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Romans 8:10 However, if the Messiah is in you, then, on the one hand, the body is dead because of sin; but, on the other hand, the Spirit is giving life because God considers you righteous. 11 And if the Spirit of the One who raised Yeshua from the dead is living in you, then the One who raised the Messiah Yeshua from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you.12 So then, brothers, we don’t owe a thing to our old nature that would require us to live according to our old nature. 13 For if you live according to your old nature, you will certainly die; but if, by the Spirit, you keep putting to death the practices of the body, you will live.
14 All who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to bring you back again into fear; on the contrary, you received the Spirit, who makes us sons and by whose power we cry out, “Abba!” (that is, “Dear Father!”). 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our own spirits that we are children of God; 17 and if we are children, then we are also heirs, heirs of God and joint-heirs with the Messiah — provided we are suffering with him in order also to be glorified with him.
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Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. [Romans 8:14 (NIV)]
On the day our request for adoption was granted, our family and friends filled the judge’s chambers to capacity. Our beautiful daughter listened attentively as the judge read the legal, binding decree of adoption. When the judge signed, stamped, and granted the request for her adoption, our three-year-old daughter cried out, “It’s official!” And the room exploded in applause. Three months later we received a new birth certificate naming my husband, Michael, and me as the parents — legal and binding, precisely the same as if we had given birth to her.
We loved and adored our daughter from the moment we saw her, but she was not legally our child until the adoption was complete. In the same way, God loved us before we were even born and made a way for us to become adopted children through faith in Jesus.
Our adoption as children of God was made possible the moment Jesus cried out on the cross, “It is finished!” Now all who accept Christ’s gift of saving love and willingly follow him shall be adopted and treated in all respects as God’s own children. Through adoption, we become brothers and sisters in Christ and receive the love and peace that God provides.
See photos of Michele Rizzo and her family.
Michele Rizzo and her family at Christmastime in 2016
Rizzo family in 1996
© 2017 The Upper Room®. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.Read more from the author, here.
More from Michele M. Rizzo
Adopting our beautiful “forever child” Allison is the subject of today’s meditation. Allison brings endless joy into our lives every day. We are so thankful to God for giving her to us through the gift of adoption. In fact – we never actually think about the “adoption” part of our lives, as Allison was permanently embedded into our hearts the first moment we held her in our arms. Our love has deepened and matured through the years, as all loving family relationships do—just like our own relationships with our heavenly father continue to grow as we experience God's deep love for us.Allison spent her 22nd birthday sitting on the edge of her Dad’s hospital bed fearing he would die soon of cancer. A mere month before her dad, my beloved husband Michael of 39 years, had become mysteriously ill. We ended up in the emergency room where he was tested and diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and deadly cancer of the bile ducts. We were all devastated.
That night in the hospital Michael and I held one another and cried. Michael’s deepest sorrow at that moment was facing the real possibility that he would not be here to walk Allison down the aisle on her wedding day. Tears still surface today remembering that moment.
Due to God’s incredible grace, the power of prayer, and the healing benefits of healthy nutrition, Allison’s dad survived and today is 100% cancer free! This smiling photograph of Allison and her father Michael was taken one year later right about the time of Allison’s 23rd birthday (they are both pictured above).
Inspired by Michael’s recovery from a deadly cancer diagnosis through nutrition and prayer, I went back to school and received training to become an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach. Today I am helping people recover their health through prayer and nutrition.
God's amazing grace abounds for us all – his forever children. I marvel continually at God’s loving care and devotion to us.
I am an ordained minister of the gospel, and my ministry blog is http://istilllovejesus.com/. On this blog I share articles about present day Biblical fulfillment and encourage people to walk closely with our loving Savior, Jesus.
I am also a Certified Holistic Health & Nutrition Coach, and my health coach blog (http://michelemrizzo.com) holds articles about nutrition and updates for online classes I teach on health and nutrition. I am currently writing a book of our healing adventures – which I will post as soon as it is available. [Michele M. Rizzo]
The Author: Michele M. Rizzo (California, USA)
Thought for the Day: We are God’s forever children.
Prayer: Thank you, Abba, Father, for making us your very own children through the sacrifice of your son, Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Prayer focus: Those waiting to adopt
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