Becoming Children of God
Today’s Bible Verse:
John 1:12 ESV
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God
In the heart of John's Gospel, we find a profound truth that underpins the entire Christian faith: the transformative power of belief in Jesus Christ. Through this belief, we are granted the extraordinary privilege of becoming children of God. This isn't simply a change in status or a metaphorical embrace but a radical shift in our identity and relationship with the Father. For us, this starts at our Baptism.
Thus, the question is, how do we receive Christ? Receiving our Lord is more than just an intellectual acknowledgment of His existence or an emotional response to His teachings. It is the reality that through Baptism, we receive God’s Son by the Holy Spirit and God’s Word in and under the water. The radical shift in our lives comes at the font—from sinner to saint by God’s work for us.
PRAYERS
Keep in Your Prayers:
All people dealing with cancer
Those who reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
A Prayer for Today:
Heavenly Father, thank You for the precious gift of adoption through faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ. In His 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.
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