Accepting God is not by mere word of mouth. Moses explained in Deuteronomy 10: 12-13, And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord, your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? As Moses explained, it was a continuous conduct in all circumstances and in all changing scenes of life.
Regrettably, we apply our own terms. Job 34: 33 says, should God then reward you on your terms, when you refuse to repent? Jesus said in Matthew 15:8-9; Mark 7:7, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’” Moses did not mean only lip-response but a heart-response built on trust. Accepting God means faith in God.
Reward for accepting God
Hebrews 11: 6 says, God rewards those who earnestly seek him. We seek God with the view to accepting him unconditionally. Jeremiah 17: 10 says, “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” God knows those who accept him from the heart. Jeremiah 32: 19 says, your (God) eyes are open to the ways of all mankind; you reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve.
We are all curious to know what our reward will be in accepting Christ Jesus. Paul asked in 1Corinthians 9: 18, what then is my reward? It is an inheritance from the Lord. Colossians 3: 24 says, you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Our inheritance in God includes:
Eternal life in Christ Jesus
Jesus said in John 3: 14-16, Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes (accepts) may have eternal life in him. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Accepting Jesus means living right in God. John 3: 36 says, whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them. Will we have eternal life?
Peace in Christ Jesus
Isaiah 48: 18 says, if only you had paid attention to my commands (accepting his word), your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea. God said to Judah in Babylon in Jeremiah 33: 6… I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. Jesus said in John 14: 27, peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. God’s peace is assured to those who accept Christ Jesus who is God incarnate. There is no peace beyond what Jesus gives.
Victory through Christ Jesus
Romans 8: 37 says, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Jesus’ love makes us more than conquerors in him. 2Corinthians 10: 4 says, the weapons we fight are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. Our weapon is the name Jesus for Philippians 2: 10 says, at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledges that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. In Christ Jesus, we are guaranteed victory in the battles which confront us.
God’s eternal presence
God said in Isaiah 43: 2, when you pass through the waters, I will be with you. He is also quoted in Hebrews 13: 5, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” Jesus affirmed these statements in Matthew 28: 20, and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. He reiterated in John 14: 18, I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Paul added an element of God’s ever presence with us in 2Corinthians 12: 9 says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” We have an eternal inheritance of God’s presence with us if we accept him through Christ Jesus as our Lord.
God’s unfailing attention
David attested in Psalm 33: 18, the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love. Those who accept God receive his attention. Psalm 34: 15 says, the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry. Overwhelmed by God’s attention, Job 7: 17 asked, “What is mankind that you make so much of them, that you give them so much attention, that you examine them every morning and test them every moment? God examines daily those who accept him by doing his will. Jesus said in Matthew 6: 8… your Father knows what you need before you ask him. He assured us in John 16: 24… Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. Giving us attention is his delight.
God’s goodness of life
David said in Psalm 23: 6, surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life. He also said in Psalm 27: 13, I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. David knew of God’s goodness for those who accept him in truth from the heart. God’s goodness comes in many forms. Lamentations 3: 22-23 say, because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Paul added in Philippians 4: 19, my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Have you accepted Christ Jesus as the bible says?
Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have not accepted you from the heart but only with our lips. Forgive us and renew our hearts to accept you as scripture says. Guide us by your Holy Spirit to accept you with all we have and in all circumstances and enabled by your grace. Wash away our disobedience in your blood in your blessed holy name, we pray, Amen!!
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