ucb.co.uk THE WORD FOR TODAY 26 Dec 2014 ACCEPTED BY GOD! He made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:6 Theres no pain worse than rejection, and no pleasure greater than acceptance, which helps explain the length some people go to in order to avoid rejection and earn acceptance. But the good news is, with God were already accepted. J.B. Phillips translates Ephesians 1:6 like this: He... has made us welcome in the everlasting love He bears towards the Son. And thats not limited to those who appear worthy because of their good deeds and a flawless moral record; its for Every believing child of God, lock, stock and barrel! Cromwell once commissioned a self-portrait. The artist, courting Cromwells favour, portrayed him without his obvious imperfections. Cromwell was livid. I said paint me, man-- ME, warts and all! Were accepted by God, warts and all. But please note: 1) Gods acceptance doesnt equal His approval or reward He accepts sinners, but He can never accept our sin. Indeed, His free gift of acceptance is our greatest motivator to renounce our sin, and live to please Him (Titus 2:11, 12) 2) Gods love and acceptance is unconditional He doesnt say, Youre accepted if you clean up your act. In the words of Jeremiah, Can a leopard take away its spots? Neither can you start doing good, for you have always done evil. (Jeremiah 13:23 NLT) Gods acceptance has to be unconditional, because its impossible for us to merit it. 3) Gods acceptance is because of Jesus Youre accepted in the Beloved. The doomed Mephibosheth was accepted because of Davids relationship to his beloved friend Jonathan (2 Samuel 9). And as long as God accepts Jesus, and we trust in Jesus, were accepted as well. Bible in a Year: Gen 44-46 Matt 2:1-8 Ps 97 Pr 31:22-24 _̅_̅̅_̅̅̅‖̳̿� God Loves you ‖̳̿_̅̅̅_̅̅_̅ ✽̤̥̈̊-⌣̊ Good Morning ⌣̊-✽̤̥̈̊ .
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 10:11:55 +0000