When you give account
by Pastor Mark Gierus
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‘The Lord will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the heavens will tremble. But the Lord will be a refuge for his people’ (Joel 3:16).
When you think of the day of the Lord, what emotions do you have? Are you scared to meet Jesus face to face? Are you afraid that you will need to give an account of every single part of your life to the Lord? Are you excited to finally see your Saviour, Jesus?
Does the roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem – that is, God roaring and thundering – unsettle you at all?
Well, it shouldn’t. For what will you say to the Lord as you give account for your life to him? Will you need to run and hide? No way. You will simply say in faith, ‘Here is my life. Jesus Christ, in whom I believe, is my account for every breath I have ever taken and everything I have ever done. All of my sins have been washed away by the water of baptism and the gift of eternal life, salvation and forgiveness. Not because I got it right, but because Jesus won my victory on the cross, and my pardon is written in his blood shed for my sin’.
You see, everything we have ever done – our sins, failings, selfishness, our hurtful words, actions or anger that damaged others – is forgiven in Jesus. God is love. That love, our God in Jesus our Lord, does not keep any record of wrongs.
So, on the day of the Lord, and every day before then, our Lord is our refuge and safe place. He is a place of peace and strength in our weakness. So, we have nothing to fear, though there are signs of the return of our Lord Jesus. The Lord, who is our rock and refuge, protects, heals, uplifts, forgives, and loves us as we face all things.
We know in faith that we will stand on the day of judgement not looking to hide like those who do not believe, but we will be at peace, for Jesus has paid our account in full.
Jesus, you have suffered and died for me and my sin and set me free. Let me live each day knowing that you are my refuge and that when I am called to give account for my life, you will give account for me. Amen.
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