We All Will Stand Before Him...

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

2 Corinthians 5:10

No matter what you do (good or bad), no matter how much you lock away in your heart or secret closet; the word of God reminds us today that we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ… This should provide cause for concern for the unbeliever; however, this statement should also provide encouragement to the man or woman of faith who knows that they will stand before the Lord knowing that they have walked in His will and not the views or opinions of this world… There are things done in the dark that will come to light, there are situations that have been suppressed which will rise again and the notion to think that you can or have gotten over is simply foolish and a device used by the enemy which many fall victim to… This message today is not to say that you have to be perfect; this message is to remind you that your focus and the motivation of your heart which led to actions must be founded upon the directive and promises of God… This is why David can be called a man after God’s own heart; this is the reason why Moses can be seen on the mount of transfiguration and the same reason why Peter could preach and point 3,000 souls to Christ after denying Him… We can try to cover up things for our entire lives, we can try to pull the wool over many peoples eyes and may even been successful in deceiving some; however, we are reminded today through Paul’s letter to the church of Corinth that God not only knows and sees all, but that we will be judged by the things we do on this earth as well… This passage is not one to fear; however, it is one that should cause us to examine our lives and focus our attention on being the person that we were created to be in Christ… We all make mistakes, we all sin and continue to fall short, but I am thankful that God not only looks beyond our faults, but that He can see the heart that we have… Don’t confuse this statement and think that its okay for us to walk in sin, in reading this passage it informs me that we must have a heart and desire to turn from sin and be the beacon light that we are to be… God will judge us and He will weigh the decisions that we have made along with the desires that lie within… David took another mans wife and slept with her, in the end he was called a man after God’s own heart… This wasn’t because of the sin he committed, but because the heart for God that he had… Just like David we fall short, but what desires lie within you? These are the things that will motivate you to correct your wrong, overcome your mistakes and seek to live according to the will of God… Accountability is the driving force behind Paul’s second letter to the Church of Corinth… We all have heard the saying, “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink…”

Paul reminds us today that we have been afforded a (n) opportunity to live a life according to God’s will; however, the choice is up to us whether we will or we will not… Regardless of the decision you make or have made, one thing is for sure and that is that we all will stand before the Lord… The bible tells us in Romans that we all have fallen short of the glory of God; every man and every woman has entered this world as sinners and made mistakes along the way… We have made decisions that we regret and have gone to bed many nights trying to undo choices that we made… Understand that we all have slipped here and there; however, the importance of today’s scripture is to know that we will all stand before God in judgment… This concept is not a bad thing, but rather an opportunity for us to understand that it is not about the decisions we make, but rather about how we deal with bad choices! Jesus knows that we have fallen short; He knows that we have made mistakes, but He is judging the content of your heart and how you seek resolution for problems… Again, remember that God called David “…a man after his own heart…” He saw David’s flaws; He knew and noticed David’s bad choices, but He still called him a man after my own heart… David choices were bad, but he learned from them and made good out of them… David killed a (n) innocent man, stole his wife and even disobeyed God, but look at the reaction of David through his psalms, look at how he fell prostrate before the Lord… David refused to eat, he refused to ignore his mistakes and pains and came to terms with the death of his son (whom God took from him)… As soon as David received word that his son was dead, the bible says that he got up and went into the temple of the Lord! David meant well (even when he messed up and fell short), he was after God’s own heart because he desired to do right, he desired to do better, he was seeking God through his life and suffered some bruises along the way… In the end he too will stand before God and will give an account for all that he has done! Judgment isn’t a bad thing, if you know that you have made some mistakes but are seeking to uplift the kingdom of God with your life and heart… Today’s scripture says we will be judged whether good or bad… Bad things will come, bad choice will be made; however, the key is to make sure your good outweighs your bad!

Erma Bombeck said it best; “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, I used everything you gave me…"

BE BLESSED!!!