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Topic: Acceptance (01/12/04)
TITLE: Are You In Approval? By Jacqueline Odom-Bullock 01/13/04 |
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We should be in acceptance of all people alike. There are some people who have claimed to accept Christ as their personal Savior and they still live ungodly lives. And there are some that has not accepted Christ at all. The book of Psalms 1, tells us that we should not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. So do we accept those who have rejected Christ? I say acceptance into one’s heart is better then to reject. This doesn’t mean that we hang around them and fall back into our bondage’s and iniquity. We should hold them up in prayer that they see the error of their ways and accept Jesus. When Jesus asked the woman where was her husband and she said she didn’t have one. Jesus told her she was right, she didn’t have one in fact she had five, John 4:17-19. She perceived that Jesus was a prophet and then came into acceptance that he was Christ.
We need to be careful in our churches where we come together as one body in Christ to fellowship. Beware those of you who have your “clicks!” You won’t accept this person or that person because they did not grow up with this congregation. Or you are not a minister’s wife, so you’re not welcomed to sit at this table if there are no more seats. It really behooves me to hear a manservant say things that will make your heart ache.
The pastor was about to close Sunday service. But before he did, he made sure he let the congregation know that on the next Sunday, he wanted everybody to bring along at least one person to church. To my surprise he added, “Don’t just bring anybody.” So I wondered if I had returned with a wino reeking of alcohol, filth and grime, would that person have been accepted? In any case I was just a visitor and I didn’t have to return. However I prayed for that pastor. My prayer for him was that he would open his heart and come into acceptance of all people, and not be found with blood guiltiness on judgment day. I hoped that he had come to realize that what he said was not acceptable to God’s will.
God accepts the sinner just as the saved. If you seek him regardless of what you have done or what you are currently doing, you will have his acceptance. In return we have to be in acceptance of his word and his will for our lives. Receive everything God has to offer, than accept it. As Hebrews 11:6 tells us that it is impossible to please God without faith. So therefore if we are not in acceptance of his word, then where is the faith and how could we please him?