ROMANS
8:15-16
So you
have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received
God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba,
Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s
children.
I love the beauty of the Gospel message. The “Good
News” that can transform lives. As I said this past Sunday, the Gospel is not
about slapping Jesus’ name on a group of people who already have everything in
common. The Gospel is powerful in that it can take people who have
absolutely nothing in common and unite them under the banner of God’s
relentless love. So while we may come from different backgrounds and
ethnicities, we are all part of the same family. Paul declares that we have all
been adopted by God. The Apostle Peter says it this way in 1 Peter 2:10:
“Once
you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no
mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.”
Isn’t that beautiful? We were lost and living apart
from God. Orphans with no identity. But God who is rich in mercy loved us and
adopted us. He called us His own. And now we call Him ABBA (Aramaic for
“Daddy”). That means we are family. We don’t serve God out of fear (we are not
slaves Paul says). No. God is our good and loving Father. We serve Him and love
Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). It is a gift to live in
community because it constantly calls us back to what God has done for us.
When you look at the face of your brother and sister from your church family,
may you be reminded of God’s gracious act of adopting us into His family.
Today I want to do something different. Rather than
have you read a lengthy spill about God calling us His sons and daughters, I
want to share a video with you. I have two good friends that are a part of this
story. Chris Lindberg is the pastor of Life Fellowship Church in Allen. He is a
phenomenal leader who has greatly influenced my life. Chris and I have been
friends for more than thirteen years. One of the members of Chris’ church is a
man named Bill Wegener. I have known Bill for close to fifteen years. He has
one of the most amazing life stories you will ever hear! Will you take six
minutes and watch the Vimeo video link below? I promise that you will be
blessed by the testimony of this dear brother in the Lord. I shared it with our
students last night at Verve Youth Church. The impact was visible.
Maybe you are reading this today and you are not a
Christian. Maybe you have been curious about God but have never entered into a
personal relationship with Him. Maybe the scars of life have left you feeling like
God would never want you. Will you please watch Bill’s story? If you have
questions after watching, please contact me at my personal email hadleybaker@gmail.com
Grace and peace to you today.
http://vimeo.com/115226095
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