{"id":9040,"date":"2020-04-30T17:54:06","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T00:54:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?post_type=portfolio&#038;p=9040"},"modified":"2020-04-30T17:54:12","modified_gmt":"2020-05-01T00:54:12","slug":"2020-acceptance","status":"publish","type":"portfolio","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/gospel-express\/2020-acceptance\/","title":{"rendered":"Total Acceptance"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"flex_column av_one_full  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-0  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  \" style='border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><p style=\"text-align: right;\">Daily devotion from 10th Alliance<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-9041 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/love-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/love-1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/love-1-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/love-1-450x225.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: \u201cI have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. (Jeremiah 31:3)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re living in a pandemic of pandemonium. The entire world has been ushered into a time of uncertainty. Many of us are reflecting on the meaning of life and the significance of our existence.<\/p>\n<p>As people, it\u2019s natural for us to find personal identity in what we produce, how we are perceived by others and what we possess. These are all measurables for success. So, what happens when these are stripped away? What happens when you can\u2019t do anything, people turn away from you, and you don\u2019t have anything?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-9042 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/love-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/love-2.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/love-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/love-2-450x300.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This past Sunday, we were reminded that Jesus was tempted by the devil in these areas within the wilderness. In his condition of hunger and isolation he named these measurables for identity and success a lie. He claimed the truth that he was the \u201cdearly loved Son\u201d of his Father in heaven. He held onto the truth that he was \u201cbeloved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There are two phrases worth reflecting on in the verse above. The first phrase is,\u00a0<em>\u201c<strong>I have loved you<\/strong>.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0God has loved you before you were even born. His love was not a momentary impulse. God has loved each one of us since before time and will love us through eternity. You are extraordinary \u2013 there is no other you. God sees your uniqueness from all eternity. You have a unique part to play in God\u2019s story.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-9043 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/love-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/love-3.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/love-3-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/love-3-450x225.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The second phrase is,\u00a0<em>\u201c<strong>I have drawn you.<\/strong>\u201d<\/em>\u00a0This phrase is translated from the word\u00a0<em>mashakh,\u00a0<\/em>which means \u201cseize.\u201d We are seized by God\u2019s love. As we depend on him, he reveals more of himself. He gives us sufficient grace and all the strength we need. He is more than enough for us as we rely on him.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus knew he was the beloved even before he was born. What is said of Jesus is said of you. You are the beloved child of God. You can rest your whole identity on God\u2019s total acceptance of you \u2013 no matter what. He loves you.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":9041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"portfolio_entries":[35],"class_list":["post-9040","portfolio","type-portfolio","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","portfolio_entries-english-writer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/9040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/portfolio"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9040"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/9040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9044,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/9040\/revisions\/9044"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9040"},{"taxonomy":"portfolio_entries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_entries?post=9040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}