To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy — to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. Jude 1:24-25

I just recalled the longest night and reread the Catch about it and realized we are in a different place now. Not that everything is suddenly great for everybody, but at least we are headed in the right direction, even though you might not feel it. Spring training starts in a little over six weeks. Every day, those of us in the northern hemisphere are inching closer to the sun’s warmth. I know that some of you are just settling in for a long winter’s nap, but it’s still true that progress is being made toward longer days and warmer weather. It’s inevitable.

You know what else is inevitable? We will all be presented before the glorious presence of God as faultless. That’s right. No fault to be found in us anywhere. No blemish. Knowing ourselves right now, that’s hard to believe, but it’s true. It’s been promised and God never reneges on His promises.

Knowing this, what does that make you want to do now? Try and get away with as much as you can, while you can? Or does that make you want to please Him who has promised you such a glorious thing? If the Holy Spirit has been born in us then the later would certainly be true. We have a built-in desire to do the right thing — to please Him who has been gracious to us. And even though we do not always succeed, our true desire is the please Him. And should we stumble, He is able to pick us up. I don’t think you can come up with a better arrangement than this.

Praise God for no-fault insurance. This is the real deal.