Accepted By God, First

I don't listen to Joyce Meyer all that often, but she talked the other day about how we struggle with certain times of our lives, in light of our faith. We hang on to things longer than we should and battle internally with our faults and failures, problems and proclivities and God simply asks the same thing He asks all of us... both before and after having come to Him through Christ.

How long are you going to hang on to that?

It's a rhetorical question of course, but as Joyce shared, the one time that she gave an answer to God, of three days, it was as if God responded with, "and while my grace still be sufficient then?"

So the question is, while we battle in frustration of both heart and mind, God waits and wonders, why we wait so long for our release to Him if He response doesn't change?

People put off accepting Jesus Christ as Savior for the same reasons the everyday Christian and ministry leader seem to stall in the walk of faith. There is nothing in our lives that gives God pause to offer and extend His redemptive grace and accepting love to us.

So, on this #missionsFriday, pray for a clarity of understanding of God's gift. For wherever Christians and non-Christians alike find themselves, may guilt and shame not hinder and hold them back from God's ever-lasting grace and unending love. May today be a spiritual day of freedom and newness of life as people realize that they can accept themselves now, because they were accepted by God, first.

For the glory of God
And the cause of Jesus Christ.

- PNC