Isaiah 1:15-16
When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil.
In the past several months I have had several people approach me with the problem of dealing with the issue of acceptance. Family or friends of these individuals made a point of criticizing the church for not accepting their life style.
In the counsel that I gave them I used the power of the Word of God as the authority. It is certainly not up to a church body to negate the specific commandments of the Word. We have become so namby-pamby concerning holding the line that many church bodies have assumed the right to approve what the Bible calls sin.
Acceptance, as I see it, is more incumbent upon the sincere believer to follow what the Bible says, than to listen to what others say. We can seek more truth and ask questions that may seem to be challenging, but when the aim is to discover what God desires for us then we are on solid ground.
There is an old song the children used to sing. It was good back then and I feel that it is still appropriate for us today. Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so. There is power and acceptance in those words and that is the acceptance we should strive for.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil