And now to Him who can keep you on your feet, standing tall in his bright presence, fresh and celebrating - to our one God, our only Savior, through Jesus Christ, our Master, be glory, majesty, strength, and rule before all time, and now, and to the end of all time.
But now to Him, being able to keep them steady, and to stand them in front of His glory unblemished in exultation, to the only wise God, our deliverer - glory, greatness, might, and authority, even now and into all the eons.
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.
One thing can be said in many ways. Many things can be said one way. At the beginning and end of all of our saying and our doing and our living is this - God loves us. He spoke and created all things. He speaks still and sustains all the things that He has made. And He speaks through His Word, the Son, who by His powerful Word holds all things together. Mountains, minnows, buildings, the Aurora Borealis; all held together by the God Who Speaks. And if He stops speaking, all things cease existing. But He hasn’t. He speaks still.
And if by speaking, God is able to hold everything together, then indeed He can hold us together in the day-to-day of our lives. And if He can hold us together in the day-to-day of our lives, then surely He can keep us from stumbling as we go through our day-to-day lives facing brokenness, darkness, and evil that only ever wants to make us fall. Only ever wants to make us fall apart.
And what happens when we do fall? His grace sustains and keeps us from falling away. Our lives are hidden with Christ in God, after all, so we can still approach the throne of grace boldly and confidently.
And not only can He and will He keep us from falling and from falling away, but He will keep us to the end of days where He will make us all stand tall, unashamed in His presence, all because of Jesus the Son, the Word - who speaks us into existence, speaks us into existing still, and will hold us together forever by His word.
God loves us. That’s the one thing. It can be said in many ways. It is seen through everything that He has spoken into existence, preeminently and most clearly through His Word, His Son who loved us and gave Himself for us. Greater love has no one than this - that He lay his life down for his friends.
God saves. God keeps. God provides. God loves. Those, among innumerable others, are the many things that can be said one way. And that one way is this - God is able.
And for this, He is due glory, greatness, might, and authority, even now and into all the eons. Father, Son, Spirit. Who was, who is, and evermore will be.
Amen.
