Your Identity In Christ: Day 9 - Pastor Kerry Shook
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“For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.
In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ,
in accordance with His pleasure and will.”
Ephesians 1:4-5 (NIV)
One of the great ministries of our church is our foster care and adoption ministries. It reminds me of God’s great love and care for each of us who are in Christ. We were never naturally His children by physical birth but have been adopted into His own family through Christ Jesus! As Christians, we have been adopted by God! Once undeserving and without rights as natural children, God adopted us and granted us the status of His sons and daughters! I love the way the New Living Translation puts it in Ephesians 1:5, “His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us. And He did this because He wanted to!”
Wow! What a position you and I have in Christ! This was God’s unchanging plan! Theologians call this God’s predestined plan. It means He chose you in advance! Pastor and author, Warren Wiersbe, helps us understand a great mystery and wonderful privilege associated with our adoption in Christ. He writes, “Adoption is the act of God by which He gives us an adult standing in the family. Why does He do this? So that we might immediately begin to claim our inheritance and enjoy our spiritual wealth! A baby cannot legally use this inheritance, but an adult son can—and should! This means that you do not have to wait until you are an old saint before you can claim your riches in Christ.”
Look what the Bible says about this in Galatians 4:1-7 (NLT), “Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world. But when the right time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent Him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that He could adopt us as His very own children. And because we are His children, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, ‘Abba, Father.’ Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are His child, God has made you His heir.” WOW! This is who we are in Christ, child of God!
But that’s not all! There is a future aspect to our adoption found in Romans 8:22-23 that we have to look forward to when we will receive our glorified bodies at the return of Jesus Christ. You and I already enjoy our “adult” standing before God as His adoptive children, but the world cannot see that now. When Jesus returns to take us to our Father’s house, this “private adoption” will be public for everyone to see!
Now, here’s the best part to me. It’s found in the last part of Ephesians 1:5 where the Bible tells us just why God adopted us. “… He did this because He wanted to!” How awesome and mind-blowing is that? Praise God! He chose you because He wanted you! You were chosen, not rejected! Begin now to exercise your inheritance in Christ. You are no longer an orphan; you have been adopted by God! You are His chosen child!
Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.
Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.