When humanity lost its relationship with God because of Adam's rebellion against His command in the Garden of Eden, God already had the plan to redeem humanity to Himself. In His perfect timing, He sent His Son, Jesus, to us to save us from our sins by dying on the cross and being resurrected on the third day. Jesus was born as our Savior. God sent Jesus as a full human, just like us. He did it because God wanted to relate with us in every way. Jesus was born in a Jewish family; therefore, He was born under the Law of Moses. Galatians 4:5 explains why our Heavenly Father sent His Son, Jesus, to us, "To redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father.' So you are no longer a slave, but God's child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir."
Jesus came to redeem us from our sins and make us God's children. Since we could not fulfill the Law of Moses, such as the ten commandments, Jesus fulfilled it for us and paid the penalty for our offenses of not fully obeying the commandments of God. Every time we sin, whether in thoughts or deeds, we break the commandments of God; therefore, we are always condemned and deserve to die. However, Jesus came to die on our behalf and be resurrected to redeem us. Since we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are no longer condemned by God but have been forgiven of our sins. And we have been adopted by God to become His adopted children.
This Christmas season, let us remind ourselves that we have been forgiven of our sins and adopted by God the Father as His precious adopted children. We have an unbroken relationship with our Heavenly Father. We can call our God, Father, or Abba (equivalent to our term today: Daddy, Dad, Papa, Baba, etc.). Our Lord Jesus becomes the source of our forgiveness every time we sin against God, whether in our actions or deeds. All we need to do is to repent and confess our sins to our Lord Jesus. We do not need to carry our guilt and shame, for our Lord Jesus died for our sins already. We are free from condemnation because we have been redeemed and adopted through our Lord Jesus.
Ask yourself these questions for application: (Think through carefully and meditate on the questions while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you) Why did God send His Son, Jesus, to me? How did Jesus redeem me from my sins? What does it mean to be God's adopted child?
Write down all the worries you face today and lift them up to God.
Prayer:
Father in Heaven, I am always thankful that you have adopted me as your child through your Son, Jesus. Would you please help me to see myself as your precious child as you have adopted me? Please help me always to remember who I am in you so that I may not live in the lies of Satan. You have accepted and forgiven me through my faith in my Lord Jesus. Thank you for loving me. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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