How Good and Holiness Come to Us
Today’s Bible Verse:
Romans 8:15 ESV
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
I admit that my thoughts on Ephesians 4 from yesterday should have followed today’s thoughts on Romans 8:15. How can you do the good things of faith without focusing first on how you were given the spirit? What can I say?!
Saint Paul reminds us of the profound transformation that takes place in the life of a believer. Through the Holy Spirit, we are no longer slaves to fear and sin but adopted children of God. This adoption brings us into an intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father, allowing us to call upon Him with the endearing term “Abba.”
Paul contrasts the experience of living under the law, which can lead to fear and bondage, with the freedom and joy of living in the Spirit. While good and holy, the law can also expose our sinfulness and leave us feeling condemned. However, through faith in Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit, who sets us free from the law's condemnation and brings us into a new relationship with God.
The Holy Spirit is the agent of our adoption, sealing us as God's children and assuring us of our inheritance. This adoption is not based on our merit or worthiness but on the grace and love of God. Through the Spirit, we are given the privilege of calling God “Abba,” an Aramaic term of endearment that expresses a close and intimate relationship.
This intimate relationship with God is not just a theological concept, but a lived reality. The Spirit empowers us to cry out to God as our Father, bringing our joys, sorrows, hopes, and fears before Him. We can confidently approach Him, knowing He hears our prayers and cares for us deeply.
This adoption also carries a responsibility to live as God's children. We are called to reflect His character in our words and actions, to love one another as He has loved us, and to share the good news of His grace with the world. The Spirit empowers us to live out our identity as God's children, bearing witness to His love and transforming power.
PRAYERS
Keep in Your Prayers:
All people dealing with cancer
Those who reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
A Prayer for Today:
Loving Father, thank you for adopting me as your child through the Holy Spirit. Help me to live in the freedom and joy of this new relationship, to call upon you with confidence, and to reflect your love and grace in all that I do. In Jesus’ name, I pray. 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.
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.