You Are God’s Child
Tuesday’s Verse:
From John 1:12 NIV
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
Faith in Jesus is, therefore, believing with trust, accepting Him who is Himself comes to make us a people who can be forgiven, who can be freed from sin, death, and the devil, by believing in Him and in His name. We are therefore no longer left to ourselves. John does not say that God merely pardons us, that He merely spares us. By His grace, we are now and henceforth by faith in Jesus His children.
Do you see what that means? You are a child of the living God. That’s not the natural state of every human being. Not everyone is born in the biblical sense of the word, a child of God. No, by nature we are not; we are sons of wrath. But faith in Christ, alone, by faith alone, and that faith is not of ourselves, is the gift of God, by His Word and His Spirit, makes us His sons.
God has begotten us in Christ by the Spirit of truth so that we might become children of God. In Christ Jesus, God has given us all the rights, privileges, and positions of sons. You are a child of God. No longer are you, in yourself, trying to pursue worth. You cannot earn God’s love. You cannot generate His grace for yourself by good behavior. He has given you fully in Christ.
In Christ, the gospel says to each of us, you are God’s child, no matter what else the world says about you. You are God’s child, no matter how good or how bad you are, no matter how well or how poorly you perform. You are God’s child.
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Lord, I want to take this to heart. In Jesus, I am a child of the living God. Help me, by Your Spirit, to grow in faith in You and in the knowledge of who I am in You. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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