God Accepts Me...

When I've Sinned
Ezekiel 19:1-20:49

"On my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, all Israel will serve me in the land, says the Lord God. There I will accept you. There I will expect your offerings, the first harvest of your offerings, and all your holy gifts. I will accept you like the pleasing smell of sacrifices when I bring you out from the foreign nations and gather you from the lands when you are scattered. Then through you I will show how holy I am so the nations will see." (Ezekiel 20:40-41)

"God is good." "All the time." "All the time." "God is good." This familiar response seems to be echoed in this passage of scripture. The people of Israel continue to sin and worship false gods and idols, but God is true and faithful to His promises. He recognizes that they will later listen to him, and he will accept them back. Despite their sin and hateful ways, God will accept their service and offerings "like the pleasing smell of sacrifices." It reminds me of the parable of the Prodigal Son, and I believe we all have a little of him in us. To me this verse is all too real and beautiful. Lord, thank You for accepting me back into Your loving arms.

When I'm Good
Psalm 125:1-5

"Lord, be good to those who are good, whose hearts are honest." (Psalm 125:4)

God loves all of His children just the same, with the same abounding love. I think this is sometimes difficult for "good" Christians to truly internalize. In some way, "holier than thou" Christians seem to believe that... well, they're a little higher up on Jacob's ladder, because well, they are "good" and "honest." In fact, it may just seem unfair that they've put in all the time and these newbies get all the same benefits.

Let's think back to the Prodigal Son. The brother certainly had some jealousy issues, and though we don't enjoy likening ourselves to him... I believe sometimes we find ourselves in that position. But it's important to recognize that God doesn't not shower His blessings on us, but God extends His blessings to all. To the good, God will still be good. The difference is we have an amazingly loving God who is good to all of His children.

Now and Always
Hebrews 9:23-10:18

"And because of this, we are made holy through the sacrifice Christ made in his body once and for all time." (Hebrews 10:10)

No, there is none righteous,
Not one who understands.
There is none who seek God,
No not one, no not one.
I am thankful that I'm incapable
Of doing any good on my own. (lyrics from "Thankful" by Caedmon's Call, Psalm 14:2-3)

I've always loved this song, humbly reminding me why we need a savior. There is no way that we can do enough good deeds, because however good we are it is insufficient. Only Christ can make us holy through His sacrifice on the cross. Lord, I sit in awe of the gift of forgiveness granted to me offered to me through Jesus' death on the cross... which saves me from my sins and makes me holy year after year.