Christian Reflection and Prayer

"Three Things Worth Knowing"

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth
His Son, born of woman, born under the Law, to redeem
those who were under the Law, so that we might receive
adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has
sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba!
Father!" Galatians 4:4-6

You know, when St. Paul wrote to the Galatians about
being adopted, he was referring to a Roman legal action.
Although Roman adoption was familiar to Paul's original
audience, there are some things you might want to know.

For example, you should know there were three things
which happened at that formal ceremony.

First, the person being adopted left his old family and
became part of a new one. That also happens to us when
we are given faith in the Savior. Those who believe in Jesus
Christ, who recognize His sacrifice, rejoice that the Spirit
leads sinners from Satan's family of damnation and brings
them into a new relationship with their Creator. By God's
grace they become children in God's household of salvation.

Second, in the Roman world, an adopted son became a
legitimate heir to the estate.

Nobody could take away the benefits which had been given
to him. That's exactly what St. Paul says happens to us. In
the book of Romans he writes, "For I am convinced ... (not)
anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from

the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord"
(see Romans 8:38-39).

In other words, once you had nothing to look forward to but
death and the grave; but now, because of Jesus' sacrifice,
you have become an heir of heaven.

Third, according to Roman law, when you were given a new
life in a new family, your old life was wiped out. Your past
debts were cancelled. You became a new person.

Because of Jesus' substitution, we who have been adopted
also find our sins are gone. The debt demanded by the Law
has been paid in full. We have been welcomed into a new life,
a life filled with forgiveness and hope.

That's what St. Paul meant when he said to the Corinthian
church, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
the old has gone, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

To make it possible for you to be adopted is why Jesus was
willing to leave His throne in heaven. Now, all who have been
given faith are adopted as children of God and have become
inheritors of eternal life. The door to God's family has been
opened, and for this we must give thanks.

THE PRAYER:

Dear Lord, I rejoice that You, without any redeeming qualities
in me, have adopted me. Now, by the power of Jesus' life-
giving substitution I have been given a new and better life.
Keep my heart always grateful for this gift, which will never
end. This I pray in the Savior's Name. Amen.

Pastor Klaus

LORD, I put my trust in you today. You are my
security and protection, my shield, my fortress,
and my hiding place, and I praise you. When
enemies surround me and troubles multiply,
help me to remember that you are ever faithful
and that you surround and protect me, both
now and forever.  In Jesus Name Amen

The land of Israel

O my people, I will open your graves of exile and cause
you to rise again. Then I will bring you back to the land
of Israel.      Ezekiel 37:12 NLT

Birth of a Nation

In 63 B.C. the Roman armies invaded the land of Israel
and made it part of the Roman Empire. Then Jesus came,
and in response to the Jews' rejection of him as their
Messiah, he predicted that the Jewish temple would be
completely destroyed (Luke 21:6), a prediction fulfilled in
A.D. 70. After a second revolt in A.D. 135, no Jews lived
in Jerusalem, and they became scattered through the
world.

Then in the late 1800s, in response to anti-Semitism,
particularly in eastern Europe, a Jewish movement called
Zionism arose. In 1917 in an attempt to win Jewish
support for World War I, England issued the Balfour
Declaration, supporting the creation "in Palestine of a
national home for the Jewish people."

Following War World II, Britain turned the matter of a
Jewish state to the newly created U.N., which voted on
November 29, 1947 to endorse a plan to create separate
Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem as an
international zone.

The British Mandate was scheduled to end on May 15,
1948, at which time their troops would begin leaving. The
day before, a historic meeting was held in Tel Aviv. At
exactly 4:00 p.m. the meeting was called to order by
David Ben-Gurion. The audience rose and sang "Hatikvah,"
the Israeli national anthem. Then Ben-Gurion read in
Hebrew Israel's Declaration of Independence. Everyone in
the audience stood to their feet and applauded, many with
tears streaming down their faces. For the first time in two
thousand years there was an independent Jewish state of
Israel.

The very existence of present-day Israel is a reminder to
us of God's faithfulness in keeping his promises.
(Ezekiel 37:1-13)

Adapted from The One Year® Book of Christian History by
E. Michael and Sharon Rusten (Tyndale, 2003),