Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,

and to make you stand in the presence of His glory

blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior,

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

 be glory, majesty, dominion and authority,

before all time and now and forever. Amen.

                                          Jude 24-25 (NAS)

I laughed (with everyone else in the audience) when our speaker shared with us his first visit to the White House to meet the Commander in Chief. He began by telling us of several occasions when he had been in the presence of very famous people and he was totally unperturbed. In control. He performed beautifully'no problem!

But today is going to be different. He joins others in the slow stroll through the line to meet the President of the United States of America. He found his hands were moist and shaking; sweat was rolling down his neck; his stomach was rolling around somewhere inside and then'it was HIS turn! He had planned to be very calm, dignified, and unflustered. But when he opened his mouth to say'with great dignity those practiced words, "Good even-ing Sir"'nothing would come out! An audible squeak finally managed to find its way through the terror of the event, but that was the best he could do. The President smiled, shook his hand, and it was over.

Have you ever thought of how you were going to react when you are standing in the presence of His glory? There are those who say, "Yep! I'm going to be flat on my face!" Others, "I know I will be speechless, Awe struck!" And there are those who are sure they're going to blow it just like our friend did when he was face to face with the President. Well, Jude tells us exactly how it is going to be on that auspicious occasion.

Just who is Jude talking about when he says, to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling? He identifies the Person in the next verse (25) to the only God, our Savior.  That One who has been with us from our first breath of earth-air, the One who has been our Companion through the years. It is God who has kept us from stumbling, and He is going to make us stand in the presence of His glory blameless and with great joy!

We say we will approach with great humility, and that is as it should be. But Jude tells us that every thing that we might fear, sins exposed that have been well-hidden from our world, shame, failure, guilt, self-condemnation, disobedience, everything will be forgotten as we stand before God and we grasp'perhaps for the first time'our complete forgiveness and His total acceptance of us. We will stand amazed in His presence and we will be filled with GREAT JOY!

How long have you been walking with God? What kind of God is He? Does He demand respect or do we honor Him with respect because we know Him? Is His goal to impress us, make us feel insignificant, be terrified because we know how angry He becomes when someone doesn't pay Him the honor He knows He deserves?  Is He an "untouchable God"? No! That isn't the God who has been watching over you through all these years. That isn't the God who loved you so much that He sent His Son to die for you.

I left my home in Poteau to go to college. My sis left before I did and was working in Tulsa. When I would have the chance to go home Mother and Dad were so excited! Everything was "spit and polished", my favorite meals in the fridge, a new dress probably, and Mother and Dad would be waiting for me as I stepped off the bus.

"Oh, Anabel, honey. You're home! How we have missed you and how happy we are to

have you here!"

            Oh, yes, being in His presence will be thrilling! Completely beyond our ability to describe. It will be the fulfillment of all our hopes. But think! We know Him and He will welcome us Home just as the Father welcomed home the prodigal! He will open His arms and we will be clasped securely to His breast'where He has longed for us to be since our first breath of earth-air! And He will say, "Oh. Anabel! You are finally Home! How happy I am to have you here!"