Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!“

In Matthew 25:31-45 Jesus talks about the Father in Heaven separating the sheep from the goats. The righteous will ask, “When did I do all these things?” Jesus says, “When you did them to the least of these, you did them to me.” The cursed will ask, “When did I see you…?” Jesus says, “When you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for Me.”

It’s been a week of conviction leading to repentance for me. Posted on Facebook was a video of a woman who’d had a spat with her husband and went out for a walk to calm down. As she was walking, she had a vision of Jesus walking past her and getting further ahead of her. She told Him to wait for her. He turned back and extended His hand and she took it and asked why He was going ahead of her. Using Matthew 7:21 He showed her how she’d been distancing from Him and doing her own thing, not discerning Christ. She repented in tears and blessed her husband instead of holding things against him.

The threat of being turned away at the throne impacted me. I’ve been selfish during these months of distancing. I have played Mahjong games until my fingers hurt and it’s past bedtime. I wander around the house wondering what I can snack on. I ignore time I could be writing my book, reading a book, spending time in the Word… connecting with the Lord; or my husband! I think of calling someone but don’t.

Yes, I have visited several friends and posted encouragement on Facebook, LinkedIn, and replied to other bloggers. I’ve mailed encouraging notes and cards, sent encouraging texts, called a few people, but wasted a lot of time. There are lots of excuses, but no moral reasons. Then I read:

Proverbs 4:23 “Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

Matthew 15:18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. ¹⁹ For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.

Jesus said whatever goes in to the mouth passes through the body and doesn’t affect us. What comes out of the mouth is what’s in the heart. So, what is coming out of your mouth? Is it godly talk, blessing, healthy and not detrimental to you or those connected to you? The way we live during this time, and the rest of our life on earth, has eternal consequences. I urge you to join me in assessing where you stand in your heart and what you have been feeding it. Blessing and cursing should not come out of the same stream of thought or word. I need to make wiser choices and stop blaming; even if it’s only in my mind. When we get to the Heavenly throne on the day of the Lord’s judgement, God won’t tolerate you blaming your brother, sister, mother, spouse, neighbor, teacher, preacher or anyone else for the things you did and the choices you made.

What if the Lord gave us this time in His grace to prepare for what’s next? Jesus, reduce me to love! Guard your heart, dear one!

I say Shalom as I leave you with:

1Corinthians 6:19… do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ²⁰ For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.