Acceptance

Acceptance — The action, or process, of being received as adequate or suitable, typically to be admitted into a group. Acceptance is so important.

Faith vs works: 

Being accepted, or acceptance, is a different thing for so many. But being accepted by God is even harder for some. We work so hard to be accepted at times by people — willing to sacrifice just about anything, compromise just about anything to be accepted.

But with God you can’t work for His acceptance. You must believe to really receive it. You must accept His sacrifice and make Him Lord of your life. Once you have truly come to believe in Him (we don’t really believe until we are willing to follow Him and obey His word), then you are accepted by Him.

 Worthiness:

So many of us see ourselves as unworthy, not good enough. So, we never enter into God’s rest. We are always working so hard to hopefully be accepted by God, when the truth is, we do the works of God not to be accepted, but to be pleasing to God.

Only believe:

Once you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior and purpose to follow Him, you are accepted. He accepts you with your strengths and weaknesses. You are accepted into His family. You don’t work for His acceptance: you believe for His acceptance. It’s His sacrifice that allows us to have a relationship with God.

Believe, and be a doer of His word. Why? Because God does love you.

Just a thought,

PSS

Separate Yourselves

In order to follow God, to accomplish goals, to be successful, we will have to separate ourselves — from people, entertainment, distractions. We separate ourselves — in order to concentrate, to do the work that will be required for us to follow God and be successful.

Change:

Nothing changes if nothing changes. What are some of the changes that you will need to make, habits you will need to break, thinking that you will need to change, to follow God and accomplish your goals?

In-law or outlaw:

Separate means cause to move or be apart. There is always a season when children separate from mom and dad. It’s for their good and health and well-being going forward in life.

We even need to separate from our parents if we are going to have a successful marriage. We can love our parents, honor them, but we must separate from them and cleave to our husband/wife. That means parents don’t get a say in our marriage unless we ask them. They don’t get to bad-mouth our spouse. If you are an in-law and you are interjecting yourself unannounced into your children’s marriage, then back off.

Health:

It’s healthy when kids separate from parents, just as it’s healthy for us when we separate ourselves from this world and its ways and philosophies — from the naysayers and the doubt peddlers. It’s all our choice.

Separate yourself from anything that is a distraction from serving God, and you will see it was well worth it.

Just a thought,

PSS

Be Hopeful!

Hope is not a sedative; it is a shot of adrenaline, a blood transfusion. Like an anchor, our hope in Christ stabilizes us in the storms of life; but unlike an anchor, our hope moves us forward; it does not hold us back.

-Warren Wiersbe

Tough times:

Although we may experience tough times, disappointing moments, and heartache, we still can have hope if we believe. These temporary detours of suffering will actually strengthen our commitment to Christ and our testimony for Him. You see, as believers, we all have an incredible future with Christ in heaven.

Hope deferred:

Don’t ever allow your hope to be deferred. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life (Proverbs 13:12). No one likes waiting. It feels good to get what we want. But when our expectations are delayed, we can experience disappointment, disillisionment, and loss of hope. Waiting can become such an affliction to some that it’s like a lingering sickness. Even though things are delayed, we need to stay in faith, trust, and believe the word of God.

A better tomorrow:

Our hope in a better tomorrow because we are born-again and saved by the power of God, and realizing our future home with God is very real will help us to keep going. No matter what you face, remember we have a hope that never perishes. It is a shot of adrenaline to our minds.

Let’s never lose this hope God gives us, and when our faith is being tested, remember it is only temporary — it’s God’s kingdom only that lasts forever.

Just a thought,

PSS

Expectation plus reality oftentimes results in disappointment.

Expectations:

Disappointment is the feeling of being unhappy because something that you hoped for or expected did not happen or because someone or something was not as good as you expected. If not addressed properly, disappointment will result in negativity, pessimism, and bitterness. It may result in our becoming critical of God because we will end up blaming Him for inaction or for not being fair in our time of need.

Dealing with it:

Psalm 22:5 (AMPC) — They cried to You and were delivered; they trusted in, leaned on, and confidently relied on You, and were not ashamed or confounded or disappointed. Here is what we know: all of us will experience disappointment. Everyone does. It’s unavoidable, but how we deal with it is the key. So often people look for comfort and material blessings, but God is more concerned with our character development.

Only believe:

We hate testing and spiritual exercise that strengthens our faith and makes us stronger. God has no use for untamed followers, so He chooses to train us at times through tough, even painful, experiences. We may never fully understand God and His ways, so we must learn to hang in there no matter what. It’s the present we must learn to enhance in order to handle disappointment and discouragement better. God is always working to help us and make us better. Our responsibility is to believe that.

So, when disappointment comes, and it will, let’s continue to seek God and have a better attitude through it, knowing God is for us, not against us. Let’s begin to ask ourselves, How can we grow through this? What can we learn? It’s our choice. We must choose wisely what attitude we will cling to.

Just a thought,

PSS

We really do live in uncertain times.

The world changes:

The ungodly have become more ungodly, and even the godly keep becoming more ungodly. In a world that is constantly changing, there is a place of refuge for all who truly believe in God and His word, His ways — agree with His word, thoughts. God is our refuge!

He never changes:

We can count on His word always being the same and never changing. Jesus, the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever (Isaiah 40:8). The word of God is the only thing we have that never changes. This world is changing so fast — creating uncertainty for many. But God never changes, so we can count on Him, rely on Him, trust Him. He never changes!

He is our refuge:

For some, we need to get back to the basics and renew our thinking to His word so we can walk in His blessings. Psalm 91:1–2 — Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust Him.

Let’s not allow ourselves to get caught up in this world to the point we forget all of God’s benefits.

Just a thought,

PSS