Accepting

B.T.A. Believe. Trust. Accept. As Christian’s many of us, and I did say US, have little trouble with believing and trusting in God, the power of God, and the promises of God. Where we might get into some trouble is with accepting His promises, His healing, His answers to our prayers, His will.

Accept in the Webster’s Dictionary means to take (what is offered or given), to receive favorably, approve, to believe in. So accepting would be the act of taking what is offered or given, receiving favorably, approving and believing in. “Accepting” is the action part of receiving the Lord’s will. There comes a moment in time when the Believe, Trust, and Accept come together as one, and become a realization in your mind, your heart, your very soul.

Desperation in prayer brings on accepting. The effectual fervent (to boil up, hot; burning; glowing; intensely devoted or earnest) prayer of a righteous man avails much, James 5:16b. Jesus prayed fervently in the Garden of Gethsemane, so fervently that He shed great droplets of blood from His pores. We know that He prayed Believing, Trusting, and Accepting. Jesus prayed that the suffering that He knew He was about to endure would be taken from Him. But, He then said “nevertheless” Thy will be done. He “Accepted” the will of God His Father without any reservations. We might not always know God’s complete will for our life but we can always Believe, Trust, and Accept that God knows best, He has the best plan for us and the Kingdom, and that we can Believe, Trust, and Accept His will, and His promises.

In Proverbs 4:20-22, the word of God says; My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. In other words ACCEPT.

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive (ACCEPT) them, and ye shall have them Mark 11:24.

Norman Grubb, in his book, The Law of Faith,  makes interesting commentary about “asking” vs. “taking”: Faith is the spiritual hand, exactly as, in the natural world, nothing is received and put to use merely by wishing or hoping or by asking for it, but by taking and using it, so in the spiritual. The hand must reach out and take the food or the book. Faith must reach out and take the promises, and the spoken evidence of such taking is the spoken word of faith. Probably the effect in the realm of the Spirit is the same as in the realm of matter. God offers all in His promises. The word of faith is the act of taking and applying His power according to need. What we actually take we actually have, and when the decisive word of faith has been spoken, God in His grace begins to work; and as the stand of faith is persisted in, the answer appears. That is why the declared word of faith is so vital and should be so stressed. It is the act of taking in the invisible, and we suggest that the serious lack in so much of our prayer life, both public and private, is that it hardly gets beyond the stage of asking. Hardly ever do we hear a person in a public prayer meeting, having asked, take and thank; yet probably it is much more important to have “taking” meetings than to have “asking” meetings. Our constant asking must have the same effect on God as would a child on his parents, who keeps asking for food, when they have set his meal before him and told him to take and eat it.

We have a choice whether or not to accept Christ at His word. We must begin to speak to our mountains and accept God’s promises.

Don’t be afraid. Just trust Me. Mark 5:36

If you trust Me, you are really trusting God who sent Me. John 12:44

Don’t be troubled. You trust God, now trust in Me. John 14:1

No matter what I pray for Lord, nevertheless, I Believe, I Trust, and I Accept Your will for my life!

Re-posted from my son David's Facebook 

So...I've chosen to stay silent on a subject dominating my news feed for the past week or so, but I've grown tired of silence and feel I need to voice my opinion in the growing debate I witness daily from so many. The topic?

Gay marriage.

While many among you are in support of it...equally as many stand against it.

I don't support gay marriage personally because of my belief in the Words given to us in the Bible, a book I believe to be inspired by God Himself, but I cannot stand idly by as I watch Christians call other other human beings by awful, desecrating names. The lack of love towards the world, who you ask God to send you to on a weekly basis, is clanging brass...the truth is, while we were yet sinners...Christ died for us. He didn't die for us when we were cleaned up...He died for us on the day we were our filthiest...our most treacherous...backstabbing...our murderous days. Let us not forget that ALL have sinned and fallen short. As many have pointed out, perhaps we shouldn't just single out homosexuality or abortion as those "sins" we deem worse than others...but address the "small foxes" that eat away at our own righteousness. Perhaps then we would see it for what it truly is, filthy rags, without the grace, mercy and forgiveness we ask from our Lord and so humbly receive.

On the flip side, those of you who are in support of gay marriage I have this to say: your judgmental behavior is equally inhumane. I've watched just as many despicable names lobbed at those in ministry, or those that believe in God, in which I find my path in life, which is unwarranted as well. Do I believe homosexuality to be a sin? Yes...but no greater than if I harbor hate in my own heart towards another brother. While one is an outward act, it makes it no greater than the sin of my inward act. Many of you claim to love everyone or not be judgmental, yet I've watched as you've lumped me in with those within the church that despitefully curse you. Your judgmental stereotypes are just as guilty as those in which you point the finger to within the church.

While I wish that God could enlighten us all in the error of our ways, I know that He allows us the privilege of free will. I wish I could ask both sides of the argument to quit looking to the other, but look inward. You're both judgmental...and regardless of where we stand on the issue, we're all sinners in need of grace.

Every last one of us.

                                                   The Parable of the Fishless Fishermen
Anonymous from the Evidence Bible

Fellowship. They were surrounded by streams and lakes full of hungry fish. They met regularly to discuss the call to fish, the abundance of fish, and the thrill of catching fish. They got excited about fishing!
Someone suggested that they needed a philosophy of fishing, so they carefully defined and redefined fishing, and the purpose of fishing. They developed fishing strategies and tactics. Then they realized that they had been going at it backwards. They had approached fishing from the point of view of the fisherman, and not from the point of view of the fish. How do fish view the world? How does the fisherman appear to the fish? What do fish eat, and when? These are all good things to know. So hey began research studies, and attended conferences on fishing. Some traveled to faraway places to study different kinds of fish with different habits. Some got doctorates in fishology. But no one had yet gone fishing.
So a committee was formed to send out fishermen. As prospective fishing places outnumbered fishermen, the committee needed to determine priorities. A priority list of fishing places was posted on bulletin boards in all of the fellowship halls. But still, no one was fishing. A survey was launched to find out why. Most did not answer the survey, but from those who did, it was discovered that some felt called to study fish, a few to furnish fishing equipment, and several to go around encouraging the fishermen. What with meetings, conferences, and seminars, they just simply didn’t have time to fish.
Now, Jake was a newcomer to the Fisherman’s Fellowship. After one stirring meeting of the Fellowship, he went fishing and caught a large fish. At the next meeting, he told his story and was honored for his catch. He was told that he had a special "gift of fishing." He was then scheduled to speak at all the Fellowship chapters and tell how he did it.
With all the speaking invitations and his election to the board of directors of the Fisherman’s Fellowship, Jake no longer had time to go fishing. But soon he began to feel restless and empty. He longed to feel the tug on the line once again. So he cut the speaking, he resigned from the board, and he said to a friend, "Let’s go fishing." They did, just the two of them, and they caught fish. The members of the Fisherman’s Fellowship were many, the fish were plentiful, but the fishers were few!

     Watching "The Bible" episode three on the History channel last night I was moved by King Darius' actions. After having Daniel thrown into the lions den he then said "May your God, whom you worship continually, rescue you." He then went and fasted all night for God to save Daniel. Darius possibly had heard accounts of God's deliverance of Daniel's three friends from the fiery furnace (Daniel 3).  As we all know God answered the prayer and fasting with Daniel miraculously not being touched all night by the hungry lions.

     When I first excepted Christ as my Savior I would fast on Thursdays for my Pastor's wife and her ladies class that she taught on Thursday nights. Even though my fasting was for the Holy Spirit to lead her and anoint her for God's purposes I too was encouraged and strengthened in my walk with the Lord. When my Pastor and his wife moved on to a new church I stopped the fasting on Thursday's and for the most part never fasted anymore. I have often wondered why I have not seen as many miracles as I used to see and I believe it is because of my failure to fast in my dedication to God.

     Daniel was depicted in the History Channel's "The Bible" as being terrified when he was thrown in the lions den even though the true Bible does not read that way. I have to admit that I am sure there might have been some clean up needed if that would have been me. Who would not have been terrified? Yet at some point I believe that faith rose up in Daniel and he 'expected' God to save him. We need to expect God to answer our prayers like Daniel did. I feel faith rising up in me again!

     Some times our mountain seems so very big. But, isn't our God so much bigger? Didn't our God, the only God, the Alpha and Omega, create everything everywhere? YES HE DID! I don't know what you are going through but GOD IS ABLE! 

     I am going through one of the biggest battles of my life, and it is for my life. This Friday March 22 2013 my battle will either begin or it will end. I believe that it will end, glory to God! Starting Thursday March 21 2013 I am returning to my Thursday fasting to draw closer to God, and to make my prayers more effective for me, for my family, friends, and for you. I ask you to join in fasting this Thursday and every Thursday for the rest of our lives. We need to draw closer to Him. In James 4:8 the word says to "Draw close to God, and He will draw close to you." Fasting and prayer and reading scripture draw us closer to God. I have said before that I believe that we can have as much of God or as little of God as we want. I want more! Do you?

Judges 6:27
What Gideon could not do by day he did by night.
If you are fearful of witnessing to others then give out tracts. If you can't do that then secretly leave tracts somewhere. Don't let fear paralyze you into doing nothing. If you can't openly evangelize then do it while no one is looking. WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

After God answered my prayer for the return of my son in such a miraculous way in "The Father's Love" I was a completely changed man. I was delivered from smoking, drinking, anger, hatred, lust, and much more. Most everyone that I knew could not believe it. Most thought that it was temporary, that I would "get over it." It has been almost ten years and I still did not get over it. God's power is real, awesome, and everlasting.

     I remember the first few Sundays my wife Dorinda and I went to church after my transformation. When the offering plate came around I was giving everything that was in my wallet, hundreds of dollars, nearly my whole weeks pay. You see, God had become real to me. Oh, I always believed in God, but He had become REALLY REAL to me. The creator of everything, EVERYTHING, this earth, universe, us, had taken the time to hear my desperate cry for help, my prayer of surrender of my will for His will, and had "instantly" answered my prayer! Wow!

     After a few weeks I realized that I needed a place to be alone with God. Two of our sons had already moved out and that left us with an empty bedroom. My wife had plans to turn it into a closet for her. I had plans to turn it into a prayer room. A "secret place" for God and I to meet. I won this one. We would begin by giving the room a fresh coat of paint. We began to gather items that we felt needed to be in a prayer room. Pictures, candles, a rustic table for books, anointing oil, special items that would give the room a personal touch. I found a light-up fluorescent cross for the wall ( a tad bit smaller then the one on the wall at church).

     Now it was finally coming together. But, we lacked one more important item, a chair to sit in when reading. I began to visit local furniture stores to scope out that "perfect" chair. I visited several stores. I looked online. I found many that were perfect, but none of them felt just right, so we waited and continued searching. My Pastor Ron Stewart had scheduled a work day at the church for the Saturday coming up. My wife Dorinda and I both went. A few hours after beginning work my wife came and found me and said to come with her that she needed to show me something. Helping to empty out an old storage room she had found an old two seat pew that the church was going to throw away. It was the perfect size, it matched the prayer rooms color, it felt right! We took the pew home and put it in the prayer room. We loved it! That night my wife called her parents in Alabama. Her father the Reverend G.J.Chandler, was the former Pastor of our church and had built the building where we  now worshiped God. He told us that that was the pew that he always sat in before he came to the podium to speak! We had waited for the perfect seating for our prayer room and we had found it. Looking over the pew that night I found a prayer cloth stuck underneath where someone had placed it years ago. It is still there! Praise the Lord! 

     Miracle? Maybe. We were so happy that I know I went to bed with a huge smile on my face. The next morning, Sunday morning, I awoke early just at daylight. I could hear this amazing singing, angelic, coming from somewhere. It was soft but penetrating. I slowly crept out of bed and edged my way towards the prayer room. It was coming from inside. I was frozen with anticipation. Should I open the door and look? Did I really believe what I was thinking? An angel singing in our newly finished prayer room? My whole body had goosebumps. Big ones. As I reached for the door handle my eyes must have been as big as saucers! As I slowly opened the door the singing stopped. I sat down in the pew, my body trembling with joy! The Holy Spirit let me know that God was pleased with our new secret place. I wept tears of joy and love for my King! He was pleased!

     I did not mention this to Dorinda until the following week. As she stood in our kitchen I told her about what I had heard. She was amazed. Just then my son David came walking into the kitchen with eyes wide open. He had overheard me telling Dorinda about the angel singing. He had heard it also but was afraid to tell us until he heard me talking about it. Confirmation. 

     God loves us so much that He sent an angel to let us know that He loves it when we love Him back! Glory to God!

My interview with Diane Markins of KPXQ in Phoenix will be aired on Saturday March 8th at 1:00-2:00 PM EST. http://www.kpxq1360.com/. Read my guest post about how God pursues us.

God will Never Stop Pursuing Us

dianemarkins.com

When my son disappeared I went on a frantic and desperate search to find him. I would have done anything I had to do. Nothing could stop me. God feels the same way about you. He will never stop loving you.