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Posts Tagged ‘adopted by God’

A Royal Genealogy

Posted in From My Heart, tagged , , on February 5, 2014| 2 Comments »

i am a child of God

 

I have always loved researching genealogy. I have always had this need to find out where I “came from”, What parts of my ancestors make me who I am. I know that I am not alone in this need to find out who I am. I believe we all have this need to know where we came from, to connect with some group or family, to belong. God has placed this yearning to belong in our hearts, so that we will seek Him and His family of believers. Unfortunately, most of us run around chasing our tails, trying to fill this empty hole in our hearts with gang memberships, in bars and taverns, in wrong relationships, in groups and with people who will be our “family” as long as it suits their purpose.  As soon as the winds shift and they realize that they aren’t getting what they want from the relationship they leave, leaving behind the rubble of a broken relationship and reinforcing that hole in our hearts. As humans, we can be a bit hard headed (believe me, I’m at the top of the list!) and we run ourselves ragged chasing that one relationship, that one group, that one family that will fill that hole, that will fill that empty place in our spirits. When we don’t find that “one thing” that will fill the empty place, we sink deeper into despair, depression, and loneliness. I’m here to tell you, as a loving friend, that the empty place will never be filled by a human relationship. There isn’t a group on the earth that can fill the void. There is only ONE THING that can fill the empty hollows of our hearts and His is name is Jesus!

God loves us and wants us to seek Him and Him alone. When we seek fulfillment in earthly relationships we will never find that joy that He longs to give us. God showed me today that my earthly genealogy doesn’t matter. My earthly genealogy doesn’t make me who I am. Who my ancestors were or weren’t doesn’t make one bit of difference in the grand scheme of things. Sure, it’s nice to know who are earthly ancestors were, but the most important thing to know is that we are Abraham’s seed! David, the giant killer is my ancestor! Ruth, the loyal daughter-in-law is my ancestor! Joseph, the dreamer is my ancestor! Esther, the Jewish queen is my ancestor! Deborah, the only woman judge in the Bible is my ancestor! The list goes on and on! This is exciting! This is the line of people I come from, that you come from!
God has adopted us into His family:
John 1: 12-13
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
Galatians 4:7
So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.
Ephesians 1:5
He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-
He adopted us in accordance with His pleasure and will! He pleasures in us! We are heirs! We are part of God’s family! This is who I am…this is who you are…a member of God’s family. We are the members of a royal genealogy. This should encourage us all! This should give us ALL hope! We don’t have to seek earthly fulfillment through earthly relationships, we have already been adopted into a royal family by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Seek God! Dig into the word and find out who you truly are! God’s word is truth. It does not lie. It does not contradict itself. Before you seek another family tie that leaves you feeling worthless, SEEK GOD!

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Day 2: Adopted As God’s Child

Posted in Identity: A 12 Day Devotional, tagged , on January 8, 2014| Leave a Comment »

adopted

Ephesians 1:5

In love, he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.

According to the http://www.freedictionary.com the definition of predestined is to fix upon, decide or decree in advance. So, God in His love decided in advance that we were to be His adopted children. It was not a mistake. God did not wake up one day and say, “well, I guess I’ll adopt so and so.” He chose us to be His adopted children.

Usually, when a couple adopts a child, there really is no way to tell the extent of issues that child may have faced or will face due to the trauma in their lives. We have to be willing to take a chance and make a commitment to love that child regardless of what issues may come up down the road. God knows exactly what we have gone through, what sins we have committed, what mistakes we have made, what we will go through, and He chose to adopt us anyway! Nothing about us or our lives is a surprise to Him. He loves us that much!

He does require one thing from us though. We have to be willing to accept His son Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made for us on the cross. We have to accept Jesus completely in order for our heavenly Father to adopt us. Let me put it another way, we need to accept the GIFT of Jesus in our lives to be adopted by God. There are no strings attached to receiving the gift of Jesus. It is a choice that we make on our own. It is a gift freely given, but we must accept Jesus into our hearts and our lives. God will never force Himself or Jesus on anyone.

The end of the verse says that it is His pleasure and His will that we be adopted children of the King. God does not want any of His children to suffer the consequences of not accepting Jesus. He loves us all and it is His will that WE ALL become His adopted children. Our Father does not want any of us to perish. It is up to us. The choice is ours to make.

I have accepted the gift of Jesus in my heart and my life. I know that I am the adopted daughter of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. I am a princess. I am comforted in my Daddy’s arms.

If you have been struggling with the decision to accept Jesus, I encourage you to open your heart today and become the adopted child of a loving and compassionate God. It is up to you. God is waiting with open arms for you. He decided even before you were born that He wanted to adopt you. Even though you are not perfect, God wants you to be His child!

If you need someone to guide you in taking the step of receiving Jesus in your heart and life, please contact me! I am here for you. I want you to know the love and mercy of my heavenly Father. You are in my prayers, dear friend, let me know how I can help.

God loves you and so do I!

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