Dave's Diary

This week, we have set aside time to think about some of the reasons why we ought to love the Lord. Over the last four days, I’ve suggested that we ought to love God because He created us in love, because of His profound beauty, because of His constant presence with us, and because of His perfect love for us. Today let’s ponder the truth that we love Him because He is our Loving ‘Abba’ Father, Who has adopted us into His Family.

Prayer before Reading:

Join the Psalmist in this simple prayer before you read today’s passage,

LORD, send Your Word to heal me; and rescue me from the grave. (based on Psalm 107:20)

Before you read, spend a moment quietly getting focused on the Lord Who is with you to rescue and heal.

Daily Readings:

Ephesians 2:1-10 and Romans 8:8-17

Christ lived a perfect life, died a sinless death, was raised again from the dead and exalted to the Father’s right hand in glory forever, so that we could be saved from the power of sin and death! Christ opened the door for our salvation.

But each of us still had to walk through that door by placing our faith in Jesus and all He has done for us. Scripture makes it clear that it was God the Father who drew us to faith in Christ by the gentle influence of the Holy Spirit. Then, in the moment we cast ourselves on the mercy of Jesus, trusting in Him and Him alone to make us right with God, the Father forgave our sins and breathed the Holy Spirit into us. In that moment, we were reborn into eternal life and most wondrously adopted into the family of God as His beloved children.

Hear this clearly: God did not save us to make us His servants; He saved us to bring us home as His children. By faith in Jesus, you are a child of God! You are at home in God’s Family. You have the privilege of being known and loved by God as His beloved child. You have the honour of knowing and loving God as your Father; and He has invited you into intimacy with Him. He listens when you speak. He answers when you call. He spends each moment of your life with you, in love. His heart is always for you and inclined towards your best interests. He is always at work in your life for your good. And your God is not some impassive, impersonal Force (as if “the Universe” is in charge of your life and destiny). Your God is your Loving Heavenly Father; or, to use the Hebrew word Paul uses in Romans 8, our “Abba” – our “Dad”.

Remember this today, and love God because of it: God is your Loving Abba Father and you are His beloved child!

Contemplation:

Please take time to ponder this deep and beautiful truth. Repeat this to yourself. Turn these statements over and over in your mind:

• God loves me and has adopted me into His Family
• He is my “Abba, Father”
• He invites me into intimacy with Himself
• His heart and His arms are always open to me.

What a joy!