Accepted by God!!

[WileyCoyote]

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." (Ephesians 1:3-6)

God accepts you. He doesn't just tolerate you. He LOVES you. He has made you accepted in the beloved. Even before the foundations of the world were laid, God chose us to be adopted as His sons/daughters.

Many people go through life discouraged and despondant because they have suffered major rejections at the hands of people. People who have been rejected in a big way find it hard to trust anyone else after this. I know this because I was one of them. But then a big revelation hit me. JESUS SUFFERED THE ULTIMATE REJECTION. Hanging on that cross in shame and humiliation, Jesus cried out "My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46) He bore the sins of the world and this caused God the Father to "turn His back" on Him. The perfect fellowship They had was broken by the sins Jesus bore, and Jesus felt the full impact of this rejection. It was not long after Jesus cried these words that He died physically. His life was cut even shorter because of this great rejection. Put simply, Jesus died of a broken heart.

The late Bible Scholar Derek Prince describes it this way:

Think of that awful darkness. Think of the loneliness, the sense of being absolutely abandoned-first by man, then by God. You and I may have experienced some measure of rejection, but never has it been in that measure. Jesus drained the cup of rejection to its bitter dregs. He should have been able to live several hours longer on the cross, but He died of a broken heart.

Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington puts it like this:

What is clear is the fact that if a victim remained alive on the cross for too long so that it interfered with another event such as a major holiday, it was customary to break the victim's legs, thereby disabling him from pushing himself up on his cross to fill his lungs with air and thereby prolong his life. However, in accordance with the promise of Scripture, Jesus died quickly enough that his legs were not broken (Ps. 34:20; John 19:36). Furthermore, to ensure Jesus was dead, a professional executioner ran a spear through his side, which punctured his heart sac, and water and blood flowed from his side. Jesus died with both a literal and metaphorical broken heart.

And finally, I'd like to quote Chuck Smith, founder of Calvary Chapel:

The fact that blood and water came forth indicates that if an autopsy were performed, they would have discovered that Jesus died of a ruptured heart. For when the heart ruptures, a watertight substance fills a sack around the heart. And when they put the spear into His heart and pulled it out, the water and blood indicates death by a ruptured heart, or you might say a broken heart.

While Mr. Smith says that Jesus's broken heart was caused by His heart being broken for the sins of the world, him and I both agree on this one thing: Jesus died of a broken heart.

Here is the revelation I picked up from this: Jesus bore our rejection so we could receive His acceptance.

I believe several exchanges took place on the cross. I don't believe Jesus died just for our sins, but for every penalty and consequence that comes as a result of sin. I believe He exchanged His righteousness for our sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), I believe He exchanged His health for our sickness (Matthew 8:17), I believe He exchanged His riches for our poverty (2 Corinthians 8:9), and here is the heart of why this thread is being created; I believe He exchanged His acceptance for our rejection (Epesians 2: 15-19).

If Jesus took our rejection, that means that we don't have to deal with it. Every rejection we have ever faced was nailed to the cross with Jesus. All that is left is ACCEPTANCE. This goes for any rejection.

Your father abandon you? Jesus took that on the cross.
Your spouse divorce you? Jesus took that on the cross.
Teased and bullied in school? Jesus took that on the cross.
The black sheep of the family? Jesus took that on the cross.

Like I said before, all that is left is acceptance and love. You are now part of God's household, accepted into the most royal and perfect family in the UNIVERSE. It doesn't matter how anyone has treated you in the past or treats you now. You are ACCEPTED. There isn't any room for rejection in the life of the born-again believer. If God has accepted you, His acceptance is powerful enough to cover ANY rejection you face at the hands of others. We should be celebrating over this.

You don't have to feel inferior to others or feel you don't measure up. You don't have to feel like you need to perform in order to get others to like you. GOD ACCEPTS YOU. Jesus loves you, not because of anything we have done, but because of Who HE IS and what HE did for you. It's all about Him and not about us. He paid a heavy price to bring you back into fellowship with the Father. The question is, are you going to believe this or are you going to keep walking around feeling rejected and defeated? Remember, you aren't accepted because you are such a good person but because JESUS IS a Good God. All you have to do is believe it.


You are accepted by God. Walk in it. Celebrate it. Shout it at the devil the next time he tells you that you aren't worth anything. This scriptural truth is the ultimate remedy for rejection.

God bless you all. I hope this blessed someone.

 

[Oddish]

Thank you very much for creating this thread, I really think that you are letting God use you to reach out to those who need support and encouragement .

The whole message spoke to me, I have low self esteem and constantly feel that others are "better" than me, so much so that I am constantly trying to win approval. Lately, I have lost who I am and the sense of peace that I usually get from God is scarce. I feel that God tolerates me a lot of the time but like you said, its not just tolerance...its love.

Thanks again! God Bless

 

[WileyCoyote]

Thank you very much for creating this thread, I really think that you are letting God use you to reach out to those who need support and encouragement .

The whole message spoke to me, I have low self esteem and constantly feel that others are "better" than me, so much so that I am constantly trying to win approval. Lately, I have lost who I am and the sense of peace that I usually get from God is scarce. I feel that God tolerates me a lot of the time but like you said, its not just tolerance...its love.

Thanks again! God Bless

BECKY! It's good to see you again. Welcome back.

I'm glad you were encouraged by the message. God bless you, sister.

 

[Supplanter]

Thanks Wiley.

 

[Tink]

It fills my heart with joy to know you're listening to God and sharing what He says with others!

We talked about this last night and today at the Burn too.

 

[Tink]

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[Inkachu]

"Though my mother and father forsake me, still the Lord will receive me"

You can substitute "mother and father" with brothers, sisters, friends, peers, etc.

It's nice to know, when people cast you out, you will never be alone.