| No Approval Necessary |
No Approval Necessary
Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself,
according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of
His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
— Ephesians 1:5–6
I remember thinking as a young Christian that the reason God was
blessing me was because of my disciplined and regular Bible study. I
would get up before school every morning and study the Bible for about
an hour, and then I would pray for an hour or more (I know I prayed for
an hour or more because I kept checking my watch). I thought when I got
to school that God would use me that day because I had done so much
for Him.
Then one morning, my alarm didn't go off. I woke up very late. I didn't
have time to pray or read my Bible. That day, God allowed me the
privilege of leading someone to Christ.
Some people think, just as I did as a young believer, that they must do
certain things to earn the approval of God. They think they have to
somehow appease Him. But God's righteous demands were satisfied
at the cross of Calvary. We don't have to do things like read the Bible,
pray, or go to church to find God's approval. We should do these things
because we want to and because we are pleased with the opportunity
to do them. God blesses us, and it is out of that blessing that we should
want to do these things. We should want to serve Him, not to earn His
approval, but because we already have it.
The Bible tells us that God has "made us accepted in the Beloved"
(Ephesians 1:6). This means that when we put our faith in Christ, God
has put His righteousness into our account. He loves us when we do
well. But He also loves us when we don't.
Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself,
according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of
His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
— Ephesians 1:5–6
I remember thinking as a young Christian that the reason God was
blessing me was because of my disciplined and regular Bible study. I
would get up before school every morning and study the Bible for about
an hour, and then I would pray for an hour or more (I know I prayed for
an hour or more because I kept checking my watch). I thought when I got
to school that God would use me that day because I had done so much
for Him.
Then one morning, my alarm didn't go off. I woke up very late. I didn't
have time to pray or read my Bible. That day, God allowed me the
privilege of leading someone to Christ.
Some people think, just as I did as a young believer, that they must do
certain things to earn the approval of God. They think they have to
somehow appease Him. But God's righteous demands were satisfied
at the cross of Calvary. We don't have to do things like read the Bible,
pray, or go to church to find God's approval. We should do these things
because we want to and because we are pleased with the opportunity
to do them. God blesses us, and it is out of that blessing that we should
want to do these things. We should want to serve Him, not to earn His
approval, but because we already have it.
The Bible tells us that God has "made us accepted in the Beloved"
(Ephesians 1:6). This means that when we put our faith in Christ, God
has put His righteousness into our account. He loves us when we do
well. But He also loves us when we don't.
| C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside , CA 92514 |