Good morning! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, celebrating Jesus’ birth and all that He is and giving love and joy to the wonderful families that God blessed us with! This morning we are encouraged by knowing we can and should be led by the Holy Spirit to pray and receive God’s blessings.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation – but it is not to our sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. And so, we should not be like cringing, fearful slaves, but we should behave like God’s very own children, adopted into the bosom of his family, and calling to him, “Abba, Father.” For His Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we really are God’s children. (Romans 8:12-16)
We shout, “This isn’t fair!” Life crushes us with anger, fear, disappointment, loss, or anxiety, driving us to our knees. Crying “Abba,” (the Aramaic word for Daddy or Papa) we spill our guts to God in prayer. He uses His power to help us solve our problems, increasing our faith in Him. We repent for our part in the mess we’ve put ourselves into and acknowledge we need Him to get us out. His Holy Spirit embraces us into His bosom, reminding us that our sins were crucified with His Son. We are free from the power of sin’s conviction, so we no longer act like cringing, fearful slaves. Whenever we say, “Abba, I love you,” He touches our hearts, giving us the peace and love that only He can give us, His children. We should never feel guilty calling out to Him with our needs because we have an obligation to behave like His very own children.
“But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in Gods love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” (Jude 1:20-21)
Good reminders in this devotion. Remembering everyday that we are God’s children and he loves us AND we love him. Always His promise of eternal life.
God is the God of love and peace. I want everyone to know that He will forgive anything you have done. King David and Paul were both murderers but God was able to change them into great men. I am convinced we will see many people in heaven whom we don’t expect to see because of God’s forgiveness and gift of righteousness.