"Catch and Release"

"Will the Lord cast off for ever? And will he be favourable no more?" (Psalms 77:7) Do not ever forget what happened then, because it only happens once! There was a question asked yesterday on CSN, but I don't think the caller liked the answer, because he hung up during the answer being given. The question was about accepting Jesus, and where does it say that in the Bible? You know, we tend to believe the most popular teachings more than we believe what the Bible teaches; not that we are moved in any direction based upon what we are taught, because when it comes to our salvation, you're either saved or you're not. Jesus gave some parables and examples regarding this question, which we find in Matthew 13:24-52. Obviously, there is some variations to the degree of commitment people have given of their lives to the Lord, so there real test is yet to come; but those that have accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior know who they are; you might not be able to tell who they are from the pack, but the Lord knows them and they know Him. The word used to describe this process is called "repent" and it is commonly referred to as the process of turning our lives away from sin and towards the Lord. My question would have been more to the meaning of accept, than if accept was even found in the Bible; because the way I see it, accept can either mean we accept Jesus or we believe that He has accepted us. The "Thief on the Cross" is a good example of this, because he had only a very short time to demonstrate how this works. He made a request to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." And Jesus said to him, "Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:42-43) Now, let me ask you something very important: At what point of this conversation does acceptance come? Was it the beginning of the conversation when the thief spoke up and asked to be accepted? Or was it the acceptance of the request being acknowledged? I am here today to tell you something very very important. It was the man's acceptance of the promise, "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise!" You see, when I asked Jesus to come into my heart, there was an acknowledgement to my request, He entered into my heart! At that point in my life, I accepted Jesus! It was not when I made the request, it was after He acknowledged my request and I believed what He did; just as that man on the cross believed what Jesus said. Now imagine, for just a moment, if that man had survived his execution; I know this sounds weird, but hear me out. Would that acceptance of what Jesus said made any difference the day after? How about a year after? Forty years after? Not if that man believed that he would someday be with the Lord, it would make no difference at all... "The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples. As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, "Look! There is the Lamb of God!" When John's two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus. Jesus looked around and saw them following. "What do you want?" he asked them. They replied, "Rabbi" (which means "Teacher"), "where are you staying?" "Come and see," he said. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day." (John 1:35-39) NLT