“The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.” ~ Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis”

We all get our physical traits from the genes and DNA we receive from our parents. Our hair color, eye color, height, and even many of our personality traits come from the DNA we receive.

Paul writes in Ephesians 1:5, “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.”

He says we are God’s “adopted” children, but we are more than adopted in the natural sense, we have God’s Spirit in us. I like to think of it like we have God’s spiritual DNA. With the Holy Spirit in us, we take on traits God desired for us replacing our wrong natural behaviors.

John 1:12-13 “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.”

Paul writes more about being God’s children in Romans 8:9, “But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you….8:11, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.”…8:14, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”

The more we replace our human will with God’s will from the Spirit inside us, the more our traits will be God’s traits.

Dear Lord, We are so blessed that you have given us your Spirit to live in us, and to be your children. Help us submit ourselves to your Spirit so that we may live as your obedient children. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

This is one of those “counter-intuitive,” opposite of secular understanding, things about Christianity. The knowledge that when we honestly lay all of our disobedience to God out in front of him with honest remorse, God forgives us the moment we ask.

Psalm 103:12 writes, “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

The challenge many people have is that they have trouble accepting the forgiveness God is offering,, for the simple act of sincerely asking.

Carrying the guilt and shame of un-confessed sin can make people physically ill as they dwell on it and are unable to overcome.

Psalm 32:1-3, says, “What happiness for those whose guilt has been forgiven! What joys when sins are covered over! What relief for those who have confessed their sins and God has cleared their record. There was a time when I wouldn’t admit what a sinner I was. But my dishonesty made me miserable and filled my days with frustration.” TLB The NET version translates the last verse, “When I refused to confess my sin,my whole body wasted away,while I groaned in pain all day long.”

And Paul writes in Romans 3:3, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”

It is so important for each of us to spend time confessing our disobedience to God’s will and just as important, to accept the forgiveness that God promises.

Dear Lord, We are sorry that we constantly fail to live up to your standard. Give us the strength to strive to do what you would have us do, and forgive us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

We all have occasions when our faith loses some energy. For some people, this occurs when something bad happens. They wonder “how could God have let that happen?” and their faith weakens. For others, they have been hoping and praying for something for a long time, and their faith begins to weaken waiting and wondering.

One of the great aspects of the Bible is that it usually contains an example that compares to most anything we encounter in our lives today.

Paul wrote the book of Romans about 20 years after his conversion from a persecutor of Christians, to a leader of them. Even he after spreading the news of Jesus Christ throughout the region for 20 years, he needed occasional encouragement.

He wrote in Romans 1:12, “When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.”

Paul is showing us that even he needs support in his faith journey. If Paul needed that, undoubtedly so do we. This is one of the reasons it is important to have Christian friends and regularly attend church where we can get the support and encouragement, to help us through those times our faith is challenged.

Dear Lord, Thank you for the opportunity to associate with other Christians to whom we can provide encouragement, and from whom we can get encouraged. Help us remember how important this is. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

It is amazing how much has changed in the broadcasting and internet content businesses in the last several years. There are hundreds of television channels available, hundreds of satellite radio channels, you can find a video of on You-tube of almost anything, and there seems to be a podcast for just about any area of interest you might have.

For Christians, the great thing about this proliferation of information is the amazing opportunity we have to learn more about God’s word. Some of the best and most insightful preachers and bible teachers are available to you, on these media, if you look. Ultimately it is through more exposure we learn and grow our faith.

Paul writes in Romans 10:17, “So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.”

These technology alternatives cannot take the place of finding a “home church” where you feel comfortable and connected to other believers, and can worship, pray, confess, and commune with them.

Dear Lord, thank you for the incredible blessings of technology that allow your word to be spread and heard by more and more people. Help us take advantage of these technologies to strengthen our knowledge and faith. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Do you ever feel like there is something in your life that you know you should not do, but you don’t know if you will have the discipline to keep yourself from giving in to the temptation? It could be something like sticking to a diet, or quitting smoking, or something more serious like avoiding stealing, or being faithful to a spouse. There are times where we may not trust our own discipline, but we know we can trust God.

The New Testament book of Jude says in verse 24, “To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy”

There are some things we cannot do on our own, we need God’s strength to keep us from “stumbling” and bring us through the temptation. Like holding the hand rail when walking down snow or ice covered stairs; We hold on to something strong and stable to keep us from falling.

Paul describes this situation in 2 Corinthians 12, speaking about a temptation that he faces, but doesn’t identify particularly. He calls it his “thorn in the flesh.” He says in verses 8-9 “Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.”

When we don’t think we have the strength to overcome, God’s strength is at it’s best.

Dear Lord, what peace it brings to those who know that your strength is always there for us to draw from and rely on. When we feel like giving up our resistance, and giving in to temptation to do the wrong thing, help us remember to turn to you and trust in your strength to overcome. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.