A nice little book explaining how, what we do daily, will effect our eternity. I have Prayer of Jabez (which i must soon reread), which is #1, and this one, which is #3, but still need Secrets of the Vine, #2.
This was a re-read because 1) I find it quite helpful to re-read cause it's a great book, and 2) Our group at church was reading through it together.
Mr. Wilkinson writes clear, concise thoughts in an easy-to-understand manner. His book brings out Biblical truths and helps every-day people learn how to apply them to their lives. I highly recommend it. At the retreat where I work, they regularly give this book out because it can be so helpful and life changing when the truths are applied to a persons life.
Author Bruce Wilkinson discovered what he was taught and what he believed about eternal rewards seemed to be contradictory to Jesus’ teaching. So he set out on a five year study on the subject of rewards. In A Life God Rewards, Bruce uses the Bible to explain what he learned and shows us that our belief and our behavior determine how we will spend eternity.
He makes it clear how our belief determines how we spend eternity. Good works won’t get us into heaven. The gift of salvation in Jesus gets us unto heaven. Period. Bruce tackles this touchy subject for many people. Our good works determine our rewards.
Good works are our behavior that determines how we spend eternity. Bruce shows us there are varying degrees of rewards for those who are in heaven and varying degrees of suffering for those who are in hell. These rewards from good works are all determined while we are still alive on earth.
This book is small but it has a lot of information. I would recommend looking up and studying all the Bible verses that Bruce uses to explain rewards. Did you know the Greek words for “reward” means wages and repay? We are getting reimbursed for our good works done here on earth. After reading this book, you will look at all you do, whether it is for God or not, in a different light. Bruce reminds us of two things, the final promise of Jesus, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with me, to give to every one according to his work” (Revelation 22:12) and the best reward is when Jesus says, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” I would recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn more about the Bible and Jesus' love for us.
Bruce Wilkinson is recognized as one of the world's foremost Christian teachers and speakers. But he is best known as the author of the New York Times #1 bestseller, The Prayer of Jabez, and other bestsellers including A Life God Rewards, Secrets of the Vine, and The Dream Giver. He is the founder of WorldTeach, a global initiative to train Bible teachers in every nation. Wilkinson also founded Dream for Africa, a humanitarian agency that has taken on AIDS, orphan care and hunger in sub-Saharan Africa. Bruce and his wife, Darlene, have three children and six grandchildren. They live outside Atlanta.
This book is in my personal library and I received nothing in exchange for my honest opinion.
This book talks about your "forever life" beginning with your birth/life: you were created for a purpose; death - you die physically but not spiritually; destination - you reach your destination after death; resurrection - you receive a resurrected body; repayment - you received reward/retribution based on what you did on earth; and eternity - you will live in the presence or absence depending upon your actions on earth.
We are stewards of given assets which are our talents, strengths, personality and interests. God has commissioned us to manage our life in such a way that we greatly increase God's kingdom. Based on our actions, we will be given 3 tests. The first: test of relationship - did we bear much fruit?; second: the best of motive - when we serve God is it to be seen by man or just by God? And thirdly: the test of love - love your enemies and do good while hoping for nothing in return.
Therefore, do not lay up treasures on earth but lay up treasures in heaven.
A very good book about Heaven and eternal rewards. The truths in this book ought to inform our every decision---but they don't. It is hard to focus on Heaven as much as we should, and thus, this book deserves repeated reading.
For more on Heaven, I recommend the even better, HEAVEN: YOUR REAL HOME, by Joni.
Salvation is a MUST for getting into Heaven, but works on Earth determine the degree of reward there.
“Genuine good behavior always begins in the heart” (53).
“Jesus never a rewards selfishness, only selflessness” (82).
“If you don’t serve God with your money, you will serve your money” (88).
“When you serve God, you are using God’s money to accomplish His wishes. But when you serve money, you are using God’s money to accomplish your wishes” (89).
“Your works affect your repayment in heaven…What you believe determines where you will spend your forever” (94).
“Heaven never gets worse, only better; hell never gets better, only worse” (99).
“Will I live for what I can see, knowing it will soon disappear? Or will I live for eternity?” (106).
“There are degrees of reward that are given in heaven. I’m surprised that this answer surprises so many people. I think there’s a reason Christians are shocked when I say there are various levels of Heaven as well as graduations of severity of punishment in hell” (118). ~R. C. Sproul
A sixth grader in my class did a book snap ( mini book report) on this book. It is funny how you learn of others faith or lack of
Like some reviewers I was unsure of the general premise here. If you love me, you will obey my commands. A verse I helped young children learn. But as I have learned, growing up doesn’t happen, I’m 51. Growing toward does. What you choose to grow toward is in fact that, a choice. Faith is a choosing to believe. Cliche as it sounds, humans will not fully understand what has happened on this earth. The Bible strengthens faith and yet confuses many.
The kid in my class has faith and he is growing towards regardless of levels of reward in view. That is pretty cool.
There's a difference between salvation, a work entirely of Jesus Christ, and sanctification, where we are co-workers with God and our everyday choices affect what the awards and promotions we will receive in the hereafter. Parts of the church have forgotten that God is more than a God of love and that Jesus promises great gifts in the life to come - something the medieval church would find an astonishing lapse into amnesia.
The three books in this series, taken as a whole, provide a lovely balance in teaching between the rewards of this life and that of the one to come.
I liked this book; however, I didn’t like some of his writing style. Throughout the book, he would say, “In the next chapters you’ll learn…” Did that really need to be said? If someone is reading a book, we don’t have to be told what we’ll learn coming up. Just not my cup of tea. With that said, it’s a great book for Christians to ponder what they are doing with their life to glorify God.
I had been taught about rewards (crown of righteousness, incorruptible crown, crown of life, etc.) in heaven when I was growing up in the youth group at my church. The first time I was taught on the subject, I was shocked and was convinced my pastor was a heretic. My first thoughts were, "how could God give different people rewards in heaven based on what they did on Earth? And not everyone gets the same amount of rewards? Won't people get jealous of others whom have more than them?" Needless to say, I never quite forgot that sermon. Then came college where my pastor spoke on the judgment seat of Christ and the great white throne judgment (bema). The former being the judgment where God separates the saved from the unsaved based on faith in Christ. The latter being those who are saved are judged based on the works they did on Earth for Christ. The most crucial passage that helped me understand this concept that was also emphasized by Dr. Wilkinson was what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3 about building a foundation on Christ and building upon it in a way that it will pass through the test of fire to be rewarded. Last week, I was leading a bible study on the book of James and came across the topic of rewards in heaven again and I became more and more convinced that rewards in Heaven was not a heretical concept; it's actually a theology that is not only sensible but very applicable and crucial to our spiritual life. Thus, enter this book. I read it a few days ago. It only took me about 1.5 hours to read through because it's a short book. But oh, the depth that this book goes into. So clear and concise. Not only does it flow well and make sense, but it's actually very moving (I cried in 2 parts of the book....which really threw me off). It was during parts where Dr. Wilkinson writes about the gospel and how it links with our works for Christ as Christ-followers. Must read. Another thing to note is that he writes about a time where he shared the gospel with a person who came to the church and I keep thinking about that experience. The way he shared the gospel was so easy and logical. All those times I tried finding the best way to make the gospel make sense whenever I evangelized in college....if only I had read this book back then, it would have made my life so much easier and so much more fruitful in my sharing. Even now, I want to try what Dr. Wilkinson did to my non-believing friends because they need to hear it and it's so easy to understand! It's the part where he draws the line and puts "0% good" on one end and then "100% good" on the other end and asks the guy to put an x where he thinks he falls. And then he goes on about the "x" position and further explains the gospel that way in a few pages. Why hadn't anyone shared the gospel with me like that before...? Or trained me to share it in that way...? So dang smart. Also, all my questions I mentioned before at the beginning of this review? Dr. Wilkinson answers them quite nicely in this book. Highly recommend this book for anyone interested in this topic. Very well-written, biblical, heart-warming, and applicable. Wish I had read this sooner!!
"Remember, everyone will give an account, and everyone will receive compensation from God based on his works." ~ Bruce Wilkinson ("A Life God Rewards", p. 46)
This book helps us to see that doing good works is apart of the will of God. It is not necessary for salvation, but God does have a reward system for our works, whether they be good or evil.
God wants us to do works while we are on earth and store up treasure in heaven. When we get to heaven we will be rewarded if we do good works now. I also believe that we will be rewarded in this life if we do God's will in the here in now and find that this book failed to cover this. (See Matthew 10:29-30, KJV) This verse says God will reward us "in this present age". Why wouldn't God reward us. He is the God who has created the heavens and earth, and if we do things his way, rather than the wrong way. We should be rewarded "in this present age" in the here and now. However, I also believe we will be rewarded in heaven as well, as Jesus stated in Matthew 6:20.
I think this book brings balance to the truth that "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (See Ephesians 2:8-9, KJV). I think there are some lazy Christians out there who think they don't have to do anything and God will reward them. However, they will surely find out they are not rewarded in this life or the next because God will surely say, "You wicked lazy servant". However, if we do what God has called us to do and put to work what he has given us, God will say "Well done, good and faithful servant".
I think this book is calling us to get off of our "blessed assurance" and work for the Kingdom and for the glory of God.
What is done on earth (the dot) will be rewarded in eternity (the line).
What we do as Christians does matter and seeking a "well done" and rewards (wages) for faithfulness is a Biblical motivation. Belief and behavior are important.
The 6 main events of a person's life are important: 1. LIFE. You are created int he image of God for a life of purpose. 2. DEATH. You die physically, but not spiritually 3. DESTINATION. You reach your destination after death, which is determined by what you believed on earth. 4. RESURRECTION. You receive a resurrected body. 5. REPAYMENT. You receive your reward or your retribution for eternity based on what you did on earth. 6. ETERNITY. You will live forever in the presence or absence of God, reaping consequences of your beliefs on earth.
As Christians, we are to be good stewards of the time, talent, treasure, truth, relationships.
Serve faithfully here, rule perfectly there.
I liked the book. It gives me greater motivation to live the one life I have for Him, especially feeling that the years are swiftly moving by.
This book was among a few spiritual books I have been reading during Lent. This book and others that I have chosen have been enlightening reads. I have never studied the Bible in this much detail before and this book has helped a great deal in how one must change their thinking in this life and focus on the life we will have for eternity. As the title reads, a life that God rewards is a life of good works, stewardship, loving others, prayer, and avoiding sin as much as you can. Once in a while, it’s good to ask yourself if whatever you’re doing, buying, or thinking about will be important after we die. I’m not perfect, I make mistakes, can be materialistic, moody, judgmental, and lazy at times when it comes to religion. But after reading this book, and reading Bible verses mentioned, I have to start now working on my journey to the judgement seat where hopefully I will be proud of my life here on earth.
Wilkinson has mastered the art of writing little books with big impact. This devotional was easy to read and I was happy to have undertaken it. Like Wilkinson's other little book, The Prayer of Jabez, the entire narrative is based on one scripture and the author delves deep into it.
I'm writing this review about eight weeks after finishing the book and I guess it is telling that I can't think of a single kernel that I took from it, other than the central scripture and the premise.
I could see this book appealing to two types of readers. If you have trouble staying faithful to your devotional life, this will be easy to read and due to its length, will give you a feeling of achievement. Or if your spiritual reading has been on the deeper, theological end and you're looking for something lighter, you will enjoy this little book.
I am almost done this book, it is part of the series I was given to read. This particular one is in regards to the life God rewards. He is talking about the rewards we receive during resurrection, not about salvation. Some with salvation will have no rewards. The rewards are for those who strive harder then the rest. Such as taking persecution, etc...I also was a bit embarrassed because I did not know it was Jesus to judge. But I learned something anyhow right? The book says with scripture verses, God gives all judgment to the son. I guess because of what Jesus said about the father is greater then I, I always linked judgment to God. But glad I learned this important verse.
After reading Bruce Wilkinson's book on Rewards, I have found myself re-evaluating my motives and living more for eternity than for the present. This little book can easily be read in an hour or two. As you read it, you will be surprised how much Jesus talked about rewards in Heaven. I appreciate the fact that the author makes it clear that we do not earn Heaven, but we earn our rewards in Heaven by what we do for the Lord here and what we give to Him. It is clearly pointed out that we can lose our rewards if our motives are not right or if we do not stay faithful to the finish. You will enjoy and benefit greatly from reading this little book.
It is in human nature to want to benefit from his endeavours. Though this may sound selfish, the rewards God promises are tied to our being mindful to the welfare of others. It is paradoxical then that it is through being unselfish that we can have our self interest catered for. God has put it in a way that we take care of others' interests, He will take care of our interests.
It is in the above line that Bruce does a splendid job to motivate the reader by assuring him that there is a reward. He helps the reader in taking care of what is needed for him to pitch for a stake of an eternal reward.
Although the author has been very popular and written a lot of money-making books that people tend to enjoy, we disagreed with a lot of his interpretation of scripture. It is important to not only read his interpretation of what a passage might mean, but also look it up for yourself. I found that he took a lot of scripture out of context and put a worldly spin on it. I'm sure it sold a lot of books, but this one isn't worth the buy.
I have been trying to deepen my understanding of God and learn new things that are more like solid food. I'm not into "prosperity preaching" and I assure you that this book is not like that at all. What I have learnt is so simple and obvious that I can't believe I haven't known about it before but that doesn't mean a lot of people do! It's a small book but that is great as it gets straight to the point.
While this book has some good points, I think it misses the fact that we need to do good NOT just to have a happy heaven but to have a positive world here on earth. I also personally do not believe that if you don't profess your belief in Christ that you won't get to heaven. God accepts all people no matter their religion. God is Love and God is Inclusive!
Small, but powerful - I borrowed this from the library, but now I have to purchase it because I NEED to write in the margins, highlight and underline passages. There is so much hope in this little book!
The author thought he was onto a revolutionary concept, but since this is a part of my religion's theology, it was reviewing kindergarten for me. He did have a few nice ways of putting things here and there that were fun to read ...
This book puts into words what we all long to hear, not a replay of our shortcomings but that our Creator God wants to reward us and has blessings in store that we cannot even imagine on our walk with Him, if only we will.
I have a policy to always read books that people give me. This was an odd one, as I am an atheist, but I think it was probably well-intentioned. Sadly, I'm no closer to understanding how anyone can believe in God.
I would not recommend this book. I disagree with the premise that one's goal should be rewards in heaven. Doing things for God is just a small way to show God how much we appreciate what He does for us each day at least in my opinion.
I ll have to reread this for all this little power book has packed in it. What I know today is that I want to live my life like the 10 talent servant in the parable. Using all my ability and gifts to their highest efficiency for my master.