STEEMCHURCH: Love, Acceptance and Forgiveness

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God wants to heal not only your body but also your emotions and self-esteem.

Latin American culture has long suffered from great contradictions. One of them is the condition of spiritual orphanhood, despite the fact that our people have been among the most religious on the planet. Perhaps since the days of forced miscegenation, we have suffered from this spirit of orphanhood, which is the root of a mentality of self-rejection and shame. For this cause many express their religious fervor by doing penance and personal sacrifices. They seek to settle accounts with God and resolve their guilt feelings by walking on their knees until they are bled, carrying thorny sticks on their backs, or sleeping on a stone bed. They think that God is distant and, by the way, annoyed by the way they have lived, and that they need to appease him by self-punishing.

But this spiritual illness caused by the spirit of orphanhood can be banished from our hearts if we receive a revelation of God's love through the precious Holy Spirit. He is the bearer and communicator of the goodwill of the Father, who adopts and accepts us as children.

Our Lord Jesus, in the story of the prodigal son, presented us with an extraordinary example of the intentions of our precious Heavenly Father. These simple steps will help you get closer to God, receive the Spirit of adoption and be healed of the shame of the past.

1. Recognize that God longs for you

The first step to relate to God correctly is to recognize that He longs for you. God's interest in you is pure and his intentions are for your good. One of the most encouraging truths that the Bible teaches us is that God has always taken the first step. Today we can approach Him because He approached us first; We can love him because he loved us first.

Romans 5: 8 But God shows his love for us, in that while we are still sinners, Christ died for us.

1. Get up and go to your Heavenly Father

If God loved us and provided the way back home, what belongs to us is to rise from the place of failure and frustration, repent and approach Him with humility.

Luke 15:18 I will rise and go to my father, and I will say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

Even when you feel you have no strength to move forward, cry out to God. The action of crying unleashes your faith and is the first step towards healing.

Mark 10:47 And hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! And many scolded him to be quiet, but he cried out much more: Son of David, have mercy on me!

1. Believe that your Heavenly Father loves you

The love of God is unconditional. He will never, never stop loving you. It is very important that you recognize this truth, for it will make your faith stronger and resist the lies of the enemy of your soul. Remember that there is nothing you can do to stop you from loving, and there is nothing you can do to love you more. He loves you with eternal love!

Luke 15:20 And rising up, he came to his father. And when he was still far away, his father saw him, and was moved with mercy, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

Jeremiah 31: 3 The Lord manifested himself to me a long time ago, saying: With everlasting love I have loved you; therefore, I prolonged my mercy.

1. Recognize that your heavenly father accepts you

The three most important words that feed the restoration work that your Heavenly Father wants to do in your life are: Love, Acceptance and Forgiveness. God wants to heal not only your body but also your emotions and self-esteem. The father of the prodigal son not only dressed him in the best dress, but also placed a ring in his hand, symbol of the favored position as a son to the one who was restoring him.

Luke 15:22 But the father said to his servants, Bring out the best robe, and clothe him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.

1. Rejoice with your Heavenly Father

God is not angry with you. Actually, he is so happy that you have decided to approach Him who has prepared a party in your honor. Certainly, a cheerful heart, which recognizes the love and acceptance of the Heavenly Father is the most important source of healing for our body, soul and spirit.

Luke 15:23 And bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make a feast; because this my dead son was, and has revived; It was lost, and it is found. And they began to rejoice.

If you recognize God's longing for you and receive his love and acceptance daily, your faith will be indestructible. You will know that you are a son and not an orphan, and you will enjoy the peace inheritance He has prepared for you.