GOD ACCEPTS US

We're accepted. "He made us accepted in the Beloved" (Eph. 1:6). The word translated accepted means "to grace, to favor". He has graced us and favored us. We are standing in His grace (Rom. 5:1)! He has welcomed us in and embraced us. We're adopted into His family and are His beloved children. The Spirit confirms this and tells us to call Him "Daddy"! He loves us with the same love He has for Jesus (John 17:23)! We're accepted no matter what happens, no matter what we do. We are accepted at our lowest, even. We are accepted as we are, not as we should be (Brennan Manning). We are taken in, brought into His circle of love. He is totally okay with us. And this acceptance is never based on us, on our performance but always on Him and His nature of love. His acceptance is freely given and never needs to be "earned".

This was one of the first big grace truths that God showed me, and I'm still needing to hear it daily. It changed my life to find out that what I had been trying so hard to get - His acceptance - was mine already. The cross is God loving us, embracing us, ACCEPTING us. So we are okay to God! He's not angry with us, disappointed with us, or frustrated with us...He's happy with us, content with us! We are accepted! Thank you for that, Jesus!

Sparrow Girl

Walking up to Jesus'campfire

«I think the difference in my life came when I realized, after reading those Gospels, that Jesus didn't just love me out of principle; He didn't just love me because it was the right thing to do. Rather, there was something inside me that caused Him to love me. I think I realized that if I walked up to His campfire, He would ask me to sit down, and He would ask me my story. He would take the time to listen to my ramblings or my anger until I could calm down, and then He would look me directly in the eye, and He would speak to me; He would tell me the truth, and I would sense in His voice and in the lines on His face that He liked me. He would rebuke me, too, and He would tell me that I have prejudices against very religious people and that I need to deal with that; He would tell me that there are poor people in the world and I need to feed them and that somehow this will make me more happy. I think He would tell me what my gifts are and why I have them, and He would give me ideas on how to use them.»

Don Miller, Blue Like Jazz =)

Forgiven and loved

Great song, great lyrics! This is the story of many of us, but "there is no condemnation in You"!

We Never Lose His Smile

Fill in the blank: When God thinks of me, He -
a) groans
b) fumes
c) frets
d) smiles

So often I have seen God as standing over me with a look of irritation. Or if I have seen Him as loving me, it has sometimes been more of a disappointed kind of love: "Sure I love you, but why can't you just get your act together?" And yet...

And yet...Isn't it true that God is the perfect parent with the perfect love for His kids? The best parents love their kids and think they are great! They don't focus on their kids' faults but on their kids' identity: their beloved children! Surely God is a better parent than any of us..

God smiles at us, His kids! We NEVER lose His smile! God is always smiling at us, and His voice is always full of love.

"The Lord your God is in your midst, the Lord of hosts mighty to save. He will renew you in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy!" (Zeph. 3:17)

God is happy with His kids! He's proud of them and loves to see them happy! His face lights up when we smile at His love for us! Like most good parents, He thinks His kids are perfect and beautiful, and He loves us unconditionally!

So we may be failures. We may be messed up and have tons of struggles. We may have trouble believing such a love could be true for us. But it doesn't change this fact: we are still His pride and joy!

by Sparrow Girl

http://underthewaterfallofgrace.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html

I am deeply loved, completely forgiven, fully pleasing, totally accepted and absolutely complete in Christ 24-7-365. There is nothing you and I can do to make God love us more than He does at this moment! Nor is there anything we can do to make God love us less or stop loving us!
We are wonderfully stuck with Him!!! :)

Bobby Allen in Grace Roots

(Eu gostava de ter colocado o vídeo aqui, mas era para além das minhas capacidades... :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyheJ480LYA



(Já está! ;o) Reeditado por David)

Você é aceite

"A graça nos atinge quando estamos em grande dor e desassossego. Ela nos atinge quando andamos pelo vale sombrio da falta de significado e de uma vida vazia... Ela nos atinge quando, ano após ano, a perfeição há muito esperada não aparece, quando as velhas compulsões reinam dentro de nós da mesma forma que têm feito há décadas, quando o desespero destrói toda a alegria e coragem. Algumas vezes naquele momento uma onde de luz penetra nossas trevas, e é como se uma voz dissesse: 'Você é aceite. Você é aceite, aceite pelo que é maior do que você, o nome do qual você não conhece. Não pergunte pelo nome agora; talvez você descubra mais tarde. Não tente fazer coisa alguma agora; talvez mais tarde você faça bastante. Não busque nada, não realiza nada, não planeje nada. Simplesmente aceite o facto de que você é aceite'. Se isso acontecer conosco, experimentos a graça". (...) Nunca confunda sua percepção de você mesmo com o mistério de que você é realmente aceite.

Paulo Tillich, citado por Brennan Manning em O Evangelho Maltrapilho