Accepted

In the last several messages we have looked at numerous ways that the believer is accepted. The believer is wholeheartedly accepted by God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Not only is God accepting, but it is only by His plan and His grace that we are accepted.

In the dictionary being accepted means being treated as one that belongs, as one that satisfies the requirements and as one that is wanted. The same can be said about the believer.

The context of our discussion laid out in the beginning is that some of us have a problem with anger. Most people respond to an angry person by excluding them and pushing them away. Note the outstretched, accepting arms of Jesus Christ. If we strive to come with a humble, repentant heart, then He says to us, "Come to me, I will give you rest". In this context that might be rest from the anger that simmers in our heart, the angry response that we feel throughout our being and the angry response by which we sin against others. We cannot communicate God's message to others out of a heart of anger.

So we lay this piece of the foundation: Even with my sin, I am accepted by God the Father through the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ and the powerful working of the Holy Spirit. We must pray that we can truly understand this and rejoice in it. The first step toward our healing is to receive the acceptance that Jesus Christ offers. Realize that what Jesus Christ has for us supersedes anything else we can imagine.

God Bless You,
Dennis