In Christ - I am strong to the end

I am strong to the end...

I Corinthians 1:8 He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Jude 1:24,25  To Him Who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy--to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. 

Loving God – Daily Reflections for Intimacy with God – Mike Bickle, pg. 242 –

“Can you believe this?  Jesus has the ability and intention to present you with exceeding joy before the Father.  On that final day I can imagine an angel greeting me and saying, ‘So, what do you think?  It’s Judgment Day.  Any nerves?’  I’ll answer, ‘Nerves?  Nah, I love being here!’  How about you?  Do you  cringe when you think of that day?  Do you fear that God will rebuke you publicly, before all the saints?  What is your dominant emotion when you envision that day?  If it is fear or dread, what does that say about your image of God?  Have you fallen for the lies of the devil and accepted a false view of a vindictive, unsmiling Savior?  Or do you picture yourself running and embracing the Lord?  Does your heart skp a beat with anticipation?  Do you picture His goodness outweighing and outlasting His anger?  Do you see the judgment as revealing the good motives of your heart, too?

“Prayer Starter – My heart is filled with unspeakable joy as I think about the moment I will stand before You in heaven.  I long to see Your smile of approval and see Your arms outstretched in welcome.  Because of Your gift of righteousness I am ready, and I cannot wait!”

I believe it!  But – there was a time when I didn’t – I just couldn’t believe that God would look past all those things I’d done while wallowing in the gutter, and I was sure I’d carry the guilt of those sins with me to the grave.  Praise God that He delivered me from that way of thinking!  I truly believe that as Mike says, He INTENDS to present me to His Father without fault and with GREAT JOY!  I no longer worry about what that moment will be like!  I BELIEVE that He has forgiven me – and that from His perspective all those things are as though they’d never happened.  If He has promised to forgive us AND forget, then why should we worry about having them thrown back in our face when we are finally before Him – our loving and compassionate Abba Father?  The enemy would love to keep me wallowing in my guilt – he wants to rob us of our joy – and I’m just not willing to let him do that any more!  What about you?  Sharon