What must I do to be accepted by God?

Read my Bible daily?
Worship constantly?
Pray without ceasing?
Feed the poor?
Evangelize my neighborhood?
Attend church regularly?
Tithe?

The Apostle Paul tells us this: “I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses. God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ.” (Philippians 3:9 CEV).

“He [God] made us accepted in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:6 NKJV).

“Because of Christ Jesus, He freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins.” (Romans 3:23).

We are not accepted because of our works but because of Christ.

Let that sink in for a minute! When we say yes to His son, when we accept His son, God accepts us. He accepts us despite our past mistakes, despite our shortcomings, despite our sin.

We can rest in knowing we are accepted. We can’t be manipulated by others because we know God’s acceptance is secure. We don’t have to chase man’s acceptance because we are confident the God of the universe has accepted us. (Who cares about anyone else.)

Say this with me: I am accepted by God.

And because we are accepted

We read His Word with delight to understand all that is available to us as accepted sons and daughters.

We eagerly worship the one who accepted us despite our mistakes.

We pray with the authority of accepted sons and daughters.

We eagerly accept the poor, the disenfranchised, the marginalized because we were accepted freely.

We joyfully tell everyone of the acceptance we have found in Him.

We gleefully gather together to remind each other we are accepted.

We give generously knowing our God will supply all of the needs of His accepted children.

My friends, rest in your acceptance. Stop striving to get what has been freely and joyfully given to you! We don’t perform to earn God’s acceptance. Jesus’ sacrifice was enough. We serve from a place of rest.