Our Adoption As Sons

Romans 8: 23

... Even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.

We are already born into the Family as sons and daughters, but we are still children, in school in this World. 

When we "graduate," and are pronounced fully mature enough as adults to take on the responsibilities of running the "Family business," the Kingdom of God, and to inherit all the wealth and riches of the Family; that is the idea of the word translated, "adoption." 

Today in our modern societies, we don't practice this concept of "confirmation" as the Romans did, so our understanding is not the same as theirs. 

Our idea of "adoption" is taking a child who has been born into one family and making that child a legal son or daughter in a different family. This is what God has done with us, in taking us out of the Earthly realm and bringing us into His Heavenly realm; but when God does this it is not only legal, it is also actual, in causing us to be born spiritually, with His Spirit. 

So we have not yet been "adopted" in this Biblical sense. This will happen when Jesus returns.

I Corinthians 15: 53-55

For this perishable must put on the imperishible, and this mortal must put on immortality (see vs. 35-58).
But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written (in Isaiah 25:8), "Death is swallowed up in victory,"
(and in Hosea 13:14) "O death, where is your victory, O Sheol, where is your sting?" 

These scriptures from Isaiah and Hosea are talking about the Day of the Lord, the coming of the King, when He will come to the Earth to conquer the whole World and rule the whole Earth as His Kingdom. 

The whole Bible is one story, the story of Time, from the beginning to the end of Time as we know it. The beginning of God's Kingdom. And we are given a glimpse of the next epoch of Time, with the New Heaven and New Earth. 

God has told us what will happen, He's laid it all out for us to study and learn to understand. 

But it's like He wrote it in a code, so it can be very confusing. But He's given us the key, His Holy Spirit, to unlock it. 

Those who have this Key can de-code this missive, and connect the dots to see the bigger picture. 

It takes time and effort, and much prayer, and consistency and determination. It takes seeking the God Who founded what exists, and designed how it would work. It takes searching out the Lord Who rules everything that is, and is the Boss over it all to see to it that it all works out according to Plan. And it takes yielding our thinking processes to His ways instead of our own logic, through His Holy Spirit. 

I encourage those who have God's Holy Spirit living in their spirits to make their own studies of everything I write here. Even Paul said that the Bereans were "more noble" because they didn't just take even Paul's word, but "searched the Scriptures to see whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11). 

So I encourage you, my dear reader, to see for yourself whether everything I say in this blog is really God's Truth. I know I'm not perfect, but I do know that God's Holy Spirit leads and guides me in my studies, and teaches me; and I have gained over the years an understanding of God's Word so that I've been able to see much of what God has revealed.

If what you read here is not clear to you, or if I have mis-spoken anything, please let me know. I will answer whatever questions you have, and I will research your idea that differs from mine. 

My prayer for you is that God would use this resource to draw you closer to Himself, teach You His ways, and help you in all of your steps as you walk this life hand-in-hand with our Friend. 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Our Clothes

Colossians 3: 12-15

And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on [clothe yourself with] a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you forgive.
And beyond [above, on top of] all these things put on Love [Agape, unconditional Love], which is the bond of unity.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you have been called in one body; and be thankful.

What are you wearing today?

This is to be our clothes, the outfit we get dressed in every day. Our "uniform" as Christians. 

Like underwear, our heart of compassion gives the foundation to all the rest of the outfit. Then we put on all the pieces of clothing that make up our outfit: the kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance and forgiveness are our; blouse/shirt, pants/skirt, belt, socks, shoes, vest, sweater, wrap; all the pieces that make up the outfit we're wearing today. 

Then on top of it all, we put on the overcoat, that ties everything together and completes our outfit for going out: unconditional Love, the Love God loves us with. 

And living out all these virtues will also produce the peace of Christ, that releases us of all the cares and worries of the World. 

Dress for success, in the wardrobe God provides. 

And let's not forget to thank Him for every detail of every blessing He continually blesses us with every day, from the riches of His glory and the bounty He put into this Earth. 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

The Widow's Oil

II Kings 4: 1-7

Elisha multiplies the widow's oil: 

"Borrow as many large empty containers as you can from all your neighbors. Then close the door (for privacy) and pour oil into all those containers. When each one is full, set it aside." 
..."There are no more containers." So the oil stopped flowing.

God supplied all the oil she needed to sell and support herself and her sons. When the last jar was full, the oil stopped being multiplied. God's provision was as bountiful as her faith and obedience. 

He told her, "Sell the oil and pay your debt. The rest is for you and your children" 

So I hope my own faith and obedience is as great as hers, that my preparation and efforts did allow me enough to pay all my debts, with enough left to accomplish what I need to do. 

Father, show me the path to take, teach me how to do what is needful, and lead me into what will promote Your Kingdom and bring glory to Your Name. 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Job's Story

Job 2: 10

... Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity? In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Job was an amazing man, and a good example to follow. 

He had been so wealthy that he was "the greatest of all the men of the East." 

His family, his sons and daughters, all got along well together and honored one another. 

And as the priest of the family he continually cared for their spiritual well-being (1:4-5).

But Satan accused Job of having selfish and self-serving motives. Satan cannot see into our thoughts and hearts, as God can, so He proved to him that Job really did love God, and allowed him to "ruin him without cause" (2:3).

And at the end, God rewarded Job with twice as much of everything he had lost, even giving him more children, everything even better than what he had before (42:10, 12-15). 

This story teaches us several things. Among them are:

Bad things do happen to good people, not only as a consequence of our rebellion.

Satan cannot hear our thoughts or see into our hearts, as God can. He can only hear our spoken words, our tone of voice, our body language, and our history. So he deceives us into thinking he can also hear our thoughts. We need to remember this. 

This World is our school--all of life's lessons are for us to learn. They are meant for our benefit. 

And God rewards for faithfulness and loyalty to Himself. He is the only One Who can move events in the direction He has planned, and cause to happen all the things that will show His power, wisdom and lovingkindness. 

God will also allow us to suffer the consequences of our poor choices, to teach us to do better. 

And He will also provide the sacrifice to atone for our errors, our missing the mark, our sins. 

God is Love, and everything He does comes from His Love, so when He allows us to go through suffering, anguish, sickness, and sorrow, it's all so we will learn to trust Him more. To teach us humility and patience and perseverance. To mold and make us into the very image of His Son, our Savior. 

So when we feel the pressure of circumstances crushing us, God is making us into His diamonds. Trust Him, and never give up. He will reward us at the end of it, as He did Job. 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Precious Promises

Jeremiah 25: 11-12

This whole land [Judah and the surrounding nations] will be ruined and become a wasteland. These nations will serve the king of Babylon for 70 years.
When the 70 years are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation for their crimes, declares the Lord. 

Here is where Daniel was reading, where he found that they would be in exile for 70 years, and realized that 70 years had gone by already, it was time. (See Daniel 9:2.)

29: 4-7, 10-14

This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all those who were taken captive from Jerusalem to Babylon: 
Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat what they produce. 
Get married and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and let your daughters get married so they can have sons and daughters. Grow in number there, don't decrease. 
Work for the good of the city where I've taken you as captives, and pray to the Lord for that city. When it prospers you will also prosper. 

... This is what the Lord says: When Babylon's 70 years are over, I will come to you. I will keep my promise to you and bring you back to this place. 
I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope.
Then you will call to Me. You will come and pray to Me, and I will hear you. 
When you look for me, you will find Me. When you wholeheartedly seek Me, 
I will let you find Me, declares the Lord. I will bring you up from captivity. I will gather you from all the Nations and all the places where I've scattered you, declares the Lord. I will bring you back from the place where you are being held captive. 

There is so much in this chapter! Promises to His people of Judah who are in Babylon, and also for us as His people in Christ who are in the World.

The Jews will be in Babylon for a long time, 70 years, so they are to settle down and prosper in this Land of Exile, and grow their families.

And God will see to it that the politics will change and a new king will arise who will send Judah home. After that 70 years. 

History tells us that this is exactly what happened back then. God was faithful to His promises, and everything worked out just as He said it would.

And these precious promises also are for us: To pray for the city where we live, for God to prosper it, and we will prosper with it; and God will also let us find Him when we wholeheartedly seek Him; and He will give to us a hopeful future also, according to His plans for us. 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

To Our Own Harm

Jeremiah 25: 7

... That you provoke Me with the works of your hands to your own harm ...

God loves us and He told us the way to live our lives that would be in harmony with how He designed this world, so we could have prosperous lives and good relationships. 

Whenever we ignore what we know to be God's ways for us to follow His rules to love Him and one another, we'll end up doing or saying something or even adopting a whole lifestyle that is against what God wants for us, and it's always to our own harm. And it even harms other people, too. 

Each one of us lives in a web of influence that continually reaches out to include more and more people, so there is no way to see how far our poor choices will affect others to make poor choices and ruin their lives, too. 

So now our World is all messed up, teaching lies as truth, calling good bad, and trading sour for sweet. Turning everything around, until the whole World is dizzy and ready to fall down. 

God still calls to those He has chosen, though, and more and more people are turning away from the World and its ways to embrace the One Who made them, loves them, and sent His Son to be their Sacrifice to pay the debt they owe for sin. 

So the good is getting better, the bad is getting worse, and there is less and less middle ground between. 

If you feel the tug of God's Spirit calling you, don't ignore it. Don't try to drown it out. He won't shame you. He will embrace you in His arms of Love, cleanse you, and forgive you. He will make you His own child, and one Day crown you as co-regent with King Jesus to rule in the Kingdom of God.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Our Weakness, God's Strength

Jeremiah 1: 1-8

(V. 1) The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin.

Here's Jeremiah's pedigree: he was a priest, born into the upper society, living in the territory that was given to the tribe of Benjamin.

(V. 5) Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the Nations.

Even before he was born God had chosen him to Himself and planned out his life.

(V. 6) Then I said, "Alas. Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, because I am only a youth!"

Jeremiah was 20 years old when God called him to be His prophet; in that society he was still considered a child. 

(Vs. 7-8) But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, I am only a youth, because everywhere I send you, you shall go, and all that I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them..."

God's telling him not to use his weaknesses as an excuse. When God decides to do something, it's time to do it. And it doesn't matter what I think, He's God, I'm not, and He will use whatever He has given me to perform His will for me. I am just to believe Him and trust Him to work through me, even if I think it's crazy! It's not my decision, it's His, and He knows best.

Father, help me to trust You this way. Help me to see myself the way You see me, not how the World sees. You told Gideon to "go in the strength you have" (Judges 6:14) when he saw himself as very small and weak, but You knew he was a "valiant warrior" (Judges 6:12), and You made him into that strong soldier. 

And You will make me into whatever You have planned for my life, even if I don't see myself that way yet. 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!