"The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children" (Romans 8:16 NIV).
There
are a number of people who are confused as to whether or not they are
descendants of Abraham and entitled to all the benefits of being one of
God's chosen. From the beginning, God chose those He wanted to call His
own and bless. This relationship was based on a natural connection to
Abraham through bloodline (the basis of most relationships claiming to
be family). However, because many of the natural relatives were
rebellious and disobedient, the connective relationship with God was
broken and Jesus had to come to restore it.
When the relationship was restored through the work on the cross, all who chose
to accept Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord became part of the
family by adoption through Holy Spirit. Now, if we are adopted into the
family of Abraham, and recognized by God as being part of the family,
why on earth are we confused?
Instead of
listening to those who are confused and allow negativity to reign in
their lives, we must know for ourselves whose children we are. Imagine
this event being played out in a courtroom. We have been charged with
proclaiming we are joint-heirs with Christ (He's our elder brother) and
thereby children of the most High God. All of the witnesses of religious
dogma have been called to testify against us, but there is One who
testifies with irrefutable evidence-the Word of God. Holy Spirit
convinces our spirit that we are the children of God and as such,
entitled to all the benefits and promises of God!
Do
we dare believe Him? Absolutely, we dare and proclaim from the mountain
tops and throughout the valleys that we are children of God. We have a
right to proclaim God as our Father, Jesus as our elder brother and Holy
Spirit as our guide and counselor in all matters. We have a right to receive all the benefits God promised the Children of Israel from the beginning. We can claim with assurance that God has planned our lives and He planned them with purpose--that we might prosper and have a future with hope. We
can proclaim that whatever we put our hands to when we obey God, will
succeed. We can rest assured of His promises of victory--being the
head and not the tail, being healed by the stripes Jesus bore before
being nailed to the cross, having an eternal resting place with Jesus
when we choose to be obedient. We have a right to make these claims when we have accepted the adopting agent--our faith in God.
Now with the right to receive all the promises, we all put ourselves in position to receive all the persecution and negativity that was directed at Jesus.
We must stay focused on Him and never lose sight of the prize in Christ
Jesus--our hope must remain intact until the end when we receive our
eternal reward. However, when we choose not to be obedient,
we must also expect to receive the consequences that were also promised
to those children who disobeyed.
Think
about it! Are you proclaiming to be a child of the Most High? I have
been accused of proclaiming an inheritance in Jesus--and the evidence provided by Holy Spirit is irrefutable! Hallelujah! I am a child of the Most High, entitled to all His many benefits!
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