Are we Ready?

Romans 14:12 - So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

     There is coming a day and it will not be long, when everyone will stand before God and MUST give an account of his/her life. We cannot look for help from others, we cannot call on "witnesses", no, we will stand before God alone. Some, like Paul, Moses, Peter, and others will receive great rewards, whereas others will receive NO reward. I have been pondering the thought of standing before God right now; what would He have to say to me? "Well done", "Why did you not give your best?", or "You have made it here by the 'skin of your teeth'." - Clarification, we cannot work our way to Heaven, the skin of your teeth refers to receiving Christ, then simply not doing anything to serve Him, only self.

     There is coming a day and it's not far away, when you and I will stand before Almighty God, and the things we have strived to keep in this world will be ETERNALLY gone. I have wondered if I have put self above God at all. Have I put a sport, hobby, even my wife, or kids above God? If I have I am in sin. God plainly says he is a jealous God and that there is to be NO OTHER gods in our lives. So, how can we tell if we have a god  in our life? Ask these questions to yourself:

1. Does this thing, activity, or person keep me from church?
2. Does this thing, activity, or person keep me from having devotions?
3. Do I spend more time with this thing, activity, or person than I do with God?
4. Do I allow this thing, activity, or person to give me an excuse as to why I can't serve God more effectively?

I had to wrestle with these questions not too long ago. A weakness of mine has been t.v. and video games. One evening after spending about two hours playing games, Holly came and asked me if I had my devotions that day. I said no, I've not had time. Her response was, "Well, I think that you should match the time you play games with the time you have your devotions." Since that evening I have had MORE devotions and less "game time". Here is what I discovered, once I gave up that god I found the real God to be much more sufficient.

     So, let's bring this to food. One day we will stand before God and give an account for EVERYTHING. I believe this includes God's temple a.k.a. our body. So when I stand before God to give an account for my life and how I treated His temple I want Him to say, "You didn't start off very good, but you ended in victory." This is why everyday I become more and more passionate about weight loss. Everyday is another day closer to standing before God. Are we ready for that day to come? If not NOW is the day to make significant changes in our lives. Today is the day to declare war on whatever god is being served and surrender to the God of the universe.