Accept

Suggested Readings To Read Through The Bible In A Year

Friday   May 7, 2010   Romans 15-16 and Proverbs 19:15-29

Romans 15:7

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

  Chapters 14 and 15 of Paul’s letter to the Romans has a great deal to say about the subject(s) of acceptance and unity. In the context Paul addresses some of the issues that were causing some conflict in the first century church. It seems to be our nature to put ourselves and our likes and dislikes first ... to take the posture of I am right and you are wrong so maybe we should part ways if you can’t see things my way. While there may be some issues of faith that call for drawing that kind of a line, the Lord wants us to know through Paul’s writings that there are many things that we may disagree about, but we can still be in a spirit of unity because we understand that we all belong to the Lord. 

  Accept one another . . . that is the exhortation for today . . . accept one another. That means to open our arms and hearts to each other. To value the individual so much that he or she experiences warmth and belonging.

  Accept one another . . . how? Just as Christ accepted you. Were accepted by Christ because of how good looking you are – or because you were such a good person – or because of your superior intelligence? Were you accepted by Christ because of how you dress, or where you live, or how much education you have? The Bible teaches us that Jesus accepted us into his family even though we were sinners and hostile towards God. He opened his arms to us when we were clothed in the filthy rags of self righteousness and rebellion to the ways of God. We were all sinners – hopelessly lost sinners. Yet, God in his incredible love reached out to us to call us to himself in order to transform us from being children of hell to being children of God. We all understand that is only because of the love and grace of God that we are where we are today. Paul reminds us that we are to treat each other with that same kind of love and grace. 

  Accept one another . . .Why? In order to bring praise to God.



Suggested Readings To Read Through The Bible In A Year

Saturday  May 8, 2010    Ruth 1-4 and Proverbs 20:1-15

Sunday    May 9, 2010    Ephesians 1-2 and Proverbs 20:16-30

Monday   May 10, 2010  Ephesians 3-4 and Proverbs 21:1-16

Tuesday  May 11, 2010  Ephesians 5-6 and Proverbs 21:17-31