“⁶…everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant—⁷these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” – Isaiah 56:6-7 (ESV)

Here it is made clear that acceptance is for everyone. Not just those that are a part of the right religious sect, or upbringing, or country of origin, or understood group; but everyone who satisfies the basic criteria, “keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant” (Those who accept the gift of salvation from Christ and live that gift each day).

Talk about inclusion. I can be of another country, I can be from the other side of the tracks, I can look different from you, I can act different from you, I can be of/from a different socio-economic group, and I can drive a different vehicle and still be accepted.

“⁸The Lord God, who gather the outcasts of Israel, declares, ‘I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.’” – Isaiah 56:8 (ESV)

And He is not done with just those that have come so far.

So, if you have felt that you don’t belong, you don’t look the same, you don’t act the same, you are just different, God loves you as well as those around you and you are welcome to come to Him and be accepted.

Are you feeling as an outcast? Are you aware that you are accepted? Are you aware and spreading that ALL are accepted by God?

Have you ever been wrong and accepted anyway? The answer is a resounding YES.

“⁷After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: ‘My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. ⁸Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.’” – Job 42:7-8 (ESV)

You can see here that Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Maamithite were rebuked by God for not speaking of God in the proper way. God rightly is angered and could deal with them harshly if He so desired. But, He chose to treat them with love and accept them at the intercession of their friend Job.

“⁹So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Maamithite when and did what the Lord had told them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.” – Job 42:9 (ESV)

The three friends of Job were clearly wrong in their actions, yet God provided a path of acceptance for them. The price was high, sacrifices of significant value, not to mention the outward admittance they were wrong. There was also the work of Job in the process of acceptance.

I wonder how much of the acceptance was for the benefit of Job. The men were wrong and had to admit as much openly to their friend and they were accepted in spite of that wrong.

We are wrong on a regular basis and yet, God provided acceptance and continues to accept us.

When you go through your days, are you aware of your wrong? Are you willing to admit and pay the price for that wrong? Are you aware that you are accepted though wrong?

“²¹And when anyone offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the herd or from the flock, to be accepted if must be perfect; there shall be no blemish in it.” – Leviticus 22:21 (ESV)

When we look at the verse above alone, it seems to indicate that God will not accept offerings from us unless they are “perfect”. And, if this were the times of Leviticus, that would be true based on The Old Covenant.

When I read the passage and this verse, I thought of how the “perfect” sacrifice mirrors Jesus and the sacrifice He gave of Himself for us. Perfect Jesus was presented as a sacrifice for our sin so that we did not have to be perfect ourselves (cause we are far from it). The perfect Lamb of God was sacrificed and accepted by God for our sins to be washed away.

As for us, we are to continue to offer our sacrifices to the Lord, however He will accept them and us with all the blemishes that are a part of us. When we confess to our Lord and accept that our debt has been paid by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, we are accepted and washed clean.

We are to still offer to our Lord. “When we give out best time, talent, and treasures to God rather than what is tarnished or common, we show the true meaning of worship and testify to God’s supreme worth. (NIV Commentary) Our offerings to God are not to be what we have left, but from the top and our best (talents, time, and things).

Are you aware of the worth of the offerings you give to our Lord? Are you aware that Jesus, perfect and without blemish, was the perfect sacrifice for you? Whereas we are certainly not without blemish, are we giving the best of what we have to our Lord?

Headed to church, come as you are.

“³⁶You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ‘Holy to the Lord.’ ³⁷And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban. ³⁸It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.” – Exodus 28:36-38 (ESV)

You can see here in Exodus, there were strict instructions as to how to come to the Lord. Thanks to The New Covenant, that is not the expectation today.

I have to be careful with this subject. I will admit that I am confused by what some wear when they come to the Lord’s House though. And I am working toward acceptance.

When you come to the house of the Lord, I feel as though you should present yourself in a way that honors the Lord. I recall putting on your Sunday best when going to service. And, let’s not forget the “need” for new when it comes to Easter and Christmas services.

Everyone is accepted as you are, and there is no “expectation” as to how you dress when coming to the Lord’s house. Whereas I am confused, that does not mean unaccepting. The Lord is grateful to have all in His house. He loves us just as we are. Thank you Lord for the sacrifice of death to free me from the bonds of religious acts for acceptance.

When you think of going to the House of the Lord, what are your thoughts? Where do you sit in regard to acceptance? Are you aware of acceptance as you are?

I remember going to the amusement park and wanting to ride that big new ride that just opened. I make my way over to the area and lo and behold there is a line that based on the times laid out, three hours long. I now have a decision to make; get in line and wait, or take on something else in the park?

Whereas this might seem like a silly example of waiting or being patient, I believe there is some validity to it. You see, we are in similar situations each day. We can sit and wait on something or come back to it when it may be more convenient and others have had an opportunity to experience.

“⁹The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” – 2 Peter 3:9 (ESV)

Being patient and waiting are similar, but different at the same time. We can “wait” on something without being productive. Sitting, doing very little as time slips away from us. Or we can continue with our activities as we are patient for things to fall into place.

One might think of this as “multi-tasking”, but that is not the case. Being patient is waiting on the right time for something that we know is going to happen. Waiting on its own is less productive. Waiting places our attention on the one thing and therefore any other items are neglected as we “sit and wait” for the one thing. When “multi-tasking” your attention is spread over many things and therefore there is a lack of attention to any one thing. Being patient allows for our full attention to be placed on the one thing while the other item(s) are allowed to continue until the time is right for our attention to be there.

God is patient with us as we go through this world. He knows the time of His return and therefore He is able to turn His attention to our other needs and give our peers the opportunity to take advantage of the gift of salvation He has provided.

What are you waiting for? Does that require your full attention or could you possibly turn your attention elsewhere? What are your thoughts related to being patient and waiting?

“⁷Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until if receives the early and the late rains. ⁸You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” – James 5:7-8 (ESV)

When reading the above verses, I was taken to the place of the farmer. True farmers know when to plant and when to harvest (before the early rain and after the late rain). To the casual observer, it looks like the farmer is filled with indecision, when he is actually preparing for the right time.

Aren’t we in a similar situation with our Lord? When we have accepted the gift of salvation, we should now be preparing for the return of our Lord. We are working the plan for our lives as laid out by God and we learn through our constant communication with Him. This is not filled with indecision or wonder as to what is next, we are simply preparing for the return as if we know when Jesus will come again.

Are you working with the plan God has laid out for you? Are you looking toward the return of Jesus each day? Are you preparing (patient) for the second coming of our Lord?

Sometimes they just don’t know.

“¹⁴And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:14 (ESV)

In my profession as a Corporate Training Professional, one of the phrases I use in training classes often is for the learners to “be patient with their learning, ignorance is okay”. I believe that we don’t know what we don’t know and therefore need to be okay with that fact and work to learn.

Why is it that I state that in the classroom, however seem to forget that elsewhere? I seem to treat others around me as though they are partaking in “ignorance by design” or they choose not to know and when that happens, I get frustrated.

I should be the first to demonstrate patience with those around me and embrace that “ignorance is okay”. I should continue the classroom with those around me and allow them to “be patient with their learning”. Give them the opportunity to demonstrate their grasp of the information.

When you are around others, do you hold them to a higher standard of knowledge and experience? Are you allowing them the opportunity to learn at their pace? Are you able to be patient with all?

Patient: “uncomplaining; tolerant; persevering” – The New Webster’s Dictionary

“⁴Love is patient…” – 1 Corinthians 13:4 (ESV)

We profess our lives to Him and then turn and life a life of this world. We give ourselves to our spouse, then walk away at the first sign of difficulty. We are visibly present at church and with other Christians, but avoid them when needs arise.

Being patient is important when we think about our Lord and Savior. Imagine where we would be if God were as impatient with us as we tend to be. God does not give up on us just because we fell down. When we fail to honor God, He continues His tolerance and rescues us from difficulty.

I am pretty sure that God does not sit around complaining about us. When I look at the word “Patient” shouldn’t I be looking for the example in Christ?

Are you demonstrating the definition of “patient”? Are you living a life here of patience? Are you patient with others as God is patient with you?

Patience is a virtue that is extremely difficult to attain. We are living in a world were answers are at our fingertips and solutions come quickly. But, when it comes to difficult circumstances, things are not as quick and clear as we would like them to be.

“¹²…be patient in tribulation…” – Romans 12:12 (ESV)

Paul lays it out there for us, and he is one who should know. Paul spent plenty of time in prison dealing with adversity, and if there was anyone to grow impatient with his circumstances it would be him. It seemed as though every time he turned around, he was accused of something else, and where he did not deny the things accused of, the illegal legitimacy of his “wrong doings” was not exactly worthy of lifelong imprisonment.

I look at the things I go through daily or in life and seem to feel as though I have cornered the market in being beat down, when in truth, I have it so well and only refuse to be patient and allow God to work His plan for me. I am the one that needs work, not my life. My patience needs to be restored and it is up to me to restore it.

When you look at it all, where is your patience? Are you looking for quick fixes for those difficult times? Are you able to be patient in tribulation?

“¹One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up ²and said to him, ‘tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.’” – Luke 20:1-2 (ESV)

Now these priests and scribes may have been right to question someone teaching in the temple. In this instance, they knew Jesus and were challenging His authority to be there. Jesus turns the tables on them in the next couple of verses.

“³He answered them, ‘I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, ⁴was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?’” – Luke 20:3-4 (ESV)

Jesus simply asked them a question to help understand their knowledge. All they had to do was declare their beliefs or simply ask more questions to seek knowledge and understanding. They chose instead to declare ignorance without ambition, and Jesus gives His response to their original question.

“⁷So the answer that they did not know where it came from. ⁸And Jesus said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.’” – Luke 20:7-8 (ESV)

It would seem that Jesus is being difficult and avoiding, when in fact, when you look closer, He is simply following their lead. He is demonstrating His authority by choosing to not waste His time by explaining something that will not be received. Jesus understood that whatever it was He said at this moment would not be understood and those receiving would not seek to understand. Based on the feigning of ignorance by the priests and scribes, Jesus elected to hold His tongue as opposed to speaking to a wall.

Jesus demonstrated His authority by asking one question allowing them to take a stand, and they refused. It may look like Jesus “refused” to answer, and He did, however when/if the priests and scribes would have answered, I feel confident that Jesus would have seized the opportunity to explain and preach to them as well. Jesus was now the one in the room with the authority and showed that He did indeed have true authority.

When you are in situations, are you aware of the authority of those around you? Are you aware of your own authority? Are you aware that no matter your authority, we give way to the true authority in Jesus?