2 minute read.
Daily Reading: 1 Kings 9:1-10:29 ESV, Acts 8:14-40 ESV, Psalm 130:1-8 ESV, Proverbs 17:2-3 ESV
Daily Verse: “When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria.” (Acts 8:14 ESV)
DECHOMAI (1312): “This word signifies to accept by a deliberate and ready reception of what is offered, adding the idea of appropriation, to the heart.”[i]
Deliberate and ready.
Acceptance requires intention. Rebelling against unchangeable circumstances exhausts me. Inevitably, whether I like it or not, I must accept the facts of life. Jesus spoke the truth in love, and thankfully, the Samarians received it.
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as a pathway to peace. Taking as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it. Trusting that You will make all things right, if I surrender to Your will. So that I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen”
Reinhold Niebuhr
Accept with grace.
Reinhold Niebuhr wrote the Serenity prayer in 1932-1933, the first half famously used in Alcoholics Anonymous. Our pathway to peace comes from the hardships we suffer. In this world, sin abounds, but with Jesus, we can overcome the world.
Accepting Jesus into your heart means understanding the temporary nature of the world we live in today. Like a vapor of smoke, our lives pass by in an instant. In the blink of an eye, we move from earth to heaven, leaving behind the troubles and embracing the beauty of heaven.
Our physical lives will end, but our spiritual lives span eternity. God’s spirit within us provides His eternal peace. Whether on earth or in heaven, we can experience Christ’s calm that surpasses all understanding when we submit our will to His, accepting what we cannot change.
[i] Strong, J., & Strong, J. (2010). The New Strong’s expanded exhaustive concordance of the Bible. Greek Dictionary of the New Testament (p. 64) Thomas Nelson
