2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV) For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

A short, simple verse that says so much.  The Bible clearly tells us that we will answer for all we do while we reside here on earth.  Each and every day we are given choices.  We have a choice to honor God or to grieve God.  God wants what is best for us. He knows that the best thing we can do for ourselves is to live in His light.  He knows that the end result will be so much better if we follow Him.  However, he gives us free will.

That whole free will thing is bitter sweet if you ask me.  Of course we all want the freedom to pick and choose.  We do not like to be told what to do.  But if you are like me, then when left to your own devices you sometimes choose wrong.  Often times I have paid the price for bad decisions.  Oh I like to think that I’m wise and make good choices, but let me tell you something that is not always the case.  Often times I look back and think “what was I thinking?”

Now don’t panic here.  My first thought when I read these verses was that I was doomed, but then I remembered that the Bible tells us that if we confess of our sins and earnestly repent that God forgives us and forgets about them.  Whew! Thanks God! Now by earnestly repent, we mean that when you tell God that you are sorry and it won’t happen again, you really mean it.

The hard part is the “it won’t happen again part”.  You see we may be truly sorry and we may never want to commit that sin again, but the devil has other ideas.  He will tempt us to stay in sin.  So then what do we do? We call on God.  We ask him to help us to withstand the temptations that the devil sends our way.  We stay in God’s word.  We pray continually.  What does that mean, actually?  We have jobs and lives to live, we can’t pray every waking second of the day.  No, but we can stay close to God and stay focused on him.  We can call on him in times of trouble or when we feel tempted to do something that we know we shouldn’t do.

Many years ago when I was a young child, there was a comedian on tv named Flip Wilson.  Flip Wilson used to say “the devil made me do it”, when he had done something wrong.  Sadly, this is not going to cut it when we stand before the judgement seat of Christ.  The devil is tempting us, but we will stand alone to answer for the times that we succumb to that temptation.

We are given free will here on earth, but the Bible clearly tells us that no one will escape appearing before the judgement seat of Christ.  Serving Him on earth is optional.  Answering to Him at judgement is not. So today we have a choice to make.  Serve God or serve the devil.  Yes, you read that correctly.  You will either be serving God or serving the devil.  That may sound harsh, but every second of every day we have a choice to make.  For your sake, I am asking that today you make a promise to yourself to make the right choice every second of every day.  Of course, there will be times when we fail.  We are humans after all.  But praise God, he is good enough to forgive and forget.  The Bible tells us that when we confess our sin and repent that he casts our sins as far as the east is from the west.  That’s great news for a sinner like me.

So today, my friend, I urge you to choose God.  You won’t be sorry!  Have a great day!