Page 14 - GOALS PDF
P. 14

But a believer in evolution would totally disagree with this.



               It means being accepted.  We all want to be accepted. Psychology says
               this is one of the most important aspects of life we seek after. But there
               are so many aspects of life, and people in life who don’t accept us. This

               makes us feel skeptical. Even in the gospel it talks about ‘Us vs. them’ –
               the conflict between Jews and Gentiles. (We are all Gentiles unless we

               have been born a Jew).


               There is such a degree of non-acceptance in the world that sometimes
               finding acceptance in some group or clan or click is hard. I’m a believer,

               and I know that churches shouldn’t be like this but many are.


               In the SPIRIT aspect of ‘Goals,’ this is a core meaning of Jesus on the

               cross: he says he will turn no one away who comes to him seeking him.
               All religions say we must be worthy of his acceptance and we must earn
               it. This is not what the gospel of the Bible says.



               It is not about US living a perfect life, but about HIM living a perfect life
               for us – and as Paul says, ‘even becoming sin for us and giving us his

               divine inheritance.’ A favorite verse of mine is, “As Jesus is, so are WE in
               this world.” Jesus merely says to trust and believe in him, and believe
               and live his gospel of grace and peace with God.


               It means being forgiven.  We all know we don’t live life as good as we

               could, and that we all stumble and fall at various points in life. Many
               people even find it hard to be forgiven by their spouse, or by their kids,

               or by close friends. We tend to carry grudges to the grave it seems. One
               article I read said, “It’s just human nature.”


               That’s a very poor statement. The gospel tells us that we’re all forgiven

               who place our trust and faith in God, as revealed by Jesus. We are told
               we should forgive – ‘because we were first forgiven.’ Jesus says, “Love






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