Tag: accepted

Approved by God

Approved by God

God has approved every believer:  isn’t that a staggeringly beautiful thought?  Approved means:

  • Accepted,
  • Favored, and
  • Supported.

Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.  (Eccl 9:7 ESV)

In the above passage, we see that God has approved our eating our food and drinking our beverages with a merry heart.  He approves this because He is the One who has blessed us with these gifts and blessings.

I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; 13 moreover, that every person who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—this is the gift of God.  (Eccl 3:12-13 NASB)

In this Bible selection above, the Lord agrees that there’s nothing better for us than to rejoice and to DO GOOD in our lives.  The Lord also likes us to appreciate our food and drinks and to value our work and our jobs because they are gifts from God.

. . . but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we declare it, not to please people but God, who examines our hearts.  (1 Thes 2:4 NET)

We have been approved (authorized and supported) by God to carry and to declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout our lifetimes.  We do this to please God, not people.  We need to recognize that the Lord examines our hearts and will see clearly what our motives are for all of our actions.  So, it’s important to have holy motivations for whatever we do in the Lord’s Name.  Blessings upon you.

Receive and Accept One Another

Receive and Accept One Another

Do you realize that the Lord Jesus has made every believer ‘accepted in the Beloved’?  That means that you and I are:

  • Acknowledged,
  • Recognized and known,
  • Received,
  • Established, and
  • Understood—in Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer.

Let’s see what else the Bible has to say on this subject.

Those who receive you are also receiving me, and those who receive Me are receiving the one who sent Me.  (Mt 10:40 CEB)

Whoever received and welcomes a believer, receives and welcomes the Lord Jesus as well as God the Father, who sent Jesus to earth.

 I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another.  (Joh 13:34 AMP)

Jesus has commanded all believers to ‘love one another.’  This is not a suggestion.  It is very clear that believers should accept one another, and try to help and bless one another. We should never put any type of stumbling block in front of a brother or sister in Christ.

Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.  (Rom 15:7 NKJV)

Just as our Lord and Savior has received and established each one of us, we should also do the same with one another in order to bring glory to God.

. . . having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.  (Eph 1:5-6 NKJV, emphasis added)

It was the Lord’s good pleasure to make each one of us ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED, who is Jesus Christ our Savior. Hallelujah! 

Now, turn with open arms and be a welcoming committee to others!

Set Apart

Set Apart

But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for Himself:  the Lord will hear when I call unto Him.  (Ps 4:3 KJV)  We have been “set apart” by God.

Moreover, when you divide the land by lot into inheritance, you shall set apart a district for the Lord, a holy section of the land; its length shall be twenty-five thousand cubits, and the width ten thousand. It shall be holy throughout its territory all around.  (Ezek 45:1)  God instructed the Israelites to “set apart” land for Him that would be considered holy.  In present times, we believers have become His dwelling place—the “land” set apart for God!  (1 Cor 3:16, 17; 6:19)

What does it mean to be set apart for God? 

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light . . . (1 Pet 2:9)

It means that we who have accepted Jesus as our Savior are God’s special people, and we are called to proclaim His praises and His good news of salvation to all people, everywhere.  We are Christ’s ambassadors on the earth.  (2 Cor 5:20)

He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.  (Ps 121:3)  This is a promise of God to His chosen people—those who are set apart for Him.  Every promise in the Bible is for us!  These promises are our inheritance. (Ps 119:111)

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.  (2 Cor 7:1)  We who have Jesus as our Savior—and are set apart—are called to holiness.  (1 Pet 1:15, 16)

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.  (Eph 2:10)  What constitutes “good works”?  Good works are actions which are pleasing to the Lord.  Because we have accepted Jesus as our Savior (we are set apart), He becomes the origin or source of our actions.  Christ is the root cause of everything, and good works are the fruit!

In conclusion, we are set apart as special to God.  Because we are, we walk in holiness and good works to the glory of God.

Note:  This is a reprint of our blog article dated 03/20/2017.

Living in the Moment

Living in the Moment

Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old.  (Isa 43:18)

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.  (Mt 6:34, NIV)

And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.  (Rom 13:11, emphasis added)

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.  (2 Cor 6:2b)

This is all about living in the NOW of our lives.  Our past is behind us, but remembered.  Our future is unknown but hoped for.  Only today—this moment in time—is of ultimate importance and necessity!  Why?

The present matters deeply.  We must live right now, in this moment, in the kingdom of God.  Recognize that the kingdom of God and His power are within you!  (Lk 17:21; Acts 1:8; 2:4)

We should nurture an attitude of heart that is always seeking and searching for God’s will and God’s best for ourselves and for others.  We need to put away distractions and selfishness, and focus on what God’s plan for us is. 

What ministry has God called you to?  What lives does He want you to touch?  What life experience has developed compassion in you for others, and how can you share that compassion?  How can you help others, and improve their lives?

Not only does God’s presence surround us, but people in need surround each of us as well!  Jesus wants us to reach out to the needy and the hurting, and to minister His love and mercy to them through each of us.   Jesus wants us to:   Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.  (Mt 10:8)  These are His instructions that He gives to each one of us. 

In Jesus, come ALIVE and live in the moment for the Kingdom and for God’s glory!

Accepted In the Beloved

Accepted In the Beloved

. . . to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.  (Eph 1:6, emphasis added)

And whoever offers a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, to fulfill his vow, or a freewill offering from the cattle or the sheep, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it.  (Lev 22:21, emphasis added)

Accepted means:  received; recognized; admitted; acknowledged; welcomed; understood; or allowed. 

In Christ, we are accepted by Almighty God as perfected.  How wonderful and awesome a gift we have been given!

As the verse from Leviticus above demonstrates, an offering (in the OT) had to be perfect in order to be acceptable to the Lord.   Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, slain in our place for our sins and iniquities.

Now, we are accepted into the household of faith, the kingdom of God, and the family of God!  No matter what our past may look like, what our personality is, or what our appearance is—we are welcomed by the loving arms of Jesus!  Hallelujah!

Jesus invites us to come to Him in every circumstance of life and in the face of every challenge, need, or failing.  He is the very embodiment of perfect, unconditional, and unfailing LOVE.  There is mercy (forgiveness, kindness, humanity, generosity) in Christ’s embrace. 

Know, trust, and believe that you’re accepted in Jesus and rejoice!

 

Appropriate Your Blessings

Appropriate Your Blessings

 “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. 35 But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.”  (Acts 10:34-35)

God is no respecter of persons.  We’re all blessed and valued equally by Him.  We need to respond to what God has already made provision for.  God is not withholding ANY good thing from us (Ps 84:11), so the responsibility is on us to appropriate our blessings.

Something may be limiting us from being all that God wants us to be or having all that God wants us to have.  We need to ask God what is preventing us from tapping into our inheritance as children of God.  He may reveal unbelief, fear, or worry is hindering us.  We limit God with unbelief.  Root out any negative influences by reading and meditating upon the Word of God which will build you up in your faith.  (Rom 10:17) 

Observe how God does things, and do likewise.  Think and act like God does!  As God’s ambassadors, we’re to demonstrate to the world what God’s ways and God’s will can accomplish in their lives.  Study the Word and study the many, beautiful promises of God.  Memorize and meditate upon them.

Realize that you’re covered by the blood of Jesus, and stay under the blood because it cleanses, heals, and protects you.  We’re free from sin, satan, and the world.  Live in God’s promises and receive their benefits. 

We walk by faith and not by sight.  (2 Cor 5:7)  FOREVER!  We never “arrive”—we must continue every day to walk and live by faith.

PROMISES FOR MEDITATION:

The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good inheritance.  (Ps 16:6)

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.  (2 Cor 1:20)

But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  (Mat 19:26; Mk 10:27)

“Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”  (Mat 18:19-20)

And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.  (Joh 14:13-14)

 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.  (Joh 15:7)