Adopted into God's Family

John 1:12-13 (NIV)

12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Those who are a part of the family of Christ were not natural descendants, but were adopted into the family of God by God’s grace, mercy and love.

The movie A Knight's Tale, set in medieval England, tells the story of a young would-be knight named Ulrich. In those days, men had to be descended from noble stock in order to become a knight. But Ulrich does not have a drop of royal blood in him. Even so, he attempts to secure his place in history by winning a famous tournament.

It is traditional for the knight's squire to introduce him at such tournaments, usually delivering a grandiose recitation of the knight's royal lineage. In this scene, Ulrich's squire is a young Geoffrey Chaucer. People in the audience smile as Chaucer cranks up the hype like a modern-day puffmeister:

I cannot look upon my Lord Ulrich, for I weep to see his shining face. My Lord is a gift to your eyes, for we shall never, ever see his like upon this Earth again. I would list his lineage if it served to honor him. Most men here—it's sad, but it's true—they look to their past to prove their worth; they look to the deeds of their fathers.

Now, Sir Ulrich has great ancestors, make no mistake about that. Sir Chirard von Richbach, Duke Guelph of Saxony, Van Misch IV out of Brunswick—but these great, great men pale into insignificance next to him. I do not list them to honor him; I list him to honor them!

That was all hype, of course, but that last line captures the essence of Jesus' genealogies in Matthew 1 and Luke 3. Jesus Christ "has great ancestors—make no mistake about that! But these great men (and women) pale into insignificance next to him. I do not list them to honor him; I list him to honor them!"

[A Knight's Tale (Columbia Pictures, 2001), directed by Brian Helgeland; submitted by Lee Eclov, Vernon Hills, Illinois]

David's Humbleness

Psalm 119:7 (NIV)

7 I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws

David was a man after God’s own heart. He desired to be like God and to follow in his ways. Yet David stumbled often in his walk with God as so many have; but David was always willing to humble himself before God and take responsibility for his failures.

Acts 13

17 The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it.

18 And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness.

19 And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot.

20 And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.

21 And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.

22 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave their testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.

23 Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:

We see through these verses the people of Israel were always seeking the wrong thing or person. The David came along and declare him a man after His own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. It was through David’s linage that Christ was born and gave His life for all people to free the from sin. So through David, through Christ God’s will was fulfilled.

Losing our life to find it

Matthew 16:25 (NIV)

25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.

This verse reminds us that we must let go of our self-centered beliefs by giving up our preconceived throughs and instead turning our life over to God. It is then that we will truly find our life.

We often hear someone say: "Well, I'm not very religious, but I'm a good person and that is what is most important." But is that true? Imagine a woman, a poor widow with an only son. She teaches him how she wants him to live, to always tell the truth, to work hard and to help the poor.

She makes very little money, but with her meager savings she is able to put him through college. Imagine that when he graduates, he hardly even speaks to her again. He occasionally sends a Christmas card, but he doesn't visit her, he won't even answer her phone calls or letters; he doesn't speak to her. But he lives just like she taught him—honestly, industriously, and charitably.

Would you say this was acceptable? Of course not. Wouldn't we say by living a "good life" but neglecting a relationship with the one to whom he owed everything he was doing something commendable?

In the same way, God created us and we owe him everything and we do not live for him but we "live a good life" it is not enough. We all owe a debt that must be paid.

[Timothy Keller, Shaped by the Gospel: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City (Zondervan, 2016), page 3; Submitted by Van Morris, Mt. Washington, Kentucky]

Salvation is about a relationship with God that brings us into contact with His Son Jesus Christ. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. It’s a binding relationship between us and God brought about by Christ who offered Himself as a sacrifice for all sin. Not just my sin or your sin, but everyone’s sin. Christ paid the debt of sin in full by dying on 

Love your neighbor

Leviticus 19:18 (NIV)

18 “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

God asks us not to bear grudges, but instead to love our neighbors as ourselves. We are to do this no matter how tough it might be to love the other person.

A Florida priest murdered in 2016 has appealed from beyond the grave for his alleged killer to be shown mercy, reports the BBC. In a letter written 22 years before his murder, Reverend Rene Robert requested that whoever took his life be spared execution "no matter how heinous their crime or how much I may have suffered."

The body of 71-year-old Fr. Robert, of St Augustine, Florida, was found riddled with bullets in Georgia in April 2016. Authorities say he was killed days earlier by a man, Steven Murray, whom he had been trying to help for months. Mr. Murray, a repeat offender, had asked the priest for a lift in Jacksonville, Florida, before abducting and murdering him, authorities said. At the time of the trial, the prosecutor was pushing for the death penalty.

But in 1995, the priest had signed a "Declaration of Life" document, which was witnessed and notarized by a lawyer. Fr. Robert wrote, "I request that the person found guilty of homicide for my killing not be subject to or put in jeopardy of the death penalty under any circumstances."

Fr. Robert devoted his life to helping society's most troubled people, including convicts and the mentally afflicted, say friends. "He was well aware for the potential violence that might involve his ministry, but he cared for those people nonetheless," said Archbishop Wilton Gregory. During a court appearance, Mr. Murray appealed for forgiveness by noting Fr. Robert's own words: "If anybody loves Father Rene, they'll forgive me because he was a man of God, and forgiveness is forgiveness."

Reverend Robert understood the need to love others and show mercy so much that he prepared a statement to others long before his death. It was a request to forgive anyone who might have a hand in his death. How many of us are willing to forgive others for the minor things they might do to us, much less the murder caused by another’s hands.

The depth and height of God's love

Ephesians 3:17-19 (NIV)

17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

If we understand the depth and width of God’s love for us we would wake up each day praising Him for being in our lives. And as we are filled with God’s love it overflows where we can use it for others.

Two-time Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington is best known for his roles in Glory, The Preacher's Wife, Remember the Titans, and Training Day. But the Hollywood A-lister has sounded more like a pastor when has spoken at recent events. Washington has publicly stated that he reads his Bible every day and that he strives to consistently "get up and speak of what God has done for him."

At a November 2015 church banquet he urged his listeners to live in a constant attitude of gratitude for God's goodness:

Give thanks for blessings every day. Every day. Embrace gratitude. Encourage others. It is impossible to be grateful and hateful at the same time. I pray that you put your slippers way under your bed at night, so that when you wake in the morning you have to start on your knees to find them. And while you're down there, say "thank you." A bad attitude is like a flat tire. Until you change it, you're not going anywhere.

[Jeannie Law, "Denzel Washington: God Has 'Faith in Me,'" Christian Post (11-12-15)]

Let’s take away our bad attitudes and instead have and attitude of gratitude. Let us love like the love of Christ. Let us be filled with His presence so that we may be rooted and established in love for all people.

Children of God

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (NIV)

16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

God promises His children that they wil be in heaven with Him. There will be a time when those who have died and those who are alive will all be together in the presence of The Lord.

In their book Building a Church of Small Groups, Bill Donahue and Russ Robinson relate the words of Lyman Coleman as he reflected on the death of his beloved wife, Margaret:

The most painful decision of my life was asking God to take her home. She had been suffering from repeated brain seizures and her body was wasted. I whispered in her ear: "Honey, I love you. I love you. Jesus wants you to come home. We are going to be all right. We give you permission to let go." She closed her eyes and fell asleep….

As I write this letter, I realize I am without my editor. My greatest critic. My teammate. Soulmate. Prayermate. Partner in everything. We traveled the roads less traveled together in hard times and good times. Honey, I miss you. I miss you. I miss you. I will keep the light on for the kids. I will be there for friends. And one day, we are going to join you. All of us. Because Jesus promised it. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."

[Bill Donahue and Russ Robinson, Building a Church of Small Groups (Zondervan, 2001), p. 61]

I had a man tell me once, “I don’t know about me and God. I don’t know if I’m good enough for heaven.” I took the time to explain there is no one perfect in this world. All our righteous works are like dirty rags. There is no one who even comes close to the righteousness of God. It is why it is so important to understand Jesus Christ is God’s son as well as God. I know our minds have a hard time conceiving that, but it’s like an egg. There is a yoke, the white and the shell, yet it is an egg. With God, there is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ, fully God, was born of this world. He lived without sin, just as God the Father is without sin. Christ was tortured, beaten and crucified for our sake that we could be free from the punishment of sin. Jesus rose to life three days later showing us that we too would have a new life. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Trust, belief, faith that is how we enter God’s kingdom. The man I talked with said, “I want that today” so I prayed with him and he now knows that he is a child of God. One day will be in heaven with all God’s children.

Listen and build them up

Romans 15:2 (NIV)

2 Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.

We need to remember to encourage our family, neighbors and friends. We need to let them know that a Holy God loves them and will be there with them.

Someone told me the other night about an Anton Chekhov story called "The Lament." It is a simple story about an old man who drives a horse and buggy for hire through the city.

The story goes that the old man's son died recently and he wants so desperately to tell someone. A wealthy man hires the horse and buggy for a ride across town. As the wealthy man steps into the carriage, the old man says, "My son, my son. Let me tell you about my son." But the busy man doesn't have time to listen.

Well, after the wealthy man leaves, another man steps into the carriage. He wants to be driven to the other side of the city. Again, the old man says, "My son. My son. Let me tell you about my son." And again, this second man also doesn't bother to listen.

At the end of the day, the old man returns to the stables, unhitches his horse, and as he begins to brush the horse down for the night, the old man begins to tell the horse, "My son. My son." And he tells the horse the tragic story.

[Christopher de Vinck, Simple Wonders, (Zondervan, 1995), page 157]

Many of us are just too busy to listen, but there are many people who want someone to listen to them. They want to share their griefs, their conflicts and their emotions. When someone comes to you be ready to listen and build them up.