Thursday, December 11th

Today I want to magnify our discussion from Matthew’s perspective. Because I think Matthew included these gritty, raw, powerful yet glorious stories because it aligned with HIS story.

Matthew was the worst of the worst. He was a Jew, who was a tax collector, which meant he worked for Roman rule and taxed his fellow citizens, friends, countrymen.

Notice Matthew 9:9-13- 9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. 10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice. ’For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

The religious leaders were outraged that Jesus would spend his time with Matthew and the other outcasts, the other worst of the worst. But Jesus says, “this is who I came for … the worst of the worst.” As King, I’ve come to rescue you from your chaos and invite you to more.

When Jesus says to Matthew, “Come follow me.” He’s saying, “you are accepted. I want you on my team. I want you to be WITH me. I don’t’ care what your track record is. I don’t care what your resume says or doesn’t say. I don’t care how many loses you have. I don’t care how messy or chaotic your life is, I accept you, come follow me.”

Friends, Jesus is saying the same to you. “Come, follow me.” He’s saying, “you are accepted and made for more.” Don’t let this slide by, don’t think this is just another altar call. That your life isn’t that chaotic or that you have been following and you can slide right past this invitation. Because let me ask you this, are you living accepted? Are you living as though you are accepted by the King?

I am His and He is mine. I don’t have to live in the shadow of my past self because he has accepted me. Or I don’t have to jump through religious hoops, trying to convince the King to notice me. Are you living accepted? If not why?

Maybe some of you aren’t living accepted because you can’t believe that the King, would actually accept you, you are too far gone. Yet, Tamar and Rahab were accepted, they are in the genealogy of Jesus.

Living accepted by the King, means that you are living in His love, His identity, listening to His truth, living in freedom to honor the King. Reread that, write it down. What it means to be accepted.

Which means when you doubt his love for you, you aren’t living accepted. When you believe your identity is something other than a son or daughter of the Most High, you aren’t living accepted. When you listen to the lies of the evil one, you aren’t living accepted. When you feel as though serving the King is more like being a slave to earn your keep, you aren’t living accepted.

Today, this coming Christmas, how are you living accepted? Can you call out the moments when you don’t?