A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. <Previous Message · Easy read/print edition Wednesday, November 7, 2007  A peaceful respite off the beaten path  Click here to listen to this message on your audio player."Abba, Father!" For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father" (Romans 8:15). Several years ago Brooksyne watched a TV program about international adoptions that was very touching. Since our daughter, Ester, is adopted from Guatemala she invited her to watch the program with her. I was working in my home office and when the program was over Ester came into the room where I was working and had that serious look in her eye, indicating she wanted to sit on my lap and receive a hug. When I gladly obliged she hugged me back and said warmly, "Thank you for adopting me." That sure stirred the heartstrings and is something that is of great value in my emotional storehouse. She's an older teenager now and the spiritual battle is raging in her life. Sometimes she can be, well… rather difficult. So this expression of thankfulness meant a lot to me and to this day I draw strength from it. But I consider another lesson from this. How often do we express thanks to our heavenly Father for our spiritual adoption? I am not merely speaking of general thankfulness but rather a specific thanksgiving for this wondrous act of grace. We did this often during the days following our spiritual adoption and the early years, when the striking contrast of our life before Christ was fresh in our memory. The longer we walk with Christ our former bondage to sin fades in our memories and we may simply take this marvelous act of mercy for granted. The daily Scripture portion tells us that we have received the "Spirit of adoption." The apostle Peter describes it so succinctly, "Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy" (1 Peter 2:10). The apostle Paul writes of our previous condition when we were far away from God and then our spiritual adoption that bridged the gap. We were a people "without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:12,13). The word for adoption indicates a new family relation with all the rights, privileges and responsibilities. Hallelujah! As a result of this adoption "we cry out 'Abba Father.'" As I study and ponder this portion of the text today it's very hard to convey the powerful way this title would have impacted the initial recipients of the letter. The Amplified version words it this way, "in the bliss of which we cry. Abba! Father!" "Abba" is an Aramaic expression that was used in the family like "Daddy" or "Papa" is used today. Until the day of my father's death in 1998 I always called him "Daddy" even though I was in my mid-forties. I don't believe I ever addressed him directly as "Father." Perhaps "father" sounded too formal while "daddy" was a more intimate, personal and yet respectful title. Let us heartily express thanks today to our heavenly Father for His love for us. And most especially let us thank Him for acting on His selfless love in adopting us! I have a Father He calls me His own He'll never leave me No matter where I go He knows my name He knows my every thought He sees each tear that falls And hears me when I call Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily Prayer: Father, once we were slaves to sin, but because of Your all consuming love for us, we are now children of the Most High. We shed the former way of life when we lived unto ourselves and allowed the malignancy of sin to spread like cancer. Now we walk in newness of life and gratefully bear the name of Christ and identify ourselves as Christians. We are renewed daily by the power of Your Spirit that is within our new nature. Our hearts are now predisposed to loathe sin and love righteousness because we are children of the Heavenly Father. May we bring honor to our identity as a Christian as we represent the name of Christ in our words and actions. Amen. Brooksyne's note: The program on television was the story of four children adopted from the Ukraine. The camera zoomed in on the heartbreaking expressions of the children left behind in the orphanage. Ester and I hugged as we wept together for the poor orphans who said "good-bye" to their friends who were being adopted into families. That prompted her to make a little visit to her daddy. Stephen's note: In my study this morning I observed that there are three references to "Abba Father" in the Bible (in all standard translations.) Two of them are in Paul letters (today's text and Galatians 4:6.) But only one of them is from the gospels and are the direct words of Jesus. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus said "Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will" (Mark 14:36).  We are so grateful for those who come alongside us upholding Ester in prayer and accountability. They cheer her on and encourage us as well. As we often say, "What would we do without our Christian brothers and sisters?" Update: Yesterday I shared about my experience with Roxie (our dog) getting caught in a fox trap when we were out on a country walk Monday night in the fields. Today she is not limping and my arm (which she bit when we removed the trap) is still sore and bruised from the clamping action of her jaws. The actual teeth punctures were very small and I didn't need stitches. Today's suggested music: "He Knows My Name" (Audio) "He Knows My Name" (Video) "This Is My Father's World" (Video) "Your Favorite Name Is Father" (Audio) |
Administration Information  Stephen and Brooksyne "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update We share our hearts with you as we go forth in this online ministry.  Each weekday morning Brooksyne and I prepare these messages and distribute them at no cost to you and many others all over the world. Would you please consider a financial offering to support us in this encouragement ministry? Thanks! See here for details.Join: To receive these free "Daily Encouragement" devotionals each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe. You can also subscribe to the rss feed. Cancel: To remove your address from this mailing list merely use the link placed by the mailing list software at the very bottom of each message. Weekly Version: The weekly version is designed for those who do not check their email regularly. It is merely the Friday message with a link to previous messages. To receive the free weekly version, send a blank email to this address. (To change addresses cancel your old address and then join again using your new address.) Please feel free to pass this message on! Daily Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com (Any orders placed to Christian Book Distributers using this link or any specific product link to a recommended resource in a daily encouragement message will help our Daily Encouragement ministry through a small commission on the sale. Thank you for using these links when purchasing online through CBD!) Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity." How to become a child of God Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission; and the King James Version. "A Little Foolishness" - We invite daily encouragement readers to visit our new blog which is a collection of humorous and satirical stories drawn mostly from our years of ministry, as well as my sometimes fertile imagination. We also welcome submissions from readers. © Copyright 2007 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved  |
