Prayer Practice
Breath Prayer – Take 2-3 minutes today to pray a simple breath prayer. Get somewhere quiet and relaxing. Breathe in deeply, and then breathe out fully. As you breathe in, ask God to fill you with His presence, grace, love, peace, etc. Consider using the list of spiritual fruit in Galatians 5:22-23. As you breathe out, offer to God the things you need Him to take from you – sin, doubt, shame, anxiety, fear, etc. Pray this way for just a few minutes, trusting God to work, and then begin reading today’s Scripture.
DAILY READING
REFLECTION
Children of the Promise
by Kelsey Bacon
I don't know about you, but I had to read this passage several times in order to wrap my head around what it was saying. There is so much import put on Israel, Israel's identity, and our identity in the Bible that it's important to take time to understand and find our place in passages like these. What I think I've found in reading and rereading this passage is that there is one main theme here that God wants you to know: you are a chosen part of his family.
Lately, I have been asking the question to Jesus and to myself, "what does it mean that I am a child of God?" I've been digging into some big identity questions and wondering how I can, in my every day life, live into my identity in Christ. The reason for this is because I have recently realized how much I have put my identity in earthly things throughout my life, particularly relationships. And as God has shown me that my worth is not in my relationships, I've started to ask, "so who am I, then?" I know the Sunday School answer of "I'm a child of God!" But what does that really mean? What does that mean for us on a daily basis? What does that mean for us in each and every crevice of our lives?
This passage helps me to answer that. Romans 9:8 says, "It is not the children by physical descent who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring." I am a child of the promise, and so are you. Through the blood of Christ, we are brought into the eternal covenant that promises us the inheritance of the kingdom, the blessings of generations, and forever belonging in Jesus' family. Just like our last names identify us as part of our families, our faith in Jesus identifies us as belonging in his family--far more eternal, loving, and forgiving than any relationship we could have on this earth.
No matter who you are, what you do for your job, whose parents or children you are, what has happened to you in your life, what struggles you are dealing with, who you are in relationship with--you first and foremost belong to Jesus. And your salvation and his love for you is not contingent on any of those things. You are a child of the promise.
Reflect: Are there any things, people, struggles, or situation in your life that you idolize or place your identity in? Take a moment to lay those at Jesus' feet. Ask him who you are, and listen for his answer.
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