Hebrews 8:10 "I will be their God and they shall be My people."
Being Received To Him
"All true Christians are a chosen generation; they make one family, a
people distinct from the world: of another spirit, principle, and
practice; which they could never be, if they were not chosen in Christ to
be such, and sanctified by his Spirit." Matthew Henry
Being received to Him means entering a new family and all the new
relationships and roles that come with it. Our father changes. Our
brothers and sisters change. We used to be outside the family looking in,
now we are inside the family looking out. It changes the way you pray.
New Roles.
Think about adoption. In our society, so many are looking for natural
parents after being adopted to another family as children. That inner
thirst to know the original parent is strong. Even men and women in their
sixties somehow are not satisfied with life until the question, "Whose am
I?" is answered.
The problem is you can't go back. No matter if you find that parent or
not, roles have changed. The adopted person is a different person, and
the parents are different people. They have lived lives and developed
with relationships and roles based on the changes from that point of
separation from one and joining to another. The adopted child may still
look like the original parents but really acts different.
Peace With God
Really, that is what is so special about our adoption into the family of
God. We are changed. Old things are passed up and put on the shelf. New
ways of thinking, living, acting, talking, and walking are made to be
ours. We put on a new image that is made to look like our new Father.
When you live around someone you change to be like them and take their
nature. The other day my two year old nephew was on the phone. "It's not
uncle Phil," he said, "it's Grandpa." My voice is the voice of my dad.
By tone, mannerism, and accent, I have his voice. Part inherited, part
impressing his image on me through relationship.
In a natural adoption, we keep our nature. Our face and hands have been
inherited from a different lineage. In supernatural adoption and
receiving into the family of God, we lose our nature and get a new one.
We look into the mirror of Jesus and become more and more like Him. We
begin to look like our brother. We begin to look like our Father, because
Jesus looks like Him. The family resemblance to the old family fades
every day and the family resemblance to the new family
New Images
When we pray, talk to God, spend time listening and speaking back to Him,
we are changed. He receives us and changes us at the same moment. A
friend mentioned the other day how he was impressed by the "emotion of
prayer." It surprised him. Yes, even our emotions change to His
emotions. His mercy, compassion, love, wrath, zeal begin to become a part
of us. Some items that just passed us by in life before, now capture our
attention and emotion. Takers become givers. Self centered becomes other
centered. When we spend time with Him in prayer????.
Gather Your Heart And Take Inventory
How have you changed to be more like your Father?
Are there areas where you need to change that haven't?
Are you spending enough time with Him in prayer for Him to have the image
changing effect He would like to have?
Gather Your Heart And Take Action
Up your time investment with the Father this week. Take one attribute of
prayer and spend more minutes on it. Praise, thanksgiving, asking,
confession of promises, confession of faults, forgiving others. Let Him
have a little more time to work on that image.
Gather Your Heart And Pray
Father, thanks so much for receiving me into Your family. Help me cherish
my image changing time with You. So often I let life steal precious
moments away from You, and I'm the one who suffers the loss. Change me,
Father. Impress Your image on me in my thoughts, words, actions, and
emotions. Help me to feel like You feel toward this family of God.
REMEMBRANCE:
When you feel discouraged, disenchanted, disheartened, disappointed,
disabled, disjointed, or disconnected then remember to be:
Encouraged by His righteousness.
Proverbs 28:1 the RIGHTEOUS are as bold as a lion -
Enchanted by His passion.
Psalm 119:139 My ZEAL has consumed me.
Heartened by His strength.
Psalm 27:1 The Lord is the STRENGTH of my life
Appointed in hope.
Romans 5:5 HOPE does not disappoint.
Enabled by knowledge.
Psalm 18:34 He teaches my hands to make war. KNOWLEDGE
Connected and Accepted into His glory.
Romans 15:7 as Christ also received us to the GLORY of God
Joined and Taken up to His bosom.
Hebrews 8:10 "I will be their God and they shall be My people." MERCY
Edified by the truth in love.
Ephesians 4:15 speaking the TRUTH in LOVE may grow up in all things into
Him who is the head - Christ.
Sustained by His power.
1 Peter 1:5 who are kept by the POWER of God