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written:
“As I live, says the Lord,
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.”
So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.
Revelation 20:11-12
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
Revelation 22:12-14
“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.
So what do Memorial Day & the Christian Have in Common?
They both remember and honor sacrifice. But, only one of these brings eternal rewards. I am a veteran and have risked my life for my nation. I am grateful for the freedom and liberty my nation afforded. I am thankful for the sacrifice of veterans and those who made the ultimate sacrifice. But I am even more grateful for, eternally grateful for what Jesus did and I have decided to follow Him and serve Him. Every day I have to make a choice to die to myself and to live for Him. I pray that I live my life in such a way as to give heaven a reason to celebrate the day(s) I chose to die. The beauty is, it is only when you choose to die that you really live.
My friends there are rewards in eternity. I pray you and I both find ourselves to have served our Lord in such a way that heaven records a great multitude of days that heaven deems worthy to memorialize like the woman in Matthew 26:10-13 which says:
"But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”
"Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels."
Heaven in watching. Hebrews 12:1-2 says:
"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
The question is, what will heaven record? Will they remember you as one who followed Jesus or will it record that you were an enemy of the cross as it says in Philippians 3:18-20.
"For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,"
We Will All Give an Account
What will heaven remember? Romans 14:10-12 says:
But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written:
“As I live, says the Lord,
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.”
So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.
Revelation 20:11-12
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
Revelation 22:12-14
“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.
So what do Memorial Day & the Christian Have in Common?
They both remember and honor sacrifice. But, only one of these brings eternal rewards. I am a veteran and have risked my life for my nation. I am grateful for the freedom and liberty my nation afforded. I am thankful for the sacrifice of veterans and those who made the ultimate sacrifice. But I am even more grateful for, eternally grateful for what Jesus did and I have decided to follow Him and serve Him. Every day I have to make a choice to die to myself and to live for Him. I pray that I live my life in such a way as to give heaven a reason to celebrate the day(s) I chose to die. The beauty is, it is only when you choose to die that you really live.
My friends there are rewards in eternity. I pray you and I both find ourselves to have served our Lord in such a way that heaven records a great multitude of days that heaven deems worthy to memorialize like the woman in Matthew 26:10-13 which says:
"But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”
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