Have you thanked Him?
Have you praised Him?
Have you made it your priority to agree and
cooperate with Him today?
Have you taken that deep breath and listened for
what He has for you today?
1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)
The first thing I want you to do is pray.
Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.
But when the time arrived that was set
by God the Father, God sent his Son, born among us of a woman, born under the
conditions of the law so that he might redeem those of us who have been
kidnapped by the law. Thus, we have been set free to experience our rightful
heritage. You can tell for sure that you
are now fully adopted as his own children because God sent the Spirit of his
Son into our lives crying out, “Papa! Father!” Doesn’t that privilege of
intimate conversation with God make it plain that you are not a slave, but a
child? And if you are a child, you’re also an heir, with complete access to
the inheritance. Galatians 4:5-7 (MSG)
I was blessed to share with the congregation at
Bowersville Church of Christ yesterday.
Interestingly, this is “where I began, before I began”.
This was my parent’s church before they became my parents. Lots of history in that place. And because my dad has been having a few health
challenges of late, mom and I were honored to lead worship yesterday. (as
a little aside, pray for my dad)
It is a little funny, I haven’t led worship like
that for a long time; offering the old hymns and only a piano to accompany. But it was a blessing indeed.
And following worship, Pastor Brent shared from
this passage from Galatians I penned above.
And while he didn’t lean on Peterson’s paraphrase, I was refreshed by
the message; refreshed by its truth!
Because of CHRIST we have been set FREE to embrace
our heritage!
Because of CHRIST we have been adopted as sons and
daughters.
Because of CHRIST we have HIS Spirit living in us
and with us and through us.
Now I know that this is not overly revelatory, but
I will tell you, the folks I work with everyday often don’t have that assurance. They don’t know the love of the Father who
has graced them with adoption and the gift of the Spirit. Instead they struggle with life feeling disenfranchised,
abandoned and often alone.
That should stir us!
Friends, those of us in CHRIST are deeply blessed
to be called GOD’S CHILDREN. We are! Somedays we need to be reminded. At least I do.
And we need to share it!
Maya Angelou made the following observation about
this…
I believed that there was a God because I was told it by my grandmother
and later by other adults. But when I found that I knew not only that there was
God but that I was a child of God, when
I understood that, when I comprehended that, more than that, when I
internalized that, ingested that, I became courageous.
Ready to be courageous today?
Ready to embrace your son-ship and daughter-ship
as a catalyst to help others, especially those who don’t know of this remarkable
a free opportunity?
I pray that you are!
HAVE A BLESSED DAY!
Love all of you
OPPORTUNITIES
for HOPE
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