Choosing the Place of Suffering

1 Peter 4:17

For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

For every man and every woman, the time of judgement will come.  There will be no comfort for those that come before the Lord on their final day still covered in the filth of their sins.  They will face endless torment. 

For each of us that have been washed clean of our sins by the blood of Jesus Christ, the keys to the kingdom of God will be given.  Our sins will have been judged and forgiven in advance by Our Savior.  Our sins will no longer stain us in the eyes of Almighty God.  We will appear in the likeness of Jesus Christ before Our Father in heaven.  

All sin must be punished.  So those that have received the grace of salvation will be punished for their sins in this lifetime.  The Holy Spirit will reveal to us the past and current sins in our lives.  We must ask forgiveness and turn away from these sins.  Until we completely surrender to Jesus, we will suffer great trials and tribulations.  Our suffering will continue until ever element of our self reliance is slain at the Cross and we turn to the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome sin in our lives.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your loving kindness, Your mercy and Your grace in our lives.  We thank You for opening our eyes so that we may see the sin in our lives that separates us from You.  We thank You for preparing our hearts so that we could receive Your Son, Jesus, as Our Savior.  We pray that You mold our hearts, Lord, so that we fully surrender to Your Son each and every day of our lives.   Prepare us, Lord, to stand before You in the image of Your Son.  We ask all these things in the name of the precious Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.