Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

WEDNESDAY MARCH 11


SHOCKING ACCESSIBILITY


READ:
Romans 8:15
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You received the
Spirit of adoption
by whom we cry
out, "Abba, Father."
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When John F. Kennedy was president of the US, photographers sometimes captured a winsome scene. Seated around the president's desk in the Oval Office, cabinet members are debating matters of world consequence. Meanwhile, a toddler, the 2-year-old John John, crawls around and inside the huge presidential desk, oblivious to White House protocol and the weighty matters of state. He is simply visiting his daddy.

That is the kind of shocking accessibility conveyed in the word Abba when Jesus said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You" (MARK 14:36). God may be the sovereign Lord of the universe, but through His Son, God became as approachable as any doting human father. In Romans 8, Paul brings the image of intimacy even closer. God's Spirit lives inside us, he says, and when we do not know what we ought to pray "the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered" (v.26).

Jesus came to demonstrate that a perfect and holy God welcomes pleas for help from a widow with two mites and a Roman centurion and a miserable publican and a thief on a cross. We need only call out "Abba" or, failing that, simply groan. God has come that close to us.

We want to talk to God, but it can be difficult to find words to express the
emotions of our heart. The Discovery series booklet Let's Pray may help.
Read it online at discoveryseries.org/hp135__________________________
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Prayer is an intimate conversation with our God.

****************TODAY'S BIBLE READING Romans 8:14-17, 24-26*****************

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these
are sons of God. 13 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." 16 The
Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are
children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs__heirs of God
and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that
we may also be glorified together....

24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is
not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 but
if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with
perseverance.

26 Likewise the spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we
do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the
Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which
cannot be uttered.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in
our lives is the evidence that we are saved. The Holy Spirit is also
called "the Spirit of God" and the "spirit of Christ" (ROM 89). Paul
taught that the Spirit is the deposit that guarantees our salvation
(EPH 1:13-14) and the source of our new life (ROM 8:11). Assuring us that
we are God's children, the Holy spirit enables us to affectionately
call out to God, "Abba, Father" (v.15). As "the Spirit of adoption"
(V15), the Spirit changes our status from slaves to sons (GAL 46),
giving us the full privileges of sonship__making us heirs of God and
joint heirs with Christ (ROM 8:16). The indwelling Spirit helps us to
pray by interceding for us and with us (v.26).