Prepared for the Judgment
The Bible is clear that each of us will stand before God to give Him an accounting for all we have done in our lives. Then, He will render the verdict on our lives. Since He is the Only Perfect Judge, His verdict will be fair and accurate. What will He be looking for, and what will He say to us? (I Thessalonians 3:12,13) We need to know His expectations, so we can be prepared for the Judgment Day.
We need to increase in our love for our fellow believers and for all people, so that we abound in love for everyone. This is what God is looking for, because He is love, and we are to be like Him. Also, the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:37-39 makes it clear that we are to love God completely, as well as loving others, as we love ourselves. Then, John 13:34,35 raises the bar to say that we are to love others, as Christ loves us. Love is the sign of a true disciple of Jesus Christ.
Also, making sure that we are abounding in love puts us on the way to being "blameless in holiness." That is what God will be looking for, too. What is holiness? It is always doing the right things, and never doing the wrong things. Yes, none of us will ever be perfect. However, we can be blameless before the Lord, if we will confess our sins and repent of them, whenever the Spirit convicts us.(I John 1:9) The greatest verdict we could ever hear from the Lord would be that He has found us blameless in holiness. I pray that each of us will be focused on becoming like Jesus in every area of our lives, so we can hear this from God one day.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Thessalonians 5 and II Thessalonians 1-2.
We need to increase in our love for our fellow believers and for all people, so that we abound in love for everyone. This is what God is looking for, because He is love, and we are to be like Him. Also, the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:37-39 makes it clear that we are to love God completely, as well as loving others, as we love ourselves. Then, John 13:34,35 raises the bar to say that we are to love others, as Christ loves us. Love is the sign of a true disciple of Jesus Christ.
Also, making sure that we are abounding in love puts us on the way to being "blameless in holiness." That is what God will be looking for, too. What is holiness? It is always doing the right things, and never doing the wrong things. Yes, none of us will ever be perfect. However, we can be blameless before the Lord, if we will confess our sins and repent of them, whenever the Spirit convicts us.(I John 1:9) The greatest verdict we could ever hear from the Lord would be that He has found us blameless in holiness. I pray that each of us will be focused on becoming like Jesus in every area of our lives, so we can hear this from God one day.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Thessalonians 5 and II Thessalonians 1-2.